Binkies and Briefcases

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What REALLY Happened Yesterday

By: Stephanie3 Comments

 

So…I could tell you that yesterday after homeschooling and piano lessons we went to meet a good friend of mine at a local farm to pick fresh blueberries and cherries. I could share lovely pictures that Tabatha took on her phone.

 
 I could tell you that we came home and had a nice homemade dinner followed by good old fashioned lemon sticks and after the children were bathed and in bed, we were able to get more work done on the house plans. 
 
 
Yes, I think that is what I will do. I will tell you those nice things instead. All of them are technically true.  I won’t tell you that I stole those pictures from Tab’s Facebook page because I was too lazy to take any.
 
I won’t tell you that by “homeschool” I mean one worksheet I printed from the internet or that “piano lessons” is just me and two kids still in what’s left of their pajamas after they’ve discarded their pants, sitting in the living room in front of Eddie’s old keyboard making our way through an instruction book I bought off of Amazon. Nevermind that I don’t know how to play the piano myself.
 
I won’t tell you that I made my poor friend drive over an hour from out of state just to find out the berry picking fields were closed.
 
I won’t tell you about the poop explosion that she had to deal with or about how my son hit and bit me when we left the playground. 
 
I won’t tell you that when we came home I let my kids watch tv for almost three hours until Eddie came home or that our family dinner was really just microwaved chicken nuggets, applesauce, and freezer pops.
 
I won’t tell you that I fell asleep on the sofa at 9:30 in the middle of watching Design Star while my poor husband stayed up for hours reading over stormwater ordinances. 
 
I won’t admit to not showering yesterday. 
 
I have an image to uphold, after all. ; )
 

linking up to finding the funny

 

I Blinked

By: Stephaniecomment

…and half a year flew by. Now, this little lady is turning six months old this week.

I’m sad it is going by so fast. We are probably done having children, so I want to hang on to the baby stage as long as possible and it certainly doesn’t hurt that thus far Miss Penny is pretty much the easiest baby ever. (Her sister, on the other hand, was very demanding, so we know how lucky we are!)

Last night she slept for 9 straight hours in her crib, then she woke up to have breakfast, played in her exercauser for a little while, then fell back asleep for another two-hour nap.

She is very calm (so much so that we are actually a little concerned about her hearing) and unless she is hungry you probably won’t be hearing a peep out of her. Maybe some cooing, since she has recently started making the most adorable noises ever as she experiments with trying to talk.

She gives “kisses” by opening her mouth as wide as she can and gnawing on your cheek. Iloveit. 

She is starting to wave a little. Sort of. Sometimes.

Other skills include rolling over, almost being able to sit on her own, eating solid foods, the most adorable giggle in the universe when you tickle her neck, finally sleeping in her crib (as opposed to co-sleeping on the sofa or chillin’ in her car seat all night) and not liking to poop in public places, which mommy appreciates.

Also, she will be graduating top of her class from Harvard in 2034 and on the Presidential ticket in 2048, although we might have to wait another 4 years for her sister to finish serving her second term. (Their brother will be too busy for political affairs, as he has aspirations to join the Navy and pilot the Blue Angels.)

 

Diary of a Reluctant Homeschooler: A is for “Ah-ha” Moment

By: Stephanie2 Comments


“Do you know the letter A? The letter A, the letter A. do you know the letter A? Here’s the letter A.”

All week long I’ve heard that song from the Hooked on Phonics CD Rom, and I’ve danced around the kitchen with an inflatable A to the Letter People song about Ms. A saying “Ahchoo.” I cut cardstock into  curves and lines and we used the Handwriting Without Tears model to make “puzzles” of the letter A. We traced the puzzles with our fingers. We traced them with crayons. We played letter recognition games, we used flash cards. We learned the sight words a, at, and & all. We read about Adam and Eve and the apple. We cut out things that started with a from magazines and pasted them in our notebook.

Thursday night he still couldn’t write a letter A, but I had finally figured out why.

All week long I’ve been trying to teach him by chanting and modeling, “Down, up, down, pick up your crayon and go across the middle.”

Over and over (and over)

Nothing.

Then Thursday, through tears he yelled and screamed as I reminded him for the millionth time to start at the top. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE TOP IS!”

Duh. The paper is flat. To him it has no top.

“Start away from you.”

All it took was that one simple sentence.

Silence. The crayon goes to the right spot.

“Now pull. Good! Push. Now pull down the other side. Pick up your crayon and slide across the middle. You did it!”

He did it. Then he did it again and again and again. It was not a fluke. He threw his fists in the air and shouted “I’m so happy with myself!”

Today when I told  him it was time for school he didn’t fight me at all. He sat down and practiced and he did an entire practice sheet all by himself for the first time ever. And he did the whole paper in under five minutes. (Normally it would take a solid half hour and he wouldn’t even get finished one line.)

I even think he is starting to understand the whole top and bottom of the paper concept.

It’s pretty stinkin’ adorable, see for yourself.
(As long as you promise not to comment on my very messy dining room table. Creating literacy is a messy job, people.)

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