Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Grasshopper Days


Grasshopper Days

For today, April 10, 2012

Outside my window...  high clouds, spring flowers starting to bloom, and our neighbors building a "fence" to keep the deer out of their garden.  The fence is only about five feet high, so they're in for an unpleasant surprise.  Good luck with that!

I am hearing...  Tate, weed-whacking, and - when it's quiet - birds singing.  They begin before 5am.  Believe it.

I am thinking...  well, the day was off to a blazing start.  Or, rather, the boys' mouths were.  Does parenting seem to come in waves for any of you, or is it just me?  I mean - yah - we're parenting all the time.  Issues come in waves.  That's what I meant. 

All three boys spent the first part of the morning writing out the following verses:  James 3:5-6, Luke 6:45, and Proverbs 4:23; explaining what they mean, and coming up with a personal plan of action.  Then we were free to start our schoolwork.  *sigh*

I am praying...  for the aforementioned, for work for Kerry, for next year's school materials (partly answered, already!), and for a summer job for Wyatt.

I am thankful...  for a fun family to get together with, for how the boys are thriving in CAP, and for Cadbury Mini-eggs ;D

I am wearing...  old jeans and a blue sweater.  If I have time today I need to start clearing out the flower beds.

I am going...  to finish the quilt I started.  True confession - the piecing is my favorite part.  The actual quilting?  Not so much.

I am reading...  Weapons of Mass Instruction, by John Taylor Gatto, recommended by my friend "Q".  And reading By the Great Horn Spoon, with the boys.  Fun!

I am learning...  more about the Quadratic Formula than I ever remember from my school days.

I am looking forward to...   finishing the quilt, the book, and the school year.

In the kitchen...  the boys go to CAP tonight (right at dinner time) so we've had "our big meal" (as my Nana would have said) at lunch... turkey taquitos - yum.

In the learning rooms...  Wyatt - working out the Quadratic Formula, reading through the Great Depression, getting ready to write a research paper (oh, joy), and learning more about magnetism. 
Tate - simplifying terms (in math), learning about the California Gold Rush, recognizing four complements (no, not "You look lovely today" - that's a compliment), but complements, as in direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, and predicate adjective), and studying lightning. 
Gunnar - also learning about the Gold Rush, adding and subtracting mixed numbers, making irregular plurals, and wrapping up our study of crustaceans (the brine shrimp are growing).

Around the house...  I broke out all the comic books over our break, and the boys have been spending a lot of time with Calvin and Hobbes, the Far Side, and Jeremy.  If they forget to put them away, I confiscate them.  Three so far...

Noticing that...  pretty sure Tate is now in a growth spurt.  Time to measure the boys again, I think.  He's not quite as tall as me, but he's gaining.

Something I want to remember for later...  last school year (2010-11) and the year before I worked through Draw-Write-Now books with the two younger boys.  You would have thought I was trying to kill Gunnar.  Oh, the anguish!  It's hard being the youngest, when the older boys can do everything better, already.  He was sure he couldn't draw at all.  Now, he's researched on my computer and created a file of pictures of peregrine falcons, because he's drawing one on a huge piece of drafting paper.  His original plan was to paint it, but he's adding a lot of detail in pencil that he may not want to cover up.

No, I don't think he's the next (Norman Rockwell/Leonardo da Vinci/Pablo Picasso... pick one) but it's great to see his skills and his confidence improving :D

One of my favorite things...  did I mention the Cadbury Mini-eggs?  Why, yes, I think I did ;D

A few plans for the rest of the week...  not much, and that's a good thing.  Hoping for warmer weather, and to work in the yard.

A Bible verse or a quote to think on...
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:45

A peek into my day...


Can. Not. Believe.  This boy is nearly 16, now.

5 comments:

Felicity said...

I love Cadbury Mini Eggs :-D !

Your school plans always sound so good! All the best for next year's planning!

As a random piece of info - one of our friends' children is called Taigrine - combination of Taita falcon and Peregrine falcon.. his father was a falconeer. ;-)

melanie said...

I forgot to tell you I indulged/introduced my family to Cadbury {mini?} eggs this year. Yes, they were a hit!

And, just to be helpful, "lovely" IS a predicate adjective in that complimentary sentence :D

Great Horn Spoon - that one was fun!! Glad you are enjoying it too.

btw, you are my HERO when it comes to actively addressing those parenting issues. Keep on keepin' on!

Choate Family said...

Cadbury Mini Eggs (and Easter chocolate in general), oh the things I've missed for the last four years! I've got a lot of catching up to do ;-)

Rebecca D said...

My husband is totally addicted to the Cadbury carmel eggs and I bought him some but thought it would be funny to hide them under the "grass" and candy he is less fond of in the little pail I use for a basket for him... He Had this horrible sad look on his face as he poked around in his pail and then declared he didn't feel like eating candy and his was up for grabs... You could imagine his surprise when I said ok, and pulled one out of his pail! Suddenly he changed his mind! I like that I can still surprise him!

dlefler said...

It can be hard to be the younger (youngest) brother - Nolan is constantly comparing his skills to Matthew's, and with a 20 month age gap, Matt is simply more proficient at certain things. I'm glad Gunnar is gaining confidence and really enjoying art now!

Our Cadbury eggs are all gone. We ate the last one yesterday - it was a sad, sad day!