Who's your Mommy Now?

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Bow and Arows

The boys and I were looking for a fun and easy project and we found this.

PVC Pipe bow and arrows

We started with a list of what we would need and I found that here along with directions

http://youcraftmeup.blogspot.com/2010/07/pvc-pipe-bow-and-arrows.html

We took our list down to the good 'ol Ma and Pa hardware store

down the street from our house.

The teenagers working there were very eager to help the boys

find everything on the list and even allowed them in the back to help with measuring the pvc pipe and dowels.

They ended up being pretty awesome and can send the dowels pretty far.

Just need to remind the boys humans are not our target.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

CLASSROOM PROGRESS

Okay, the classroom is SO close to being done and after all the research I have done to pick a working space that is good for Parker's needs I have chosen this.

FULL OF STRUCTURE

Here is the link for the super interested, but the rest I will explain

http://www.workboxsystem.com/

They start their mornings with these charts and the number's match their bin.

Each kid has 12 bins and four help cards. They follow the order 1-12 and when they need help and it is not a designated "work with Mom" activity they can use a help card.

The cards are laminated and attached with Velcro to the colored paper.

This way when the child is finished they can remove the card from the chart and place it in a small basket placed at their desk. Thus giving the children a clear idea of how much is left and what is coming next.

There are a number of things in their bins

EX: Phonics Cards, computer games cards, circle time cards, regular curriculum, board games, Lego time, and timed cards to let them know how much time for each thing they choose.

If Parker gets a 30 Minute card and books he is expected to

set a timer and take himself to a quiet reading area.

This way of running our home classroom also promotes Independence, responsibility, and a sense of accomplishment for the child.

If the child has a "Work With Mom" card I make sure the other child has an independent task in their tub during that time.

Most everything they need in already placed in their tub when they pull it. That way little to NO questions need to be asked about what is expected of them.

I keep things in reach and allow them to pull more supplies if needed.

This is what the system looks like as a whole

(A WHOLE LOTTA WORK FOR ME ...)

Initially it was a lot, but now that we are set up and running for our first week I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO

thrilled with the out come and the boys are doing fantastic.

This is Parker's side

Here is Cohen

Charts hung and ready for tomorrow

GOD BLESS

SUE PATRICK'S

AWESOME WORKBOX SYSTEM

and AUNT DEBBIE AND TUTU'S

FUNDING

Let's Go Rockies ... Let's go

We have a pretty good Pee-Wee Team

Yeah boy

Coach Micky has great aim and the boys are smackin balls left and right.

We have about three older boys who are really good and a lot of good in betweeners. The rest (Cohen included) are still learning that playing with the grass is not as fun as throwing the ball.

Cohen LOVES it though!!!!

These pictures are from the second game and I think we lost, but tonight we played and they won by one point. GREAT game and the coaches were awesome about getting the kids HYPED.

I LOVE BASEBALL

GO ROCKIES AND #5

Tonight as we were putting the boys to bed Cohen's prayer went something like this...

"Dear Lord Jesus please help the Indians teach the pilgrims to plant corn. Lord please help people face their fears and just walk away and Jesus help the universe fill their hearts with hope... oh and next week help me get the game ball."

NO JOKE

The game ball part was the ONLY part that I was expecting

AMAZING BOYS

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Neuro-Fit

Hi All ...

Well, the classroom is still under construction and I can't wait to share the final results.

I was working all weekend and I am maybe half done. Still remaining enthusiastic and excited about the progress made though.

ANYHOO, I just wanted you guys to take a look at what Neuro fitness looks like for us.

We Skype with Dr. Jim in So Cal twice a week and Parker does 15 min of brain exercises, mapped out for him by Dr. Jim, the other days of the week.

As you can see he LOVES the silliness of it all and let's just say I am excited to see what changes occur for him.

For those who are unfamiliar with Neuro-Fit here is Dr.Jim's link

http://www.neuro-fit.com/

It basically strengthens certain parts of the brain used for focus and Parker's ADHD stuff.

ENJOY

Thursday, March 31, 2011

BUGS

Today was a catch bugs day at Briones Regional Park up the street from our house.

The boys made their own bug habitats and

got to diggin.

We punched holes in the lids so the little buggers could breath

There was an amazing herd of grazing cattle so we stopped for a moo or two

Boys were ready to get buggy

It was an amazingly beautiful day and borderline HOT in the sun, needed and nice.

Jerusalem Cricket or potato bug

This one made us all scream, but Parker finally caught it and we studied it when we got home

GROSS!

Can anyone see the lizard Parker is trying to grab on the stump?

We mostly walked away with worms, rolley polleys, beetles and our big find the potato bug

Love my little explorers

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Another Co-Op Bird Day

Today was another Tuesday Co-Op

Still in March and the theme for the month is birds

We went to Anna's house and had a lesson on different birds and they their calls.

She went on the Internet and had the kids listen to all the different calls we might hear on our nature walk and talked about making sure we look up for nests and even peek in bushes.

After the Co-Op we took a trip to the Farmers Market and then a short visit to the fish store close to home.

Also some pics of school we found a place to fit in today

ENJOY