Today we...

played outside. It was such a great day to do it. So so so needed. And so beautiful!

Thank you, Lord, for giving us a hope for Spring!

Young Chocolatiers Class

This weekend, it's just me and P. And I LOVE these weekends!!

Knowing this weekend was coming up, about 2 months ago, Matt and I signed Payton up for a Young Chocolatiers Class. They were to be making "Easter Holiday Chocolates". I wasn't sure what they would be like, but I knew he'd like it.

So Saturday morning, we finally got up and moving and headed to Miles Cake & Candy Supply Store in Mt. Clemens, MI. The class was a nice size, not too big or too small. They had everything prepared and set out and were ready for the kids when we got there. Payton was so excited. I could tell he was ready to bounce out of his seat.

The class started with making pink chocolate covered popcorn. It was all uphill from there. We made a LOT of chocolate covered things that pertain to the upcoming holiday. Payton really had a fabulous time and, surprisingly, so did I. I didn't think I would, but it was fun! Just the two of us working on projects like that.

Here are the "best of" pictures I have. I submitted the pictures to the owner of the cake supply shop too, so maybe those will be up on her website someday as well.

Vegetables

I have been waiting all year to study the letter "V" with my kindergarten class. I'm a huge fan of veggies and I know a LOT of kids don't see or taste fresh veggies very often.

Tomorrow, the lesson begins. I went to the veggie market tonight and purchased $25 worth of veggies to introduce to the class. We're going to look at them, touch them, and maybe taste some too! I'm so excited!!!!! (This picture is the bucket 'o veggies. All ready for tomorrow! Taken with my phone...sorry about the quality.)

Really? It's been that long?

Wow. I guess it has. Wow has life been busy.

Well, I survived Scholastic Book Fair week at school. It's so incredibly time consuming and stressful. I'm so glad when it's over, but I'm so proud of the money raised and the kids reading with new interest. I've also launched the Accelerated Reader program at Reach. That has been, also, very time consuming. I'm starting to see interest and results from the students, so every bit of work seems to be worth it.

I've started my new "lit" groups in the afternoons too. This time, instead of taking 10-15 students and doing book studies, we're working on comprehension tools in groups of 3-6. It's been great having smaller groups and specific tools and tips to give them. We'll dive into books when we have a few tools under our belts and use them in our reading.

The boys are fantastic. Payton has been doing great in school, of course. He's developing a few bad habits in his work that we're trying to nip. But nothing life altering or anything he can't overcome with instruction. Maxwell is doing amazing. He knows all his uppercase letters, most of his lower case, almost all his phonic sounds, and can spell a few words.

I'm teaching sign language after school to 4th-6th graders, so we've been working on that at home too. Payton is learning a lot. Maxwell is working on the 3 letters to spell "MAX". That's all he cares about right now.

Matt is doing well too! He's been suffering from some back pain and went to the doctor today. They put him on physical therapy and some drugs. Hopefully they start to take effect. He's been incredibly giving the last few weeks with all the stress I've been under at work.

Last week, he asked me to meet him and the kids at a local Italian place we like for dinner. When I arrived, my family wasn't there yet. I got a table and then, I heard "MOMMY!!" Matt had stopped to pick me up a beautiful bouquet. So thoughtful! He even "let" me go out with my friends on Friday night. SO needed!!!!

I finally caught a break this weekend. The boys and I spent a lot of time doing nothing. That was GREAT!! One thing we did do: Build A Snowman!! I'm so ready for Spring!

Special Day for Payton

Since last year, we've been telling Payton we'd get him a computer in his room. Finally, today, all the pieces fit together and we actually made it happen. My brother, Jason, had built him a tower computer that had all the things he'd need to play his games. We finally found a monitor that would fit his desk today.

Once Matt set the whole thing up and got it running, he had to leave for work. I let Payton play for a bit and then we discussed the rules of the computer.

1) You only play with the door open.
2) You must ASK if you can play before you even turn the monitor on.
3) You may not install anything onto the computer without asking first.

Now, most of these rules are non-issues. He's only (almost) 7 and is respectful of the house rules, but still; better to set up these rules now. He does not have access to the internet yet. Only installed software. So far he's really enjoying himself. We've promised him some new software for his birthday in April and that we'd visit the library soon to see what they have as well.

The issue now is that he doesn't want to go back to school tomorrow. He wants to stay home on the computer all day. (Shh...I want to stay home another day too!)

Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum

Yesterday, we didn't have school. Thank you, US Presidents!!

Payton's & Max's favorite cousins are in Ohio and we don't get to see them as often as any of them would like. It occurred to me a few weeks prior that if we were off school, they probably were too. As the date drew near, we decided to take a chance on the AAHOM. It was 1/2 way for each of us and a place I knew we'd all have plenty to see and do.

Aunt Debbie was able to come and brought cousins, Sarah, Brittany, Spencer and Britt's "beau", Chris, with her. Matt was off work and was able to come as well.

We really did have a blast! So much to see and do and so much for the boys to play with...and the adults too.