June 14: Picture Link

For our game day, Koen and Tysen chose to play Picture Link with their friend Ian (he was at our house for the day) and me. Picture Link (by Binary Arts), a birthday present for Koen from Grandpa and Grandma Davies, has been fun for the boys. It's a fairly quick and simple game, yet still fun for everyone. Tysen just has a good time with it and doesn't play by the rules, but Koen is beginning to learn about strategy. Koen r-e-a-l-l-y likes to win, so when someone else wins I've had some teachable moments to show him how to keep a good attitiude. Of course then I have to model that for him when he wins. :)

We played a few rounds and then the boys were off chasing monsters again.

June 11: Special Day at the Center Point Mall Play Area

For our first "Special Day" we were going to visit the viewing area of the Ford International Airport (off Kraft Avenue north of 52nd Street). It's a great spot to watch aircrafts take off and land as well as let the kids run around on the grassy hill. We've done this before, usually with a picnic lunch and friends, and the boys really enjoyed it, but the threat of rain made me reconsider. We ended up going to the Center Point Mall play area with some friends from church.

We arrived at the mall in a downpour. Good decision to avoid the airport! This play area is usually quiet, but I think the mix of rain with the end of the school year prompted many parents to head to the mall with the kids. It was BUSY! The boys had been there before and love running, climbing, sliding, and jumping around the play area. The extra number of kids didn't seem to bother them. There are other malls in the area that offer play areas, but I like this one because it's fairly easy to keep an eye on the kids as they run around...no big obstacles to block my view of them. Which means that when Tysen decided to play the part of the bully by sitting at the top of the slide and yelling, "No! No!" to anyone who tried climbing the stairs to use the slide, I could take care of it immediately. Since the kids were listening to him, I just know he's going to be a great leader someday...we just have to work on those leadership skills.

The difficult thing about Special Days is they have to come to an end at some point, but we will return again, for sure.

June 9: Blow-Paint Monsters

My boys don't like to color or do crafts so Wednesday is "Project Day" where we do can color and do crafts. :) Actually, they both enjoy painting, so I thought we'd test the waters with 2 painting projects.

The first project we tackled was Blow-Paint monsters. Like I said, they both enjoy painting and their friend, Ian, has introduced them to monsters (I guess the monster intruige is a boy-thing...I don't remember thinking about/talking about/pretending there were monsters chasing me!), so the Blow-Paint Monster was a natural fit.

I got the idea from the Disney Family Fun Magazine, and you'll find that I get a lot of ideas from this magazine...it's one of my favorites. I included the website in case anyone feels like creating their own Blow-Paint monster. And yes, as the title of the project indicates, you do have to blow paint (through a straw) to create your monster. I didn't realize how much the boys enjoyed this project until a few days later when their friend Ian was over. When there was a bit of lull in play, I asked if they wanted to do a project. Koen turned to Ian and exclaimed, "We get to make Blow-Paint Monsters!" as if that was the only project in the world. Though I suggested a few other ideas, we did, indeed, make another round of Blow-Paint Monsters.

The difficult thing with this project is that with the amount of paint on the paper, we had to wait a day to add the googly eyes, and when you're excited about something as cool as Blow-Paint Monsters, it's hard to wait to finish them.

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/blow-paint-monsters-876582/

The second project was "cool" for Koen and Tysen because they got to use the rolling pin. They each painted a picture -- both with a paint brush and the straw to blow the paint -- then we placed a clean sheet of paper on top the picture, rolled the rolling pin over it, and separated the papers. Viola! A print of the first picture! Koen actually turned these pictures into monsters, too...just add eyes!

While it was a bit messy, the afternoon was enjoyable for all.

June 8: Applesauce Bread

Applesauce bread was the recipe we tackled for our first baking day. It seemed simple for kids to make and sounded tasty. Plus, I've had it sitting around for a few years intending to make it -- today was the day.

Koen, however, decided that he didn't like applesauce bread (not that he's ever had it), so he didn't want to help make it. I told him that was fine, but if he didn't make it he couldn't eat it. I thought that would do the trick and he would be eager to help, but no. Even after three attempts to get him involved, he chose to play trains (surprise, surprise) while Ty and I mixed together the recipe.

Both boys (usually) love to help in the kitchen...at least up to the part when they get to lick the spoons. After that they tend to disappear. :) On this day, Tysen enjoyed dumping in the ingredients, mixing them together, and talking about how "num-mmy" (add emphasis) this applesauce bread was. And he did think it was "num-mmy" as he ate most of the loaf himself (over the course of a few days, of course).

As I opened the oven door to put in the loaf pan, Koen's head popped up from his train reenactment set-up and he cried, "But Mom, I wanted to help make the bread!" Too late! He only asked once for some applesauce bread, and he was reminded why he couldn't have any. I felt badly about the situation, but I think it was for the best.

I've included the link to recipe we used below, in case you were interested in trying the applesauce bread for yourself.


Applesauce Bread Recipe | Taste of Home Recipes

June 7/Day 1: Game Day

After this past school year, I've learned that Koen really thrives on routine. He was THRILLED with the idea of having each day of the week hold a different special activity. He already knows which activity belongs with each day. Smart kid! And whatever excites Koen tends to excite Tysen.

So the first day on the new (flexible) schedule was Game Day. I asked Koen which game he would like to play...he has a number of games, many that we haven't played in a quite a while. I listed a few options and he replied, "I would like to play Thomas trains." OK. Not quite the "game" I had in mind, but it's a new way of life, so to speak, and there's no reason to quibble about the definition of a game, so we played Thomas the Train Engine and Friends for the afternoon. He was so excited!

As much as I don't like how the trains in the Thomas stories are rude and revengeful toward each other, I admire Koen's passion for his trains. I'm continually impressed by his story retelling/reenacting as well as his creativity with his own stories or revisions of stories he knows. If you ever want to hear a good Thomas story, give Koen a call and he'd be happy to share one with you (but first be sure you have plenty of time...you never know how detailed/long the story might be).

He's also recently branched out and begun using Duplo blocks to build sheds and the Sodor Steamworks for the engines. I've also rediscovered my enjoyment for building. Building with blocks in and of itself is a great activity...learning how to balance, how to fit together, how to work with structures so they are strong and lasting.

Koen & Tysen have plenty of opportunities to learn the joy of sharing while playing with their treasured trains -- sharing trains, sharing blocks, sharing tracks, sharing Mom's attention.

So our first game day wasn't what I had pictured, but maybe this flexible schedule will teach me a thing or two, too. Knowing this was the "game" I was going to play with my boys that day, I took a deep breath and actually enjoyed playing Thomas the Tank Engine rather than simply enduring it.

P.S. Tysen was napping most of the time we were playing trains, but was able to join us for some of the time after waking up. Koen graciously shared with Ty when he joined the "game"...I loved that part!

A New Beginning

I previously used this blog for a class I took, but I have new aspirations for this space! This summer I started something new with my kids...a flexible schedule.

• Sunday = Church/Family Day
• Monday = Game Day (Obviously, we'll play a game, do a puzzle, etc.)
• Tuesday = Baking Day (Yum!)
• Wednesday = Project Day (Koen doesn't get too excited about "crafts," but using the word "project" seems to work.)
• Thursday = Library Day (We look forward to this all week!)
• Friday = Special Day (Go somewhere special, have friends over, etc)
• Saturday = Swimming Lessons (at least into July...then we'll have to see)

I thought this would be a good place to share what we've done and maybe post pictures of our adventures. I make no guarantees as to how often I will update it, but I will do my best to stay somewhat current.

Enjoy!