Having a day off at home with sick kids is finally giving me time to catch up on our activities for the past month (I can't believe how fast the time has flown!).

NT has been faithfully watching PBS's Cyberchase each morning and picking up lots of math concepts that are actually geared toward 8-12 year-olds. He loves it. We've almost finished a 1st grade math workbook that I picked up at a bookstore for my own comfort. He hates every minute of it since it's boring and "too much like school", but I can get him to breeze through it during Lizzy's dance classes if I promise to play cards or Connect 4 after only a few pages.

NT has been going through library books like crazy. He has 40-60 checked out from Hennepin County and St. Paul libraries at any one time. Subjects are all over the map--his interests are broad: Tropical fish, chickens, Big Foot, Loch Ness Monster, Bermuda Triangle, Lost City of Atlantis, reptiles, inventions and inventors, acid rain, volcanoes, airplanes, building wooden toys, making space ships and boats, reptiles, UFOs, the Trojan Horse...the list goes on and on!

He has watched DVDs on a similar range of subjects, including reptiles, underwater sea creatures, the mechanics of roller coasters, evolution, the history of the chicken, rockets, and more.

We started seeds indoors in late March and have been watching them grow for weeks. We started seeds outdoors at Dowling in the past week and are keeping our fingers crossed! We discovered an active robin's nest near our patio and found a woolly bear caterpillar while uncovering perennials in the yard. The kids filled the pool yesterday for the first time this spring.

Now that the weather is nice, I've been printing off maps for NT to lead us on walks to "mysterious destinations" around the neighborhood, he's been doing all kinds of science experiments in the back yard, and we've been meeting friends at the park, zoo, and at play group.

NT and John have been busy with Cub Scouts. Most recently NT competed at the regional level in the Pinewood Derby and the Raptor Center visited their last pack meeting. John took NT to visit a television station downtown and NT was just awarded his Tiger Cub badge!

Lizzy has been taking three dance classes a week and NT continues with his ceramics class. We took a family trip to Duluth where the kids spent hours in the pool, threw endless rocks into Lake Superior, chased seagulls, and visited the Maritime Museum. The kids have been building endless forts in the living room and consistently inventing all kinds of contraptions with LEGOs and Magna Tiles.

NT and Grampy went to The Works' "Circuit Play" program in March, and the kids and I toured the State Capital last week with a huge homeschool group. We built airplanes at Leondardo's Basement and attended a "Motion Mayhem" presentation at the Wescott Library put on by the Science Museum. The kids have been swimming at the indoor beach with Grampy and Maria, and NT went kite flying with Grandpa Alan while Lizzy and I recently attended an excellent performance of the James Sewell Ballet company.

We have been so busy enjoying the coming of spring that I have not felt compelled to sit down and write!

Since my last post more than two weeks ago we have had many adventures including NT's last basketball game of the season followed by lunch and medals, the Ballare Rhythm Festival, the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby, Mad Science classes, ceramics classes, and lots of dance classes.

NT and I attended a fabulous music and dance performance of "Carnival of the Animals" at Orchestra Hall with our play group, and we all attended the (modified) winter picnic at Grampy's. We have been to the Minnesota Zoo and the Como Conservatory with friends, and the kids have gone swimming at the indoor beach and out for treats with Grampy and Maria.

We walked with Kiki and learned about reptiles and amphibians (and even touched them!) with other homeschoolers at Wescott Library. NT went to an Irish music concert with Grandpa Alan & Minna (it turned out to be a trio including Lizzy's Irish step teacher and her husband--small world!).

We've watched PBS's Cyberchase and PBS's Reading Rainbow DVDs on birds and manatees and transportation, and a 3-part NOVA series on evolution called Becoming Human. We've researched chicken breeds and brooding methods, collected supplies, met another urban homesteading family with chickens, and ordered our chicks.

We've seen bald eagles and wild turkeys and built tons of stuff out of Magna Tiles, the Zoobmobile set, and toothpicks and marshmallows. We've read books on birds, tropical fish (of course!), planets, and guacamole. We've drawn pictures and written letters and cut up stuff (including pajamas--oops!). We've been digging in the dirt and playing outside a LOT and doing lots of running.

And, finally, yesterday we went to see NT's artwork hanging at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts with Minna & Grandpa Alan, followed by lunch outside on the patio at The Black Forest Inn. Afterward the kids went bird watching at Becketwood and saw the resident owl (and a crow) with binoculars before walking all the way home. The kids played in the yard until it was time for Cub Scouts.

NT was up early for PBS's Cyberchase and then was immersed in his Guppies Today book from the library. He has big plans to breed guppies in his tank...which his parents have not approved.

We had an exciting morning with a flat tire and our very first orthodontist appointment. NT got all kinds of x-rays and pictures taken of his teeth and especially enjoyed playing with the plastic model of a set of teeth.

This afternoon the kids played in the back yard while Grandpa Alan attempted to change the flat (NT was no help, even though he had recently "learned" to change a tire at ceramics class), and then NT got to show off his new guppies to Minna.

NT watched another IMAX DVD on ocean life and then it was off to bed after a very long day.

NT watched PBS's Cyberchase on logic (reasoning and proof again today). Then he was back to the tropical fish book (which I am thinking of hiding for awhile...).

The kids jumped off furniture and built pillow forts in the living room before going outside to play in the sunshine in the back yard. NT watched another ocean life DVD and talked to Maria on the phone about fish breeding for 37 minutes. Lizzy helped me bake a rhubarb pudding cake.

I signed NT up for park board tennis this spring (he can't wait!).

After dinner John and the kids walked over to basketball practice.

NT was up early for PBS's Cyberchase on logic (reasoning and proof). Then it was right back to the tropical fish book (*sigh*).

Lizzy helped me make breakfast and then we all admired the bright pink blooms on the cactus (Christmas cactus??) in the kitchen and discussed how long some cacti live (NT had this information filed away in his brain...).

The kids built forts in the living room all morning and NT watched a DVD called Deep Blue, on ocean life, of course.

We met some friends at IKEA in the afternoon and the kids got to play in the play area. Then it was off to the library where NT checked out a bunch of books on sharks before we dropped him off at ceramics class.

NT was up early to watch PBS's Cyberchase on time/distance/speed and then dove right into his tropical fish book. We told him we wouldn't take him back to the fish store for at least a month, but that does not appear to have slowed him down on researching the next kind of fish he wants.

While Lizzy was in ballet class, NT drew and colored a picture of his fish tank to give as a birthday card to Grandpa Alan.

The kids played and read all afternoon and we figured out how to change out some of the water in the fish tank. Then I dropped NT at Minna's for board games and dinner at the restaurant while Liz and I went to Irish step class.

It was another busy weekend.

Saturday morning started out with NT's basketball game and then NT and I went to the dentist while John and Lizzy walked to the corner store and baked chocolate chip bars.

Lizzy napped Saturday afternoon while NT went to play with the neighbors.

After dinner John took NT to Camp Snoopy while Lizzy "taught" me how to play "chest" and then she and I watched ice skating on the Olympics together before bed.

Sunday morning NT was reading all about Guppies in preparation for an afternoon trip to the fish store. Lizzy helped me put together a rhubarb crisp to bake later in the day for dessert.

John and NT had a Cub Scout activity and Lizzy and I cleaned the house while they were gone. After Cub Scouts, John and the kids went to the fish store where NT traded in his remaining gourami for 3 guppies (he would have gotten more, but that was the number he could afford, he said).

Late afternoon, John, the kids, and the neighbors spent a huge amount of time out in the sunshine chopping ice to open up the storm drain in the street. They waded around in 6 inches of water in their rain boots and made all kinds of rivers and, of course, got pretty wet!

NT was up to watch PBS's Cyberchase on high-low estimation. The kids played with the Magna Tiles and cardboard building blocks, but for most of the morning NT had his nose in his tropical fish book. He had the calculator out and was trying to figure out how many inches of new fish he could get if he got rid of a certain number of inches of his existing fish.

After lunch we had homeschool play group where this week's activity was a play dough craft. NT finished quickly and then spent the rest of the time throwing snowballs outside in the sunshine with a bunch of other boys.

We stopped at the library on the way home where NT picked up several more books on fish.

NT was up early to watch PBS's Cyberchase on linear measurement. Afterward, he watched an IMAX DVD on Shark Island and a Nature DVD on sharks.

Lizzy asked me to bring the big cardboard blocks up so they could build their own coral reef which didn't last long because NT was back into reading his fish book to figure out what he wants to do now that he's not sure he wants to keep the other blue gourami after the tragedy. He is also very intent on getting a loach, so he's trying to read up to figure out which kind will be suitable for his tank. In the process of his research he came across the term "import", so we talked about what it means to "import" or "export" something.

The kids played Go Fish again. I'm not sure how much Lizzy "gets it", but they seem to enjoy playing it anyway and she is easily identifying the numbers.

We spent the entire afternoon with homeschool friends at the zoo and had a great time getting lots of exercise and learning lots of new things about the many aquatic fish and animals they have there!

NT was up early to watch PBS's Cyberchase this morning. He came upstairs afterward to show me that he had learned to add three 3-digit numbers together so we fine-tuned what he had seen on the show.

After breakfast NT asked for our old digital camera and the kids took turns taking pictures for quite a while before they decided to build a pirate ship in the living room out of furniture, couch cushions and blankets, which soon turned into a bird's nest. They used two laundry baskets to make the egg that they took turns "hatching" out of.

After lunch NT went to the Science Museum to see Into the Deep at the Omni with Grampy, which he loved. Lizzy and I went to meet friends so Lizzy got to run and play and share dance steps with with two other little girls.

Late afternoon NT and Grampy returned and NT twice watched the Into the Deep DVD that Grampy bought for him to take home.

Though it was a fun day, it was a disappointing evening for NT. He and John walked over to basketball practice only to discover that it was cancelled for both this week and next, meaning that there are only two games left and no more practices for the season. NT was so upset. John took him down to their basketball "court" in the basement and they practiced for a little while down there.

When it was time to go to bed we went to feed the fish, only to discover that one of his new fish, a blue gourami, had gotten caught in the shipwreck and drowned. NT was devastated. His Siamese Fighting Fish had died earlier in the day (we were expecting that since he had not been well for some time), so it was a doubly difficult loss for him.

First thing this morning NT and I worked on time telling--digital clocks vs. clocks with hands. He attempted to teach Lizzy how to play Go Fish and then tried to get her to play football with him in the living room. She is getting weary of being tackled, so she wasn't a very willing player.

NT decided to build a ski gondola from the kitchen to the living room. He used what seemed like miles of red Christmas ribbon and did quite a few experiments to figure out how to get whatever object he wanted to move to slide on the ribbon. Meanwhile Lizzy was building a home for her purple pony with Magna Tiles. I have never seen her build 3-dimensionally with them before (just do flat patterns on the floor), so I was really excited to see that all by herself she had built a structure with a floor, four walls (2 tiles high) and a ceiling!

We played several rounds of Go Fish and Lizzy helped me play my hand by helping me determine if we had the cards that NT asked for and asking him for cards that we had. I shared with NT my strategy of remembering cards that he asked for that I didn't have at the time, so that if I did get the card in the future, I would remember to ask for them. He picked up on that very quickly and won two of the games!

After lunch we went to Leonardo's Basement for their first homeschool workshop. Of course, NT loved it just as he did the last time. He got to use paints, a hot glue gun, a hack saw and power tools all by himself--he can't get enough of that place! Lizzy stayed with me in the parents' meeting and busied herself for almost two hours "writing", coloring, and drawing.

We stopped by the co-op afterward and NT wanted to try something new for his co-op treat so he tried cardamom angel food cake. The frosting was a bit strong for him (and me!), but we were both glad he tried it!

At ceramics class NT got his first lesson in changing a tire. The instructor had a flat tire when he arrived, so he was showing the kids how to jack up the car, get the lug nuts off (they got to take a turn doing this if they wanted to), and change the tire!

NT was up early to watch PBS's Cyberchase on 2 & 3D geometry. He worked for quite awhile afterward reworking the LEGO model of his bedroom that he had made the day before. He built his "dream bedroom" out of LEGOs to show us how he wants his room set up (there are lots of fish tanks in it).

Lizzy had ballet in the morning and while we waited, NT and I worked a little more in the math workbook for my benefit, though we were interrupted by one of the other moms who sells Usborne books. We spent the rest of the time looking through her samples and they are really amazing. NT was actually jumping up and down with excitement over BOOKS!

The kids spent the afternoon building with K'nex and playing basketball in the basement...until NT decided to bring his dribbling practice up to the dining room, which lasted for quite a while.

Late afternoon NT had a Mad Science Class and then went to Minna's for dinner where they played card games and board games. Meanwhile Lizzy and I went to Irish step where Lizzy had a real live fiddler in class!

This morning we decided to make some progress in organizing the kids' rooms. They helped with some sorting and Lizzy organized her things into the new shelf she got from Minna & Grandpa Alan.

NT set up another "basketball hoop" in the basement (after I cleaned out much of the stuff...) so that now he has a "full court". He and John spent quite a bit of time down there playing. NT also watched a bit of pro basketball on TV, but decided to get back down to his own court to practice. John told him he should take a break because he is so basketball-focused that John is worried that he will burn out, but NT would have none of it.

Late afternoon we picked up Grandpa Alan and we all went to Minna's orchestra concert where Lizzy danced in the back and NT learned about a couple of new instruments. Lizzy especially liked watching the (homeschooled) high school girl play her flute solo. Afterward we all went out to dinner.

When I went up to bed I got NT up so he could watch his fish feeding at night. Several of them are nocturnal, so I have found it is much more fun to feed them when they are really active. We sat and watched them for almost 30 minutes. It was a lot of fun!

Highlights of the past few days include:

Zoo with friends Augie and Louisa on Thursday where NT took a complete inventory of all the fish at the zoo to see if there were any breeds there that he could get for his tank.

Gymnastics for Lizzy on Friday morning. While we were waiting NT and I went through a good portion of the a first grade math workbook (for me) so I could feel comfortable that he does, indeed, know the kinds of things first graders are "supposed" to know.

Friday afternoon NT had homeschool science club at the Science Museum which turned out to be a disaster. We have been repeatedly disappointed with the calibre of those classes and have decided to find other more exciting places to participate in science classes. While NT was being bored to death in class, Lizzy and I hung out with Runa and her mom at the museum. After class all the kids ran crazy together to burn off all their pent up energy!

This morning NT had a basketball game and had Grampy & Maria and Minna & Grandpa Alan in the cheering section. He is making great strides and is really enjoying the game.

After basketball we took a family field trip to the fish store where we spent a huge amount of time talking with the staff about our cloudy water problem, learning about what kind of fish food we need (we ran out of what the fish came with), and asking about what to do about our Betta who doesn't eat. NT got two new powder blue fish for his tank (I can't remember the kind...).

NT has been keeping up with PBS's Cyberchase, and for days the kids have been building with the big cardboard blocks I brought up from the basement. They have also been getting tons of entertainment out of the huge Rubbermaid container that the blocks are stored in. It is fascinating to see the kinds of games the kids come up with on their own.

NT has been drawing, wrote a letter to Ezra, has been asking about the meanings of sooooooooo many words, has been reading his fish book like crazy, and asks so many questions about so many things I can't keep up! :-)

This morning NT flew out of bed to watch PBS's Cyberchase about math in nature.

The kids spent the morning building all kinds of forts in the living room, building with the Marbulous set, and generally making a huge mess of the house.

Lizzy went to Minna's after lunch to bake a birthday cake for Kiki while NT and I went to a homeschool program put on by Mad Science on air pressure at an Eagan library. Afterward, NT and I went to Bridgeman's for a treat. Lizzy went shopping with Minna at the co-op.

We saw another wild turkey on the parkway on the way home.

As we go about our days, NT and I talk about a lot of life issues, most of which I forget to write down, but a teeny tiny number of examples just from the past few days include: restaurant franchises (who owns McDonald's), how Elvis died, how come so many famous people die of drug overdoses, who is more famous (U2 or the Beetles) and why, who are the first and second most-wanted "bad guys" in the world and why, could you start your own organic fast food restaurant or not, why are some people's houses worth more than others, what is debt and why can't the bank just give us more money just because we want it...plus, I am constantly defining words.

I feel pretty confident he wouldn't be learning many of these things sitting in school all day, if for no other reason than that he wouldn't be as exposed to as many real-world things that prompt him to ask! :-)

The kids built with K'nex in the living room late this afternoon and then went out to play with the neighbor girl in the snow before dinner. John and both the kids walked over to NT's basketball practice this evening.

Highlights from the past several days:

We tried out the new play group last Friday. They were meeting for a class on endangered species at Woodlake Nature Center. NT at first refused to go and refused to "learn anything" but, wouldn't you know it, he learned a lot, got to touch a live turtle, met some new friends, and had a lot of fun.

Saturday morning NT had a basketball game and had a good-sized cheering section, as usual. He and John went to the fish store afterward and he brought home 5 new tiny fish for his tank--he has been reading about them over and over in his fish book.

Sunday Aunty Em and Craig took the kids ice skating and out for a treat afterward. We had homemade pizza and banana splits in honor of Valentine's Day while watching the Olympics.

Monday Lizzy had ballet and then the kids went swimming with Grampy and Maria at the "indoor beach" and out for a treat afterward. Late afternoon, NT went to play at the neighbors' while Liz and I went to Irish step class--it was a busy day!

All the while, NT has been keeping up with PBS's Cyberchase, reading his fish book like a fiend, inventing all kinds of things, playing like crazy with his Marbulous building set, devising and writing up all kinds of "secret plans" to "trick" his parents with his sister, and conducting all kinds of physics experiments in the living room which make a huge mess and drive his mother crazy. :-)

NT was up to watch PBS's Cyberchase on mixed numbers in fractions.

We were out the door early this morning to get to The Snowy Day at Stages Theatre with a bunch of other homeschoolers. While waiting for the play to start, NT and I talked about the different kinds of jobs people have to create a play--creative director, music director, choreographer, lighting designer, costume/make-up designer, etc.

After the play we had a quick stop at home to change to go check out the homeschool open house sample classes at Ballare where Lizzy takes ballet. Lizzy tried out the homeschool Creative Dance class and NT tried the hip hop class because he is interested in breakdancing...but they didn't do any.

In the end, the director and I decided to keep Lizzy in her regular class instead of switching to the new homeschool class because there is no year-end performance with the homeschool class. The performance is very important to Lizzy!

In between activities NT has been poring over his tropical fish book planning for the trip to the fish store on Saturday. He has all kinds of fish picked out. It will be interesting to see what he comes home with!

NT has invented all kinds of things today--from a sling shot to a paper surf board (to slide down the dance studio stairs) to a bird feeder made out of an egg carton. I can hardly keep up.

Liz surprised me and "cleaned" her room all by herself this afternoon (the floor is picked up and there is a "mountain" piled up on top of her bed, her toy box, her shopping cart...), and she has spent quite a bit of time this afternoon performing with her microphone on her "stage" (today it's the couch). If only I could find her a class where she could sing and dance at the same time!

It will be early to bed tonight!

NT was up early to watch PBS's Cyberchase. Today's topic was math in nature.

We had a leisurely morning--the kids played football, war (*sigh*), and NT and I read through his entire book on tropical fish to find out what options he has for adding to his aquarium. Lizzy helped me peel some "picnic eggs" (hard-boiled).

This afternoon we decided to get out of the house so we stopped by IKEA (where the kids like to play in the play area) on the way to the library. NT checked out another arm-load of books on a plethora of subjects.

Just before dinner the kids watched a Magic School Bus video about how body parts work during athletic activity and then it was off to walk to basketball practice. Lizzy asked to go too.

NT watched PBS's Cyberchase this morning on dew points.

We had a blissful day off, for the most part. We made a big pancake breakfast and ate it leisurely.

The kids brought a bunch of their invention materials up to the living room where they spent much of the day inventing things. They tried out some of their inventions in the tub early afternoon. They "played" chess and some tackle football and made a pink and white feather boa nest for the dog under the dining room table. He loved it and was curled up in it for most of the day.

We spent a good amount of time out shoveling and playing in the snow. Lizzy helped me shovel the neighbors' walk. NT and I talked about how sometimes the neighbors shovel for us and sometimes we shovel for them--we all try to help each other out when we are able.

Late afternoon we took NT to ceramics class. We were early so NT showed me how he works the foot-powered pottery wheel. It was really neat to see how adept he has become at working the wheel!

Tonight NT got to bring home his fired projects. He proudly displayed each item for John and I just before bed. He made a lot of cool stuff!

This morning NT was up early for PBS's Cyberchase on direction and distance.

Lizzy had ballet this morning and while we were waiting, I showed NT how to finger knit. He worked quietly on his rope for the entire time, and then worked for another couple hours once we got home. He plans to make a rope long enough to go around the whole living room.

After lunch we went back out to shovel and the kids played for quite awhile in the new snow.

NT continues to try to teach his sister how to play chess...so far it's not really taking, but he likes to keep trying anyway.

We dropped NT off at his cooking class late-afternoon and then Liz and I were off to her very first Irish step class, which she loved. They learned some dance steps and did some rhythms and learned a song.

NT had dinner at Minna and Grandpa Alan's where he got to play chess!

Friday I dropped NT at Minna & Grandpa Alan's while Liz and I went to her gymnastics class. NT ended up spending almost the whole day there. Minna had visitors who brought their fiddles so NT got a chance to play Minna's little violin again in the morning for the first time in quite awhile. In the afternoon Grandpa Alan taught NT how to play chess, which he has been wanting to learn for several weeks now. He LOVED it and started begging to get his own set.

Liz played by herself with the Magna Tiles for much of the afternoon and then she and I made cookies.

Saturday morning NT had a basketball game. This week's fan club included Minna & Grandpa Alan, Grampy & Maria, Auntie Em & Craig, and Kiki. Afterward another parent approached him and told him he played a good game and was really good at staying with the ball.

Saturday afternoon Brenna came over to play and John took Liz over to Grandma Ruth's.

Today the kids went out to play in the snow and ended up pulling apart some of the corn cobs that Grandma Ruth gave them to feed the squirrels, though all the kernels are likely to get buried in the new snow!

After lunch John and NT took some fish water in to the fish store to get the water tested and were given the thumbs-up on water quality (though no word on why it's still cloudy, but no one seems to care, including John & NT...). Then they stopped to pick up NT's very own (cheap plastic) chess set.

We watched the Super Bowl in the evening and had lots of yummy snacks made by John!

Tuesday we had a much needed at-home morning to sleep in (until 7 a.m.), catch up on housework and laundry, and build pillow forts in the living room.

In the afternoon, we joined some new homeschooling friends at the History Center where NT showed us around the Ben Franklin exhibit. We checked out the MN 150 exhibit, and finally ended up in the granary play area where the kids got all rosy-cheeked climbing up and down, running through tunnels, and "driving" the grain wagon.

NT had ceramics class in the late afternoon and then he and John had a Cub Scouts den meeting in the evening where it was a craft extravaganza!!

Yesterday started out bright and early with PBS's Cyberchase and then it was time to take NT to his weekly MN Science Museum class, which he is really enjoying.

The kids built a fort in the living room/dining room after lunch and then we took an impromptu trip to the Como Park Conservatory to meet some other new homeschooling friends. We saw all kind of tropical fish and plants, lots of cool koi, and even an up-close sloth that we watched for quite a while and learned quite a bit about! We really enjoyed the warm, humid air--NT pretended he was back in Lamanai!

NT had basketball practice and one of the other parents approached me to tell me what a great game she thought he had on Saturday!

Today the kids did some more fort-building and then we were off to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts where we waited in line for an hour with hundreds of other artists so NT could register his artwork to be shown in the Foot in the Door exhibit starting later this month. He is really excited--he has been asking to show his work in the "Minneapolis Substitute of Arts" since he was 3-years-old!

After lunch we headed over to the library where we picked up a bunch of lacrosse books and a lacrosse DVD that NT had requested, and Grampy picked NT up to take him to practice basketball at the gym for the afternoon.

Last Friday we went with a homeschool group to see Mr. McGee and the Biting Flea at the Children's Theatre and met some new friends who invited us to try out a new play group not far from us which we will do on Friday of this week. After the play we spent a little bit of time at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, but NT was disappointed that there wasn't any artwork up that was done by kids, like the last time he visited, so we didn't stay long.

Saturday NT had a big audience at his basketball game--Aunty Em, Grampy, Maria, Grandpa Alan, and Minna all joined us and got to see NT make the first basket of the game for the second week in a row!

Afterward we went to the co-op and then John took the kids ice skating (Lizzy's first time!) late afternoon. Grandma Ruth and Bob came to play in the evening and the kids stayed up late taking "pictures" with the old camera they brought and playing all kinds of board games.

Sunday NT and John went briefly to a Cub Scout event and then we had a quiet day. We all stayed up late to watch the Grammy awards. NT wanted to see the Black Eyed Peas perform and Lizzy likes all the singing and dancing ladies.

This morning NT was up early to watch Cyberchase on gears ("algebraic thinking").

Lizzy had ballet class and NT practiced punting his hackey sack up the stairs the entire time. He was trying to figure out how to get the ball to go straight, as opposed to curving or hitting the ceiling--it was an interesting scientific experiment!

The kids played all afternoon and then NT went to cooking class. It will be early to bed tonight!

Today NT was up early, as usual, for PBS's Cyberchase. The subject was percents.

We had another busy day today. We joined the local homeschool adventures group for a tour of a fire station in NE Mpls and had a great time. The kids got to climb aboard a real fire truck and got to sit inside an ambulance. They got to see where the fire fighters eat and sleep and how they slide down the pole. They also got to hear a lot about what it's like to be a fire fighter. It was very interesting!

Afterward we went to the library where we spent quite a bit of time looking for new books. NT checked out more books on the game of chess and he got some books on chemistry, plus one on the Titanic, which he read for quite a while this afternoon.

The kids built a pillow fort late this afternoon and watched a very detailed dinosaur documentary that NT particularly enjoyed.

Everyone fell asleep early tonight!

Today NT was up early to watch PBS's Cyberchase on factoring.

The kids changed yesterday's wooden "dance floor" into a "tennis court" this morning, complete with pipe cleaner tennis ball.

NT had his first Science Museum class for the Homeschool Engineering: Machines that Move series where, among other things, they each made and tested their own anemometer.

Lizzy went to spend the morning with Minna. They played the little violin and baked banana muffins.

NT and I stopped to check out the new library on Lake Street on our way home from the SMM. We decided it didn't have a very good selection of books (compared to what we're used to at Southdale), but NT did find a book on Chess, which he spent much of the evening reading. We also requested some books online about lacrosse.

The kids played more "tennis" in the late afternoon and built all kind of things with the Magna Tiles in the living room. Then they helped me grate all the cheese for dinner.

We tried a new recipe (Three Cheese Manicotti) for dinner. NT gave it only 1 star (because of the onions).

NT had basketball practice last night and then spent the rest of the evening reading his chess book. Lizzy and I read books on the couch and tried on some of my jewelry.

This morning NT watched PBS's Cyberchase on counter examples.

Lizzy had a make-up gymnastics class today and NT wrote several thank-you notes-turned-art-projects while we waited.

The kids asked to go the IKEA play area for a while on the way home from gymnastics and then they played together at home for the rest of the afternoon. Lizzy did some artwork with water colors and markers and showed me a some new Irish Step dance moves that she learned from watching a video clip.

NT had ceramics this evening and was excited to have been able to use the pottery wheel to make a cup in class.

This evening NT put together a fish mobile from Grampy and Maria all by himself.

For the most part, we had a nice relaxing weekend to finish up our activity-filled week.

Saturday morning was NT's basketball game. The team did much better this week and NT made the first basket of the game with Auntie Em and Craig there as witness!

After the game, Lizzy and I went to the co-op while NT and John went to the fish store to find out how to fix the cloudy water in the new tank. NT also traded in the two common platys he inherited because he didn't want them to have their live babies in his tank, knowing that the baby fish would eaten right away. They learned all kinds of things about how to care for the fish and the tank.

Saturday evening John and Liz made everyone's current favorite dinner on NT's menu--German oven pancakes with sour cream and strawberries.

Sunday morning we all pitched in to clean the house. In the afternoon it was football mania with back-to-back playoff games. John made homemade popcorn for a snack and then sloppy joes for dinner. I contributed homemade apple crisp for the half-time dessert during the Vikings game.

All weekend the kids played with the Magna Tiles, read books, and made up all kinds of their own physical activity "challenges" in the house since it was wet and sloppy outside.

Today NT was up to watch PBS's Cyberchase on refining and optimizing inventions. Then the kids brought up some huge sheets of scrap wood from the basement to play with (Magna Tiles and cars were involved, of course).

Lizzy had ballet and NT and I worked on some new math flashcards I picked up for him. He didn't love them, but I was impressed by how much he knew or was able to figure out...like how to add 53 + 25 without a piece of paper and pencil (or a calculator) and how to solve for "x" in a simple equation.

This afternoon the kids shoveled snow and played together until it was time for NT's cooking class where they made homemade pretzels. Then Liz helped me make dinner--biscuits and sausage with gravy--which NT gave only 2 stars. During dinner NT and I had a conversation about how he doesn't like jazz (always my dinner music of choice) because it's too slow and there's no singing (at least on the CD that's currently in the player...).

I am so wiped out after our big day today, I could hardly get myself to sit down and type this up!

This morning we quickly did our morning routine so we would be ready to be gone for the whole day.

We left at 9:30 for Lizzy's gymnastics, which she really looks forward to every week. While waiting, NT and I planned next week's dinner menu and then he spent the rest of the time reading one of his new fish books. He is trying to figure out what kinds of fish he can add once we get the water situation all figured out.

We ran a couple of errands and then it was off to the Science Museum of Minnesota for NT's first Homeschool Science Club. Today's topic was magnetic attraction and he was able to join the 7-9 year-olds. He made a couple of magnetic contraptions that are beyond me, but they are pretty cool and he had a great time. He saw a couple of his new homeschool friends in class and was really excited about that too.

While we waited for NT during his 3 hour class, Lizzy got to play with one of her new homeschool pals and even made another new friend.

After class NT wanted to explore the dinosaur exhibit, so we hung out at the SMM for awhile longer and ran into his new friends again. The kids had a great time and would have stayed longer if I would have let them. As it was, it was a very long day--we didn't arrive home until 7 p.m.!

This morning NT skipped Cyberchase to get right to his fish-watching. He is really enjoying his new pets and has started making up names for each of them (there are 11). He learned to feed them this morning and is consumed with trying to figure out how one of his platys can have her live babies without having them become lunch for all the other fish.

In the meantime, I am more concerned about figuring out how to keep the existing fish alive. We don't know exactly what kinds of fish we have (except the platys) so we're not sure we're feeding them properly...and then there's the question of clean and safe water...

We just barely finished our latest Hardy Boys mystery this morning. NT has declared that there is no point in reading fiction because you don't learn anything from it. He wants to switch to non-fiction. I'm wondering if he'll consider the Little House books non-fiction by his definition...we'll see.

The kids built castles with the Magna Tiles this morning while I read to them. Then they wrestled and played football in the living room before watching the 1957 version of The Cat in the Hat.

This afternoon the kids went swimming at the "indoor beach" with Grampy and then they all met Maria for dinner. While the kids were gone I picked up two freshwater aquarium books for NT so he can study up on how to take care of his new pets.

NT and John are attending the Cub Scouts pack meeting this evening where NT is getting recognized for earning his Wolf Cub badge!

Liz and I stayed home and read books and then had a lengthy discussion about ballet class. She loves ballet very much but is anxious about her current class, so we are thinking about switching to the new homeschoolers' ballet class (same studio) that starts in March.

We have been so busy the past few days that I've had a hard time keeping up!

Sunday we had brunch at Minna's with a number of our Seattle relatives who were visiting. Of course, during most of it, NT was glued to the Vikings game in Minna's den.

Late Sunday afternoon NT and Liz went to Grandma Ruth's to decorate Valentine's Day cookies and play with Bob. They came home with a huge stash of craft supplies (and a glue gun!) from Grandma Ruth and a whole bunch of notebooks and pencils and items for NT's Leonardo DaVinci inventions from Bob.

Monday morning Liz had ballet and NT worked with his new multiplication flash cards while we waited. We went to the library and NT checked out a number of books on medieval knights & weaponry, and some books on different types of spy planes, etc.

In the afternoon NT went to Minna's for a walk with some of the Seattle folk and then back to the condo to work with his new glue gun. Meanwhile, Lizzy and I met some of our new friends for a hike by the river and a warm-up afterward at the Riverview.

Tuesday NT asked if we could go to the Science Museum to see the Titanic exhibit once more before the exhibit closes. We saw that exhibit and explored many others, including the Egyptian mummy, which we discussed at length with a docent.

We went to the historic 5.8 for lunch and learned about its history and how it started. We talked about the Prohibition and what a speakeasy was.

Late afternoon NT had ceramics class where they are currently working on tea sets.

Today Liz visited with more Seattle folk at Minna's with Auntie Em for brunch while NT and I went to check out The Works where they had a homeschooler program on estimation and budgeting today. NT really liked it and is looking forward to visiting again soon.

When we got home Maria met us with a HUGE surprise for NT. She found a 20 gallon tank with all the equipment (including fish!) for NT, who has been wanting his own fish tank for a very long time. We spent the afternoon cleaning and filling the tank, and then NT and Maria went to the fish store to learn more about what to do to try to keep the existing fish alive. NT is beside himself with excitement!

Tonight NT and John are at basketball practice.

All week NT has been keeping up with PBS's Cyberchase and we have been practicing a lot of math as it has applied to our everyday life. We have been reading another Hardy Boys' mystery. NT has had his globe out and has been figuring out where places are, like Wisconsin and Iceland. The kids have been building things like crazy with the Magna Tiles and jumping on the trampoline in the living room and making obstacle courses all over the first floor.

I think we're all ready for a day off!

This morning was NT's first basketball game. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. He loves playing basketball so much. He put on his uniform first thing this morning and went down to the basement to "practice" (with no basketball and no net in a junky unfinished basement...???).

This is the first time we have seen NT really "take" to a sport. The first time we've seen him really "get it" and work hard instead of just hanging out for the fun of being around kids. He really loves the game and was very assertive in getting his hands on the ball.

After the game the coach from the opposing team approached us and asked NT if he played football. He invited NT to play football for their park--it's the best-known in the city for football (their older boys' team went to FL and won nationals). NT was really pleased.

Since our discussion about Elvis over a week ago, NT requests listening to the Elvis station on XM radio whenever we are in the car.

This afternoon NT and I figured out how many seconds are in an hour and then the kids played outside while John worked on the chicken coop. Later they started watching the football play-off games. NT always likes to hold his football during the game and jump around. It drives us nuts but today he informed us that he likes to re-enact each play after it happens. We realized that's probably why he looks like he has such good football potential (during basketball games) even though he's never officially played. He's been practicing every week for months!

I picked up the Everything Kids' Basketball Book and the Everything Kids' Football Book for NT and he fell asleep reading them tonight.

The last few days have been packed full of activities!

NT has been keeping up with PBS's Cyberchase in the mornings.

Tuesday we went to Northrup Auditorium on the U of MN campus for a "physics circus" with a group of homeschoolers. NT loved it just as I had expected he would.

Tuesday evening NT had ceramics class and then toured a local fire station with his Cub Scout den.

Wednesday NT and I read about Benjamin Franklin and then he went with Grandpa Alan & Minna to the History Center to see the Benjamin Franklin exhibit and then they met Auntie Em for lunch.

Wednesday evening NT had basketball practice. He is really excited for the first game coming up on Saturday!

Thursday we went to check out a local homeschool co-op's open house. We stayed for over 5 hours. The kids each got to sit in on a class and they both loved it. There was a big social room where the kids got to play with other kids of all ages and they had a blast.

While we were there we ran into people with whom we were in Little Sprouts at the Waldorf school when NT was just two. They now have a little girl Lizzy's age as well. They invited us to go out to dinner and play. The kids all hit it off and we are so happy to have found some great new homeschool friends to hang out with!

This morning Lizzy had gymnastics and, while waiting, NT read made out his first-round birthday list and read one of his 28 library books on football. Later we stopped at the library and he checked out about 10 books on basketball.

NT watched PBS's Cyberchase this morning. The topic was deductive reasoning.

NT was in a crabby mood, so I chose the music selection and put in hip hop again, since it really seems to perk the kids up.

Lizzy had ballet class this morning and NT worked on one of his numbers workbooks the entire time. He read all the clues and found all the numbers. He worked on some spelling as he went along. He learned how to check his answers in the back of the book and practiced looking things up by page number.

We went to the library and NT checked out 27 books on football--books about each of the different teams. He laid them out all over the living room floor when we got home and looked them over while listening to the audio book Dinosaurs Never Say Please by Bill Harley.

Before leaving for his cooking class, NT helped me make homemade egg noodles. We measured out the size of the noodles with a ruler so we knew we were cutting them to the size the recipe called for.

While NT was at cooking class, Lizzy and I discussed how icicles are formed. We read several picture books while we waited to pick NT up after class.

Back at home, we cooked the homemade noodles and decided to give them only 2 stars and cross them off the repeat list. They weren't too bad, but they were a lot of work to chew!

This weekend was full of fun activities.

Saturday morning NT had an art class where he worked with both pastels and modeling clay. This particular art class offers the opportunity to have artwork displayed in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, so he is really excited.

As a follow-up to Friday's conversation about Elvis Presley, NT asked if we could listen to the XM Radio station that plays ONLY Elvis music. He liked it very much.

Saturday afternoon Minna, Grandpa Alan, & Auntie Em took the kids to the Lake Harriet Kite Festival where they saw lots of really cool and colorful kites, and the warmed up afterward with hot chocolate at the Riverview. Lizzy wasn't feeling well so she stayed back to rest and watch the original Muppet Movie with John.

Sunday John took the kids sledding and then NT went out to play with the neighbor in the snow. Both kids went to bed on time for the first time in days. There have been so many activities, everyone needs to catch up on sleep!

This morning we chose an acoustic guitar CD, Fingerdance, for our morning music. At first NT claimed to be unimpressed, but later he requested that I put the CD back on.

We played a trivia game that NT made up, and then he worked on some tinfoil inventions while pretending that he wasn't listening to the Hello, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle audio book. Since it seems to him (by the title) that it is a book that girls would like, he wants no part of it, but I caught him listening when he didn't know I was around.

Today was Lizzy's first day of "big girl" gymnastics--a class that parents don't have to be in. NT and I watched from the lobby and NT worked on two different math workbooks--which also involved writing and spelling--and his ice cream truck brain-teaser puzzle while we were waiting.

We grocery shopped for much of the afternoon. Along the way NT and I discussed a surprising number of "big life" stuff. We talked about who Elvis Presley was and how he died. We talked about what it means to overdose on drugs and how that can sometimes happen. We talked about why it seems like that happens to a lot of famous people.

We also talked about how "St." is an abbreviation for both "Saint" and "Street". We talked about what a saint is and what it might take to become a saint.

We talked about pro football contracts and how they might be negotiated and how a player gets signed to play for one team or another.

We talked about how hard he would have to work and how long it would take him to save the $5 he wanted me to spend to buy little individually-wrapped Bonabel cheeses that I think are outrageously expensive (over $1 apiece!).

This evening we tried a new recipe for dinner--Croque Monsieur--and NT gave it four stars--five stars when he tried mine with the fried egg on top. I am so proud of him for really stepping out of his comfort zone and trying new foods from the cookbook we are working out of together.

Tonight NT and John went to the Cub Scout pack's game night and had a lot of fun. NT was excited about it all day and was not disappointed. They didn't get home until after 9 p.m.!

NT watched PBS's Cyberchase this morning. The topic was balancing equations.

The music selection for the morning routine today was rap...which in this case was pretty much the same as the hip hop CD the kids have been favoring, so that was kind of a bust.

We read quite a bit of the new Hardy Boys book this morning, looked up several words we didn't know, and then NT worked on writing his last name in cursive. The kids also played with the Magna Tiles and Maria's dogs for a good portion of the morning.

This afternoon we tried a new homeschool playgroup, which the kids loved. There was a whole pack of boys NT's age to sled and play basketball with, and Lizzy played with 3 other girls near her age, which was fun to watch. This was the first time Lizzy has been in an unstructured group of children and she did beautifully.

After playing with the other kids for almost 5 hours, the kids fell right to sleep tonight!

NT watched PBS's Cyberchase this morning. The topic was factoring.

This morning NT chose The Eagles Greatest Hits for our music selection, but the kids weren't impressed and, before long, asked for yesterday's hip hop CD again so they could do another dance party.

We finished a Hardy Boys mystery and started a new one. We played restaurant and then the kids played football in the living room while I finished up the morning routine.

After lunch they started (but did not finish) the original 1968 version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

NT worked more on his cursive and then was off to basketball practice with John after dinner. He loves basketball and seems to be getting the hang of it. They had their first practice game last night and he came home pretty excited and confident. They stayed a little bit after practice to play a little extra with a few of the other boys.

This morning NT watched PBS's Cyberchase on spending money.

The music selection for this morning was hip hop and the kids were so excited about it that they threw an impromptu dance party in the living room.

Lizzy helped me make the beds and knead bread and then she and NT did a "play" that involved a large furnace filter box that they could fit inside of.

All by himself NT came up with the idea to climb inside the box and put Magna Tiles on the inside and outside so that moving the one on the inside would "magically" slide the Magna Tile on the top. He placed tiny plastic dinosaurs on the tiles on the top and then the kids hid inside the box and slid the dinosaurs around from inside. Half-way through he realized that if he had each dino on a different color and the tile below matched the color of the tile above, he could be outside and tell Lizzy which color to move and she could move the dino he wanted. The whole thing was very clever and really cool!

NT worked hard again on writing his name in cursive and then wrote another "Top Secrit" letter to Ezra--this time in cursive!

We read some of Lizzy's books and NT listened to an entire Encylopedia Brown book on CD and then watched the original classic version of The Wizard of Oz while Lizzy took a nap.

Late afternoon Minna took NT to his first ceramics class of the session, which he loved!

This evening Lizzy asked if we could go back to the house with the Christmas lights synched to music so we stopped on the way home from dropping the car at the repair shop.

This morning NT was up early for PBS's Cyberchase. The topic was the importance of zeros.

The kids did their new morning routines for the first time in the new year. Our new routines include taking a job from the FlyLady Job Jar and quickly getting it done. At first NT was skeptical, but then he said the job didn't take very long (pulling all the toys/trash/misc. out from behind the couch) so he wanted *another* one to do!

NT's routine also includes choosing a CD for us to listen to each morning while we are getting ready for the day so the kids can be exposed to all different kinds of music. Today's CD was Caribbean music!

While getting ready to leave for ballet, NT and I discussed the difference between offense and defense using the example of the Vikings football team, of course.

While Lizzy was in her ballet class, NT worked on a game that involves figuring out how to get a little ice cream truck out of a traffic jam. It can be very tricky and he kept busy the whole 45 minutes with various "jams" I set up for him.

After ballet the kids went swimming at the "indoor beach" and to lunch with Grampy & Maria. Then we dropped NT at his arts-&-crafts-turned-cooking class. We got the call this afternoon that the class had been changed and he decided to try the cooking class, even though he was skeptical. Of course, he liked it and is already looking forward to next week!

Tonight NT worked way past bedtime in his room practicing writing his name in cursive. He has been asking for weeks to learn cursive, so I picked up a book and some tools/paper for him today. He worked for over an hour practicing his first name and was timing himself to see how long it takes him each time--48 seconds is his best time so far!

It's been a busy several days with lots of time spent outdoors playing in the snow, playing with friends, decorating cookies and playing games with Minna, Auntie Em, and Grandpa Alan, and playing LEGOs by candlelight during our mid-winter power outage--brrrrrrrr it was cold with no heat!!

We've been keeping up with our Hardy Boys reading, built lots of giant pillow forts, and had pizza at Fireside Pizza in Richfield on New Year's Eve for the 2nd year in a row. The kids love that there is a tree "growing" in the middle of the restaurant!

We watched the Rose Bowl and the Vikings, and read about fish. John took the kids on a field trip to the fish store today so NT could do more research on the kind of fish he wants, and then they stopped at Cold Springs--an historic site near Minnehaha Park--on their way home. NT wrote a "SECRIT!" letter to his cousin Ezra.

We're two days into NT's dinner menu plan and so-far-so-good. Last night's dinner was a hit (Lizzy and John made it and Lizzy set the table), but the kids decided tonight's dinner wouldn't make the cut for future menus.