My kids had the best time cutting out valentine cards I printed off the internet. Here are 2 of the best links I found:
http://alphamom.com/family-fun/holidays/the-best-free-printable-valentines/
http://familyfun.go.com/valentines-day/valentines-day-printables/
Our homeschool Valentine party was very fun. The kids made origami flowers to take to a Senior Center along with a card they signed, they also made wax paper pictures, decorated cupcakes and exchanged valentines. The most creative boxes got prizes. The best part was that the weather was mild and they got to play on the playground outside afterward. Very fun!!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Review-- getting back to normal whatever that is!
I am about 14 weeks pregnant now-- past the first trimester and they finally started on our new house 2 weeks ago-- so we are moving toward a nice new normalcy. I haven't had to take a nap everyday and I haven't needed so much sleep so my house is slowing coming back together and I have much more energy to do things besides just the basics. We started a new science program that is really quite fun-- I just need to make sure to schedule in time to do it. We are also starting a team to compete in the Destination Imagination tournament. That should be a lot of fun and educational too.
We went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway in SLC yesterday and we celebrated #5's 5th birthday at the Nickelcade the night before. It was awesome yesterday when we got back from our big away and errand day to come back and have the energy to make the kids follow up on piano practicing and finishing the little things they neglected during the week. #3 is definitely the most difficult right now-- he is 9 and I pretty much just have to sit with him and make sure he does what he's supposed to. I have to check everything for everybody or I'm not sure it will get done.
#2 had a hard time a couple weeks ago because her study habits were horrendous. I changed her piano practice from 30 min. to playing each song 5 times each. She threw quite the fit, but finally finished about 2 hours later and it is now making more progress than she ever has on the piano before it takes her about 30 min. to finish, but she's actually playing the piano the whole time instead of singing or rolling around on the floor or piano bench. I think she is enjoying it more. Also, she is doing much better in Latin. She was learning the material but having a terrible time finishing the writing exercises. She spent an evening listening to her sibling watch a movie while she sat at the table supposedly doing her Latin-- she did maybe one sentence the whole time and threw another fit. I was so angry, but realized that she shouldn't have been out where she could hear-- I should have sent her down to her room to finish. So we had a good talk and she has buckled down pretty well since. I love the feeling of accomplishment they gain when they finish and do things they thought they couldn't. A lot of this teaching is helping them focus and finish things that are difficult.
#1 really went through this at age 10 when she was a year or 2 behind in math and I sat with her and we worked through problems 2-3 hours a day. She is doing great now-- has fabulous study habits and knows how to keep going even when it's hard. She even told me how fun her pre-algebra assignment was!! so now when the boys complain, I ask them if they want to work on playing catch up and I tell them how they just have to do it and I don't let them out of it. It's totally the way to go. They also love the freedom they have when they're done to watch movies, play the wii, ipad, computer or with friends.
I can't wait to move. I think the layout of our new house will make things much easier to keep up on the daily chores and running of the household which will give us more ability to focus on academics and be more efficient. I'm very excited about the bigger kitchen, 2 dishwashers, 2 kitchen sinks, double oven, laundry room, mud room and double sinks in the bathrooms upstairs. We'll also have a library/ study area and lots of places for bookshelves making it easier to find books when we need them, and being able to park in the garage and not climb stairs from outside to bring in groceries for the winter-- actually I think my husband is more excited about that one than I am-- it will just be easier for me to get what I need when I need it and we'll put an extra fridge in the garage and actually have room for the all the food we eat in a week!! Can't wait!!
I am also looking forward to getting rid of a bunch of junk. I won't allow so many toys to be out at a time. The kids have more fun with a box than with a bunch of toys anyway. I'm looking forward to a new start. There are also a lot more opportunities for homeschoolers where we're moving, so I'm looking forward to participating in some of those things as well especially for my older kids. I love our once a week co-op down there. The moms are great, but my oldest especially needs more opportunities to meet kids her own age. The ward is great, but being in Utah I'm accepting the fact that it's just not enough. We really have to make our own support group and find friends outside of the ward for our kids. Still, there are a lot of kids and out of that many, each kid should be able to make a couple good friends they can associate with easily.
We went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway in SLC yesterday and we celebrated #5's 5th birthday at the Nickelcade the night before. It was awesome yesterday when we got back from our big away and errand day to come back and have the energy to make the kids follow up on piano practicing and finishing the little things they neglected during the week. #3 is definitely the most difficult right now-- he is 9 and I pretty much just have to sit with him and make sure he does what he's supposed to. I have to check everything for everybody or I'm not sure it will get done.
#2 had a hard time a couple weeks ago because her study habits were horrendous. I changed her piano practice from 30 min. to playing each song 5 times each. She threw quite the fit, but finally finished about 2 hours later and it is now making more progress than she ever has on the piano before it takes her about 30 min. to finish, but she's actually playing the piano the whole time instead of singing or rolling around on the floor or piano bench. I think she is enjoying it more. Also, she is doing much better in Latin. She was learning the material but having a terrible time finishing the writing exercises. She spent an evening listening to her sibling watch a movie while she sat at the table supposedly doing her Latin-- she did maybe one sentence the whole time and threw another fit. I was so angry, but realized that she shouldn't have been out where she could hear-- I should have sent her down to her room to finish. So we had a good talk and she has buckled down pretty well since. I love the feeling of accomplishment they gain when they finish and do things they thought they couldn't. A lot of this teaching is helping them focus and finish things that are difficult.
#1 really went through this at age 10 when she was a year or 2 behind in math and I sat with her and we worked through problems 2-3 hours a day. She is doing great now-- has fabulous study habits and knows how to keep going even when it's hard. She even told me how fun her pre-algebra assignment was!! so now when the boys complain, I ask them if they want to work on playing catch up and I tell them how they just have to do it and I don't let them out of it. It's totally the way to go. They also love the freedom they have when they're done to watch movies, play the wii, ipad, computer or with friends.
I can't wait to move. I think the layout of our new house will make things much easier to keep up on the daily chores and running of the household which will give us more ability to focus on academics and be more efficient. I'm very excited about the bigger kitchen, 2 dishwashers, 2 kitchen sinks, double oven, laundry room, mud room and double sinks in the bathrooms upstairs. We'll also have a library/ study area and lots of places for bookshelves making it easier to find books when we need them, and being able to park in the garage and not climb stairs from outside to bring in groceries for the winter-- actually I think my husband is more excited about that one than I am-- it will just be easier for me to get what I need when I need it and we'll put an extra fridge in the garage and actually have room for the all the food we eat in a week!! Can't wait!!
I am also looking forward to getting rid of a bunch of junk. I won't allow so many toys to be out at a time. The kids have more fun with a box than with a bunch of toys anyway. I'm looking forward to a new start. There are also a lot more opportunities for homeschoolers where we're moving, so I'm looking forward to participating in some of those things as well especially for my older kids. I love our once a week co-op down there. The moms are great, but my oldest especially needs more opportunities to meet kids her own age. The ward is great, but being in Utah I'm accepting the fact that it's just not enough. We really have to make our own support group and find friends outside of the ward for our kids. Still, there are a lot of kids and out of that many, each kid should be able to make a couple good friends they can associate with easily.
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