As a parent there are few joys as pleasing to experience as those of a child achieving some major milestone of development: the first smile, first words, first steps, etc. To any self-respecting engineer, scientist or incurable child geek, all of these pale in comparison to the mother of all firsts:
THE FIRST LEGO CREATION BUILT FROM SCHEMATICS
Riesling achieved this momentous accomplishment today, using instructions from the small LEGO set (#6801-Rocket Sled) that was one of my first as well. She had the additional difficulty of needing to find the pieces from the thousands of mixed lots that constitute our LEGO fortune. I did help her with locating the correct pieces because I felt this was a somewhat daunting task for the novice builder.
Both Cashel and Riesling have always enjoyed making crazy and sometimes out of this world creations, and now I am looking forward to them also learning to read and interpret the detailed schematics that typically accompany most LEGO sets. NOTE: I tried to encourage Cashel with his project but in the end he was more interested in running around (see photo). I’m sure he’ll acheive this milestone in due time as well
We hurried the kids into their clothes and smoothies into the kids this morning. We had 45 minutes to get ready to go drop the van off for repairs and pick up a rental. They used 30 of these minutes to watch Madeline and the Toy Factory and the other 15 to begin a game of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
At the rental place there was a drink machine, a junk food machine and a candy machine. Of course the kids decided that they wanted to spend their dollars. I got them each the appropriate amount of change. Cashel wanted candy so I pointed to the sign and said, “Oh, it’s 25 cents. You need a quarter.” I gave him a quarter and he got himself some jellybeans. I asked Riesling what she wanted. Much to my horror pointed to the Coca-Cola and timidly asked, “Could I get this?” My soft reply was, “You can if you want, but I would rather you didn’t.” She decided that she would get a water. I asked her how much it costs and she read off “60″. I asked her to get her dimes and count out enough 10s to make 60. She counted 10, 20, 30….60, and then put them into the machine in the same manner. She was delighted when her water clunked down and popped out the bottom. Cashel decided that he wanted a water too. I showed them that 2 quarters and a dime were also 60 cents and I picked him up so that he could put his change in the slot to send his water down to the chute at the bottom of the machine. Riesling then got some jellybeans and then there was nothing to buy with 15 cents.
At home the kids played sword fighting and I read them The Philharmonic Get Dressed by Karla Kuskin and What’s in Oscar’s Trash Can and Other Good-Night Stories by Michaela Muntean. They watched Madeline and the Toy Factory again.
After lunch they started The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe game again. Riesling decided that I was to be The Wardrobe, Cashel would be The Witch and she would be The Lion. She had everyone’s outfits picked out and put mine on first. I had tulle wrapped around my torso and a small piece put onto my head. On my right arm a purple bandanna was tied and a tiny pink pillow case was wrapped around my left arm. I was told to stand very still while she practiced going in and out of the wardrobe (under my arms). Cashel wouldn’t cooperate as The Witch, even though I had seen him wearing his outfit of a tiny yellow pillow case tightly fitting over his head for a very tall hat and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Riesling even tried to convince him to be The Lion and to put her hula skirt on his head under a helmet. He refused. I asked what I should do about my costume and she said that she would take it off, which she did.
I went and made their snack and then left them with Joe since I had a Dr appointment.
When I arrived home, things were a mess. Cashel had just wet himself, Joe was frustrated that no one wanted to cooperate in helping salvage the last of our vegetables from the frost last night and Riesling was alternating between lethargy and hyperactivity with a few crying jags mixed in. I sent Joe out to the garden alone and got out the sensory box for the kids. They played in it and made me lots of cakes and other creations. Then they looked at books until dinner was ready.
At dinner Joe conducted a wine tasting class. We had a tiny bit of a bottle of Chardonnay left from a couple days ago and had opened a new bottle of Sauvignon Blanc so we decided to compare their smells and tastes. We and the kids smelled each one and then we each had a taste. Now before you Google Child Protection Services and the police for our area…their “taste” consisted of Joe touching the wine and then touching the kid’s tongue. Cashel proclaimed that both tasted like “lemon berry” and Riesling thought that they both tasted like blueberries.
I hurried dinner along to get to bath and bed to avoid more grumpy kids tomorrow.
We only had time for one story tonight. The children chose The Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke and it was off to dream land.
Somehow the kids managed to squeeze the Madeline and the Toy Factory video in before we left the house for Funschool this morning.
When we arrived the 4 boys who were already there were tearing around the meeting place playing some sort of game of tag. After watching them for a bit, Riesling and Cashel went outside to the playground. When the leader was ready, we came back inside and Riesling made shadow puppets. She drew an outline then cut out her butterfly and flower and decorated them (not that shadow puppets NEED decoration, but Riesling thought they should have some anyway).
After finishing her shadow puppets, Riesling quickly and easily completed a 63 piece puzzle. She played outside with Madison (who starred in the Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything) most of the rest of the time we were there. At one point I observed the boys (who now numbered 5) engaged in a very aggressive game of pushing and shirt pulling or something. Riesling stood at their perimeter and just watched them. I wonder what she was thinking…
Cashel started some puzzles and played in the sandbox.
At the end of Funschool, Madison and Riesling had their shadow puppets put on a little show without any adult scripting or intervention.
At home, the kids finished up their TV viewing for the day with Mr. Maker (the British crafting show for kids).
While I made dinner, their Dad decided to help them set up for a magic performance. I could gather from the feigned hushed whisperings that Cashel was supposed to go into a box and then Riesling was going to make his body disappear and then reappear. Things went as they usually do. Cashel chose not to cooperate and Joe was more into making the trick happen than the kids were. While he worked, they had lots of fun playing with the portion of the box that was discarded.
In between everything I read Riesling and Cashel The Nutcracker Ballet by Deborah Hautzig.
After dinner, Joe switched gears so that he and Riesling could perform a trick without her brother as their assistant. Our dear gentle old cat Azrael would be his substitute and Riesling would make her disappear entirely. So Joe put the cat into the box and put the pink Princess blanket over the opening while Riesling did her disappearing dance. Joe pulled back the blanket and Azrael was out of sight. Well mostly. The cardboard box was held up off the floor on its ends, but didn’t have any support in the middle. So as the box sagged under the weight of our tubby cat, Azrael’s feet and tail showed under the faux wall that Joe had put up in front of his unwilling assistant. Joe covered the gap up with his arm while Cashel and I applauded wildly and made remarks of amazement. Azrael took all the noise as a cue to escape and ran out from behind the wall. The audience responded with more clapping and remarks of disbelief at how she so quickly reappeared.
At bedtime, Joe tried to give me a break from my Momma’s boy, but Cashel would have none of it. So I read him The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Joe read and sang to Riesling.
We got off to a late start today since the kids slept until about 7:40. Riesling rolled out of my bed and smacked her eye on the corner of my nightstand and that’s how we started our day. I sat on the couch with her for the few minutes it took her to calm down. As Joe was heading out the door (we weren’t the only ones off to a late start) he wrote something on a piece of paper and said that 45,000 was the biggest number and put it in his pocket. Riesling shouted out, “No, 65,000!” This continued for a few minutes until Joe left.
She said that she wanted to watch Disney’s Beauty and the Beast so I put in the tape and started the smoothies. Cashel woke up and took his place on the couch next to DD (which is what Cashel insists on calling Riesling, even though he can say her name and we never call her DD). After about 15 minutes Riesling asked me how much of the movie the Beast was in. I told her that I thought he was in most of it. She said she didn’t want to watch it anymore and turned off the TV. Cashel started hollering that he was watching it and to turn it back on!!! I stopped the tape and asked them to help me figure this out. At first Riesling made rude nonsensical remarks that sounded like some of the kids at SVCS. I asked her to help me understand how her remarks were helping. She didn’t answer my question, but instead switched her tone and added some useful comments. She finally decided to go in her room until Beauty and the Beast was over. I finished the smoothies and brought Riesling’s to her. I sat and folded wash and watched some of the movie with Cashel, asking him what was going on and why all the things had come to life. Riesling would periodically come out and ask if the Beast was on or not and then go right to the back of the house. Cashel said that the Beast was scary a couple of times, but he stayed glued to the TV.
Finally B&B was over and I had the privilege of talking through why it wouldn’t be fair if Riesling now watched Arthur because Cashel would like to watch Arthur and she did not want to watch Beauty and the Beast. They put on some music and Riesling dressed up. They dragged lots of blankets out and around the house for their babies. Cashel played with the huge beads that snap together today and yesterday. He and Riesling got into a big altercation because he wanted them all and she took some.
Riesling surfed the Strawberry Shortcake website and then the Care Bears site for 45 minutes. She and Cashel both clicked on the colors that they wanted the picture of their bears to be and then they printed them out. Later Cashel kept taking her picture and insisting it was his. Riesling wrote each of their names on their pictures so there would be no confusion as to whose was whose.
After lunch the kids were crazy. I think because I didn’t give them much of my undivided attention in the morning. They ran from one end of the house to the other, Riesling in her outfit of the moment and Cashel in his PJs with their teeth still unbrushed and faces still unwashed. It’s no wonder they get crazy when the day is so hectic and even the basics are missed. But they did calm down after a bit and then settled in together on their couch to look at books.
Finally, after snack I took a shower and the kids got properly cleaned up and we headed off to get our Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) box and to Martin’s Food Store. Completely Off Topic (OT): When we went to pick up the CSA box the nice Mennonite man that grows our organic vegetables was wearing a hat that said BeefCake That kept me chuckling all the way to Martin’s!
Cashel and Riesling had $0 left to spend in Martin’s and were quite sad that they couldn’t hit the candy machines up on the way in. Riesling followed me into the store and Cashel stayed on the foyer, checking each machine. As I was watching him, he picked something up and was really excited. I thought it was some candy off the floor so I mentally prepared my “Why we don’t eat things off the floor” schpeel. But it wasn’t candy…it was a quarter. He shared the candy he got with Riesling and we started shopping. We got to the organic section’s bulk aisle and there was more disappointment that they didn’t have any money. So they weighed their milk containers that I had brought into the store, entered a random bin number and printed out a label for each container. I used this opportunity to talk about how much each container weighed and which was more and how much per pound the label said that they cost. Riesling was mildly interested in my blabbing, Cashel just wanted his sticker.
They listened to Thomas the Train stories all the way to town and all the way back–the whole CD, almost twice.
While Joe and I carried in and put away the groceries, our two children decided that 7:45PM was a great time to have a scavenger hunt in the dark using flashlights. They were in full swing by the time we were ready to get them into bed. By then my brain was really tired of thinking, so I must have pulled this one out of the other end. I got really excited and helped them turn off all the lights in the house. Then I said there were 7 items that they needed to find. Two children’s toothbrushes, two small washclothes, Riesling’s PJs, Cashel’s PJs and a tissue for Cashel’s nose. And they were off in a flash with their lights bouncing ahead of them. They found all the items and met back at home base (the bathroom). After they were ready, I had them hunt for their books and the rocking chair. Riesling found A Weekend With Wendell by Kevin Henkes and Cashel found The Emperor’s New Clothes by Van Gool.
I read the books and tucked Cashel in and Joe tucked Riesling in. It was late, they were tired, sleep came quick.
We were up and at ‘em this morning to make Riesling’s 9:15 ballet class. The parts for the Nutcracker were posted when we arrived. Riesling was selected to be a Polychinelle and a Page. I don’t think she was quite sure what to make of this as she just expected to be a Polychinelle.
During ballet, Joe took Cashel for a walk around town and they found a really cool playground. Cashel was very excited about it.
When ballet was finished we went on to Joe’s work for Family Day. What a great learning opportunity. We explored laboratories, offices, restrooms and factories. In the labs, the kids found the glassware fascinating and wanted to explore all the drawers. They were interested in what the hoods were for and the emergency showers and blankets. They were excited to see Daddy’s office plastered with their artwork and photos. Cashel drew his first ever face with eyes and a mouth on Joe’s whiteboard. They got a flashlight and a thermometer, made a potty stop and were ready for the factories.
On the way we saw steam pipes that had valves at ground level to release the water that condensed inside. We talked about how the steam is invisible immediately upon exit but quickly condenses enough so that it is visible as water vapor. Riesling measured the temperature of the steam, as well as a stream of water coming out of a pipe that we happened upon. We compared this to the temperature of the air around us. Cashel shined his flashlight at every opportunity, especially at the crystals in a column in a factory. We observed the very beginnings of a product and how an operator was monitoring the many iterations on a computer screen. After 2 hours we were all tired and hungry. We grabbed a bite to eat and then the kids made butterflies using coffee filters, markers, a spray bottle and pipe cleaners. Cashel loved the spray bottle, so while Riesling made 3 butterflies, he quickly finished one and sprayed everything and everyone within range!
When we got home Cashel asked for a spray bottle and continued his spree. The kids road bikes. Then Riesling got the spray bottle and relentlessly sprayed Cashel, despite him having a stick bigger than himself that he kept swinging at her. After many trips outside to help them work things out, Cashel decided to come inside. He started to help me get the recycling together, then went outside, took off his shoes and proceeded to attempt to use our little orange cones as foot wear. He wanted to go to the dump with me, so I put him in the car, put his shoes back on and we were off.
Riesling and Cashel helped throw the plastic in its recycling skid while I did the glass and steel. Then we all did the cardboard and aluminum. We talked about how aluminum and steel were made of different metals. We also talked about why I had to retrieve the aluminum can that Cashel had thrown into the plastic recycling skid.
Post recycling trip, they went and played in the sandbox. Riesling came in at one point and donned her blue sequined shorts jumper and attempted to teach me some cheerleading moves, as she had seen some cheerleaders at family day. Her cheers involved the works Hey Ho, Hey Ho, It’s off to work we go! I did my best to keep up while I made dinner and had heated discussions with Cashel as to why he couldn’t bring sticks into the house. Joe provided a much needed diversion by getting the kids’ shovels and involving them in helping him move some mulch around.
After dinner, I read Cashel Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes and Joe read to Riesling. They were so very tired that they had a hard time falling asleep. Cashel wouldn’t put on his PJs or turn off his light. Joe goofed around with him for a bit and he finally settled down and went to sleep. Riesling did the same after a few trips to investigate what was happening on the other side of her door.
This morning we left the house promptly at 8:15 and drove 2 hours to Manassas for Momin’s 7th birthday party at Pump-It-Up. The kids listened to Horton Hatches an Egg and some music on the way there.
When we arrived they found a worm on the sidewalk and touched it and then picked it up, which was considered gross to the older children and adults who were watching.
The kids had lots of fun sliding and climbing and jumping.
We thought and were hoping that one, or possibly both, of the kids would take a nap on the way home, but they did not. Instead they fought (Cashel kept smacking Riesling with Announcer Bunny and she kept kicking him) and were generally grumpy.
At home they finished watching the Arthur video they had started before we left and finally got brave enough to watch The Wizard of Oz. After 20 minutes, their agreed upon TV time was over and they went outside to ride bikes. Riesling and Cashel set up the cones in a circular obstical course and they rode around it for an hour. Then Riesling tried to jump rope while Cashel plucked the seed pods off the wilting flowers in the front flower bed.
After bath, Joe read a Let’s-Read-And-Find-Out Science book called What Lives in a Shell? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld. I sent Cashel in with a conch shell and she listened to the ocean and matched it up to pictures in the book.
I read Bernard’s Nap by Joan Elizabeth Goodman to both the kids and it was time for sleep. Riesling always likes me to count 100 before I give her a final kiss good night. She complained that I was counting too fast so I asked her how I should be counting. She counted up to 69 by herself. I prompted her with 70 and then 80 and she counted everything else.
Riesling had Ballet class this morning. Joe and Cashel took a walk and found lots of books and a helmet at a yard sale. At the Goodwill Joe found a pop-out puppet which is now called “Announcer Bunny” from the PBS show Between the Lions. We’re not sure if it’s really a mouse or a bear or a dog!
We went to the International Festival where Riesling and Cashel enjoyed dancing to African Drumming and watching a “Belly Button Dancer”. While Riesling was making a bird rattle craft, I wrote Cashel’s name on the pavement in chalk. He was drinking his milk which has his name written out on it. He set his milk down and said each letter of his name, as he matched the letters on the pavement to the letters on his milk container.
At home Riesling watched Arthur and then looked at books. Joe and the kids explored a change sorter that he had found at the Goodwill earlier. Then they watched some videos on YouTube. I think something about a guy who made his own jet fuel powered wings…maybe Joe will elaborate.
The kids also played hopscotch with some interconnecting foam mats. It was amazing how many variations of the game they came up as we quietly watched. Cashel practiced counting as Riesling helped him and hopped around.
Riesling wrote out a card for Joe for his birthday that said “Happy Birthday Daddy I know that you are 34 Riesling”. Then she put a huge question mark on the opposing page, for reasons we couldn’t entirely establish.
I read Madeline in London by Ledwig Bemelmans to a very tired Cashel. Joe read All About Light (Rookie Read-About Science) by Lisa Trumbauer to Riesling.
In Gleamer’s previous post, “Why does the soap have a spring in it?”, she mentions that I would post some explanation of the soap dispenser. Well I just don’t have enough time to do a detailed explanation so in the mean time you will have to settle for the explanation in the video. I’ve found doing life-sized demostrations of complicated phenomena and mechanisms is a great way to involve the children in learning. It also keeps my mind fit as I try to figure out yet another unintended use for one of their toys or some random piece of junk. (Incidentally, the idea to use the green alligator tube as the spring was Gleamer’s and she shot the video, a true collaborative effort!)
Thursday mornings are an early one for us. I need to be up by 6, 6:30 at the latest. So as I was prying my head off the pillow Cashel asks, “Time to make a ‘moothie?” I said, “Yes.” And he looked at the clock and said, “No! Not seven zero zero! Time to ‘leep!” Though I couldn’t agree more, I got up to make the children their breakfast.
We went to Shenandoah Valley Community School. I played Madeline’s House with Riesling, Cashel and Lilith while Leyland and Solomon took turns on the computer. While playing, Riesling and then eventually Cashel, would go over to see what was on the computer. They then went into the art room where Riesling painted on some cardboard and Cashel on some wood that they had found. Lilith (age 5) and I ended up finishing alone.
Riesling and Cashel chose to help Sarah and I mop the floors. Riesling played with the doll house, they both played with the piano and then looked at books. Leyland played with Cashel Smashel :) quite a bit and was very patient with him.
Solomon asked me to play Powder Puff Girls Villains-At-Large and when I let him know that I understood that he really wanted to play, but I had already committed to cleaning the bathroom first, he got upset and curled up in a ball and started growling! I asked if there was anything I could do to help him work through it and he didn’t answer. He got up and slowly tipped some chairs over and knocked some items off of shelves and tables. Sarah implored me to leave him be as he wasn’t hurting anyone or destroying anything and that he would have to clean up after himself. I went off to clean the bathroom.
After I was done I helped Solomon clean up and played his beloved game with him. Lilith played as well. At the end of the game Solomon asked me to add up the numbers on the game tiles for him using a calculator. Lilith volunteered to do it. After which Solomon decided to use the calculator to see what the largest number was that he could make the screen display. He can read into the 100s, but asked me what the numbers were when he got to the thousands. I explained the 1s place, 10s place, 100s place, etc to him and told him each number.
At some point Solomon asked me not to tell his parents that he got mad. I asked what would happen and he said that he would get grounded. This statement really made me think about what effects punishments have. From everything I’ve read and experience, punishments don’t inspire people to figure out what’s best for them and others. But instead to figure out how not to get caught doing something you might get punished for. And when people are compliant it’s because of the possible retribution that my occur.
During this time, Lilith asked me what a googol would look like. I said that I didn’t know, but we could look it up. We first looked in the encyclopedias then in the dictionary, where we found the answer to be 1 with a million zeros. Lilith then asked what the number “elephant” would look like! She went to the computer to look it up. After finding lots of pictures of elephants, she just randomly typed letter(s) in to see what would appear. She told me all about her finds and she especially like the maps she happened upon.
Solomon got board of the calculator and went to find a long stick that he had painted that morning. After seeing that Solomon had a stick, Leyland got one and Cashel was very close behind. Riesling joined in after a bit and they ran around for the rest of the morning playing some game that involved Cashel as the monster chasing them.
When we got home I read Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London and the Magic School Bus Inside the Earth by Joanna Cole. Riesling watched the Numberjacks. This episode involved the Shape Japer turning spheres into cubes. Of course the Numberjacks save the day. The she watched Arthur.
Joe played with Riesling and Cashel and the Lite Brite. He got out the black light to show them the difference between white and colorless. They also did their “belly button dancing show” again for us.
Riesling and Cashel were in bed with me this morning arguing over my hands. Riesling was trying to explain to Cashel that I had 2 hands and that they could each have one of them while Cashel was insisting that he have both hands. Ahhh the joy of learning about ratios early in the morning. I asked what time it was and Cashel said seven seven six eight and Riesling said it’s seven thirty eight; past time to get up and make the smoothies!
While I blended, the kids decided to get out the Legos. I let them know that I wasn’t any good at playing with Legos and wouldn’t be able to help them. They said ok and began taking items out of the containers. Before long Riesling was in the throws of frustration (crying and blubbering) because she couldn’t get her very tall car to stand up. I asked her how I could help and then just finally left her alone after she wouldn’t answer me. Cashel took this opportunity to bang his roller into Riesling’s feet, further frustrating her. After a bit Cashel left Riesling alone and her car stayed together and all was well.
Cashel let me know that he had to go potty and afterwards, as I was washing his hands and singing ABC’s, he asked why there was a spring in the soap.
“Ummm, I’m not sure, except that I don’t think that it would work without it,” I said.
I searched online for an answer and got nowhere except that the kids got very ansy. I decided to use my lifeline and to call Joe at work and have him explain it. He told them that the spring pushes the pump back up to suck more soap into the tube which will be squirted out the next time the pump is pushed down. He said that when he gets home they can take one apart and look at it.
They looked at books and played doctor to both animals (”Oh a vetrenarian,” I said) and humans.
Then they played barber to their stuffed animals who have any hair left after the last few renditions of barber. Riesling took the fabric which I had detached from an old umbrella and wrapped it around her stuffed kitty’s neck to mimic the cape the beautician had used when she cut our hair.
They used one continuous piece of clear tape to try to go from one end of the house to the other, making sure it was securely over the doors so that no one could get in or out of them. After they had gone through one and a half rolls of tape, I let them know that another roll would cost $2. They decided that they would rather spend their money on something else.
Riesling and Cashel continued their rehearsal of the “show” that they will be presenting sometime today, as they didn’t get to do it yesterday.
We played 72 card Memory and then Candyland. I am always in awe of how fantastic their memories are…or possibly how poor mine is…as they always whip my butt!
At lunch Riesling and Cashel tried to reinact a beat box video that they had seen and really like using old spice containers and their bowls.
We read lots of books. The Emperor’s New Clothes (A Favorite Fairy Tale Retold) by Van Gool, Trick-or-Treat Faces by Judith Moffatt and A Weekend With Wendell, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, & Wemberly Worried all by Kevin Henkes.
Since we were having pears as part of our snack, we read Too Many Pears by Jackie French.
When Joe got home, Cashel barely let him get a hello out before asking, “Why does the soap have a spring in it?” Please see Joe’s post to read about the science that ensued.
I decided to make gnocchi from scratch tonight. Riesling helped Joe make many of them. Cashel peeled the carrot that went into the pumpkin sauce. But before they would help Riesling asked that I get her “kitchen robe” for her :) Makes sense to me! I got them both their aprons and they were set.
Before we ate Riesling and Cashel finally performed their show. It was “belly button dancing”. I have absolutely no idea where she thinks this stuff up! I do think it was very important to her because she picked up all the toys from the living room and made sure they had enough room to move. Riesling wore a scarf tied around her chest and a long skirt and Cashel donned his pink satin skirt and decided to go commando. They both had so much fun dancing and we just loved watching them.
I read Can You Tell Me How to Get To Sesame Street? by Eleanor Hudson and they passed out.
That kept me chuckling all the way to Martin’s!
within range!
