Uh, ma'am what do you have in there?

Oh just a drum,




Some maracas,




A tambourine,




And this lethal quira (thank goodness it wasn't in her carry on),




Yes that would be my mom, aka Abuela's doing. Now before each parent cringes in horror at the thought of a grandparent showing up with the equivalent of a percussion section as a gift, I asked for it. I really did ask for it. Promise. See in June when my mom was partying her soon to be 60 year young patooty at my grandfather's birthday party she mentioned she was having trouble coming up with gift ideas to bring back for the boys. I told her that she didn't have to bring anything but if she felt she had to that I would love some instruments for the kids and to use in our homeschooling. No I have no visions of us as the Partridge Family, just wanting to let the kids bang out their preferred rhythm without worrying about expensive gear. One of the markets in DR sells these for a song (ha!) and I remembered how much fun we had as kids with the drums just like that flag painted one on my table.

That would be how my mom found herself explaining away not one but two sets of instruments (for both sets of grandchildren) to a US customs agent. A whole suitcase worth of instruments mind you. She just shrugged her shoulders and said, "it's for my grandkids" and apparently he believed her. Like I said thank goodness the guira picks (3 very pokey metal tines) were not on her carry on or I might have gotten a call from a TSA agent holding my mom for questioning. But thanks to her we now have a rocking family band to which we've added the collection of harmonicas that have somehow made their way to our home over the last couple of years.




And if you come to my house a certain little two year old might treat you to her version of the blues.




Here's a proper use of those instruments and featuring the voice of the Dominican equivalent of John Lennon, Bob Dylan and P Diddy all rolled into one - Juan Luis Guerra. I dare you not to get up and dance.

Legos, Ancient Egypt and Fireman Sam

No, I'm not going to play some funky version of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Just another homeschooling snapshot.




Around the holidays we were reading up on ancient Egypt, mummies, pyramids and by virtue the Sphinx. At one point we pulled out the legos to build a pyramid. My boys told me there was no way I could build a pyramid at which time I figured out they thought I meant a real pyramid. Doh! I'm sure the puny one we built somehow did not compare to their imagination.




However, my boys in all their attention to detail decided to build the chamber attached to the pyramid where the Pharaoh's body was prepared for burial. Oh yeah and that conversation on mummification? Grossed out momma way more than the kids. The oldest put together the chamber and then I fiddled around with a little lego person to build a loosely interpreted Sphinx. Loosely being the operative word. One of my boys looked at my woebegone Sphinx and said, "here momma, let me try." then proceeded to build a larger Sphinx with paws and a body that actually fit the scale of the lego head. I felt like I was in front of this guy:






After a while I left them to continue playing while I fixed lunch. When I returned to announce lunch was ready I was greeted with this. From our favorite TV show Fireman Sam, the lighthouse from Ponty Pandy. Built right on top of the pyramid, Sphinx and attached chamber. How's that for historically accurate? Can you say, "I love rabbit holes."

It's so exciting

Receiving new school supplies that is. I know enough people like me to know I'm not the lone freak. Whether smooth sharp pencils, brand new pens, unblemished notebooks or as in my public school days being the first student to christen a textbook. It all makes me giddy still. So non-homeschoolers might be feeling pity for me right now, assuming that I would not ever experience the thrill of new supplies. Well then you might be wrong.




Check it out people! The science portion* of our resources for this year. Not only do we get to break in the books but Houston we've even got sealed science kits. Oh yes, yes, yes sealed kits which will go against ever fiber in my being to disrupt them and actually use them. Yes I'm weird like that. I thought you knew. Let's just say that consumables make me weep and shiver all at the same time. If it were up to me I'd have a set of brand new books, notebooks and pencils just for petting, then another set for actually using.

So yes, we're now "official" homeschoolers as recognized by our state and really that means nothing has changed. Well, nothing except now I have a whole new excuse to shop. Someone alert the presses!

* Forgive the poor cell phone pic. I was opening up the new stuff alone in my bedroom and if I had stepped out for the camera my little people would have been alerted to "something cool 'cause momma broke out the camera". Then it would have all gone south from there.

Wow.

Five days between posts, that's a record around here. I didn't intend for it to stretch that long but the days have been getting a bit more hectic around here. I've had spurts of nesting urges and this being the fourth time around I know better than to put things off for later when I might be too tired to do anything. But the cravings march on and what would a post about the latest craving be without a picture? Baked brie (on the super melty side) with cubed ciabatta, sliced apples and a bit of cherry preserves on the side for moi. The kids had their own portion and loved our lunch of brie fondue as it was billed. I know by now that if I get settled in with a plate of something new and delicious it never fails to attract the children's attention. Suddenly that slapdash meal on momma's plate looks way more alluring than the same 'ol, same 'ol. So I make sure to gush and build up the new item then give them their own and let them go to town.




But we haven't just been cleaning and feasting on cravings around here. No siree, we've actually been doodling as well.






It's no secret that my kids love to plunk themselves around the dining room table to doodle, draw and color. I've loved seeing their abilities develop as they draw items from a favorite story, cartoon or just inspiration from around their world.






I'm by no means an artist. However I remember reading an interview of Mo Willems who has certainly earned his status of favorite around our home. He said that a lot of adults stop doodling and drawing because they think they are not as good as a professional but mentioned that some guys aren't pro basketball players and yet continue to shoot hoops at home. He encourages parents to continue to doodle and draw right along with their children just as we would continue to read aloud to our kids despite not having the ability of Jim Weiss and continue to cook for our families despite measuring short of Jacques Pepin. With that rolling around the old noggin I grabbed a sheet of notebook paper, and sat myself next to my oldest artist. He was intrigued as I sketched the alstroemeria in the vase on the table.

I took a note from the Camp Creek Blog entry on observational drawing and just kept my eye more on the object in front of me than the drawing at my hands. I actually enjoyed myself and better yet was able to use my ability to hyperfocus to my advantage. It's not perfect but it's a pretty good drawing and even better still my kids saw me try something new even though I'm not an expert. A great life lesson in general.

Meeting of the minds part 2.

This was totally spontaneous. The older one, inspired by finding an old notebook of mine (just another failed attempt at journaling) said, "let's write a mystery!" My other boy grabbed the tray to organize the papers and when she saw there was a buzz of activity the little one grabbed her chair and planted herself right in the middle.

Older one scribbled furiously in what he calls cursive, filling the page then handing his younger brother the pages to organize in the tray. The baby pretended to file the papers as well and did everything in her power to test the 4 year old's patience (which admittedly is not that much). They then distributed the papers to each other and walked around talking about mysteries, robberies and bad guys in 20s tough guy speak.

Profile of an artist.

Another post on one of my budding artists. Around here each child has crayons and huge amounts of blank paper at their disposal. Every now and then I'll break out the markers too but those require a bit more supervision. It seems I have a couple of taggers in my home. Yup, I used to tag my notebooks and books in school (don't laugh, my tag was "Saint") while my children prefer to be authentic and tag their walls and bedroom furniture. Because of that and because the baby finds markers absolutely delicious and chews the tips off, the markers require a pair of grownup eyes.




So it was quite eye opening to see what the last marker session produced. Voila, my six year old, deep in artistic expression.




This time I also scanned the picture to give you a better look. Now I'm not saying Tim Burton needs to be quaking in his boots (yet) but I'm just enthralled at his growing attention to detail. Upon brief questioning he told me this was an accidental match fire out of control. Thankfully (for my own peace of mind) his fire illustrations lately seem to center around a moral lesson of what not to do vs. smiles and dreamy thoughts of what would happen if his momma plugged in too many appliances.




And just so you don't think this artist takes himself too seriously, here you go.

Cardboard Treasures

While I was sewing up my mom's pillow the boys were busy making their own cards for Abuela. I was so happy to have found a tutorial from Amy at Angry Chicken for making envelopes out of magazines or any paper laying around the home. Best.thing.ever. Especially for kids who think writing a letter is two scribbles and they want an envelope to mail it out.




Another wonderful idea from that fabulous blog Plum Pudding. I now try to keep a stash of odd boxes from food packaging for art material. We've made mini blank books for them to create their own stories, bookmarks and on this day they made some type of mail bag.




Little kids seem to know exactly what to do with a glue stick, cardboard, scissors, and ribbon. Tape is another story. Perhaps it's just my boys but they go through a roll of tape just in one afternoon.




Oh and the hole punch is super important. Especially since it requires a good bit of concentration and keeps them busy that much longer.




Little sister not to be left out of the fun, empties out our shoe baskets to use as a makeshift boat for her and the bear.

Nick Nolte's mugshot . . .

. . . has nothing on a toddler with sunflower seed butter at her disposal. She was sooooo upset when we took away the spoon and started cleaning her up. Correction, Mr. Maricucu cleaned her up while I grabbed the camera. I'm nothing if not helpful.




Don't feel too sorry for that husband of mine. I had to give her a bath and she enjoyed that too. Hairwashing and all.




Just a couple of days ago we went on a neighborhood walk to enjoy these first few days of Autumn. It was lovely weather and we came across this bush with bright red bark and heavy with clusters of plump indigo berries. I immediately snapped a few pictures thinking that these might be elderberries (aka sambucus) and giddy at the thought of returning to pick them all since it was by a road/common area in the subdivision. Alas, a little googling informed me my picking won't be happening unless I decide to make my own ink, dye some clothing or make some salad in the early spring. This is pokeweed and the berries are pokeberries. The leaves and berries are poisonous and while there are some that make jams, wines and vinegars with them I need to do some more thorough research on this.




We also spotted some interesting creatures. A common millipede which I again had to google to confirm. During my search I found out that centipedes bite! Good thing to know. Now I'm more Zsa Zsa than girl scout but I can only imagine that I'd be inclined to get brave and touch one of these one day only to get bitten. Then I'd have to stay home forever and ever which I'm sure would do nothing but promote the stereotype of anti-social homeschoolers.

Also something to keep in mind considering my oldest gets a kick out of touching the worms that are still alive in the early morning to see them squirm in midair. This poor fellow didn't stand a chance though, one turn of my back to tend to the baby and a child with his walking stick did him in.




A nifty little inside out masking tape bracelet for carrying back those little important treasures found on our walk.

Best ten bucks I've ever spent.

I was at the local school supply store the other day with two of the kids to pick out a birthday present for the baby. After convincing my younger son that no, in fact the baby would not just looooove a fire truck for her birthday, we did indeed find a gift for her. On the way out I decided to peek in their science section in hopes of finding sturdy magnifying lenses for the boys. They spend a good deal of time in our backyard and I thought these would be put to use both inside and outside.

I figured I would find stodgy, practical and black magnifying glasses but tucked in a corner were these Jumbo Magnifiers from Learning Resources in a rainbow of colors. Not only are they sturdy with acrylic lenses that are very clear (the baby was banging on one, yes where's the paper bag to cover my head?), but they are truly jumbo. Four and a half inches in diameter. But wait, they have a kickstand! For handsfree operation and to use as a makeshift large scale microscope. Since the day I brought them the boys have taken them outdoors to study insects and cracks in the fort, as well as slept with them. Yup, I'd say money well spent.




Now, allow me to indulge my mom a bit. Some pictures from the baby's birthday.




She wasn't entirely convinced that this cake thing was so exciting.




However, once we removed the cake for cutting, she was not thrilled. Yes, my daughter sits like a lady - like a lady that's been riding a horse.




And she stands like one too. Ahh to have that flexibility.

What homeschooling looks like around here.

It's rare that I get any of our homeschooling in print like this. Having such a small adult/child ratio and such curious children means that most of our exchanges happen verbally. Sounds quite idyllic but let me tell you there are times when I want to rinse the conditioner from my hair without having to answer questions about the toilet's plumbing.

I can't complain though. Both boys have learned so much so far just on their own and asking questions pretty much on a constant basis. These four simple words represent a spontaneous learning moment. Like DJ Lance says, "ah, break it down."




1. Oldest wrote "groch" and told me he wrote "garage". Garages, much like firemen have been an obsession since both boys began speaking.

2. I saw it, and told him that I was impressed with his trying to sound out words. I told him that garage is one of those funky words that sounds a bit different than it looks. Would he like to know how the word looks?

3. He said yes, so I wrote garage at the top in all upper case letters.

4. He wrote garage below his first attempt.

5. Oldest then begins to verbalize words that sound like garage and stumbles on "crouch". He figures out the vowels from a previous attempt at sounding out letters the day before, then sounds out the first two letter combination and finally asks for my help with the final syllable.

6. Momma notices that he has transitioned (on his own, mind you) from writing in all upper case letters to a combination of upper and lower case letters. No formal lessons, curriculum or sit down lessons going on. This is all him. It's just the way he prefers to learn.

I love to watch the human at mind work.

A little homeschool outing . . .

. . . on the weekend. Whatever could these three be looking at so intently?




A firefighter of course! I've been meaning to schedule another station tour for the boys. So when I found out that the tours at this particular station can be scheduled for Saturdays, I immediately set one up to include our oft left out homeschooling member of the family - Mr. Maricucu. Little did I know he would love it so.




First we had a fire safety chat. My favorite moment, hands down involved a very serious question. "What do you do if you find matches or a lighter laying around?" My kids, my campfire obsessed children, the very same boys that make matches out of legos answered, "turn them on!" Mr. Maricucu and I had a mighty fine held back giggle while the firefighter held back his reaction to set the record straight. Then another officer began to get dressed in all his gear under the premise that "the kids aren't so scared of the firefighter in his gear after the presentation." I told Mr. Maricucu that our kids would be jumping up and down in glee were they to encounter an honest to goodness all dressed up in his "scary" gear firefighter no matter the venue.

I had a hot flash right about then. Good grief that's a lot of layers for this Florida girl.




He put on his air pack and turned on the oxygen. The third firefighter attached a microphone accessory to the breathing pack that allows them to be heard more clearly.




Once the safety chat was over and we were well acquainted with their very neat heat reading camera equipment we were off to see the trucks. The ladder truck was called mid chat so we watched it go off and we inspected the water truck. The boys didn't even have to be asked twice if they wanted to sit in the captain's chair. Whoo, fuzzy photo but they were moving fast.




We saw all sort of tools, hatchets, picks and bolt cutters. Every manner of quick access, destructive equipment and I'm glad they have each and every one.




I do believe the boys asked to see every access panel and hidden compartment. Nothing slipped by them and of course we were able to inspect the miles and miles of hoses.







Did I mention one very big kid thoroughly enjoyed the tour and was peppering the firefighters with his own questions? He found it fascinating that the firefighters worked on most minor truck repairs in their in-house shop and I was amazed at the laundry list of tasks they got accomplished before noon. The station is truly a well oiled machine.




After checking out the truck the boys got an impromptu look at the dormitory, showers (yes, they asked), workout room and garage.




And if there was any doubt these little boys adored these firefighters, well they had to go and do this. My boys were gifted hats and badges which you would have thought were the keys to the station.






Oh and did you know that firetrucks don't have keys? Which of course prompted the question from these two jaded adults, "what happens in places like Miami?" Apparently the firefighter was prepared and responded that in places that are a bit more risky the firefighter has to chain the axle on the wheel. See, I'm not the only paranoid one.

It was a truly enjoyable way to spend a weekend afternoon. Mr. Maricucu and I both were impressed with the firefighter's genuine love for their job and true interest in engaging with the community. Thanks guys. We hope to return soon.