Making Friends

We recently began attending a local homeschool group, and one of the families invited us over for lunch today. They live on a farm with quite a few animals. Ryan isn't an animal lover, but he did like their cat a lot. He had a great time playing with the boys his age, and the older girls pushed them in the hammock and basically did a good job corralling everyone so the mom and I had some time to chat fairly uninterrupted. It was a nice afternoon, and we hope to invite them over to our house soon.


Ryan decided he didn't want to be pushed as high as the
others and wanted off. We couldn't convince him to lay on his back.
He was on his hands and knees instead.

Missing the Snow

We were missing the snow, so we decided to make some paper snowflakes to hang around the house. I found some beautiful patterns to print out online and then cut out, and we also just made a few designs of our own. Ryan has gotten pretty good with his scissor skills, and I was impressed at how well he was able to follow the lines I drew for him!

Children's Church Prayer

We tried a new church on Sunday, and Daddy took Ryan and Abby to children's church. There was a large group of children and about six adults present. As Daddy was preparing to leave the leader asked if someone would like to lead the group in prayer. Nobody immediately volunteered, but after a small amount of time, Ryan raised his hand and said, "I will." Daddy was a little surprised he volunteered so eagerly when there were so many people and he didn't know any of them, so he stayed to listen to his prayer.

Dear God, thank You for this day. Thank You for sending Jesus to die on the cross to take away our sin. Thank You that we will live with You forever in heaven. Amen.

Needless to say, Daddy was very blessed this Sunday.

Building a Snowman

Ryan wanted to go outside again today and try to build a snowman. We rarely have snow that stays around for an extra day, so the kids are very excited that they got to go out and play in it again today. It snowed a bit more today, while we were outside playing even, and it was a much wetter snow. The temperature was a bit warmer too and beginning to melt our powdery snow. It worked out well for us because it became the perfect snow to build a snowman with! Ryan did a great job rolling the snowballs in the snow for the body and head. He's getting to be so big!

More and More Snow!

We woke up to an inch of snow this morning, and it continued to fall for five more hours! Ryan was dying to go out and play, but it was so cold (24 degrees) and a little windy that I put him off for a while in hopes it would warm up a bit. As of right now, it's still only 29 degrees outside, but Daddy came home early from work so I'm glad we waited so that we could all play together. Also, the wind had stopped blowing, so it didn't feel quite so cold this afternoon.



Now, that's what I call snow tires!

Ryan made his first snow angel, and then he couldn't decided what to do next. He played with his bulldozer and tried to have a snowball fight with Abby. Unfortunately, it was a very dry snow, and it didn't stick together very well. I tried to make a snowman but it just wasn't sticking together enough to fuss with it, so we just got out the sleds and slid down the driveway instead.

10 Commandments on DVD

Ryan memorized the 10 Commandments a while ago. We also have them printed, framed and hung at his level. But I have been trying to find other ways to teach him about God's laws so he will think about them applying to whatever he is doing. When we were at the library last month I ran across a set of DVDs that looked promising. I watched it to make sure it was Biblical and appropriate, and I was very pleased. They handled some touchy subjects well, and best of all, both kids love them! They are short animated stories, and Ryan has been wanting to watch them again and again. They are called Kids 10 Commandments or K10C, if anyone is interested.

Funny Word List

As Ryan was reading to me today he came to the word "peculiar." Usually when he comes to an unfamiliar word he will stumble over it a couple of times trying to figure it out, but as he came to this word he just matter of factly said puke-u-ler and just kept right on reading!

When I was a kid my family would make fun of me because I pronounced certain words in a funny way while reading them and it seemed as if they never forgot (in fact, I'd be willing to bet they could still come up with that list)! I think peculiar just became Ryan's first official word on his very own list. I was never deeply bothered by the teasing I got from it, though it did get monotonous at times. When I couldn't help laughing at his pronunciation today, he just laughed along with me. Hopefully, he will keep his ability to laugh at himself!

A New Year-A Fresh Start

I don't know who made the school year begin in September, but it doesn't work well for me. I suppose since I am homeschooling, I could do whatever I wanted and begin in January instead. But homeschooling seems to clash with enough in our society, so I've gone along with the September start. Actually, this was my first September start since Ryan is only in Kindergarten this year, but it didn't go well for me. We did much better back in April and all the way through the end of August.

Maybe it's because in September my mind turns to fall and then I start thinking about holiday errands and everything that needs to get done in the next four months, but whatever the reason, our school year started out a little sluggish. We did school like usual, but it lacked enthusiasm and commitment. We took three weeks off over Christmas, and now we're beginning again. Mentally, I already feel much more focused and ready to tackle the list of books and things I want Ryan to know before First Grade and Abby for Preschool (though her goals are much more loose).

Hopefully, the next eight months will make up for the last four. Even Ryan was excited and ready to get back to schooling this week! We're learning about calendars (seasons, months, days of the week, etc.), time, money, skip counting, and most importantly--how to tie shoes! We're finishing up level one reading books in our curriculum and beginning level two. Ryan's learning cursive and beginning to tackle some easy multiplication while he solidifies his subtraction and addition math facts.

I am surprised at how much I love homeschooling. Even in my lackluster period last year, I was so grateful for the blessing of being a stay-at-home mom and having the support of my husband so that I can keep my children at home with me for school!

Snowplowing

We had some snow today, and though it wasn't much, of course the kids were dying to go out and play in it. We bundled up and out we went. There was less than an inch, but they made the most of it. They plowed the whole patio and the kiddie table and just about anyplace they could find to plow. After about 45 minutes, our backyard was just a slushy mud puddle, so we went inside and the kids had a nice warm bubble bath. It's supposed to snow more today, but we're going to enjoy the rest of it from inside by the fire!

Tastes in Food

I fixed Prime Rib on New Year's Eve. Ryan LOVES it, but as I was dishing his up he said, "Mom, could you take off the pine needles for me. I don't like pine needles." LOL...I had rubbed it with rosemary.

Ryan's tastes in food continue to baffle me. He likes some things most kids wouldn't touch: Salmon, steak, green olives, shredded wheat, prime rib, clam strips, feta cheese, halibut, mustard, trout, swiss cheese.

Then he doesn't like things most kids beg for: Fruit Loops, caramel, American Cheese, Lucky Charms (actually, he doesn't like any "kid" cereal), butterscotch, ketchup, Pop Tarts, marshmallows, mashed potatoes, watermelon.