Again: Busy as Beavers

I am going to try this one more time...

We have been busy around here this past week. School is going okay. We have days that we are really on and other days were being more relaxed makes sense. This week we have not really started anything new. We are still alternating between money and addition for math. MB loves doing addition worksheets, but prefers playing games when it comes to figuring out money. Our biggest problem when it comes to math is kind of strange. MB can recognize any of her numbers when she sees them written, but when she has to write a number over 20, she cannot visualize it in her mind to write it down. I do not know if this is unusual at her age, but it frustrates her because she can understand math concepts and do the work in her head - but cannot get it to come out onto paper. In trying to work on recognizing numbers from an auditory input to visual we have played Bingo and had MB write the numbers I tell her on the white board. It has added some time to our daily math schedule, but I hope in the long run it will help her reduce the frustration she feels when it comes to writing numbers.

MB has continued to do her reading with a positive attitude. She will not do any other reading beyond the actual lesson, but I can tell she is slowly building some confidence when it comes to her reading ability.

Our Africa study is going well, although slowly. This week we have continued to read folk tales, we visited the African exhibit at the art museum, listen to traditional African music, playing lots of games of Mancala, and watched off and on this really cool live feed from a watering hole in Botswana, thanks to National Geographic. MB has been working really hard on her African Animal booklet that we got from Enchanted Learning. Today she pulled back out her clay to make a very neat "cat-aloupe" mask (mask incorporating the features of a cheetah and an anteloupe), I will load up a picture of it when I get a chance later.
I would like tofinish up the study shortly, probably as soon as she is done with her animal book. Then we will move back Sumeria and then the Egyptians.

On paper it never seems like a lot, but the days move quickly and concentrating on these three things seems to fill our days.

Other exciting things around here this week is that I finally had enough and yanked the carpet out of the girls' bedroom. We have hardwoods underneath and for whatever reason had never gotten around to pulling up the carpet even though it was stained and I never could get it clean. So after finding out that K has started sleepwalking (another story) and that during it she would go to the corner and well, think she was in the bathroom, I just pulled it up. The floors under it look good enough (all the hardwoods in the house need to be refinished).

The big girls' room was looking so good that today I got into EM's room, which had started resembling a storage closet with all of her outgrown baby gear. I have packed up and shipped out all the things that we no longer need. Then actually pulled out all the stuffed animals and display-type things that we had been given and put them on the shelf. This project has only taken a year since we painted the room. Once all the junk was out, clothes sorted and such, I was able to make a play space in there just for her. This gives us another safe place that EM can play.

This evening I had to smile whenever I walked down the hallway - seeing how good both the bedrooms look. I hurt and am tired - but it is worth it. Everytime I finally get a project done around the house I feel better and better about our house. After all this time it is beginning to feel like our home and I am finally able to make it work like our home.

These days have been busy but peaceful. Grounded MB is actually a very calm, happy and creative child. It makes me yearn more and more for a good 10 acres somewhere, where I wouldn't have to worry about her wanting to go play with neighbors constantly.

I am off to rest my weary bones. I will be starting another project for work in the next day or two and need to spend some time tomorrow preparing things for next week.

Peace,

Amy