words from the wise

Grant and his little friend (a girl--they get along really well) were playing the other day when I heard this:

Friend: Grant, don't push me in the chest.

Grant: That's not your chess, this is your chess (points to his shoulder)

Friend: No, that's your elbow.

I get these kinds of conversations a lot with these two.

Remembering Summer School

Sometimes I get these hair-brained ideas about learning a lot in the summer. This last summer we used m friend's Golden Ticket idea and added some other ideas to it. Here's how it works:

After you

1. get ready for the day

2. eat and clean your room

3. do a cleaning job

4. participate in school

then you get a golden ticket, which means you are free to watch TV or play computer. But in order to buy computer time you need to earn fun passes (I know, complicated huh).

Here's how you get 1 fun pass (worth 10 minutes). Any one of these things is worth 1 pass.

• play outside for 30 minutes
• play anything else inside for 1 hour
• read for 30 minutes
• play a game for 30 minutes
• create something for 30 minutes
• do extra cleaning for 20 minutes (generous huh)
• 1 pass for each assignment accomplished at school
  

Also, there was such a pestering about having late nights with friends every single night that I charged the kids 10 fun passes for 1 late night--it worked!

It only lasted the first month of summer since we were only consistently home then.

The one problem was that at least one child (who will remain nameless) consistently forgot to turn in his passes before playing computer and I frequently found them (the passes) scattered all around the house. So I started picking them up and putting them away which resulted in many tears and exclamations of "I had 28 fun passes and now I only have 4." Maybe a little too much refereeing of fun passes on my part. Maybe next year will try a chart. The thing that was great about the passes was that I didn't have to answer that never ending question, "mom, can I play the computer" or be the bad guy because "no" is my usual answer to that question. Instead the kids learned to monitor their own playing and couldn't really play more than an hour a day, unless they really did a lot of other mind using activities.

Halloween Costumes

This year we happened on some very cheap costumes at our local second hand store. Pictures are from yesterdays Trunk-or-treat at the church.

This is Elmo ($2) ..uh...cowboy. Check out his shoes and did you notice his costume is on backwards?
Superman--$3

Katie is an Indian ($4) with Indiana Jordan behind her. Can you see his jump rope whip? Yes, we paid nothing for that costume.

Cooper is some kind of dinosaur--the only costume I made this year (well and Katie's headband)

This Yoda is too young to be ours but isn't little Vinny cute?

Cheese on Plate

Some of us are gourmet cooks and others of us continually forget that cooking is on our daily to do list. Perhaps the latter inspired this question:

Grant:"mom, can I have cheese on pwate?"

Me: "you just want cheese on a plate?"

Grant: "yeah"

Me: "do you want me to put cheese on bread and cook it?" (a lunch staple around here)

Grant: "no, just cheese on plate" in an exasperated voice. (How hard can it be Mom, I didn't say cheese on bread--cheese on plate, duh)

So I cut cheese and put it on a plate

Grant: "I want it cook, Mom."

Me: "you want me to put this in the microwave and cook it?"

Grant: "yeah, cheese on plate, cook." (He never puts -ed on words)

So here it is--cheese on plate! (its a coincidence that its in the shape of a pumpkin)

At first I thought maybe cheese on plate isn't a bad way to go. I mean you can actually just eat the cheese and leave the oil on the plate. That is, until I caught Grant doing this:

We were all eating dinner when I noticed Grant was laying on the carpet in the hall.

Me: "What are you doing Grant?"

Grant: "I'm just laying down for a wittle bit."

Me: "Okay, just don't fall asleep."

Grant: "Okay I won't."

A couple of minutes later

a couple of new jobs

Job 1: Part Time Cleavers: I've started babysitting K and B (siblings). K is here 4 days a week for around 9 hours a day while B is in school with the other kids most of the day. Its probably the easiest babysitting job I've ever had. Grant and K get along really well together. She comes up with the ideas and he is happy to execute them. Though they make several messes a day, they have keep themselves happily busy.

Job 2: Piano teacher-to homeschoolers. I love this job! I can fit 3 kids in one hour (while the older kids are at school). Students rotate through 3 stations: 20 minutes regular 1 on 1 lesson, 20 minutes computer theory (love this program) and 20 minutes of learning about a composer, listening to music by him and taking a quiz (crossword/word search type). Its a well rounded approach to piano and the kids learn so much more and love coming to lessons (so their mothers tell me). A 20 minute lesson is so much more bearable for kids and teachers anyway. Plus I've got my own kids practicing (Katie's up to 3 hours in 4 days) in order to get the Oriental Trading Co. incentives. All I have to do now is find more students!

Gwant and Gwasshoppihs

Grant: "Mom, look I found a gwasshoppih."

Me: "Wow, is it alive?"

Grant: "Yeah wook (look)." he sets it down. "Oh no, its hopping 'way."

a few minutes later

cute little grubby hands

Grant: "Mom, his weg fehw off." (leg fell off)

Me: "Poor grasshopper."

Grant: "I want to take the weg to Chawies (Charlie's) house"

he held it for the 30 minutes car ride there and 30 minutes back.