Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

After the Nina, the Pinta (and no Santa Maria), we visited the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.  It may sound dry and boring, but I reminded our kids (and myself) that the "Night at The Museum" movies took place in a Museum of Natural History. (Here's the boy measuring a dinosaur footprint.  I don't think he was supposed  to go in there, but he got there first.  What's a mom to do?  Snap a picture, then tell him to get out, of course!) Maybe it's because it's the first time all three kids had a long enough attention span and interest enough to make the visit fun. Yep, I think that's it.  Our four-year-old big boy was ready to learn some things!!  (Last time we went, I chased him around the entire museum.  Not fun.) We walked through halls of giant dinosaur skeletons, watched professionals piece together dinosaur bones in their workshop, then practiced archaeology in a kid-friendly zone. We walked through human his...

Last week, we took a day off as a family to travel through history.  A whole lotta history! First, we visited the scale reproductions of the Nina and the Pinta, which were docked in Pittsburgh. I was amazed at how tiny the ships were.  I cannot imagine trusting these vessels to go through uncharted waters for an unknown length of time to a destination that may or may not be where the captain thought it would be.  Did you know that everyone except Christopher Columbus had to sleep on the ship's deck?   He had his own quarters.  Can you imagine having to tough it out on deck when it was storming in the middle of the ocean when all you wanted was a good night's sleep? Did you know his crew were a bunch of prisoners that had been freed to man the ship because no other crew members in their right minds would go on this fool's errand with Columbus?  When they had had enough of sailing endlessly with no land in sight they almost mutinied. ...

Here are some great Halloween songs for your kids! We found them on the Super Simple Songs channel on YouTube.  It's our FAVORITE!! Here's my personal favorite:  Knock knock, Trick or Treat! The Girls Really Like Five Creepy Spiders and the Boy's Favorite: Who Took the Candy ? Fun, cute, not too spooky or scary songs.  We use these during preschool/kindergarten time too. If you're interested in DVDs, they can be purchased at Super Simple Learning . 

Over the weekend, my husband mentioned that our church was "up" for serving with our local food bank.  We were to help "Fresh Express" distribute fresh items like fruit, veggies, dairy products, eggs, etc.  If it were just me, I'd jump at the chance to join my husband.  However, I knew I'd have the three kids with me and I had this to consider.  Would they be helpful, or would they be in the way?   Would they follow instructions, or would they complain that they had to be there? Taking the gamble, I made arrangements to meet my hubby at the distribution center with our brood.  Thankfully, the location was a church that had an outdoor playground.  Score!  While we unboxed and laid out the groceries, the kids played joyfully at the playground with some of the kids who were there to pick up food.  They had a grand time ( so far, so good ). When it was time to begin distribution, my husband went and retrieved the kids....

Every time I post a blog, when I think I am spot on, it seems I am immediately put to the test.  Earlier this week I posted A Peek At Our Homeschool , which showed the typical schedule we have been following for the first 4 weeks of school.  At least 4 days a week.  We have been hitting the books hard! For some reason, after I posted that blog, my health began to go blah.  Blahdee Blah Blaaaah. With the change in weather, let's just say my body is rebelling.  The lupus fatigue has kicked in and I'm having headaches daily due to the change in barometric pressure. What I want to do least when I'm having an "off day" is to direct a highly structured school schedule.  Mostly, I want to curl up on the couch and wait until I feel better. Hmm...I have been reading up on "unschooling" this week and thought it would be fun to try it out.  The most convincing blog I read on unschooling this week was:   How to Learn All Subjects through U...