Sumo Baby

I think Mark is out to set a record for infant weight gain. At 5 weeks, he weighed 14 lb 9 oz; he's been gaining over a pound a week since he was born. I think he does a good sumo wrestler imitation...

Daddy Time

Just for fun...

I love this recent picture of Luke.

Environment matters

A young friend spent the afternoon here recently, and I watched her playing with math manipulatives with my children, reading books, and eating fruit for snacks. When I have been in this child's home, I have noticed that she spends her time playing video games and snacking on chips, soda and ice cream. Why does she choose different activities and snacks at our house? Because the available choices are different. Video games and junk food snacks are not available in my home, but books, open-ended toys and manipulatives, and fruit are. My own children, in an environment where videos, electronic games, and junk food are available readily choose these things because they bring instant gratification. If we want our children to make healthier choices for their bodies and minds, we need to carefully consider what choices we are making available to them in their environments.

Adventures in mathland

We're doing a mini-unit study this week focused on math. I made a giant number line on the sidewalk, and we played games with skip-counting and addition/subtraction. For the addition game I took 2 small wooden cube blocks and made them into dice, one with the typical number dots and the other with addition and subtraction signs (5 addition and 1 subtraction). Our number line ran from -9 to 40. The children took turns rolling the dice then moving forward or back as indicated. The game ended when everyone made it to 40.

For lunch we had pizza--a great chance to discuss fractions!

Creativity in Action

I went looking for my broom, and discovered it in the children's room. Luke's comment: "We made that so we could slide down from the bunkbed."

Treasures!

This is what I found in my linen cupboard today--treasures collected by Luke and Esther. It looks to me like they got something from every room in the house...

Quote of the Day

"The ability to say "NO" to second things is the key to saying "YES" to first things." --Stephen Covey