Math Video

This is very interesting. It takes about 15 minutes, but if you have time, watch it. I was not surprised, as I have been reading about this, but I’ve never actually seen what they are talking about. It kind of makes your head hurt.

I was pleasantly surprised that she mentioned Singapore Math at the end of the video. That is what we use. It is different than what I was used to, but I can see where they are going with it. They also teach “alternative methods” for problem solving, but their methods often are directed at the goal of being more able to do math in one’s head. (Example: You can figure out 49 – 24 because you know 50 – 25.)

Last night

I'm just now getting around to putting this up, it's been over 24 hours, though.

Last night we had a bit of excitement. Someone in our family ( I will just let you guess who) put a Hot Wheels® wheel up their nose and it got stuck. It was quite a frightening few minutes for Mama, but Daddy kept his head and figured out a solution. The person could not figure out how to blow their nose, and ended up sniffing instead of blowing out. Not good.  Tweezers were just pushing it up farther. So Daddy twisted up the corner of a tissue into kind of a stick. He stuck it up the other nostril until it made the child sneeze. This child managed to sneeze twice through the mouth, so the third time I slapped my hand over said mouth and out came the wheel. So keep this in the back of your mind in case something like this ever happens to you. With the bad roads, it would have been a difficult night to be driving to the ER. I'm thankful for a hubby who can think under pressure, that's for sure!

I asked the child today what they would be putting in their nose. The child did not think this was very funny and said, "Nuthin'."

Junior's lapbook

Here is our first attempt at a lapbook. Junior's kindergarten this week is about cows, so we made a little file folder book about what we had learned about cows. Junior loves stuff like this, so we just jumped in and tried it. It was fun. We used some stuff from got-milk.com, and from The Coloring Spot. For the words, they were just typed in Word in different colors and fonts. We cut each one out and talked about what it had to do with cows. He really had fun doing this, and we also realized that he had forgotten how to use a glue stick. That kind of bothers me because I know they use glue sticks a lot at Sunday School. I hope he hasn't been making a huge mess there like he tried to do here. But once I showed him the way to use it, he was like, "Oh!" and he did it the right way from then on. Here is what he came up with:

Maybe we will do some more of these. I quizzed him the next day and he remembered everything we had talked about, so I think it helped with retention.

Good thought

Yesterday was kind of odd because I woke up earlier than Junior. He usually comes and wakes me up about 7:30, but for some reason he decided to sleep late. I got up and was enjoying a cup of coffee, watching Today because I hardly ever get to do that anymore. Then I heard Junior in his room, talking. I figured he was getting dressed. Most mornings he will get up, dress himself, leave his pajamas on the floor, leave his bed in a mess, and come get me up so I can turn on one of his "shows." Later, I come in and make him straighten up his room and make his bed.

In a few minutes, I saw him streak, undressed, down the hall, then back again. More talking in his room. I had expected him to come in the living room in a few minutes, but he had been up for a while and I didn't see him. Finally, I got up to check on him. He was making his bed...without being told! (or fussed at!) I said good morning to him. He was all excited because I had caught him being good. "DON'T help me!"

I told him I wasn't going to help him, but I was proud of him for making his bed. Then I said, "This morning I saw a little naked boy running down the hall. Do you know anything about that?"

He said, "Oh, that was me. I was just putting my clothes in the hamper."

"Your pajamas? Why are you doing all this stuff so early, and without being told?"

"I just didn't want to have all that work to do today. You know, and you telling me, 'Now go do this, go do this, this, this, this!' Aaaaagh!"

Wow! That is a pretty good idea for me, too.

Our week

This week Todd has had some kind of cold/sinus thing, and baby Bubby has it now. I feel so bad for him. Mornings are the worst for him. It is hard for him to eat and breathe at the same time...so he just gets mad instead. The baby...not Todd!

We are gearing up to start school back next week. We did a little this week, just to get back into things. Peanut is studying about Elizabethan England. I found a neat article called "Young Will" that we will use to talk about Shakespeare. I don't think we'll delve too deep here. There is a biography written for kids that I put on reserve at the library, and a book called Tales From Shakespeare, which has summaries of some of his plays.

Tomorrow is errand day. I haven't been out of the house since Sunday afternoon, so I'm looking forward to it. We will go to the library and dance class, then a fast food lunch. There is now a Chik-fil-a just down the street from dance, and it shouldn't be too hard to talk the big kids into that. Yum! They might get to go visit Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend.

Peanut has been playing with clay today. This is a mermaid, an eel, a fish, and an oyster.

Ellie...Elmer's girlfriend

This is Ellie. She is planning on breaking into country music. She has already made her first video, pulling out one of the old classics.

Cool Video I found

I just really love this YouTube thing. I have not seen this video in years and years. Now some nice person has decided to share their copy with the world. I know they weren't really supposed to, but it's not like this is on TV all the time. If you're not familiar, it's the Travelling Wilburys...George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan, and Tom Petty.

By the way, I saw something that said it is Jeff Lynne's birthday today. Todd really likes ELO, I kind of make fun of it because some of the stuff is slightly weird. But you have to admit, the guy has made some pretty amazing music. I think this is the best, but that's just me. It is kind of sad to see this because George Harrison and Roy Orbison are gone now. I hear they are soon going to be re-releasing the albums that they made. It's about time!

Introducing...Elmer!

Elmer is a character that Peanut and I created last night. He is a pretty funny guy, and he's wanting to break into the music business. Here is his first video. What do you think?

His girlfriend is working up a video of her own. We'll share it soon!

The Pantry Game

No pics today. Bubby got shots today and he was just not his happy self.

I have been fortunate to not have to cook much lately, thanks to my mom, neighbors, friends, and people from church. It has been SO great. But that is slowing down, and I have almost used up my freezer meals also. Last night my goal was to fix a meal out of just what was on hand...because I really haven't done much menu planning and my shopping has been kind of disorganized. (Todd asks me what I need from the store, I scramble around trying to think of what we need in about 15 minutes, then he goes out and buys it.) 

This is a pretty fun thing to do. You can come up with some great recipes just by using what is on hand. Last night I made chili and potato salad. Here is what I used for the chili:

1 lb. hamburger meat
1 med. onion, diced
1 clove garlic
A little veg. oil to brown those things.
16 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/3 c. ketchup (because that was not enough tomatoes and I didn't have another can)
1 can ranch style beans
Chili powder and salt to taste (I don't know how much I used!)

The potato salad was easy. I didn't use a recipe here, either. I just tried to think what might be in a good potato salad.

1 can sliced new potatoes (then I chopped them a little smaller)
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. Miracle Whip
Chopped roasted red pepper, out of a jar that we use for sandwiches
1 tbsp. pickle relish

The potato salad was really good. It would have been nice with a chopped boiled egg, I think, but I didn't have time for all that. The reason I had a can of potatoes was because I had seen a recipe for potato salad in Quick Cooking that used them, and I had meant to make it back in the summer.

I have a bunch of odds and ends in my pantry, so it might be interesting to try to use all that up in the next couple of weeks.

Another Old Poem

Here is a second poem I found in my searching. Peanut and I got a kick out of it. It was also written in the 1800s. So cute! It must have been popular to write poetry in 'baby talk.' Maybe so people could recite it, and it would be entertaining?

ONLY A BABY
Author Unknown

ONLY a baby
'Thout any hair,
'Cept just a little
Fuzz here and there.

Only a baby,
Name you have none,
Barefooted and dimpled,
Sweet little one.

Only a baby,
Teeth none at all;
What are you good for,
Only to squall?

Only a baby,
Just a week old;
What are you here for,
You little scold?

BABY'S REPLY.

Only a baby!
What sood I be?
Lots o' big folks
Been little like me.

Ain't dot any hair?
'Es I have, so;
S'pos'n' I hadn't,
Dess it tood drow.

Not any teeth --
Wouldn't have one;
Don't dit my dinner
Gnawin' a bone.

What am I here for?
'At's petty mean;
Who's dot a better right
'T ever you've seen?

What am I dood for,
Did you say?
Eber so many sings
Ebery day.

Tourse I squall at times,
Sometimes I bawl;
Zey dassn't spant me,
Taus I'm so small.

Only a baby!
'Es, sir, 'at 's true;
'N' if you only tood,
You'd be one, too.

'At 's all I've to say,
You're mos' too old;
Dess I'll det into bed,
Toes dettin' cold.