September 10: Revised Schedule & Crayon Rubbings

With Koen starting school and knowing his interests, I figured we needed to switch around this flexible schedule a bit.  Starting today the new line-up is...

• Monday - Baking Day
• Tuesday - Bible Study and Library Day
• Wednesday - Game Day
• Thursday - Special Day
• Friday - Project Day
• Saturday - ???
• Sunday - Church Day

When I talked to Koen about the change I was SHOCKED at his response:  "When will I get to do projects and crafts?"  (Project Day is now Friday -- a school day for him)  The reason I started calling it project day in the first place was that he didn't like anything resembling a craft, but if I called it a project he seemed  somewhat interested in it.  I explained that he would have plenty of projects and crafts during school, but he still made me promise that we could do some projects on Saturday for him.  Wow.

Look how fast his hand is moving!  A blur!

So today was project day!  I found a bunch of random things around the house (penny, paperclip, placemat, wallet case, nail file, bottom of a sandal, etc.) and then unwrapped a crayon.  Yep!  Good ol' crayon rubbings!  Ty LOVED it!  I took the advice from one of the idea books I have and put some tape rolled up on the table and then stuck things to the tape for Ty to color over.  The penny was his favorite, but it also had one of the most distinct rubbings.  We spent probably 20 minutes or so working on this, but then a few hours later Ty came to me with the tape roll and asked for more tape.  When I asked him to show me why he needed it, he was setting up to do more crayon rubbings with the same materials I had used with him.  Too cute!  So round two began...

And just a highlight in Brielle's life, she's starting to sit up by herself now!  Today she sat up for 20+ minutes!  I can't believe how she's growing up!

Something exciting!

September 6: Games Galore!

Our Monday-Game-Day tradition continued!  We started with a few puzzles and then played Thomas the Tank Engine Tic-Tac-Toe.  Gone are the days of pencil and paper tic-tac-toe now that we own the game board with cards of Thomas, James, Percy, and Mavis that fit into slots.  Koen was so focused on blocking my Thomas cards that he forgot the whole point of the game...to get three in a row!  He was getting so frustrated that I kept winning, so he finally let me help him by talking through where it would make sense to put his card.  When Ty got to play, he just yelled, "I blocked you!" after every card he placed regardless of where the other cards were.  He may have learned that from his older brother... :)

The boys were excited to have time to play a Thomas game on the computer, too.  Now, "playing games" on the website mostly means watching video clips and songs, but they do play some of the games on the site.  I'd rather they play web games like "Word World" or even "Curious George" from PBS kids because they have some educational ties, but I suppose it's good to play just for the fun of playing, too. 

Brielle also got in on the game-day theme.  We replaced some batteries and cleaned up a toy for Brielle, one both the boys had played with, too.  It'll be great for her to practice her sitting and balance as well.  Today she sat by herself for 5+ minutes while pushing the buttons and watching her brothers "teach" her how to play with her new toy (but then she fell over twice within 30 seconds after that).  I can't believe how she's growing up!  She's at such a fun age..her smiles and giggles brighten my day!