Our Week: TJ Turns 7

Thought you might all like an update on what we've been up to these past two weeks.  Here are only a few snipits of what we have done.  Lots has been happening, including a birthday!

TJ lost two teeth.  He was really wanted to save one so he wrote a note to the tooth fairy.  She kindly responded leaving his tooth and a cool new rock for his collection.

There is always some new robot or creation around the house.  This is one TJ made.

I left out some hand tools for the boys to discover.  They got right to work drilling holes in everything they could.  TJ made some welcome signs for his fort.  MJ started on some tree blocks.  I got out the skill saw to help move things along and he sanded them down.  Since then they do keep coming back and using the tools on occasion.

The boys have ben attending a midweek program at our church all year.  They had an awards night and carnival.  Of course the boys had a great time playing carnival games!  Both boys received the highest points for the boys in their age groups (points are given for uniforms, memory verse, book work, attendance...).  TJ memorized all the bible verses in his book this year often doing two a week.  MJ finished his verses from last year and completed the book for this year too!!  

We have been going to the same spot in the forest with our friends for several weeks now.  We brought some magnifying glasses, as requested, along with a few other tools, etc to explore.  They loved the magnifying glasses and measuring trees.  We saw snakes and turtles.  A Geo-cache box was found too!

The boys freaked out when they found some beetles in the sandbox.  I enthusiastically suggested we look at them in the bog catcher and observe them.  Everyone drew pictures and wrote about what they saw, then we let our little bugs go.  Anyone know what kind they are???

Lots of work started in the gardens.  The boys cleaned up their flower beds.  TJ and I moved some hosta plants from another spot to his garden.  We also made a trip to the garden centre to buy each boy a new plant to their beds.  

We also got the veggie garden at our house started.  The boys each have a pallet of their own.  They planed out which veggies they wanted and put a few seeds in.  Our community garden has some growth already!  We have some tiny peas, onions and strawberries starting.

TJ's birthday was coming up soon, but my mom was going to be away.  The boys and I had an awesome visit with a fun trip to the park.  Nanny and I also made an airplane shaped cake (lets just say we were making memories not a professional cake here.  Super hilarious but very crumbly).

The next week we went back to our favourite spot with friends again.  It is amazing to see the difference between one week to the next.  The weather had changed, we saw tadpoles, snakes and turtles.  Several new families joined us this visit too.

Back home the boys set up fairy houses, only they used dinosaurs and bug that we had.  TJ has added elaborate decorations and a cool swing.  MJ used all his tree blocks and some Lego to add to his little home.  They played for ages outside visiting each other.

My friend and I organized a Literature Fair / Tea Party for one of the homeschool group we are part of.  We invited everyone to bring their favourite book and present it in any way that the'd like.  We sat families in similar age groups.  Tea and cookies were served and everyone shared about their books with their table groups. I was so impressed with the variety and creativity of the presentations.  There was a board game, scrapbook, reports, songs, costumes, drawings, Lego creations, and more.  New connections and friendships were also made that afternoon.

MJ brought his Touch and Feel Tractor board book from when he was younger.  He wore yellow, green and black like a tractor and brought a toy with him.  TJ brought A Donsey of Gnomes: 7 gentle gnome stories to tell about.  He drew a picture of each of the gnomes in the book and told about their adventures briefly.  I showed everyone Brambly Hedge as I remember having it read to me as a child and now my boys love the stories too.  We especially love the illustrations.

Our busy week ended with a fabulous celebration.  I can't believe my first little baby is already seven years old!!!  Thanks to Pintrest I found some adorable ways to set up a fun airplane themed party.  The baggage claim was for loot bags.

We served some cupcakes, rice krispie squares and a coffee cake.  this celebration was also to recognize Daddy's birthday later in the week and Mother's Day.

The children had a chance to make paper planes, paper helicopters and straw planes.  They tested them out and marked down how far the flew.  We also had some pre-made planes to try and fly through a hoop.  The trampoline was a hit along with pin the propeller on the plane.  Of course I had cute little signs to accompany each station.

In flight snacks and a fueling station kept the guests filled nicely.  TJ had a wonderful time.   We spent the evening playing with his gifts.  Thank you everyone for making his day extra special.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

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Another major purge: Tackling the toys!

A while back I wrote about how Less is More.  That journey never ends.  Some how the belongings multiply, items enter the house through a variety of ways and we get overwhelmed with clutter.

I have discovered that the more I take out of the house, the less I really need to live a full and happy life.  Material objects seem to clutter our home, time and minds.  I'm tired of cleaning up messes all day.  Then stuffing it all back in to already packed storage spaces.  What if we only kept that which was useful, and brought us joy?

We always have a donation box on the go.  This last time I cleaned the house I thoroughly went through every draw, cupboard and item in the room.  Some rooms went much faster than others.  Either way the results looked very organized and refreshing.

Some guidelines I follow:
Have we used this recently?
Do we need so many multiples of items?
Do we love it?
Is it useful?

If one of us is not sure on an item we usually wait until next time I go through the rooms, or decide if we could sell it and use that money for something else we really need.

Our Biggest Problem:
My biggest challenge has been the boys' items!  Imagine if you will a messy boy bedroom.  They each have a bookcase for personal items, toys, books etc.  The shelves were so bursting full and larger items were all over the floor so that you couldn't even get to the bookcases.  They also have the only closet for the whole house in their room (it holds some adult clothes, toys and junk).  I couldn't stand it!!  They boys also couldn't get to or even use their things.  Sorry no before photo, I just couldn't deal with it all.  Daddy and I had great discussion because we didn't want to invade their personal space and take away items that belonged to the boys.  We really wanted to involve them in the process, help them to take ownership and love their room.  We also homeschool so I was torn between providing a rich environment to explore and learn from, and having too much out to clutter up the space.

The Solution:
First we talked to the boys about how we felt.  Asked for their thoughts and presented some ideas of what we could do.  We actually have a really cool antique stairs that I'd like to use again as a display shelf.  We talked to the boys about putting it in their bedroom or the playroom.  We all decided to make a fort/loft in the playroom with the stairs and go through all the toys so that everything could find a home.  TJ then wanted a fort of his own, a special private space.  When I asked him to draw up his idea I happily realized it was doable.

Next step was to remove everything from their bookcases and under the bed.  I asked each boy to only put their absolute favourite, must have items back into the selves.  The rest we'd sort out later.

TJ's new personal fort in his room.

TJ had wanted to put some material between his bunk bed and the wall to create a fort in the space in front of his bookcase.  I love being crafty and was all set to do some fun sewing.  First I brought out our old puppet theatre to see how the idea would look.  Turns out the puppet theatre is a perfect fit!!  TJ loves his private space and carefully selected items on his shelves to compliment the new fort.

This next step was more dramatic.  I took all the left overs from their bedroom along with almost all the toys from all over the house and spread them out on the playroom floor.  I did not include the Lego or Playmobil (which they weren't going to give up), a few wooden toys that we had already put up for toy rotation, and the books which we had paired down a lot for now.  I placed like items together and invited the boys in to see how much they had.  Keep in mind this was already after a playroom purge weeks earlier.

Most of the boys' toys spread out in one spot

Most of the boys' toys in one place to sort through

 The boys were both a little shocked with how much stuff they had and didn't realize it!  We took our time over two days to take out anything that was their absolute favourite.  I reminded the boys that nothing would get thrown away or donated unless they said so.  TJ and I took a few photos of some cardboard robots he had made and then tossed them.

Left-over items to deal with

 Looks like vehicles, boardgames and personal items were favourites.  I boxed up everything else and put them in bins in my bedroom (we have no storage space in our house or I'd have used the basement).  If the boys ask for an item then I'll get it out.  I'll leave the bins there for a while and then ask the boys what we should do with all the unclaimed items.

Lastly I put the items they did want to keep neatly away.  A few things went back into the bedroom. Most went into the playroom and a few into the family room.  We haven't gotten to building the fort in the playroom yet, but now we have a plan.

The Results:
Amazing!  Both rooms are peaceful, organized and tidy.  They can find items on all the shelves and have empty space to fill as time goes on.  They also learned a lot about keeping what we love/use and letting go of the rest.

MJ's bookcase

 MJ's bookcase mostly has random clock and electrical parts for building things with, a few small toys and drawings he wanted to keep.  His tool box is under the bed.

TJ's bookcase

TJ's bookcase has items to play house, some smaller stuffies, and his books.  He loves his new private space too.

I found that after we removed a lot the boys re-discovered some old favourites and played happily with them for hours.  They have set up elaborate Playmobil farms again and added to those.  They are also in love with the handmade dolls I made them a few years ago that never were played with. Overall they are happier with less and are making some wise decisions about bringing more into the home.

Doll made for the boys Christmas 2012

Doll made for the boys Christmas 2012

BUT WAIT!!!  You have a bunch of birthdays coming up!!  What about gifts and things from that??

Well we do purge right before birthday and Christmas to make room for new items.  We have in the past asked for no gifts or a donation to charity instead of gifts.  Some family members prefer to donate towards the boys' RESP, or check out our Wishlist.com lists of items we actually want/need.  Other preferable ideas are gift certificates to events, museums, parks, movies, magazines, or consumables like art supplies.  We are always grateful, thankful and blessed by any gift we receive.  The boys play with every item a lot.  They have hours of fun exploring and playing.
Minimizing our items is not a task we take lightly.  It does require a lot of thought but in our small busy home we have decided to keep the stressful clutter down and live with joy!

I can't wait to show you the playroom once it is all finished!!  Share with me... do you purge?  Want to know more about minimizing clutter? Share your successes stories!

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Let the children play

I have written before about how important play can be here.  Today I have a few more observations from watching me boys.

Play is the work of children!! Okay that is a broad statement and rather obvious.  For some children it could be fine motor skills that are improving by playing with Lego or creating art.  Others may improve on heir gross motor skills with a fun game of soccer or tag.  There are social skills involved with interacting with others, hand eye coordinations, really the list is endless.  But through play with out pressure or set out comes, a child is more relaxed and engaged with what they are doing.

With my own boys I have noticed that their play really solidifies what they have been learning about.  After reading a book on tractors my youngest will then build his own tractors out of different materials.  He talks about his creations and all the features he has added.  Everything in the house is a farm!  Our seedlings are a delight as MJ brings his tractor over to observe their plants growing.  TJ's current interest is space exploration.  He draws detailed pictures, builds models and plays out different explorations with his creations.  They are using what they have learned and putting it to use in a very tangible way.

One of my boys is very straight forward and slightly inflexible.  He loves to follow the set directions and often only sees one solution to a problem.  He has become more flexible over the years but at times he does get rather frustrated and stuck on problems that arise throughout the day.  When playing pretend all those walls come down.  He is more flexible.   My boy can pretend anything he likes and there are not set rules to follow.  He does still check in with me "Can I pretend this happened...?"  "Is it okay if we forget what I said and pretend this instead...?"  I always answer cheerfully and remind him that he can imagine anything he likes.  I have also noticed that his problem solving is worked, challenged and improved (especially when playing with others).  He can come up with creative solutions to pretend situations and also work with his friends to come up with more solutions to their real problems during play.

Play also allows children to work out very personal problems they are facing.  One of my boys came to me and said that one of his stuffed toys was feeling left out.  He asked me to help talk with the other stuffies about how they were treating their friend.  Together my son and I talked a lot about being different from other kids, accepting each other, making new friends, introducing others to a new group and more.  His stuffed animals are all good friends now and appreciate the differences in each other much better after our little talk.

Still not sure?  Just do a Google search for the "importance of play" and you'll find numerous scientific studies, academic research reports and many many blog posts about just how important play is for children.

Now it's your turn!!  What observations have you made about your children's play recently??

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Monday Musings
Make Your Monday Sing
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Mom2Mom Monday Link-up

Our Week: Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!

We've been up to lots over the last two weeks.  The weather has been all over the place.  The boys have been enjoying some spring sunshine.  We've also been getting ready for Easter.

The boys passed another level of swimming.  They are very proud and have been doing so well.

Almost daily MJ has been making farms out of paper, stickers, cardboard and everything. He loves to recreate farms and tractors with lots of details.  TJ too has been joining us in our creative times.  He is very interested in the Mars rovers.  I love his attention to details.  He is sure to show which ones are still working.

TJ has been practicing reading with everyone who comes by.

One night TJ asked how many letters were in the alphabet.  He wanted to count them all.  My husband was so wonderful in his approach.  TJ wasn't sure how to get started. Daddy helped by writing out the alphabet with spaces for TJ to write all the numbers.  Later we practiced writing in secret codes.

We had a wonderful time visiting the local nature centre with my mom and the boys together.  They had a fabulous frog exhibit.  We say all sorts of different frogs, and had some interactive fun.

On Palm Sunday we didn't quite make it to church, so the boys and I organized our own family service.  TJ helped with the order of service and the craft (he helped us to make palm leaves), MJ did the music and I read from the children's bible.

I've been trying to get the boys outside a lot more now that the weather is getting better.  TJ tried his stilts and is always on his bicycle.  MJ loves the mud and dirt.  He is constantly digging.  There is no point trying to clean their coats and splash pants.  I just wait till they dry and get the kids back out again.  

We dyed hardboiled eggs with a kit I got last year from the dollar store.  Oh the boys were having so much fun!

TJ and I also went to the church up the street to do the Stations of the Cross activities they had set up.   We had such a lovely time.  TJ has a tender heart and was very insightful and sensitive as we moved through the stations.

We love going to the forest in our front yard.  The boys enjoy noticing changes in the seasons and visiting familiar spot.  We went to a spot with an awesome hill/pit for the boys to climb in.  They had an awesome muddy time.

We planted our seedlings.  The boys chose which veggies they each wanted and enjoyed planting the seeds.

TJ also made it halfway to his reading goal!  25 books hurray!!  With each book, TJ gets stronger and more confident in his reading skills.

We went with our outdoor playgroup to the lake front.  The children were so enthralled with the swans, geese, and ducks.

Later we heard the ice cracking and melting.  The children were so excited to see the ice pushing up on the shore. We explored outside for more than two hours!

I am thrilled that the weather is finally starting to warm up.  I feel that getting outside has been a huge difference for all of us.  I have had the sense recently that we are all getting on each other's nerves.  I'm hopeful that patients, better communication and such will continue to improve.  The boys are getting older and we are all getting used to these new stages for everyone.  

We have more projects and interests coming up. I can't wait to share with you.

What have you been up to??

Our Homeschooling Overview (ages 4&6)

August has arrived and the stores are already pushing back-to-school and Halloween!  Our school year will begin at the beginning of September so planing ahead is necessary.  I had our year all planed out toward the beginning of the summer but now is the time to review our plans and fine tune them. 

Our Style

It is always difficult to describe our exact homeschool style.  We are mostly Waldorf along with child directed projects.  I know that in the wonderful world of Waldorf education TJ would still have another year of kindy before starting grade one at age seven.  We'd like to ensure the boys are following along with their local peers just incase our situation changes and school enters the picture.  So this year we will be doing kindegarten and our version of grade 1.  You can read a but more about our style here.

Curriculums we'll be using

Our main lessons will be a combination of stories and ideas from Waldorf Essentials and Earth Schooling.  We also have Learning the Alphabet with Fairy Mail and The Gnomes Gemstones math stories to supplement.  I've looked over the Ontario Curriculum Expectations to see what else the public school kids are doing this year.  We'll be adding in anything we may have missed towards the end of the year.

For some time now I have been interested in child directed learning, but wasn't sure how to bring that in.  I was recently introduced to Project-Based Homeschooling.  It is exactly what I was looking for.  For our family I'll be doing Waldorf main lessons in the morning and the boys will have plenty of time for their own projects the rest of the day.

MJ is not to be forgotten.  He'll often be tagging along doing the same activities and TJ at his own pace.  I am also using Seasons of Joy for much of our circle time.  The themes and ideas from School for all Seasons along with Earth Schooling.  We have already done the first year of Waldorf Essentials kindegarten twice now so we are giving that a rest for this year and will pick it up again next year when MJ is five.

Oh we do also have a few workbooks as a back up.  I've got  some Brain Quest  workbooks and the Complete Canadian Curriculum Grade 1, along with a few others to pull from if we want.

Rhythm
I'm not going to post our whole week here but we are using unit blocks for main lessons.  This means we'll be focusing on the alphabet for a few weeks, then math, nature etc... Each day will have morning meeting, walk, main lesson, play time, meals, stories, quiet time, and project time.  Throughout the week or year we will also have time for baking, painting, handiworks, modelling, games and music.  Sounds like a lot all in one place but I've spread it nicely throughout the week/year.  I really want to keep a slow pace so we aren't stressed or cramming too much in.

Learning Spaces

Learning happens all the time, everywhere.  That being said we do have some special places in our home. At our house we very often play musical rooms.  Visitors always need a tour each time they come to re-orient themselves.  At the moment we have a playroom for toys and a room for school/projects.  The boys are very excited about their new learning space.  There a book case and cart for craft supplies.  The shared desk has drawers for paper and stationary items.  On the table are colouring things and a space for their work.  They each have a bulletin board and magnetic strips for hanging art next to the display shelves.  

Outside of the home

As we are no longer running a home daycare we do have more flexibility with our time, but there will be fewer children in the home to interact with.  We want to make sure the boys have opportunity to gather with other children on a regular basis so they have opportunity to make friends.  We don't live in a subdivision so we have some outside activities planned.  The boys will be going to swimming and gym time at the YMCA.  They will also be going to church and AWANAS (mid week church program).  There are lots of homeschool field trips and events in our area that we will explore.  We will also be getting together regularly with my sister and her children.

I am so excited about this up coming year.  I know I'll be learning a lot along with my boys.  We look forward to sharing our adventures with you!

Outdoor Play Spaces and our Gardens

It is about time I updated you all on our outdoor spaces.  Now I hope this doesn't come off as boasting.  I just wanted to give a tour of the yard.  It looks like it's going to be a big post with lots of pictures.  I'll be showing you our most recent round of musical rooms shortly (once I tidy enough for photos).

Being outside is very important to us, and for the boys.  They spend time (as much as we can) outside every day year round.  In the front yard we have a rope swing that often has either the button swing or the handle bars.  I still remember the baby swing being up, my how time flies.  Attached to this tree is a rope that serves as a net for badminton and to hold up any tents, along with being a clothes line for wet swim shorts.  At the base of this tree is the fairy house.  This year it is called the outdoor super fun house, or something like that as the boys aren't as much into fairies any more.  Instead we brought out all the Playmobil and set it up around the base of the tree.

The front yard also has a large sandbox with pulleys in the rafters.  It has been used so much over the years.  One year we asked all our family to contribute towards my hubby building this as a joint birthday gift for the boys.  Thank you all!!

The new shed is just wonderful for storing all the toys and garden equipment.  We used to have toys piled all over or hidden behind bushes.  We have balls, rackets, bubbles, skipping ropes, bikes, scooters...

Next to the shed is the swing set.  The slide was removed when we moved it from the backyard as it was cracked.  It could be better secured into the ground, but has seen much use.  I'm so thrilled my sister and brother-in-law gave it to us.  It was in their backyard when they bought their house.

Across the laneway is a wonderful area.  We have a balance beam, tree stumps, a tree sump table, outdoor play kitchen, rope bridge and climber.  Last year we tried to put in a garden but it was too shady.  The rhubarb is still happy here so we have left it and care for it and some potatoes.  The forest is part of a provincial trail.  We love walking along all the trails right out our front door.  The boys also have made stick houses and climb on fallen trees.  One tree is their pet "tiger/lion" that they feed.

Now on to the back yard.  Back here each boy has his own garden.  TJ and I built his together and he picked out all the plants.  There are a few potatoes in he it again this year.  He is so proud of his garden.  MJ wanted a garden too so he has taken over one of the side flower beds.  He's added his own plants, potatoes and decorations.  I help them both with weeding and watering if it's been a while.

We have a trampoline and lots of water toys in the back.  The water table, sprinkler, kiddie pool and slip-n-slide are mostly used here near the hose connection and sun.

We haven't been in the rocky part near the cliff much this year.  Mostly because there are so many fallen tree branches from the winter storms in the way.  We also know that our friendly groundhogs live there and we don't want to disturb them.  In the past they were too shy because of our neighbour's dog.  But he passed away and they are out all the time enjoying our clover.  I know we have lots of raspberries down there so we'll venture down there next week for some picking.

Vegetable gardens are so much fun for us.  We are caring for our veggies more than half the year from early spring to late fall.  In the past we only had a plot at the community garden up the street.  Last year not much happened at the house because the garden was too shady near the forest.  This year we tried an unused sunny slope.  This is our viney patch!!  We have pumpkins, squash, zucchini, cucumber, potato, tomato, sunflowers, mint, and beans.  So far there are a few zucchinis almost ready to harvest, two baby pumpkins and so cherry tomatoes starting to grow.

We just love to visit our community garden plot.  We are so blessed that the church up the street opened this opportunity to everyone.  We have had our plot for three years now.  Everyone knows my hard working boys.  They help to fill the plots with dirt each spring and close down the beds in the late fall.  They plant with me, water the veggies, snack on the produce and play in the dirt piles.  We have met so many lovely people too. This year I'm trying out squarefoot gardening and doing a bit of succession planting in there too.  I will likely rearrange where I plant things next year, but it is going well.  Anything we tried to transplant early on didn't take, but all is well now.  We started planting at the end of april so our peas are huge and some carrots should be ready soon.  I have lettuce to share (Please take some!!!) and the radishes have already be eaten and enjoyed.  Often we will come and garden then go across the street to the playground.  It was a wonderful experience for our daycare children too when we did that.

So there you have it, the outside tour of our home.  In writing this all down I've fallen more in love with our location.  The view is breathtaking!  In the backyard you can see from Toronto around and over to Hamilton.  We appear to be in the country, yet we are actually on the boarder of two cities.  Yes we have more work to do: grass, deck, fixing water drainage issues, front porch, much needed sheds and garage space... but we are getting there one project at a time.