Do You Like Pumkin Pie?

Happy Thanksgiving! Who likes pie? I figured I would bring reading, writing, math, and science into the kitchen and teach the boys how to make pumpkin pie. I gave each of them $5 with clear instructions to find pumpkin pie makings that were on their lists, and took them to the store to gather our ingredients. When we got back, I asked Turbo to conduct a survey of who likes Pumpkin Pie. After he created his presentation, we set to work on making a pumpkin pie. While reading the recipe, both boys made a pumpkin pie and put it into the oven to bake: it smelled heavenly. Then I asked Turbo to write down how to make a pumpkin pie; basically write a recipe on how to make it. He did very well...surprisingly for a boy who doesn't like to write!

Time To ReTHunk some things...

This past year has really been a struggle for Turbo. This kid is a challenge every second of every day. I sometimes wonder why God bestowed upon us this boy the way He did. I keep telling myself that I'm the best mom for him, I'm the best mom for him...that he is a BLESSING!!!! Like Dory...Just keep swimming, just keep swimming... As we neared the end of 1st grade a half of a semester early, we realized that Aidan and I were struggling... A LOT...with Connections Academy. It is a great program and curriculum but definitely not for an ACTIVE young boy. We will finish out the rest of the year (2012) and without getting too much into our decision, we will begin schooling him a different way in 2013. With friends who have been in the Homeschooling "Business" a long time at my side, we will tackle this year with a new definition of school for this guy. On the same note, Tank is still in Preschool and loves it. His vocabulary has improved dramatically and his ability to communicate without grunts is a dream come true. I can honestly say for the first time, this kid can look at me and say, "I Love You" and I understand it...more importantly, so do other people! That is pretty much the best present I could ever get! He will be re-evaluated in June to see if he qualifies for another year of preschool, I pray that he does, really...Preschool and therapy have proven to be the best thing for Tank. So as we enter into the Holiday season, we have returned to our original goals of homeschooling and will pursue this for the rest of the school year...only to ReTHunk again in the summer. Gotta love change...

Four Mile Historic Park - Field Trip

Every Friday, Turbo goes to what we call, Friday School. It is really an Options Program for Homeschoolers, called Homeschool Etc. They have a 3 1/2 hour day that includes, reading, writing, art, music, chemistry, P.E. etc. (ha!). They also venture out on field trips. Monday morning was one of those field trips. After dropping Tank off at Preschool, Turbo and I drove to Denver to meet up with other families. The Four Mile Historic Park is a unique park in that the House, The Four Mile House, is the oldest building in Denver, about 150 years old. Pioneers knew that when they stopped at the Four Mile house, it was exactly 4 miles to the intersection of Colfax and Broadway...West. There was also a 9 Mile House and a 12 Mile House, but unfortunately they have not survived. While on tour, Turbo got to see what pioneers experienced 150 years ago. For instance, he experienced chores such as sweeping the boardwalk, beating dirty rugs, and drawing water from the well to do the laundry. We also got to feed the chickens that were in the coop.

Next, we visited an outdoor kitchen where the kids were able to see a wood burning stove and make cornbread.

Then the kids were able to experience a one-room school house complete with slates and chalk and the McGuffey's Reader.

We were able to play games that the pioneer children played. I believe Turbo excelled in this area. Unfortunately, we had to leave a bit early to make it back to pick up Tank from Preschool. We missed the Celebration part where the kids were shown how to have a good ol' fashioned hoe down. Something tells me that Turbo would have rather stuck with the Pioneer Games.

Boy Scouts for Turbo

"I promise to do my best. To do my duty to God and my country. To help others. And to obey the law of the Pack" This year, Turbo is old enough to join Cub Scouts. He is PUMPED! But also that he gets to spend time with dad. My Tiger Scout

After frantically getting his patches on.

Let the Scouting begin.

He's so proud!

LEGOS - They can be used to teach the Bible...Whooda Thunk?

I've been trying to find something more interesting to AMP up our time in The Word. The Bible stories we have been reading to the boys at night are great, but in this day and age, technology seems to have an edge on our kids' attention spans. A friend showed me this link to different stories using LEGOS...freaking awesome! AND! There is a LEGO Bible out there too. Guess what the boys are getting for their bdays!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LvvHXaKZPE&feature=share&list=UL9LvvHXaKZPE

Tank - Preschool

My baby is in Preschool. He woke up with a startle this morning, as Turbo woke him up. Yes, that has been resolved and he will have major trouble if it happens again. We stopped at the store to pick up a Starbucks Gift Card and roses for Miss Anna (of course, we had to get orange flowers). And a little java cup filled with apple juice.

Isn't he just too cute with his Buzz Lightyear backpack?

After a little kiss for mama in the car, we headed to school.

Here he is with his orange roses and Starbucks gift card for Miss Ann.

He cried A LOT as he was welcomed into his class. I had to quickly leave and hide!

When we picked him up, he was all smiles and super excited to show off his new stickers. The teachers said he did great, but was reluctant to go potty. I'm pretty sure he was just being stubborn and trying to say in his own way, "I'm boss here." Yeah, that won't last too much longer. I would have to say that the end of the first day was pretty successful! There wasn't even a tear shed from mama!

Turbo - 1st/2nd Grade

Well it's here. The true day of school for Turbo. He did start a bit last week, but today is GO day. We dropped Tank off at Preschool and came home and got right to work.




I'm not sure how long the laptop and printer set up will last, but for now, it's less of a distraction facing a wall in his room than being at the kitchen table.

Tank is in Preschool

SNIFF! I'm not going to lie, I will get a bit teary-eyed when I drop Tank off at preschool on Monday. It is totally what he needs; speech therapy, mommy/brother separation...the works. But it's gonna be a long 3 hours!

His teacher is Miss Anna, and WOW! He is IN LOVE with her! Yeah, I think he'll do just fine. School starts Monday!

Another School Year Begins

When I began this blog a few years ago, I thought the title, School:ReThunk was a catchy phrase. Little did I know that it would really require this school-taught-teacher to really stretch her way of thinking how school should be. In the years that we have homeschooled Turbo, it really has been me who has been schooled. Turbo will begin his 1st grade year at 6 7/8 years old...okay who am I kidding. I don't know fractions well or at all (He will be 7 in October...so you do the math). And will probably finish his 1st grade year by Christmas and will be doing 2nd grade work at the age of 7 (We started 1st grade in the Spring semester of last year). This summer, we took a long hard look at what Turbo needs. I found that I couldn't keep up. Especially with Tank and his speech therapy, I was grasping at air trying to stay above water. We investigated many schools and with the limited of schools around our area that would/could offer what Turbo needed, we found ourselves to be on many, many, many waiting lists. Needless to say, we will keep him home for one more year at Connections Academy while we focus on getting him into a school next year that would concentrate more on his strengths. A STEM school (Science. Technology. Engineering. Mathematics.). With that said, I am having to ReTHINK my way of schooling Turbo. With Tank going off to Preschool this year (A whole other blog entry), Turbo and I will have a tremendous opportunity to focus on our relationship that was damaged badly during the last school year and be able to get through this semester without any major bumps and bruises. We are ReTHINKING our ways of school and how/when/where he does it. He will also be getting more of his "friend" time through TaeKwonDo, Boy Scouts (Tiger Scouts), and acoustic guitar lessons (still trying to figure out if we REALLY want to do that). School starts today. Catch ya on the flip side!!

Telling Time (Analog)

Do you know how hard it is to tell time when you're 6 1/2? To make matters worse, try telling him that to learn how to tell time on an analog clock is something he needs to know, when he points out that clearly, analog clocks are for decorative purposes only. Yeah, I know, buddy, you just gotta learn it until I can figure out why you need to learn it.

Therapy...AGAIN

Only this time, it's Tank. Tank is our joy baby. We don't hide that. But when it comes to speaking...he wears on my patience. This kid, I'm pretty sure an speak, but after many evaluations, the time has come for us to go Military on his A$*! Each week we have a therapist who comes to our home to work with him one-on-one for an hour. This week, she brought a gear toy that he had to say a color word to get another gear for his creation. He LOVED this! Of course, Orange was his favorite color. "OW" was for Yellow. "UE" was for blue. "P" for purple. "R" for red. Not full words, but at least we have a beginning sound! We have also decided to enroll him in Preschool in the fall. He will go 4 days a week for 3 hours. This will help IMMENSELY with the whole attachement to mommy thing, and will hopefully offer some assistance with his stubborness on potty training. It will also allow time for me and Turbo to work on school in the morning while Tank is away, then in the afternoon can be used more wisely... *wink, wink* (I have no idea what you're talking about...I was thinking of a nap, myself!)

Longest Day of the Year Bash

With Summer, comes the Summer Solstice: The Longest Day Of the Year. I had been prepping Turbo all week on what that day meant and what we would be doing to celebrate it. When it came time to "Show Off", I asked, "What is today!?" Without a heartbeat missed, he said, "Wednesday." Then ran off. Throwing my hands up in the air, I ranted and raved about how much time I take in teaching him the days of the week, and he NEVER REMEMBERS THE DAYS OF THE WEEK, and now I ask something out of the ordinary, and he replies, WEDNESDAY???? Okay kid...GAME...MATCH...SET...you're going down! I know you know this...no more MRS. NICEMOMMY! On a better note, we did do a little celebration for the Longest Day. Granted, it wasn't 101 degrees outside...more like 75 and cloudy. So much for my plans of pool, slip-n-slides and sprinklers! But nonetheless, the kids had fun! I painted a Twister board onto the grass and we played backyard twister. Even the moms got in on it while the dad's watched...pretty sure they were hoping for another mud pit. We had a water balloon fight, but there was no camera person to be found...we were all in on it! All the kids, at one time or another, got into the pool. Many even brought goggles. Tank couldn't find his, so he improvised. I'd say he problem solved rather well. I took a class on Monday night to help me better learn how to use my camera. Part of what she taught was how to do a long exposure. Totally a cool thing...totally! We used neon sparklers and regular sparklers to do these awesome things! The kids were patient and waited their turn as each exposure was 30 seconds long! Many tried to write their names, but that was pretty hard. Many just chose to do a design. And their designs were awesome! Totally trying this again!

Boy VS Wild Party

Towards the end of the school year, I wanted to throw a party. As the end of the school year wound down, I realized, I hadn't planned a party!! AHH! Pinterest...it's a very good thing...

So we threw a Boy VS Wild Party, complete with an obstacle course that included a pool, mud pit,tunnels and ladders, all a showcase for any athletic ability, young and old.

Afterwards, I made little effort in convincing the GIRLS to eat snakes on a stick, snails, mussels and snake eggs. The boys; however, needed a lot of convincing.

After a BBQ we had smores! Super fun way to celebrate the end of the school year. Totally doing this one again!