Blasting Into Fun

This week, the kids have been learning

more about the earth, it's layers, it's regions,

and all the fun that goes along with magma,

lava, and volcanoes.

After reading a book about volcanoes, watching

a fun volcano video, and then

learning about geysers,

it was time to make our own geyser.

With some diet soda,

Mentoes, and four willing scientists,

we set out to make our own geyser.

First, I told them about Old Faithful at Yellowstone.  Then

we worked together to make our own geyser.

The kids had so much fun watching the soda shoot

into the air.  Baby J loved it so much

that he started screaming and jumping and then

asking to "make another blast off".

It really was a lot of fun.

Thanks Mom

Long ago, my Mom once told me, "If you get

in a battle of wills with a child. You will lose."

I had no children, I knew I would never lose.

Last week, I wished with all of my heart that I could

call my Mom and tell her, "Thank you."

You see, her words were running through my head.

How right she was.  When you battle wills with a child, they

will out last, out maneuver, out wit even the cleverest of

parents.  I was once again, engaging in a battle with my oldest son.

This battle involved school.

The Big K. is very bright, but he is really not interested in working.

He enjoys everything hands on, and NOTHING that has to do

with memorization, practice, the use of his hands to write.

I can say that it seems I have tried everything, rewards, consequences, 

school bucks. Everything.  In the end I realized that it has to be his decision to work.

I can not force him.  I can make his life, and my life, miserable.

Last week, I removed myself from the battle.  It takes two

to continue a battle of the wills.  I will no longer be participating

in active combat.

I set up some new parameters for his participation in hands on work with

me.  So far, for a week, it's working.  I'm not sure how long it

will work, but I'm so thankful that it's working now. 

With all of my heart, I wish that I could have picked up the phone, called

my Mom, and told her, "Thank you. Guess what Mom?!  Once again you were right."

Happy Birthday (Dad, don't read this)

Today, my Mom would have been sixty!

Even after almost two years, it's hard for me to believe

that she isn't here to celebrate.

That we aren't planning her birthday,

I'm not teasing her about being old, and the kids

aren't making lists of things to buy her.

I sometimes wonder "what if".  What if my life was like

one of those choose your own endings stories.  

At each important point in the book, you, the reader, chose

the direction you wanted your character to go.

What if life was like that. What if, three years ago, as we walked through

the zoo, on her birthday weekend, there was a choice, a point

where I could choose "Move forward with your Mom" instead of

"Mom gets cancer and dies".  

What would my life be like now. Would I have my boys?

Would she still be here to have seen them come back to our family, to watch

them grow.  Would I have the friends that have come to mean so

much to me during this time of loss?

What would we be doing together?  Would I appreciate her

more?  Would I continue to go about my life

taking each day for granted, because I'd never been faced with loss. 

With grief.

Would my life be just going through the motions, if I had chosen the path

"Mom Lives", or would I still saver each second of every day.

 Having lost my Mom, I have learned that life, like time,

is fleeting.  It is a gift.  How you spend your moments really

does matter.  The choices you make, may seem small now,

but in the end they make up your life.

I miss my Mom all the time.  I miss her in big and little ways.  I miss her laugh,

her smile, her hugs.  I miss being able to see her whenever I want.
I miss the late nights that we staid up talking and

talking and talking.

I miss her friendship, her support, her encouragement.  I miss

watching my kids run to her.  I miss her glee

at being a grandmother.

The life I have now is not the life I imagined three years ago

as we walked together through the Bronx zoo and talked about her birthday dinner.

My life today is not what it was.   As we sent messages

to my Mom, as my father and I held each other and cried,

I couldn't help but think of the note the Big K. wrote on his balloon:

"Oma, I really miss you, but we're doing a lot of really fun

things."

That is her legacy.  Fun, family, love.  She would want

us all to move forward, to enjoy our lives. 

To cherish the time we have together, the big and little moments. 

She would want us to be happy.

Happy Birthday Mom.  I miss you.

An Explosion of FUN!!!

Last year, all we did was fight about school.

I believe the fighting, forcing, bickering, stressing

began the very first week of fourth grade.

This year, I swore it would be different.

So far it has been.

These are some of the things I heard from my kids today:

"This is Fun."

"I love school."

"What happens when we mix it"

Today we used some clay, vinegar, and baking soda 

to make volcanoes.

We read three books about how volcanoes are formed, what

makes them erupt, and how they are classified.

The kids were THRILLED to build their own

volcanoes.

Each of them turned out to be

different shapes, sizes, and colors.

They ALL erupted

when we added the baking soda and

the vinegar.

We added varying degrees of vinegar and baking

soda to see what would make the biggest

explosion.

Baby J had fun feeling the lava and then

letting us know that it was not

hot.

Doodles had great fun making sure her volcano was just

perfect.  She was very excited to see how

many times we could make it erupt.

Perhaps the most fun was had when it was

time to clean up. Let me tell you, our table and floor were a bit messy

with vinegar lava.  You see, every good volcano needs a vulcanologist's

(I learned today that a vulcanologist's is someone who

studies volcanoes).  My four vulcanologist

sure did explore their volcanoes.

They found that once vinegar is mixed with baking soda it won't erupt anymore.

They also found that sticking their fingers deep into the volcanoes

made them erupt all over again.

All in all, today was a whole lot of fun.

Journey to The Center of The Earth, With Crayons

This week, the kids are learning about the earth's layers. 

We touched on it briefly last year, and decided to 

review it a bit.

After enjoying a book about the different layers, figuring out

how long each layer is, and discussing the 

heat that melts rocks, the kids made their own

earth graphs.

Using their compasses, they traced out circles of varying sizes.

Discussing heat so hot that it could melt rock led

us to other discussions of things that could melt with

lots of heat. Snow, ice, chocolate, and crayons.

Thrilled by the idea that crayons melt, the kids

rifled through the crayon tin looking for broken crayons.

We peeled paper, broke them apart,

and placed them in muffin tins.

Setting the oven at 275, they watched for fifteen minutes

as their crayons melted.

The colors they chose were so pretty, and they loved the idea

that the mantle layer of earth is so hot that the rock melts.

After about an hour, our old crayons looked new again.

During all of our fun, I think the kids might have learned a thing

or two about the earth.

Our First Day of "School"

Today was our first day of "school".  I was surprised

by how excited the kids were.  They couldn't

wait to get started.  After a delicious

breakfast, we set about the job of

"learning".

Before I had children, I had all sorts of opinions about

everything, including home schooling. If I'm honest, I'll be the first

to say that I made fun of home schoolers and what they did

"to" their children. Then, I had kids.

Wow, things change.  It never crossed my mind five years

ago when I started home schooling that I would still be doing it.

I am.

Last year, I threw out EVERYTHING that had to do

with a more traditional learning style, because it certainly wasn't working

for my kids.  I became more of an "unschooler" than I'd ever been.

I worked on trying to make the kids' education more

hands on, and more kid directed.  This year, we decided to do the same thing.

Today, we started our year out with fun.  To learn about longitude and

latitude, the kids played a game called "Shipwrecked".  Using map co-ordinates,

the kids had to find deserted islands and save the ship's passengers.

They also learned the way maps have changed over the years.  We looked at maps

that were more imagination than fact, and then the kids made their own imaginary maps

with strips of paper, lines of glitter, and areas shaded in to represent water.

My favorite project today was an idea that I stole from another home schooling blogger.

It's called a first day of school time capsule.  Each of the kids drew a picture

of themselves and then answered a few questions.

I traced their hands and feet, and then I measured them with a piece of

yarn.  We sealed up our time capsules, hid them away, and at the end of

the year we plan to open them and see how much the kids have 

grown and changed. It was so fun to listen to them learning today.

As I spent the time with the kids, I couldn't help but think how happy

I am that I made the decision to home school my children.

I love the time that I get to be with them. I love watching them enjoy

each other and our family.

I have to say, I love home schooling.

Our Last Summer Night

We enjoyed one last summer night, as we get ready to start
school in the morning.  What a fun and exciting summer it has been.

Double Digits

I think of his birth mother often. Wonder what she was feeling, 

thinking, hoping, when she gave birth to him.

In an age where abortions are available, she made the

choice to bring him into this world. She already had

an infant at home. His sister was only one year one

week old when he joined her.

I don't know much about his early years. I know he was 

abused, neglected, diagnosed as a "failure to thrive" baby.

I know, that by the age of four, he'd lived through

a lot more "stuff" than a lot of adults will ever have to live through.

I remember the moment that he first stole my heart.

Jon and I went to his preschool for a visit. The case workers, social workers,

and teachers felt that it would be best that we saw him in a school

setting.  He was super excited, and in his excitement had punched another

child and had to be removed from the classroom.

When we arrived, his therapist brought him back in.

He was antsy, anxious, and thrilled to have visitors that were there just for him.

His teacher genuinely cared for him. You could see it in her face,

in her eyes, and in the way that she scooped him right

up into her lap.  She looked at us, explained

that he had a lot of challenges, but that she believed

all he really needed was a Mama.

"Once he has a Mama, all of this other stuff will go away."

We spent the morning with him.  We sat through circle time, project and center

time, and then lunch time.  When it was nap time, we sat next to him as he

lay on his cot.  He looked up at us with such joy, trust, anticipation.

As I was rubbing his head, and he was starting to fall asleep,

he looked at me and said, "Don't leave me Jennie. Please don't leave me."

At that moment I knew, whether good or bad, that the Big K.

held my heart. That he will always hold my heart.

I wish, often, that his preschool teacher could see him now.

I wish she could know how right she was.

All he needed was a Mama, a home, some love.

Last week, we had the joy of celebrating this remarkable young man's birthday.

We had the joy of welcoming in his double digits.

The Big K. is a blessing and a joy in our family.

His love and compassion is limitless. His patience and kindness knows

no boundaries.  He is a wonderful person.

I look forward to many more years with him.

I am so thankful for the years that I have been given, and I know that no

matter where he goes, what he does, who he grows into, he will 

always, ALWAYS, hold my heart in his hand.