October 22

Today started out a little iffy, as I had a moment of wigginess about writing.
Trev was writing a number, or something, and then he started shouting that his hand wouldn't do what he wanted it to do.
My thought was that's why we need to practice....
Which [blush] led to frustration and angst. For both of us.

Thankfully, we've been at this (unschooling way of life) long enough to know better a while, and I remembered all the other things I've worried about, and how now they're non-issues - because he has mastered them on his own, (beautifully) and in his own time.

{private in-head conversation}
Do you really think he's never going to learn to write?
No. sigh. I really don't believe that.
Then what?
Quite right.

Thankfully we were able to move on rather quickly.
And we moved quite gently into a couple of chapters of Stuart Little.

Yesterday Trev asked me if I knew that he was interested in thirds and halfs and measuring things by inches. And then he said, "You know, fractions, friction, pushes and pulls."
I thought at first he meant fractions, and measuring, and my brain did a quick dive into its files and came up with "cuisenaire rods, tangrams, measuring cups, more recipes, and meter stick". But later, when we got back home, he said that he meant via a Magic School Bus episode, maybe about energy, and stopping and starting?
I still wasn't sure what he meant, and I looked through our many recorded MSB episodes, but didn't see anything related.
I decided to get out some books that might be relevant to what he's talking about... Energy Makes Things Happen, How Mountains Are Made, and What Is The World Made Of?
Then I remembered that I had an idea to do a search for "magic school bus friction pushes pull" and came up with MSB Plays Ball. We have that one. :).

So Magic School Bus it was. Plays Ball (and that was indeed what he was talking about), and then Flexes Its Muscles while we ate lunch.

In the back of Energy Makes Things Happen is a quick physics experiment - put a car on the table, and run one into it. The energy is of course transferred to the second car, sending it off the table. Then we put two cars lined up, and ran one into the back of the train. The energy is of course transferred to the second, then the first car.
It also works when you line up a train of five cars, we learned. :)
It also inspires crazy car crashing play for fifteen minutes.

Trev read us the four Fish and Frog books.
Then he read us Cars: Old, New, Red, Blue.
And Mama read The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything.

Off for a bike ride. Trev's first real trip - we were going to the playground.
On the way home we took the long way - past the church parkinglot. Of course we had to ride around for an hour or so in all that big beautiful open space.

When we (finally, according to Madeleine) got home Madd went for KidZui (Peep), while Mama played Trev a song that I've been meaning to play for quite some time.
He's been singing "I feel good, duh-nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh, nuh-nuh! I knew that I would..." for a few weeks, off and on.
Today I actually remembered to put it on for him so that he could hear The Real Thing (I Got You by James Brown).
He loved it. Mama got jiggy wid it, of course.

Arthur's Preschool.
JumpStart 2nd Grade.
Land, Sea, Air.

Coloring with crayons.

Peter Pan.

I've been thinking for a few days that we could make something with our modeling clay. The expensive stuff in the little tiny pouches, you know?
But we hadn't opened them, yet.
While Trev and I were playing JumpStart, I went in the livingroom to find Maddie had opened five packets of the stuff.
sigh.
So we had a little emergency sculpting session.

KidZui again.
And JumpStart 1st Grade. (he's almost finished with first grade, he has all the bells and whistles, and it's fun - ie not too hard.)
And Peter Pan again. With his pirate's blade.
All at the same time, of course.
Trev wants to know if there is such a thing as Pixie Dust.
"Of course!"
"How do we get some?"
"Um... we make it."
"Will it make us fly?"
Well, it takes Imagination to fly doesn't it?" Isn't that one of the key ingredients?
"Happy thoughts."
Well, as long as Imagination is in there somewhere, we should be successful.....

Daddy's home.
At Long Last.

It's seven something, and all is well.