School Update

 I'm supposed to be studying right now, but, well...

here we are.

Let's talk about school stuff.  I'm five-ish months into going back to university for a post-degree professional certificate in publishing.  Everything about this has been a challenge, and also completely different than it was the first time I did it - single, childless, and living in a dorm I did not have to clean or cook in.  In a lot of ways this time around has been easier.  Or, maybe easier is the wrong word.  It's more like getting onto a bike again after, say, 50 years of not riding a bike.  It was, and is, not smooth riding.  BUT it isn't like starting at square one, either.

The first thing I had to learn how to do, besides the weeks it took me to figure out how to register and pay for the actual course (this was...not intuitive) was to navigate an entirely on-line learning environment.  Not fun, do not recommend.

I wouldn't have previously said I was a Luddite but this Brightspace program was a p.i.t.a.  The first course I registered for was a sort of 'grammar refresher'.  Essentially you were supposed to take an online test to figure out how advanced your grammatical skills were, and if you got below a certain amount they 'highly recommended' that you take this refresher course first.  Friends, I couldn't even finish the test.  Assuming that that likely meant I was a moron and should begin with the remedial program, I registered there.  I was a little surprised; I mean, I do have a degree in English, and English is my mother tongue, and I do homeschool my children, and I have read thousands of books, and I did go through Khan Academy's grammar course Just To Make Sure.  But alright, online test!  You're the boss!

The first class was a disaster.

I can't even tell you what went wrong, frankly.  I did all the required readings, I posted all of the required postings, I studied and made notes, I asked lots of questions, and I was certain I understood what was going on, but every test score was mediocre.  It was very disheartening!  A few times in the course I emailed my prof to ask if there was something else I could be doing, maybe some key I was missing here, but there was nothing.  So, I just stumbled along and eventually finished it and took my Christmas break.

Which was like a month long!  Holy cow, were breaks always this long???  I was bored stiff.  Man, my last class was something like the 12th of December, and then my first class in the new term was the EIGHTEENTH of January.  I'm sorry, but that's insanity.  C'mon.  No one needs over a month off when you've only been going to school for three and a half months and there was a long weekend in there aaaaaaand a reading week.  

Anyway, after all that nonsense I went ahead and registered for class #2 - which is a sort of trade publishing market overview.  I'm starting week four of that, and so far I can't tell you if I'm doing any better than I did in my previous course because again...I thought I was doing okay there, too.  But I will tentatively say I appear to not have made any glaring public errors or, like, emailed anyone a picture of my toe, so things are good!  I'll know better how well I'm doing when I take my first quiz at the end of this week.

I told myself that if I was going to pay such gaspingly large amounts of money and spend such obscenely large amounts of time working, then I was going to squeeze this certificate for every last drop.  And that I think I've succeeded with.  There's an online job/internship posting board, and if I think there's any chance at all that I could apply for something that gets posted, then I do it.  I don't even care - I'm getting my name out.  The school was offering free career counselling, so fantastic, I signed up.  Yes, I DO want to get emails about continuing education students' associations!  Thanks!

But probably the most successful venture has been joining the school magazine.  In fact, I even have an article being published, which I will talk about in a later post.  It's all been very...eye-opening.  I feel very old a lot of the time, let me tell you.  Another student writer did an article about the fall of Youtube and I was like...Youtube is uncool?  What?  Also then I went on Youtube to look up TikTok videos because I'll be d*mned if I'm signing up for TikTok, and did you know that teenagers dye their hair half one colour and half another?  And I thought the peace sign whilst sticking your tongue out looked stupid.  Man I'm old.  

Wednesday

Discovered I have a crazy number of cloth diapers, oh my goodness!  Enough to send to Cloth For A Cause, give a starter kit to my sister who is expecting her first, and keep a stack for myself to use on Clara. 

A further note on Cloth For A Cause:  this is an amazing Canadian charity that offers cloth diapering families a place to donate their old, new, extra or whatever diapers.  They can use almost everything, as this post on their blog shows.

This break from the computer at home has been good for us.  The amount of work I got done today was amazing - the bathroom cleaned, the bedding washed, bacon and eggs for breakfast...even a trip to a science group for Samuel today.  I'm not going to deny it, I miss the contact, the social aspect of Facebook, and I miss being able to work throughout the day on a blog post, but I couldn't allow myself to keep getting sucked into playing around on Facebook when I was home with the children - and already I have seen the rewards.

On another note, some of the books we've been reading these days...



Amazon link



Amazon link



Amazon link



We're off to a coffee evening tonight to meet some of our neighbours - well, at least one of us is.  I will not be bringing the children, so David and I might switch up.

Have a great night.

Homeschool Preschool Update

Alright, then.

For the past two months Samuel has been attending enrolled in a local Christian preschool.  They meet twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 8:45 until 11:45.  I chose an outside-of -the-home preschool for many reasons, but the major ones were that I felt that Samuel wasn't getting all the fun opportunities his peers were since boring old mama was at home with the baby, and also that that same boring old mama needed a boring old break from a toddler every once in a while.  Three hours of fun for the boy and three hours of 'kind of a break' for me seemed like a good idea.  If you want to read the whole angsty 'am I doing the right thing' post, you can find it HERE.

Fast forward two months.  Samuel has missed several days of preschool.  He's been sick, I've been sick, he's been sick again, my Bible study group meets at the same time on Tuesdays, we've gotten called in to pick him up early, etc. etc.  Considering the amount we paid to enroll him, this just cannot continue.  And since we have no ability to discern when or if someone is going to get ill, and I'm dedicated to my group until the end of March at the earliest, it simply isn't a good idea for us to continue.

Now, Samuel seemed to like it.  There was one awful day where he screamed and didn't want me to leave, but for the most part he has seemed happy with the decision to attend.  But we haven't reached the 'super excited to go to preschool' level.  It's an early start, and getting everyone up and fed and what have you, and then out in the cold to walk to preschool is tough enough.  Then the hand washing, signing in, carrying the heavy baby up the stairs, back down, pushing the stroller home and then going back in a few hours to pick him up is, I'm going to say it, draining.  Is it a break for me?  Well, sort of.  I don't have Samuel at home for a few hours, but I still have the baby here and I'm required to work to get my three hours 'free time' so how much is actually a break I don't know.

*****

The past two months of preschool have taught me some stuff though.  First of all, Samuel likes to do things outside of the house, and thrives on social interaction.  Secondly, having seen and heard about what they do at preschool, I am completely convinced that the 'curriculum' is something I can replicate at home.  Thirdly, when I say I 'need a break', I mean an actual break.  Where both children are somewhere that is not with me.  I'm not sure how this is going to happen but it brings me to number four, which is that I clearly need to utilize outside sources of assistance and entertainment rather than relying solely on myself to provide all of these things for myself and my children.

So, in short, this preschool experiment was not a total wash.  It cost us money, yes, but it taught me some lessons.  I'm pretty convinced it taught me more than Samuel, actually!

The issues I mentioned way back in that angsty post haven't gone away, but I do feel as though a hiatus from them has helped me to clarify the problems and come up with possible solutions to them.  I have a preschool curriculum selected to start in September now, and in the meantime I have a free curriculum that I've found online to help me focus my days more.  I've unearthed a local homeschooling group and I'm hopeful that they will provide us with outings.  In that vein I've also committed to doing more field trip type activities with Samuel.  David is more than happy to take both children when he's home from work if I want to go outside and do something by myself, and I'm taking him up on that offer more now and going running with my running group, or knitting with some friends at the local yarn store.

This summer we intend to enroll Samuel in a 3 year old soccer team, simply for the joy of it, but I think that for now, our experiement with outside education is done.  And I'm happy with how it went, and with how its turned out.  Samuel is happy to be home, and I can't wait to get started on this new curriculum. 

Tuesdays

I like to add some subtle spice to my life by waking up only minutes before I have to get out the door, which is what I did today.  Banana bread was tossed in the general direction of the offspring, everyone seemed clothed, and we were off.  I did my best to convince Samuel that he wanted to come with Clara and I to Bible study, but he refused and insisted on preschool.  So to preschool we went, where I slipped out the door quickly before the teacher realized that I hadn't lined up with my son to go through the exhausting 'signing in' ritual.  Honestly, the children are supposed to sign their names on a sheet, and Samuel can't sign his name at all, and so it turns into a big colouring contest and he scribbles all over everything and possessively grabs the markers.  So we could do THAT, or mama could just slip out the door and everyone else could sign their names and Samuel could just go play with fake food in the corner or whatever he does at preschool for three hours.

I know which option I'd go for.

Then I struggled through the ridiculously unplowed streets with a stroller best suited for summer saunters on the promenade, and made it only super late to Bible study, instead of incredibly late.  By the end of the study I seriously was thinking 'if only I could sleep at the church, just for a little bit', but it was not to be, and Clara and I struggled back out into the unplowed wilderness and went to the grocery store.  I intended to buy pita bread, and that was all, but ended up spending almost $11 on 'stuff'.  Some hotdogs, some rice, just things that we'll use and will definately make meals a bit easier until grocery day,  but that I didn't need to buy.

Out again into the snow to return to preschool and pick up Samuel.  When I got there his teacher told me he'd had serious stomach issues and had been complaining of being hot, so she tried to reach me at home (no luck) then called my husband at work.  David had then tried to reach me at the church (no luck), and then called the Bible study leader who was also not with me.  Then David, unable to get me, had to leave work early to go pick up Samuel, who to all appearances was perfectly fine when he got there.  I got home as quickly as I could to find Samuel happily lying on the sofa, and David was patiently waiting for me to arrive so that he could go back to work. 

Once the excitement died down a bit we had lunch, and then the children were put to bed with various degrees of success (Clara, not so much.  She'd napped in the stroller, you see.) and I had my very first cup of tea of the day.  Tuesdays are awful.


We both detest Tuesdays.

 And you know what?  Since today was already not going so well, I figured I might as well clean my oven.

Blech. 

I tried all my usual baking soda and vinegar combinations, and then my standard bathroom cleaner option of boiling vinegar and dish soap in a 50/50 ratio, but nothing really got the oven super clean.  It's definately cleaner, but it isn't sparkling, and I want sparkling.  My friend Anna suggested I check out Norwex products...so I might try that next.  And has anyone ever tried Shaklee scouring paste?  They claim it will clean off your oven really well.

Anyway, the oven is clean *enough* to pass muster, and it will at least not smoke or anything while we use it.  In the meantime, I need to figure out a better cleaning option for it.

And now, it's time to drag my sleepy self into the kitchen again to do something for supper.  We're having pork souvlaki wraps and stuffed peppers.  I'm going to time myself and see if I can't prep everything in under 10 minutes.  Ciao.

At Home

I have come down with the Norwalk virus.  When asked yesterday how I knew what it was, well, I answered that some things you just know.  You 'just know' that the pregnancy test is going to be positive.  You 'just know' you didn't put enough yeast in that bread.  You 'just know' you aren't going to get that job.  And frankly, you 'just know' that you have the Norwalk virus.  The signs are, um, fairly hard to miss.

Anyway, because of this, I've turned into the world's laziest person.  I'm feeding the children cookies as a meal option.  And I'm being as contrary as I can be - my morning included a hot bath in a dark bathroom with the window wide open to let the cold air in, which was my solution to feeling both hot and cold at the same time.  Strangely, it worked well.

So, in the spirit of random contrariness, welcome to everything I've been thinking about while cloistered in the bathroom or groaning in pain in bed since yesterday afternoon.

I finally managed to get a decent picture of Caterpillar.  He lived a short life with us, sadly.  I'm not sure what happened at the end but he had clearly lost the use of a few legs and when I went to check on him next he had passed away.  So, thus ends our experience with attempting to rescue a February caterpillar.

Samuel and I spent some time this week working with buttons.  Sorting them into piles, arranging them by colour, etc.  He loved it, and it's an activity I'll definately pull out again.  The only problem is that he can only play with them when Clara isn't awake.

In other news, we're 'growing' carrot tops in our kitchen.

And Samuel and David's birdhouse, which they have carefully nailed and glued together using a kit we purchased (their very first father and son woodworking project) has been painted.  All that's left is attaching the chain to hang it by and filling with seed.

Last week's big exciting task was this ^ one.  Shampooing the carpets.  Well, actually all I managed was our bedroom, the hallway upstairs and a quick run over the livingroom.  But all the weird 'diaper changes that didn't go as planned' and cat vomit and blue freezie marks are no more.  This makes me feel like such a productive housekeeper.

Random Wintery Pictures...



Clara and Samuel on the way home from church.



Playing with the fish eye effect on my camera.

I had a horrific nightmare last night that I somehow felt I needed to get a job, and so I got one at Sears.  And halfway through the first day I realized I didn't want to work at Sears, and then went through a crisis about whether or not to quit.  I'd tell you more but it doesn't get much more interesting than that.  Although there were bad guys.

Somehow that nightmare has worried me all day.  Other things I've worried about included:  I can't find my mailbox key.  Samuel threw up last night and maybe he's getting sick.  I don't spend enough quality time with my children.  I haven't washed my hair in two days and people are going to start to tell soon.  Maybe I should go back to school.  The compost bin that has frozen solid instead of decomposing like the composting website said it would.  There are tire tracks and footprints outside my house that must have happened since I got up but no one knocked on my door - who was it?

I think the worrying has to do with my plummeting blood sugar levels.  I get dizzy when I turn my head to look at something.  My mother's helper is coming tonight and I am going to get her to play with Clara upstairs while I take Samuel to the basement and do some laundry.  We can talk and I'll feel better about having spent quality time with him while in the coolest part of the house so my body stops feeling like it's on fire.  And my helper and Clara love each other so they'll be fine upstairs.  Plus the excessive vomit laundry will be kept at a dull roar, so that's good.

Caterpillar

Please welcome the newest addition to our family.

Caterpillar the Caterpillar (we're very keen on original names).

We found him on the way home from the grocery store.  Considering he's a fully grown very much alive caterpillar on February 1st in bitterly cold New Brunswick weather (and the two drops from a great height he survived on the trip home) I'd say he has a good chance of survival in his nice and cozy spaghetti sauce jar.

Samuel, needless to say, is absolutely riveted.

I, on the other hand, have spent the past hour trying to talk myself down off the ledge of "what if this caterpillar is some kind of rare TOXIC caterpillar that is going to excrete toxins onto all of us and especially me of course.  And then somehow I will absorb the toxins and pass them to Clara when she's nursing and she'll die.  And I'll die, which goes without saying, but first I will break out in a horrific rash and go to the hospital in anaphylactic shock and no one will be able to figure out what is causing it because WHO EXPECTS A TOXIC CATERPILLAR IN FEBRUARY??"

Homeschool Preschool Weekly Wrap Up

I promised more pictures this week, and here you go.

Media

We watched some educational videos this week, which I'd like to share with you in case you also need your child to stop clinging to you and go sit on the sofa for 15 minutes oh my gosh I can't breathe.

First up:

Terrible, terrible cover aside, this is a great movie.  It was filmed in 1996, but despite this the cinematography is breath taking.  A close up look at the world of insects set to a very very minimal dialogue and some classical music.  Samuel was riveted.

Next:

So, I haven't seen anything else in the Disney nature series, but this one was certainly a hit with Samuel.  He asked 'what's that?' dozens of times.  The visuals were amazing.

Service Projects

On Wednesday we snuck over to an elderly neighbour's house and sanded her steps and walkway without her knowing.  Although I knew Samuel's idea of 'spreading the sand' consisted of little piles, I still tried to let him do a lot of it in hopes that he would be involved more in the project.  We really need to do more of these service-type activities.


Other notes

Samuel missed both days of preschool this past week.  The first time because of a scheduling conflict with my weekly Bible study and the second because of our never-ending illness.  On the other hand, I have finally made contact with a homeschooling group in town!  They have gym nights once a week, host parties and meet ups and do field trips together.  I'm really excited to get added to their email list and try and get some more outings into our schedule.

We're also making some headway in the potty learning department again.  Oh, please let this be it.

Preschool Weekly Wrap Up

I haven't been doing a great job taking photos specifically relating to homeschool preschool activities that we're doing these days.  A touch of guilt over having Samuel enrolled twice a week at an outside preschool, prehaps, coupled by a baby and a perpetual low grade cold and a busy busy calendar.  Maybe.  But I do hope to pick up the snapshots now and get back into the groove.

In that vein, here's a not very good recap of our week.  What I can remember of it.

Coins and Water Play:

My husband brought home some especially awful looking pennies from work to illustrate to Samuel how vinegar works on copper.

The result after a few days of sitting was bright green water and fairly shiny coins.

We collected our other spare change from around the kitchen and had a coin bathing party.  A little bowl of soapy water, a scrub brush, and a happy toddler with a pile of clean coins.

Samuel worked on fine motor skills in scrubbing and stirring the coins and manipulating the bar of soap.  He and I discussed how the names of the coins are different from the pictures on them (a difficult concept) and I suggested we sort them into piles according to their type.  We couldn't quite manage that - sorting isn't a task we've done enough of I think.  I might try more sorting and matching activities in the next week or so.  We also did some comparison work:  which coin was shinier than the other?  Which coin is bigger?  Which coin is darker?  Etc.

Nature Walks

We went on one of these!  Ack!  In my defense it was terribly cold this week and I was also caring for another toddler for two days, but still.  Only one nature walk.  Samuel and I spent about half an hour in our backyard (which is fairly large and includes a lightly wooded area).  I don't have any pictures, but here's a list of what we did.

- Used sticks to pretend to fish and also to write in the snow.
- Followed a set of animal tracks through the bushes.  Then followed our own footprints.
- Played Hide and Go Seek behind the trees.
- Pointed out lichens, mosses and fungi around us.
- Dug through the damp leaves around the base of the tree and found bugs.

Group Activities

Wow, an especially bad week for group activities as well.  Samuel went to his 6 hours of weekly preschool, which was good because there wasn't a lot else I had planned.  We made it out to one playgroup on Friday for just over an hour as well.  Samuel refused to attend the Sunday School activities at the church we were visiting.

Reading and Christian Education

We didn't completely suck at these categories at least.  We did an activity with number and letter blocks, Samuel 'read' stories to his little sister and to us, and over breakfast I've been reading a Bible story to both children.  We did that twice this week - and both times it was Genesis.  Samuel's favourite books depend on the situation:  for naptime he likes to lie in bed with David and read Green Eggs and Ham, books about construction equipment and pirates.  David recently introduced another book to his repetoire:

Other Activities

We introduced two new puzzles into rotation!  A 30 piece floor puzzle borrowed from a toy lending library, and a 24 piece holographic puzzle picked up at the local thrift store.  Both have been big hits.  24 pieces seems to be right where Samuel is these days in doing a puzzle on his own.

So that's about it.  I promise next week I will have taken pictures and actually done something a bit more structured!