I'm taking one photo a week of the four kids standing in front of the same tree. This was our coldest photo yet! It was 18 degrees at 1:30 p.m. We are expecting a high of 20 today.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Back to co-op and more skating
21/365
We have all been getting excited about starting back to our home-school co-op this week. For the first time, I am teaching two classes, so I had lots of preparing to do.
We also were excited because our co-op moved to a new location, and we wanted to see what it would be like.
Jayda was happy to have a toddler room all decked out in toys just her size. The first period of the day was my "free" period, so she and I hung out in there. She loved snuggling with the big puppy and looking at books.
Second period, I taught a class called, "It's All in the Rhythm." I will be teaching the kids hand-clapping games, like "Miss Mary Mack," and jump-roping rhymes. I have three boys and four girls in the class, which makes it a lot of fun. In fact, we were having SO much fun, that I completely forgot to take a photo! Both Matthew and Alayna are in my class, while Andrew takes a class called, "Meet the Composers."
After that is lunch. Oh, wait! It looks like we added another brother to our family!
Third period, I teach a class called, "Iditarod: Race Across Alaska." We are studying history, geography and science as we learn about the Iditarod race, which takes place in March. I only have four boys in the class, but we are very excited to learn about this amazing race that pits dog-sled teams against each other, as well as against the harsh conditions of Alaska.
Andrew and Matthew are both in the class, along with their two good friends, brothers Sumner and Jonah. Alayna takes a drama class third period.
Around dinnertime, some good friends stopped by for a family skate on our backyard rink. The kids have been dying to have some adults get out there and skate. They especially love to skate at night when we turn on the "light" (yes... I just mean the outdoor patio light!), and we play our own music. I've been fighting a cold and it was about five below zero, so I had to sit out on the skating and snap photos.
We had a busy Friday, but tons of fun!
We have all been getting excited about starting back to our home-school co-op this week. For the first time, I am teaching two classes, so I had lots of preparing to do.
We also were excited because our co-op moved to a new location, and we wanted to see what it would be like.
Jayda was happy to have a toddler room all decked out in toys just her size. The first period of the day was my "free" period, so she and I hung out in there. She loved snuggling with the big puppy and looking at books.
Second period, I taught a class called, "It's All in the Rhythm." I will be teaching the kids hand-clapping games, like "Miss Mary Mack," and jump-roping rhymes. I have three boys and four girls in the class, which makes it a lot of fun. In fact, we were having SO much fun, that I completely forgot to take a photo! Both Matthew and Alayna are in my class, while Andrew takes a class called, "Meet the Composers."
After that is lunch. Oh, wait! It looks like we added another brother to our family!
Third period, I teach a class called, "Iditarod: Race Across Alaska." We are studying history, geography and science as we learn about the Iditarod race, which takes place in March. I only have four boys in the class, but we are very excited to learn about this amazing race that pits dog-sled teams against each other, as well as against the harsh conditions of Alaska.
Andrew and Matthew are both in the class, along with their two good friends, brothers Sumner and Jonah. Alayna takes a drama class third period.
Around dinnertime, some good friends stopped by for a family skate on our backyard rink. The kids have been dying to have some adults get out there and skate. They especially love to skate at night when we turn on the "light" (yes... I just mean the outdoor patio light!), and we play our own music. I've been fighting a cold and it was about five below zero, so I had to sit out on the skating and snap photos.
We had a busy Friday, but tons of fun!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Music lovers
20/365
I love the fact that my kids are now old enough to really enjoy music and have preferences about what they want to listen to.
Last week, Andrew asked if we could download a song he had been hearing on the radio by the Christian group, the Newsboys. I have been a little leary of the new Newsboys because I just don't get how Michael Tait, former member of dcTalk, can now be the lead singer.
Tait's soulful sound is a contrast to the disco, hip-hop sound of former lead singer Peter Furler.
Well, we ended up downloading the whole album, and it has become our new favorite around the house. It's also created a lot of conversation. The album includes the song, "Jesus Freak," which was the most popular song recorded by dcTalk.
The kids really know that their favorite Christian artist, TobyMac, was part of dcTalk. But they don't know anything about the other members, Michael Tait, and my personal favorite, Kevin Max.
So, they keep asking, "Why is Michael Tait singing TobyMac's song?"
"No, no, no!" I keep explaining. Michael Tait and TobyMac were BOTH part of dcTalk. So, Michael Tait has just as much right to sing the song (even though he's part of the Newsboys) as TobyMac with his own band.
It finally got to the point that I drew them a flow chart to try to explain the whole thing.
All of this conversation about the old dcTalk, the old Newsboys, the new TobyMac and the new Newsboys, led us to dig out all of our dcTalk and Newsboys cds from the past. We loaded them all on iTunes, and the kids have been loving their "new" collection of music.
I am loving hearing lots of my favorite songs from my two favorite groups from the past. And I love listening to all of this music through the "new ears" of my kids!
Last week, Andrew asked if we could download a song he had been hearing on the radio by the Christian group, the Newsboys. I have been a little leary of the new Newsboys because I just don't get how Michael Tait, former member of dcTalk, can now be the lead singer.
Tait's soulful sound is a contrast to the disco, hip-hop sound of former lead singer Peter Furler.
Well, we ended up downloading the whole album, and it has become our new favorite around the house. It's also created a lot of conversation. The album includes the song, "Jesus Freak," which was the most popular song recorded by dcTalk.
The kids really know that their favorite Christian artist, TobyMac, was part of dcTalk. But they don't know anything about the other members, Michael Tait, and my personal favorite, Kevin Max.
So, they keep asking, "Why is Michael Tait singing TobyMac's song?"
"No, no, no!" I keep explaining. Michael Tait and TobyMac were BOTH part of dcTalk. So, Michael Tait has just as much right to sing the song (even though he's part of the Newsboys) as TobyMac with his own band.
It finally got to the point that I drew them a flow chart to try to explain the whole thing.
All of this conversation about the old dcTalk, the old Newsboys, the new TobyMac and the new Newsboys, led us to dig out all of our dcTalk and Newsboys cds from the past. We loaded them all on iTunes, and the kids have been loving their "new" collection of music.
I am loving hearing lots of my favorite songs from my two favorite groups from the past. And I love listening to all of this music through the "new ears" of my kids!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Basketball and gymnastics
19/365
Wednesdays get really busy for us because Matthew is taking a basketball class, and Alayna is taking gymnastics. This Wednesday, we also added in a trip to public skate to meet up with some other home-school families. It was a packed day full of physical activity.
Alayna looks so much older this year in her gymnastics outfit!
Matthew is doing great at basketball. He won the dribbling contest this week and last week. It's fun to see him choosing to try a sport that doesn't interest his older brother. He loves basketball class and can't wait for it each week.
Wednesdays get really busy for us because Matthew is taking a basketball class, and Alayna is taking gymnastics. This Wednesday, we also added in a trip to public skate to meet up with some other home-school families. It was a packed day full of physical activity.
Alayna looks so much older this year in her gymnastics outfit!
Matthew is doing great at basketball. He won the dribbling contest this week and last week. It's fun to see him choosing to try a sport that doesn't interest his older brother. He loves basketball class and can't wait for it each week.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
How do you spell MISSISSIPPI?
18/365
We are looking forward to Friday when our classes resume at our home-school co-op. For the first time, I will be teaching two classes at co-op.
One of my classes is called "All in the Rhythm." I am going to teach lots of hand-clapping rhymes, like Miss Mary Mack, as well as jumping rope. I have two different DVDs with hand-clapping, rope-jumping moves, rhymes and songs.
As I've been preparing, the kids have really been getting into it. They have contests daily to see who can jump the longest. They also are learning all the words to songs like, "A, My Name is Alice" and "How Do You Spell MISSISSIPPI?"
Of course, Jayda has to get in on the action. She either wraps the rope around her head like a necklace or bobs her body along with the songs. We have to constantly watch her because she gets so tangled up in the ropes!
We are looking forward to Friday when our classes resume at our home-school co-op. For the first time, I will be teaching two classes at co-op.
One of my classes is called "All in the Rhythm." I am going to teach lots of hand-clapping rhymes, like Miss Mary Mack, as well as jumping rope. I have two different DVDs with hand-clapping, rope-jumping moves, rhymes and songs.
As I've been preparing, the kids have really been getting into it. They have contests daily to see who can jump the longest. They also are learning all the words to songs like, "A, My Name is Alice" and "How Do You Spell MISSISSIPPI?"
Of course, Jayda has to get in on the action. She either wraps the rope around her head like a necklace or bobs her body along with the songs. We have to constantly watch her because she gets so tangled up in the ropes!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Fun on the ice
16/365
Our ice skating rink is finally complete. It turned out far better than I ever anticipated!
Because we started so late building it, we couldn't even consider trying to level the yard first. It's funny that even in a yard that seems fairly flat, a few inches of decline can make a huge difference when you are thinking of filling a space with water.
The rink is about 28 feet by 26 feet. My wonderful husband had to build up the far side because it is about six inches deeper than the opposite corner. This means we have about eight inches of water in the deepest section and only about two inches in the diagonal corner.
We've learned a lot about the freezing properties of water. It took us nearly a week to add layers of water and let them freeze. In the middle of this process, we got several inches of snow. That seems like a good way to fill the rink with water, right? Well, not exactly.
It's too cold for the snow to melt and create a nice smooth surface. If it freezes, it will create bumps that have to be chipped away. So, snow means we need to shovel the rink!
But after much waiting, much shoveling, much filling, much chipping away at uneven ice, we finally got to skate this weekend!
I joined in on the fun on Sunday afternoon. The rink doesn't seem like it would be big enough to really get good exercise. But it actually is. It took me a few laps to find my center of gravity. I haven't ice skated in about 10 years.
Once I did, I spent about an hour going around and around. We brought out some music, which was even more fun!
These days, we closely monitor the weather. But unlike most years when we moan and groan if it drops below 20, we are starting to look forward to those days! We want to keep our ice frozen so we can have lots more fun on the rink.
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