Ollie was hyped up to read tonight; his sight word this week is is.  We finished Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which I think he enjoyed a lot.  I will have to ask him tomorrow…the sunny and warm day had us outside at Pine Park and jumping on the tramp all afternoon. He was ready to settle down at the end of the last chapter.  And while we read he did pick out is.  I’ll pick a picture book tomorrow with less tiny words; it is difficult to see those little letters when you are training your eyes to read!

Besides the whole walking/talking thing, nothing beats my fascination in watching them learn to read!!

Checked out Heinz History Center today!  Not the most favorite of our museums but pretty neat nonetheless.    
    
    
 

There were so many times I laughed out loud today at the kids.  In delight.  In amusement. In wonder.  (In exasperation: #truth)  Emmy and her wildness.  Lily and her singleminded-ness (and shrewd assessment of the Grammy outfits on replay).  Ollie and his love/hate relationship with zombies.  They are all so busy and loud and wild.  I felt like I owned the most feral children on the block this weekend since they drug all.the.dirt. into the house and often left their clothes strewn on the lawn…but they are so original and confident.  How can one not appreciate that?

We got just a small taste of spring today…and was it ever a breath of fresh air (literally)!  A long walk in the morning with Emmy, all day outside playing in the mud for the older kids.  Ollie had a birthday party to go to.  When I returned home from the party and grocery shopping, I found the neighborhood in the backyard.  Before leaving, Landon showed up with a metal detector and everyone commenced to digging up my front garden.  I shooed them back to the trampoline and backyard area.  Upon my return, a 2 foot hole had been dug, lined with a tarp and water filled it.  Some kids were in bathing suits.  While I told Lily they could dig in the backyard, I failed to tell her that I only meant little divots.  My bad.  Guess Ollie and his trucks will have a good place to drive around when spring really does arrive 🙂

It is 6 and they are still outside which makes everyone happy.  We are eating mac’n for dinner.  O Happy Day!

And in other news:  I started a homeschool blog.  wellermomma.com

Feel free to check it out.  Mostly it is to hold all the ideas and book recommends I give on Periscope.  I just need more fun in my life!  🙂

We made landform maps with sugar cookies today!   And they have already been decorated and chomped. Without documentation. 😕 Seriously. Did it really even happen then?!?

    
 
Yesterday, Bem read to her class:

Lily crept down as I was starting to think about what to write tonight; she shared some ideas and I will try to go with those.  (She has pretty great ideas much of the time, if I stop to listen).

1. Tell them about how awesome my Periscope was {yesterday}.  And, indeed, it was awesome and she blew me away with her ease of conversation, her interactions and how interesting her life is…and sharing that with others.  While she won’t write many things for me, her conversation and expression are turning into terrific strengths.  She is articulate and I can see her mature right before my eyes.  I am going to ask her to do a review/reflection on the book we just finished so look for that in the next few days.
2. Sarah, Plain and Tall is the book we just finished.  It all was tied into a unit on maps and mapping.  She researched Kanas and Maine, we kept track of the artistic way the author used colors in the story to help us understand mood and gathered clues about whether Sarah would stay or leave.  It was very satisfying.  Since Christmas I have used Moving Beyond the Page as my main curriculum source and we have both found a groove in learning together.
3. Our upcoming trip:  We are all excited to meet Baby Owen and see everyone out on the West Coast.  I didn’t share the alarming news that the pool heater isn’t working (right now); they have been working way too hard at swimming for that to happen!  End of March into April; home by the time Lily turns 8! (Have mercy!)

So, you see, a pretty nice list of topics for tonight, provided by the first born of the family.

I just have little energy or zeal for writing but I can tell by the calendar that February may one day end and for that I am very very grateful!

  
Post-dance…they are a little tired😍

Also—look at who

Moved on up in swimming!!!!  Yay, Miss BemBem!!