Tag Archives: legos

unschooling

Tuesday

There was computer play and Pokemon watching.

After that there was Lego play, inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle and Pokemon, with songs about Team Rocket, Pikachu, a blue and scarlet suit, girl wizards and of course, ninjas.

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I read the Autumn Story in the Brambly Hedge collection by Jill Barklem to the kids.  We adore the stories and the illustrations both.

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We finished up our celery with our lunch and had just the bottom bit left and I thought, oooh, paint stamping!  So we got out our paint and paper and chose colors.  I like how you can see the xylem in the prints as lighter spots.

They made one together “for fireworks day” with celery stamps and then daisy stamps on top that looked a bit like fireworks.  Then they asked for paintbrushes and began painting with several layers and colors.

We were still working on that when it was time to get ready to go get Lilah’s friend so we decided to paint more tomorrow.  I suggested going on a walk and collecting things to paint and stamp with.  The kids were excited about that idea.

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Lilah and I headed to school to pick up her friend.  When we got home there was Lego play, snack eating, bunk bed climbing and then some play with the calico critters, small furry animal figurines with clothes and accessories who live in the dollhouse and lots and lots of laughing.

 

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unschooling

Wednesday

They watched an episode of Peg + Cat and played with the train set first thing today.

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The kids had a doctor appointment this morning so we hurried through breakfast (and I did my best not to knock over any train track that was meandering under the table and my chair) and took some books to read with us while we waited.  We started a new book: Matilda by Roald Dahl, one of my favorites.  The kids did well with getting immunizations, even though they were both nervous.  The nurse was fantastic at being fast and distracting them so they barely noticed.  I was quite possibly more grateful for her skill than the kids as it’s been really scary for them in the past and there have been many tears and pleadings on their part and worries on my part about having to just hold them down and get through it by force, rather than support and encouragement.

When we got home we finished the first chapter of Matilda.

They made pendants out of Legos to fit on the chains they got at the doctors’ office.

We watched an episode of Cosmos: a Spacetime Odyssey and learned about plants.

There was more train track building and loading the cargo containers up.

Lilah read me How To Babysit A Grandpa by Jean Reagan.

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We drew together.  We took turns adding one thing (a shape, line, pattern, concept) to the paper until we felt done.  Maybe tomorrow we’ll add color!

The kids asked to play Spanish games so they both took turns doing that.  They’re working on color names and days of the week still.

Gavin and Chris and I played a game of Magic the Gathering and Lilah was my consultant and die keeper.

Then it was time to pop some popcorn for Spiral Scouts.

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The three of them headed off to learn about computer coding (well, Chris probably won’t be learning too much, since it’s what he does for a living) while I stayed home to have a little time to myself and do some yoga.

Here they are coding!

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While they were away I put out their pajamas, but I dressed a stuffed pony in Lilah’s and a stuffed panda in Gavin’s.  Lilah had made a sweet request the other day that I put their pajamas on their animals sometime soon (It’s something I’ve done a few times before to amuse us all) so I thought tonight was a perfect opportunity.  When they went into their room there was lots of giggling.

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unschooling

Tuesday

There was computer play time and lots of Lego play time.

We read some poems about weather together, from a collection of many poets, all about weather.  The kids kept asking for more.  This was one of my favorites: I’ll Tell You How The Sun Rose by Emily Dickinson.

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We also looked through and talked about the book A Street Through Time by Anne Millard which illustrates a street (piece of land) in different time periods, explaining some of the differences.  It was fascinating!  Gavin especially liked the Roman town page.  We were all very interested in the different boats and how they changed.  Lilah was interested in the different kinds of shops in different time periods and couldn’t quite get her head around the idea of no shops in the very earliest time period shown.

We went to the library to return books and choose new ones.  They enjoyed the ice cavern reading room on this visit.  On the way home, Gavin read three or four new books and Lilah read one or two.

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Lilah and I picked up her friend for a playdate.  They were very excited since it had been about two weeks since they last saw each other.  There was Lego playing and dressing up as ninjas, flamingos, Green Lantern and just in fancy dresses.

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unschooling

Monday

I am finally back to blogging after a long break for a trip to California where we visited family, camped and explored beaches.

It was such a good time, but it’s good to be back at home and back to our routine.

This morning Gavin has built his own Lego iPhone and immediately got dressed so he could put it in his pocket.

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They worked on other Lego creations together.

We read a book about famous paintings and then a chapter of Searching For Dragons.

There was more Lego imagining.  Gavin read a catalog that came in the mail while Lilah spent some time loving on our cat.

Gavin worked on an email to his grandparents about Halloween fun.

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We all played several games of Phantom Society, changing who was playing as ghosts and who was playing as ghost hunters.  We’re playing this one quite a bit these days.

Before long it was time to go – Lilah and I to gymnastics and Gavin and Dad to soccer practice.  I heard that Gavin practiced headers and had a 5 on 5 mini-game.  Lilah worked on bridges, cartwheels, handstands.  She enjoys it so much!  This session there are about 9 kids and they split in two for most of the class so she gets much more attention and the atmosphere is much more relaxed.

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unschooling

Wednesday

Gavin began with the new Lego Creator game on the computer.  Lilah played a princess Lego game.

There was Lego play off the computer, with our blocks.  “Up, up and awaaaaaay!”

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There was a disagreement about playing girl characters in their lego play so we had a long conversation about boys and girls and what the difference is, in real life and in tv and movies.  Gavin and I talked about how he likes actual girls, but not girl characters most of the time.  Many girl characters from tv shows and movies are not very appealing to me either.  I hope he and sister can grow to see the difference between actual girls, who are strong and funny and powerful and silly and smart and talented and awesome just like boys are, and caricatures of femininity that are so often full of inability to act or make decisions, and who inevitably need rescuing.  Ugh!

We dug out some good books we own that we haven’t enjoyed in a while and read together and separately:  Monster Hug by David Ezra Stein and Polka Bats and Octopus Slacks by Calef Brown.  I also read to them from Searching For Dragons by Patricia Wrede while they finished up their lunch.

There was Lego store making for  buying spaghetti dinner supplies, with cashiers and costs and change and bags.

Lilah did some drawing.

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We did some Spanish practice together – clothes and question words this time.

We measured, cut and glued the torso for Gavin’s costume together, glued on some scrunched up newspaper for hair on the head and then we cut newspaper strips and began paper mache on the head and a tiny bit on the edges of the torso.  We still need to cut eye holes, arm holes, do a second round of paper mache, paint it and find a shirt and pants that will work with our color scheme!!  I don’t have any photos of the paper mache process because Chris wasn’t home at the time.  Maybe tomorrow we can get some when we do another round.

After de-gluing ourselves, there was dinner and books and songs and cuddles.

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unschooling

Monday

We began with computer time for both kids.

After breakfast we picked up my sister for a walk up City Creek Canyon.  We parked right under a chestnut tree so we spent some time collecting chestnuts, mainly for my sister to take to her group of after school kids to check out.  Chestnuts are so beautiful when they first come out of their prickly shells.  We saw empty shells, old crushed bits, and a few shiny chestnuts.  We took a few home too and the kids loved opening them and admiring the swirls on their shining surfaces.

We walked up and then headed down by the stream for bark floating, mushroom finding, log bridge crossing, path finding.

Up a bit we saw water skaters and a small fish in the creek.  We took a different path and found what Gavin called a teepee so we explored that and then added to it.

We headed onward and found ourselves back by the stream but on the wrong side so we built a bridge out of large sticks and small logs and a stone or two to cross.  We saw milkweed seeds coming out of their now brown pods.  We saw small butterflies and chickadees and a turkey vulture.  It smelled wonderful there and is always beautiful.  The possibilities to explore are endless which is just such a wonderful, exciting feeling.

After lunch we cleaned up the Legos all over the floor, sorting them into our three bins: regular blocks, itty bitty “special” blocks and big “special” blocks.  We decided we need to have a family conversation about how to handle Legos in a way we can all feel comfortable with so they are not spread across the entirety of the living room shared space and upsetting me and getting lost or broken but so that the kids have space to play and keep things together.

Gavin did some magazine browsing.

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Then it was time for Lilah and I to collect her friend from school.  We spent a bit of time on the school playground and then came home to play with ponies, Magformers, stuffed animals and Lilah’s bobble head cats.  There was cat carrier building, shopping, hair-do admiring.

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After Lilah’s friend said good-bye, we practiced some Spanish – food and plurals today.

Then Gavin and I headed to the park on our bikes to do loops around the parking lot and then cross the park to the other parking lot and do loops there. It was just after sunset and the sky was still lit but the ground was beginning to gray.  We talked about how there are several words for this time of day: twilight, dusk, evening, the gloaming.

 

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unschooling

Monday

There was coolmathgames.com and lego building.

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We met my sister for a tour of her roommates beehives and then a walk along the Jordan River.

Then we read a chapter of Wise Child.

We found a mouse in the house so we set up a humane trap to catch it and relocate it.  We listened to it’s scritchings and scrappings behind our microwave as we waited for it to check out the yummy peanut butter and cracker we put out for it.

We played with stuffed animals and legos more, then Lilah and I headed off to pick up her friend.

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When we got home the three kids made up their own version of The Lego Movie, then played mom and kids, then played with our marble maze.

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There was some gymnastics practice and giant ball play.

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I enjoyed listening to an explanation of what being unconscious means and then enjoyed a demonstration more.

“What would you like for dinner tonight, kids?”  “Come dance with me and I’ll tell you.”  “Okay.”  “Now spin me around three times.  Okay, I’ll have rice and tofu and apples.”  “Dance with me too, Mama and I’ll tell you what I want.”

We watched this video about a knot:

Then we wanted to watch (and dance and sing to!) another favorite by Ylvis before bed:

It was a good day.

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unschooling

Tuesday

There was some computer play for Gavin while Lilah was still sleeping and then The Lego Movie.

Gavin read the latest National Geographic during breakfast and Lilah read her All Aboard book she cut out and put together from her Highlights magazine yesterday.

There was lego building and imagining and some balance beam walking and cartwheels and hand stands on the tumbling mat.

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I read some Dealing with Dragons to them.  After lunch they asked for more, so we finished it and they immediately ran to look for the next in the series by Patricia Wrede.

There was more lego play.

Lilah read In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak aloud.

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We played a game of Blokus.

Then there was more balance beam and mat play.

Gavin left to swim and play with a friend while Lilah and I played a game of Fluxx and then built part of a new computer desk set up.

Then Lilah and I headed to her gymnastics class for candlesticks and cartwheels and handstands.

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Gavin came home and worked on assembling more desk furniture with Dad.

It was fun.

 

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unschooling

Thursday

They started on with some Pokemon and some My Little Pony watching.

There was lego creating.  Gavin built robots and Lilah discussed primary colors she was choosing to build with.

We baked oatmeal cranberry chocolate chip muffins.  They turned on the oven, read the recipe, measured, stirred, set up the pan and even tried our mortar and pestle to grind up some cardamom seeds!

Then there was more lego imaginative play.  “There was a black-out!”  “He bumped into her house and crashed into the window.”  (Indescribable sound effects here.)  “And then Nya came out to help.”  “Yeah…”

I invited the kids to join me in making a color wheel out of legos.   We dug out lots of colored blocks and tried to place them according to where they belong between the primary colors.  Gavin chose to make a white/light grey/dark grey/black gradient to accompany our color wheel.

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Lilah made a hammock out of a scarf tied to the table and rolled a ball inside and then gave her bear a nice place to swing and nap.

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Then Gavin and I picked up his friend from school and came home to play “LEGOS!”  They got out our lego board game Heroica sets and put them all together.  Chips and salsa were eaten as bosses were defeated and weapons were earned.  Then there was a Magic The Gathering game, followed by an epic tale of stuffed animal surprise attacks and spying.

After playtime with Gavin’s friend, we ate and ended our evening with Dad reading some Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan before bed.  We’re in the middle of the fourth book now.

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unschooling

Wednesday

There was ninja character play with legos.  “Wheeeeoooooo, wheeeeeoooooo, ninja alarm!”  “And then Kai sat here to control his spaceship.”  “But he can’t see if he sits there!”  “Well, but it’s much easier to control it if he’s sitting here.”  “Mmmhmm.”

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We spent some more time on the puppy puzzle.  Then we played a game where I draw something and make a speech bubble with an unfinished statement and the kids fill it in.  Today it was a sasquatch speaking to us.  The kids like it plus I get to draw!

Then the kids built with legos while I read a few chapters of Juniper.

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Lilah looked through a National Geographic magazine, pored over the pictures.

Lilah and I played a round of Rat-A-Tat Cat and then all three of us played the next one.

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Next we were off to get a few new fall clothes for the kids and made a nice long stop to play in the fountains.

We came home and ate and then headed off to a co-ed whole family Spiral Scouts meeting to see what that’s like and if we’d like to join.  It was fun and good to be around a bunch of kids of varied ages including a few friends we know from school last year.  We enjoyed it and we’ll definitely be going again.

 

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