Week 20 - Weather, Anatomy, Dinosaurs, Geometry and Puppies

Happy end of January. 

As I write this with Norah sitting on my lap (pointing out all the "r"s I type) the snow is coming down. It's like a snow globe outside with a gust of wind stirring everything up now and then. I love it. 

We had a bit of a different week this last week. As some of you know, Patrick decided on Monday, January 18th, that we were going to apply for a rescue puppy. I was not convinced this was a good idea. I put down my sweet Kona in June 2017 but it just doesn't seem that long ago. I felt like I already had my hands full and that we were just moving out of the baby phase around here. I missed having a running buddy but I was happy not to have the dog hair, the expense, and the worry of an extra living being at our house. It has been some time since we had a young puppy (14 years to be exact) but I hadn't forgotten the extra work they are. And so, because Patrick had too many days off from work that week, we went through the process of getting a rescue puppy. After the referrals, the video home visit, the transport coordination and the promise from my husband that he would be training the dog I picked her up on Sunday, January 24th. She's an Australian Cattle Dog (Blue heeler) mix and she was found with her litter mates and mother in Texas, almost at the border of Mexico. They were living on an abandoned lot amongst a whole lot of junk.  I'm happy to report that all of the pups and the mom were adopted and that makes me quite happy. She's basically afraid of everything with the exception of the broom and the vita-mix blender. Her tolerance for zippers and the kid's quick movements and loud noises has drastically improved but she still detests the cold, poor little Texas dog. 

Picking up Maddie (photo courtesy of Wendy S)

First day home

All this to say that we spent all of our school time on the living room floor this week. She needed constant reassurance and supervision (little shoe chewer). In addition, our attic school room is freezing as there is no heat up there. So we spread out across the floor, watched the new puppy, and learned all sorts of new things. 

Emmett has been working on geometry. We got a jar of geometric tiles for him to practice with (hopefully these will come in handy for the other kids down the line). He has enjoyed this unit more than long division (haha) and when he gets tired of waiting for me to finish with the other kids he makes intricate designs on the table. 

Maddie also seems to be trying to learn geometry, through osmosis though...

He also continues with learning cursive, vocabulary, the elements of a story, Langston Hughes poetry, and his Tristan Strong book. 

Cursive

Micah is working on handwriting, measuring in cm with a ruler, reading, Fundations, word lists, and weather/climate! 

Word work


Climate chart

Micah and I are also working towards a belt test in Kempo. We have both done ALL of our work via zoom but we had the good luck (thank you to the Senseis!) to go into the dojo on our own to practice our belt moves once this week.  I grabbed Micah's hair and this happened ↓↓↓↓↓... yikes, don't mess with this kid y'all.

Jonah continues to work on Fundations, 10 frames, and patterns. He is also getting in on the anatomy action (at a Kindergarten level of course). 

Jonah's fundations page

Micah, Emmett and Jonah also put together presentations on their favorite dinosaurs this week. They each made a poster with facts they found interesting and pictures they liked. They put them all together and then presented them to Grammy on FaceTime! 

Norah can be found helping me in the kitchen (she LOVES to cut with the knife), playing cars on the floor with the brothers, or following Maddie around. 

Quietly meeting Maddie girl

Emmett even made her a pair of "sliding shoes/slippers".  Pretty cute. 

And can I just have one last minute to brag on my amazing nephew, Austin. He and my brother and sister-in-law live in Texas and so we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. He's quite the athlete (and hard worker) and he took first in his weight class in his first power lifting competition of the year! Seriously, he cleared 480 lbs on deadlift! What the what?! Great job Austin! We are cheering for you from CT!

Happy February to you all! 

Cheers!

Kate