Well, after the hullabaloo last night, today was rather uneventful. Nice, really. Since I got more sleep in one night than I normally do in a week, I was up 'n at 'em early this morning, and that momentum just carried through the day. The kitchen received a stuff-overhaul (we SO need to get that pantry ordered!) The dining room got cleared out. The living room got a good scouring. We had a nice, hot breakfast, enjoyed our lessons, played a little chess, played outside, and just enjoyed one another's company.
The big event today: we all followed Smidge to the bathroom every few minutes to cheer him on. I'm pretty sure that James would be perfectly happy to go the whole day tomorrow without having to come look at urine. Yes, pretty sure. Yet he'll come, and he'll high-five, and he'll give big hugs. Why? Because he's a cool kid. Even when we interrupt his precious reading time, he manages to muster a smile before he hits the bathroom door. I owe that kid, big time! Smidge was dry all day, save for one accident early on - for some reason, he refuses to believe you can put solids in the little potty - go figure. But otherwise, dry all day, even after naptime! YAY SMIDGE! Naturally, there is a high-fructose corn syrup-based incentive going on. He may end up diabetic, but by golly, he'll be wearing big-boy pants when he gives himself those injections!
Tonight, Zorak laid the cement blocks down where the HVAC was, and will be once again. This time, however, the hole will resemble - or at least hit an order of magnitude of - the unit that goes through the hole. What a concept! Lookin' good down there, too. He's made a lot of strides in the basement. He used all the extraneous lumber to build shelving - it's not "pretty", but it's wonderfully stable and fully functional. It is amazing how much stuff one rack can absorb!
John is reading everything he can get his hands on. Yet, if you ask him if he can read, he says, "No." WHAT?!? Ok, whatever works for ya, kiddo. However, when you put each child's idiosyncracies together, it gets awkward in public. James tells people "We don't go to school." (Yes, period - not "we homeschool", not "we're educated at home", heck, not even a nod toward education with "we study a lot on our own". Nope, he's gone back to saying simply, "we don't go to school".) John follows up with, "and I can't read" and that's about when Smidge starts laughing and yells, "I FARTED!" No wonder the best days are the days we stay home, no?
But it was good. Miss Emily rolled all over the boys' room today while I read aloud, Smidge ran trains over my head, and the older two played chess. We had a great discussion about moving at your own pace, being able to master any task they take on, and having the ability to enjoy branching out as we encounter things they will enjoy. When we finished the read-aloud, they both took their math books back out and did a second page for the day.
I'd requested a catalog from Greek 'n Stuff so that I could talk with Zorak about ordering "Hey Andrew..." for this summer. I shouldn't have looked. Can anybody compare Latin for Children with Latin's Not So Tough? Pretty please? I'd sold myself on LfC, particularly for James. But this looks like fun. (Truth be told, I want to take it and avoid Henle, but I won't. Whatever I order will be for the boys, and I will be a grown up about it and get my own program.) In the meantime, we're plugging along with PL review and enjoying the process itself.
And I hear the baby girl, so it's time to call it a night.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
9 comments:
I haven't read all the comments from yesterday but that sounded just awful!
I just received an email from "Above Rubies" with some ladies saying that adding fresh lemons (not juice from concentrate) to their water daily has all but cured them of migraines. Something about being acidic vs. alkaline. I have no clue if it's too voodoo or legit but I thought I'd throw that out there!
Dy,
Just stopping by to say HI. Life at your house is as exciting as it ever was and I love to read about it!!! How old is Miss Emily? Our daughter is 6 months now. Having a girl after my 2 boys is THE MOST WONDERFUL thing. Doncha think?
LOL at the quotes from the boys. Man, oh, man, the things they suddenly say in public that make us look bad. I don't know about you, but I'm keeping a list and when they're sixteen wanting to know why I just embarrassed them in public, I'm bringing the list out. ;)
As for Latin, here's a link that compares Latin programs. I've never seen Latin's Not So Tough, but my understanding is that it's much slower and less focused on grammar in the early levels than Latin for Children. It also has classical pronunciation. LfC has only classical pronunciation on the primer A DVD, but it has both pronunciations on the chant CD.
He may end up diabetic, but by golly, he'll be wearing big-boy pants when he gives himself those injections!
That made me spit coffee on the laptop! We are in the same stage right now! We have a big mason jar full of Hershey Kisses on a shelf (just out of reach) above the toilet. W is doing well, but has the same fear of "solids in the potty".
And Q, though he has been reading for a while, tells people he can't read!! And somehow he can only read things HE is interested in. HMMM...
Good luck with all you have going on! YAY SMIDGE!! WTG!!
~Em
Again, you have me laughing at the funny things your boys say. And cool that Emily is rolling all over the place!
About the Latin- I checked out the LNST when I was first searching for programs. I found it to not seem as thorough, and not nearly as well laid out as LfC. I think it may be fun, but it didn't look as good to me. And Kathy Jo is right- not as much grammar and it didn't cover as much. And once you get to the primer B DVD, he starts telling you both the classical and eccesiastical pronunciations.
Have a great day,
LB
Hey Dy!
Please don't be afraid of Henle. For whatever reason, I owned Wheelock's and was STILL afraid of Henle. Recently I purchased Henle and I'm quite impressed with how... well... it's strange to say any Latin program is easy and it's not easy, it's just presented well. So don't fear Henle.
~Jo's Boys
"Nope, he's gone back to saying simply, "we don't go to school".) John follows up with, "and I can't read" and that's about when Smidge starts laughing and yells, "I FARTED!" No wonder the best days are the days we stay home, no?"
This is so funny!!! I can just hear them saying this, and see the looks on peoples' faces as they try to be polite and privately wonder if they should call social services! ;)
This post makes me wish we could see the "boys from Alabama" again. And now the girl, too.
Sounds like you guys are living the good life, even if you've chosen not to educate your children. At least they are learning important life skills like peeing in the toilet!
KathyJo, LB, and Jo, thanks for the Latin feedback. That's just what I needed to hear to haul me back in line.
Amy, oh, we would love to see you guys, too! I wish our last trip hadn't been so hurry-up-and-get-there or we'd have stopped by. Maybe someday we'll come through when it's under 98' out!
Cheryl, thanks for the tip. I love lemon in my water. Haven't delved into the whole alkaline/acidity issue - it's one of those things I've avoided. I mainstream coffee - so anything that's going to tell me that may be a bad idea... yeah, *la la la la laaaaa* :-) Come to think of it, that's probably my trigger - the last three I've had came on when I didn't have any coffee in the morning. (Can you spell a-d-d-i-c-t-i-o-n?) *sigh*
Em, you are a smarter lady than I. We had to go w/ the multi-colored potty treats. BAD IDEA. It takes longer to pick two than it does to wait for him to pee! Next go-round, it's something monochromatic!
Dy
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