Everyday life.

Just a few snippets of everyday life.  Today I walked up the stairs to find this:


Stuart is doing a book for Which Way USA.  He loves them and has been completing many of the state books lately.  Marcus was reading a book he borrowed from Stuart.  Here's the loan slip.  Yes, Stuart rarely remembers to capitalize anything.



Spike has taken to sleeping at the foot of our apartment stairs.  The boys jump over him all the time.

 

Halloween costumes!  Stuart was thrilled to finally be Robin hood.  Marcus, inundated with change lately, chose to wear a costume he got for Christmas almost two years ago.

 

What we've been up to since we moved

Well, we've been in Phoenix for three weeks now.  What have we been up to?  Have I managed to take some pictures?  A few.

Up until yesterday, the boys went to the pool every single day.

 

They have been doing fun activities.  In this case, making an animal die from paper, rolling the die, and filling out a graph with the results.  (I love free internet printables.)



The boys got their own library cards!  Which is good, since the checkout limits here are much smaller.

 

We've done some exploring around the neighborhood--in the cooler mornings, of course.
 



Stuart has built many Lego creations.



Marcus has built some lovely Duplo creations.

  

 And there's even been some school.  This was a race to complete handwriting workbook pages.

  

There have also been other activities, but I think I'll blog those separately.

Who Cares if it's Summer, or Math Games are Fun.

We did a little school Monday morning. This morning's math review is a multiplication game, and is the exact opposite of slick, professional design.  I looked for something online, but couldn't find a game like this.  This homemade game has the following features:

• Hand drawn with a Sharpie;
• Straight-ish lines made without a ruler (couldn't find one);
• Game tiles are ceramic mosaic tiles bought at Michael's;
• Game board is unlaminated construction paper; and 
• Taped to the back of a Scrabble board.

This game was primarily for Stuart, who I hope will not forget his multiplication facts over the summer.  Large multiplication table, drawn (in Sharpie!) on construction paper.  Answers written (also in Sharpie) on tiles.  Here's a bag of answers.  Find their place on the table!

Here's the end of the game.  I forgot to get a picture at the beginning, sorry.


I realized that I could include Marcus by having him take the tiles out of the bag and read out the number on each tile.  For Marcus to be able to control a game is heaven.  At least for him.






I did not anticipate the giggling.







This is such a flexible game that you could play any way you like.  I just let Marcus draw random tiles out of the bag.  After a while, he was seeking and pulling out small numbers so that Stuart could fill in the first row quickly.  You could set out just a few tiles for your student to put on the board, to concentrate on specific facts.  Like The Trickster!  (7x9=63.  Stuart gave it that name.)  I suppose I could line up the tiles in order, then have Stuart call for certain numbers (and have Marcus find them in the lineup).  So many different ways to do this.

As Stuart got near the end, Marcus was handing over the tiles too fast.  Stuart lined them up in numerical order at the bottom of the board.

I love it when my boys get along.  Especially when they're doing what I want them to do.

             

I would make this next picture the new blog banner if there wasn't stuff piled on the table behind the kids' heads.  See, Grandma, your package really did arrive!  And we have lots of books!

  

After a while, I had to give Marcus something else to do, so he started "writing a poem" on the chalkboard.

   

And...ta da!  Completed game!  (Yes, this is the exact same picture as the first picture.)



Fun was had by all.  I think they enjoyed this game more because we created it together, using simple supplies we had on hand.  I did buy the tiles for the game, but they're not what you'd expect for a game of this sort--just the best option I could find while walking around like a zombie in Michael's one evening. 

Definitely more fun than Stuart's nemesis--copywork.

Better Living Through Signage

This post is random pictures since the last post.  But...most of them involve the activities of one certain four-year-old.  The one who is really into making signs these days.

This is my bedroom door.  The pink sign on top says MAD, which stands for "Mommy and Daddy".  The sign below?  Marcus says, "This sign is for Daddy.  It commands Daddy to put Mommy into the bed."  I should mention that he really relishes using the word "commands".



This is Awesome Husband Doing a Task from the Honey-Do List.  He is removing old caulk around the kitchen sink and backsplash.  He even put in new caulk, and I hear by tomorrow morning I can have my sink back.  I managed to make dinner tonight without using my sink.  That was interesting.



Another appearance by Preschool Signs R Us.  One day we crossed paths in the house and he said, "I'm going to make a sign that says, 'I'm starving'."  It was nearly lunchtime.  He taped it to the refrigerator.  The smiley face on the fridge is also a Marcus Original.



This foam angel magnet is one Stuart made for Sunday School.  This boy loves crafts so much, we should probably do more of them at home.
  


I think I was following Marcus around and taking pictures while he pointed out signs.  I stopped and took a picture of Stuart reading his Highlights magazine.



Meanwhile, Marcus has retreated to his desk (which I have never before seen so clean) to make a sign with a big G.  He said it was for me, in case I forgot what a 'G' looks like.  So thoughtful.



Yes, the picture quality is horrible.  This is Stuart's first lesson in Gamma, the next level up in his math program (Math-u-See).  He was really excited to be starting the next level, so we dragged the desk into the living room to make it look/feel more official.  Poor Steve is not looking so great, between the light fixture glare and the flash glare.



Marcus continues to teach me!  This time, he puts a sign by my chair that says "BY GOOD".  He reads the sign as "Be good".



There are now two signs around my bed.  The one in pencil that you can't read, on the left, says, "PLYS SLEP IN".  It means, "Please sleep in."  The other one, "SLeP IN CAT", is in case Spike (our cat) forgets how to sleep.  And suddenly learns how to read, I guess.

There have been other signs, too, like "HUG YOUR SUNS" and "HUG ME TO".  There are two "I LOVE DADDY" signs on the front door right now.  (Also a more elaborate sign by Stuart.)  We have a laundry hamper that is labeled "Socks & underwear & towels".  He tried to add "AND LOTS MORE SOCKS" with a red marker, but he wasn't happy with the results.  When I discovered it, there was "SOC" and a big red patch on the hamper.  Oh, and a stick figure drawing on the carpet.  I am so glad the kids have washable markers. 

Reading, writing, 'rithmetic, and real food prep.

I begin and end this post with a nasty face from Stuart.  One from each camera.  I could have included more. 



Marcus, in the meantime, is writing numbers on the chalkboard.  His brother was using the board to work problems during his math lesson, so Marcus has taken over and is writing numbers on the board.  And the letter P, although it's supposed to be a 9.



Stu uses the mandolin to chop celery.  For a mixed crock of brine pickles.  He's doing the chopping so I can go to IKEA.  I'll spare you the IKEA photos.



Stuart drew a picture of me.  I guess I'm out in space.



Once again, Stuart is working math problems on the chalkboard.  The answer is correct except for the comma in the wrong place.  Commas are hard, y'all.



At the same time as Stuart working that problem on the chalkboard, Marcus is on the other side of the easel, writing his own numbers in crayon.



Stuart has moved on to a worksheet.  He's explaining to me that it's super easy.  He did get them all right, except maybe another comma in the wrong place.



So where did Marcus go?  Uh-oh, a tunnel in the hallway probably isn't a good sign.



But he's down in the basement.  He wanted to bring a floor puzzle upstairs, but took it out of the bag first.  This picture was carefully cropped to only show the mess he made.



School room bedlam.  Stuart is trying to keep me from getting a picture of him.  Marcus is nearly successful at whacking him in the head with a tent pole.



Later in the day, Stuart makes mayonnaise!



He did a good job, too.  See how thick it is?



He even labeled the jar himself.  First time ever making mayo, first time ever being allowed to use a Sharpie.



A boy who can make his own mayo will go far in life.



Marcus is writing again.  I wonder what he was thinking about.



We just finished Story of the World Vol. 1.  I brought out Vol. 2, and Stuart has been reading it on his own.  I decided that he would learn more from reading his history text of his own volition than he would from getting dressed and doing a math review.  Besides, later he aced the math review.



For Stuart's language skills I am using Writing With Ease, and on Wednesdays that means copywork taken from our current read-aloud (Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder).  I have started making Marcus his own copywork page, too.  Today Marcus found the page, and said, "Pum.  Pump.  Pump...kin.  Pumpkin?"  I boggled for a minute (didn't know he'd be able to read such a long word) and encouraged him to give it a try.  He refused, but later I found his doing the page anyway.



He's very, very hard on himself, so when he likes his work, I make a big deal out of it.  So we got a picture of this one.



Remember how I said Marcus is very, very hard on himself?  He didn't like how he wrote the word "PIE" here.  Or maybe he's unhappy with the current lack of pumpkin pie in the house.  That's a very dissatisfied Marcus.  The other words are his attempt at "PUMPKIN", but he doesn't believe in spelling rules. 



And here is that nasty face from Stuart.  Yes, he does lots of things other than math worksheets (and nasty faces), but that's the best time for pictures. 



I just want to pinch his cheeks.