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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

This morning NT was up early as usual to learn about grids on PBS's Cyberchase.

Afterward, I read several chapters of Hardy Boys The Secret of the Old Mill aloud while NT designed and created a "Vikings" banner on the floor next to me. He cut the letters freehand out of construction paper and then we punched holes and strung them all together on a ribbon. We talked about spacing and balance and he learned that he needed to string the letters on in reverse so the letters were in the right order when it was all done.

While reading the Hardy Boys we looked up the word "counterfeit" and "oppressive" and talked about what a thesaurus is vs. a dictionary. We talked about what the word "descriptive" means and looked up the words "happy" and "sad" in the thesaurus.

NT and I practiced using a tape measure to measure the table he made for me earlier this year so Grandpa Alan can help him add braces so it doesn't wobble. We measure in both feet and inches and talked about which direction to pull the tape measure in when you are measuring something that goes all the way to the floor.

Liz went to visit Minna & Grandpa Alan where they practiced writing "Sebastien" and watched The Nutcracker ballet on DVD.

NT had one of his favorite friends, Brenna, over and they played both indoors and out for several hours--pirates, Marbulous, sword fights, football (in the living room!), wrestling...they never run out of ideas when they are together!

Late this afternoon NT & Liz set up their own makeshift bowling alley in the living room using cardboard building blocks for bowling pins.

NT wrapped up the long day by quietly working on more paper airplanes out of one of his library books.

Today was our first "official" day trying out the unschooling life. Of course, it wasn't any different than any other day, except that I was much more aware of what the kids were learning and absorbing as we went about our business.

NT started the morning bright and early watching Cyberchase on PBS, where he learned about measuring the passage of time.

Later, we picked Minna up and went downtown to see the 8th floor Macy's holiday story, A Day in the Life of an Elf. We arrived just as it opened so we almost had the place to ourselves, giving the kids as much time and space as they liked to check out each animated scene.

Afterward, the kids burned off some energy running around in the skyway while we tracked John down and then walked over to Peter's Grill--the "oldest continually operating restaurant in the city" (94 years!)--where Minna treated us to brunch.

This afternoon NT spent several hours building and rebuilding structures with his new Marbulous set from Gramma Ruth. He talked about gravity and angles as he re-engineered his designs to make the marbles go faster or take different paths. For a little while he had some help from Grandpa Alan.

We read Hardy Boys' Secret of the Old Mill out loud for about an hour. NT asked if he could stop me if he heard a word he didn't understand so I could explain it to him. Today he learned what "genuine" means.

NT also spent quite a bit of time in his basement "studio" working on various crafts, including some pretty cool monsters he fashioned out of sparkly pipe cleaners.

After LL's nap we watched a DVD of Swan Lake from the library so she could see real ballerinas perform. Interestingly, her brother seemed much more interested in the performance than she was!

NT read a book about the Titanic to himself at bedtime. He is really fascinated by shipwrecks. We talked about how scary it must have been for the people who were on the ship when it went down.