First, Do No Harm

...but if you do, then at least be sure to properly bandage your victim.

Losing a Tooth

Eva lost her first tooth!  It dangled and jangled for the longest time, but there was no way she'd let us yank it out.  Finally, while we were visiting some friends, it popped out!  Our hostess, J, put it in a baggie so that Eva could bring it home and put it under her pillow.  Sadly, even with the baggie precautions, it got lost in the hub-bub of the evening.  J will probably find it when she is spring cleaning. 

No worries, though.  Tooth fairies don't dwell on the details.  They'll take your word for it if you leave a nice note explaining why your tooth is not in its rightful place.

Here's Evie - one tooth poorer and one dollar richer.

If You Can't Say Something Nice...

A bit of background:  There have been times when the kids have stuck up their noses at things - my cooking, a handmade gift, etc.  I've been very adament that they never openly criticize someone else's labours because, after all, someone took the time to think of them and make whatever it was.

Now the story...


Grammy L. gave the girls new colouring books and they've been colouring up a storm for the last couple days.  Eventually, Maddie came to a picture of a prince that she thought lacked a bit in the "handsome" department. 

Maddie:  Why would anyone want to marry a prince like that?!

Eva:  Maddie!  Don't say that!

Maddie:  Why not?

Eva:  It's not nice.  Somebody worked really hard at making that colouring book.

There you go.  Proof that something I've told them has actually stuck.   

Sisters

Homeschool Christmas Get Together, and My Little Piano Virtuoso

Last night was our annual Homeschool Christmas Concert/Get Together.  Each family or child can participate.  All you need to do is let the coordinator know what you are planning to do, and sign up.  Usually, our family does a little something for each get together.  It's usually a reading, or a poem or something simple.  This year I just hadn't had the chance to organize anything that involves practice.  Lack of time and sleep, I guess. 

So, we went to the Christmas party to watch and encourage the other kids.  And for the food. 

We sang some carols, listened to a couple poems and enjoyed some piano playing.  Those kids are pretty good!  Better than me, anyway.  We were all having a good time when I noticed Eva fidgeting in her seat and whispering with our coordinator.  After the last kid was done, wouldn't you know it - the coordinator announced....Eva!

Now, understand, we hadn't practiced anything and Eva hadn't mentionned a thing to me about performing.  She marched up to the piano, sat at the bench and played a little melody that she just made up as she went along.  It was actually pretty good for a first time at the piano.  She finished her song, got up, turned around, smiled at everyone and sat down.  I'm pretty sure I clapped the loudest of all the parents.

She surprises me sometimes, that one.

Future Doula?

The girls were pretending to be mommies having their babies.  Maddie and Eva discussed which one of them was going to have the breech baby, and which would have their baby head first.  Eva lay on the floor, crying out while she pushed.  I watched from the couch and finally said, "You know, Eva, you don't have to lie on your back to push the baby out."  Maddie pipes up from across the room, "Yeah, you could just squat!" 

I guess they do listen to me! 

Swim Time Video

Some Days are Hard...

We've been having a hard time with our middle one. She is normally the cheerful, snuggly child, but in the last few weeks she seems to have developed an extremely stubborn, whiney, and defiant personality. Perhaps she senses the changes to come with baby? Maybe she resents that I'm no longer able to do all the things I used to with her? Either way, Rich and I have had it up to here!

We went to a friend's house a few days ago. In 2 hours, Eva refused to share, whined for no reason, demanded dessert (no please or thank you), threw a tantrum when she realized it was Jello and not candy, and generally made a ruckus. I tried to hide my red face, and vowed to never let her leave her room again. When we got home, our conversation went like this:

Mom: Hey, Eva, let's play a little game!

Eva: Okay! *giggles & claps*

Mom: It's called the Good or Bad Game. I'll say something and you tell me if it's good or bad. What if you're at someone's house and they offer you lunch. Should you cry?

Eva: *realizes it's a trap* No.

Mom: What if they offer you Jello and you don't want it. Should you throw yourself on the floor and scream?

Eva; *realizes she's been found out and that Daddy now knows her naughty ways* No.

Mom: Let's play another game. It's called the Feeling Game. What if Mommy is at someone's house with Eva and Eva throws a fit. Do you think Mommy feels happy, or embarrassed at Eva's behaviour?

Eva: *quiet pause* I don't want to play anymore.


So, we're trying to figure out what to do about Eva. Any suggestions? Remember, they have to be legal.

I'll post another entry with some ideas I've got.

Swimming Pictures

Here are some photos of the kids swimming!

Maddie - The Fish


Eva - The Duckling, Graedon - The Frog, & Grammy P. - The Enforcer (keeps 'em in line and safe LOL)


Graedon with his very nifty and extremely helpful swimbelt.



I have a video, too, but I'm still working out some bugs with uploading it. Enjoy the last few days of this heat wave!

Portrait of Me

Eva drew this picture of me. Turn your head to the side to see it correctly...




There I am, swimming. I am a mermaid. See the tail and flippers? She also made me with lots and lots of freckles.

I love it.

Daddy and Homeschool

The best part of a holiday is having Daddy at home. We had school this morning, even though every one else had the day off. That way, we can take a day off somewhere else and not suffer too greatly. So, Richard was able to sit in on our typical school day. He even took over teaching math.

It involved the hose.



It also involved my measuring cups and learning about volume.



Eva was the ever attentive observer.



It's so important that both parents be involved in the kids' education - whether homeschooled, public schooled or private schooled. For us, that means that I get more support, feedback and understanding when it comes to any hurdles and celebrations. I love it when Richard asks the girls what they did in school that day. Seeing that he is interested encourages them to try harder, and makes them feel more grown up. It's also a plus that his interest validates the work I put into their education.

Thanks for making homeschooling that much easier, Rich! ;)

Roman Night

Our homeschool group had Roman Night last week. I loved it! The kids were invited to dress up as Romans. Here's a picture of my little Roman girls:



The only picture of a Roman baby/toddler I saw showed the babe naked, so that was going to be my costume for Graedon. Just kidding! I ran out of time, and he had to go as a present-day Canadian boy.

Roman Night was kicked off with a presentation of what a typical Roman's day might be like. Here's our favourite hystorical re-enactor showing us some Roman toys. She spoke about their clothes, jobs, hobbies, family life, etc.



Then everyone was invited to go to different stations where they could try out some Roman activities. There was weaving, dice & marble making, food, match the word/number, etc.



Maddie & Eva also made masks, like at the theatres.



They even tried their hand at making mosaics.



At the end, we were all treated to a mini-feast. Talk about good! Some of the items were olives, grapes, different cheeses, stuffed dates, dried apricots, nuts, cheese spread on bread, sausages, stuffed boiled eggs (with a honey/cumin mixture), and even fake doormice!

I'm really hoping there will be more time periods we can explore in the future!

To Make a Dinosaur Egg

Eva recently did a project on dinosaurs. She presented it in front of the homeschool group (over 60 people!). I thought it'd be fun to make a dinosaur egg to show everyone. Here's how we did it:

First we mixed up a papier maché paste. All it is is flour and enough water to make it the consistency of wallpaper paste (or a thick glue).



Other than that, we used a mold (a balloon the size of a dino egg (I hope?)), and newspaper torn into strips. Also, don't forget an apron. It's messy.



We dipped the newspaper into the paste, removed the excess icky stuff and neatly placed the strips over the balloon until it was entirely covered. Then, we let it dry completely.



When it was dry, we popped the balloon and painted the egg. Actually, that's what we should have done. What we really did was get impatient and pop it too soon. Then we realized that we needed another coat of newspaper because the egg was a bit flimsy. If you try to do that without the mold, it gets the dry parts wet and they cave in and you get a bumpy egg. Oops.


Here's the finished project, bumps and alls!

Chillin'

All education has gaps. Sometimes it's math, sometimes it's science, and sometimes it's vocabulary. No matter how great your child's education and teachers, there are bound to be things they don't learn. I found such a gap in Eva's knowledge today, and it's all my fault. Observe:

The kids were at each other, kicking, crying, pouting and generally being brats. Being the mom, I put on my stern face, raised my stern voice and demanded that they pick up the toys they'd thrown at each other. I then told them to: "Just sit on the couch and CHILL!!"

Eva, throwing her head back and shrieking in sheer desperation: "I don't even know what that MEANS!!"

I'd neglected to teach my kids the very important word of "chill". For shame.

Today's Smile

Eva: Mommy, how do you say "fork" in french?

Me: Fork is "fourchette".

Eva: And in spanish it's "dingelhopper"?

All About Dogs

Our homeschool group had their Zoology Fair tonight. The girls and I had been working on our dog project for a couple weeks. They worked so hard on their poster. They coloured dog pictures (blue, because some dogs are circus dogs), printed titles using my "special" markers, read books about dogs and puppies, visited the pet store and even learned a poem. It was really awesome to be able to see them be so interested and driven to learn about their animal.

I was proud of them just for doing that part. I wasn't really expecting them to do the speech part, although I was hoping they would at least stand with me while I did their presentation. They surprised me, though! Not only did they come to the front with me, they also answered the questions I had prepared and even recited the poem for the crowd! My mama's heart just about burst with pride.

I love that homeschooling gives me the chance to see firsthand how much the girls are learning and developing. They are shy and quiet (sometimes!), but with encouragement and nurturing, they've really come out of their shells. One of the other moms and I were talking today and she mentionned how great it is that the children all play together, regardless of their ages. She had noticed, too, that none of the children has ever ostracized or made fun of her son who has a disability. I am so thankful that my children have the opportunity to socialize in an accepting environment such as this.

We are blessed.

Eva Turns 4!

Eva turns 4 on October 30th! Since I'll be leaving on the 30th (on vacation!!) we celebrated this weekend instead of next. We decided on a Rainbow theme to cheer up the otherwise dull and dreary October.

I painted rainbows on the windows with homemade window paints.

Eva and her guests made a rainbow craft.

Here's the finished product - stained glass rainbows!

Then, we sang Happy Birthday. I think my singing wasn't a big hit from the look on Eva's face!

The cloud cake turned out to really be a rainbow in disguise!

I had Rainbow Brite colouring books and candy sheshkabobs to hand out as favours, but I forgot them in my bedroom where I'd put them for safekeeping. Oops! K, come and get 'em before I eat them all!

Happy Early Birthday, Eva!!

Baby Sock Sushi

Bro R and SIL N are expecting their baby in 6 weeks. 6 weeks! That's hardly enough time to blink! My mom, sister, Maddie, Eva and I were able to make a very quick trip to Québec for the shower.

I tried really hard to think of something for the baby that would really suit my bro and SIL. And then, I saw it on Little Bit Funky. Baby Sock Sushi! Perfect!



I got together a little take-out container, 2 chopsticks, little white baby socks, black felt, black hair elastics and little squares of orange felt. I'm not going to give a tutorial because I'll let Little Bit Funky do that.


In no time, I had Baby Sock Sushi!


Then, because he's my brother and she's my sister-in-law, I didn't feel that 4 pairs of socks were quite a big enough gift. So, I taped together some bills to make a square and I origamied a crane! Depending on how cheap you are, you could do this with 5 dollar bills, 10s, 20s or even 50s. If it's my shower, try to go for 100 dollar bills, though.




It was fun, different, and it was a great conversation prompter. Try it sometime!

Making Reading Relevant

We've worked on readers. We've done the whole "See Spot run" thing. It was a bit, shall we say, Yawn! In the end, though, Maddie especially enjoys stories in which she is the hero. And, so, being the sneaky Mom that I am, I've started making our own stories! Lately, we've been reading about us... The Patterson Family!


I have to remember to use all words that Maddie can spell out. We haven't done the weird phonics, yet, so silent "B"s and "ph" sounds are out. With the practice we've had, though, Maddie can read the story above.

My trick, though, is to leave the top of the page blank. Then, as she reads each sentence correctly, I draw in part of the story. She gets really excited to see what the story will look like at the end. Check out the cute jumper I'm wearing at the campground! Blue really brings out the colour in my cheeks.



No matter what, though, there is always a Mommy cat and her kittens in the drawing. It has nothing to do with the story, but if that's what it takes, then I'll do it!

First Field Trip

Our first field trip of the year with the Homeschool Group - Apple Picking! We bundled up against the wind, rain and cold, and drove to the orchard.


Some of the apples were nearly as big as Graedon's head...and he has a BIG head!


Eva practiced the proper way to pick an apple. You see, you must grasp the apple with the palm of your hand. If you use your fingers, you might bruise it. Then, twist ever so slightly to the left and upend the apple so that it is upside down. It should snap right off, causing little or no damage to the bud that is next year's apple. Whatever you do, don't just twist and yank!!

This apple picking stuff is complicated and serious business!



Back at the apple house, the tour guide showed us their set up. This is a machine that washes the apples, coaxes them up a conveyor belt, feeds them into a sizer and gets rid of all the smallish apples. The small ones are sold at rock bottom prices, or for deer and pig apples.

And, speaking of apples - we picked potatoes this week! Was that too subtle? French for apples is pommes. Potatoes are pommes de terre (earth apples)....I'll give you a minute for that one.


My lovely mother digging the potatoes up. Those branches in the ground are dead potato plants. That's how you know they're ready, I guess.


Each plant will give 6-8 potatoes. Considering it only takes about 1/4 to 1/2 a potato to make a plant, that's a pretty good turnout.


Mmmm...Jems! Eva was very into the potato picking. There was much squealing, clapping and pouncing on the spuds. Every once in a while, there would be a shriek, "Worm!!" and a stomping of feet.

She's so like her mother!