Eww!
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Sunday Fun!
A wet Larry came downstairs shaking a soaked stuffed hippo around and flinging water while singing a nonsense song. He flung water all over his father's face. After a minute or two, he let us know that he had just dropped his stuffed animal in the toilet. "But don't worry. I washed it off. "
Friday, May 6, 2016
Morning conversations with Larry
Me: Water Vapor
Larry: No they're not! They are made of cotton balls.
Me: No they are made of water vapor.
Larry: How do you know?
Me: I have flown through them in planes. You can pass right through them.
Larry: You mean you can't sit on them?
Me: Nope
Larry: Well on Mungus Island, you can sit on the clouds. Mungus Island is on Dragon Tales
Me: Dragon Tales is not real. It is what we call fiction.
Larry: Well I think that Dragon Tales is real and this world is friction because you have Magical Mommy Powers.
Me: Magical Mommy Powers are not actually magic. They are just enhanced powers of observation.
Larry: So every time you tell me that you have Magical Mommy Powers you are tricking me?
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Dream of a 4 Year Old
Larry: Last night, I had a dream that I was a pony and Makenzie was Elsa. We went to the store, and I was a pony and Makenzie was Elsa. (Apparently, it was VERY important for me to remember this detail.) We went in the store, and there was no "No ponies allowed" sign, so they didn't kick me out so we walked through the store and then, we talked about trains in French.
Monday, November 2, 2015
So Sneaky
After lunch:
“Larry, would you like me to wash you off.”
“Yes, come this way. But don’t look over there, and don’t look down.”
Allen had bought us sugar cookies from the Bakery when he picked up our bread this morning. I gave Larry his cookie after lunch. He took one bite of the cookie, and then ate off all of the sprinkles and licked off the frosting. Then he hid it on the floor under the table.
“I took one bite, to see if I would like it, and I didn’t. But I did like the pricklies, and the frosting.”
“Larry, would you like me to wash you off.”
“Yes, come this way. But don’t look over there, and don’t look down.”
Allen had bought us sugar cookies from the Bakery when he picked up our bread this morning. I gave Larry his cookie after lunch. He took one bite of the cookie, and then ate off all of the sprinkles and licked off the frosting. Then he hid it on the floor under the table.
“I took one bite, to see if I would like it, and I didn’t. But I did like the pricklies, and the frosting.”
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Terrible Twos
This week, the kids and I were discussing some of the different things that I have documented on my blog, and laughing about all the naughty things they did. We have had some new antics this that I need to document so I can laugh someday. Right now, I am worn out.
Larry has discovered two new tricks this week. We have learned that when he is quiet, we need to worry. When things get quiet, I usually send one of the kids upstairs to check things out. One day this week, we opened the bathroom door to find Larry sitting on the bathroom counter. He had plugged the bathroom sink, and run the water until it cascaded down the front of the bathroom cabinet, and flooded the bathroom. He thought it was loads of fun. We now lock the upstairs bathroom doors.
Larry has always loved the dog food and water bowls. He eats dog food (as a dog) from the bowl several times a week, and often gets drinks from the water bowl. Today, he decided to let us all share in the dog water germs. He filled his toy dump truck with the dog water and carefully carried it over to the kitchen table to dump it.
Two more months of "terrible-twos." If I remember right, the threes are often even more challenging. Oh Dear!
Larry has discovered two new tricks this week. We have learned that when he is quiet, we need to worry. When things get quiet, I usually send one of the kids upstairs to check things out. One day this week, we opened the bathroom door to find Larry sitting on the bathroom counter. He had plugged the bathroom sink, and run the water until it cascaded down the front of the bathroom cabinet, and flooded the bathroom. He thought it was loads of fun. We now lock the upstairs bathroom doors.
Larry has always loved the dog food and water bowls. He eats dog food (as a dog) from the bowl several times a week, and often gets drinks from the water bowl. Today, he decided to let us all share in the dog water germs. He filled his toy dump truck with the dog water and carefully carried it over to the kitchen table to dump it.
Two more months of "terrible-twos." If I remember right, the threes are often even more challenging. Oh Dear!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Catch-up
This last Tuesday, I decided to take some time to update my blog from the past week. Unfortunately, as I got up from the computer, in one graceful movement, I caught my foot on the cord that connects the keyboard to the computer, and yanked on the cord hard enough as I was walking away, that I broke the keyboard. Hubby saved the day, and I can now type again! :) This will most likely be a long post that covers the last two weeks. Sorry, you have been warned. :)
On the 17th, our family celebrated Constitution Day. Two of my kids are studying early American History, and I think one of the themes for me of the upcoming Presidential Election is following the Constitution. We had never Celebrated Constitution Day before, and so we asked the kids how we should celebrate. They suggested chili-dogs and cupcakes. I'm not sure that is exactly what the founding father's would have chosen, but they sure enjoyed it.
We have been studying the first 3 presidents this week. It is kind of interesting to see how some views and philosophies have endured. John Adams felt that the role of government was to save people from their own greed and faults. He felt that people needed to be governed in order to save them from themselves. He was a Federalist. Thomas Jefferson felt that the role of the government was to get out of the way and let people govern themselves. He belonged to the Democratic-Republican Party. We have had a lot of fun reading about how opposite these two presidents were, but in spite of their differences, they were still best friends. They both died on the same day, July 4th 1826, exactly 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
For Music we have been focusing on patriotic songs, and on songs that will help us remember things we are learning. We have been working on learning basic sight singing skills, chord progressions and some guitar and xyolophone skills so we can accompany ourselves. We have been learrning This Land is Your Land, The Star Spangled Banner, and this little gem. I have a whole new appreciation for the Animaniacs now.
This week we discovered that Larry is now tall enough to reach stuff on the table tops. He is pretty excited about his newfound skills. We have also discovered that he likes slimy things, Vaseline and Butter were favorites for this week. (Vaseline is VERY hard to get out of hair!) He loves playing with washcloths and diapers (clean ones luckily!) He thinks he is a dog. He growls when he is talking to Max, and he stands at the front window with Max, and barks at cats, dogs and neighbors.
We have been doing some fun lessons these past few weeks. In Art, we have been studying pointilism. We read several book about George Seurat, and studied several of his paintings. I have a large box of mostly used crayons, and the inspiration for this lesson came from Pinterest and this blog here. I am not an artist, and so our art lessons scare me quite a bit. I always wanted to be good at art, but I'm grown up enough to know that I am really not good. I do have fun creating things though. Here are a couple of our pointilism projects.
Hubby teaches the kids Science every Tuesday and Thursday evening. I love seeing him work with the kids. They have been studying Life Science, and they have been talking about animal adaptations for the last few weeks. He pointed out examples of animal adaptations in nature, and then the kids had to create imaginary creatures. They had to explain where the creature lived and what adaptations it had that helped it live in that environment. They even made a skeleton of their imaginary creatures using chicken bones and clay. This is what our science class looked like this week.
I love this last picture! That is what I pictured when I pictured homeschooling. For this Science lesson, they needed to have a birdfeeder that would hold 4 different types of birdseed. Hubby looked at several different ideas, did a little research, and designed this one. The kids have science journals, and Hubby has them taking data to analyze. We bought 3 different types of bird food, and then the kids each got to come up with a food they thought the birds would like. They are supposed to record what types of seed the birds prefer, and what types of birds visit the birdfeeder. So far, we haven't had any customers. Hopefully, we will soon.
The last two weeks have been pretty brutal schedule-wise. Michael has been doing 12+ hours of school almost every day. We have been medicating him, but it has become less and less effective as time goes on. He is as frustrated as we are. Last Thursday, I finally sat him down, and showed him the recommended times for each class. He was taking 3 to 4 hours to accomplish a 60 minute class. He has classes called "Class Connect" sessions. For two to three hours each day, he attends virtual classes. Then he has to get all the work done for all his classes. On Friday he doesn't have any virtual classes scheduled, and he usually has less work scheduled. I am pretty sure they do this so the kids can get caught up. Last Friday, we tried setting a timer for each class that he worked on to see if he could accomplish the work in the recommended time. For most of his classes, he finished the work in half the time, or less!! He was very excited, and so were we. Hubby brought him home a timer, and so we will see if this trick continues to work for him next week.
Allen has been asked to do MANY things this year that have been very hard for him. Most kids with Aspergers have a very hard time with summarizing and inferences. In the past, when he came to an assignment that was incredibly difficult for him, he would simply choose not to do the assignment, and take a 0 on it. He has had many classes this year where he has been asked to do things that he really didn't think he could do. We have spent many hours sitting on the couch trying to talk out our frustrations. I think we are both learning quite a bit. It is really hard for me to see him struggle so much, but I know that the things he is being asked to do are not optional. He needs to power through and get them done. I have seen a lot of maturity in him lately. There have been several experiences this week where I was able to share with him struggles that I have had in my life. I think that he is seeing that everyone has trials in their lives, and by powering through them, and learning something in the process, we grow and mature and become better people. He is learning to do the assignments that he is asked to do, and he is learning to do them in his own way. I am learning to step back, and let them be his assignments. I have learned that we can talk through assignments, and we can talk out ideas, but his ideas are what make the paper, or assignment his. I'm having the kids post their assignments on their blogs to publish them. Allen has an autobiographical paper that he has posted on his blog. I love how his personality comes through in it. He has also been working through social skills with his speech therapist. She is working on getting him ready for job interviews and dating. I've gotten to do a couple of role playing assignments with him, and I really love the Allen that I see coming out. He is gaining confidence, and trying so hard.
This past month of homeschooling been incredibly tough. I am learning that many things in life that are worthwhile are. I think I have experienced equal amounts of frustration and satisfaction. I think I am growing as much as my kids are through this process.
On the 17th, our family celebrated Constitution Day. Two of my kids are studying early American History, and I think one of the themes for me of the upcoming Presidential Election is following the Constitution. We had never Celebrated Constitution Day before, and so we asked the kids how we should celebrate. They suggested chili-dogs and cupcakes. I'm not sure that is exactly what the founding father's would have chosen, but they sure enjoyed it.
We have been studying the first 3 presidents this week. It is kind of interesting to see how some views and philosophies have endured. John Adams felt that the role of government was to save people from their own greed and faults. He felt that people needed to be governed in order to save them from themselves. He was a Federalist. Thomas Jefferson felt that the role of the government was to get out of the way and let people govern themselves. He belonged to the Democratic-Republican Party. We have had a lot of fun reading about how opposite these two presidents were, but in spite of their differences, they were still best friends. They both died on the same day, July 4th 1826, exactly 50 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
For Music we have been focusing on patriotic songs, and on songs that will help us remember things we are learning. We have been working on learning basic sight singing skills, chord progressions and some guitar and xyolophone skills so we can accompany ourselves. We have been learrning This Land is Your Land, The Star Spangled Banner, and this little gem. I have a whole new appreciation for the Animaniacs now.
This week we discovered that Larry is now tall enough to reach stuff on the table tops. He is pretty excited about his newfound skills. We have also discovered that he likes slimy things, Vaseline and Butter were favorites for this week. (Vaseline is VERY hard to get out of hair!) He loves playing with washcloths and diapers (clean ones luckily!) He thinks he is a dog. He growls when he is talking to Max, and he stands at the front window with Max, and barks at cats, dogs and neighbors.
We have been doing some fun lessons these past few weeks. In Art, we have been studying pointilism. We read several book about George Seurat, and studied several of his paintings. I have a large box of mostly used crayons, and the inspiration for this lesson came from Pinterest and this blog here. I am not an artist, and so our art lessons scare me quite a bit. I always wanted to be good at art, but I'm grown up enough to know that I am really not good. I do have fun creating things though. Here are a couple of our pointilism projects.
Hubby teaches the kids Science every Tuesday and Thursday evening. I love seeing him work with the kids. They have been studying Life Science, and they have been talking about animal adaptations for the last few weeks. He pointed out examples of animal adaptations in nature, and then the kids had to create imaginary creatures. They had to explain where the creature lived and what adaptations it had that helped it live in that environment. They even made a skeleton of their imaginary creatures using chicken bones and clay. This is what our science class looked like this week.
I love this last picture! That is what I pictured when I pictured homeschooling. For this Science lesson, they needed to have a birdfeeder that would hold 4 different types of birdseed. Hubby looked at several different ideas, did a little research, and designed this one. The kids have science journals, and Hubby has them taking data to analyze. We bought 3 different types of bird food, and then the kids each got to come up with a food they thought the birds would like. They are supposed to record what types of seed the birds prefer, and what types of birds visit the birdfeeder. So far, we haven't had any customers. Hopefully, we will soon.
The last two weeks have been pretty brutal schedule-wise. Michael has been doing 12+ hours of school almost every day. We have been medicating him, but it has become less and less effective as time goes on. He is as frustrated as we are. Last Thursday, I finally sat him down, and showed him the recommended times for each class. He was taking 3 to 4 hours to accomplish a 60 minute class. He has classes called "Class Connect" sessions. For two to three hours each day, he attends virtual classes. Then he has to get all the work done for all his classes. On Friday he doesn't have any virtual classes scheduled, and he usually has less work scheduled. I am pretty sure they do this so the kids can get caught up. Last Friday, we tried setting a timer for each class that he worked on to see if he could accomplish the work in the recommended time. For most of his classes, he finished the work in half the time, or less!! He was very excited, and so were we. Hubby brought him home a timer, and so we will see if this trick continues to work for him next week.
Allen has been asked to do MANY things this year that have been very hard for him. Most kids with Aspergers have a very hard time with summarizing and inferences. In the past, when he came to an assignment that was incredibly difficult for him, he would simply choose not to do the assignment, and take a 0 on it. He has had many classes this year where he has been asked to do things that he really didn't think he could do. We have spent many hours sitting on the couch trying to talk out our frustrations. I think we are both learning quite a bit. It is really hard for me to see him struggle so much, but I know that the things he is being asked to do are not optional. He needs to power through and get them done. I have seen a lot of maturity in him lately. There have been several experiences this week where I was able to share with him struggles that I have had in my life. I think that he is seeing that everyone has trials in their lives, and by powering through them, and learning something in the process, we grow and mature and become better people. He is learning to do the assignments that he is asked to do, and he is learning to do them in his own way. I am learning to step back, and let them be his assignments. I have learned that we can talk through assignments, and we can talk out ideas, but his ideas are what make the paper, or assignment his. I'm having the kids post their assignments on their blogs to publish them. Allen has an autobiographical paper that he has posted on his blog. I love how his personality comes through in it. He has also been working through social skills with his speech therapist. She is working on getting him ready for job interviews and dating. I've gotten to do a couple of role playing assignments with him, and I really love the Allen that I see coming out. He is gaining confidence, and trying so hard.
This past month of homeschooling been incredibly tough. I am learning that many things in life that are worthwhile are. I think I have experienced equal amounts of frustration and satisfaction. I think I am growing as much as my kids are through this process.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
It's finally coming together!
I need to get on and get my blog entry done for last week. I planned to do it on Sunday night, but a couple of hours before we went to bed, I realized that I forgot a HUGE part of my weekly planning.
Last Monday was ROUGH!! We had Allen's first speech session, and that ended up taking a lot of time out of our day. The kids didn't work as well as they needed to in order to get done at a decent time, and we ended up doing 14 hours of school!! I was pretty discouraged by the time we went to bed.
On Tuesday, we decided that we needed to do a 9/11 activity. I decided to homeschool because I think education is so much more than just "school." I love giving my kids real world opportunities to show them what their education is all about. We decided to go to the Healing Fields to view the flags.
We had an amazing experience. On the way to the field, I told the kids my story from 9/11. It was so odd to be telling Makenzie about my day, and then realize that I was three months away from giving birth to her when this all happened. The kids were pretty somber as we walked through the display. We got to a section of state flags and looked at them for a while. They each had tag with a soldier's name, where they were from and where and when they died in the war. As we were looking at the flags, we noticed that there were a few that had flowers and pictures on them. I was showing the kids one of the pictures and talking about the people who had loved that soldier and their sacrifice when two women and a man walked up behind me. The man let me know that I was looking at a picture of his son. I started crying, and then all of my kids walked away from me, and I found each of them privately crying and mourning this soldier in different parts of the field. There was a man in the section of state flags when we got there. As we were getting ready to leave, he asked me to take a picture of him standing next to a flag. He said that he was sending it to his sister-in-law. He wanted her to know that her husband was important, and being honored in Utah. I asked him if he knew the soldier, and he let me know that it was his brother. It was a touching experience. We had a good talk on our way home.
Tuesday, we also decided to medicate Michael. He had not been able to concentrate at all, and he was really struggling to get his work done in the 5 1/2 hours he was supposed to do school each day. It was a great day!! Everyone was finished with school by 3. Michael's teachers finally put up pacing guides on the school's website, and once I found out we are on track, I felt much better. On the schedule, I saw that they give us one day a month for what they call a K-8 Activity. On that day, we need to find something educational to do, but there are no lessons scheduled. Our first Activity was scheduled for last Friday. We desperately needed it.
We decided to go and visit the Copper Mine. Michael has been studying the Geography of our state, and the effect that people have on the environment. It was the perfect field trip.
The kids had so much fun, and they were so interested in all of the different displays. Larry loved roaming the visitor's center, and all of the displays were behind glass, so he couldn't get to anything.
We decided to finish off the field trip with doughnuts. It was a great way to end the week.
Last Monday was ROUGH!! We had Allen's first speech session, and that ended up taking a lot of time out of our day. The kids didn't work as well as they needed to in order to get done at a decent time, and we ended up doing 14 hours of school!! I was pretty discouraged by the time we went to bed.
On Tuesday, we decided that we needed to do a 9/11 activity. I decided to homeschool because I think education is so much more than just "school." I love giving my kids real world opportunities to show them what their education is all about. We decided to go to the Healing Fields to view the flags.
We had an amazing experience. On the way to the field, I told the kids my story from 9/11. It was so odd to be telling Makenzie about my day, and then realize that I was three months away from giving birth to her when this all happened. The kids were pretty somber as we walked through the display. We got to a section of state flags and looked at them for a while. They each had tag with a soldier's name, where they were from and where and when they died in the war. As we were looking at the flags, we noticed that there were a few that had flowers and pictures on them. I was showing the kids one of the pictures and talking about the people who had loved that soldier and their sacrifice when two women and a man walked up behind me. The man let me know that I was looking at a picture of his son. I started crying, and then all of my kids walked away from me, and I found each of them privately crying and mourning this soldier in different parts of the field. There was a man in the section of state flags when we got there. As we were getting ready to leave, he asked me to take a picture of him standing next to a flag. He said that he was sending it to his sister-in-law. He wanted her to know that her husband was important, and being honored in Utah. I asked him if he knew the soldier, and he let me know that it was his brother. It was a touching experience. We had a good talk on our way home.
Tuesday, we also decided to medicate Michael. He had not been able to concentrate at all, and he was really struggling to get his work done in the 5 1/2 hours he was supposed to do school each day. It was a great day!! Everyone was finished with school by 3. Michael's teachers finally put up pacing guides on the school's website, and once I found out we are on track, I felt much better. On the schedule, I saw that they give us one day a month for what they call a K-8 Activity. On that day, we need to find something educational to do, but there are no lessons scheduled. Our first Activity was scheduled for last Friday. We desperately needed it.
We decided to go and visit the Copper Mine. Michael has been studying the Geography of our state, and the effect that people have on the environment. It was the perfect field trip.
We decided to finish off the field trip with doughnuts. It was a great way to end the week.
We are finally getting the hang of this schooling thing a little bit more. The kids were able to get their work done, and get their jobs done most days. Things are finally starting to come together. It is still a lot of work, but we are starting to see some results.
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