Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Walnut Acre Daily -- Adjusting to Summer

Walking With the King
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:11

We Are Learning
As part of our forest animals unit we focused on bears today. We read a story, watched two YouTube videos and colored two pictures.


This afternoon Mykalin, CJ, Michael and I played Number Bingo, Sight Word Bingo, and Sight Word Memory.




We Are Reading
Here are the books the kids and I read together today . . .
Lady and the Tramp


Cooperation: Stone Soup (Tales of Virtue)



Windy Day



Big Bear, Spare That Tree



Good Night, Sleepyhead



Chaucer's First Winter



In the past CJ has often resisted our afternoon storytime and I've allowed him to go do something else. But this week I've encouraged him to stay and he's really enjoying it and is even glad to choose a book for me to read.

I just started a book that I got from the church library that I'm really enjoying and looking forward to reading more of later this evening. 


Setting Goals That Count: A Christian Perspective


Homemaking Joys
The one thing that made me really happy today was getting my writing table cleaned off again so I can use it. It was so piled up with everyone's random things that I couldn't even sit down there with my laptop. I'm sitting at that table now and loving it. Earlier, someone walked by it and started to set something down on it only to hear me say - "Don't put that there! That's my space!" It's in the livingroom and it just seems to be such a handy place for everyone to drop things. Hopefully it stays clear now though.

In the Kitchen
Austin and Amanda were the cooks today. Austin made scrambled eggs and hash browns for lunch. Amanda decided on pizza for dinner. It was really nice not to be responsible for any meals today, and it was a good thing because the kids kept me so busy I'm not sure when I would have had time to cook!

In the Garden
I finished thinning out the turnips this morning and started working on thinning out the last couple rows of carrots to come up. Austin and Amanda both worked on weeding one of the other patches of carrots. We're starting to see some real progress in the garden this week.

On Our Nature Walk
CJ made himself a fishing pole by knotting some weeds to the end of a long stick. He was really proud of that fishing pole.


While we were playing by the water Michael and Lauren suddenly started singing the theme song to "Little Einsteins." It was a completely spontaneous, and totally joyful little outburst of song and was so sweet.



I can't remember all the words to the song but here's the part where they sing "pat, pat, pat, pat."



Other Outdoor Fun
We were playing in the back yard this afternoon but it started raining. So I brought out crayons and coloring books and most of the kids decided they wanted to sit at the table on the porch and color.



Out and About
Other than Doug going to work today, none of us had to go anywhere.

Other Notes and News
It's the beginning of summer vacation and the change in routines is really wreaking havoc on a couple of the kid's behaviors. I know that once new routines are established things will calm down but today was just plain hard. There was a testing of boundaries that I knew I could not let go unchecked, but it was hard to stay firm when all I really wanted was for them to have a day of constructive fun. And they did have a lot of fun, but there was an awful lot of timeout and finally sentences that had to be written and will have to be finished tomorrow. I started doubting myself and finally asked Doug if I was being to hard on them but he said no, it was just something we were going to have to work through now, so it wouldn't be a problem later. So we'll get a good night of rest and start over tomorrow, knowing that even though some days are harder than others, there are always so many joyful moments that make it all worthwhile.


Today's Quote
When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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