Learning Lately

Colin has been working on numbers this week. I printed out a counting chart and stuck it on the refrigerator- 1 through 20. The first day, Colin found it, and tried counting, and could only get up to 16 very slowly. I helped him the rest of the way. Every time he passed the refrigerator after that, he would stop and count up to 20. It only took him a few days, and now he'll look at it once a day or so, and count. He's got it! Prior to this, we've counted to 100 a few times in the car, and he has a Curious George movie he watches every once in a while that I think counts to 30, but I've never made a point of teaching him to count, so that's pretty good!

Colin also found a toad yesterday, and noticed the camouflage on its sides and back, and pointed it out to me. I think he talked about it with Brennan, too, because Brennan found a snail today, and brought it inside to show me, and was telling me about its camouflage. We read a book today called How Animals Hide. I think it's a really old National Geographic book. I'm trying to read some of the books we haven't read in a while at bedtimes, because when they pick, they tend to pick the same ones over and over! So, I've been picking some, and they've been picking some.

(Colin also just told me that he learned we shouldn't murder- because it's bad!)

We've also watched some pretty cool videos on The Kid Should See This blog, about shapes, crayons being made, a violin being made (from sapling to finished product), a couple versions of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, a video about this couple that collects plastic from a beach and makes art out of it, a couple videos with bikers doing crazy stunts, how to make puppets, and too many others to name. They've also watched a DVD of Magic School Bus about bugs. Nature theme lately, much?

I'm making a chart of the main constellations to put up somewhere. I want to learn those, and Colin is interested, too.

Brennan is learning the alphabet by sight, and we're trying to reinforce the potty habit, as well as cleaning up messes- that goes for all of them!

Nick is saying a few more words, but not really talking all that much. He's very good at getting his point across, though! And he's finally started pointing for things he wants.

We've also done a little studying about Rosh Hashannah. Colin likes hearing the shofar. Brennan, not so much! I'm going to try to make challah today, if I remember at a convenient time before it gets too late. Either that or honeycake. I don't think we'll be able to do both today, though if it turns out we can, great! I'm at my midday slump, though, so nothing is looking like it's going to get done right now (even though I know I'll feel more up to working later).

That's all for this week!