kids4change

2009-03-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to change the order of the pictures so we'll work backwards again!

It seems like I may have jumped the gun a little on thinking that we HAVE to become more structured or else they won't do anything. The last few weeks Anna AND Ella have been on a writing burst... they've written songs and stories and interviews and books! ALL without having to be asked or prompted! What a joy it was for me to go into their room and see them both writing on their beds!

But we HAVE started to do something a little more structured. It's still fairly easy going and Anna seems to love it so far, so we'll continue with it and see how it goes.

Ella has enjoyed making up stories about the One Eyed Monster. I have no idea where she got this idea, but supposedly it lives on her shoulder!

Here are a few of it's babies:

She took some of her cutting "work" and turned it into an One Eyed Monster! She taped this on her bed, but when it came time to go to sleep she made me move it because it scared her:)

Puzzle time! Anna is sticking to it a little more now... Ella's attention span is still pretty short.

My beautiful girls in their new matching dresses! This picture was taken today! Thanks Mei Mei!

2009-03-04T06:02:00.000-08:00

We'll start with yesterday and work backwards.

Well, we are still getting over being sick and my decision to totally re-organize everything (again), in hopes that we will find something that works for our family.

Anna read to us from the book that GG and Mei Mei worked so hard on. GG wrote the stories, Mei Mei edited, inserted pictures and made the book. This book has made a resurgence. Anna reads it before bed each night, and Ella LOVED hearing the stories as Anna read it aloud. She read to us while I was folding laundry. She did a great job, read with such expression. She is really gifted at public speaking and drama. You would never suspect this by her personality, but it's true. I need to figure out ways to develop this in her.

From my recent trip to IKEA we had some leftover boxes... nothing more fun then that! Anna made a Bella Sara club house. I tried not to interfere too much and let her figure it out. I watched her plan, try things, figure out it wouldn't work and then re-plan. I wanted to get in there and help and each time I did we would get frustrated with each other. I decided to leave it up to her... she did a great job.

Of course, Ella wanted to make a rocket ship! She planned out the design and I did the cutting. She hoped that Romeo would be her co-pilot, but no such luck. He wanted nothing to do with the rocket ship.

Last week we took a field trip to Mosquito Lagoon. They had a chance to play on the beach for a while. It was beautiful miles of unspoiled beach... no hotels or cars in sight! There were not even any other people in sight! It was neat to be the first and only footprints in the sand. They discovered all kinds of shells and lots of Porteguese man-of-war. They noted the difference in the sand texture on this beach in comparison to the beach we usually go to... the sign said that this beach had "long grain sand." We talked about why it was so different and how people and cars effect the texture.

Our tour guide was a wonderful Christian and a real lover of history! It's amazing how people who love something can spark excitement in others. It's infectious! The kids were curious and thougthful. Homeschoolers are awesome! I really enjoyed talking to the guide and asking questions. There is so much I DIDN'T learn in school. SO MUCH! I realized that I know VERY little about FL history. Our little co-op has decided to study FL history next year together!

Tomorrow

2009-03-03T19:23:00.001-08:00

Pictures coming tomorrow, Mom. I promise. Just too tired right now!

Math Day

2009-02-25T14:06:00.000-08:00

Monday is Math Day. Anna focused on counting by 5's, 10's and 25's using coins and learned how to count change quickly in her head. We played this great coin game where you roll the di and take out the corresponding number of pennies. Once you get 5, you can exchange for a nickel. Once you get 2 nickels you exchange for a dime. The first one to $1.00 is the winner. She loved this!

While we were playing this game, Ella sorted change.

Next we played with the colored bears and animals. I had a di with colors on it and made different colored circles on a sheet of paper. They roll the di and pick an animal that color to place on a circle that is the same color. First one to cover their entire page wins. They both loved this game.

Trying to find a fun, hands on way to memorize the multiplication table. This week we focused on 1 and 2 x's tables. Anna had a paper plate with a mult. problem written on it. She had to find the right answer written on a clothes pin and pin into the corresponding problem.

Ella simply matched up number to number.

Ella also made patterned beads, counted bears, did a few dot-to-dot pictures, and a couple of mazes.

Anna also did 20 mazes (she loved this).

They both enjoyed math day. The plan is to make activities like this every Mon. and do them together. Then I will leave them on a shelf for them to do on their own throughout the week. Hoping to pull that together this week.

Sorry, Mom!

2009-02-23T20:51:00.000-08:00

I tried for a long time to post pictures tonight, mom. But it wouldn't work. Will try again tomorrow!

2009-02-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what you would call what we are doing right now. I think we are starting to find a bit of a groove. We've been all over the place and I've been tempted, more then once, to get back to the good ole trusty textbooks. They are safe and I know that they will learn something with them. I'm not sure that they will retain it or even like it. But, by golly, I will feel like we're doing something.

We've been kind of going with the flow. I plan a million things. We do a few of those things, but most the time we end up doing something different all together.

Every Monday we are consistently doing the Think Challenges (kidswhothink.blogspot.com). This has been so great... for all of us.

She likes Sudoku a little... so we do that some.

We play games like Pet Shop with cards that have pictures of pets and a price on them. They are given coins and have to add the change up to give me the correct amount. They learn to budget. They sometimes have to figure out what change they would get back.

We visited the Planetarium and we fell in love with the night sky. I checked out a bunch of books from the library about our solar system and we are slowly going through them. I could easily overwhelm them with it all and go too far in depth so that they get bored and want to run off. I don't want that to happen. I want to feed their fire not smother it. We are starting with the moon and will next move to the sun.

They are both in a pretty good habit of reading their Bibles every morning after breakfast. Anna has an easy to read Bible that she enjoys. Every single time after she reads she comes to me with a question about it. It's great to know she is processing the story, comprehending it and thinking about it critically enough to come up with some really great questions. They are also writing in a prayer journal every day.

Anna loves to make up clubs. This time it's the Bella Sara club. Boy is she ORGANIZED! She's got a folder that she created and it is filled with everything she needs for a successful club. Our whole family joined:) and she tried to get her friends interested in it today. They obliged her for a while, but weren't really into it. It has gotten her writing, organizing information, and creating. So, I'm pleased.

They are listening to books on tape just about every night. I like this routine.

I still feel like we aren't doing enough, but I have to let go of that. They ARE learning and loving what they learn. They are thinking and creating and that is more then I can say for most kids. I have to give us room so that we can grow into the kind of education that our family needs.

2009-01-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

Evidently, this is gaining a lot of popularity in the traditional school setting... found this on an education site.

Chard defines project learning as an "in-depth investigation of a real-world topic worthy of children's attention and effort." She advocates a three-phased approach: Phase 1 involves an initial discussion of a project topic, including children's firsthand experiences related to the topic. Phase 2 involves fieldwork, sessions with experts, and various aspects of gathering information, reading, writing, drawing, and computing. Phase 3 is the presentation of the project to an audience.

If schoolchildren are given the gift of exploration, society will be the beneficiary, both in practical and in theoretical ways, scholars say. "This is the way that mathematics started," notes MIT's Seymour Papert. "It started not as this beautiful, pure product of the abstract mind. It started as a way of controlling the water of the Nile, building the pyramids, sailing a ship. And gradually it got richer and richer."

Kids who are excited about what they learn tend to dig more deeply and to expand their interest in learning to a wide array of subjects. They retain what they learn rather than forget it as soon as they disgorge it for a test. They make connections and apply their learning to other problems. They learn how to collaborate, and their social skills improve. They are more confident talking to groups of people, including adults. And, as a number of research reports suggest, project-based learning correlates positively with improved test scores, reduced absenteeism, and fewer disciplinary problems.

Examples of projects applicable to the here and now abound:

At Mountlake Terrace High School, in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, teams of students in a high school geometry class design a state-of-the-art high school for 2050. The students create a site plan, make simple architectural drawings of rooms and a physical model, draw up a budget, and write a narrative report. They present their work to real architects, who judge the projects and "award" the contract.
At Newsome Park Elementary School, in Newport News, Virginia, second graders curious about the number of medicines a classmate takes and her frequent trips to the doctor investigate -- with the classmate's permission -- the causes of cystic fibrosis. They invite experts to tell them about the disease, write up their research, use graphs and PowerPoint to tell the story, sell pledges to a cystic fibrosis walk-a-thon, and participate in the event.
At the Mott Hall School, in New York City's Harlem district, a fifth-grade project on kites involves using creative writing skills in poems and stories with kite themes. While designing their own kites on the computer and then making them by hand, students learn about electromagnetism and the principles of ratios and proportions. A casual remark by one student leads to an in-depth study of the role of kites in various cultural celebrations.

Useful Websites:
http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning
http://www.projectapproach.org/
http://kidswhothink.blogspot.com/

Ex. of Elementary Using Project Based Learning:
http://www.edutopia.org/newsome-park
http://www.edutopia.org/hula-high-tech-video
http://www.edutopia.org/beginning-journey-five-year-olds-drive-their-own-pbl-projects

Birds in his head

2009-01-07T20:51:00.001-08:00

Daedalus
by Alastair Reid

My son has birds in his head.
I know them now. I catch
the pitch of their calls, their shrill
cacophonies, their chitterings, their coos.
They hover behind his eyes and come to rest
on a branch, on a book, grow still,
claws curled, wings furled.
His is a bird world.

I learn the flutter of his moods,
his moments of swoop and soar.
From the ground I feel him try
the limits of the air —
sudden lift, sudden terror —
and move in time to cradle
his quivering, feathered fear.
At evening, in the tower,
I see him to sleep and see
the hooding-over of eyes,
the slow folding of wings.
I wake to his morning twitterings,
to the croomb of his becoming.

He chooses his selves — wren, hawk,
swallow or owl — to explore
the trees and rooftops of his heady wishing.
Tomtit, birdwit.
Am I to call him down, to give him
a grounding, teach him gravity?
Gently, gently.
Time tells us what we weigh, and soon enoughhis feet will reach the ground.
Age, like a cage, will enclose him.
So the wise men said.

My son has birds in his head.

Provocations

2009-01-07T20:41:00.000-08:00

Wonderfully, juicy stuff from: www.whiteoakschool.com~

After reading about education for more than a decade, I find that I am drawn again and again to the same core ideas, no matter who is talking about them — authentic art, children orchestrating their own learning, thoughtful and purposeful adults working with children, long-term projects.
Reggio educators talk about “provocations” — deliberate and thoughtful actions taken by adults to provoke or extend children’s thinking.

Unschoolers talk about “strewing” the environment.

This shared concept recognizes that children (like all people) would rather make their own discoveries than be told what to do.

One very successful experiment we made with a group of three- and four-year-olds: We set a lovely bouquet of spring daffodils in the art studio in a beautiful vase, on a small pine table. Next to the table was an easel, a very familiar site in the studio, which had several easels. Instead of being set up with the normal selection of paints, however, there were many glass jars filled with an abundance of different shades of yellow and green. Not just one yellow, but six different subtle shades of yellow. Not just one green, but an amazing selection of greens, from light citrusy green-yellow to dark glossy green.

The juxtaposition of these things was a provocation. No one pointed them out to the children, saying “Look at this! Look at the colors!” No one asked, “Would you like to paint the daffodils?” They were simply in the studio, waiting to be discovered. The children found them, were delighted, and created beautiful paintings. They had new ideas about mixing colors; in fact, their ideas were taken to a whole new level from red + blue = purple. They understood the possibilities, and they immediately incorporated them into their thinking and began hatching new ideas of their own.

We talked about how we wanted students to interact with our classroom. We didn’t want them to come in and know every day that the block area contained this and the art studio had that. We wanted them to come in every day and not know what they might find. This, we felt, would encourage them to see their classroom as a dynamic, ever-evolving environment where anything could happen. In turn, we felt being on their toes all the time would help encourage habits of curiosity and interest.

Rather than put every material out on the first day of school, we added things throughout the year. Rather than announcing any new addition as a special treat and drawing attention to it (which creates the additional problem of 15 children wanting to use it at once), we simply added things and let them be discovered. Then the children told each other and showed each other.

At home, I still value this curriculum of curiosity. I think about how much my actions — careless or thoughtful, accidental or purposeful — affect my children’s attitudes and habits. I think about what a different reaction you elicit when you say “Look at this thing for you to do; here, this is how you do it” rather than simply creating an environment of possibility.

The difference between having an art studio and having art materials in a drawer is that the first acts as a constant provocation — the easel always beckons, the art materials call to you from their sunny shelf. Using that as inspiration, I try to make sure the rest of our home is filled with things that beckon — books, sketchbooks, journals, music, cozy nooks, science tools, field guides, binoculars. And always, always, most important — room to work. A clean table, an empty place on the floor. Not only exciting new things to find and use, but a place to use them.

Back to the daffodils ... I wonder what would have happened if we had put out the same flowers, the same paints, and then told the children that everyone would take turn painting the flowers. No wonder, no excitement of discovery, no figuring out what was there. No deciding what to do with your find, no thrill of showing another child. Instead, a defined task and 14 other people doing it, too. What habits and attitudes does that teach?

Day One: I'm a control freak

2009-01-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

We headed out to Michael's to buy a sketch book for this project. I had no idea they were so expensive! We're going to have to rethink the sketch book or find it cheaper somewhere else. Automatically, I stepped in... dictating everything from the thickness to where and how it was bound. Soon, she backed off and let me pick it out... and stood around bored. NOT a good start. On the way to the store she got out her sketch pad and pencils and started to draw. She drew a spool of thread and how she thought that the thread was woven together to make fabric. I loved this. Ella grabbed my sketch pad and started working on her own "project" she said. She drew a trash can and some worms crawling out of it and said, "I want to know how worms get in trash cans!" Oiy. She's started young!

I prompted Anna, just a little:), on speaking politely and clearly... totally psyche her out for this... like I thought that she would be impolite??? She's the sweetest girl ever! I just felt the need to put in my two cents. CONTROL. When we got there, I tried to follow her lead. She wandered over to the fabric and started feeling stuff. Immediately I started talking about what is this fabric made of and what does this one say that it is? She was interested for a nano-second. I wrote down words like, "Organza, mesh, rayon, cotton... 100%... 60% 40%..." My mind raced a mile a minute. I had visions of fabric swatches and magnifying glasses and math lessons dancing in my head. Anna... not so much.

She wanted to find a lady and ask her question. We scoped all the workers out and she finally settled on the lady that sells the sewing machines. Anna spoke in a nice, clear, polite tone... "Excuse me, could you tell me how fabric is made?" The lady looked a little shocked and immediately asked, "Is this for school?" So what do I do? I open my big trap and say, "Yes!" If there were ever a book written about 101 ways to kill a project, I would be the author! The lady went on to say that threads are woven together on a loom. She said she didn't know how to explain it any easier. She looked at me and told me to look online or at the library. She mentioned that we could probably find a hand loom that would give us a better idea of how it's made. I was all on this. Anna... not so much. I dragged them through every aisle. They both clearly wanted to go home. Finally, I relented my control and said, "OK. Let's go."

When we got out, I couldn't resist... "Well, what's next?," I say. "Well, now I want to know how to make thread."

BUT... we aren't through exploring the fabric issue yet. Let's go online and find out how to make our own loom. Let's find a book about how Indians use to do it and compare it with how they do it now. How about finding out how they make fabrics with such cool designs.

I resisted.

So, I'm not sure how this going to go. Her mind doesn't think logically enough. She's not asking the right questions (or the ones I would have her to ask.) If she goes to the library and finds some boring pictureless books or gets on the internet and has to sift through useless garbage before she gets to a good sight then won't she loose interest? Don't I need to find these things for her first? Is she too young to look this stuff up herself?

The point is for HER to find it, her to ask the questions, her to explore, her to develop sifting skills, reason and logic. Not me. (Although, I sure could use some help in these areas myself.)

I think her interest in this is minimal at this point. I'm wondering if I should just let it go or keep on? What do I do next that won't be leading her, but opening up her mind to explore?

I think that I might set out some fabric and a magnifying glass and see what she does. She did ask to go to the library tomorrow, so I'm going to take her there.

Clearly, the hardest part of this project learning is ME... getting over myself, getting over my control issues, getting over my own disabilities.

Right now, the girls are playing together in their room. I hear Ella yelling, "All aboard! We're going to Haiti to save the children! Let's go!" Not many kids find themselves playing "save a life." I love that their hearts are being opened to compassion and helping others at such a young age.

I still have questions about whether this style of learning will teach the girls the things they "need" to know. I can see how projects could include different aspects of science and history and math, etc. But history is chronological. Shouldn't it be learned in that manner? Math concepts build on one another. Shouldn't they start at the basics first? More questions then answers. We'll follow this where it leads and find out.

I am debating about whether I should set up some math "activities" and lay them out for her to choose what she wants to do. Perhaps, adding a bit of a montessori flavor to this would be a good idea.

This is a great experiment.

Jumping off a cliff

2009-01-06T19:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, mom... apparently Ella can blog now. I didn't even know that she had posted that blog until today. I showed a few friends this site and saw it there. How in the world did she manage to find this site, get into the posting setting, and actually publish it? Hmmm....

I've been reading a lot recently about project-based learning. It fits right along with the unschooling philosophy and blends in nicely with the "interest-based learning" that I've been thinking about lately. If you want to read more then please check out: http://www.whiteoakschool.com/

Anna asked me today why weren't starting school like her friend is? I told her that I am changing my philosophy on education and kind of just bared my sould as to what I hope for her as a learner. I told her that I wanted to help her learn about what SHE wants to know, that I wanted to help her discover what she loves, that I wanted her to learn HOW to learn and to love learning. I talked with her in brief about this project based learning and her eyes lit up. Immediately she asks, "Mom... how do people make fabric?" Uh, what??? NOT the topic I would have chosen, but OK. Let's roll with it. SO, I say, "Great question! Let's find out! How do you think we could find an answer to that question?" Because the whole point of this is not that she find the answer, but that she learns HOW to find the answer... that she learns HOW to learn, how to discover, how to ask good questions, how to be resourceful, how to piece together information, how to think critically and logically. So the process is JUST as important (if not more so) then the end result. Anna says, "I don't know. Maybe we could go to the fabric store and ask them." My mind starts whirling. Fabric store- Joanne's. Does the lady making $6.50 an hour at Joanne's know how fabric is made? Will she look at us like we are CRAZY? Will she treat my sweet Anna nicely? Will she encourage her learning instead of discouraging her? Oh me oh my oh!

Well, we'll find out! Stay tuned!

Honestly, this whole approach is thrilling, exhilirating, and terrifying all at the same time! I don't know how in the heck it's all gonna go down:) But it's a thrill to take my daughter's hand, put my trust in her God-given natural ability to learn and be curious, and follow that wherever it leads.

I have to admit, though, that almost all of my fear is due to the fact that I was traditionally schooled and do not know education in any other light. Do I REALLY know how to learn myself? Do I LOVE learning? Do I still have a natural curiousity or has it been damaged beyond repair by years of being spoon fed knowledge? Do I know my own interests and passions? Do I really know myself? How can I help her discover herself if I don't even know me?

Perhaps this is the great journey! I am leading my daughter on a path to discovery and along the way, I have a feeling that I will be discovering myself!

Fun and Fear. That is what I feel right now!

fdrddfg

2009-01-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

dfrghtgfjgjhtkmiupy;o'p
[kiuhj;pioj;[io[;opiioujkuiliukhjvjk.
j.gmcd.,bv,bm,.b.
bbnmv,c.hmb,gcmhg,hmv,hngm,cjhmghcj,mghmmyjhgm,.,hmjh,jgh.f,
jht,.n,hjgm,.mgh,httfkl.hglm,jmklhg,nhn,.j,.hjm.,hkj.n,.ytjulj.lk
u,.gj.,

2008-12-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

I also thought it was worth mentioning that all throughout the day today, E. kept saying, "I was wondering why.... or I was thinking about.... or I wonder if...." Even Big Daddy caught onto it. Perhaps she felt "heard" today and knew that if she wanted to know things that she just had to ask and we would be there to help her learn about whatever interests her.

I can already feel myself becoming more "in-tune" with the girls. It's nice.

2008-12-04T08:51:00.001-08:00

So THIS is how unschooling works. I spent all night reading up on it, fretting about it, and wondering how in the world it works. Big Daddy asked me if I had a plan for tomorrow. I listed several cool projects I wanted to do with the girls and went to sleep. Well, NONE of those plans happened today. But I pushed those plans aside and followed their lead. I'm so glad that I did.

I woke up to the sound of E. hissing like a snake. "I'm a snake mommy!," she said. "I'm a nice snake, not the kind that will hurt you." We played mean snake/nice snake for a while and then I remembered that we had several books on reptiles. I pulled them out and she was so excited. We laughed at the pictures. Several times I would try to read some of the words about the snakes/reptiles or try to read their names. She had a little patience for this, but I tried desperately not to push it. A. must have heard us laughing and oowing and awwing over the pictures because soon she woke up and joined us on the couch looking at pictures. "Daddy told me (such and such) about this snake. At camp they caught this kind of snake. It's the most poisonous in N. America. Did you know that the constrictors are the longest snakes." Wow! How in the world did she know all of this. Where did she pick up such a plethora of info on the reptile world? She wanted to know more about each snake and E. obliged.

I asked E. what letter snake starts with and told her about the letter S. We traced them on her leg, saw snakes in our reptile books that were making the S shape and talked about how snakes even make the S sound... hisssss. She didn't want to try writing the letter S on paper so I didn' push it.

We got out playdough and made little snake families. I put scales and little details on mine and coiled it up like a constrictor. The kids weren't interested in making detailed snakes or identifying them... just wanted to be creative and invent their own snakes. I didn't push.

A. tired of that and decided to try some finger knitting. She still only lasted 5 minutes, but she did it on her own accord and enjoyed it for the time it lasted. Maybe one day I'll look in her room and see her finishing up a whole scarf.

We moved their bookshelf into their room and the girls played library.

E. brought out her Bible picture book to me and asked me to read the story about Moses and the Red Sea.

We designed a snow motif shelf for their collection of snow babies that Great Grandmother gave us. A. wanted elevation so she used some white plastic bowls to elevate some of them.

A. asked me if snakes have ears. I didn't know so we went straight to the internet. Thank goodness for the internet! We checked out a site with a diagram of the internal organs of a snake and read that a snake has no outside ears, but the do hear sound through internal ear holes that register the vibration of sound. We learned a few other cool facts, but scrolled down to the bottom of the page to find this picture of conjoined snakes.

We read some interesting facts about them. A and E. were blown away by this and couldn't believe that it was real. And then I showed them a clip on Youtube about these conjoined twins.

They were mesmerized. We talked about the implications of being a conjoined twin and VERY lightly touched on how they got that way. They asked interesting questions and thought very critically about the difficulties and benefits of being a conjoined twin.

On our way out to the reptile store today a neighbor actually came to our house and asked Big Daddy to take a lizard from out of her washer. It seems that the lizard went for a swim while she did her wash and now she was too afraid to handle the lizard and wanted Big Daddy to help. The girls were all over this. E. (who is fearless when it comes to lizards and frogs... much more so then A.), picked him up and carried him home. We put him in a jar with holes and A. gathered some materials to make his home "cozy" (she is always nesting:). It was odd that today, of all days, our neighbor would come over with a lizard problem... just the same day that we were studying reptiles. Really. How often does that happen? I may be overdoing it, but it just felt like a sign from God that we are going in the right direction... that I should trust Him to provide wonderful opportunities along the way and that He will make sure that they learn all that He intends for them to learn.

We went to the reptile store and saw some really cool bearded dragons, a ball python and different kinds of geckos. We saw the lady feeding the lizards crickets. They were amazed that their tongues stuck out so far and grabbed a hold of the cricket.

I will admit that they tired of it fast and spent most of their time petting the cat that lived at the store:) I didn't push it (although, I wanted too:). We bought some small crickets for our new pet lizard.

On the way home I stopped by an Education store to pick up an item that I had ordered. The girls went to a Fish store next door and came back telling me about the very cool puffer fish. I'm thinking frequent trips to pet stores and zoos will keep their interest up in learning about all kinds of creatures.

When we got home the girls played happily outside until A. decided to let our pet lizard go into the wild. Why she did this I have no idea. E. was so upset about this. She cried hysterically for a very long time. I put A. in her bed for a time out for doing it. She didn't consult the rest of the family before she made the decision and needed some time to think about her actions. She felt terrible about it once she realized how upset E. was. She made E. a picture of the lizard. She DID actually write on the card. It wasn't much, but I was thrilled to see her writing!

Before dinner we broke out the new "toy" I got from the Education store. It's attribute blocks that form patterns and/or make pictures. E. tried it a few times, but grew frustrated easily. She soon wanted to get rid of the picture pattern and do her "own thing." A. never did use any of the picture patterns and insisted on during her own thing to. The old Mommy would have insisted that they do the puzzle until they completed it. Not this time. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they both made pretty incredible patterns of their own. It seems that both my girls would prefer to think "outside of the box" and create their own things.

E. brought out a book about idioms, of all things! We read through it and soon A. had joined us. They both really enjoyed this. A. seemed to get a few of them, but E. mostly just liked the funny illustrations. We discussed other popular idioms. Perhaps I should find some more on the internet and print them off. Maybe they would enjoy that. I was glad that we did get some "Language Arts" in today:)

We created snowmen and other "creatures" out of marshmellows tonight. It was suppose to look like this.

I started off giving directions, but soon enough they had their own way of doing things:) E. made a snow monster with many toothpicks hanging from every where. A. made a mama snowman and a baby. Then she drew a house for them to live in and put the baby in a crib. So A! This didn't hold their interest nearly as long as it held mine:)

We read more of our Little House book today. This is starting to not hold their interest anymore. We're almost done. We'll see if they make it to the end.

All in all, it was an exciting day. I felt thrilled to follow them on this journey today and watched it unfold before my eyes in a way that I never could have planned on my own... or if I had, it wouldn't have been half as much fun. I do see how this could get so tiresome, trying to "fan their flames" and follow their rabbit trails. They are energetic and eager little girls... my old, out of shape self is just going to have to learn how to keep up. God give me strength!

It was also neat to notice how they fed off of each other's interests.

2008-12-03T20:37:00.001-08:00

A. went to cake decorating class and drama class. She loves these two classes... loves to be creative... loves to imagine.

Rented and watched Felicity. A. noted the way they always talked so politely and formally and started calling me "Mother".

Watched Extreme Makeover home edition. The girls love this. Like helping those in need. E. says when someone's house gets old that she wants to build them a new one... maybe I should look into some kind of architect books... or at least building homes type crafts.

Learned to finger knit. She liked this but her attention span was so small. She started this twice... each time spending only 5 min. each. She LOVED the scarf that I made her and wanted to wear it right away.

Went to Subway. They have Wizards of Waverly Place toys. On the toy they asked a bunch of trivia questions about the show. She got almost every single one right and was so excited. She really absorbs and remembers the things she is interested in and delights at showing that off to others.

E. took off her own clothes and put her own PJs on for the first time... was SO SO SO proud of herself.

We read a couple chapters of Little House Christmas book.

Ended with two books on tape: Cinderella and Fox and the Hound.

A. stayed up for about 30 min. reading her Felicity #2 book. I assumed that I would read these books aloud to her, as I was afraid she couldn't read them on her own. I haven't set any "times" when she HAS to read. In the past, she has begged to ONLY read ONE chapter... didn't want to read more (and these were books that SHE chose and SHE liked... but I made her sit down and read them a little each day.) She read the first Felicity book all in one day and is now nearly done with the second. Hmmm...

No writing today. She needs to write more without me forcing it. Hmmm...