Feburary 28th

We were hardcore home schoolers last week- so hard core, that we barely saw our home!  Haha, it was wonderful.

• Monday, we drove out to see Northwest Trek
• Tuesday, we spent the morning with my Grandpa (hi Grandpa!  Thanks for the mint starts!)
• Wednesday, I made a fool of myself in my sister's Zumba class and LOOVED IT, and we took the kids swimming afterwards.  
• Thursday, I took the kids out to the aquarium.
• Friday was our weekly Grandma Day for the girls.  In fact, Wonder Daddy and I even got a little crazy and dropped Cocoa off in the evening to have a night on our own.  We ate way too much indian food, and then went out for ice cream.  We drove in the truck.  It was absolutely perfect!  (THANKS Mom and Dad!)  

Coming back to book learning was a bit of a shock this week for Ernie, but she's doing really well.  (She's learning cursive- it's hard!)

In fact, Mimi is doing well too!  Behind my back, she's been learning tons from her sister!  She can count to 30...she can sing her ABC's...she knows all her colors and shapes...it's wild.  I pulled out her workbooks again this week, after a hiatus- she's powering through and loving every bit of it.  THIS is what I love about home schooling- having the joy of watching the kids, waiting for them to be ready, giving them a bit of knowledge to go on...and watching them reach the stars.  On their own.  

Ernie is loving piano still- her new books finally arrived in the mail, and I told her she was free to play as much as she wanted.  I'd be listening, and would correct her and give her help, but she didn't need to wait for me to sit down with her and give her permission to move on to the next song.  She loves the autonomy, and I love hearing her love that instrument.  She's so funny, she sits down and tries to teach Mimi to play the beginner books she's just recently finished.  Mimi is determined to learn too- she asks permission to practice, to get ready for her "piano wessons."  I know M is just banging around, but it's so darn cute.

Ernie learned a bit about slavery and the abolitionists this morning, in her social studies book.  It was merely a few paragraphs, and then we read a poem about "following the gourd."  (Instructions given to runaway slaves to find freedom in the northern states- head towards the Big Dipper, aka "Drinking Gourd."  And now I'm having flashbacks to middle school choir, and all of us in our bright blue sweat shirts ending a song with a flourish, pointing to the ceiling and bellowing "Follow the Gourd!"  Wow.)  BUT, I've been wondering when to introduce Ernie to the American Girls books, and handed her the Addy collection this morning.  Addy is a little slave girl, and she runs to freedom with her mother.  Quite a bit darker than the Berenstein Bears books E loves so much, but my gosh.  I've completely lost her today.  She's never read a book that large- she looked at me with big eyes before lunch and said "May I read all of this??"  Sure honey- knock yourself out! Read as much as you want!  She's had her nose stuck in the book for hours- her grandpa came to visit tonight, and she snuggled next to him on the couch while we chatted, and just read and read and read.  I could see her glance up at us, pick up the book mark and start to put it in....and her eyes would catch the words again....and the bookmark would drift back down to the couch beside her...I love that she loves to read.  My goodness.  

OK, I had to snap a picture of Ernie's outfit yesterday, too.  She's just so gosh darn logical.  She wants to wear her adorable new dress- great!  She wants long sleeves- sure, she just puts a shirt underneath!  She needs something on her legs- why not wear electric blue shorts, with old candy-striped leg warmers?  (You can't see it, but she's wearing black socks with orange dots and a big glittery pumpkin at each ankle.)  I adore this girl.  And we did the laundry today.