Saturday, March 31, 2012

Reading to Bruno

My once-very-dog-fearing-girls have really stepped it up in the dog department.  We have a large, white, fur ball in DC to thank for this.

Recently, I told the girls about a very big dog that comes to our local library.  I wanted to be upfront about his size.  He is a Great Dane (I think.  I don't know anything about dogs.)  When I asked the girls if they wanted to read this dog a story, they got very excited.

Everyone chose a book and off we went to read to Bruno. I was proud of their willingness to sit in a corner with a huge dog and that they were brave enough to read in front of strangers!



Tuesday, March 27, 2012

My Lilttle Gymnasts

The little girls have been taking Gymnastics at the YMCA this year.  It is a laid back program that they seem to enjoy - well they fight us until they are actually in the building.  They leave happy so that counts for something.  We are concerned with them working on core strengthening exercises and feel that gymnastics is a great way to accomplish this.  We aren't pushing for competitive gymnastics because the gymnasts ship sailed when the one pound birth happened.

Parents aren't allowed in the class except for a couple times a year.  We don't really know what they do for their 45 minutes except move from apparatus to apparatus.  We were very surprised when we got a handout mentioning a gymnastics show and time that the girls were supposed to perform.   We were even more surprised when we attended the show.  Gymnasts from ages 3-18 performed and there were hundreds of people in the audience.

The girls knew exactly what they were supposed to do and when to do it.  Here are a few clips.



Friday, March 23, 2012

American Symbols

In an attempt to create/foster a love of learning, we have been doing a little homeschooling.  This all started around President's Day which gave me the idea to study American presidents and symbols.  It seemed rather challenging since the symbols we tackled were originally abstract and foreign to the girls.  They had to grasp freedom which is hard for a five year olds; apparently not so hard for eight year olds. 

We dove into books and read, read and read some more.  The girls never once asked for books off the topic.  They were fascinated and wanted to hear the stories time and again.  This kind of learning is a stark contrast from what the girls do in their public school day.  The schools are very focused on reading fluency - word rings and timed reading passages, and math facts.  This leaves little focus on social studies and science.  We are missing some of the organic learning that Savannah experienced at her old school.  No school is perfect.  I have decided that it is up to me to give the girls hands on, authentic learning experiences. 

Our unit of study began with George Washington.  There was such a steep learning curve that I initially felt very overwhelmed.  The little girls didn't know what a president was, understand the make-up of our country or have any concept of government.  They also had not learned about life 200 hundred years ago which meant I was teaching about the Revolutionary War at the same time I was explaining the absence of electricity.  By the end of our unit, we made lists of all that we learned.  They were huge!  They really got it.  Just ask them, they will go on and on!

Here are some highlights. . .


We looked at MANY images of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  The girls paid close attention to these details when drawing their portraits.  They got a kick out of the way Mr. Washington powdered his hair and curled it with rollers.  They even got to see some of his rollers preserved at Valley Forge.  Adeline especially liked his ponytail with a blue bow. 



We visited Valley Forge where the "Red Winter of 1777" took place.  Everyone loved seeing his headquarters and the soldiers huts.  Savannah is still working through this tough moment in history.  I am sure we will be back to explore some more.  When asked, the little girls will explain the details of this war by describing the mean King and all of the ways he was taking away freedom from the colonists. 

A trip to Washington DC allowed us to visit the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.   Baby Kate was able to join us. The girls were mesmerized and spent a lot of time analyzing Lincoln's facial features and comparing them to what they drew in the above portrait.  Lila has an intense interest in Lincoln.  She focused on slavery and wasn't able to move past it.  Surprisingly, she seemed to understand how wrong and appalling it was.    When asked why there are memorials for George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, all three girls chime in with an idea that highlights the importance of these two men and their quest for freedom.

A funny aside. . . One book about Abraham Lincoln's life had an illustration of man holding a gun to the back of his head while he sat in the theater (Don't ask me why!).  I always skipped this page and the little girls didn't seem to notice.  Well, Adeline found it one day and showed Lila.  Lila pointed out that Lincoln was getting his hair cut.  Adeline corrected her and said, "No that is a hairdryer Lila."  Sheltered!

Next, we were off to Mount Vernon.  The girls had so much interest in George Washington's home that we looked it up and found that it was a family friendly place to visit.  We were absolutely blown away upon arrival.  If you have a chance to visit, go.  There is so much to see and do.  We left the place with a great appreciation for George Washington.  He was amazing on many, many fronts!

How crazy it is to see your children run up to George Washington like the children that run up characters in an amusement park. 
His swanky abode.



Next stop, the Statue of Liberty!  After studying the Statue of Liberty, we drove to NYC and took the ferry into Manhattan.  Next, we caught the boat to the island where the Statue of Liberty stands.  The girls were fascinated.  We made sure to do some drawings before we left.  We also made predictions about the size of her foot and then cut one out to scale.  It's 25 feet long in case you were interested. Her nose is taller than the twins!

We didn't forget about the bald eagle and it's representation of power and authority.  After tuning into bald eagles, the girls found them everywhere.  From money to statues, bald eagles are plentiful.  Lucky for us, my friend shared this link and we are now anticipating the hatch of three baby bald eagles this weekend.  Click here for a live broadcast.  If anything else, it is great white noise for an office!

We also learned about the Liberty Bell but between all of our excursions, we never made it to Philadelphia.  We plan to do so.  They LOVE the bell and the story behind it.  They really want to see the crack and where it originally hung.   We plan to knock out the American flag while there too.  Here is Savannah's freehand drawing of the flag.  She got carried away with the stripes but I thought it was pretty good considering she didn't use a ruler.  She must have been at school when the girls and I discussed the number of stripes. 


For the moment, the girls are loving learning at home.  They know more about US history than I did at a young age for sure.  However, the point of our learning is to bring us together around one subject matter with the hopes of it cultivating a love of learning.  By doing so, we get the opportunity to learn with our family members and the freedom that home provides.

We are very fortunate to live where we live.  There is so much to see and do that supports our learning which makes it that much more exciting.  The pictures above are only a brief snapshot of our last month.  We shared some wonderful moments and created many great memories.


Hold on to your helmets.  We are taking off into space for the next few weeks.  I know one little astronaut is very happy about this topic selection!  First stop, the sun!

She's Growing Up

There is no denying the fact that 8 has been a HUGE change for Savannah.  Kids change each year but this past year has been vastly different.  And no, I am not talking about the gigantic adult teeth that are bursting through her gum line.   I think the most noticeable change is that the blinders are off.  We are known to shelter our girls and preserve their sweet innocence.  Savannah is still sweet but she is no longer living in a world that her parents filter.  Worldly innocence is lost. 

Lately, Savannah has fallen head over heels for history.  Wars, cultures and the idea of freedom fascinate her.  A year ago, I wouldn't go into the details of war because I didn't want to tell her that  people kill one another while fighting for a cause.  She knows this to be true now.  In fact, it is all she can read about.

George Washington's leadership during the Revolution was the first piece of history to captivate her.  From there, she hasn't stopped asking about the Civil War, 9/11, aspects of slavery, World War II, civil wars in Africa and much more that I know I am forgetting.  Her maturity when discussing these topics astound me.  She looked at me one day and said, "It seems like the more you learn, the more you feel you don't know."  Pretty profound for an 8 year old.

Alex and I are enjoying our second go around at history as we try to dredge up the answers to Savannah's questions from the far corners of our minds.  There is something much more meaningful about these topics now that we are describing them to our child.  There is so much more meat when you do more than just read out of a book.  My next post will show how we are trying to bring our country's past to life for the girls. Who would have thought that it would turn our daughter into a want-to-be historian. 

I can't close this post without noting the other changes that make me celebrate in the moment but sit up late at night with a heavy heart.  When traveling, Savannah listens to my old iPod.  (Please don't mistake it for an iPod Touch.  They seem to be the gift for 8 year olds but this 8 year old isn't getting her hands on one.)  We have been out of town a lot lately which means hours in the car.  In the way back of the van sits my big girl with earphones.  In the moment it means one less opinion about what we are going to watch or listen to which makes life easier.  The picture in my head looks more like a 12 year old and makes me miss years past when we watched endless Elmo movies in the van.

Another successful step towards independence has been her ability to shower, get dressed, comb her hair and put it in a ponytail.  She has been showering for years but this is different.  I can stand in the kitchen and ask her to take a shower.  Savannah will disappear and return 30 minutes later having done all of the above WITH NO HELP.  Again, I celebrate it in the moment.  However, it is times like this when she is in school that I sit back and miss when I helped her get dressed or needed to constantly redo her ponytails; which were always adorned with bows.

Another milestone has been her independence in the morning.  She actually set her alarm this morning because she had an early dentist appointment.  Before I was out of bed, she was dressed with teeth brushed and headed downstairs to pour herself some cereal.   I never have to ask her if she got her homework done because she has both papers laying out on the island for me to sign each morning.  She is always packed up and ready to go well before I am chasing Lila down to get her in the car.  It is nice I suppose.  No battle.

Just to reiterate. . .  I miss this and at the same time, I celebrate the above!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

DC Half Marathon

The before...
Two hours and 15 minutes later. Tired!


Thursday, March 8, 2012

Massanutten Ski School

While in Massanutten, we toyed with the idea of putting the girls in ski school.  It is a five hour endeavor which made me nervous.  After doing some research and talking to the folks that run the place, Alex and I decided to sign up Savannah and Lila.  We waited until the morning of to register Adeline.  Previously, she told us that she didn't want to do it.  The morning of, she woke up and said she was going to ski.  I had mentioned Adeline to the ski school director the day before and she was very thoughtful when placing Adeline in a group.  I was very nervous but it became apparent that Adeline was going to put her best foot forward and give skiing a go.  All three of my girls were successful on the mountain.

Ski school in Massanutten is an amazing process.  The instructors begin by teaching the kids how to walk in snow with their ski boots.  They progress to running, then walking with one ski and finally put both skis on.  Next, they have to learn how to take off their skis and put them back on.  After all this is mastered, they learn how to ski.  They slowly glide down a gentle slope and make their way to magic carpet which carries them back up to the top.  There is a snack and lunch.  Its a good thing because five hours of learning how to ski has to tire every muscle!


 After lunch, all three girls went up the mountain.  It was tears-in-my-eyes, exciting.  I was so proud of Savannah.  She came down her first run a little timid but got better each time.  She was completely independent by the end of the ski school.  In fact, she loved skiing so much that she kept going with Uncle Geoff after ski school and then went with Alex the next night and skied from four to ten!  By the time she dragged her tired body off the mountain, she was flying down the beginner slope, could turn in all directions and had graduated to poles. Of all the sports, I never imagined skiing would be high on her list.  Savannah picked it up quickly, rallied from some pretty hard falls and came down each run saying she wanted to go faster next time.  The girl can ski!

Lila enjoyed her time on the mountain as well. I figured she would either love it or end up in tears due to exhaustion. Loved it is an understatement. Miss Lila looked confident and natural on the slopes. I have a hunch that she will be skiing for years to come. It just seemed like her element. Lila adored her very "snowboardish" type instructor. She called him, "My Ivan." Lila was so confident on the mountain that she would ski down the beginner slope and spy us before she got to the bottom. Out came the smile and up went the waving hand. It was as if skiing down the hill took no concentration. Here is a clip of one of her runs (sorry about the loud parents in the background). There is another clip of her boarding the chairlift. Look for her cute waving hand.



Miss Adeline was a champ too. She navigated the snow with her big and heavy snow boots and eventually found her self sliding down the hill and taking the magic carpet back up all by herself. She never figured out how to turn or walk in skis but that didn't matter. Her instructor took Adeline's group on the chairlift and up the mountain anyway. Adeline put on her game face and went along with it all. I KNOW she was nervous. She held on to her instructor most of the way down the mountain. She fell down every two seconds in order to stop her forward momentum. Adeline isn't a big fan of operating outside of her control. Skiing down a mountain, albeit a very small one, is definitely outside of Adeline's control. Right before the day was over, the director of the program, decided to help Adeline's group get back to the ski lodge. She told Adeline, in a nice and encouraging way, to stop falling down and ski all the way to the bottom. Miss "I fall down every two seconds" made it all the way without any falls. I am so proud of her.


And here she goes. . .

 I am so proud of each of my girls. They worked hard and came off the mountain smiling. I think we might have to become one of those skiing families. Alex is taking Lila tomorrow!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Massanutten, Virginia

We took a few days off of school and headed south to Massanutten.  It is a ski resort in Virginia.  There to meet us was one of our favorite families!  The kids immediately fell in love with their huge bedroom that housed three sets of bunk beds.  What is with bunk beds?  My kids judge vacation homes by the number of bunk beds.

Our first morning was a refreshing taste of spring.  It was so warm that the kids ate breakfast on the deck.  Such a nice change of pace.  Spring can't come soon enough! 
After exploring the woods everyone changed into their suits for a trip to the water park.  It is the best water park we have ever been to.  It was warm - the key to success in my book, and had many different slides, a lazy river and warm pool (not quite hot enough to be a hot tub but warmer than everything else.)  All of the kids enjoyed the water slides, especially the one that accommodated three riders!  I can't believe the kids are getting old enough and brave enough to go down without an adult.  Adeline still has a ways to go but the other two went down the slides in all different combinations.





A good time was had by all. Of course, sliding with friends makes it all the more fun!

President's Day in DC

We spent President's Day at Baby Kate's house. The weather was perfect which allowed us to take in the great outdoors. We visited two nature centers, took multiple hikes/walks through the woods and hit some playgrounds too. Savannah ran her longest distance yet. . . 3.5 miles and Alex and I were able to sneak out for a 7 mile run too. It was one of those perfect weekends. . .

Here is a recap in pictures...

Lila masters every set of monkey bars she encounters.
I have said it before. . . Baby Kate and Lila look more like twins than Adeline and Lila do. These two are alike on the inside and out!
This hike was a favorite because there were stepping stones across the creek. They were spaced far apart and at differing heights which made them difficult to navigate. My Lila, who has an abnormally high jump and extremely long standing broad jump (we learned this during her latest PT evaluation), went full force ahead.
The other two got across nicely as well.

The girls found daffodils on the verge of blooming which made us all celebrate! An early spring is on its way.
I love these four girls. I especially love the way that Baby Kate just "fits."  I am sad that Lila corrects me and tells me to call Baby Kate, Kate.  "She isn't a baby any more Mommy.  It is just Kate now."  sniff
Speaking of "fitting," Monte is beginning to feel like family too. He is truly therapeutic for my girls.