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.