Chuck E. Cheese

The kids has their first trip to Chuck E. Cheese this weekend. It was Ryan's friend Jake's birthday, and they were celebrating there. Ryan had a blast! He loved all the rides and games he could play. The music, loud video games and rides, lights, people, smells, etc., were way too much for Abigail. She kind of shut down, and so I decided we needed to leave, much to Ryan's dismay. I think it will be a long time before we attempt that place again.

Crane Ship

Ryan has been into cranes lately, so when Daddy heard that a ship carrying a large crane would be passing by our town on "our" river, he called to let us know. I piled the kids into the bike trailer and we headed down to Pixie Park to watch the show. The Columbia River is just about four blocks from our house, and there are often large cargo ships and barges going by. However, we have never seen such a large monstrosity as this before. It's hard to tell from the picture how truly big it is, but when it passed under the Lewis and Clark Bridge miles up the river in Rainier, it only cleared it by three feet. That bridge has a clearance of 210 feet!

Ryan was thrilled to see it, though he had a hard time comprehending it's size. He said, "Mom, look it's bringing a bridge with it!" The kids ended up getting soaking wet playing in the river and a tad bit sunburned since Mommy forgot the sunscreen (we hadn't seen enough of the sun so far this year to worry about sunscreen). It was a fun break from the usual routine, and I was surprised to see about 50 people show up on our little bitty beach.

Reading Buddy

Ryan has really grown in his confidence in reading. I was getting a slow start today, and when I went to round the kids up for breakfast, I found Ryan sitting on Abby's bed reading her a story! It was sweet to see him reading to her, and it was encouraging to me that he is enjoying it enough to pick up a book and read it aloud.

Park Day

After church on Sunday we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and have a picnic. We went to our local Trojan Park to eat lunch, do some fishing, some walking, and just plain enjoying God's creation. Ryan didn't last long fishing, but he had fun picking daisies, throwing rocks and sticks into the lake, and spying out the biggest tadpoles you've ever seen.

The lake and park are absolutely gorgeous, but it's so odd to be there with the ducks and fish and trees and wildlife and then look up and see this huge nuclear cooling tower looming up above the treeline! In a couple weeks they will demolish the tower, and it will be a "normal" park.

Who Needs an Easter Basket?

We had to do our Easter egg hunt indoors this year because it was raining pretty good. The kids didn't mind a bit, and Ryan decided to use his dump truck instead of his basket to put the eggs in. That's my boy!

By the way, this has to be the finest gift we ever gave this child. He got it on his first birthday, and he still plays with it almost daily three years later. The best part is we got it for free from a client at Ed's work who had filled it full of Christmas candy for the office staff!

Still Reviewing

During our second week, Ryan has continued to fly through his review. He is reading much more fluidly than he ever has, and it is neat to see him get so excited about his math worksheet. It's amazing how motivating a smiley face is to four-year-old!

This week also brought about our first complaint. "I don't like school," was the cry, but I think it had more to do with the fact that Daddy had a rare day off and was home with us than it did with actually disliking school.

I have been amazed at how well Ryan is doing at creative drawing! Two months ago, he wouldn't do anything but scribble, but now he loves to sit and draw cars, trucks, vans, semis, etc. He adds antennas and bumpers and roof rack cargo carriers, and they are really adorable pictures.

Giving

I established a new incentive/reward system in our home recently, and Ryan seems to be really motivated by it. The kids earn credits (poker chips) for doing their chores, having good attitudes, being kind, etc., and they can cash them in for computer time, staying up a little later, and other small treats or privileges. One of the things I allow them to "purchase" is a trip to the Dollar Tree to buy any one item they want. So when I went there to pick up some party plates and napkins this week, Ryan decided he wanted to "buy" this reward. He chose very carefully, and clever boy that he is, picked a package of five small cars instead of the package that only had one!

While we were there he said he wanted to get Abby a birthday present. I reminded him that it would cost him some of his poker chips, and he said, "That's okay. I want to get her something." I told him to pick out something that he thought she would really like, and he chose this hula hoop. Being unselfish and giving does not come easily to Ryan as it does to Abby, so my Mommy heart was so proud to see this spark of generosity!

First Time for Everything

This morning Ryan slept a little later than usual, and I was helping Abby get dressed in her room. I looked up and saw Ryan standing in the hall, and my first thought was, "Did we put him to bed in his clothes last night?" Then I realized he had got up and dressed himself! He has never dressed himself without being told before, so it kind of stunned me for a minute.

A few weeks ago I started implementing some new routines in our home because I knew we were going to begin homeschooling soon. One of those things was that both kids needed to be dressed, have their beds made and rooms clean before breakfast. Usually it's a joint effort with me helping them along and reminding, etc. But this morning Ryan stepped up to the plate and got dressed and made his bed without being asked. Way to go, Ryan! My little boy is growing up.

Box Crane

Ryan loves the PBS show George Shrinks, or should I say loved it. They took it off our local PBS station, so he can't watch it any more. But back in December there was an episode where George's mom used a large box and made a crane out of it. Ryan has been wanting me to build one ever since. Sigh. I am not good at that sort of thing, but he was really excited so I told him after we moved we'd use the moving boxes to make one for him.

I've been procrastinating for months, but Saturday I finally brought in the boxes and large tubes Daddy brought home from work and put together an odd-looking crane. I made an arm on each side so both he and Abby could play at the same time. Ryan was thrilled, and spent hours lifting cargo into the laundry baskets. Maybe this week we'll decorate it because it's pretty ugly, but at least I finally kept my promise to him.

Artwork

I had to up the contrast so this would show up.
It's not actually fluorescent.

Ryan does not really like to color or draw, and up until just a couple weeks ago, all he would do is scribble. But seemingly out of nowhere, he just started drawing real pictures. He drew the cutest picture at a restaurant yesterday, but I could kick myself because I walked off and left it. He wanted to draw some more today, and this is what he drew. Unfortunately, he doesn't press very hard with the crayon and it didn't show up very well.

Notice a theme here? He's really into vans and trailers right now.

Well, That Was Fun!

We finished our first "official" week of homeschooling. I must say that despite a few difficulties, it was so much fun! Ryan learned that he loves "doing school" and he has already memorized the Pledge of Allegiance, Abby is learning to sit still and do quiet activities of Mommy's choosing, and Mommy is gradually being conformed to the image of Christ while at the same time watching the joy of accomplishment on Ryan's face.


The hardest thing so far has been being disciplined enough to actually stop the household duties and just do school. I hope that as we settle into our new routine this will be a little easier. I thrive on routine, and, frankly, so do my kids. The second hardest thing was trying to keep Abigail occupied and somewhat quiet while I helped Ryan. I made a list of things that she can do at the table somewhat independently, and I gave her one to do each day. It's gone fairly well this week, but I can tell this is going to be an ongoing struggle until she is more able to entertain herself or she begins to do school with us.

I thought it would be best to start with some review of things he had already learned to make sure we were starting with a solid foundation. I'm so glad we did because it gave me a better picture of where he really is in his learning. I started by going back through Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons again (I love this book!), and Ryan just flew right through 20 lessons the first day! He didn't want to stop, so we just kept on going. By the end of the week we had finished lesson 45, so I can tell this review was probably too easy for him. However, I'm pleased that I decided to do it because his confidence has really grown this week, and that has been lacking.


We also reviewed some basic math by practicing addition up to 12 with 0 and 1 addend. He likes the flashcards, but he really enjoys the little worksheets I print out for him from a free customizable program I found online. Lastly, we worked on writing numbers and letters, not Ryan's favorite thing to do at all. Still, I saw improvement in just this first week.


One of the best things that I saw this week was that Ryan sat down with his reading book and was teaching Abby. I was a little surprised Abigail participated, but she was repeating the sounds he told her to. It was precious. Also, instead of taking his usual Hot Wheel or small toy when we go on a car trip, Ryan chose to take his reading book yesterday! It thrills me to see him so charged up about learning. Only the Lord knows how next week (or next year) will go, but I am very pleased with our first week.

I Had a Mother Who Read To Me

I love reading to my children, but the last several months I've taken it up a notch or two. In addition to reading dozens of picture books per week, I read a devotion during breakfast and a couple of chapters from our latest chapter book of choice. Then during lunch we read several more chapters from our chapter book. Both kids have really enjoyed this, Ryan especially. His vocabulary has been growing too, and it's so neat to hear him using some rather large words. He was talking to himself while we were waiting for the streetcar last month, and he said, "She doesn't know her competition!" Everyone waiting, including me (oops) starting laughing, and it hurt Ryan's feelings. I tried to tell him we weren't laughing at him and that it just surprised us to hear him say that word, but he didn't seem to buy it.

I highly recommend the book The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It was very useful in inspiring me to read even more to my kids. Along those lines, I ran across a poem that I want to share.


The Reading Mother

I had a mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,
"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.

I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings —
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be —
I had a Mother who read to me.

- Strickland Gillilan

Teaching Abby to Read

I took the plunge and began homeschooling Ryan this week. I'm only doing about an hour a day, but Ryan is really excited. We started by reviewing his phonics reading book from last year, and he was so excited he zipped through the first 20 lessons on the first day! His excitement has bubbled over onto Abby. I "caught" him teaching her to read with his reading book. It was precious to watch!

Taking a Deep Breath

This is the moment that I've been preparing for and anticipating for years. I have looked to this day with trepidation and excitement, and now it is here. We are beginning to homeschool this month. Of course, I've really been homeschooling for years, but now I feel like it's "official" and that I need to be more structured. My son learned to read almost a year ago, and he's been learning math facts and some geography too. However, our learning has been pretty hit and miss, and I feel the need to have more structure, or at least routine. We will only do "official" school for about 30 minutes to an hour per day, but my goal is to do it every day, not just when it works out.

But it is April, and you don't begin school in April, you say? Well, I guess I want to get some routine and structure going before our first full school year begins this fall. It's a little like practicing. I think my son is ready, and I am too. So here goes...