Mr. Flagfootball

Jeffrey LOVED playing flag football this spring! He did a great job kicking, running the ball and grabbing flags. His favorite defensive play was raising his hand and blocking the opposing team's pass. He can't wait for the fall season to start.

Birthday Girl is 2!

Favorite Food: 'bur' (frozen burritos)

Favorite Toy: Beebee (baby)

Favorite Outfit: Pea Dess (any pretty dress)
Favorite Accessory: He Bow (hair bow)

Favorite Word: Canny (candy)

Favorite Treat: chalket cheeps (chocolate chips)

Favorite Song: Sunbeam (Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam)

Favorite Passtime: hiking backpack

Special Talents: reading books, art, dressing herself, mimicking older siblings

This Week's Hike

I've been surfing the web and found a few websites with 'kid friendly' hikes in our area. Yeah! We had such a great time last week! I'm hoping to make this a weekly event.

We parked in the parking lot and began our ascent- several staircases made of railroad ties. When we reached the top, there was no trail, just a neighborhood. Brooklynn was disappointed. With encouragement, we kept moving, cutting through the neighborhood and finally spotted a narrow trailhead with a small sign. Brooklynn took off up the trail. More stairs, and lots of rocks. I was suprised at how rugged and steep the trail was. I stopped a few times to catch my breath. There were great views of the valley below.

This is what we all felt like once we reached the top.
The kids had a great time climbing different rocks.

We hung out, had a snack, and discovered that beyond those rocks was a waterfall.

The bottom of the waterfall was shallow and you could walk on the rocks. Next time we'll bring some watershoes.

Confessions of a budding math junkie

I'm sure you've noticed that I've been a little quiet lately, a little preoccupied putting together spring and summer plans for homeschool. I must confess, I've gotten carried away.

It started with purchasing new math cirriculum for the kids. When it arrived, I realized that I had ordered material that was too easy. So, I let Brooklynn do Jeffrey's. But, hmmmmmmm, what to have Jeffrey do?


I was introduced to Right Start Math when we lived in California. I really loved how the course was put together ( it's Montessorish). Brooklynn enjoyed it, although Jeffrey only like the games that went along with the cirriculum. They sell a math games kit with 300 math games and several decks of playing cards. So, I bought it.

Brooklynn's favorite is "Go to the Dump". It's like goldfish, but instead of finding pairs you're looking for two numbers and equal your predetermined sum. (Yesterday it was 10. Today she wanted 11.) Jeffrey's favorite is multiplication solitaire. I have to say that mine is money war. You use the money deck and flip over 2 or 3 cards (how ever many the group decides) and whoever has the highest amount takes the hand. It's been great to get them to quickly add money. Jeffrey wakes up first thing in the morning to play solitaire and he's actually memorizing the multiplication tables without knowing it!

I've also found a few great math websites:

Mathtv.com I've been trying to get Jeffrey to 'see the light' on the importance of borrowing and carrying over for sometime. A few 50 second videos with Mr. McKeague and he can't get enough adding and subtracting into the millions. The site looks like a great resource all the way through high school math.

Let's Play Math has some great math ideas. I especially like her posts: "20 + things to do with a Hundred Board" and "The Game that is Worth 1000 Worksheets."

Math Playground has math videos and games the kids have enjoyed playing.

Today's Hike

I woke up this morning and the weather was decent. I decided that the kids and I were going on a hike! Jeffrey had to be coaxed to get ready. (He was convinced that hiking was just not for him.) Finally (and you know sometimes this is a huge accomplishment) everyone was dressed with long pants and sweatshirts, so we ventured out.

I did a little research on the internet and found the directions for a trail that was .25 miles and led to a 40 foot waterfall. Sounded great! We made it to the mountains and I kept track of the mileage to the 1/10 mile but I couldn't find the trailhead. So, we followed the river instead.

We found a waterfall afterall!

We turned around and headed back when there was too much snow on the trail. We'll have to try it again in a few months because this trail leads to a lake.

The best part of it all was that we all enjoyed ourselves and the kids want to go back tomorrow. We'll have to see about that one.