Week 22
January 29th through February 2nd
While beginning our Five In A Row studies, loosely of course, we found that after reading the books and doing some of the listed discussions and projects, we still had some time to explore other things. So one day we made some homemade playdough. We didn't have most of what the internet said we needed to be greatly effective, so we substituted and substituted. And came up with glittery, colorful and super-greasy dough.
We dug out some old fun bins, the dried rice has always been a hit. Tot is ready for it in small, supervised doses. Our funnel stand broke so we had to come up with some different ways to use it. I hid some lowercase letters in the rice for Tot, and she enjoyed finding them, and much to my surprise, she named more than half of them correctly. I wrote off the first few as a fluke, until she kept naming more and more. The way I "teach" my very young kids is when I notice their interest in something, or see them being successful in an area, I'll then make a few simple resources to reinforce that concept. And they are never pushed, simply offered the opportunities. I love that when the activities offered are in their interest, they just soak it up. Since Tot surprised me with her knowledge of letters, I have a plan to make a simple laminated sheet with lowercase letters which she can match up the magnetic letters to. We'll see if she's into that.
Math review with noise-canceling headphones as she's very easily distracted
The Wolf reads for the entire hour that Kinder Kid is at OT and Social Group
Hair appts at the end of the week. I've just started scheduling everyone at once, it puts us out a half a day every 6 to 8 weeks. The pre-teen gets some permanent bright red streaks in her hair. She totally rocks it.
Week 23
February 5th through 9th (and into the 11th)
We are full on going strong again, even though it's February, notorious in the homeschool world for being a sluggish, low-motivation month.
Kinder Kid gets "homework" from his social group. The red cup in the background with the yellow lid has a spinach, banana and mango smoothie in it - having to suck the thick smoothie through the straw is a good sensory trick for sensory seekers like him, it helps to keep his brain alert and on track.
We are hitting the gym 2 to 3 times per week now
After school science continues
Dad brings home someone else's trash, which is actually bins and bins of craft materials. Oh, and that cool kid table and colorful chairs.
Tot, at bedtime one night, demands to go on the potty for the first time since September. I quick switch her from footie pajamas to pants and shirt (ever try to wrestle footie pajamas off while a toddler yells Mama Pee-Pee over and over?).... and we are off on the Potty Journey!
This is the weekend, but it's adorable so I included it. He told his grandma to stay still, he's drawing her.
Tot is dry in underwear ALL DAY. Woohoo! I try to convince her to put on a diaper in case of poop, but she's not having it. She just goes on the potty. In case you're wondering why I'm not all that excited about the self-directed potty-training, well for starters, this is my 5th time, and secondly, we don't have a bathroom on the floor we spend most of our time on. So, potty means we have to go either up or down half a stairs. I know, I'm terrible, right?
On Sunday this week, we somehow get the idea of doing a massive amount of Valentine's Day crafts. Thanks, Pinterest. Oh, well, it IS raining like the dickens outside, and my car is dead so I'm stuck with a pick-up truck that doesn't fit my whole family and has carseats that need my assistance (think, my butt hanging out in the pouring rain to buckle said carseats), so, home we stay. And craft our little hearts out, pun intended.
An animals-out-of-hearts module. With glitter. Can't forget glitter.
The rain lets up in late afternoon. There's nothing to do when it's muddy outside, except to give in to messy floors and extra laundry, and let them go play.
And, in a sneak preview of the very next week.... it's a good darn thing we logged some homeschool time over the weekend, because our upcoming week is about to get rudely interrupted! Stay tuned.
