A Special Birthday Card

We are now on our 3rd Mission Monday.  It was so exciting to hear BroBro ask this morning what it was we were going to do for our Mission day.  He was ahead of me though, because I didn’t really have planned what it was that we were doing.  Things were even more complicated by the trip to the pediatrician for a bad case of poison ivy that just doesn’t seem to be going away and the hour wait we had while we were there.  Somehow the idea of the steroid medicine they recommend he start just didn’t seem to be an exciting treatment after managing all three closed in a small doctor’s room for that length of time.  Note to self:  Never, ever, ever schedule an appointment so close to the time that you have to walk out the door without grabbing the snacks/toys/distractions that are often needed in situations such as this.

So after the crazy morning, Mission Monday required something that could be done at home and was possible to implement without a trip to the store for supplies. I searched my pinned service ideas and came across the site Hugs and Hope for Children.  This website was created as a ministry of encouragement for children battling critical illness. Each month features new stories and photos of sick children. The idea is to pray for, encourage, and send these children cheery postal mail.

Since there were no new kids listed, we pulled up the birthdays for May and decided to make a few kids on the list Happy Birthday cards.  Jaxson used this crumbled paper technique to decorate the outside and wrote each kid a special note inside.  To extend this project we also wrote the name of each child for which we created a card on our calendar.  This way when their birthday rolls around we can say a special prayer for that child.

I am really happy with how today’s mission turned out.  I am sure we will revisit this one often.

Balloon-Powered Lego Car

It’s a motorcycle?  No, it’s a plane?  Wait, it’s a car?  No, it’s a balloon-powered zoom machine!

Frugal Fun 4 Boy’s most recent Lego challenge involved 3 fun things in this house:

LEGOS,  A BALLOON, and DADDY’S HELP!  

Daddy and BroBro worked together to make this balloon-powered contraption.

First BroBro wanted to learn how to blow up balloons.  I was quite surprised at how well he did with this.  And because Pretty Girl wants to do everything her brother does, she too tried.

Once the balloons were finally put to the side, BroBro became interested in how this new toy was going to work.

A plan was put into place.

Daddy and BroBro combined two motorcycles and two triangular pieces (that looked much like airplane wings).  BroBro was interested to know if his special car was actually going to fly.

Finally, the car was set into motion.  There were a handful of unsuccessful attempts.  Including this one where Daddy  tried to pop the balloon for an added affect.

But in the end, our balloon-powered zoom machine moved quite well.  Our longest track went about 17 feet and was only stopped by the wall that it kept hitting because it continued to drive in a rightward direction. BroBro tried to remedy this by setting it off on the neighbors sidewalk but quickly realized that this just wasn’t going to work the same way as it did on the hardwood floors.  He learned that although pavement looks smooth, on closer observation, it is quite rough and this hinders how fast and far small lego wheels travel.

BroBro has brought the car to me several times the last couple of days, so he is eager to try it out again.  Next time we need to try a different model to and see how it compares.

Mission Kick-Off

Did you know that today is National Library Worker’s Day?  Neither did the library workers at two libraries where we dropped off cookies and home-made cards today.

We have kicked off our Mission Mondays and the kids are ready to serve.  Yesterday BroBro and Pretty Girl worked with me to make cards of appreciation and chocolate chip cookies.  Today we were able to deliver those to two local libraries where we often visit.  They were very appreciative and the kids loved seeing the smiles on their faces.  Thank you library workers for all that you do to serve us and our community.

Lego Fun

As I mentioned in my recent post Jericho and Legos, I have been trying to introduce BroBro to the unending fun of the Lego.  The Jericho Wall video and building, did lead to more frequent playing of these fun building toys but they still haven’t quite made it to the top of his must-do list.

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a blog post on one of the blogs I follow.  Frugal Fun for Boys had posted their most recent Lego challenge and had presented their new challenge of creating as many different things as you could with the same 25 pieces.

I thought following these challenges would be a fantastic way for BroBro and I to have some Lego fun together and continue to introduce him to the creativity of Lego play.  The very next day we sat down and began pulling out 25 pieces of the same kind.  We had 25 pieces of small blocks, 25 pieces of long blocks, 25 pieces of flat blocks.  We figured we’d challenge ourselves with different groups of 25 pieces and see what types of structures we could construct.

We started to come up with fun patterns.  This is one example of what we did.

We were enjoying it while we were doing it but it began to bewilder me just how the kids at Frugal Fun for Boys “just couldn’t put it down”.  It seemed to me that there was just so many cool and interesting patterns that could be created with the same 25 pieces.  Recently, they posted their pictures and ah, ha, I quickly realized my mistake!  The intention was to use the same 25 pieces in different ways but not necessary the same type of 25 pieces.  As Pretty Girl, always says. “Silly Mommy!”

So we attempted the challenge again.  This time BroBro pulled out 25 random pieces and off to building he went.  Once his first creation was created he reached into the box for a guy.  No, no, that would be 26 pieces.  So he picked one of the pieces to substitute. He made…

animal being ridden by a guy…

a speedboat…

a space rocket…

a lookout tower…

and a helicopter…

BroBro and I enjoyed this Lego challenge.  We look forward to the next challenge.  I haven’t yet told BroBro that the next challenge is to create a balloon-powered car.  I wonder if we can get Daddy involved with this one?

Check out Frugal Fun for Boys Lego Fun Fridays and take the challenge yourself.

Journaling With My Boy

Several months ago, I came across Mamma Jenn’s post about Mamma and Me journals.  In her post she states she got the idea of journaling back and forth with her daughter from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler.   She, of course got the idea from another blogger at The Homeschool Post.  I think I can stop there but the point is all had a great idea, and the moment I saw it, I knew it was something I wanted to do.  I just needed to wait till the right time to begin.

Well, last week I realized I just couldn’t stand to wait any longer.  BroBro has become quite efficient with his reading fluency and has been doing quite well with the required summaries during his lessons.  So even though I knew details would be lacking right now, I figured this would be a perfect time to start.  I figure the increased detail in his writings would be something neat to see years down the road.

I am so glad, I went ahead and started.  We’ve been doing our own Mommy & Me  journal for about a week now and it has been such a neat thing to see.  Below are 7 reasons why I think this will be something worth keeping around for awhile.

1.  A real-world reason to read

BroBro reads quite well and when asked (or required) to read, he is able to do so quite fluently.  Reading is not, however, on his list of must-dos when he is given free time to do with as his wishes.  While reading is required in his homeschool curriculum and additional reading is requested by me throughout the week, I have found that I don’t want to push the issue too much for fear that he will become resentful of reading and will fail to ever truly enjoy it.  Yet, when a personal note is written specifically for him, there naturally is very little complaining and much more, “Did you write me a new note, Mom?”.   Note also that I have chosen to deliberately not write “down to his level” either.  I have intentionally used the words that have popped in my head when I was writing and have found that he has stepped up to the challenge.  He has sounded out the words and used the context and figured out just about all of what I have written.  What a great way to practice his reading skills.

2.  A real-world reason to write

With BroBro’s reading increasing, I have recently considered starting him on some very simple writing composition tasks.  I have kept putting it off though because I have been so reluctant to add additional tasks to our finally smooth homeschooling mornings.  Our back and forth journaling gives BroBro the chance to start those written dialogues and compositions without the pressure of a lesson expectation.  Right now, his sentences are short and his details are limited but I know that will quickly change as he becomes more comfortable with the process and see’s the writing that is being modeled in my notes to him.

3.  Building a relationship

He is a boy and I am a girl and quite frankly there are some days that I just don’t get him.  He is loud, rambunctious, silly, and completely full of potty talk.  There so are so many days that I just shake my head, look at my husband, and question, “Is that normal?”.    I am confident, though that it goes both ways.  I am sure I am a complete puzzle to him sometimes too.  Journaling will hopefully help us understand each other just a little bit more and continue to increase the relationship we already have.

4.  Opportunity to voice things that might not be said otherwise

I know that this will be even more important as he gets older but why not start now.   As a 5 year old, BroBro is unable to put all that goes on in his head into verbal words right now and of course has even more trouble putting those thoughts into written words.  I hope, though, that by starting this written dialogue early that there will be a trust that will be built and will continue to grow and when the important time comes he will feel comfortable talking to me in person and even in note if so desired.

5.  Opportunity to practice loving gestures (….you are welcome future wife)  

As a little special surprise, after writing out a note the other day I put the notebook in his underwear drawer.  This would be a place where I knew (well, at least I sure hoped) he would find it the next day.  It was so funny to hear him the following morning, calling from upstairs, “Mom, why did you put the notebook in my unnnnderwearrrr drawer?”  He wasn’t quite sure about it but he loved it.  The next day, even though he read and wrote his note to me while sitting in the kitchen were I was working, I noticed that he didn’t hand me the notebook like he had in the past.  He disappeared.  Moments later he made a point of telling me that I needed to make sure I checked my “3rd drawer” before I went to bed that night.   This is big.  The importance of doing those small things for the other person is something that we have been trying to teach BroBro and not something he is often willing to pursue.  So, while he was only imitating what it was that I had done for him, I realized that this was a great way for him to learn how to play out those sweet and loving gestures.

6.  A chance to pass on wisdom

When I write in our Mommy and Me journal, I have BroBro’s complete attention.  It is a time to puff his little boy ego and let him know all of the reasons why I love him, emphasizing his talents, his strengths, and his accomplishments.  In addition, it’s an opportunity to tell him a little bit more about myself, a funny thing that happened to me when I was young myself or even how I handle certain situations.  Today I  jotted down a specific bible verse that was pertinent to a situation he was currently experiencing.  Full attention gives opportunity for full learning.

7.  Having Fun

Who knows where all of this will eventually lead but my goal is to keep it personal and keep it fun.  I might use our Mommy and Me journal to start a treasure hunt or tell a joke.  I might even use it throw out some interesting facts or even questions….ones that he just might have to find the answer to on his own just to prove that Mommy wasn’t able to throw a stump.  The possibilities are endless.

Our Mommy and Me Journal has been lots of fun.  I hope it is something that BroBro will continue to look forward to doing.  I am sure that years down the road these notebooks will also serve as great memories of his reading, writing, and life journeys.  How fun they will be to read then too.

Angry Birds Party

Well, since I am starting to think about my oldest’s 6th birthday I figured it might be time to finish my post on his 5th birthday party.  Better late than never I guess.

When my oldest turned 5 and it came time to plan a party there was a toss up.  It was going to be either Star Wars or Angry Birds.

We ended up choosing Angry Birds; I figured Star Wars wasn’t going to go anywhere and I knew that I could pull together some fun and easy-to-put-together activities for Angry Birds.  It turned out to be a real success.

Ok, so there was a little bit of an identity crisis and a combining of the two but what can you do when you are an Angry Bird, Star Wars lovin’ kid?

Thanks to Sherry K. Designs,  and her free Angry Bird Printable Birthday Kit creating an invitation and adding little touches of Angry Bird themed images to the games and items in the goodie bag was a snap.

Games and Activities:  

Life Size Angry Bird game – My husband was responsible for building the sling shot and after testing out several different prototypes as well as several different types of balls we finally figured out which configuration would work best.  The kids had a good time knocking over the boxes both with the balls and with their own bodies.

Bowling:  I created a bowling game by collecting some bottles, adding water with a touch of green food coloring and placing Angry Bird clipart on the front.  The kids used a red ball to knock over the pigs. 

Cup Stack:  Also a simple game to pull together.  I stacked cups and the kids used a sling shot I found at Walmart to see how many they could knock over at once.

Tattoos:  What party isn’t a party without some fun tattoos?  I found these great tattoos at Target and enlisted some of the girls in the application process.  They had a blast and everyone was decked out with Angry Bird Tattoos.

Party Favors:  With the free printable balloon faces found at Party Planning with the Party Animal I created fun, colorful gift bags.  Each bag included a bird whistle, Angry Bird stickers, an Angry Bird coloring page, and an Angry Bird notebook.

Cake and Cupcakes:  One of my favorite aspects of the party was the Angry Bird cake and cupcakes.  I have no artistic bone in my body, not a single one, so the thought of decorating any kind of cake or cupcake is beyond overwhelming.  However after coming across Moments with Montano’s beautifully done Angry Bird cake I knew that I just had to give it a try.  Her cake looked easy enough for even me to do and boy did it look good.  Thank you Melysa for your encouragement!

With some Angry Bird cupcake toppers, also from Party Planning with the Party Animal, the whole thing came together.  Happy 5th Birthday BroBro.  I look forward to seeing what we come up with on your 6th.  Will it be Star Wars?

Big tip for birthday parties:  Find a friend to take the pictures.  Thank you so much Brooke, for carrying your camera around that day so I could enjoy the day and not have to worry about making sure I was getting some memorial pictures.

Jericho and Legos

Legos!  They seem to be a favorite for boys of all ages.  That would be why we have a nice blue box of them sitting on our shelf in the school-slash-playroom.  I envisioned hours of non-stop fun building and pretending as structures real and made-up were created and torn apart, over and over again.

Can you tell by my use of the word “envisioned” that that is not exactly the case.  Don’t get me wrong.  There is nothing more fun then opening a brand new box of legos with all of the pieces neatly packaged and a nice book of directions to create the next contraption but once that fun is over and the contraption has begun to fall apart then the legos are dumped in the big blue box and once again placed on the shelf…until Mom want’s to take a stab at it.

Yesterday that all changed…at least for the day.  Our homeschool curriculum focused on the story of Jericho yesterday and for the fun of it I found this very boyish-Star Wars-lovin’-Lego video.

It may not be completely accurate (kinda doubt they used a train to march around the city or blasters to take down the bad guys) but it sure did get the attention of one 5-year old boy in this house.  The story of David and Goliath has always been one of his favorites but the story of Jericho may have just taking on a new meaning.

By lunchtime we were creating a wall of Jericho ourselves, complete with our very own Star Wars characters.  Note the appropriate positioning of the “good & bad guys”.  It was an important reminder for me of what things I can use and do to grab the attention of my active 5-year old boy.  Watch out Lego Land, here we come.