Starting a New Unit - Water in our World

Those who were paying close attention might have noticed that the "current homeschooling resources" list changed. We're beginning the first of our winter units this week. The theme is "Water in Our World". It occurred to me that I could get more use out of our celestial silk canopy by pretending it was water for this unit. So last night I made felt fish finger puppets that I slipped over the stars that are hanging down. Granted there are still stars & such on the upper canopy, but the girls should be happy with this.

Art emphasis is collage art. I have the recommended book, but will pick and choose since alot of it I don't think will interest the girls much.

We'll focus more on the handwork this unit since the majority of it is making Christmas gifts, which I think the girls will enjoy and can actually help with/do more than alot of the handwork projects in previous units. Near the end of the unit the handwork focus is on quilting, which we'll skip.

Nature emphasis is a combination of water-related things, container gardening, and snow (most of which will likely have to be postponed since we very rarely get snow in Nov/Dec.).

Religion will continue to be reading through the Read and Learn Bible I'm also intrigued by this suggestion for scripture memorization. For each unit up until now I've chosen a poem that coincides with the theme &/or season and read it daily as part of circle time. I noticed this past unit, that even though it was quite a long poem (previous units were generally only 3-4 lines) by the end the girls were quoting it along with my reading. So in addition to the weekly memory verse for church, we'll have a longer passage that we'll read each day during circle time throughout the unit (I'm thinking the Christmas story).

Circle time emphasis will be on Thanksgiving for this month.

Books for this unit:
The Seashore Book
Scuffy the Tugboat
The Popcorn Shop
Crossing
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Little Cloud
Snowflake Bentley
The Snow Speaks
Sun Bread
The Water Hole
The Desert is Theirs
In the Small, Small Pond
A Cool Drink of Water
The Hermit and the Well
Snowballs
Blueberry Shoes
The Quiltmaker's Gift
Oma's Quilt
Here Are My Hands

ETA: Here are additional books that I'm adding to the unit:
An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott (not sure if they have the attention span for it, but would like to try it at least)
Winter Waits
Peter and Lotta's Christmas (will use this next month)
I also need to look in the girls' bookshelf upstairs, I THINK we have 1 or 2 children's books that tell the Thanksgiving story, so will use those, or get something from the library as well.

A funny

http://www.thecowgoddess.com/?p=775

We're home!!!!

Whew! Today went pretty well. Girls woke up early because of the time change, which gave us an earlier start. Drove straight through except for gas/bathroom break. Had a slight detour due to dh paying more attention the the football game on the radio than where he was going, but we made it :)

As I'd hoped the Magic Schoolbus, etc DVDs kept the girls entertained for most of the trip home. L even caught a short nap right before we got home.

Girls are glad to be home & back to their playing. Babies' clothes have all been changed, L has "borned" a baby . . . I suspect that there will be lots of play and not so much "school" this week as they make up for lost time LOL.

Halfway Home

Well, actually more then that, we decided to stay farther north this time since the "travel days" ended up being shorter than expected on the way down and we didn't want to stay in the "no internet unless you're lucky enough to be in the right room" hotel again anyway.

Anyway . . . girls started off the day really well. We decided since there wouldn't be a usable pool here tonight (it's outdoor and too cold for outdoor even in NC) but warned them that they could only go swimming if they promised to get out w/o a fight when we told them it was time to go. So, after b-fast dh took them out to swim while I finished packing. Gave the girls the option of helping load the car since they generally like to help with that, but since their other choice was swimming longer, they chose swimming. When I got back to the room after taking (almost) everything out to the car, my cell phone was ringing & it was dh telling me the girls had something to show me, so I went out to the pool & they had both mustered up the courage to stick their faces in the water & "swim" w/ their faces underwater. They were quite proud of themselves, although L assured me that she will still "always" need her floaty suit, since it's her favorite color LOL. Anyway, after being appropriately impressed about the new skill, I told them the car was loaded & it was time to go, went through then normal "warnings" and they got out w/o a fuss, got dried off, dressed and we left. Did have a major issue w/ A because some stuff was stacked in the backseat for the trip home (I happened to find mason jars at the walmart down there for less than they are at walmart at home PLUS I forgot to stock up before the walmarts at home took them off the shelf for the winter. And of course right AFTER I realized they were no longer on the shelf I got a couple big orders that depleted my "stock" so I was looking at probably having to buy them at the (higher priced) grocery store before next spring. So, when I found them at the FL walmart for even less, I stocked up! So the majority of the "back" of the minivan is stacked full of mason jars, meaning most of the "luggage" got moved to the back bench, which is generally A's babies' seat (and A carries 5 or 6 babies w/ her everywhere we go, so they take up the whole seat!). We finally got thing shifted around so that they could all still be buckled in (2 of the 3 seatbelts were accessible) so all was well again.

Drive today was so-so. Lots of minor tantrums (or at least tantrums over minor things). I'd gotten them each a keychain w/ their respective favorite character on it but then A decided she wanted to "wear" it which I wasn't willing to let her do w/ the shirt she was wearing (the way the clasp on the keychain is, plus the knit of the t-shirt I was afraid it would poke a hole) so we had meltdowns about that. And pretty much everything else that happened today. I'd expected them to be eager to watch movies on the way home since they really didn't watch any tv all week, but they didn't seem interested in any of the vidoes I'd brought for today, shrug. I assume tomorrow's (non-Sabbath) videos will keep their attention better, since I got some from the library of some of their favorite shows, but we shall see . . .

Tonight's hotel has internet, so that makes it better than the one on the trip down, but still not in my top 20 hotels I've ever stayed at . . .

After A refused to even consider sleeping anywhere but her Dora bed this entire trip TONIGHT she decided she wanted to sleep in a "high bed". We have a room w/ 2 double beds. So of course L said she wasn't sleeping w/ A. Then once I had L convinced that she had the choice of sleeping w/ A in the "high bed" or sleeping on the floor in the dora bed, A decided she didn't want to sleep alone OR with L (or in the Dora bed), so we're sleeping one of us w/ each kid. At least they agreed w/o a fight on which of us slept with who (L's w/ me, A's w/ dh). AND it's a step toward getting A comfortable sleeping off the floor. I don't care if she wants to keep her bed at home on the floor, but it would make traveling easier if we didn't have to deal w/ the dora beds places where there's another bed option &/or places that are only one night (like tonight). . .

Tomorrow should be a shorter day and then we'll be home!!! I think other than stuff we HAVE to do, like getting milk & returning the library videos, we'll be mostly "decompressing" this next week. I need it (couldn't figure out why I was SO exhausted, then realized that I have had ZERO alone time all week and as an introvert, being around people exhausts me . . . at home w/ the girls generally doesn't "count" as being around people since they do their own thing and actually don't WANT me to participate in their play most of the time) and so do the girls.

Odds & Ends

We decided to let the girls swim for abit this morning. So while I wait for them, some odds & ends about our trip in general that I'm not sure I mentioned in previous posts:

• Comfort Suites, Orlando is a very nice hotel. Breakfast is beyond chaotic, but offers a better selection for the non-meat-eater than most of the "Savory Selections" breakfasts I've been to. Pool is wonderful! Our room was VERY conveniently located a few steps from the pool area AND breakfast. The room was nicely laid out, although they crammed a king bed into a "nook" designed for a queen, nobody bigger than a toothpick could get out on dh's side of the bed due to the a/c unit being there. But overall, if this hotel is still reasonable points next time we come (& we stay at a Choice Hotel) I would come here again.
• Apparently in Europe men wear capris. The first man I saw wearing them, I thought he was just ummm . . . marching to the beat of his own drum. But over the course of our trip I've seen several men, all European (based on accent &/or the fact that I couldn't understand what they were saying LOL) wearing them, so apparently it's a European thing.
• There is no way on this green earth I would let my children (or myself) have their hair done at the Disney "beauty spa" thingy-ma-bob!! I'd heard/read about it, where you pay outrageous amounts, bring along a "princess dress" (or buy one there), and have the stylists at DW turn your dd into a "princess" by doing their hair & make-up. Having seen many such little girls over the past week, NO WAY!!! The amount of teasing & hairspray just makes me CRINGE!! I can't imagine that you would EVER get all that out of their hair! I love how easy my girls' hair is to care for having not had any products in it (other than 100% natural stuff) since they were babies (and I didn't know better), I shudder to think of the permanent damage all that teasing & "gunk" would do to their hair.
• The amount of money the average family spends in a day at Disney World continues to boggle my mind! While waiting for the girls to meet Jasmine & Alladin, I added up the cost of the "complete" Jasmine costume (mind you I saw MANY little girls running around DW decked out in a "complete" princess costume & I would suspect that Jasmine is one of the cheaper ones, though they may be all the same, but her "genie" outfit seems less elaborate than the deluxe princess gowns) and it was in the range of $150!! Food is, of course, overpriced, and then there's all the other stuff for sale there and people walking around w/ bags & bags & bags of it . . . I just can't fathom it! (I also can't fathom spending $60+ for a princess dress & then allowing my child to go on rides, eat ice cream, play on playgrounds, etc in it . . . my girls' clothes were FILTHY most days & my long skirts got caught on rides getting in & out plenty of times, I'd think these little girls in the long/huge dresses would get them caught on stuff & tear it!
• There's more but my mind is blank & we need to be leaving . . .
  

Our Last Day in Florida

We went back to Disney World today. I have to say, after stressing all week about the rain, today's "perfect" weather made me appreciate the rain LOL. The sun was HOT!!!

We did a more relaxed day today. Based on discussion yesterday the only "new" stuff we still needed to hit were the Tiki Room (they've changed it, I'm not impressed, and will, in fact, try to talk the girls out of going there for the next few years if they say they want to go), Country Bear Jamboree, and "a Mickey show" (the girls' words, there's a musical Mickey show right now, so we went with it). So, we could pretty much stop & do whatever the girls wanted to do and still have plenty of time to hit those 3 things.

Of course A decided right off the bat that we needed to go through the Swiss Family Robinson's Treehouse again, sigh . . . now I know why my parents always insisted we didn't "have time" for that particular attraction, those are a LOT of stairs . . .especially after a solid week of lots of walking, carrying kids, etc.

A didn't want to go to the Tiki room, L did, so we split up for that and a few other things throughout the day.

Went on the Pooh ride again, I honestly think if they were to go on it w/ someone else they'd be shocked at what a boring ride it is, but it & the Peter Pan ride (L calls the Peter Pan ride the boat ride, btw, for those who are likely to get IRL (in real life) accounts of the trip) dh & I made a big deal about their "driving" the boat/honeypot and such and they pretty much laughed the whole way through.

Took us until today to figure out the Fast Pass things. They work well when you can plan out your whole day, not sure how well they would have worked on the earlier days when we were "winging it" more . . . I think when we come back in the future we'll be able to plan the days out in advance better since the girls will know what's there, so we can make more use of them.

We also gave the girls some "decompressing time" at the Pooh playground. We were there for over an hour and they would have happily stayed longer (but our fast pass time slot for Peter Pan came up, so we had to go to that. See the "downside" of the fast passes?).

And after a relatively treat-free trip (other than the halloween candy) we got the girls ice cream cones today. Last night we passed Mrs. Pott's Ice Cream shop & L wanted to know why Mrs. Pott's picture was on that store, so we told them what it was & they wanted ice cream but it was closed, so we did that today. And I figured if we're going to spend outrageous amounts on mediocre ice cream the girls might as well get exactly what they want, so they got CONES! Large soft serve cones, 4 yr olds (who I'm not sure have ever HAD a cone other than the teensy tiny ones we get at South Mtn Creamery, and even those we generally get a cup to "dump" them into as they melt), and 80 degree days = a total mess LOL. But the girls enjoyed them and we're heading home so the ice cream all over the shirts isn't a big deal, hopefully it'll wash out LOL.

A insisted we go back to Ariel's Grotto since she wasn't wearing her Ariel shirt the day we went & "I want to show Ariel my shirt", so, despite the est. 40 min wait we went. As we approached the front of the line (though it hadn't been 40 min, I'd say more like 20-25) A had to go potty & said she "thought" she could wait, but it wasn't a convincing "I think so". DH figured we had time, so A & I ran to the bathroom (it's close, thankfully) and just as we were leaving the bathroom dh called to say they were IN the grotto (they let people into the grotto in "groups" so there was still waiting time, but no way to "sneak" back into the line). I went to the exit and when the people who work in the grotto came to tell me I was in the wrong place I explained that A's sister was in there already and they wanted their pictures together but we'd had a bathroom emergency. Conveniently the girls were dressed the same today so I could say "her sister looks just like her only wearing a pink hat!" So . . . while I had to explain it to multiple people while we stood by the exit (various employees came to tell us we weren't supposed to be there LOL) we got in with no problem, Ariel noticed A's shirt right off the bat, all was well in mermaid land. . .

As we were waiting for the Mickey show this afternoon we asked the girls if there was anything else they wanted to do (show started at 4:40, not sure what time it was over) & neither of them could think of anything, so we suggested going back to the pool to swim & they agreed. They were both SO tired from all the walking & the heat by then, I think they were just DONE. So we came back & took them out to the pool for an hr & a half, where they made who knows how many new friends, had a BLAST, and threw a huge, twin tantrum when it was time to get out. We had minor tantrums throughout the evening (though PART of L's tantrum had to be a result of hunger, the 2 of them ate an entire box of mac & cheese, and L ate the majority of it!) but finally got them to sleep. . .

Now to survive the trip home LOL . . .

Pictures: I decided the album was SOOOO big, and most people probably only wanted to see the pictures of the kids anyway, but the girls get a kick out of seeing all the show pictures & such. So . . . I deleted all the pictures that didn't have the kids in them out of the Florida trip album. BUT if you really want to see a billion pictures of Beauty & the Beast, Small World, etc you can see ALL the pictures in this album which I'm hoping to set up so that the girls can click a link & go right to a slide show of it on their computer once we get home.

Four days down, one to go . . .

And thankfully today was the longest day & is BEHIND us!! That said, the girls had an AWESOME day!!! When I finally got around to looking online at the MGM shows I realized there's an Ariel show AND a Belle show there. So, we went to MGM this morning, went to the Beauty & the Beast show, L was in HEAVEN!!!! She was on my lap & kept saying "take a picture of THAT" which explains ALL the pictures of that show (I'll try to edit them down some before I post them).

Then we headed to the Ariel show. Had a moment of tantrum potential when they announced no flash photography but Daddy decided he could take pictures in the dark w/o a flash (and then gave up & handed me the camera), we didn't get tons of pictures, and murphy's law being what it is A tended to bump my hand with the "kodak moment" shots which doesn't work well w/ the long shutter times of photography in the dark), but hopefully enough to keep her happy.

When we left Ariel, JoJo & Goliath were doing photo ops and had a short line so we took pictures with them before heading back to Magic Kingdom.

The afternoon at Magic Kingdom went well, we re-did some rides, and did some new ones. I had a hard time talking them into Small World, but they were enthralled throughout it! L did amazingly well at recognizing the various countries too. We drove the race cars, note to self, letting a 4 yr old "drive" = a very jerky ride. And then L decided she wanted to go get pictures taken with the Princesses (the same place where we got pics with Goofy, Donald & Pluto on Tues, has a separate line for pictures with 3 Princesses). Line was LONG/SLOW and girls were RESTLESS but when we finally got to the front of the line they sent us in all by ourselves and the princesses not only took pictures with the girls, but took time to talk to them as well. Princesses were Cinderella, Belle & Aurora. I know they're paid to make each little girl feel special, but they seemed pretty tickled with the twins wearing princess shirts. L&A were in awe. As we were leaving Aurora (last one) Belle suggested that they do a picture of all 3 princesses with the girls, which I don't think they usually do, there was more "confusion" about setting it up than I would have expected if they always did that. The photographers were "pushier" than I've encountered before on this trip, so that made it hard for me to get decent pictures (& I'm way too cheap to buy their pictures LOL). But I did get some pictures.

The girls were EXHAUSTED tonight, we ended up carrying them most of the way back (which thankfully was just from train stop to train stop (took the train from Toontown to Main Street, carried kids from there to Monorail station, then from monorail station to tram stop and from tram stop to car). I think they were both asleep before we were out of the parking lot & didn't stir when we carried them in & put them to bed (which isn't at all unusual at home, but I wasn't sure how well they'd transfer to hotel beds).

DH doesn't think the girls would like Animal Kingdom as much as more time at Magic Kingdom, so we're just going to spend tomorrow at Magic Kingdom again, and then head home. Whew, I'm exhausted!!! DH said he doesn't know when he's ever walked this much LOL.

And now I'm off to add today's pictures to the same link I've been using all week (too lazy to look it up again at the moment).