Big Red Fire Engine

We visited our local fire hall today. The firefighters gave us a great tour of a ladder truck and an ambulance. We even got to see their kitchen and living quarters. DD had a great time exploring the rescue vehicles. They responded to two calls during our visit, and they were on the trucks and out the bay in under 5 minutes. Impressive.

We spent the rest of the day grocery shopping (boring), making brownies (excellent) and enjoying the mild 85 degree afternoon (hallelujah!).

Up and other meaningful trivialities

We took DD to see the movie Up today and by the end of it, both of us were crying. I wish I had brought some tissues. Wiping away tears with crumbled, popcorn-smeared napkins is not an easy task.

It was a lovely movie and it reminded me that time is fleeting. Sometimes it feels like it's fleeing around here, so my new goal is to REMEMBER to enjoy the moments with DD. I'm so fortunate to be able to homeschool with her and I want it to be a journey that neither of us will forget, for all the right reasons.

Happy Trails

We hit the trail tonight for some bike riding with DD, and wonder of wonders, I was able to keep up with my family! Of course, we stopped numerous times along the way, which undoubtedly helped old mama, but still. I finally experienced some of the euphoric feelings that runners are always raving about. Not enough to make me rave, but definitely enough to keep me from being sick.

I'm currently conducting an experiment to determine whether exercise will reduce or obliterate these terrible mood swings that attack from nowhere. I'll probably have to run many more miles to get conclusive results, so it's a win/win. The whole family has lost a few pounds, which is a good thing, since nutrition doesn't seem to be our strong point.

Rainy Days and Mondays

Whew! Another rough Monday. I may banish them from our little kingdom. We were all in bed last night at 7:30. Yes, it is unbelievable. We went swimming yesterday afternoon, and I suppose the heat just zapped our will to live. Or at least to stay awake. I managed to concoct a semblance of supper and read a few books with DD before I passed out.

Today was aftereffect day; we were cranky and irritable from our riproaring weekend. Maybe I should banish riproaring weekends instead.

We did manage to play a bit with our Boggle Jr. set. She had fun mixing the letters around and making words. Although the majority of were nonsense, sensible words aren't the point of this game. However, she is back to pretending that she doesn't know how to read words like dig, dog, dug, etc. It makes me want to pull my hair out by each individual strand, but I try to remain calm. How am I ever going to homeschool if I lose my cool at each minor setback? Btw, this is not a rhetorical question. Please send answers!!!

More Tree Climbing!

Yay for DD! We moseyed down to the main library today in hopes of catching the Hansel & Gretel marionette show, but alas, it was bumped for a ventriloquist act. A very wonderful ventriloquist act, but we really had our heart set on H&G. Just another reminder about the perils of procrastinating. The show ends tomorrow. However, we noted that Cinderella will start in July and DD is in heaven.

We came home and napped (hallelujah!) for almost 60 minutes. Then we geared up to make our Father's Day gift, which required spray painting an old frame black. We discovered that Magic Clean erasers remove paint from skin. Don't ask. Anyhoo, it will have to dry overnight, then we will glue washers and bolts to it for a "car nut" frame.

Then we commenced to tree climbing. After we inquired of Snickers the cat how his day had gone. Literally.

Tree Climbing and Free Range Parenting

So, after the double black eye tree climbing incident of 2007, I've been leery of DD's fervent desire to climb trees. Although I've tried hard not to reveal this to DD, my mantra of "be careful" and "don't you think it's time to come down now?" may have given her a clue. So this afternoon, as I'm trying to revitalize her waning interest in washing the car, I see her in the tree, attempting to climb to the top. All was well when I was scrubbing the wheel well and couldn't see her, but I panicked as soon as I saw her up in the tree in her CROCS, which bear some culpability in the 2007 incident. What to do? First, I attempt to wheedle her down from the tree. No dice.

Me: Great job! Don't you want to come down now?
DD: No way. I'm climbing all the way to the top.
Me: I don't think it's sturdy enough at the top.
DD: Sure it is!
Me, panicking in what I hope is silent mode.

I at least convince her to change shoes, as tennis shoes provide some traction. After shoe change, she reclimbs tree and I needlessly hover around the trunk. I decide that being a total wet blanket is no fun for either of us, so I go back to scrubbing wheel wells and pray that she doesn't fall. She doesn't fall. She gets stuck, but she doesn't fall.

I read an article not too long ago about parents who orchestrate their child's every move, thereby preventing them from doing any of the fun, dumb stuff they (ok me) did as kids and lived to tell the tales. So, I'm trying to be a free range parent. I'll probably have to start as the conservatively free range parent and work my way up.

I'm totally, absolutely proud of her for climbing the tree. I am proud of myself for walking away from the base of the tree. Baby steps.

Busy Bees

In spite of scheduling nothing more grueling than swim lessons this summer, we have been busier than ever. June is nearly over, Father's Day is nearly upon us and we have nothing prepared. Nothing. Yikes! Time to troll the blogs for amazing, crafty projects to get us through.

Our new policy of unschooling is still going strong. I did weaken a few days ago and asked her to read me a story. She did, albeit unwillingly, which was a good reminder for me. On the positive side, she has been spontaneously reading: at the grocery store, the library, the bookstore, etc., so I'm not hyperventilating anymore (or should I say right now?). I'm thinking of incorporating more writing into our day as a way to promote reading. She likes to write invitations to dance parties and instructions for me to follow, so we'll see what transpires.

I've been reading Dr. Ruth Beechick's books on the three Rs and been inspired to make more of an effort to draw attention to what I normally do in a day that requires reading, writing and arithmetic. So, when we bake, I try to show her the measuring cups and spoons and talk about how much of which ingredient we need. When we go to the store, I talk to her about what we need and make out our list. Reading is no problem because that's what we love around here. Speaking of reading, we just read a fantastic book called The Pirate Girl by Cornelia Funke. I've read a few of her novels and enjoyed them immensely; I had no idea she wrote picture books, too. This one is a good read.

I'm Sending You Letter

She wrote all but a two Rs and one M. She's planning a dress up party for her friends. I think we're back on track. She's reading and writing on her own again (in spite of my schoolteacher strain).

Whole Lotta Lotta Going On

We had a busy and productive day today. After jumping on the trampoline, riding her bike and reading probably the longest story of her career, DD had her first swim lesson today, and she did really well. I was surprised at how timid she was at first, but she soon warmed up. She's now able to put her whole head in the water and even tries to swim without her noodle. She's really close; I hope she'll be swimming solo soon. We practiced in the pool for about an hour after her lesson. It was so cold that my teeth were chattering, but she of course was fine. Then DH called to invite us out to our favorite pizza place. Excellent. After supper, we visited the little pond out back and shared some stale bread and fresh pizza crust with the geese and turtles. We counted 11 turtles. One was a great big old grandaddy turtle who was very curious about us. He watched us intently and even began to scramble up the bank, but one of us hollered and he scooted back into the water. You'll be proud to know that it wasn't ME who hollered, although I did take a few cautious steps backwards.

I've started reading Raising Lifelong Learners by Lucy Calkins and I'm really getting alot out of it. It's early days yet, but I've already become aware of several "what not to dos" that I am doing, like concentrating too much energy and focus on the mechanics of reading instead of fostering a love of reading. So tonight, we read the first two chapters of an old Nancy Drew book that belonged to Grandmama, then me and now DD. And I didn't even ask DD to sound out a single word.

SCORE!

DD scored her first goal of the soccer season tonight. Naturally, I stopped filming right before she did, but that's ok. We asked her how it felt to score a goal, and she said it felt like flying.

Lost and Found

Nirvana: I finally found the Netflix Pinnochio dvd I've been searching for ever since I remembered that I lost it--roughly three weeks. After driving myself insane in the middle of the night, mapping previously unexplored nooks and crannies, I finally looked in a box of artwork that I'd been storing DD's masterpieces in. A simple search revealed the errant dvd. What a relief! Now I can move on to the really important things to worry about, like global warming, choosing curriculum materials, and why does one sock in a pair of socks go AWOL in the dryer?

The AC unit that cools the upstairs went out today, so DD gets to sleep in our room tonight. She was excited because she didn't have to cover her head in the night because I would be there and she wouldn't be scared. Melts my heart. However, to present a truly balanced portrait, only a few hours earlier, she threatened to send my to my room for 60 and 1/2 minutes the next time I raised my voice...