Monday, May 23, 2011

Sticking some stuff here

Okay - it's not baby pictures, and its not lunch plans. Nope - its Minoan and Mycenaean links. I'm sticking these here because it seems like a good way to bookmark these for the kids, easy to find, easy to return to, and so on.

Minoan Resources:

Before the Greeks – article for kids about the Minoans

Cycladic Art

Minoan Art

Theseus and the Minotaur

Virtual Tour of Palace at Knossos

Knossos

Knossos (picture links at bottom of page)

Minoan Religion

Mycenaean Resources:

Article for kids on kidspast.com

Treasure from a sunken Mycenaean ship

Mycenaean art

Mycenaean Artifacts


Monday, May 9, 2011

Spring Break 2011

The kids here at our homeschool are on Spring Break this week. I decided that this year's Spring Break would best coincide with the baby's arrival. Smart, eh? So far we haven't had many "I'm bored" moments, but there have been a few. What has been really nice is seeing all the kids doing what they enjoy doing without any direction from me.



During unstructured time, here is what they do:
Ace: has been doing math from her textbook. She's been reading for her literature group. This week the book is "To Kill A Mockingbird" which she's actually re-reading, having read it last year for literature as well. She's been playing piano a lot, getting ready for her Guild performance, and also has been very active, writing for her book blog.

Deuce: Has been hiding out, reading in her bed, a gigantic stack of books from the library. She's invented several concoctions for hair and skin from kitchen ingredients, and has been playing with her siblings really nicely. She's also been working on organizing the stuff in her bedroom. Practicing the violin for her recital, and picking out Disney songs on the piano has also been a hit.

Three: has been playing the piano ALOT! She's been working on memorizing her songs for Guild and just playing for fun. She's been helping with the baby a great deal, and even offers to change diapers. She's also been playing the SIMS 2 on the computer, designing houses that don't make a lot of sense, but she likes them anyway (even if her Sims are always in the red.)


Jack O'Hearts has been playing with cars, legos, playmobil, and sometimes all at the same time. He's spent lots of time outside just running around, picking dandelions, and generally being "boy." He also has been a big help, holding the baby while I make dinner, or when I just need two hands for something.

Little Four has been playing outside with her dogs. She absolutely LOVES Fritz the German Shepherd, and the two pal around the backyard for hours at a time.

So happy Spring Break from all the Hearts!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

May Day = Hearts!!


This year May Day is a very special day. This year we celebrate the arrival of the newest, littlest, and sweetest heart. Our own little Darling Heart. I don't know yet how to relate him to this pack of cards, after all, we've already got a Jack O'Hearts, and he's certainly not a Joker, I guess for now I'll just call him SweetHeart. For he is all that, and more.

Our little sweetie came into the world in the pearly, early hours of the morning, before the sun was even up. (And I can tell you that it was a LONG night!) After a lot of work, and such, we had a baby!


So... ta-da!