Camel petting
Spinning Rides
Petting turtles and tortoises
One of their favorite attractions: climbing on vehicles and machinery!
Jumpers! There were at least 4 or 5 set up, so none were too crowded.But as I went to bed last night, I knew my heart was not right. Agh. I'm a strong character, huh? A little fighting, dirt, and pee totally threw me off my game.
Sooooo, I determined NOT to make the same mistakes today. I did get up before the kids today. And I was not peed on, (thank you, God!) And I began to read. Even before coffee. As I flipped, and read and flipped, and filled myself up, a verse stuck out to me. Actually, it literally stuck out... I had copied on on one of those fluorescent index cards and it was sticking out of the top of my Bible, marking it's spot:
Proverbs 14: 1 The wise woman builds her house,
but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
Ouch. Conviction. I was not building up yesterday. And, so, ladies and gents (do any gents read??) I decided to build today. And, guess what, it was a GREAT day.
I know there will be hard days (and weeks and maybe even years, as a friend told me.) I know that it won't all be directly because of my own failures. I know that my kids are not perfect, and they never will be. But, as far as it concerns me, I want to do my best. Yesterday was not my best. Today was. And what a difference it made.
First of all, we did our Bible lesson, but not just an in-order-of-the-book lesson. There's nothing wrong with those, but today I needed a little more relevance to their behavior. It wasn't a lecture or finger-wagging session, by any means. They were all smiling, promise! :-)
Then we had a little huddle art-planning-session for the afternoon. So far so good.
When school started, it started and didn't stop. Little hands stayed busy. There really wasn't much time for anyone to think about fighting.
Little Lad did some toddler folder games and lacing shapes. He loves to match things, so I pulled out our recently-completed Number book and Colors and Shapes book.
More pictures of the Number Book here, and more pictures of the Colors and Shapes book here.
Doesn't he have beautiful lashes?
Dash works on an art project.
(Behind him, you can see the new color of my living room walls!)
We had most of our work done by the time Co-op started. The Artist even had a few minutes to work on her awesome Horse Lapbook. More pictures of it here.
And, when classes were over, it was nice enough to play outside with friends!
Just playing with the kids...
Hope you had a wonderful day! Well, today was rough. And I don't usually like to write on rough days. You know, "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all."
I'm just wondering where it all went wrong. Sure, it was raining when I woke up. And a kid climbed in my bed and peed on me. And the 2-year old woke up TOO EARLY and woke one of his brothers up. The brother did not go back to sleep, and remained grumpy all day.
I mean ALL DAY.
Because of the morning incidents, I did not get my quiet time. I was lucky to grab a quick shower after breakfast. When school time rolled around, no one was ready. Apparently the routine we've had for years isn't well enough established.
Hmph.
They conveniently forgot their morning chores and dragged their feet when they "remembered."
Now, at this point, I usually (yes, we've had these days before) haul them all outside with their books, and admire the blue sky, beautiful sunshine, and we thank God for such a delightful day. THEN we start our work. But, as I mentioned, it was raining today. Psha.
Sooo, I attempted a cheer-up session, to no avail. Then I resorted to rewards (bribery, whatever...) "Let's take care of this work, then on to more fun stuff, and then maybe we'll bake cookies this afternoon."
No good.
There was fighting, grumbling, kicking. (!!) Every time the boys started to play together, they began fighting. They fought just working next to each other. So they were separated, desks moved across the room. And then they cried about it. Maybe I should have just let them beat each other up?
Q: How does a homeschooler change a light bulb?
A: First, mom checks three books on electricity out of the library, then the kids make models of light bulbs, read a biography of Thomas Edison and do a skit based on his life. Next, everyone studies the history of lighting methods, wrapping up with dipping their own candles. Next, everyone takes a trip to the store where they compare types of light bulbs as well as prices and figure out how much change they'll get if they buy two bulbs for $1.99 and pay with a five dollar bill. On the way home, a discussion develops over the history of money and also Abraham Lincoln, as his picture is on the five dollar bill. Finally, after building a homemade ladder out of branches dragged from the woods, the light bulb is installed. And there is light. ~Author Unknown
Little Lad matches the pictures.
Dash works on color-spelling. More pictures and "how to" here.
First, Buy yogurt and itty bitty paper cups.
While you wait for those yummies to freeze, grab an outgrown or outdated sweater. I bought this one for 25 cents at a yard sale. Turns out it's too big for The Artist, but too small for me. Soooo, I'm turning it into fingerless gloves and a pillow. The full tutorial for the gloves is on A Foothill Home Companion. Make a paper template of your hand (full or partial... this is to show you where and how to cut & sew the sleeve for your thumb. 
Cut off sleeves, and turn inside out. Using your template as a guide, sew, and then cut out the little middle triangle area. View the tutorial link for better pictures! ;-)
Turn right-side-out and wear! You can roll the cuff, knit around the top, or embellish with buttons, which is my plan.
Cozy!! I left my sleeves long. For the love of fashion. 
And, now that you're all cozy, go grab a yogurt pop.
Remember to share with the little people.
The Artist pointed out that my octopuses don't have 8 legs. So sue me. ;-)
Cut one end of the hotdog, heat it up, and then you have an octopus! Cooking doesn't get easier than that, does it? Add tiny bits of raisins for eyes. (I'll confess that I actually drew on my kids hotdogs and then cut the tiny faces off before they ate them. But, rather than posting the gruesome photos of that, I thought I'd stick with paintshop faces for you guys!)
Grab those leftover garden veggies. Yeah, all kinds. Wash 'em, chop 'em, and throw them in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil and Italian seasoning. I added tomatoes, okra, bell pepper, some egg plant. YUM!! And, if I'd thought about it, I would have also added my squash and garlic.
Still have leftover veggies??
First I made Sara's Singapore Salsa recipe:
2 cans Del Monte diced tomatoes with jalapenos (I used my leftover tomatoes and jalapenos instead.)
