We got to host Daddy's side of the family for Christmas on New Year this year, so much of the early part of this week involved preparing for their coming. We made lots of cookies and did lots of cleaning. I think Monkey and Bug's favorite part of the cooking was pulling out their hammers from the playroom and helping me smash candy canes for peppermint sugar cookies. Yum!
Since Daddy didn't have to work much this week, they got out of one grocery shopping trip and most of the cleaning and spent some quality time with Daddy instead. Monkey and Bug helped him build their new climbing dome by handing him wrenches, nuts, and bolts, counting pieces, and working on their patience until they could actually climb on it. (For most of the building Goose actually came with me to the store for some just-Mommy-and-me time.) Unfortunately, the spaces in the dome turned out to larger than we expected and they can't quite get up it yet (of course, it had also been raining, which made everything a little slippery). But the whole entourage got a kick out of running around inside and around it. A little later in the week Daddy took them to the playground, while I got some cleaning done.
Walking!
Goose is now walking as her main method of transportation! And she's starting to gain speed--next week I may be writing that she's running! She is especially excited that she can carry things around now. Monkey and Bug also introduced her to Ring around the Rosies this week, which she loves, although she usually falls a little early.
Merry Christmas!
Most of the family arrived Thursday evening to be greeted by a very excited entourage! As usual they enjoyed having extra adults around to do things like read books to them and play games--in this case computer games. Two tablets arrived with the relatives, and the girls were introduced to games like Cut the Rope and Angry Birds--very popular!
Like Mommy's family, Christmas with Daddy's family means stockings (filled by Nana), sugary goodness, and a morning full of taking turns opening presents. Fortunately, the Monkey and Bug were entertained enough by their stocking stuffers--especially some new sewing cards--that the wait between their own presents wasn't too bad. Outdoor play seemed to be a theme this year: In addition to the climbing dome from us, they also received a small trampoline, a bouncy ball (the kind you sit on), a mini basketball hoop, and two scooters, all of which have gotten lots of play time already!
Everybody left on Sunday, and while the girls are always sad to Nana and Papa Bear go, I think they were ready to have some time with just Mommy and Daddy and the normal routine.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Merry Christmas! Part 2
The Drive Home
Our family spent the majority of Christmas Eve in the car, driving back home. We managed to keep them entertained,with minimal meltdowns and potty stops. To prepare for the trip, I made up a bunch of quart-sized bags with activities: pipe cleaners cut to different lengths, mini coloring books with a few crayons, sewing cards (Bug discovered she could sew two cards together), felt "paper dolls" with clothes, and popsicle stick puzzles (for future reference, these don't work very well in the car since they kept sliding around on the lap desk). They also spent lots of time playing with their iPods (Touches they received as hand-me-downs when Nana and Aunt S got iPhones) and watching Finding Nemo and Baby Einstein's Meet the Orchestra.
Only Goose and I went to church that night. We gave Monkey and Bug options, and they decided they would rather stay home and play with Daddy than have to face either sitting still through a service or playing in a nursery full of noisy kids. (By the end of a week in a house with 12 other relatives and of 5+ hours in the car, we could tell our active little introverts had reached their limits. Goose, who may be the lone extravert in our family, had no objection to the nursery time.)
Merry Christmas!
For Christmas morning we all snuggled up on the couch to watch Charlie Brown's Christmas before heading to church. And this time we all went to church together, just a short, casual service with lots of Christmas carols accompanied by guitar music. After church we opened our family Christmas gifts and had a viewing of Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer later that afternoon. After all the excitement of Grandma and Granddad's house and before all the excitement of Daddy's side of the family coming here, it was nice to have a "quiet," relaxing family Christmas (quiet being a relative term--it still involved the entourage playing a glockenspiel!)
Our family spent the majority of Christmas Eve in the car, driving back home. We managed to keep them entertained,with minimal meltdowns and potty stops. To prepare for the trip, I made up a bunch of quart-sized bags with activities: pipe cleaners cut to different lengths, mini coloring books with a few crayons, sewing cards (Bug discovered she could sew two cards together), felt "paper dolls" with clothes, and popsicle stick puzzles (for future reference, these don't work very well in the car since they kept sliding around on the lap desk). They also spent lots of time playing with their iPods (Touches they received as hand-me-downs when Nana and Aunt S got iPhones) and watching Finding Nemo and Baby Einstein's Meet the Orchestra.
Only Goose and I went to church that night. We gave Monkey and Bug options, and they decided they would rather stay home and play with Daddy than have to face either sitting still through a service or playing in a nursery full of noisy kids. (By the end of a week in a house with 12 other relatives and of 5+ hours in the car, we could tell our active little introverts had reached their limits. Goose, who may be the lone extravert in our family, had no objection to the nursery time.)
Merry Christmas!
For Christmas morning we all snuggled up on the couch to watch Charlie Brown's Christmas before heading to church. And this time we all went to church together, just a short, casual service with lots of Christmas carols accompanied by guitar music. After church we opened our family Christmas gifts and had a viewing of Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer later that afternoon. After all the excitement of Grandma and Granddad's house and before all the excitement of Daddy's side of the family coming here, it was nice to have a "quiet," relaxing family Christmas (quiet being a relative term--it still involved the entourage playing a glockenspiel!)
Monday, December 26, 2011
Merry Christmas! Part 1
Our first celebration of Christmas this year involved spending almost a week at Grandma and Graddad's house, leading up to Christmas morning being celebrated on December 23 (the one day my 5 siblings + spouses could actually be home for the holidays). The entourage spent lots of time playing with their relatives, reading books, playing with all the toys--especially the Little People town--and exploring the playground and woods outside. We had so much fun, and we seriously wore out the entourage!
Animals
I realized that over the course of the week we learned alot about animals. The major event was a trip to the science center, a large portion of which is a permanent exhibit of taxidermied animals. While the girls had fun identifying animals and a few skeletons and getting to feel a few samples of fur, they were very disappointed that there weren't more "alive animals." Throughout the day Monkey and Bug and I had long discussions about dead vs. alive and why and how those animals were dead. They are still confused about why anyone would want dead animals, and I defnitely had some trouble trying to explain that one. One of the temporary exhibits the girls enjoyed was actually about trees, but they spent the whole time exploring a "treehouse" that talked about what animals made their homes in trees and included lots of animal noises (photos on the floor you could step/jump on to get them to make noise). (The center also involved a kids section with puppets, blocks, bean bag games, etc. that they had fun with).
Bug in particular really, really wanted to see alive animals, so the next day we got Aunt A (the resident biologist) to be our guide in looking for alive animals in Grandma and Graddad's woods. Although the only alive animal we actually saw was a huge earthworm--highly entertaining--we saw alot of signs of alive animals: tree stumps where beavers had been logging, deer paths and deer tracks, and mole tunnels. We also helped Aunt A look under rocks in the creek for any critters.
Back at Grandma and Granddad's house the entourage had the everyday learning experience of dealing with a 30 lb. sheepdog who would have loved to get more up close and personal than they were confortable with. Monkey and Bug were just beginning to gain confidence in telling her what to do, but poor Goose came away more traumatized than anything else due to the dogs multiple attempts/successes at licking her--she's frequently covered in food; it's just too tempting! (I now know what Goose's distinct "I'm scared" cry sounds like!). She came home and acted afraid of our cat whom she's always been fascinated with. Fortunately, a brief intentional reintroduction soothed all fears (at least from Goose's side; the poor cat is still scared of kids). Monkey and Bug also got to spend time watching and feeding Aunt A's snapping turtles--she has two that she picked up in the woods when they were babies and has kept for years in aquariums in her room.
Music
The entourage had a blast playing Aunt E's baby grand piano. This was Goose's first time to encounter a piano she could actually play, and she is a huge fan! Aunt E even helped her play it with her feet, which she thought was hilarious.
One afternoon Grandma pulled out the video of The Nutcracker, which the girls were enthralled by--especially since this version involved their Aunt K dancing the parts of one of the Chinese dancers and one of the butterflies (angels in many versions).
Christmas morning was also musical: among their other gifts they received a glockenspiel (very popular) and a CD of kid's party music from around the world.
Chrismon Tree
One of my family's Christmas traditions in going to see the Chrismon tree--not one like the little one in our living room, this is a 20 foot tall cedar covered in impressive handmade ornaments from all over the world. Honestly, I don't think the entourage paid much attention to the ornaments this year, but they had a grand time chasing each other around (crawling, so they weren't moving fast and getting underfoot) and playing with a music box behind the tree. At least I got to gather inspiration for our own tree.
Christmas Morning
Christmas morning at Grandma and Granddad's is not a rushed, tear-open-your-gifts affair. We start with stockings that the adults fill by spending $1 or less per person. Then breakfast involves singing Happy Birthday to Jesus around a coffee cake/birthday cake. Next to help the entourage kill time waiting for all the grown ups to be ready to open presents, we had Monkey and Bug sort the presents into piles. They told us what letter the recipient's name started with and we helped them figure out whose name it was. The entourage then attempted (with minimal success) to learn patience as we went around the room opening one gift at a time. Fortunately, they opened a few books and puzzles to play with to help keep them occupied.
The next day, the real Christmas Eve, we headed back to our house. To be continued . . .
Animals
I realized that over the course of the week we learned alot about animals. The major event was a trip to the science center, a large portion of which is a permanent exhibit of taxidermied animals. While the girls had fun identifying animals and a few skeletons and getting to feel a few samples of fur, they were very disappointed that there weren't more "alive animals." Throughout the day Monkey and Bug and I had long discussions about dead vs. alive and why and how those animals were dead. They are still confused about why anyone would want dead animals, and I defnitely had some trouble trying to explain that one. One of the temporary exhibits the girls enjoyed was actually about trees, but they spent the whole time exploring a "treehouse" that talked about what animals made their homes in trees and included lots of animal noises (photos on the floor you could step/jump on to get them to make noise). (The center also involved a kids section with puppets, blocks, bean bag games, etc. that they had fun with).
Bug in particular really, really wanted to see alive animals, so the next day we got Aunt A (the resident biologist) to be our guide in looking for alive animals in Grandma and Graddad's woods. Although the only alive animal we actually saw was a huge earthworm--highly entertaining--we saw alot of signs of alive animals: tree stumps where beavers had been logging, deer paths and deer tracks, and mole tunnels. We also helped Aunt A look under rocks in the creek for any critters.
Back at Grandma and Granddad's house the entourage had the everyday learning experience of dealing with a 30 lb. sheepdog who would have loved to get more up close and personal than they were confortable with. Monkey and Bug were just beginning to gain confidence in telling her what to do, but poor Goose came away more traumatized than anything else due to the dogs multiple attempts/successes at licking her--she's frequently covered in food; it's just too tempting! (I now know what Goose's distinct "I'm scared" cry sounds like!). She came home and acted afraid of our cat whom she's always been fascinated with. Fortunately, a brief intentional reintroduction soothed all fears (at least from Goose's side; the poor cat is still scared of kids). Monkey and Bug also got to spend time watching and feeding Aunt A's snapping turtles--she has two that she picked up in the woods when they were babies and has kept for years in aquariums in her room.
Music
The entourage had a blast playing Aunt E's baby grand piano. This was Goose's first time to encounter a piano she could actually play, and she is a huge fan! Aunt E even helped her play it with her feet, which she thought was hilarious.
One afternoon Grandma pulled out the video of The Nutcracker, which the girls were enthralled by--especially since this version involved their Aunt K dancing the parts of one of the Chinese dancers and one of the butterflies (angels in many versions).
Christmas morning was also musical: among their other gifts they received a glockenspiel (very popular) and a CD of kid's party music from around the world.
Chrismon Tree
One of my family's Christmas traditions in going to see the Chrismon tree--not one like the little one in our living room, this is a 20 foot tall cedar covered in impressive handmade ornaments from all over the world. Honestly, I don't think the entourage paid much attention to the ornaments this year, but they had a grand time chasing each other around (crawling, so they weren't moving fast and getting underfoot) and playing with a music box behind the tree. At least I got to gather inspiration for our own tree.
Christmas Morning
Christmas morning at Grandma and Granddad's is not a rushed, tear-open-your-gifts affair. We start with stockings that the adults fill by spending $1 or less per person. Then breakfast involves singing Happy Birthday to Jesus around a coffee cake/birthday cake. Next to help the entourage kill time waiting for all the grown ups to be ready to open presents, we had Monkey and Bug sort the presents into piles. They told us what letter the recipient's name started with and we helped them figure out whose name it was. The entourage then attempted (with minimal success) to learn patience as we went around the room opening one gift at a time. Fortunately, they opened a few books and puzzles to play with to help keep them occupied.
The next day, the real Christmas Eve, we headed back to our house. To be continued . . .
Monday, December 12, 2011
Germs
We learned alot about germs during the early part of this week--mostly from firsthand experience unfortunately. We did actually talk about germs though, because Monkey and Bug, in typical fashion, were not satisfied with simply being miserable; they wanted to know why they were miserable. Thus, many conversations about how Goose accidently gave them germs that made their (and Mommy's and Daddy's) tummies sick. We all spent several days mostly lounging on the couch: watching TV, reading books, and sleeping. I always let the entourage choose the viewing and reading material (even Goose contributed a couple of book choices), and as a result we learned about: lions; penguins; how bees make honey; why birds migrate; how the mail gets sorted; the production processes for conga drums, pens, buttons, eggs, and plastic bottles; letter recognition and letter sounds; and of course any show involving a plotline involved discussing characters' motivations and reviewing sequence of events. And yes, despite the illness, I could tell they really were paying attention based on the comments and questions during and after the shows. That's what I love about homeschooling/unschooling: Even when we just sit around all day feeling crumby, there are no wasted days.
"Reading"
I actually started noticing this a week or so ago. Monkey and Bug are getting really good at "reading" books. For a fair number of our books, they either have the book memorized, or are at least familiar enough with the plot to retell it as they turn pages. After they go to bed, I can hear them reading books to each other for 30 minutes or so. They've also started enjoying the game where whatever adult is reading a familiar book to them replaces an actual word with a ridiculous one (i.e., "Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her curds and pizza"). They think this is hilarious and love correcting the reader.
Goose has also taken a more active interest in books. She now brings me books to read and wants repeat readings (she'll cry when we get to the end of the book). She now has favorites and cares about what book we read. For example, at some point Monkey was reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear to Bug in Monkey's bed, but there wasn't enough room for Goose to snuggle in. She was SO disappointed, and my offers of reading a different book wouldn't cut it. Only when Monkey was done and I could read that book to her was she satisfied.
Snow?
This event started because I thought it would be fun for the girls to draw in shaving cream and figured the bathtub was the best place to do that with the least mess. They were really excited about this concept, but as you can see they decided there were better uses for the shaving cream than sitting neatly by the side and drawing in it.
Painters
We finally had painters show up to paint a couple of spots they missed when they built the house. The entourage was intrigued by the process. They watched very carefully and asked lots of questions, then decided they wanted to paint too. So we pulled out the paints, brushes and big paper.
Nana!
Nana came to visit this week. She arrived with a couple of new books from her recent trip to Arizona, which means of course that she spent a large part of her time here reading those books. Monkey and Bug seem particularly into the one about the life span of a cactus. I think the other one is about a boy making friends with a horse when he visits a ranch, but I haven't been asked to read it yet. Nana visits also mean shopping, and this time we were looking for Christmas dresses. Goose is oblivious, but Monkey and Bug are very excited about pretty new clothes! They were also very excited about eating lunch in a restaurant and getting to play in the mall play space.
We learned alot about germs during the early part of this week--mostly from firsthand experience unfortunately. We did actually talk about germs though, because Monkey and Bug, in typical fashion, were not satisfied with simply being miserable; they wanted to know why they were miserable. Thus, many conversations about how Goose accidently gave them germs that made their (and Mommy's and Daddy's) tummies sick. We all spent several days mostly lounging on the couch: watching TV, reading books, and sleeping. I always let the entourage choose the viewing and reading material (even Goose contributed a couple of book choices), and as a result we learned about: lions; penguins; how bees make honey; why birds migrate; how the mail gets sorted; the production processes for conga drums, pens, buttons, eggs, and plastic bottles; letter recognition and letter sounds; and of course any show involving a plotline involved discussing characters' motivations and reviewing sequence of events. And yes, despite the illness, I could tell they really were paying attention based on the comments and questions during and after the shows. That's what I love about homeschooling/unschooling: Even when we just sit around all day feeling crumby, there are no wasted days.
"Reading"
I actually started noticing this a week or so ago. Monkey and Bug are getting really good at "reading" books. For a fair number of our books, they either have the book memorized, or are at least familiar enough with the plot to retell it as they turn pages. After they go to bed, I can hear them reading books to each other for 30 minutes or so. They've also started enjoying the game where whatever adult is reading a familiar book to them replaces an actual word with a ridiculous one (i.e., "Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her curds and pizza"). They think this is hilarious and love correcting the reader.
Goose has also taken a more active interest in books. She now brings me books to read and wants repeat readings (she'll cry when we get to the end of the book). She now has favorites and cares about what book we read. For example, at some point Monkey was reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear to Bug in Monkey's bed, but there wasn't enough room for Goose to snuggle in. She was SO disappointed, and my offers of reading a different book wouldn't cut it. Only when Monkey was done and I could read that book to her was she satisfied.
Snow?
This event started because I thought it would be fun for the girls to draw in shaving cream and figured the bathtub was the best place to do that with the least mess. They were really excited about this concept, but as you can see they decided there were better uses for the shaving cream than sitting neatly by the side and drawing in it.
Painters
We finally had painters show up to paint a couple of spots they missed when they built the house. The entourage was intrigued by the process. They watched very carefully and asked lots of questions, then decided they wanted to paint too. So we pulled out the paints, brushes and big paper.
Nana!
Nana came to visit this week. She arrived with a couple of new books from her recent trip to Arizona, which means of course that she spent a large part of her time here reading those books. Monkey and Bug seem particularly into the one about the life span of a cactus. I think the other one is about a boy making friends with a horse when he visits a ranch, but I haven't been asked to read it yet. Nana visits also mean shopping, and this time we were looking for Christmas dresses. Goose is oblivious, but Monkey and Bug are very excited about pretty new clothes! They were also very excited about eating lunch in a restaurant and getting to play in the mall play space.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Christmas Musical
On Sunday instead of normal services, our church presented this year's Christmas musical, Lessons from Christmas Past, which featured Scrooge several years after The Christmas Carol. The show immediately captured their attention when the opening number, "Little Drummer Boy," included a long snare drum solo. The production involved a huge choir, Victorian era costumes, a small orchestra and a fake snowfall. Monkey and Bug were mostly into the orchestra, so I wish we'd taken front row seats, so they could see them better. However, Bug did get an up close look at the trombone afterwards--her request as soon as show ended. Monkey fell asleep partway into the show, so she was still attempting to return to reality at this point.
Projects
We made paper snowflakes! Monkey and Bug weren't quite ready to do this one on their own, so we had to deal with some frustration in trying to get the scissors to do what they wanted. However, they LOVED the finished product. They're big fans of practicing cutting in general, so I imagine we'll be making more of these over the course of the winter.
Next we made the angels telling the shepherds the about baby Jesus (construction paper/crayon shepherds, cotton ball sheep, angel printouts with glitter glue). After finishing this project Bug decided it would be improved by cutting it into separate smaller pieces for the shepherd, sheep, and angel.
Our final project for the week was supposed to be making Christmas cookies to take to a neighborhood Christmas party; however, Goose waking up with a stomach bug on Saturday morning foiled our plans. So, we made a handprint wreath instead (construction paper, contact paper, red ribbon).
Coloring
So, the good news is that Goose finally figured out what crayons are really for (coloring! not eating--who'd a thought?!). The bad news is that she discovered this on the wall of the study. She was SO excited about this discovery that I didn't have the heart to give her a real scolding about location. I just redirected her to a sheet of paper on the entourage's table, and Monkey and Bug chimed in with "only on paper!" This week when Monkey and Bug were working on the sherpherds and angels project, Goose insisted on being at the table with her own paper and crayons.
Exploring TV Shows
Since we've seen every single episode of Go, Diego, Go! multiple times, I decided it was time to branch out. In the past week and a half or so, we've sampled Busy World, Bob the Builder, Wonder Pets, Super Why, and The Smurfs (Monkey and Bug saw an ad for the recent movie that inspired this request, but we decided to go retro). We've also been watching How It's Made, a series of 10 minute documentaries on how they make things like kayaks, candles, jeans, violins, microchips, etc. Watching these has led to a lot more questions about where things come from (apples grow on trees), and how they're made. They're not actually intended for a preschool audience, but that doesn't seem to matter. Also, since it's been too dark and cold for Daddy, Monkey, and Bug to head to the playground for their weekly Daddy date, Daddy decided to start watching the old Star Trek episodes with them. I know that sounds weird, but we're sci-fi fans, the old shows are clean, and it's even been educational! That first episode led to discussions about outer space, space ships, and dream vs. reality.
This week the entourage and I also watched a movie of The Nutcracker performed by the Northwest Ballet. (We checked out a book from the library that they loved.) It was a huge hit. They were mesmerized by the Christmas party scene and fascinated by Drosselmeier, but once Clara and the Nutcracker arrived in the Land of Sweets (or in this interpretation designed by Maurice Sendak--exotic animals) Monkey and Bug were on their feet most of the time dancing along with ballerinas. The Chinese dancers were particularly popular; I was required to rewind several times, so they could watch that bit again. Sadly, Goose was down for her nap by this time.
Library Christmas Party!
Library day this week involved our attending the first annual recipe exchange party at our little branch library--quite the turnout with about 25 guests, mostly retirees and homeschoolers. (It was great! At one point I noticed the other end of our table was occupied by a group of teenagers and senior citizens talking and laughing about a library program they were all involved in. That's the kind of teenagers I want the entourage to be!) We got to try lots of really good food, and we came home with a collection of recipes, a new cookie cutter, and of course the usual armload of books:
The Friendly Beasts
The Nutcracker Ballet
The Three Little Pigs and Other Classic Tales for Children
Patterns
Pig and Elephant: Pig Goes to a Party
Finger Rhymes (kept from last week)
Za Za's Baby Brother (Ok, this book includes a line about how Za Za's mommy had a "big fat belly" because she was going to have a baby, so on Friday at the Y the entourage and I were standing the lobby when an overweight senior citizen walked by. Monkey announced: "Mommy, that lady's going to have a baby!" Me: "What?" Monkey: "She has a big fat belly like in the book! She's going to have a baby!" Oh dear. This little interchange led, of course, to a discussion about how babies come out and the logistics of a pelvic exam (the downside of having the entourage follow me everywhere). While I don't mind having that discussion, the venue could have been better.
And She's Off!
Goose is officially a walker, on Thursday evening she suddenly realized that walking (as opposed to cruising) wasn't just a game to play with Mommy and Daddy, it was actually a method of transportation. She can walk the entire length of a room if she wants to. There's no stopping her now!
On Sunday instead of normal services, our church presented this year's Christmas musical, Lessons from Christmas Past, which featured Scrooge several years after The Christmas Carol. The show immediately captured their attention when the opening number, "Little Drummer Boy," included a long snare drum solo. The production involved a huge choir, Victorian era costumes, a small orchestra and a fake snowfall. Monkey and Bug were mostly into the orchestra, so I wish we'd taken front row seats, so they could see them better. However, Bug did get an up close look at the trombone afterwards--her request as soon as show ended. Monkey fell asleep partway into the show, so she was still attempting to return to reality at this point.
Projects
We made paper snowflakes! Monkey and Bug weren't quite ready to do this one on their own, so we had to deal with some frustration in trying to get the scissors to do what they wanted. However, they LOVED the finished product. They're big fans of practicing cutting in general, so I imagine we'll be making more of these over the course of the winter.
Next we made the angels telling the shepherds the about baby Jesus (construction paper/crayon shepherds, cotton ball sheep, angel printouts with glitter glue). After finishing this project Bug decided it would be improved by cutting it into separate smaller pieces for the shepherd, sheep, and angel.
Coloring
So, the good news is that Goose finally figured out what crayons are really for (coloring! not eating--who'd a thought?!). The bad news is that she discovered this on the wall of the study. She was SO excited about this discovery that I didn't have the heart to give her a real scolding about location. I just redirected her to a sheet of paper on the entourage's table, and Monkey and Bug chimed in with "only on paper!" This week when Monkey and Bug were working on the sherpherds and angels project, Goose insisted on being at the table with her own paper and crayons.
Exploring TV Shows
Since we've seen every single episode of Go, Diego, Go! multiple times, I decided it was time to branch out. In the past week and a half or so, we've sampled Busy World, Bob the Builder, Wonder Pets, Super Why, and The Smurfs (Monkey and Bug saw an ad for the recent movie that inspired this request, but we decided to go retro). We've also been watching How It's Made, a series of 10 minute documentaries on how they make things like kayaks, candles, jeans, violins, microchips, etc. Watching these has led to a lot more questions about where things come from (apples grow on trees), and how they're made. They're not actually intended for a preschool audience, but that doesn't seem to matter. Also, since it's been too dark and cold for Daddy, Monkey, and Bug to head to the playground for their weekly Daddy date, Daddy decided to start watching the old Star Trek episodes with them. I know that sounds weird, but we're sci-fi fans, the old shows are clean, and it's even been educational! That first episode led to discussions about outer space, space ships, and dream vs. reality.
This week the entourage and I also watched a movie of The Nutcracker performed by the Northwest Ballet. (We checked out a book from the library that they loved.) It was a huge hit. They were mesmerized by the Christmas party scene and fascinated by Drosselmeier, but once Clara and the Nutcracker arrived in the Land of Sweets (or in this interpretation designed by Maurice Sendak--exotic animals) Monkey and Bug were on their feet most of the time dancing along with ballerinas. The Chinese dancers were particularly popular; I was required to rewind several times, so they could watch that bit again. Sadly, Goose was down for her nap by this time.
Library Christmas Party!
Library day this week involved our attending the first annual recipe exchange party at our little branch library--quite the turnout with about 25 guests, mostly retirees and homeschoolers. (It was great! At one point I noticed the other end of our table was occupied by a group of teenagers and senior citizens talking and laughing about a library program they were all involved in. That's the kind of teenagers I want the entourage to be!) We got to try lots of really good food, and we came home with a collection of recipes, a new cookie cutter, and of course the usual armload of books:
The Friendly Beasts
The Nutcracker Ballet
The Three Little Pigs and Other Classic Tales for Children
Patterns
Pig and Elephant: Pig Goes to a Party
Finger Rhymes (kept from last week)
Za Za's Baby Brother (Ok, this book includes a line about how Za Za's mommy had a "big fat belly" because she was going to have a baby, so on Friday at the Y the entourage and I were standing the lobby when an overweight senior citizen walked by. Monkey announced: "Mommy, that lady's going to have a baby!" Me: "What?" Monkey: "She has a big fat belly like in the book! She's going to have a baby!" Oh dear. This little interchange led, of course, to a discussion about how babies come out and the logistics of a pelvic exam (the downside of having the entourage follow me everywhere). While I don't mind having that discussion, the venue could have been better.
And She's Off!
Goose is officially a walker, on Thursday evening she suddenly realized that walking (as opposed to cruising) wasn't just a game to play with Mommy and Daddy, it was actually a method of transportation. She can walk the entire length of a room if she wants to. There's no stopping her now!
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