Captain Cries A Lot

I finally got up the nerve to go to the library this morning and pay for the two missing paperbacks. They didn't yell at me....phew. I got a few picture books, Magic School Bus DVDs (Isabel's request) and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, for Luke. I really think that book will be way too old for him, just that he wont get it, but who knows, he is enjoying Inkheart by Cornelia Funke right now and I didn't think he would get that. As you can tell by both those books, he loves Science Fiction and Fantasy. When we got home they made Mother's Day cards for their grandmothers while I read Little House on the Prairie out loud. Oh, here is another Safety Nerd moment:  In the book, Pa holds his nails in his mouth while hammering the roof.  It sure took a while to get back on track reading the book because Luke had to point out all of the reasons why holding nails in your mouth is, yes, once again, VERY DANGEROUS.  Afterward, Luke made new Xtreme Boy books with a new character, Captain Cries A Lot. Isabel did a Math worksheet while Luke had his piano class.

Isabel and I are learning food signs now in ASL. A friend suggested a PBS program called Signing Time. I checked out our library website and requested a few of them. We shall see! With Isabel, any opportunity for someone other than me teaching her (like these DVDs) is great. She is less likely to say, "I can't do this." or "I'm tired."

Horticulture vs. Botany?

I felt like we got a lot of great things accomplished today! Luke has three more Math worksheets before he is finished with his Math U See "Beta" book. Once he is finished he and I are going celebrate by going out for sushi. We are the only ones in the family that like sushi (I think Luke mostly likes it because they line the sushi up to look like a catapillar or dragon.) So anytime he got distracted while doing his math today I would yell at him, "I WANT SUSHI, GET BACK TO WORK." Joking of course....(and so very very serious.) Isabel and I have learned the alpha bet in Sign Language (ASL), counting to ten, and today we learned father, mother, family, brother, sister, boy, girl, grandfather, etc. We are using a book we rented from the library, Learn to Sign the Fun Way! by Penny Warner. She loves it and is very quick to memorize.

One of the things Luke wants to be when he grows up is a horticulturist. He has also heard of botanists, so last night he asked what the difference was. This morning I scrambled around on the internet trying to find the answer. I couldn't find any great "Horticulture vs. Botany" websites (gee, you'd think there would be tons.)  I went to dictionary.com and got simple definitions for both. There is a lot more to it than this, but let's just say horticulturists work on/improve/cultivate plants, flowers, trees, etc. and botanists study/analyze/dissect plants, flowers, trees, etc.

I then read to them out of our read aloud book, Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingles Wilder. My kids are loving this book and I find that we are having to stop at least every few paragraphs to have a big discussion on covered wagons, cabins built out of logs, wolves, etc. It gives them, and me, a glimpse of what life was like back then. A great history book for young children.