Who's this big kid?

Waiting for his dental cleaning, I looked over at my 9 year-old and this is what I see. When did he get so grown?

Planting our seeds

In their Valentine's baskets, I gave each boy a seed starting kit. This morning we sowed our seeds. Glad to have good natural light in our house. Hope they sprout!

Little Chef

Here's my little chef making the family breakfast. I love this kid!

Chores

These chore charts are working so well! The boys are now responsible for their own laundry. Carson is 100% independent: wash, dry, fold & put away! Cameron did most of his work, but I helped him fold. Now, who's going to catch me up on my laundry?!

Now that's a Valentines box!

Looking for boxes to make Valentine box at Family Dollar and came across this Super Bowl display. The boys were thrilled when they said that we could take it. They decided to make a rocket. This thing is bigger than I am! I don't think we'll have any trouble fitting our Valentines into the box this year!

Homemade Chore Charts

After recently rationing media time to four 15 minute tickets a day, I was reminded how well kids respond when they understand what expectations we have of them.
I made these homemade chore charts today. I just used materials that I had: cardboard, stickers, colored masking tape and clothespins. I told them they can earn four extra 15 media tickets a day after they finish their chores. They were workhorses! I tried to make the chart simple and clear and they seemed to appreciate how easy it was to use and what was expected of them. Score 1 for the mommy team!

Year of the Snake

I took the boys to a Chinatown Festival to celebrate the Chinese new year. Cameron has been so excited leading up to it and telling everyone happy Chinese new year for two weeks now. We did so much:
They had their name written in Chinese on rice paper in calligraphy. We enjoyed wonderful performances. We explored a Chinese market. We ate a Chinese meal. To top it all off, the boys each received red envelopes with a dollar bill for good fortune in the coming year. We definitely need to make this an annual event. Such a great day!

Writing

I love that the boys are now able to do the same subjects (just different levels). Here is writing in our homeschool.

Tae Kwon Do

The boys started tae kwon do this week. They're really enjoying it and like their instructor a lot. Carson said he explains things really well.

Math, Math and more Math

The boys hard at work with their Math-U-See curriculum.

Laser Tag

After school fun with friends!

Hide and Seek

What's a sleepover without flashlight hide and seek in the dark?!
So much fun!

Money in a blender

US Dollar bills are printed with special inks that contain traces of iron and other magnetic material in an effort to prevent counterfeiting. We extracted the iron by blending a dollar. The boys were shocked. They won't forget this one. We've really increased out liquid assets!

Making Fossils

Today we are making fossils. Here's a picture of my growing paleontologists hard at work.

Library Excitement

At the library. They can't wait to dig into new books

Birthday fun

One of the boys' best friends turned 9 years old this week. They sure had a great time at the party. I had a great time with my friends (their moms!). I love the close-knit relationships in homeschool families.

Science class

Here are the boys getting ready for science class with their teacher, Dr Reid. Learning fun!

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

I put a unit together to study civil rights and celebrate the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I used two different colored eggs to illustrate to the boys that even though they may look different on the outside, they're all the same on the inside. Just like people. We had a fun morning and learned a lot about diversity.

Science Fun

The boys and I are studying air and doing fun experiments.

Park Day

Met some friends at the park. The boys had such a nice time rollerblading and riding their scooters and just hanging out with their friends. Fun times.

Family Weekend Fun

I took the boys to the Lowe's kids workshop this weekend. We met my brother and my beautiful little niece there. Afterwards, Abuelo and Abuela met us at my house to help with a few projects. So grateful to have their help!

Ancient History - Law Code

Carson making his own Law Code Stele just like Hammurabi did for the Babylonians.

Update 1/10: Cameron is feeling better today and has decided to join in the fun today. We are making a another stele using Cuneiform. Cameron even made a pizza and put a 'P' for Pizza in cuneiform on one of the slices. These boys crack me up and are so funny!

Gymnastics with friends

The boys are having a blast with their friends in the foam pit.

Medieval Castle Garden

The boys and I are working together to create a Medieval Castle garden. They are so excited to add the dirt and plant the seeds tomorrow.

New Year Memory Jar

The boys and I are starting the new year with a memory jar. Throughout the year, we will write down memories that make us smile and feel good. Next New Year's Eve we will read them all.
I put a little quote on the jar that I just love:
"Enjoy the little things in life...for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things".