Him & Me: Lessons, Messes, and Love: science

Showing posts with label science. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Year Four: Last Call for 2016!

"Do not let your grand ambitions stand in the way of small but meaningful accomplishments."

-Bryant McGill

Ok, let's be real. I have had a lot going on and it's time for a quick game of catch-up before the holiday madness truly begins. So, here you are:

Another Halloween, another Mario character. This year, he went for the villain side! After talking him out of Wario (plastic fat suit costume was a little much), Sidekick settled on Waluigi and he pulled it off pretty perfectly!

{insert evil Waluigi laugh here}

Sidekick is officially SIX. He took on his age much more graciously this year, insisting he was a "big six". Standing at 4 foot 2 inches, there isn't much smallness left in my baby.

One of his birthday presents was a science kit. He is still enjoying working on experiments.

We had two Thanksgivings this year and I somehow managed to not get a single picture during either events. So, here's a throwback to when Sidekick was less than a month old and we still cooked Thanksgiving.

{I recall nothing...}

**ONTO CHRISTMAS!**

I posted on my Instagram how I wanted to be like the "cool moms" that do all the fun advent outings and events. But man, I just can't. I can however buy a $3 advent activity calendar from Target and use it as part of our daily school activities!

Sweet boy wrote his own Christmas list to Santa this year. I am so proud of how far he has come with his handwriting, it is not our favorite subject to work on but he continues to progress and work hard.

What would Christmas be without a gingerbread village?

I am so glad to have another holiday season with my husband. He may be a bit of a Grinch when it comes to some of my silly traditions but, he plays along and I love him all the more for it.

Sidekick was thrilled with his lollies after visiting with Santa. He (Santa) sat so patiently while my sweet child explained the world of Mario to him. Bless those who have the patience to handle my kid's obsession. Haha!

It fills my heart to the brim that my little is big enough to help with one of my favorite Christmas traditions: Christmas candy! We made six jars for friends but the joy of baking with him is worth more than anything else.

It's not always easy, as he tends to show his age during his karate lessons (bouncy, unfocused, inquisitive) but, he managed to earn his yellow belt and is intent of proving he is worthy of it!

Oh, robotics. How this momma doesn't understand you.

Oh, robotics. How my little boy adores you.

Here, he is changing the colors by twisting (technical term) tiny knobs to filter the red, green, and blue lights. In other words, he made Christmas lights!

So there you have it, friends!

He continues to work hard with his school; he has passed his school tests with flying colors; he becomes a stronger reader, daily; his handwriting is vastly improved from August and he is adding, subtracting, and estimating. I am so proud of all he has done this year and I cannot wait to see what next year holds for my boy.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

*we shall return in 2017 with more adventures and fun*

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Year Three: Week Two: Bobby the Body and Other Fun Shapes

Oh the things you can find
If you don’t stay behind!

~ Dr. Seuss

Catching up is hard to do! Almost a month behind with more busy days ahead but, I'm here now! Feast your eyes on the fun that I have been waiting to show you!

One rule I gave myself for this school year was, to step back. To let go. To see how he does when I'm not hovering and not holding his hand. It's a big task. I want to guide him and see him succeed but he also needs to succeed on his own terms so, the rule is a solid one.

We haven't practiced cutting in a long while. Honestly, it was a source of frustration for me. I don't know why such a small activity irked me but, it did. So, I set these shapes out, handed my sidekick some kid scissors and simple instructions. Then I left the room. Seriously, I left the room. He quietly did as I asked and came to retrieve me once he was done. He did fantastic! Do you see that circle? Such skill! Haha, but really, I was very proud. Of both of us!

More journaling. We are learning to love our journal and all that it can do for us! On the left, we have a picture of Mr. Sidekick and a show of his name writing skills. He's working on his lowercase letters so they get mixed in his writings now. So cute. :)

So, a week after I ran 13.1 miles, Sidekick and I ran a 5k. His first and yes, he loved it. We held hands for 47 minutes as we ran through 3.1 miles of colors, sparkles, and fun. He was such a good sport and immediately asked when we could do it again upon receiving his medal. He astounds me and I am so lucky to be his mom.

Let me introduce you to Bobby the Body. I found a similar constructed man on Esty and took it upon myself to create my own instead. He was a hit! We read through our Dr. Seuss book and put the pieces back on Bobby the Body as we went. Then we practiced (by playing) with the different parts and now my little sidekick has a new trick to amuse all our family and friends by naming most of the organs in the body. :)

While looking at Bobby the Body, I had Sidekick draw in his own interpretation of our body parts. After convincing him they couldn't all be green (his favorite color) his rendition is pretty spot on and adorable. (I love the little line connecting the lungs.)

One of the best things about homeschooling is the comfort level. Pajamas are completely acceptable and cuddling on the couch for lessons is totally normal.

Sidekick wanted play dough. So here he is, making his own! This is another rule for myself. Let him in the kitchen and actually participate with some of the scary stuff. Under a lot of supervision on this one, of course!

There you have it! Another week (a month in the past) of fun and learning. I will continue to try and catch up on these posts as we continue through our school year.

Thanks for stopping by! See you soon!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Year Two: Week Thirteen: Argh! We's Be Getting Back To School, Matey!

Okay, Minion! You were right! I was…less right!

~Megamind

Well, well, well. It has been a little over a month...again. So sorry guys! I started my Masters, Sidekick's daddy started college as well, so between all that plus our normal craziness, homeschooling got left behind. This post has been ready and waiting for over two weeks! It's taken me this long to just sit at the computer (not doing my own schoolwork) and get it ready for you.

Take a look:

Set this out for the sidekick. He was quite curious as to what we were making.

We practiced his cutting skills. He's getting pretty good!

We made a BOAT! The glue wouldn't hold as planned so, tape was the stand-in. Not as pretty but it worked!

{I later found it in the toilet because "Someone" was to anxious to wait for bath time}

Baking soda and water mixture frozen "treasure chests". I couldn't find many things to fit into the little amount of room that the trays has available, so I just made do with some sticking out. Sidekick didn't mind.

We exploded our treasure chests with vinegar, practiced color mixing and found all the treasures!

What an adventure!

I glued some "doubloons" to a piece of paper and hid them under a page in his journal. We had Euro, English coins, even some from Jamaica!

Then Sidekick (tried) to color over all of them but he was not so amused with this project so he found them and I colored. No big deal, we worked together!

When in doubt of what to do with your kid, make some cookie dough and let them have some fun! He played with these while I prepped dinner and then was more than happy to sample them for dessert!

Remember: These ideas and many more can be found on my Pinterest page. I have scoured the internet for more than enough hours collecting pins and ideas for our homeschooling and other random ideas.

Another post is coming right up! Make sure to check it out! See you soon!