Under the Sea

We're back after a lengthy absence. Did you miss us? We were visiting the great state of West Virginia. We had a fantastic weekend and all of it was educational. Every single bit. Really. One of the highlights of the trip for me was watching dd catch a frog. I think I hid my feelings of repulsion fairly well. Luckily, she did not ask me to touch the frog. I had already steeled myself to do it without flinching or shrieking like the staunch amphibian hater that I am, but I'm so thankful I didn't have to!

Today was Princess game day. All day long-seemingly without cessation. First, we played Cinderella. I, of course, was the stepmother, the stepsisters, the prince and the duke. Whew! She even managed to kick off her glass slipper (aka mary jane) while running down the hall into her room. Later, she built a spinning wheel out of Lincoln Logs so that we could play Sleeping Beauty. All I had to do was move the princess' sleeping body over to the sofa cushion masquerading as an elegant bed. After Prince Teddy Bear woke her with a kiss, it was time to play Ariel. This consisted of my singing a few bars of Under the Sea over and over and over while Ariel ran and hid. While Ariel was hiding, I announced that I was going to look for King Triton (code for sneak a few minutes on the computer) but I was totally busted. "King Triton isn't in this story. We don't have enough Lincoln Logs to build him. Sing Under the Sea again." You may ask yourself why I agreed to do this. I'm asking myself as well.

We are slowly resuming a modified version of our earlier routine (do I sound like a politician or what?). On a friend's recommendation, I'm re-reading the relevant portion of A Well-Trained Mind. After skimming through again today, I can see that my initial plans were probably too ambitious for our first year. We're going to focus on letter sounds and numbers and we're going to read, read, read. I had hoped to have her reading by Christmas (and by reading I mean the Bob books, not War and Peace), but now I'm working on cultivating a more relaxed attitude. A more under the sea attitude. We'll see what tomorrow brings...