what KK is memorizing

Nobody
by Shel Silverstein

Nobody loves me,
Nobody cares,
Nobody picks me peaches and pears.
Nobody offers me candy and Cokes,
Nobody listens and laughs at my jokes.
Nobody helps when I get in a fight,
Nobody does all my homework at night.
Nobody misses me,
Nobody cries,
Nobody thinks I’m a wonderful guy.
So if you ask me who’s my best friend, in a whiz,
I’ll stand up and tell you that Nobody is.
But yesterday night I got quite a scare,
I woke up and Nobody just wasn’t there.
I called out and reached out for Nobody’s hand,
In the darkness where Nobody usually stands.
Then I poked through the house, in each cranny and nook,
But I found somebody each place that I looked.
I searched till I’m tired, and now with the dawn,
There’s no doubt about it-
Nobody’s gone!

what did she say??

Little Miss is such a talker, lately. She just talks and talks... and talks. Usually she and I discuss things like string theory, or Beethoven, or algebraic formulae. But every once in a while, she'll surprise me with a truly mind-numbing utterance, something so profound that I question whether this 2 year old genius could really be my child...


Beanie-weenies make me fart.

I'm too old to play, Mom.

Ooh, my butt is so cold!

I'm a monkey eating a banana, Mom.


Okay... so she's not a genius; she's just an old monkey with a cold butt and a flatulence problem.

been bummin'

Our computer seems to have gone kaput. Kind of a bummer, since I can't get to any of my stuff (pictures and home school related things). So I've been without a computer and internet access for about a week now. I was really starting to have withdrawal pains over the weekend, when Big Daddy informs me that his laptop has been in the closet all this time... I could have used that. Still can't access my stuff, but at least I can pay bills online and check in on me olde blawg.

Reminds me of the time our washing machine died. Big Daddy was out of town, of course. As usual, mounds of laundry were waiting to be washed. I tried to start a load, but the dang thing wouldn't start. I'm a real bright bulb, so I knew to check and make sure it was plugged in - it was. I even checked the fuse box. Nothing worked, I could feel the end of the world drawing near... my washing machine was dead!!

I broke the bad news to Big Daddy over the phone. His response, "Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now. I guess you'll just have to start going to the laundry mat. We can't afford a new one, you know."

Great.

When he got back in town, I got down on my knees, begging and pleading for him to at least look at the thing and see if there was anything he could do. He went back into the laundry room. I did not follow, because I know that broken appliances cause yelling and cursing and kicking in grown men.

I waited patiently for the confirmation of my nightmare... my washing machine was dead. If you've ever been the mother of four, one of whom is wearing cloth diapers, you will understand that there is nothing worse than being without a washing machine in your home.

But then I heard it - the washing machine was running!

Big Daddy came out of the laundry room with that grin on his face that tells me, You're a real dummy sometimes.

"Something's wrong with that outlet by the washing machine, so I just plugged it into the outlet on the other wall. It's working fine now."

memories

Memory work is a part of our school day for many reasons:

-it teaches attention to detail

-it's a nice way to "wake up" the brain, thus providing a gentle transition into our school day

-it encourages a love of the written word (I hope!)

-it develops good elocution

The more you memorize, the easier it is to memorize. The kids have really surprised themselves by memorizing things they never thought they would be able to.

Some of our memory work is assigned by me, but I often let the kids choose something themselves. In the past, they've memorized lots of poetry, lists (such as the U.S. Presidents), The Declaration of Independence, The Preamble to the Constitution, Latin paradigms, etc.

We're starting a fresh school year with new pieces to memorize, so I thought I'd share what E-man has chosen to memorize first:

The Little Turtle
by Vachel Lindsay

There was a little turtle.
He lived in a box.
He swam in a puddle.
He climbed on the rocks.

He snapped at a mosquito.
He snapped at a flea.
He snapped at a minnow.
And he snapped at me.

He caught the mosquito.
He caught the flea.
He caught the minnow.

But he didn’t catch me.

and...

Bird Talk
by Aileen Fisher

“Think…,” said the robin,
“Think…,” said the jay,
sitting in the garden,
talking one day.

“Think about people-
the way they grow;
they don’t have feathers
at all, you know.

“They don’t eat beetles,
they don’t grow wings,
they don’t like sitting
on wires and things.”

“Think!” said the robin.
“Think!” said the jay.
“Aren’t people funny

to be that way?”

Fine Art Friday

" My Dad"

Little Miss ~ October, 2007

This was the first time Little Miss added hair to one of her drawings. When she was done she said, "See da hay-yuh, Mom? See da hay-yuh?"

I'm still here.

Our school year started Oct. 1st, and we've been busy! We started off Monday with chocolate breakfast muffins, I surprised the kids with a trip to see the horsies on Wednesday morning, and the big kids actually managed to finish almost all of the school work we had planned for the week by Friday afternoon.

Haven't had much time to blog, but I did manage to update the "Stuff We Use" section on the side-bar, over there. As soon as I can find the time to sit still and think at the same time, I promise to post some pictures and silly stuff.

And by the way, it's reeeeeeeally hard to think when you're surrounded by: a large dog who doesn't respect your personal space, a goofy, squealing 13 year old girl, and a tired toddler who needs to go potty.