hide-n-(sensory)-seeking

I'm very happy about this mess! I'm happy because it meant she was doing this... Playing with her toys! The way they are meant to be played with, mostly! She still loves her beloved circles most and loves to stack them and line them up and organize the rest by color! But now... She is finally interested in other things as well! Like nesting her buckets. A very age appropriate activity, even if she insists on separating them by color. More circles. But... She loves to play with the dishes now. ALL the dishes, not just the lids. She pretends to cook! And serve! And eat! She still loves to line things up and count them. But now she's also willing to... Match pairs instead of only lining them up! She is a little less frustrated when things don't go exactly her way, like when the train tracks come apart.  She still loves to sort thi...

Day 10! 1.) Bottle rack I never ended up needing to use. 2.) Grace's shoe skates that she wore until her feet were literally folded up inside them and she still insisted that they fit. 3.) My pretty shoes that broke the first time I wore them, and...my ugly shoes. Good riddance ugly shoes, you no longer have the excuse that you are comfortable. 

Day 9! 1.) Baby xylophone going to my chunk-a-monk nephew. 2.) Baby activity center, also going to him. 3.) Shoes that Zak outgrew this year. We're making progress! 

This is my first letter to Kit. I started my journal of letters to her a little later than with the other kids. For a long time I couldn't quite figure out why. I'd had the journal since before she was born, but I just couldn't seem to get started. And then finally one day it hit me. Hers is no ordinary letter. Hers is music. Hers is a poem. And then I could write, for then I knew how. And still today, as true as then, she is words in motion, lyrical, and her own steady beat. *** April 2, 2012 You are my music baby. Through the music of love you came to us, Overpowering even nature itself. As my belly swelled, it was you who filled it,  with sounds, notes, beats. A whooshing, tiny heartbeat, Steady, unyielding, the baseline. Your musical score etched deep in each cell, playing out the symphony of your birth. Delicate ears heard the chorus of family. High notes, low notes. Some of those phrases so soft and tender. Others fast,...

Day 8! 1.) Litter pan that the cat has outgrown. 2.) Package of Spanish Moss that I don't plan on using any more. 3.) Bike bag that has been sitting in the closet for two years.

I LOVE homeschooling my kids. That doesn't always make it easy, though. Or cheaper, necessarily. But for us the benefits definitely out-way the sacrifices. I have been known to comment that homeschooling is both a blessing and a curse...I get to be with my kids all the time! But that also means I'm with my kids all-the- time .   Most of the time I love this. My kids are awesome people to hang out with. Not a day goes by without at least one of them making me completely crack up. In so many ways it's better than I expected. But it does make me think of some truths that very few, if any, research or curriculum write ups will tell you. So I thought I'd share them here. Keep in mind every family's experience will differ significantly, so these are by no means hard and fast guarantees. They are just a few jewels from our family's collective experience over the last six plus years (I did "preschool" at home too). Top Ten Things Th...

Day 7! Cleaned out the bathroom today and was happily surprised at how little we had to get rid of! Way to go us! 1.) Expired medicine.  2.) Miscellaneous stuff, like make up cards, expired sunsceen without a lid, and an air freshner that aggrevates my allergies. 3.) Hair stuff that none of us girls like, and a few baby headbands to be passed on. Yay! Wow, one whole week!