Mariposa Academy Homeschool

In which I just post all the thoughts that are spinning ’round my head…

Yesterday I:
-sewed three onesies into shirts (I hate onesies because they don’t fit well over cloth dipes, and they’re a pain with ECing)
-resewed a sling from a gathered shoulder to a hot dog shoulder (more comfortable)
-searched online for haircut pics so I can look like a cool punk rock mama instead of a low-rent soccer mom
-made a haircut appointment at a nice salon instead of the usual $15 walk-in chain (remind me to thank Adrian again for the giftcard he got me two Valentine’s Days ago)
-homeschooled most of Llani’s scheduled subjects with hardly any backtalk, drama, or whining
-washed two loads of laundry plus a load of diapers, and did some other random cleaning

Today I:
-searched again for haircut pics
-argued with Llani, got her to do math, and decided to let it go so I could have some peace
-wiped Goosey’s snotty nose a bunch of times
-thanked God that Goosey was okay when she fell off my bed
-Didn’t get out to vote like I’d planned

So, bit of a less successful day. That’s okay. Tomorrow will be better. Right now Goosey is asleep on my lap and I am drinking coffee. I am drinking coffee and thinking about hairstyles and eye exams and knitting and sewing. I need to make an appointment for an eye exam so I can get new glasses. I have not been wearing my glasses for the past six months, which is ridiculous. They were already pretty scratched up, but after being put down here and there and then shoved into my bag when I was in labor with Luz, they got so messed up that I see better without them. I bought a pair of vintage cat-eye frames on Ebay forever ago, and I am finally going to get glasses made up (yay Costco!). Between that and the kickass haircut I’m planning, I will finally get my groove back.

I’m feeling good. Really good. Last weekend we went shopping and spent too much and have no money until Friday, but that’s okay. We have everything we need. We bought good food, we bought vitamins, diapers and wipes, and whatever other random things we needed… socks and undies for Llani, socks for Goosey (which she really needed), and a super-cute dress for Goosey, too. I even put aside my No Logos/Characters rule and bought Llani a packet of Hannah Montana socks because I knew she’d go ga-ga over them. And she did. I got a good amount of sewing in yesterday, and I didn’t ruin anything. I really love sewing, even though I’m a complete beginner and don’t even know how to use a pattern. I’m going to ask my sister to teach me how, and I’m going to sew more often. Not only do I enjoy the end result, but I enjoy the act of sewing itself, and I am always in a better mood when I’ve spent some time sewing. The same with knitting. I really need to go to a yarn store. I have like three different projects that I want to get started on, and no yarn for them. My hand miss knitting. Maybe I’ll make a few coffee cup cozies out of scrap yarn, just to have a project.

Life is good.

There’s my Goosey girl up there. She’s sitting on her little potty in the back of our car. I know I have a mother’s bias, but isn’t she the cutest thing ever? Also, doesn’t her colorful outfit and smiley face brighten up my blog? Because my blog is boring. No, no, that’s okay, don’t try to reassure me, because I know it is. It needs pictures! So here we go:

Homeschooling: the snuggly way to learn.

We start ‘em early at Casa Mariposa!

School inside a “tent” on the lower bunk bed.

And we close with another potty pic. And I’m pretty sure she’s making the potty sign with her right hand.

Lately, I’ve been feeling like a failure at Elimination Communication. I wasn’t recognizing any “gotta go!” signs, and I’d had a few days where Luz wasn’t peeing in her potty at all. That all changed yesterday. I don’t know whether it was a turning point or just a fluke, but it was a pretty damn amazing day.

Yesterday afternoon she was crying for no apparent reason. I felt her diaper and it was dry, so I put her on the potty. She immediately stopped crying and peed. It was as though she’d had to go but was waiting for the potty. Wow! Of course, it could have been a simple coincidence. But a little while later, another dry diaper, another pee in the potty. And she was holding her little fist in the air, like she was trying to make the potty sign. Whenever I saw her doing that, I put her on the potty, did the sign, and said, “Peepee? Peepee? (FYI, whenever I say that I put her on the potty, that includes signing “potty” and saying “peepee” or “poopoo”). Well, she pooped on the potty twice yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday evening we went to temple for a Sukkot dinner and service. I pottied Luz right before we left. A short while after we got there, I took her to the restroom. Her diaper was dry. I held her over the toilet, and she peed. Twice more, when she seemed a bit fussy, we went to the restroom, I took off a perfectly dry diaper, and Luz peed in the toilet.

Today I am trying to stay on top of the whole process, to tune into any signs she might give and also to be aware of time passing so I don’t let her go too long without a potty opportunity.

My kids are awesome. Do you know what they did this morning? They surprised me by cleaning my room. They made my bed, cleared off the dresser, straightened up the shoes under the dresser, picked up a bunch of stuff, and even stacked some boxes I had lying around.

They asked me to surprise them (hee!) by cleaning their room, so I just did that. Really, it wasn’t bad at all because my sister did a major cleaning in there last week, and the kids have been keeping it pretty clean since then. Right now they are “surprising” me again by cleaning the livingroom. Did I mention that they’re awesome?

Something else surprising: know what today is? It’s Luz’s half birthday. Yep, my baby is six months old today. How did that happen? Wasn’t it just a few days ago that she was born? What happened to my teeny tiny newborn? Now I have this big baby who can mostly sit up by herself (she topples after a few minutes, so we have to keep a pillow behind her, but she’s getting better every day), is starting to babble, and can technically be started on solid foods, according to the guidelines of all the major health organizations. I think I’ll wait a bit longer on that, though. She’s thriving on breastmilk and I see no reason to rush the solids.

Onto the schooly stuff, since this is, after all, a homeschooling blog. School is going great. We are on Week Nine of Sonlight. I’m pretty sure this is the longest we’ve ever stuck to one curriculum or philosophy. We are still loving it and Llani’s doing well, so I guess we can officially declare Sonlight a success. We have tweaked a few more things. I have stopped asking her the recommended questions about the readers and read-alouds. I just let her read or listen to the books and enjoy them. She’s a fantastic reader, and just devours books. I don’t want to take any of the joy out of something she loves so much. I don’t want to turn reading into a chore. A lot of the questions are also simple factual questions to make sure the child is reading and paying attention. I hate that kind of question, and frankly I’m a little disappointed that Sonlight has them. If there’s a point I think is particularly salient or interesting, I’ll discuss it with Llani, but otherwise I just leave well enough alone.

I’ve given up on the “Diamond Notes” composition curriculum that Sonlight uses. It just seems contrived and it seems to have lots of busywork just to teach concepts like writing a paragraph with a main point and supporting details. I’ll have to find another way of teaching composition, but I think it can wait for a while. She is just lately starting to write more and I want to take it slow and not put her off writing altogether. Speaking of writing, she is almost finished with her handwriting book. It’s one of her least favorite subjects, and we have agreed that once she’s done with this book we won’t move onto the next one. She will do weekly copywork (which we’ve been skipping so far) to keep in practice, but no more daily handwriting work. Maybe next year, when she has stronger fine motor skills, she’ll start the next book.

As for non-school stuff… things are good. The kids all had some sort of virus, one after the other getting sick in succession, and then I had it, but we’re all healthy now. We’re worried about the economy and about what the Wachovia mess will mean for Charlotte, but Adrian’s doing well at his job so we’re not personally touched by the whole situation at this point, thank God. We’re going through round 15,479 of “we don’t want to stay in Charlotte but since we’re here let’s look for a house.” And I’m actually considering the possibility that I could build a happy life here. Well, it’s fall. I’m always much more positive about Charlotte when it’s not summer. And I’ve been noticing more diversity these last few months. We’ve been here four years and it’s remarkable how much more diverse this city has gotten in such a short time– enough of a change that, if trends continue, staying here might not be the worst thing in the world for the kids. I’ve also noticed something about myself, something so simple and obvious that I can’t believe I never realized all these years. I am really down on Charlotte when I hole up at home and don’t see friends. During periods when I’m more social and I get out and spend time with friends, I am much more positive about this place.