Who knew scissors could provide so much entertainment

for whatever reason, this is Mike’s go to picture face.  Some kids have silly smiles, do self bunny ears, this kid puts on this face.

A few weeks ago we went to a garage sale and found a file folder filled with printed money.  Not counterfeit money, just money graphics printed on green paper.  It was labeled something ridiculous like $5.  I passed it off, thinking I could just find a pdf on the internet and print my own money.  But then they announced everything 50% off and $2.50 didn’t seem so bad, especially since I knew I’d be way to lazy to do double sided printing.   It was probably $2.50 worth of heavy weight paper.  So, I brought it home and tormented the kids with it.

Nate: Can we cut this?

Me:  No, you have to wait until I can help you.  We have to cut this very carefully.

Jake:  I’m a really good cutter.  I can do it.  It’s not even a squiggly line!

(In my head, I was thinking, BUT YOU MIGHT RUIN THEM!  But then I realized I was worried about paper.)

Me:  Fine.  Be very, very careful.  Cut slowly, in straight lines.  Take finger breaks often if your hands are becoming tired.  

And it was seriously the best $2.50 I ever spent.  In hindsight, I would have totally paid the $5.  For probably 2 weeks straight, in every spare moment Nate and Jake cut out fives, tens twenties and the occasional hundred.  The were serious ballers.   We have a gaggle of kindergarteners come over every week and one week they had a cutting party.  Turns out cutting is universally considered fun among the 6 and under crowd.

Also, it turns out that moms find scissors just as entertaining when they mustache their children.

 

 

 

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First Day of School!!!

Yesterday was the first day of school for all the kids residing under our roof.

The poor, poor, teen’s bus picks her up before 7, long, long before 7 am.  Really, I should put all of the sympathy upon myself, because though I have nowhere to go, I woke up early and made her some pear bread.  Okay, I made it the night before, but I woke up early to serve it to her.  It makes up for the fact that I refuse to drive her down the driveway, across the street and 1 block north to the bus stop and then sit in the car with her and the heater on.  If I am going to drive her to the bus stop and wait for the bus, I might as well drive her to school. (and that’s not going to happen)

Her:  “But all the other kids’ moms do it!”

Me:  Then you should ask to sit in one of their cars. I am not wasting fossil fuels on that! Some poor brontosaurus died so that millions of years later we could make gasoline.  His life shall not be in vain!  I will be PISSED if in a million years we are still using fossil fuels and my decomposed body is being used to warm the car for a lazy teenager.

Her:  Mom!

Me: I will walk you to the bus stop and keep you company.

Her:  Never mind.

It was also the first day of school for all the homeschool kids here at BDB Academy.  Oh boy!  Normally we start the week after all the public school kids.  We have  a “Hahahaha Suckers! We homeschool” extravaganza week filled with empty theater movie trips, empty swimming pool swims, empty mcdonalds playland lunches, empty park trips and empty museum visits.   Alas, with company coming soon and public schools not starting until after Labor day, I figured our “Hahaha Suckers” week followed by company would probably give us a start date some time after October 15.  Though I would be very happy with that, I don’t think the boys would be happy finishing up the year in August.

The first week of school is always meticulously planned and organized.  Normally, I over schedule, overbook and generally make everyone cry on the first day of school.  I think the past 4 years in a row has ended with everyone in tears by the end of the day, including me.  What I’m trying to say is that it’s terribly fun!  Don’t you want to homeschool too?

I was very much dreading this year because I’ll have a 7th grader, 4th grader and two kindergartners.

I’m not even sure why I was dreading it.  What could be harder than homeschooling with twin toddlers? And I survived that.  By the way, don’t you just love Nate’s long nap tousled hair?  My gosh, it seems like yesterday that they were that little.  It kinda makes me want to cry thinking about those block playing, sipping drinking, nap taking boys who can now pick up a book and read it or ride a bike. Yep, blubbering mess over here.

Just one more picture of those cute baby cheeks!

Yep, blubbering mess over here.

Nonetheless, I was dreading the first day of school a little bit.  It may have something to do with that I’m crazy and I tend to think I am much more patient, have more time than I actually do, and have the stamina of a race horse. Or it might have to do with the fact that we are doing 3, yes THREE, cores from sonlight this year. After yesterday I have determined that I will be incredibly hoarse this year.  If I start to sound like a chain smoker, rest assured it’s not because I actually took up smoking, but because I’m reading aloud for an hour and a half a day not to mention all the other talking I’m doing helping everyone learn everything else.

It might also have to do with the constant complaining the last few weeks as books have been showing up in the mail or as they’ve been slowly accumulating at home?

Marshall:  Whose Pre Algebra book is that?

Me:  Yours!

Marshall:  WHAT!!!  THAT LOOKS WAY TOO HARD???

or

Mike:  Why is there a stack of paperbacks on the bar?

Me:  Those are your first readers for school.  Aren’t they exciting?

Mike:  WHAT?  I only want to read about World War II!

I am relieved and glad to announce that there hasn’t been one official complaint on my choices of curriculum so far.  I was informed that Writing and English are Mike’s official worst subjects, but I expect that to change pretty soon, and even if it doesn’t, I’m okay with that.  You don’t have to like it, but you must be proficient at it.  That is my new mantra.  Or it may be rephrased if I am channeling my inner Tiger Mama to “you don’t have to like it, but you must excel at it”.

We actually started kindergarten weeks ago to get a head start on the year.  It’s always easiest for me to skimp on the youngest because they are so easy to make up later.  Hence, the four lessons of phonics each day last June and July to finish Nate and Jake’s phonics book before this year.  I have vowed that won’t happen again.  Thankfully we now have a 4 week buffer built in.

The day ran smoothly and surprisingly efficient. There does need to be a little tweaking done here and there.  I didn’t anticipate crying when Marshall and Michael shared writing time.  Nor did I anticipate how much Jake and Nate enjoyed reading to Michael.  I also didn’t anticipate starting on time and finishing an hour early.  That was very nice!

I also can’t tell you how thrilled I am with the Bible curriculum I picked this year.  It’s hard to find something that will feed and engage a 12-year-old boy while still keep the attention of a 5-year-old.  The combination of scripture reading, drawing, coloring and writing has everyone excited.

We are kitchen table homeschoolers.  Though I could technically have a school room, we seem to gravitate to the kitchen and that’s where we spend most of our day.  This year I have decided to overtake the game room.  I’m hoping that this will in turn, corral the mess that we seem to generate.  We shall see.  Our downstairs is also freezing.  Whoever designed the heating in our home deserves to have their duct work designing license revoked.  Hopefully by employing the fireplace downstairs we can warm up the whole house and make the downstairs less frigid during the winter here in the arctic tundra of the Pacific Northwest.  Again, we shall see.  We may be frozen out and slowly trickle upstairs.

All I know for sure is that today, the second day, everyone wanted to start early.  There wasn’t any complaining or crying, it went incredibly smoothly.  I couldn’t ask for a better day!

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