Math @mamaschool

Beck is super-interested in geometry lately.  He observes EVERYTHING and announces what shape it happens to be.  His favorites are rectangles.  He told me last week that if he cut off my head, arms and legs, I'd be a rectangle.  Today he asked me what I'd get if I put two squares together, grinning all the while because he knew the answer was a rectangle!  He had some fun working with long and short pieces of noodles to make squares and rectangles out of the pasta pieces.

He is also really beginning to grasp the concept of "number" and has figured out what it means to add and subtract.  He asks really thoughtful questions about math concepts, and it is so fun to see him develop in his mathematical thinking!

Beck often washes the produce after grocery trips.  I gave him the job of sorting all the produce by type, and he had a fun time working away, taking all the mixed up produce out of the sink and sorting it for me!

Planting Easter Grass at School

My son, the troubadour....

Beck is quite a fan of poetry and we read some of the classics together during our days.  This week he memorized a fun poem, Oooey Gooey by Edwin Larson.  A fun poem and he is so cute reciting it!

He's happiest muddy.

:)

Just doodling....

We're huge Ed Emberly fans around here, and one of Quinn's favorite things to do is sit and doodle along with one of his art books.  I kinda dig it, too!

Beck videos

Beck loves to make "fuffers" for people special to him.  That involves taping a feather onto a stick or piece of paper so the recipient can "fuff themself."  This is a frequent birthday gift for those loved ones in his life!

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He catches some critter every day...and all are loved on and held and air-kissed (they aren't allowed to actually kiss bugs and reptiles because of salmonilla) and brought home in my car.  Then accidentally released.  You'd think I would learn, wouldn't ya.  But I don't.....

outside

This spring I got my garden in and going!  Matt put down weedcloth for me, and we're going to give that a try.  Usually I struggle so hard to keep the weeds from taking over, and when we our out of town on vacation I lose the battle.  So we're trying something new this year.  I made my garden plan and Beck and I started veggie seedlings.  

 We have lots of greens growing, so I can make salads from my own yard!  Which is slightly less magical than it sounds because it involves picking out all the brown/dried pieces and any weeds as I wash it, so it kinda takes a while.

 Of course my wildflower-pickin is going strong now that it's spring!

 We made a new display spot in an old jewelry box for our nature finds!

 Beck loves blowing dandelions and making a wish.  We read a Nicola Davies poem about dandelions and she called them "tiny umbrellas filled with a hundred fluffy parachutes," so now he loves to say he is blowing away the parachutes when he makes his wish.  :)

Quinn, at the top of our friends' awesome fort they built!  It is pretty high, and I managed to fall off the top--Beck started screaming on the other side because he was stuck in the slide, so I tried to jump off the top by the climbing net and got my foot stuck and flipped over onto the ground on my face.  Nice bruises and gashes were no fun.....but I am all healed now.  

Sandy knees make me smile.  

 We cleaned out and fixed up our little mudpie kitchen for another year of play.  Beck wants to climb everything back there.

 We planted bulbs on our patio table!  We also made some seaglass for a project, so there are leftover bits of it in every plant we own.  :)

 Yogurt snack outside.  With Beaux in the middle.

 Exploring the garden at my surgeon's office.  Awesome trees there!

Exploring some new trails!

 Enjoying the amazing nature in our yard.  This is a moth we found one day.

 More dandelions.

We get outside every day, rain or shine.  This mama thinks it is one of the most important parts of our days and an integral part of Mamaschool.  So much learning to be done....and exercise....and fresh air!  Yes, please!!

Just a bit of knitting before bedtime...

Matt and Quinn's Race

Saturday morning we got up eaaaaarly for Matt's company's road race and drove downtown.  We didn't even have to wake Quinn up, she was up herself at 5:40am, bright-eyed and ready to run!

A couple nights before, Q and I had gone to Academy to pick out her running shirt and shorts.  She literally tried on every shirt in the store.  She's kinda picky, that girl!  But we found "the one," and Daddy had helped her pick out running shoes (she usually just wants to wear Keen sandals at all times...) well in advance to get them broken in.  Finding shoes that girl can wear is a big.deal, so Daddy took one for the team there!  They tried on every shoe at Academy.

She also let me put some braids in her hair (she normally doesn't let me touch it) the morning of the race!

Here are the kiddos, at the starting line listening to instructions.  Quinn was running the kids 1K.

Can you see Matt crouched down snapping a picture?!

And then they are OFF!

She did great and ran fast the whole way!!  

Mimi and Papa came to cheer our two on and help wrangle the Little Guy, who was upset he wasn't getting to run.  Mama has that rule, though, you gotta be able to run the whole thing, and he probably can't yet.  Maybe next year!

Now it was time for this guy to get ready!

Right after he finished his 10K:

It was a beautiful morning to be outside and running and both my two did great!  Matt got a great time and Quinn was thrilled about her run.  Next year she says she is running the 5K so she can have a timing chip. :)  Thankful for Mimi and Papa getting up before the sun to come spend the morning with us!!  

Around here....

Bath crayons are a hit....

 Cleaning them up on Monday (bathroom cleaning day)--not so much.

 Lots of babygirl lovin' (which makes my heart smile...)

 Al-fresco breakfast-ing....

Playing early-morning "airplane" with babygirl.

 And a whole lotta librarying....we literally go at least a couple times a week.  C'mon....a whole BUILDING of books...FOR FREE (well, minus our late fees, oops).  Beck actually went up to the librarians and apologized that we don't always bring our books back on time after he helped me pay the late fees online.  We keep stocked up on audiobooks and picture books and chapter books!  All 3 of us keep reading streaks alive, and Daddy has been reading, too, though he bought his book at HPB.

 Getting a lift into the library.