outdoor school

I can tell that when it comes to homeschooling, I'm going to be a dreamer. I like thinking of fun things to do, creative and unusual ways to talk about things, and often my ideas get bigger and bigger until they become an all-day project. It will be amazing if we ever get anything done! But since I'm not actually starting homeschool for a while, I settle for big fun activities.

And since my friend amy IS homeschooling, I have to think of ways to get her to cancel class with her kids so she can come and play with me. (If you're a reader of amy's blog, I beg your pardon for seeing these pictures twice).

So my latest plot to convince amy to cancel school was to plan an outdoor school day. The challenge was thinking of enough activities that a 3 year old and a 7 year old could both participate in, but also challenge all kids involved.

Here's how it all ended up:
Meet at the city square at 9:15. Of course, I was late. But not by much. :)

The cast of characters - emma, savannah, alex, samantha and peter. I'm digging the clipboards and totally wished I had one of my own. Note to self: get a clipboard to carry around the house.

The kids liked them too and it made it feel more schoolish. At least I thought so. Too bad I didn't have any eraser caps. Didn't you totally love eraser caps when you were a kid?

First subject: Art.

The idea was to find a shady spot to sit and draw the big statue thing in the middle of the city square. Upon arriving to the square, I realized this would be a problem.

I guess it was closed for maintenance? Well, anyway, we regrouped and found a spot (though not shady) and decided to make the flagpole our focal point. Yes, the lightpole was in the way.
Yes, yes, my diligent students, draw away! Colored pencils, pencil sharpeners, clipboards! Yes, yes, yes!
You could say we, um, drew a crowd. No pun intended. Ha-dee-ha-ha. (Do you see bug visor lady? It's the shiny reflective thing in the middle. I love those things. Seriously, they wear them on their motorbikes so that bugs won't fly in their face. I wouldn't lie about something like that.)
Next: Social studies.

We walked around the square looking for people "at work". Who is working? What jobs are they doing?

We found lawn mower guy...

drink seller lady...
What would you call this? Grout-cleaner woman? Maybe "groundskeeper" sounds more official.
Fish-in-a-bag seller:
Ok, kids - it's 10:30! That means the fountain show comes on! But don't forget the workers you saw! We'll talk about it later!
Math:

Count how many steps to the top of the viewing platform. It's a good thing there were several of us counting, because there were a few discrepancies with the total count. We did not do a recount - it was hot, and I was tired and who wants to reclimb all the steps anyway? - but we think 67 was pretty close.

It was a pretty clear day. Here's the view of the fountain show, the square and the city from the viewing platform. It's actually a very lovely place. Crowded, but very lovely.
On top of the viewing platform, we revisited the social studies subject. We talked about Community Helpers and then discussed what would be different if those people weren't doing their jobs. What could we do to make their jobs easier? What are hard and easy parts of their jobs? I must be a captivating teacher... No, not really. They're just really good kids!
Abby thought it was so interesting she'd suck on her fingers.
After the discussion, we each chose a Community Helper to draw. Emma was hard at work:Language was next, but this one kind of got botched. I had prepared envelopes of money for each kid to buy a little water toy. I was going to have them each ask the vendor how much it was, and then tell them they wanted to buy one...but it didn't exactly work out that way. In any case, they all paid and got their cool water gun thingy.

The science component really just involved goofing around with the water gun, but I sold it to amy as something involving differing water pressure and experimenting and something else. But really it was just playing. Because water is fun. And water guns are even funner.

These water guns function like a giant syringe. Suck up all the water you can...

...and let 'er rip!
By the time science class was over, we were hot and tired. Lunch at McDonalds, with chocolate ice cream cones at the end, finished off the day.

School's out!

because...

...some days you just gotta do something different.

spring cleaning...sort of

I got all inspired recently reading about people who are spring cleaning. Thanks to sandra and simplemom dot net, I could gawk at other people tackle their messes and even schedule my own spring clean. Simplemom had great ideas about planning, tips on how to do it best, and lots of encouragment to do it.

I also had high aspirations, but then forgot about it somehow along the way. But I didn't want to feel like I missed out on the fun, so I decided to "spring clean" my medicine cabinet. Sandra and simplemom and all their billions of followers took before and after pictures. And even though I was cheating and only spring cleaning one tiny little part of my house, I still wanted to feel included so I took pictures too.

And lets just say that after I took that picture, I was shocked at how I managed not be disoriented every time I opened the cabinet. This picture was not embellished or staged to look more dishevelled. No, this is the naked truth. I am not even kidding.
I unwisely started this project on a whim - which meant that it was right after naptime (bad idea), all my kids were awake (and cranky) and dinner had to be started. But my poor planning turned out ok, because it didn't take that long. AND I managed to throw away a bunch of stuff. I actually took a picture of my "discard" pile, but that seemed a bit creepy to post it online. Kind of like that Seinfeld episode where people almost break up with each other after looking in their medicine cabinets...or something like that.

Ok, where was I? Yeah, that's right. So here's the end product:
Mmmmmmm, it felt nice. I open that door and I feel a rush of...well, I feel a rush of something that feels organizationaley. I feel like I've visited a therapist and gotten rid of past baggage. Or maybe I just feel like I organized my medicine cabinet, but it still feels good.

pretty as a picture

I think abby is the best baby ever. I know everyone says that; I've said it before, but I really mean it this time.

She smiles easily, those sweet little baby smiles that make her whole body rock from the effort.

She lays in her bed staring at her fingers while I think she is sleeping. I'll finally go in there to check on her, deciding it's surely been too long since she last ate, and find her happily occupied and chilling out.

She blesses her mama every day by sleeping from 10pm to 7am. She is most certainly the latest sleeper of all my kids - no 6am alarm clock inside this girl!

She's got rubber band wrists that occasionally need to be cleaned out because the deep crevices of fat collect lint. That's some serious fat. But it's cute fat. Trust me.

She's just starting to laugh, but we can't seem to master the sustained chuckle nor get her to repeat it. I swear, sometimes I feel like I sit around just trying to make her laugh. Good thing no one videotapes me. It would be embarrassing.

Her 100 days is coming up this week so I'll probably go take her to get her pictures made. I'm also hoping to take her to that funky little swimming place (surely you all remember this)...you know, because I have to be fair. It would be unjust if she was the only child who was not allowed to wear the infant swim ring. hahahahahah

She's snuggly and chubby and if I was a grandmother, I would most definitely pinch her cheeks.

revenge of the hairdresser

There are seven years between me and my youngest sister Katie, and six years between Holly and I.  This age difference gave us endless opportunities during those golden childhood years to create "big sister/little sister" memories.  

The age difference was big enough that weren't really many late-night "heart-to-hearts" or tearful pleas for advice, but there was the neverending issue of "what do I do with my hair?"

Unfortunately for my sisters, they grew up just as the 80's were ending (not that the early 90's were any better...) and I was a junior high student right in the thick of it.  And I had primary responsibility for their hair and unintentionally churned out some hairstyles that really should have been in magazines.  

I remember that Katie was tender-headed as can be, but Holly could hang with just about anything a brush could dish out.  We were all about hot rollers, bangs (big! big! big! bangs!), pigtails (aka doggie ears) and cockeyed braids.  It's amazing they didn't fire me.

I hung around, but I guess over the years those girls have been building up their arsenal to pay me back.  As I was digging around my computer looking for pictures of holly, I came across this from last year, and it brought back all of my goldenhaired childhood memories:

And I see that they are getting their revenge after all.  ;)

Ok, I am SO rambling because the point of this post isn't even me doing their hair!  The point of this post is that my sister - my tiny baby sister who took things out of my room and let me massacre her hair and invited me to her plays when she was in junior high and didn't eat her green beans and subjected herself to my choreography skills, yes that sister - graduated from college last weekend.  Summa Cum Laude (I had to throw that in because I just found out what it means - way to go!)

And if that's not enough, her birthday is today.  Like I need further proof that she has fully transitioned from curly-haired baby sister to grown woman out on her own.

Happy birthday, holly!  I know there's so much of your life that I've missed, but your memories are treasured in a special spot in my heart.  So much of your life is ahead of you, and I thank God for your good judgement, gentle spirit, and easy smile.  

No matter where in this world His plan takes you, we will love you, pray for you, and never let you live down some of those fabulous childhood moments.

55 down

These pictures are from about two weeks ago when emma finished lesson 55 in her reading book. Since she's about to have pictures from her new prize in the next few days, I thought this would be a good time to catch up on posting these.

Her prize this time was making a box of pink pudding. She felt that giraffe needed to be there for moral support. But he doesn't like pink pudding.

Everyone cashes in when emma does reading lessons. We all had some of the...very interesting pink pudding. Samantha was also concerned that "mick" make the pictures too. He also does not like pink pudding but apparantly likes sitting at the table. I guess it makes him feel included.


In case you're curious about what "lesson 55" translates into, here's the story Emma read for this lesson:

A Fish in the Rain
A girl met a man in the rain. that man got wet. that girl got wet. the man said, "this is not fun". the girl said, "this is fun". the man said, "I have wet feet so I will go home. I hate rain." the girl said, "we can get fish". So she got a fish and gave it to the man.

It's not exactly Tom Clancy or anything, but she does a really great job. AND I know you've always wanted to get a fish in the rain...

today

It's 11:24pm and I'm sitting at the computer about to bust out five or six blog entries to post over the next couple of weeks for you. What's the occasion for this late hour posting?

Yep, hubby is out of town. We've had a fun day today. Here's a brief recap:

Ate donuts for breakfast. This is unusual because I've recently limited family donut-eating to weekends. No more of this chocolate donuts every day for breakfast business.

Pulled out every toy in the house. Made bead necklaces with the girls.

Went to pizza hut for lunch with landlord and two other families I didn't know. Turns out that one of them is a brain surgeon. Ate chicken wings, salad and ribs for lunch. Didn't actually eat any pizza. How strange.

Rode all manner of kiddie rides, bought all manner of snacks and came home with two new balloons. One blew away just as we were walking in our building. The policeman couldn't catch it. Bummer.

Brain surgeon and his wife and 7-year old daughter took us home in their hybrid Toyota Prius. I invited them up to play. They declined. I asked again. They declined. I insisted. They agreed.

Girls played with beads forever while brain surgeon, wife and I chatted about raising kids, living in a cross-cultural situation (they briefly lived in america) and whether or not science and faith can coexist.

Seven year old girl tells me she can play the piano. I open the lid for her, expecting her to pound out a cute little melody with one hand. She curls her fingers, takes a deep breath and I pick my jaw up off the floor.

I give them hello dollies. Wife tells me they are really good, not like other american desserts that "make her hair stand up." Not kidding. That's actually what she said.

They leave. Clean up toys. Make popcorn for dinner. Put in a movie to watch with the girls. Decide it's not a good movie for my kids to watch - hello? fighting? blood? guns? No. Watch a movie about a princess instead.

Hugs. Kisses. Bedtime music. Daddy calls. More hugs. More Kisses. Samantha gets spanked for getting out of bed and throwing toys. More hugs.

Ooooooh, it's only 9:30. Take a bath. Watch the rest of movie I nixed earlier.

Dry off. Sit at computer to blog. Only 25 more minutes to make this day productive!

not contagious

I picked up a friend from the train station this afternoon.

After a short queue in the taxi line, we hopped in and told the driver where we wanted to go.

We chatted in the taxi, said our "good-to-see-you's" and started catching up on the events we had missed.

Several minutes later, the driver eyes me through the rearview mirror.

"Where are you from?" he asks me.

A common questions - I probably have answered it a thousand times.

"America," I told him quickly, then started chatting with my friend again, eager to resume our story exchange.

"Hasufhfddas soaidfasdfksldn kfhodi flknzx,znzlfaiosdufio?" he asked me.

(me thinking) What in the world did he just say? I didn't understand a single word. Maybe I'll ask him again...this doesn't sound like a question I normally get asked.

Asking again didn't help. But the third time did.

"So swine flu has entered our country because of people in America and Canada. You said you guys were from America. Do you have swine flu?"

I did my best to reassure him that we were safe, but I couldn't help but notice his suspicious glances through the rearview mirror...

how true

We've been reading a new book each week from the Five In A Row curriculum, as part of our "Emma-is-home-all-the-time" activities.

This week's book is Lentil, by Robert McCloskey. It's about a boy who eventually saves his town from embarrassment through is rockin harmonica playing skills.

Early on in the book, it says "...so Lentil decided he would become an expert."

The girls and I talked about an expert, and what exactly it meant. I gave them a few examples...

Our house helper is an expert at cooking local food...

Daddy is an expert at studying languages...

and then emma pipes up - "Samantha and I are experts...at playing!"

Hmmmm. How true!

so your heart can be happy too

One thing I really miss about America is going shopping.  Not just shopping, but shopping in places where there are cute things.  Cute things that I would buy. Cute things that I would buy that would fit me.  

But since I'm not in America, I have the next best thing.  Every so often, the postman rings my doorbell and I open it up to receive...shopping.  

A big huge box of shopping.  

It's almost like going to the outlet malls, buying a bunch of stuff, and sending it to myself.  Oh wait, that's what it is!  But it's my parents doing it all.  My dad, the shopper who could give any woman shopper a run for her money, and my mom, who somehow manages to keep up with him, sent me a big box of shopping recently.  

There was cute stuff for everyone in there, but Abby got especially lucky with lots of new clothes.  So I got a few pictures in her new clothes - mostly so in ten years, I can remember that it's her because she's the only kid pictured in these clothes.  

And here's some of her pictures, so your heart can be happy too:

The truth is, I'm not a fab picture taker. I often have one child clinging to me, therefore disrupting my balance.  I'm not patient enough to get the lighting right.  Most definetely not patient enough to figure out all those buttons on my camera...but I sure am thankful for a great camera.  It forces me, compels me to take pictures of my kids.  And I sure like those kids.  

preschool activity - a very original title, I know.

Just for the record, Emma is out of preschool for the month of may - and maybe longer - due to the hand, foot and mouth thing going around our area.  One scare of HFM is enough for me!  So since Emma and Samantha both are at home every day now, we've started using the Five in a Row curriculum (can you call it a curriculum??) to give us some daily activities and structure.  It's been fun times so far.  

I've been surprised that even though she was only going to school three hours a day, three days a week, it's taking some getting used to having her back at home all the time. I think samantha enjoyed her "own time" and emma really enjoyed playing with other friends.  

In the past, emma would always ask me, "Mommy, can I stay home today?"  But last night after bedtime prayers, she asked me "When do I get to go back to school?"  (That was right after the "You and daddy are going to buy me a dog soon, right?" question...)

Anyway, here are some pictures of happier days.  A few Sundays ago, there was a little athletic event at school.  All the parents came, water bottles in tote for their little ones.  Then there was us, toting our kids who toted their own water bottles.  There had been some organization and preparation for the event ahead of time - one day from school, emma was sent home with a sheet of paper listing the events and activities that would take place.  Josh sat down right away and started translating it, so emma would be prepared for everything.  I nearly cried at his thoughtfulness.  

Then he discovered that Emma would need some help doing the "baton relay".  She had no idea what it was.  It's not like we run through our living room passing the baton or anything.  But - now we do! We had a little practice session so that emma would be ready.  She also kept humming this truly annoying little melody that stuck in my head for days, and then I realized it was part of a presentation for the event, so I decided I'd sacrifice my sanity and keep encouraging her to sing it.  

Ok, that's enough background.  On to the pictures, because they are really funny.  

Here's all the little kiddos, sitting in kiddie chairs next to a parent.  Kids were divided into 4 teams - red, green, blue, and yellow.  Emma was on the green team and proudly wore her shiny green emblem on her jacket until it got too hot and then took off her jacket.  Green team, see ya.  Samantha wanted to be near the action, so one of the teachers (identified by the smashing hot pink jackets pulled a chair over to the side for her.  

Socializing before everything gets started...
All lined up in their little rows...totally blending in.  You'd have thought we were born there...

Um, yeah. I'm not kidding.  I took a moment to pause my regularly-scheduled picture taking to get this little guys' hair.  I wish I could say he was an exception, but...

Let's have some team spirit!
When did she get all grown up?  Can someone please stop this???

Oooh, oooh, here come the baton relay pics.  I'm going to post a blow-by-blow in pictures since you weren't there to experience it live.  Emma grabs the baton from red-jacket-boy...
...and grabs it tight so she won't drop it...
...then, does she run?  No.  Does Emma ever run? No. She prances.  I'm not kidding you, she pranced the entire length of her leg.  You can see air under her feet.  She's prancing.  It's a wonder I got any pictures because I was laughing so hard.  And clapping.  And feeling so super proud of my happy daughter.  
...still prancing, about to turn the corner...
...she can feel the wind in her face, the rush of adreneline, the cheers of the crowd...or something like that...

When I uploaded my photos after the event, this picture broke my heart even though the actual moment lasted no longer than a second.  As she was nearing the end, she got to a spot where she wasn't sure what to do - lots of people were yelling, we weren't anywhere near her team, and even though she had been doing so great, she hesitated and cast this vulnerable look over to her daddy.  Am I going the right way?  Is this right?  A nod and clap from daddy proved to be all the encouragment she needed, but every time I see this picture - ten or twelve times later - my tummy still flips a little.  
...a few more jumps and she passed the baton to another.  Whew!  
Next was some bizarre activity that involved the parent cutting newspaper in such a way that it could be hung over the child.  Apparantly, josh's paper skills were unsatisfactory because Emma's BFF's mom felt the need to loan her paper to them.   Hmmm....
One big hit of the afternoon was the adult tug-of-war game.  I was nervous for josh to do it, because sometimes he has various ailments that don't need any extra help ailing.  His knees and joints and back are doing just fine hurting by themselves, thank you very much.  But he's a guy, and he's big and all the other moms and dads were clamoring to get him on their team. And then they were clamoring to get him in front, where all the action is.  
I'm sure you're surprised to hear that their team won...  

There was also an activity where the parents carry the kid on their back and the kid pulls off three "peaches" from this "tree" and then they run back.  I was amazed at the level of parental cheating.  But we didn't.  It was too fun to cheat - why cheat?  

Are there things we don't like about emma's school? Oh yeah.  When she came home and asked me why the older boys in the class down the hall say mean things to her, did I want to pull her out of that school as fast as I can eat a piece of chocolate cake?  You'd better believe it.  But, there are so many good things about it.  She really likes going, likes her friends, likes being social.  Here's her best bud and her:
bff, emma, and her other "boy" friend -what's with all this kissing anyway?  (Isn't it interesting seeing mantha in the background watching emma?)

Bang that gong, mantha!  This activity is over!!!