TGIAF (Thank Goodness It's ALMOST Friday)

A blessed and atypical rainstorm has descended on the valley, so I am taking the opportunity to load pictures and get this blog underway while the boys romp and stomp in the shower.  We deserve this rainstorm; today has been suffocating with humidity and the smells of Salton Sea.  Even at my 6 a.m. walk, there was not a breath of fresh air to be found.  We are officially in the dog days of summer, and the dog days of pregnancy make it a DOUBLE whammy.  But, enough whining for one paragraph.  On with the productive stuff.

We are in a good groove, here in week two.  When I think about how are are nearly ten days deep into math, spelling, writing, reading, journaling, history, Olympics, poetry, current events, geography, Bible study, piano, cutting, pasting, coloring, crying (Oops!  How did that slip in?  Reality checks are a necessary part of candid blogging), I am overwhelmed by the productivity that homeschooling can bring.  And thank goodness for it, because on some days (such as these), I simply need to put on the brakes and take a thirty minute power nap because my eight-months-pregnant body is simply not cooperating with the demands of the morning.  Yes, that was the "fort building" block of our curricular day.  But, don't cry for me Argentina--I gave myself even less credibility as a homeschooler when I decided to spring for doughnuts, in lieu of the demands of breakfast-making.

Do enjoy the pics...and I hope that you find a little time for leisure on this fabulous Labor Day weekend.

"Stained Glass" Weekend Project
(It bought Matt & me 30 minutes of much needed organizing time)

James' Daily Journal
(The theme of this week's writing was "Bragging Contest," where he and Matt had to outdo one another's brags)

Place Value Review

Early Bird
When he came wandering into our room at 5:30 a.m., I promptly plopped him back into his crib with a basket of books, and this is him 30 minutes later.

Afternoon Baking Project
Simplifying and magnifying the ingredients list for easy reading and direction following 

Banana Peeler and Masher 

Whisking Away

Rite-of-Baking-Passage: Beater Licking

Olympics: Headstands
(close range since one hand was on his feet!)

Olympics: Hang Time!

Olympics: Somersault Champion

Here begins the slew of pictres that reflect "What Homeschooling Looks Like For a Two Year-Old"

Samuel at Work...and Play
(Coincidentally, this was the day the news broke about Neil Armstrong's death.) 

Puzzler
(This is the most frustrating and brilliant puzzle ever...frustrating because every piece fits every piece, and brilliant because Samuel can link every piece without any disappointment) 

Sprinkler Stomping
("Recess" was donning rain/ snow boots--their idea--and running amuck in the sprinklers)

Alphabet Magnets
(He insisted that we all sing our a-b-c's in continuous chorus)

Abacus Math...he is mouthing "four" in this pic

Bad Mama!
(by the way--notice his method--he ate the chocolate icing off the top first, and then left the rest)

I Spy Daniel
(Yes, the black and white comic filter was absolutely necessary to trim at least a LITTLE of the baby fat!)

Sweet Boys