Something Old, Something new

This 'year' I wanted to try something new with our 'schoolwork'.  Lapbooks, while great learning for Noah, were A LOT of work for me.  A friend recommended the Amanda Bennett unit studies called Download and Go.  I had previously checked them out, but many of the links used took you straight to You Tube - and while the provided link was appropriate, many times the You Tube content down the side (while also distracting) was not appropriate.  I was pleased to find out that the AB staff had changed the porthole and now when you click a link from within your PDF study it takes you to a generic AB background page where you can safely view your desired video!


I will tell you, we are LOVING this process!  It saves me literally 6 to 8 hours a WEEK in prep time.  There is a list of suggested books, there are suggested activities, lapbook activities are provided if you so choose to use them.  And while nothing is ever 'out of the box ready' for us, this is very useable and I can alter it or adapt it as we go.

They are geared to do one unit study a week... so far we've taken a little longer - but we do a LOT of hands on learning, and take some sidebar trips if you know what I mean.  It sure beats making my own unit studies up (reference "I Know A Chicken") and spending hours online searching and copy/pasting!  Thank you Amanda Bennett!!!!

We just finished up Autumn Treasures, and are preparing to start George Washington.  YeeeeHAAA!

Noah's newest video horseriding

This song is soooooooooooooooooo Noah!!!  Chicks dig it :)  LOL

My Mom

So I came across this somewhere, and thought it would be fun (and insightful) to have Noah do the same set of questions once a year, every year.  The following is what we've got so far:

My Mom - by Noah Mathews

1.  What is something your mom always says to you?  2009 Answer:  Love you.  2010 Answer:  I love you.

2.  What makes mom happy? 2009 Anwser:  Being good.   2010 Answer: Being good, being silly, being happy.
3.  What makes mom sad?  2009 Answer:  Being bad.   2010 Answer:  Me being bad, and when I'm sad.







4.  How does your mom make you laugh?  2009 Answer:  Being silly.  2010 Answer:  Tickle me, when she tells jokes to me, and when we are being silly, when she makes silly faces at me.

5.  What was your mom like as a child?  2009 Answer:  You were little!   2010 Answer:  Silly and small.
6.  How old is your mom?  2009 Answer:  15.   2010 Answer:  56.
7.  How tall is your mom?   2009 Answer:  Very tall.    2010 Answer:  I don't know, smaller than a tree.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?   2009 Answer:  Pet Einstein.   2010 Answer:  Watching Days of Our Lives.

9.  What does your mom do when you're not around?  2009 Answer:  work.  2010 Answer:  Work.
10.  If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?   2009 Answer:  happy.   2010 Answer:  Talking.
11.  What is your mom really good at?   2009 Answer:  Hugging.   2010 Answer:  Cooking pizza.
12.  What is your mom not really good at?  2009 Answer:  Lying.    2010 Answer:  I don't know.
13.  What does your mom do for her job?   2009 Answer:  Work all day.   2010 Answer:  Work on the computer.
14.  What is your moms favorite food?  2009 Answer:  Pizza - just cheese pizza.  2010 Answer:  Pizza.
15.  What makes you proud of your mom?  2009 Answer:  Dancing.   2010 Answer:  Lovins

16.  If your mom was a cartoon character, who would she be?  2009 Answer:  Pooh Bear.  2010 Answer:  Minnie Mouse.

17.  What do you and your mom do together?  2009 Answer:  Arts and crafts.   2010 Answer:  Homeschool work, cook, play games, watch TV, play the Wii.
18.  How are you and your mom the same?  2009 Answer:  We have the same hair and we have glasses.    2010 Answer:  We both wear glasses.
19.  How are you and your mom different?  2009 Answer:  We're wearing different shirts.   2010 Answer:  I don't know.
20.  How do you know your mom loves you?  2009 Answer:  By kissing.   2010 Answer:  She kisses me a lot.

21:  Where is your mom's favorite place to go?  2009 Answer:  JoAnn Fabrics.  2010 Answer:  Disney!

Molly's Training

So this is a side view of where Molly should be when walking her.  Actually, she's probably still a little bit forward of where she should be - but doing really well!

Noah walked her to the mailbox, and made her sit.  You can see she is patiently waiting for him to check the box and tell her "lets go" to head for home!

Noah thinks this is great fun!











This is our first training field trip in Downtown Rochester.  Its a LOT louder and busier than Downtown Lake Orion!!  This is Bonny, our trainer walking Molly - getting her warmed up for us!

Molly did really good.  We discovered something new about her - she's afraid of bikes and strollers!!!

And Noah tends to walk like mom...not in a straight line.  Which is okay - as long as Molly FOLLOWS him and doesn't try to steer him.

Here's Noah rewarding Molly with good girls when she went to a sit for him.  He sure loves his puppy!

If you'd like to learn more about Bonny's training services you can reach her website by clicking here.

Dance Marathon U of M and Molly - Super Therapy Dog in Training!

So this weekend, with 4H Fair week in mind, we decided to take Molly to the DMUM event in Ann Arbor with us.  You can learn more about this awesome non-profit program here.
Basically - its a giant party - 30 hours of it.  Mind you, we didn't stay 30 hours - but we were there about 6.
There's games and crafts - Noah and Maria were rocking out the Hula Hoop!

There's dancing.

Lots of dancing.

Noah LOVED learning the line dancing with all his new DM friends!  We're waiting for the compilation, we're going to learn the rest of it for our PE!!!

But one of the greatest things about the whole day was Molly.  This was her first forray into anything like this - and she did AWESOME.  DM was held in the Indoor Track and Field building - a massive open space.  There were hundreds of people everywhere.  There was a DJ with professional speaker system.  And there were crazy party disco lights.  There was clapping, cheering, yelling, laughing... basically complete Chaos.  And it didn't faze her in the least.

She probably made about 100 new friends.  There was just one lady she wasn't sure about... and frankly, I wasn't sure about her either.  She did FABULOUS with kids in wheelchairs.  I had to help her get a little closer, but she was engaging and sweet and calm - she got it.  There was an encounter with a baby about 16 months old - next to the dance floor.  Molly was in a sit/stay, and holding well.  The baby wanted to pet the top of her head, and she couldn't quite reach... and GET THIS - Molly laid down on the floor of her own accord, seeming to sense what the baby wanted to do - and she even ever so gently gave the baby's hand kisses.  It literally brought tears to my eyes.
Bonny Wainz of Alternative Canine Training is who we are working with to train Molly.  You can learn more about her program here. 
About 5 and a half hours into it, Molly started to get skittish, and snuggled up tight with Noah for the hour and a half drive home.  This outing was a HUGE success!


Noah is really looking forward to a picnic with his DMUM team, and can't wait for next year's activities to start!  What a weekend!!!

Spring is coming!

So it's time to get our seeds started. Noah loves planting the seeds, but was disappointed that we wont be able to see the "baby plants" for so long.
What else can we grow?

CRYSTALS!!!

So attempt 1 and 2 didn't work.









Realized that since our well water is softened with SALT we should probably use bottled water.
Attempt 3 is going MUCH better.

You can see how much it grew overnight!
We learned it's really important to read directions, and follow directions!

And this is what it looks like now, after 2 weeks in the little plastic cup - just growing away!
(Will have to add a photo later, can't find the card its on!)

In honor of Dr. Seuss

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!
by the incomparable Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

Quiet things you can do at 3am...

Iron.
Knit.
Read on another level of the house.
Type - with same caveat above.
SLEEP - this is my preferred activity at said time.
Empty/load dishwasher using extra precaution for maximum noise reduction.
Laundry (ours is in the basement)
Hand wash floors - this is NO FUN
Watch tv - but there's nothing on, old dvds would be good here - except the funny ones, because then you wake everyone up from laughing too loud....
Shovel snow
Think about things you can do when everyone is awake, when you'll be ready to sleep
Plan the ultimate dream vacation
Plan a vegetable garden, or even a flower garden - these things take research!
Surf the net
that's all I got. I'm actually TIRED!!

Such sweetness...

The other day Noah was in his room with Molly and he had the radio going, and I stopped to listen, and he was singing to her:
"I get down, you lift me up, I get down, you lift me up, I get down, you lift me up, I get down" It's from a VBS Praise and Worship CD over last summer. He really adores her.
He's doing very well with the separation for training so far, although its only been two and a half days - BUT, with Mommy sick and Daddy out of town - that is a HUGE success for him!
He thinks of Scout still, and he tells people that 'yeah, he was hit by a car' - so he remembers, but he is embracing Molly as well. He's really excited about a couple of things: first, that when she comes back on March 9th she will be test ready, and able to accompany him EVERYWHERE; and second that she will have GOOD MANNERS, ie: remember to close her mouth when she's smiling so she doesn't scrape with her teeth. She's VERY smiley!
So I thought I would just post a few photos of Miss Molly :)

More quilt finishes :)

This first set of pictures is actually a quilt that I've been working on for the better part of 4 years! The border is one star pattern, and the center portion is made up of stars that DO NOT repeat. The fabrics don't repeat either. This was made for my Inlaws, which I lovingly refer to as my Outlaws. Why? Because the difference between an inlaw and and outlaw is that outlaws are WANTED! I do love my extended family so!!!!

So Mom and Pops like jewel and earth tones, so this is a King size quilt for their bedroom.

The bottom set of photos is a pattern called Boxy Stars, and I had been holding onto a piece of fabric that just reminded me of Grandma Forsythe. When I came across this pattern, I knew it would be perfect to showcase the special fabric, and perfect for Grandmas living room :)

She really liked it, and it looks wonderful on her sofa! I hope she's actually using it though, to keep her lets and feet warm at night!!!