tiny bits

Today was a day off.. Esme and I started watching Talespin together - and I think she likes it.  I prototyped a new toy pattern I drew at work the other day.  It was good progress - Esme says it doesn't need any changes at all. I think it does have a few places I can tweak it but for a quick sketch all the pieces came together remarkably well. It rained on us while we were out grocery shopping.  Esme and I played Minecraft for several hours, expanding our shared world that has so much in it already.  We had hair braiding lessons (for Daddy and Esme both) and Esme is coming along very good with her practicing of flossing.  Mark has been working on his robotic kits some more.  I did not get more work done on Esme's dress - it is still halfway sewn.

I wanted to note that Esme is writing books again on little pieces of paper - she wrote a few for the little prototype toy to read.  She hasn't done much of that all year -although she had done a lot in Kindergarten, and right up through the first few weeks of first grade before the situation turned for the worst (which led to our homeschooling).  I am happy to see her at this again.   The last few days her sentences in the journal have been short but she has done them without (much) despair, and then carried the journal to me to do my part.  She made a little pin the tail on the dinosaur game today that was very cute and functional - and used her How to Draw Dinosaurs book to make the picture 'look right'.  Her brain has definitely 'put on another layer' in the last month at least..she is making some great observations and asking good questions here and there...  Another note - I've had to get her up in the middle of the night every night lately...but it is the only thing that works.  When she has growth spurts it seems this is always the case.

We described her characters for her mystery book a bit - I asked her to think of them as real people and answer questions, and wrote it down for her to read tomorrow.  She says the characters are 'like in my dreams' so I will try to coax her to frame out some stories to work on as content over the next year.

Sewn Friend (the KnitOwl at practice)

I played tonight at the sewing machine - getting a little practice.  Esme seems pleased with my take on the pink kitty from my painting.  I might try her again..or something else... have to get back in the groove and play at my art. I told her I would try to put some little red bows and stripes on her like in the painting from the first day of our summer journal.  I also made her a little pair of 'undershorts 'in white fabric with white embroidery thread for 'lace' at the bottom.  Esme had said she would be an embarrassed kitty, otherwise - and now she'll be a 'respectable' kitty with them.  She might merit a picture in better light..turned out quite well for a 'mockup' of an hour or so's play and no pattern to start with.

This is Esme's airplane from Minecraft today.
She said the hardest part was the 'double floor'. It needed a double floor because otherwise the windows would be blocked by the wings and the people couldn't see out.  She put a Flag on top of it as well.

 

The thing she built yesterday was a 'beehive', which looked like a large black and yellow box full of villagers, chests full of 'honey' (gold bars and nuggets) and crafting tables (because they work so much). It had a birchbark staircase up to it and a cave full of flowers nearby so the 'bees' could collect pollen.

Esme's train, yucca plant and bits

Esme built a train in Minecraft, after the Harry Potter train idea (I think)

 

Outside of the train with iron block wheels

 

inside seats

'control room' and 'snack cart'

I've cut out a sundress with ruffled layers - but haven't gotten anywhere on the sewing of it yet, as I close all this week. Took some time out to the garden.  The bad news is only half of our corn wants to come up at all in this weather -and it is too late for a third planting.  The good news might be that it is easier to weed in the gappy rows.  More bad news if we get more wind this year.  //sigh  More good news in that we still have corn in the freezer from last year.

The yucca plant is blooming.  Mark says it is the prettiest it has been in nearly ten years.  Esme drew this picture of it in her journal the other day. (it is on the right hand side, the purple radish is on the left)

bits

Memorial Day weekend has come and nearly gone. I'm back at work tomorrow, with a long stretch ahead of me. We gave away our kittens, did some gardening and rearranged the workspaces in the house some more.  The delivery of next year's school items arrived - the Astronomy book, a Geology book and a test prep book for second grade language and math that will be supporting material.  She carried the geology book with her to town the other day and was telling me all sorts of things from it.   We also ordered several cartoon series from my childhood.  They have rich language and themes in them, similar to Ducktales - of which she has really picked up a lot from this past year.  As the summer goes on I will add a few other things, maybe -- like more Stink Moody books or something on animals, perhaps.

We've finished the first chapter of the Adventure story - have to type it up and go over it a little but not right away.  She is a little exasperated by the 'I already told you this!' aspect and the fact that it 'has gone on forever' for just one chapter.

Going to my sewing table to see if there is anything to rearrange etc...  When Esme was at the park the other day I saw a beautiful sundress on a little girl that I know I could make...

Summer Journal and writing adventures

 Her sentence today was 'There were no aliens.'

The better organized writing area and her favorite pen we bought at a store earlier this year.

We started working on a story called the Adventure of the Twelve Charms.  I am writing it out for her and she is telling the story. Then we will go back (hopefully) and smooth it out some.  She started telling me this long 'dream' about elves and vampires and portals and a mission from the king.  Daddy said 'write it down - make it into a book!'.

So, we'll try and see where it goes!

There were lots of other Esme-isms today... the Force was running strong in this one. 

'This toast is firm.  That means solid.  I saw it in a cartoon I was watching.  I forget which one.'
 'The Ancient Egyptians didn't have hairbrushes.  So, why do I have to brush my hair?' - told her they did, beautiful ones actually,.. she hadn't seen it in the artifacts book we looked through...I told her to brush her hair and I would look some up for her to see.  She did, and we saw several beautiful bone combs and others.  I told her we might have to look up the Senet game, as there was a beautiful set shown in one of the pictures.  We saw African and Native American combs and brushes in the pages, too - she was impressed.
I told her that the story was just a first draft.  No, not a giraffe, a draft.  Err.. nevermind (as Daddy starts to joke about the second and fourth giraffe) -- we will go more over that after we get it written down.  It means we might have to change some things as we go.
You mean I have to clean up  this whole room tomorrow, like,everything, all gone?  Is that what you want me to do? //No, and you know it.. pick up some things and get them off the floor // so, on the ceiling then? *It's bedtime (Now she has the octopus toy on her head and is pretending to be a sleeping octopus..but removes it before I can kiss IT goodnight..as she wants the kiss goodnight.)

//and tomorrow is another day!

Garden and bits

Blauschokker peas with purple flowers and purple pods

and our petunias looking sparkly down below.

 

We had a flea market day and then back home to hang out.  Esme played in her 'forest house' and asked me to take a picture.  She is watering her wild mustard flower with some water that collected in the coconut shell (of coconut Saturday fame).  Columbus, the white puppy, can't wait to get in on the fun.

 A particularily 'Esme' type quirk.  This could be called her signature look - no one else could duplicate it.  Her dad comes close ;)

Garden notes:  It has been such an odd year.  Dry and cold, then super wet, a day or so of heat and sun, then cold again...  Nothing in the garden knows what to do.  I  have many seeds that have failed in the ground and a few that, once up, have tried to flower immediately.  The cicadas were singing in the trees and Esme got to see several of them up close (and three birds, too!)  She said they have four wings, and that they are kind of ugly.

I've made her another pair of shorts and weeded some of the garden.  We might go out and put some more of the greenhosue starts out in the bare places.  She wrote her journal page and drew a picture. She asked to play Monopoly again- and it was a two hour game ending in forfeiture to Mark.  He owned half the board. Esme made change much easier this time than the last time we played. And, she didn't fall off the bed once *heh*..but she did bounce quite a bit at intervals.  Monopoly gets to be fierce and tenacious competition.

Homeschool and Summer Activities

We went in to the School Board today to fill out the papers for second grade homeschool, and to turn in our attendance record from this year.  We had talked to Esme about maybe trying to get into third grade - but she said she would rather do the things we had planned for at home than have to work that much harder on her writing (and what we said about older kids worried her some).  So, we put in our order for the Astronomy and Geology books.

I also cleaned up the school and craft areas a bit today and sorted things out.  We played several hours in our shared Minecraft world, just for the fun of it. I started on her summer clothes - as she has torn holes in a lot of her other playclothes.  I finished a pair of shorts that she will try on  later. We had a good lunch, and Harry Potter is on the TV again.

We have kept the Summer Journal for three days in a row - reluctantly a little, but hers has to be at least one full sentence with punctuation.  Then I share something as well for her to read.  Her spelling has noticeably improved since last year.  It gives me hope that we can start on writing prompts a few days a week when we start 'class' again in August.

I am really glad to see her using her skills she has learned.  That makes all the difference.

Summer vacation

Sweet night, we all did our hobbies.  Esme played outside in the mud after the rain, then took a bath and washed her hair.

I got home from work, then painted and sewed.  Mark built on his robot kit. Esme and I started our Summer Journal, where we both do at least one sentence about what we did for the day.  Esme cut out paper cookies, animals and taped a paper rosebush together out of brown and red paper.  She then took a turn at painting, as well.  She made a 'family portrait' showing us as real lambs :)  This is the in progress picture.

 Painting at my craft station

mixing her own green

Lambs, a daddy, mommy and baby - in a field with dandelions

 

Mama's painting

I challenged myself to paint a 'pink cat with a cookie'

and this is what it ended up.

I should challenge myself more often :)

And Esme handed me a tree frog from outside and missed the handoff - it landed right between my eyes.  I would have bet more than a nickel I would have screamed.  But, somehow, I caught it up in my hands and put it outside while she roared with laughter.

Last Day of Homeschool First Grade - Graduation Certificate!

9a    - discussion of last day of school, certificate presentation
9.30a    - bird book
10a    - town, shopping at garden center
10.30a    - discussion: why is fast food usually junk food?
11a    - co-op; finding and loading lime and posts, use plans
11.30a    - break

12p    - minecraft
12.30p    - gardening and chores
1.30p    -  done

We are very proud of her progress this year.  A friend at my work came all the way back to my department to say how grown-up and articulate she is now.  She remembered how she hid behind us and cowered at strangers following the public school attendance -- and she said it was beautiful to watch her blossom this year with confidence and see her inventions and drawings on our album page.  Right now she told me a silly daydream she had about squishing a pretend tomato in her hands if she went over a bump in the car.  This while she is putting together her allowance-bought LEGO toy.

We are planning on homeschooling for second grade, too.  We will go to fill out the paperwork on Monday.  She has planned to study Astronomy/Universe and Geology/Rocks for science topics.  I have some social studies books I will start her on.  But, from now until August - it will  be summer break.

The future:
Our idea is that she can decide what she wants to do for third grade.  She is such a good reader, and does math already at least at a beginning third grade level. Her expressive writing may always be behind - and we will have to work on it as hard as we did her speech therapy when she was younger.  By then, she can understand what she really wants more - know herself and not get anxious/depressed/discouraged by the school environment. And, if she decides to go back she will have to handle herself better in the tough situations.  I have confidence that by the end of this next year she will be ready in ways she just wasn't for first grade, emotionally, language-wise, and in a greater sense of the world around her.

P.S. // Mark mentioned Esme should talk to the homeschool coordinator herself about skipping into third grade now for next school start.  She's not sure.  I'm worried about the expressive writing,(making up sentences yourself that make sense and writing them out) which she despairs over every little bit.  That is linked up with the expressive language delay she has had.  From what I have read that has been a trial of similar children up until about middle school age.  I know she would do fine with everything else.

Thursday last week of homeschool

one of our tube trees we made as a project

it is standing in a coffee can

9.15a    - reading (The Magic Little Christmas Tree)
9.30a    - Klondike - quests, going through combinations in making items.  She knows more about this game than I do, now...and showed me around the places she has been since last I was there.

10a    - Subtraction worksheet (while waiting for things to get ready in game)
10:30 -  Klondike  - check back for items that had become ready
11a   - garden: planting corn in bare spots in rows and forest house play - I showed her how to tie oak leaves to a branch with a piece of grass to 'upgrade' her little branch broom she was sweeping out her pretend house with.  She showed me the cupboards full of acorns and clover, the tools on 'shelves' in the trees - and then made a duster using the same technique to hang up in her cleaning closet.

--It started to sprinkle rain on us!  As we came in, we talked about second grade homeschool for next year.

12    - making jungle trees crafts indoors - We took tubes I brought home from work,construction paper and tape and made an indoor forest to play in, complete with a little bird's nest.   It turned out really well!  She then pretended we were from an Indian village and collected her stuffed animals to be her family and 'citizens'.  We survived panther (kitten) attacks and  cooked cardboard fish over a paper campfire.

12:3  - PBS kids spelling and word games on SuperWhy
1:15p - done

I extracted a promise to read more of the Stink Moody book with me,so we can finish it before official 'summer' begins.  She played Skyrim for about two hours, then helped Daddy make the meatloaf for dinner.  Now she is rollerskating all over the kitchen.

Wednesday last week of homeschool

 8:3a    - dragon city - Did you know there is a Double Metal dragon? And a space dragon?

9:3a    - letter writing to Aunt Dot, with hand drawn pictures
10.15a    - break
//We had some breakfast, got ready for town, and dropped the envelope in the mailbox.

11:3a     - quilt show at the heritage historical society, she voted for her favorite quilt, and remembered the last time we were there in December.  I talked with her about why quilts were different from each other- and why someone might make an 'art' quilt.
12     - library trip - buying books in the bookstore, talking to the bookstore lady about sewing and suchforth

//at the library I picked up several language workbooks for next year - just to have around in case I'm at a loss, and a few social study /geography workbooks.  Esme saw me looking through them and said 'We have enough books for school, Mom, so many books, like, how many books can we even read?  //Don't tempt me child (heh) She has known us all these years, seen the walls full to bursting with books..she is the one who carried three books to town of her own just to have something to read in the car!... but anyway, I showed her several interesting children's picture books and she was much more excited about that idea.  Yes, I bought the workbooks anyway ;) (at 50 cents to a dollar you really can't go wrong except for back injuries from carrying them home) and six magazines at a quarter each for me.

12:30     - city park P.E.
1:3     - ordering lunch from Subway
1:45     - break

4p - fishing -- She is so excited,... I've tried to have her play in the shade some as the sun is very strong.
And later, we will have Taco Wednesday, which is sort of educational - even though school is officially over for the day.  One of the books we bought was the Quiltmaker's Gift, which is fitting, considering the quilt show.

 Esme and Mark showing off the tomato fence they put up yesterday.

Giving the tomato plants a 'pep talk'.

 

Just watching her makes me tired...climbing trees,jumping off the berm and ZOOM she's all over the place.

She caught a fish.  Columbus (the white puppy) fell off the dock and had to  be rescued.  I made a daisy chain wreath and Esme helped me hang it up in the garden.  Taco Wednesday was a success.

Tuesday is not Taco Tuesday

8a    - flea market
//-- We found a thermometer for a quarter which we snapped up immediately to use for school stuff next year.  She can already read it pretty well.  She was surprised it really 'went down' when put in the shade vs. where it had been laying out in the sun.  She was also given a beautiful blue rock for free from a vendor- we think it is a sodalite rock.  She wants to do some work with rocks and minerals next year, and geodes.
10.30a    - break

12p    - spelling / writing practice - reading Sea Life out of her online book.  We also looked up Moray Eels to see if they had eyes.  They do.  I made her spell several sentences - which she despaired over.  Even though she had to really work hard at several words - I noticed she got 'some' and 'more' without having to ask or despair specifically about them, (as she did with many, want and water).  She is absorbing the spelling, even though it is her hardest and most reluctant subject.

I had to go on to work.  I hung up her entire spelling list for the year in the hallway - telling her it will stay there where she can see it easy all summer.. and maybe she will remember some more next year.
1p    - break

2p    - gardening - observation of what needed to be done, what was growing etc...
2.30p    - break

5p   - helping put up fence on tomato lines - Mark said she really thought and worked hard on this task with him.
6p   - done

We read How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight before bed.
I showed her the taco kit for 'not Taco Tuesday' tomorrow.  She was quite unhappy that the words Taco Wednesday didn't sound right.  I have more planned for tomorrow in town, too.

Monday

8:15    - School review, math sheets
----We did multiplication and addition borrowing review, and then looked through the projects she had done for the year in our photo album.  She talked about wanting to make more cardboard box caves as projects :)
9.30a    - break

10.45a    - dragon city
11.15a    - minecraft
12.15p    - break

1p    - pbskids
2.15    - done

Mark said she did about an hour of independent birdwatching with her binoculars during and after they got the mail today.  She has been taking up the initiative on lots of reading, projects and activities even when it is not 'school time'.  I hope to see that continue through the summer.  Friday is her last day of school - and I'd like to review just a tiny bit more, but she has done so well for the year.  I am quite proud of her progress :) 

List of first grade accomplishments

I'm putting together a portfolio for what we have done this year from our stack of work.
We don't have to do this by the rules for Tennessee - but I want to keep it all in one place.
Esme says we can look through 'reading school, as school', next week.   I will ask her what she wants to put in the project scrapbook.

A list of accomplishments Esme has made this year homeschooling.  These were things she either hadn't tried and/or succeeded with before August of last year, or a statement of level achieved.

Physical/Dexterity:
Tie a square knot in yarn.
Tie her own shoes.
Roller skate (forwards, and somewhat backwards) - attend a roller rink
Make a snowman by rolling large snowballs.
Sled in snow.
Ride a bike without training wheels.
Cast a fishing rod.
Woodworking project - flower planter, use electric screwdriver, mark pieces that Daddy cut out.
Climbing trees - project with a climbing pole set in cement.
Lift weights in repetitions- 2, 5 and 10 lb weights.
Thread a sewing needle.
Sew a piece of felt on top of another piece securely.
Cut detailed items with scissors, both in paper, cardboard and in fabric.
Weave on a loop loom. 
Use paint and brushes to make an edge-to-edge painting.
Wash and brush her own hair (with effort, and we usually do it to save time)
Wash her own laundry from beginning to end. (not a recurring task for her yet, but she knows how, and has demonstrated it for me)
Put in and take out barettes from her hair.
Do up the buckles on overalls.
Cook a corn dog in microwave to instructions on single serve package.
Open a pop tab can.
Cut simple foods with supervision while helping to cook (ie: cheese, onion, apples on the apple corer).


Observation, Investigative, Decision Making, Thought Process:
Observe and look up birds, animals and plants.
Keep, exchange and operate her own tv, dvd player and game system.
Read an interesting book / poetry collection on her own for enjoyment.
Understand 'actors' and real vs. recorded entertainment better...
Use measurement in relation to space/mapping, ten steps that way
Design transportation, shops and city in Minecraft.
Make connections between movies(ie: Spaceballs vs.Star Wars,  Aristocats vs. 101 Dalmations)
Discuss a timeline of events and how cause and effect happened -ie: Avatar series.
Ask and investigate scientific questions with great complexity.
Experiment with some new foods. (so tough for her in the past.)
Wash a dog in the bath tub.
Feed and water the new rat pet - the experience of building his cage.
Ask questions and make decisions to buy with her allowance.
Plan to go on a town trip, dress nicely for it, keep her purse with her at all times.
Plant seeds, water, and transplant seedlings to ground.
Aim and frame the digital camera.
Make a video with the tablet.
Understand the map of the world relates to real places and is not arbitrary.
Foray into Greek and French languages.
Begin to learn myth and legends vs.the idea of history and time.
Use computer interface to discover new features and instructions in many games.


Reading, Books, Literature:
Use her own library card to check out books.
Read easily at a second grade level, often higher with encouragement and help.
Passed two different sets of 1st grade spelling tests.
Passed 80%+ on a reading comprehension test.
Write a sentence with care to punctuation and capital letter at beginning.
Will continue to work on capitalization and 'proper names'.
Usually identify a noun and verb in sentences (adjectives still hard sometimes).
Make up character names and extend wordplay to nonsense words ie: 'bone-osis'. (very hard for her)
Play at stories and plays with characters and scenes.
Write a very simple rhyming poem. 
Draw a map representing information in the room or yard.
Make a 'book report' (comic style, not essay) describing a story she has seen/heard.
Follow a comic book sequence with pictures and text through the storyline.
Play charades!-- identify syllables still needs some work!
Use a dictionary.
Understands the beginning concept of foreign languages and names...not English.
Still argues about irregular spellings, but knows they do exist and sometimes it 'just doesn't look like it sounds'

 Numerical Operations and Time:
Add and subtract within a hundred, trying to take care to carry and borrow properly. 
Multiply up to 5x5 with no problem, up to 10x10 with thought and care.
Beginning algebraic concepts- completed Dragon Box series,  make 'equations'.
Divide numbers she can multiply (with ample time to think.)
Understands zero and negative numbers.
(beginning) to understand fractions and parts to whole.
Identify 2D shapes and most 3D shapes (sometimes she can't remember a name but can pick it out of a list)
Understand history means that place and time are permanently connected.
Make a graph of data, and understand to retrieve and use information from the graph.
Measure in teaspoons, tablespoons and cups.
Compare weights and volumes.
Can measure in inches and feet.
Measure a spice mixture using a recipe and a balance scale.
Understand money, coins, dollars and how it relates to work, goods and services.
She understands time both on clock and calendar SO much better this year, after focusing on it in our school.
Can answer 'two hours from now', 'two days from Saturday' and other such questions, now.
30 Days hath September etc.poem.
Given starting information, she can lay out a calendar page.
Plan 'the fourth dimension'- ie: we make our own future

Science:
 Electricity (Snap Circuits, Potato Clock),
Skeleton, Growth and Muslces unit (magic schoolbus),
Acids and Bases (pbskids),
Magnifying Glass and leaves,
Salt and Evaporation
greenhouse growth of seeds

History : 
Liberty's Kids, Ancient Egypt, Japanese Culture topics,

Field Trips:
Local Historical society, Local Parks, Tennessee River Fine Arts at Robert E. Lee School and talk with several artists. music store, Japanese restaurant, farm visit to Buena Vista, TN and subsequent check-ins with same farmer

Friday Data, dentists and dragons love tacos

I had a dentist appointment today. Before we went, I had Esme spell out loud the words on four weeks of a first grade spelling test.  Then, reluctantly, she wrote the sentences I made from the words down on paper. Her sense of humor shines through in that the chicken laid an egg on the date square. 

She played and updated her Dragon City game -  telling me the next steps for success... she needs to build a certain temple, feed dragons up to level 15 and then she can fight in a bigger battle.  I began the little embroidery project for her and got her started.  We got ready for town.  I was given a referral from the dentist (to an oral surgeon, ouch- not looking forward to this), which will happen in a week or so.  She went to the library while I was there with Mark, and checked out a book- Dragons Love Tacos, by Adam Rubin.


8:30-  -spelling and sentence worksheets
9:30 - dragon city
10:30 - break (go to town)
11 - library
12 - store
12:30 - break
1p - math, charting, graphing and analyzing data
2p - reading, embroidery, chores, discussion
3p -break
3:30- Land of the Dinosaurs eating paper tacos
and ---discussion why metal attracts lightning, why does the metal change color if lightning hits it?
we watched several videos about putting a patina on steel with a torch, and making glass out of sand using electricity
4p - done

We stopped by the store on the way home and got some groceries.  At home, while I cooked soup - we talked about her math progress for the entire year-and framed her abilities in words (which she CAN multiply, but hearing the word 'multiply' she forgets what that means) etc... We talked about measuring, and graphing- and she had forgotten what that meant.  I demonstrated- and she said OH, yes, I like that.  So, while I cooked, I had her take a pile of fridge letters and separate them into groups, stressing the words of the process again.  Then, we talked about the 'data set', and she got paper to make a graph or chart of the information.  We went into another room and talked about what we knew of the group by looking at the chart - and then checked to see if that was right.  We discovered that we had missed recording some data because the number of items on the chart didn't match the number of letters in the group.  She found and corrected the mistake.  She has a LOT of natural talent in sorting, analyzing and pattern recognition- but without using the words, she won't understand what tests might be asking of her.

We then used Pie Chart maker NCES.ED to compare the information on this graph with a pie chart containing the same info - which she entered the info from her chart into the program.  We played with the program a little. She read the library book to me, did a little more work on the embroidery, fed chickens and delivered eggs and onions to share with Grandma.

Dragons really do love tacos. We checked!

her graph, which she filled out herself after I explained what the idea was again

we compared bar graphs, line graphs and pie charts.

Article : Deeper, not faster in math...

Thursday

8.45a    - spelling and sentences worksheets
9.30a    - craft: fabric flower sewing - She learned to thread a needle and practiced stitching and tying off the work last night.  This morning she cut out a second project using the fabric scissors and made a second one.
10a    - break

10.15a    - minecraft
10.45a    - tiller repair / tilling - a belt broke yesterday, and I had brought a new one home from work.  She observed and helped Daddy put the  new belt on, and then they finished tilling Grandma's garden for her.
12p    - break

1p    - minecraft
3p    - done

We read a newspaper article (although reluctantly for her parts), talked about headlines and articles, and found out about a quilt show in our area next week.

Wednesday Dinosaur Opera

8.45a    - spelling worksheet
9a    - Dinosaur Opera ("Swan Lake")

Pink brontosaurus lady gets confused, and several of them realize they are people in dinosaur form, after meeting the swan princess in swan form- and then they fall down the hole at the edge of the world and find lots of other dinosaurs.  Act II tomorrow.
9.15a    - break

10a    - Minecraft
11.30a    - break

12p    - tilling grandma's garden
12.30p    - Minecraft
1.45p    - chores
2p    - pbskids
3.30p    - done

Now she wants to try to sew a present for a friend.  She threaded the needle herself after having to snip it in a mistake - and threaded it again later, too, correcting her mistakes as she went.  I showed her how to tie off the knot, and she did it again.

Not a flea market Tuesday

8.30a    - spelling worksheet
8.45a    - dictionary reading- sadly puffin and femur were not in her new dictionary (which arrived a few days ago, but partridge and potato were)
9a    - Minecraft
10.30a    - break

10.45a    - drawing
11a    - disassembling printers with screwdrivers under Daddy's supervision, one was a daisy wheel printer from 1984, they discussed how the motors moved things in the printers, and lefty-loosey righty-tighty with the screws holding the parts in place
1p    - break

2.45    - chores; helping with pork spice recipie
3.30p    - done

I came home at 4:30 - and we went to town for grocery shopping, allowance spending and to look at robotics kits in the Radio Shack closing sale.  Mark bought several clearance items which we will introduce Esme to for her school electronics projects.

I have scheduled a dentist appointment.  I am almost all the way through Son of Tarzan.
Corn, okra and asparagus beans are starting to peek up in the garden.  Also, some morning glory and marigolds.  I planted a handful of Whipporwill speckled cowpeas and a row of the White climber beans tonight.  

Monday

8.30a    - spelling & capitalization worksheets
9a    - reading aloud from online reading book, word topics, write a poem, draw picture for poem
9.30a    - break

10.30a    - PE (50x 10lb bench, 25x 10lb deadlift,
      50x situps)
11a    - Minecraft - she  built a zoo.  She said she would show it to me tomorrow after my work.
12.15p    - break

12.45p    - gardening and chores
1p    - Snap Circuits #15 & #16
1.45p    - minecraft
2.30p    - done

Notes:  My teeth (or jawbone) still hurt...I may just have to check with a dentist after all.

We read the next leg of Stink Moody and the Gigantic Super Galactic Jawbreaker.  She made a ''vending machine' out of a box, some paper 'coins' she cut out,  and bits of a  paper towel tube that would be the soda cans that come out when you put the 'coins' in  the slot she had cut with scissors.

Weekend

Saturday was 'coconut day' - and we all had some fresh coconut.  We tried the water, but it really wasn't good... salty and slimy.   I ground the meat up in the food processor and put it in the freezer for making cookies.  Esme took the little piece of husk that had fallen off when we ran the screwdriver through the coconut with the hammer.  She wanted to make a necklace out of it -- she had wanted us to drill several oyster shells from the driveway gravel for that, too... glad I started with the coconut husk first.  It spun around a little under the drill bit and caught my finger.  Not much worse for wear.   I asked Esme to get a bit of wool string to put through it for a necklace - and she had grabbed my raw wool and the spinning tool and was starting to try to remember how to make raw wool into yarn. *heh*

We gave the rest of the shell to the chickens and they have worked hard to get every little bit out.  It is funny to hear them knocking it against the log in their yard.

//My space bar is acting up seriously... hard to type sometimes.  Will have to try to fix it again.

Been out in the garden this morning.  It feels good to have a day off.  And, although my wisdom teeth are deciding to go at coming into my jaw again... it is not quite as bad today as it has been several other days this past week. I am losing some sleep over it...and making Excedrin my friend more than I would like to.  The strangest part of it is it keeps moving around the jaw, hurting here, and then there... and then it will be gone for an hour, and suddenly back. etc...  Last time I asked a dentist about it they couldn't find anything wrong in that spot....and a middle tooth cracked and came completly out two months later, which was then pain-free for over a year.  I know they want to just take the wisdom teeth out ///but the sedation was not good for me once and they have never used it on me since. 

Planted:
basil
sage, kale and India Mustard as attempts to edge the flower bed
nasturtiums
gourds
kale and mustard
lots of other flowers
Santa Anna beans
Provider beans
some of the white onion sets
put out as much of  the greenhouse experiments from this winter as possible...
peppers from the store -to match up with the tomatoes and peppers Mark and Esme planted the past  few days.

Found the peony and the hosta (seen below) from last year - and perhaps the poppies are coming up again, too.

Friday

8.30a    - weights and measures, cup, tsp, tbsp, types of weight measures, discussion of Metric and English weight measures.
9a    - Labors of Hercules #10,11  and 12.
9.30a    - break

10a    - town & stores
10.45a    - break

11.30    - trash hauling; how to load and secure heavy items
12.30p    - break

1p    - sims
2.30p    - gardening
3.15p    - done

I plan  to start the next Stink Moody book with her tonight.  Mark and Esme bought a coconut to open for breakfast tomorrow.