Have to share...

Driving home in the car tonight, Aislinn piped up " Zzz.... aah.... ttt..." "What does that spell Mom?" and before I could answer... " That spells Zat... Zat... But Zat's not a word"... giggle, giggle.
Who knew!? Aislinn, Tara and I had a great laugh, and I couldn't help but chuckle the rest of the way home :)

Without fear...

So, I have mentioned in the past that Aislinn has no fear of performing, but she really stepped it up again tonight.
The highland dance group that Aislinn participates in is so great at making community appearances, and tonight they performed for a group of seniors who obviously love to have them. The room was full, and all the girls were fabulous. Aislinn danced several dances, some of which she barely knows, but when given the opportunity, she never turns it down. She heads out there and tries her very best, adapting to follow suit of the girls around her. At age 4, she has more confidence in herself than I have to this day.

The instructor of this great group of girls, impresses me so much also, in the way she draws the girls out, and fully expects them to participate wholly in the group and in their performances. When the dancing was done, she invited all the girls to go out among the seniors, and find out their names and where they were born. After 3 or 4 rounds, she invited the girls to seek out the seniors favorite foods, and report back to her at the front. And if this wasn't enough, she then encouraged the girls to sing some of their favorite songs, Aislinn requesting Twinkle, twinkle, which she started, and was soon joined by all the others. ( They also sang "My Bonnie lies over the ocean", and "Jingle Bells")
The amazing thing to me, is that it was all done with smiles, not a single complaint, and all joined in from age 4 to 17! Wow, I love how that impacts Aislinn, far more than I care about the dance.

And I have to make a quick mention of these two ladies on the left. Without even knowing it , the have made it up to hero status in Aislinn's eyes, and their kindness to her is appreciated far more than they know.

spring has sprung...

Alright, not yet, but the girls convinced me today was the day for decorating birdhouses. We spent the morning in local fabric store looking for summery poly cotton blend fabrics to be made into summer dresses for the girls.

Being in way over my head, and not finding anything I liked, we migrated over to the craft isle, (where I feel more at home), just to browse. The girls came across these little birds, and then the wooden bird houses, and went into a large spiel to convince me of the absolute requirement that they make the trip home with us. The description of their plans for them were so full of imagination, that I caved and they accompanied us home. The girls spent about an hour painting their houses (lots of layers), and once dry did indeed stay true to their word.

About a half hour later, I heard Aislinn walk by with birdhouse in hand quietly whispering to her baby birds as to whether they were hungry, or required the bathroom.

Robbie Burns day...

Ok, I guess we technically celebrated it on Sunday, but today's the day!

On Sunday afternoon, Aislinn danced at our local museum with her Highland dance group in celebration of the life and writings of Robert Burns and all other things Scottish for that matter.

Aislinn had a great time as getting in front of large groups of unknown people doesn't phase her in the least.
Once the dancing was done, the girls enjoyed chatting with the other participants, especially the ladies displaying their talent in bobbin lace and cloth weaving.
We got a quick peek of the Haggis, but opted to just try a piece of short bread.

After the event, we headed over to Grammie's house for an afternoon with family.

Hiking in the woods

On Friday, we got together with friends with the intention of enjoying the winter weather by taking the kids out for a hike through the woods. Upon waking to a frosty morning with quite a wind blowing, we approached the day hoping for the best.

In order to get the kids excited about our outdoor excursion, we decided to introduce some information about animal tracks to them and then head out to see what we could find. After reading "In the Snow" and "A Stranger in the Woods", the girls introduced each other to some of their own animal treasures including the two pairs of antlers, and the small skull of a (presumed) squirrel. We then gave them each a set of laminated animal cards and a reference sheet, which they used to determine each picture. I had had hopes that they would take their cards out to the woods and compare the prints we would find, but in reality mittens, and the fact that we definitely were not animal track experts prevented that from happening, but we did find the prints of many wild turkeys and deer.

Once we had reached the woods, it was amazing as to what a beautiful day it was.

The trees blocked all the wind, and we had a great time following the deer tracks, exploring a small creek, and breaking for hot chocolate and chips in a small clearing.

On the way back, the girls took to a game of "reindeer", and lined up to work together pulling their "Santa" home on the sled. Besides the sounds of the forest, which were often hard to hear, the sounds of laughter and giggles were just as intoxicating.

Our exercise day!

Before Christmas, I was browsing at our local used kids clothing store, and came across two very gently used pairs of skates. As they were such a good deal, I decided why not and picked them up with the intention that if we didn't end up making use of them this year, they would be easy to sell for the same amount as my purchase.

I brought them home to show the girls and they were immediately excited to give them a try. It took until now to gather up the courage to take two preschoolers skating for the first time, knowing the lengthy preparation time, the logistics of keeping them both on their feet, and the ensuing exhaustion I was sure to feel after having done so. So logically I decided to bite the bullet on the day they started their morning with gymnastics, and had an hour of gym time planned with our local homeschooling group.

We deemed it exercise day, and loaded up the car with skates, helmets, snow pants, fold up chairs, running shoes, balls, skipping ropes, gymnastics outfits, library books, and a picnic lunch.

Gymnastics happened without incident, and we rushed off to drive to our local rec center in order to take advantage of the 1 hour skating window. The girls did fabulous, and the chairs were my life line. Aislinn took to pushing the chair immediately and Tara took turns with me, or pushing it or using it as her perch for resting her feet and watching the action around us.

We then packed up and dropped off our skating gear in the car to switch up for lunch, books, and shoes. After a very quiet relaxing lunch at the lobby tables, we enjoyed an hour browsing the library and choosing books (even though we have over 40 library books in the house already).

Gym time arrived, and we headed over to the gym, to join in on an hour of running, kicking, jumping and playing with about 14 other kids. The kids arranged a game of "Farmer", where the kids run back and forth from one wall to the other when the "farmer" calls out a colour they are wearing. The idea is not to get caught, and Asilinn managed to avoid capture throughout the entire game. I don't know if size had anything to do with it, but she is also getting very fast on those little legs.

I'm going to have to step it up a bit if I have any intention of keeping up with her this summer!

When we finally made it home, we were all happy to just lay low and play quietly for the remnant of the afternoon. Needless to say the girls were asleep almost instantly after hitting their pillows. (As was I.)

Too much fun...

We chose to get the girls a digital microscope for their shared Christmas present this year and luckily it arrived (Ebay purchase) in the nick of time.

We played with it a week or two ago, and I never posted about it, but I (and hopefully the girls too) had a great time playing with it.
We first sent the girls off to find a few treasures from around the house and took some time playing with the focus and switches from the 10x to 60x to 200x levels to increase our comfort level. (It has been a long time!)
Then we had a close look at some of Aislinn and Tara's treasured rocks from their collections, and once mastered, moved on to the treasured but bedraggled butterfly carcass Aislinn has kept since our trip to a local butterfly naturium with Aunt Pam in the summer. The butterfly is in about 5 pieces after meeting up with some rough attention, but we did manage to zoom in on this great feature, and the girls were sufficiently astounded! Just what I had been hoping for - the amazing new experience of encountering the world from a whole new viewpoint. I myself have never seen a butterfly's kneecap captured for use to return to time and time again at the click of a button. As quite a large fan of technology - these aspects anyway, I find it so mind boggling to return to my own experience of microscopes in grade ten biology, and realize, that at 3 and 4, my girls have already surpassed the freedom of wonder afforded by being given the opportunity to view their latest treasure in 3 new levels of discovery at home then I had at age 14.

We have barely scratched the surface of what the digital blue QX5 can do, but I am pleased that it will be there ready and waiting for our imaginations to put it to use!

Geocaching...

We went geocaching or as the girls prefer "treasure hunting" with Uncle Chris and Aunt Pam today. And it truly is like treasure hunting for the girls as the items in each geocache are real treasures to kids.
The idea behind it being once you have found your cache, you get to choose an item to take with you, and leave an item in it's place.

The fun is definitely in the hunt and the traipsing through forests and brush --ok I'm making it sound a bit more heroic than it was, but it was fun to have a purpose for a hike with their beloved Aunt and Uncle. We rounded out the experience by enjoying hot chocolate and marshmallows and ordering pizza.



















After the girls were tucked away in bed, we played a new to us game, Thurin and Taxis - a 2 to 4 player, easy to learn game involving a the creation of European postal routes. It was enjoyable in it's level of low competition, yet strategic turn taking. Recommended for age 10 to adult, but with some direction, I'm sure 8 year old could master.

Out in the open...

Now, normally this would be an insight I would leave in a private journal, but in order to share our families strengths and weakness' - I have decided to share my thoughts here.

We were chatting with friends this weekend, and the subject of spanking came up (briefly), and I admitted to spanking Aislinn two or three times when she was younger. Admitted being the word here, as no parent is ever proud of having to use discipline with their children, let alone a "spanking". Speaking it reminded me about how and when I had chosen those means of discipline with my firstborn.

It was right around age 3 and Aislinn seemed to be pushing me and pushing me to find my final breaking point. After much frustration at having my attempts to diffuse the situation through words fall through, I decided to introduce the concept of a spanking to her and chose to follow through with it. I had always said that Aislinn was far to sensitive of a kid to spank and thought it would be equivalent to ending her world, but in reality when I did make the choice to spank her, she seemed fine with the interaction. In fact she settled down, and moved on almost cheerfully, like she had found my limit, and in that, hers as well. In those few months of being newly 3 (our most challenging year with her -so far), I think I used a spanking on her two more times -always with the same result - unwinding my frustration and hers within seconds.

I have never been drawn into this situation with Tara (being of a much different personality) but I wonder now if this is because of how much I have learned and grown as a parent since then.

Parenting for me has been an eye-opening experience. I like to believe I entered into the decision prepared and excited for the joys and challenges ahead, but in truth it is nothing like I had ever expected.

The highs and lows of each moment are so profound. The elation of a proud moment, and the overwhelming guilt and worry in a low moment. The wells of patience and of putting others before yourself that I had never had to draw upon until these two amazing beings came into my life. Would I change it? -never! Would I change some of the things I have done? - definitely! Am I learning something new about human nature? -every moment!

I hope in choosing to spank Aislinn, even it wasn't the best choice, she will know that at the time I was trying my best. In learning who she is and in who I am, she has taught me so many other ways to communicate and I hope she is learning them as well, so if and when her time comes to make these decisions, she will have a plethora of choices before her.

The greatest gift a parent can give a child is unconditional love. As a child wanders and strays, finding his bearings, he needs a sense of absolute love from a parent. There's nothing wrong with tough love, as long as the love is unconditional.
-George Herbert Walker Bush

When you are a mother you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child.
-Sophia Loren

Aislinn - April 2006

Arctic Poetry...

I can't resist adding a few of my favorite poems from this great book "Polar Bear, Arctic Hare; poems of the frozen north." by Eileen Spinellia -a book I picked up this morning, after putting a bunch on hold through our super convenient library system via the Internet! The only downfall to this is not being able to flip through, but when you pick ten at a time you really can't go wrong, and if you get really lucky, you accidentally pick a real gem!

Beluga

Beluga.
Trapped beneath the ice
rams his head against it --twice.
The ice gives way. Beluga crashes
upward as the dark sea splashes.
He takes a mighty gulp of air.
He bumps a startled polar bear.
He interrupts some seals at play.
Then satisfied, he swims away.
Beluga.

Hump of Snow

Hump of
snow...
Hopping?
No!
Snow can't hop
Or thump
Or stare.
Hump of
snow
Is
Arctic Hare.

Polar Bear Family

Polar Bear mama moves with grace
to find a sheltered winter place.
She digs a snow cave wide and deep
where she and baby cubs can sleep.

Come spring, the cubs set out for fun.
They romp all day in the arctic sun.
They slip and slide. They race and roam.
Then, weary, ride their mama home.

They just seem like a perfect level for the girls. I think we will give memorizing a few a go as Aislinn especially seems to love the feeling of mastering a poem.

One more resolution...

To blog more!! :) So far so good!

Arctic Adventure...

and it is becoming quite the adventure! The girls are becoming immersed in an arctic exploration of their very own, through books, Internet research, magazines, and tons of hands on activities. We had an awesome day today sharing our learning with friends, and combining resources to discover just what life in the arctic is all about.

Today we (and I can't believe we fit all of this into one day) started our day by laying out our great collection of Arctic books, and perusing and reading snippets from various books and letting the girls choose favorite pictures to introduce to the others.

Then we made our very own tundra, which once frozen, forgot to revisit, so it will have to be a experience for tomorrow.

We worked on an arctic portfolio in which the girls created pages on different arctic animals, made drawings of the Northern lights, and whatever other additions struck their fancy.
After lunch they settled in to enjoy the movie "the Arctic Tale" (again!) a narrated story of the life of a baby polar bear and a baby walrus as they learned to survive in their harsh environment.

With a few wiggle breaks, bowls of popcorn, and a second narration from Aislinn, they made it through!

We then sat down to create these amazing arctic animals made from card stock, and chatted about their place in the arctic wilderness and their characteristics.

They also all received names
with each and every one of Tara's animals sporting the name "cub".

Later in the evening, the girls decided to move their "herd" to their igloo landscapes and we deemed it a perfect place (mostly for me as maneuvering them around the house became 10x's easier).

We also spent an hour or two at Grammie's house visiting with Aunt Jenn and her new kitten Tinker. The girls were totally smitten and went to bed claiming dreams with Tinker as the main feature. Unfortunately I was feeling far too exhausted to remember to bring my camera, so we will have to get pics at our next available chance.

So all in all an amazingly successful unschooling day with a hint of eclectic, unit study emphasis. But I am positive my sponges soaked up even more than I realize, and will be proud to surprise everyone who will listen with their knowledge for days to come!

January has begun

and we are definitely full speed ahead. The girls and I had really missed our coop group over the holiday season, and were happy to see everyone again. We spent Monday being introduced to many different instruments including keyboard, drums and guitar - I consider us very lucky to have a musical member of the group as our house contains non of the above and is not likely to any time soon, despite Aislinn's enthusiastic response to the drums! The kids also got to make 3 different instruments to take home - a tambourine, rain stick and a kazoo (and I got to take home the headache!)

The girls also started swimming lessons again, and the overall group is much smaller (it is a segregated time slot during the day for the local homeschool group). The nice thing is that this time Aislinn and Tara are in the same group and already Tara's confidence has skyrocketed as she is not one to be left behind when it comes to following Aislinn and has already surpassed all of her attempts during her last session.

And, despite the January thaw, we are also excited about studying the Arctic this month, following suit to one of the other families we get together with. We have stripped the library of it's books, and have been pouring through facts about polar bears, arctic foxes, the northern lights and the arctic tundra.
We have spoiled ourselves by watching "The Arctic Tale movie (4x's -ok we had the flu for week) a narrated movie about the life of a young polar bear and a young walrus.

In our perusing, the girls came across some pictures of igloos today and decided to give a paper mache version a go. Of course we put out the recycling last night, and had not a newspaper in sight, but decided paper towels, since they start white in the first place, would be a fine alternative. The plan is to let them dry fully, pop the balloons, come up with a solution for the entrance, and paint them in the next day or two. We might end up with some pretty colourful igloos before the end, but I'll post our final results.
Round one (left) -this afternoon
Round two (below)- before bed







Round one and a half (below) -the after affects of round one - mixing the glue and water for the paper mache spurred the need for water play- slightly reminiscent of the swimming pool we set up in our house for Aislinn's first birthday party.

As for the remainder of January, we hope to celebrate some birthdays (mine and Jeff's both fall in this month and Ashlynn turns one already-where did the time go Bonnie?). Aislinn has a highland dance show, and we are planning a day trip to a new children's museum (I happen to love exploring new places).

New Years resolutions...

the one's I am willing to share with the world :) and in no particular order...

1. Move computer to the office.

2. Go to bed by 11 - with the assumption that I should then be raring to go by 7 a.m. -in an attempt to make it to our 9 o'clock commitments without a crazy amount of rushing.

3. Get up at 7 - alert and happy and ready to meet the day (did I mention I am not a morning person?)

4. Work on nutrition as a family unit.

5. Actually make and serve meals on a semi regular basis. (In the flurry of homeschooling, somehow this got lost.)

6. Have more at home time. ( I may have failed at this already, but it seems a useful part of keeping resolution number 5.)

7. Start a family meeting schedule.

8. Back away from the girls when bickering starts to involve the words, "But Mom... she said..." as the start of every sentence.

9. Lose 15 pounds (again... sigh... but if I did it once I suppose I can do it again).

10. Don't regain 15 pounds after having achieved resolution number 9.

11. Put my family first when making decisions that affect us.

12. Think before I speak.

13. Ummm, well the list goes on and on really and I fear may start to bore you... here is the quick version of the remainder. Be happier, be satisfied, be me, learn more, try more, be courageous, be giving, be courteous, be greener, love life, be supportive, be a good listener, love Jeff more and show him, love the girls more and show them, love myself more and be true. Be more patient, more understanding, but don't try to be perfect. Make mistakes and be happy to recognize them!

Whew...

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's
blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans; aim
high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded
will not die. -Daniel Burnham

New Year...

new outlook, new laptop!

Sorry for the silence, but with holiday festivities and the switch over to a new laptop, I have kept busy :)

Jeff had quite a bit of time off during the Christmas holidays, so I took the opportunity to sort through the house room by room. New toys have found their homes, some outgrown toys have been displaced, and craft drawers have been sorted and some things put away for future seasons.
I have also made the move of my laptop to the office and away from the main floor where it called to me all day long, and often split my focus away from the girls. (One of my 357 new years resolutions.)
I am also the proud owner of a 2008 appointment book ($5 at Walmart) and do not know how I lived without it before. Our weeks are quickly filling up again with swimming lessons, dance, gymnastics, play dates, coops, girl's nights out, meetings, and the list goes on and on, but I am feeling energized and excited about our plans.

After reading a particularly thought provoking book called "Breaking the Good Mom myth" by Alyson Schafer - a book outlining the Adlerian perspective (which I had never heard of before) I am feeling empowered with new tricks up my sleeve for helping our family work together as a unit and enjoy each other in our strengths and weakness' and make 2008 a year to remember.

The faces of Christmas