Play dates

We are really thankful for our homeschooling friends! It is nice to be able to see them again after we stayed inside for most of the winter.

We enjoyed some play time/dinner at Vanessa's.

J & C hanging out in the trampoline

Rocky & Caitlin performing a duet

Jayden hiding behind the couch shooting Vinny

We also headed over to the park this week and met up with Carolyn and Amanda and their kids this week. Before we got out of the car Jayden told me "Mom, I think parks are for little kids... like three and under. I think I will sit down and watch everyone play." I just told him that was fine, it was his choice. That boy did not sit down once apart from the 5 minutes it took him to eat his lunch!

 

I never realized just how close the farm is to this particular park. The kids pet and fed the animals they could reach, all of which were pretty friendly!

 

 

We have gone to the pool every day this week. I have noticed we are all much more tired when bedtime approaches. This means easier bedtimes!

We have life!!! My plant is growing!

Since we are switching Jayden to a karate school, his teacher wanted him to see what karate competitions looked like. Juan took him and had some daddy/son time while Cait and I spent time together at home.

We now have a family membership to a pool/gym. We have been going every day. We get to spend time together AND get in some exercise at the same time.

 Of course we are still plugging away at our school work.

Homeschooling isn't limited to school subjects. We also teach the kids life skills. This is an opportunity for the kids to earn money, learn responsibility, and learn necessary things.

They help me with laundry 1x a week. In exchange they are paid for their time. Their responsibility of taking the clothes out of the dryer earns them $1 each.

They do other chores that earn them money as well. Not all chores mean money though. Some things, such as cleaning their room, clearing their dishes, and helping to clean any mess they have made are all mandatory chores.

They are still young enough that they actually beg to do chores, whether or not they get paid for them! I wonder how long it will last!

Last week we visited a co-op class to see if it would be a good fit for us. I must admit, we really liked it! It was one of their last classes for the semester. Because space is limited we have to see if there are spots for us in the fall. Hopefully there will be!

They allowed Jayden & Caitlin to participate in their first period class, which is a Lego class for 7-10yr olds. (They allowed Cait to join her brother too since we were there.)

The teacher was discussing all sorts of things including mass, gravity, and the solar system. She asked each child to create something that they thought would be important if they lived on another planet. Caitlin made a park. Jayden made a jail for all of the bad guys on Mars. I wanted to scoot closer to them to take a picture of their creations but I was trying to give them space (since according to Jayden I can be embarrassing. Me? NEVER!)

Although the co-op is secular, it does take place in a church. When we got home Jayden asked me about churches and faith, since he had seen the words all over the displayed artwork.

Later on in the afternoon we headed outside to enjoy the nice weather. The kids usually have helmets on but they were up in the attic which is not a place I venture to.

I've seen improvement in Jayden's attention during karate. Deshi makes sure that the kids stay focused during class time. Jayden really loves it. I am hoping to see some more confidence building once we move him to the karate school over the summer.

After karate we attended a craft activity at a local library. The kids made sun catchers.

 

Last weekend was really windy so Juan bought some kites. Let's just say this did not end well and leave it at that.

Note the foggy pictures. That is because the flash bounced off of the window screen. Yes folks, I was too lazy to open the screen to get a good shot. In all actuality, I didn't want the kids to see me snapping pictures from my window. I was worried they would want to come back inside and break the silence I enjoyed for a solid hour!

 

 The kids enjoyed looking through slides from Jayden's microscope set.

 

Juan has taken on the role of teaching Spanish. They are working on colors. Here's hoping they add something besides 'cónchale' to their Spanish vocabulary!

We love library time. It's peaceful. It's quiet. It's a time we sit and read, both together and alone. I am glad to see my children so interested in books. I have read to them almost every single day of their lives in hopes that they would enjoy books the way I do. It seems to be working!

Cait loves this rocking chair. She calls it her "granny seat"!

We finally planted the seeds. The kids were amazed at how the soil pellet doubled in size once they added the recommended amount of water. They also learned what a teaspoon is.

The seeds were really small and we had to count out six of them. We used a magnifying glass to count them. (I'm pretty sure some extras were dumped in when I wasn't looking!)

 

  

From left to right we have: Cait's Daisies, Jayden's Strawberries, Mommy's Poppies, and Daddy's Cilantro.

The kids faithfully check on their plants daily. The plants require little maintenance, thankfully. I'm pretty sure they would die otherwise since I am terrible with plants. (How have my kids managed to make it this far?) 

Speaking of my plant nurturing abilities, it looks like Cait has my "green thumb" - or lack of one. She watered them a couple of days after we planted them and I'm pretty sure she drowned them. LOL! 

Hopefully we see something sprouting soon.