{Isn't Pipilo darling in his little Santa suit? We got that when Buddha was a little tyke. It's supposed to be for a one-year-old, but we made it work. :D The other thing I *love* about this picture is that no one is looking at the camera. Go figure. One chance and this is what I get. :P}
I saw this over at My Ordinary, Every Day, Happily Ever After. This was absolutely fascinating to watch and I completely agree with everything presented here. Our education system needs reform.
Okay, clearly I'm not very good at keeping up this weekly homeschool review thing. But I really want to do it and keep it current, so I'm going to just rededicate myself whenever I fall off the wagon (which will probably be fairly frequently . . . I'm just saying).
This week has been a great one. We've been finding more hands-on math activities. My visiting teacher brought me an old math facts cassette tape of songs that her mother gave to her. We listened to it for a bit, but the songs sort of drove me crazy. I liked the wipe-off practice book that it came with, though! We've also been playing card games that work on addition for Buddha and greater than/less than for Bugga. I'm a huge fan of the card games for math.
The Chief and I set a goal for Buddha to read all of the Magic Tree House books in order to earn a new bike, so he got right to it with the library editions we had lying about the house and has been reading out loud to me, following me around as I move from a load of laundry to a pile of dishes to a dirty diaper change. Whenever he comes across a word he doesn't know, he spells it out for me and I tell him what it is, how to pronounce it, and what it means. We're all about expanding vocabulary! On the 11th, he got his own Magic Tree House books (1-8) for his birthday. He was especially excited about owning Mummies in the Morning, Dinosaurs Before Dark, and Afternoon on the Amazon.
Our Astronomy this week was a trip to the Fleet Science Center to see the Hubble IMAX film for Buddha's birthday. It was a fun trip and a FABULOUS movie; absolutely fantastic. The boys loved it and I (of course) cried as I contemplated the vastness of the heavens that God so magnificently created! I felt so completely tiny as the narrator spoke in terms of light years and trillions of miles. My problems are so minute and inconsequential when considering the enormity of space, and yet I am more important to my Heavenly Father than a red giant or black hole that is 300 times the size of our entire galaxy and billions of light years away (or whatever), because I am His daughter. Oh it's so inspiring and daunting and motivating and overwhelming all at the same time! Space is just fascinating! Why wasn't I this fascinated when I learned about space in school?!!!
For U.S. History, we talked about Veteran's Day and remembered those who died, who have fought, and who do fight for the wonderful freedoms we retain today. We are truly blessed to live in the United States. We also watched our new William Bradford Hero Classic from Living Scriptures in preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday. I also finally figured out our public library's hold system and we took back our Halloween books, then simply marched in to the "holds" shelving area, picked up our 25 books about Thanksgiving, checked out and went on our merry way. This is such a HUGE relief for me to have figured this out! I have been absolutely loathing our local library because of a few very bad, bad experiences there. I was this close to just giving up on the library altogether, but now I can browse books online, put them on hold, and go pick them up quickly and easily without having to take on any of the crabby, unfriendly, kid-hating librarians at our library. YAY!
To work on writing this week, Buddha and I have been collaborating on a story. I write a few lines or a paragraph, then leave off in the middle of a sentence and he picks up where I left off, taking the story in an all new direction. It's a fun way to get Buddha excited about practicing his handwriting and I'm also able to get little grammar and punctuation lessons in the mix, like when I had to explain the difference between there, their, and they're so that he could pick the correct one for his sentence he was writing. Buddha loves any opportunity to flex his imagination and my contribution seems to serve as a springboard for him. We're going to keep up with this for a while, always working on the same story, then he has requested that we type it all up (I'll make my parts green and his orange so that he can know which parts he wrote) and have it bound. I love this idea! My six year old and I are writing a book together! COOL!
We also put up our Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations and our Christmas tree on Monday while listening to Christmas music on Pandora. Don't judge me. This particular sickness seems to be hereditary, passed on to me from my father's line. And really, you just can't argue with more Christmas spirit!
I honestly can't remember what we did this week. But I'm sure we had a good time doing it!
So in a post that is supposed to include review, instead I'll ask, How do you keep up with husband, kids, homeschool, house, AND blog? When do you get to put in your blogging time? Morning? Night? Nap time? I'd really LOVE to know as I can't seem to be able to get on to the computer to blog about all the fun things we're doing as a family and as a "school."
{Buddha's own Lego creation in honor of his birthday.}
Today was Buddha's sixth birthday and boy did we celebrate! And The Chief got to stay home and celebrate with us! Which was Mommy's favorite gift of the day. But back to Buddha . . . . :D First, he picked crepes for breakfast, then he went with his dad and brother to get a haircut, then we headed over to the Fleet Science Center as a family to watch the Hubble Imax movie (which was PHENOMENAL - if there is one playing near you, GO SEE IT!) and ended up walking out with memberships to the Fleet. I can't tell you how excited I am about that! Afterward, we again let Buddha pick what he wanted to eat for dinner and he chose IHOP. So, it was breakfast for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. Absolutely my kind of day! When we got home, our wonderful neighbors came over to sing, eat cake, and watch Buddha open presents. Our neighbor, Debbie, is so awesome! She made cakes for both of the boys last year and is doing it again this year! Since Buddha is on this crazy (and commendable) healthy eating kick, she made him a delicious carrot cake. She and her husband, Glen, also gave him $10 and a Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows poster. He was THRILLED! The rest of his gifts included a remote control walking dinosaur and dinosaur t-shirt from Grandma and Grandpa Bagel, a remote control monster truck, art and craft supplies, Magic Tree House books 1-8, and clothes.
What a fun birthday our Buddha had today. We are so proud of him. He is helpful and caring, smart and funny, disciplined and creative. He wants so much to be the boy his Heavenly Father wants him to be and we love him for that righteous desire and for many, many countless other reasons. This child that is ours is meant to be ours and we are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for sending him to us; we love him dearly.
My two favorite memories from today include The Chief's impromptu lecture on automobile engines and how they start, and a sweet moment at IHOP. First, let's talk shop. The Chief drew a picture for us (obliging my exclusively visual learning capacity) as he explained the process of combustion. He got through with his awesome lesson and decided to test Buddha, asking him which three elements were necessary for combustion to occur and the car to start. Buddha didn't even hesitate. He held up his fingers and said, "Okay! You need a spark, gas, and oxygen!" Oh how this boy NEVER ceases to amaze us with his ability to not only retain information, but actually comprehend it prior to retention! He is so fabulous.
And here now was the heart-melting moment of the day for me. At IHOP, the kids were given kids' menus from which to choose their dinner. On one side, they had all the meal options, on the other were games and activities for the kids to do with their crayons. One such activity was a paragraph with a bunch of blank lines for the child to fill in with whatever appropriate answer corresponded with the directions contained in the parentheses below the lines. Kind of like so (I can't get the parentheses to line up directly under the line, so just work with me here):
"Blah blah blah blah blah __________(your name) blah blah blah blah blah ___________(friend's name) blah blah blahddy blah . . . and so on . . . ."
Well, the second blank line asked Buddha for a friend's name and I glanced over to see that he was writing his little brother's name there. Stupid post-pregnancy hormones made it impossible for me not to tear up! I was definitely a goner with that. They fight so often, as little boys do, and every now and then I have to remind Buddha that his little brother will be his best friend all his life. This was that validation every mother needs to see once in a while; validation that their kids are on the right track. It was just SO CUTE!
Happy Birthday to our Buddha Boy and Happy Veteran's Day, too!
I kid you not, at pretty much every Halloween since we began having children, they are sick. So here is the ONE Halloween picture that I got. They did go to a trunk or treat a week before Halloween, but the Pipster was only able to wear his cute little duck costume (thanks Todd and Erin!) for this picture and that was it.
Halloween this year was sort of a bust for us. But at least I got this cute picture, right?
Homeschool last week . . . . Yeeeeaaahhh . . . . Uhhhhh . . . . We did it. Yeah. We did it. Is that enough of a review? No? Darn. Okay then, Buddha continues working his way through his Singapore 1st grade math workbook. I think it was too easy for him up until last week. Now that he's being challenged, I'm not feeling so conflicted about the math curriculum I selected for him. However, I am determined to find more interactive games that can teach math facts and concepts in a fun way. We're getting too bogged down in workbooks.
Bugga is learning the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. And we maxed out our 40-book limit at the library with a collection of Halloween-related books that we are still thoroughly enjoying. We also took a field trip to the zoo to search for orange and black and creepy, crawly, slithering animals. The boys made a point of wearing orange shirts in honor of the pagan holiday. :D
Also, I thought I'd put in a little plug for these Kumon write-on cards we've got. We love them. The boys both practiced handwriting, letters and numbers, on these cards last week. They are great. (Sheesh! Someone should pay me for these free reviews! :D)
Yesterday was the four-month anniversary of the Pipilodi's birth. And he's doing FI--INE! The baby boy is a hefty, healthy, scrumptiously rolly polly 17.6 lbs! It is widely agreed upon, by friends and family alike, that he is MOST definitely the MOST smiley baby ever to exist. He will even grin at you in the middle of crying. Seriously. He tries so hard to please. It's the sweetest thing EVER! Just this week he has discovered his voice and proved his Mommy right; I told The Chief way back when that as soon as Pip started vocalizing there would be no silencing him. So true. He yaks and shrieks, squeals and moans, coughs and splutters, all to the delight of his enraptured family. He's a busy baby boy, jumping in his Jumperoo, twirling in his Exersaucer, and performing brilliant kicks and shakes during tummy time. When I put him down to sleep, he soothes himself into slumber, alternately talking to himself then sucking his thumb. When I feed him, he gulps his way through mealtime, finishing in record time for any Bagel baby! He loves to scratch his fingers over any surface (but especially in his crib), experimenting with a fistful of fingernails and the wide variety of textures available in the Bagel home (the boy's a budding scientist already, see?!). He also loves to attack the shoulders of whoever happens to be toting him around, spit-up on anyone remotely close to him, watch his crazy big brothers, and stare adoringly at his daddy (for many loooong minutes at a time). He has light blond hair and I think his eyes will either be green or else hazel like Buddha's. (The Chief adamantly disagrees with this assessment. He says dark brown.)
At four months, The Pipster is UNIVERSALLY ADORED. We are so grateful to have him in our family.
To celebrate IL Pipidore's four-month existence anniversary, Grandma and Grandpa Bagel, Buddha, Bugga, and I carted him all over the San Diego Zoo. This may explain the fact that, as I write this, he is now going on
15 hours ofUNINTERRUPTEDsleep!
Sheesh! You really know how to celebrate, Mr. Pipilo, you party animal, you!
Now could you please wake up and nurse . . . I'm dyin' here!!!
This week has been ALL about reading. Despite the unusually dreary weather we've been experiencing, we dove right back into our Astronomy studies with a whole week of reading, discussion, and experiments revolving around the sun (pun intended). It was a fun week but the boys got sick again and even took the baby down with them this time. Now we're busy taking trips to Henry's and filling the kids up with homeopathic remedies. Pipilo actually has an appointment with the doctor on Monday just to be on the safe side and rule out pertussis though it's way more likely that he simply has a little virus that his older brothers gifted him.
We had fun this week. Here are some of the books we read:
This last book is where we were directed to have fun with the following experiment in order to better understand day and night.
We also got a subscription to Astronomy Magazine and got the December issue in the mail during this week. It was fun browsing through there, seeing the fantastic pictures from space, and finding out that there are some really great astronomical events (including a meteor shower and a full lunar eclipse) coming up in December. I'm especially excited about the former since I spent a while performing a fruitless search on the Internet for the next meteor shower the Northern Hemisphere might be able to witness. Astronomy Magazine to the rescue!
And, of course, we listened to the Solar System song from Larry and Kathy Troxel's Geography Songs - over and over and over again. :D We LOVE that CD.
Monday was Columbus Day. Bugga wanted to know why they didn't call it Christopher Day. :D We read the D'Aulaire book about Columbus. It's a fabulous read. Even I learned stuff I never knew!
Later we combined FHE (Family Home Evening) with homeschool and read in the Book of Mormon where Nephi describes his vision of Christopher Columbus:
1 Nephi 13: 10-15
10 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld many waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my brethren.
11 And it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the wrath of God is upon the seed of they brethren.
12 And I looked and beheld a man [Christopher Columbus] among the Gentiles, who was separated by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
13 And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles [pilgrims]; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise [colonization of America]; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.
15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.
For our FHE activity we made little models of the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, using an egg carton, paint, Playdough, toothpicks, construction paper, and glue. The boys had a great time, but I learned how tedious sail construction is! :D
We broke into our Halloween candy supply for our FHE treat and closed the evening singing Listen, Listen from the LDS Children's Songbook to remind the kids to always listen to the still, small voice of the Spirit, just like Columbus did. Bugga gave our closing prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for the candy he got to eat. Buddha, my little food mentor, refused the candy and ate a fruit leather instead (more on this phenomenon later).
Tuesday we continued our Columbus exploration (Since the exact date of his first landing in the New World was October 12, 1492, after all.) with a ValueTales read aloud, a new song to remember the little poem "In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue," and a popcorn-supplemented Christopher Columbus movie moment courtesy of Living Scriptures'Animated Hero Classics. The boys also played with their model ships they made the night before, outfitting them with Lego captains and crews and sailing them across their world meal placemats. :D
Wednesday we had an unschooling moment resulting in the wonderful chaos and mayhem of unscripted play and learning. In other words, I let the kids do whatever they wanted with our homeschool manipulatives and they came up with an epic mess of creativity and innovation, blending pattern practice and math units with Lego citizens and daring rescues. It was quite inspiring.
Thursday we went ahead and threw structure to the wind, scrapping our Astronomy altogether and declaring this week's learning to be a mini unit focused on Christopher Columbus. Thanks to some timely purchases and a very generous Grandpa (My dad allowed me to borrow a TON of their awesome books that I remember reading as a kid!), we have a lot of material to facilitate this brief obsession with the legendary explorer (such as, The Story of Columbus Reader). One of the items we used on this particular day was a dramatized story-telling of the life of Christopher Columbus from Living Principles of America. (This was also purchased from Living Scriptures - have I mentioned that I LOVE their stuff? No? Hm. Well, I do.) At three years old, I didn't expect the Buggster to sit still through this. And he didn't. But he did grab his Lego men and crawl around on the floor next to the computer, playing while listening. Every now and then I would hear him repeat something from the CD/story as if one Lego man was telling it to another, so I knew he was paying attention in his own busy way. :D Buddha, however, sat on the rocking chair next to the computer the whole time and even asked questions when he didn't understand something. I have decided that I'm a huge fan of dramatized storytellings on CD.
Friday we read I, Christopher Columbus, then worked on our world map for Geography, filling in the country names as we sang the songs from Geography Songs (we LOVE this CD and highly recommend it). We also read another account of Christopher Columbus from A Child's History of the World. It was short and sweet. And after that, we read yet another Columbus book called You Wouldn't Want to Sail with Christopher Columbus! It's a funny book all about the hardships of ocean travel way back in the day. The Chief stayed home to make sure our patio cover was put up properly the second time around (yes, they actually had to rip down the first one because the hole for the fan was not centered). He and Bugga played cards, putting three-letter words together by matching up the pictures. And Buddha did a math page that used the sums of his problems as a key for spelling out Columbus-related words. It was a low-key day as we sat about waiting for the great backyard invasion to be finished.
