Kira Vs. The Bike

We have finally reached a new milestone -- riding the bike.  After 3 excruciating days of attempting to ride her bike without training wheels, Kira has done it!  Okay, so it wasn't that bad...but there was a lot of frustration on both parts and there was a lot of tears and complaining on hers!  It definitely wasn't a walk in the park.

We still need to work on some things -- starting off on our own, brakes, and riding on the right side of the road. I think I have just as many bumps and bruises but she can now ride!  My parents are visiting so this was great for them to see.  Dad said she needs a t-shirt that says 'I learned to ride my bike at gunpoint.'

Yesterday was her first day of riding without assistance and let me tell you she wore me out!  I have been wanting to lose some weight and I think this will do it.  My legs (shins) are in great pain.  I am going to have to take it easy and try to remember how to run again.  There is no speed walking now.

Getting prepared...

Off she goes again!

Proud Daddy and Papa waiting!

As she passed me in the last photo she was saying, 'I know I can, I know I can, I know I can...'  I am one proud Mama today!

Monday Mood Swings: Mother Nature vs Japan

We all know that Mother Nature has mood swings. Unfortunately on Friday, Japan was in her way and got slammed. They did nothing wrong, but as we all know a when a mood swing hits a woman, all hell can break loose! Cars, ships, and building were all swept away by a wall of water after a 8.9 earthquake stuck northeast of Tokyo around the Sendai area. It's hard to image the power of those waves. We have seen in the news so many different videos by Japanese residents or even tourists who have posted on Facebook or submitted to the media.

One particular Facebook post is a 6 minutes video showing waters rising, cars floating down the street or disappearing below the surface, and buildings crumbling their water grave. It takes your breath away to see the devastation caused by these two events. What amazed me is that in this video the people remained calm. There was nothing they could do but you don't hear any crying or screaming, other than the rushing water and the buildings crumbling in the background there is silence. Crowds remained orderly and calm! Maybe it was shock at the damage, the loss of loved ones, but no matter what caused their calming behavior these people are absolutely amazing.

Kira and I have learned a lot about Japan in the last several days. One thing that I didn't know was that 73% of Japan is forested, mountainous, and is unsuitable for agricultural, industrial, or residential use! Therefore, the habitable zones, mainly located in the coastal areas have an extremely high population density. Then comes the Ring of Fire! Did you know that 10% of the world's active volcanoes are found in Japan? No? I didn't either! Japan falls in between the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate and due to that 'ring of fire' as many as 1,500 earthquakes are recorded yearly!

If one country is prepared for this type of scenario it is Japan.  Due to their extensive code enforcement and the fact they are trained at an early age to dive under a desk to protect themselves in a quake, their preparation undoubtedly saved many lives on Friday.

Our family has spent the entire weekend glued to the news, waiting and watching what is to happen next.  It reminds me a lot of Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans. Your heart just goes out to these people and you want to do something to help, but what?

Do you want to learn more about Japan with your child?  If so visit Kids Web Japan.  It is a wealth of information about geography, history, language, culture, and much, much more.  Enjoy!

March Mission Progress...

I am so proud of myself!  I accomplished 3 things today.  I am working on these t-shirts for the float trip in June. One set is a surprise but since the person they are intended for does not read my blog I am safe to talk about them!

I have to tell someone about these shirts, it is just killing me to keep this a secret.  A good friend of mine (Tracy) is a tug boat captain and spends 30 days at a time on a boat.  For a long time he would call almost every day he was on the boat.  It became this joke that I talked to him more than my own husband and he became hubby #2 and I became 'wifey.'  Of course this is just a running joke between my husband, Tracy and I, but then Miranda came into our lives.  Miranda is one of the sweetest girls I have 'met'.  We haven't met in person, but talk a lot on the phone and well, we just click!  She is Tracy's girlfriend and she magically became the 'mistress.'  Then Miss Christina was added to our little group.  She is a friend to the entire group and her title became 'girlfriend.'  It probably all sounds strange but to us it is funny!  So one day we came up with this t-shirt idea.  It will have the Charlie's Angels silhouette with Tracy's Angels on the front and then on the back our respective names.  I used my Cricut for the first time and it worked!  I had a few problems but it really worked!  So I think that works for 2 items on my Missions list.

Then, I designed the t-shirts for the float trip itself.  The float will take place on the Current River in June.  The theme is a pirate theme and one night I had this epiphany to make t-shirts with a skull and crossbones only the crossbones will be oars.  The first edition is with kayak oars so I have to redo the handles on them, but that shouldn't take much time.  These tees we plan on having printed.

Workbox Wednesday

The other day a friend asked me how we fit all of our homeschool activities into one day and still find time to eat and relax.  My response was sometimes we don't!  Ok, so that's not true, but there are times it sure feels like it, especially when I don't prepare the night before.

Last month my mission was to develop a homeschool schedule that works for us and well, I did...kinda.  I recently read a post by Edie over at Love Satisfies and fell in love with her homeschool schedule.  I have tweaked it a bit, but I pretty much have used her schedule. She wanted the girls to have more ownership of their work - something that would motivate them to work on their own and finish on time.  That is our problem.  We are lacking that sense of independence and accomplishment.

Edie prints off a list of everything that needs to be done and gives a copy to each of her girls.  We use the workbox system so I feel that covers that part, but I am willing to change if it works for Kira.  

I love lists.  That's probably an understatement if you ask my husband.  Being able to check things off as I go throughout the day gives me a rush. Hum...Kira likes lists too - something to think about.  I keep trying to reinforce that the harder she works, the more time she has to play in the afternoon, but for some reason we keep hitting that hurdle which is really starting to feel more like a brick wall.

So here is how our typical morning works...

I am not a morning person and probably never will be, but I have found getting up earlier and getting a morning routine in order my day just seems to flow better.  I have started to wake up and do my morning thing: tidy the kitchen and living area, finalize Kira's schedule for the day (if I didn't get it done the night before) and make sure her supplies, books, etc are ready for our school day.  The big thing for me is that this is time for me to wake up.  I am a complete bear of a morning and do not get along with anyone for the first hour or so after I get up.  I am trying to lose some weight so I am also taking this time to go for a brisk morning walk (depending on the weather.)  This is also a perfect time to blog, answer emails, or even attack that never-ending pile of laundry!

8:30AM Kira usually wakes up on her own, gets dressed, has breakfast and does simple chores (make bed, tidy room, and personal hygiene.)

9:00-10:00AM Spelling, Handwriting, Writing, Copywork [Independent]

Kira can work on anything from her independent list.  I tend to use this time to finish up my morning activities but stay close as she sometimes needs assistance.  I also find she gets distracted easily.  

 I’ve been working on my kindness and patience with their questions and pleas for help.   I find that when I’m more patient, they have less questions.   If they sense that I’m frustrated or really distracted (which I sometimes am!) they seem to need an endless amount of help.   So I talk to myself and try to use a kind, encouraging voice and even if it’s the thirteenth time in 2 minutes that someone needs my help, I try to remember that this is why I’m here—to help them and teach them and guide them.    And I think it’s working.    They seem to need me less the more accessible and pleasant I am.   Go figure.

10-10:30AM Math [separate but together]

We started using the Math U See program supplemented by numerous workbooks.  I got the program for free and unfortunately I don't feel as though it should be used on its own.  It is lacking in numerous areas -- measurements, money, telling time, etc.  My Mom and Dad frequently visit a store called Half Price Books and tend to pick up all kinds of goodies.  One of which was a workbook that is just Time and Money.
11:00AM-12:00PM Science/History/Grammar

Math at our house usually involves weeping and gnashing of teeth.  We’re working on this.   I think it’s getting better since we’ve starting doing some reviews with the other workbooks.  She knows her math facts but gets easily frustrated.  My goal is to help them truly master the basic by spending more time together so she don’t have to think and count and cry and scream.  Wish me luck.

10:30-11AM Literature/Reading

I spend this time reading to Kira or sometimes she reads to me.  Typically it is a just for fun chapter book or other times it is something that goes along with our studies.

Depending on the day will depend on which of these three we work on.  I use a loop schedule so we alternate days.  Sometimes I am lucky enough to incorporate all of these subjects into one!  Yep, I am that good! 

12:00-12:30/1:00PM  LUNCH

We typically use this time to watch a TV show typically a 30 minute just for fun show with the rest of the time to use however she wants, or we find a documentary.

1:00-1:30PM QUIET TIME:  YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS!

From this blog post, I was exposed directly to Susan Wise Bauer and her totally awesome YouTube video entitled "Question & Answer Series 2: Quiet Time Part 1."  She talks about how her children have a two hour "nap time".  The kids are too old for naps so they now have 'rules' of what they can or cannot do during "nap time."  The rules are, you ‘rest’ in your room, by yourself and may listen to books on tape or play quietly with Legos, Polly Pockets, Barbies, crafts, etc.   You may not come out unless you’re bleeding.   In other words, pretend I am not here!  Check out this video.  It is worth it, I promise! 

I am conflicted as to what to do during this time.  I have so much I could get done during these two hours.  Usually I clean or craft or blog. I have to admit that it is the most wonderful amazing brain child of Susan Wise Bauer.   

Although there are days we have to finish up some of this schoolwork during our Quiet Time, I make sure to follow my unwritten rule - Never take longer than 30 minutes out of Quiet Time.  She needs that as much as I do.  We almost always finish by that time of day.  We follow this basic schedule on Monday-Thursdays and then use Fridays for more literature, art, music, library time and most important field trips.  

Now here is my problem...

I have been thinking about our workbox station and to be honest the first several months of school went fantastic due to our organization.  I was always on top of our schedule, but something is currently missing.  I don't know what it is, but something is missing.  You know, now that I think about it, I think it is FUN!  We have these workbooks, and Kira is doing great with them, but it's not fun for either of us.  When we do our crafts we have a blast and I think this quarter I am going to try to do more in the way of activities instead of the book type of learning.  We are spending more time on our lapbooks, so I think I am going to use those as our learning activities.  Kira is at that age where there is a question for everything and I really think that I can use that to my advantage.

Twisted Tuesday Humor

This morning, Kira and I were just talking at the kitchen table when she begins to tell me about a commercial about identity theft.  Why she is telling me this I have no idea, but she thinks it is very important and whatever the commercial is selling, it is very, very important.  This commercial results in this conversation:

Kira: Mom, I think you need to think about identity theft.

Me: (With a chuckle) Identity theft?  Where did you hear about that?

Kira: It was on a commercial.

Me: I think you watch to many commercials.

Kira: Well, Dad makes them! 

This is true.  I had to give her this one.