Back To School - Kindergarten

copyright © Mamma Sass

copyright © Mamma Sass

It is the first day

Back

to

School

Lil' Monster is one happy boy.

copyright © Mamma Sass

We decided to being a new tradition of celebrating the first day back to school with some fun activities.

copyright © Mamma Sass

Today we began with a delicious breakfast, of pumpkin muffins and doughnuts from our favorite local bakery (The Moose is Loose).

copyright © Mamma Sass

This was followed by casting a hand impression, for future memory.

© Mamma Sass

We then followed this up with reading, some review of materials from last year's school, and calendar work.

Then off to Gymnastics - a fun way to close out the school day.

We then celebrated by having a nice family dinner at a local restaurant - a rare treat indeed.

By bed time, Lil' Monster was exhausted but content.

The rest of this week, our lessons will consist of a review of last spring's education.

Next Monday, we will begin our new Lessons of our Sonlight Curriculum.

Post update: I just wanted to share the finished handprint project:

What a great remembrance this will be when he is older. He is still deciding if he wants to color it or add anything to it or leave it as is. 

The Gymnast

It is fun to watch Lil' Monster grow up.

There are so many "firsts."

Today was the first time that Lil' Monster was signed up for a regular activity outside of our home.

Gymnastics.

He is a bundle of energy and is often found, leaping around the house, throwing himself off of things and tumbling on a regular basis.

We thought, it was high time for him to do those things with a goal, as well as to learn to do them safely.

Luckily, through our district homeschooling program, we are able to sign Lil' Monster up in classes in our community that address school courses. Gymnastics is a P.E. credit.

What luck.

Today was the first class day.

© Mamma Sass

 He was very excited to get ready.

Shorts and T-shirts are required gear.

But Lil' Monster begged to wear his beloved track suit on top.

© Mamma Sass

He looks like quite the professional.

After class, he was so happy AND thoroughly worn out.

I am thinking Gymnastics is not only going to be very good for Lil' Monster,

but for this Mamma! 

Sunday Play

In our home, we try to make Sunday's different than any other day of the week.

We are commanded to keep the Sabbath Day holy. (Exodus 20:8)

We interpret that to be more than just going to church for a few hours.

A day consists of 24 hours.

That can be a very long time with children.

We are not so strict like the puritans of old, where meetings and reading the bible all day was all you did.

But we don't want to be so relaxed about it, that we consider it a free day to play, catch up on chores, sleep all day, or laze around.

We have come up with some solutions.

After church attendance, we encourage quiet activities like reading (scriptures, church magazines, or other uplifting books), journaling, letter writing, goal setting, watching a spiritual and uplifting movie, calling family and friends, serving others, and sitting with each other simply talking.

Yet, even these activities can be quite difficult with young children.

Young children like to play, not sit quietly.

So, we have set aside certain toys and games for Sunday use only.

These items are not played with at all during the week.

This not only keeps the novelty of them alive; but it also is a way for our child to mark that the Sabbath Day is a different day than the rest.

A few of these toys are scriptural action figures.
They are great fun for our son.
They definitely keep him entertained and busy.

Presents and Play Dates

Remember Christmas?

I know, it was ages ago -

but really it was just 4 months ago.

This past one,

Lil' Monster received an odd gift from Santa

(a white elephant re-gift in fact)

Can you see what it is.

He were not that impressed.

He preferred the Christmas treats, Legos, and other assorted gifts.

This particular gift was put to the side and quickly forgotten

(as are all too many gifts).

 

Here it is 4 months later and

Lil' Monster had a play date.

He and his friend were 'bored'

(as kids tend to become with whatever they are allowed to do)

When a light bulb struck -

here was the perfect time to pull out something that didn't really mean anything special -

but it was something messy and edible (which most young ones love).

There was

frosting and decorating...

and assessing

and posing

and silly faces

and gnawing on old chewy candy

 and being grossed out

and lots of fun.

At the end I was asked 

"Can we do this again NEXT time?"

PS. Don't throw out those old gifts, they might just come in handy, and then you can send half of it home with a friend.

Spring Fever trumped by Winter Blues

The days are getting longer - which is great.

Unfortunately, with more light, we just realize how much winter is still left.

Spring Fever,

this year,

is setting in strong.

Which is odd, because it seems as if it is a much milder spring than last year.

Therein, probably, lies the reason we are chompin' at the bit for Spring to come.

Today,

staying indoors just did not seem like an option.

It was a beautiful sunny day.

A rarity for this part of the world.

It felt like spring was just around the corner,

although,

the temps were in the low 20's (f).



"I have the Power..."

huge icicle



After doing all that was necessary

(housework, homeschool, bills, etc.),

Lil' Monster and I decided to march outside just for a breath of fresh air.

It was late enough,

that Mr. Elskan,

who had arrived home from work,

just as we were walking out,

was able to join us.

We didn't go far,

just the end of the street - before we were to cold to continue on.

But it was enough.

20 minutes, was all it took.

But it was enough.

We ARE convinced...

it's STILL winter.

Can you see Lil' Monster's 3rd eye? He was a tri-clops for the day, and I apparently was a cone-head.

My snowball is bigger than yours - but who can throw farther?

After a fall - Pabbi to the rescue.

Deep snow

Running for safety

Trying to chuck the "snowball"



Making Movie Night Memories

Growing up and moving around a lot, reinforced the belief that

Family Traditions

are a must to keep a secure, safe, cohesive and connected feeling.

My home was often new and temporary so I rarely developed a connection with my surroundings.

So, my parents focused on acts and events to create traditions and a connected feeling.

Some were annual, some seasonal, some monthly, weekly and/or daily.

A common and loved tradition during my teens was

Movie Night.

Many people might think:
movie theater,
popcorn,
candy,
and soda.

In my family it was:
 ordering pizza
(such a treat!)
and
watching a TV movie or borrowing/renting a movie.

Sometimes there was soda.
Sometimes treats.

Mostly it was pizza.

Eating Pizza -
granted it was the super cheap kind, as we were a LARGE lower-income family -

was a little taste of heaven for us!

But what was even more fun was "watching" AND "eating" at the same time. Most of my friends ate every meal in front of the TV - however, in my family, dinner was ALWAYS a family dinner around a table with no outside distractions. But watching a movie AND eating pizza - now that was an event!!

So we started that tradition with our son. It is a new development and we are still trying to make it something fun for him to work towards all week long. He does his part for the week and we will actually eat and watch at the same time (so far - a great motivator). It is fun because this boy doesn't ever watch TV and doesn't even have a basis for most of what his peers know. What is "Cars"? Or "Toy Story," let alone classics like "Mary Poppins" or "Dumbo." So we are exploring these genres of film and eating pizza .

Here we are watching an episode of the old TV classic

"Dennis the Menace."

 Lil' Monster reacts to embarrassment the same way his dear

old Pabbi does: he has to hide his eyes!

These two sit on the edge waiting for a catastrophe of some sort, as Dennis gets into more trouble!

 Despite embarrassing moments Lil' Monster is still laughing and having fun!

I think this tradition is a keeper.
My favorite part is watching them watch the show.

What is a tradition from your youth that you enjoy sharing with your family?

You Light Up My Night...

Tonight we saw the Northern Lights for the first time as a family.

(copyright: Peninsula Clarion)

Pabbi grew up seeing them in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Mamma Sass grew up seeing them in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Now our boy get to grow up seeing them too!

Be our 'Ghost'

We are gearing up for the holidays.

One way we enjoy the holidays is with family movies and foods.

We enjoyed pumpkin yogurts while watching Disney's Blackbeard's Ghost, a favorite childhood movie of mine. I am finding that I just can't wait to share the fond memories and passions of my youth with my son. Certain movies hold a strong sense of nostalgia that I just have to pass along.

Source

This movie has a small element of spook and  a large element of hilariousness.

 Popcorn and candy corn are my Halloween favorite treats that I had to share.

Aren't his socks too cute for words? 

  

What fun holiday treats do you just have to share with your wee ones?

Beautifully Strung

Having Mr. Elskan home certainly creates a lot more space for creativity everyone can enjoy.

Today we played with string, fingers, and paints.

Have you ever tried it?

You should.

It is easy and fun to do!

 Beautiful colors.

 

Mamma and Pabbi's joint effort of string/finger painting.

Masterpieces were produced today.

Masterpieces of Childhood Memories.