Faux Fitness

"This is so I can exercise. And this is my phone. I watch it while I exercise." -Sophie, who has clearly watched her mom use her treadmill and phone to exercise.

Bouncing Boy

Last night I got to accompany the cub scouts on a special field trip to a local trampoline park. Cooper had lots of fun jumping for an hour and a half. He doesn't often go on such adventures without his siblings. I think it's good to give him opportunities for individual activities.

Global Warming

Happy Groundhog Day! This is the kind of winter we've had thus far.

It has been cold, but warmish days have interspersed the chilly. I don't mind the lack of snow, though I am a bit concerned for water levels in the area. Maybe that's the drought-weary Californian in me, always aware of how much water is available. The kids have missed the snow. Each time white frozen flakes fall from the sky, Sophie eagerly asks if she can make angels. Sadly for her, the snow hasn't stuck around long enough to make anything other than mud angels.

The Math Wall

As part of his homework, Cooper is supposed to practice multiplication facts everyday for at least five minutes. Bryan or I need to witness/assist with the practice for it to count (no pun intended), and then we have to sign a calendar that Cooper keeps in his binder, thus making the practice official.

We have struggled with this assignment. Rather, Cooper has a had a hard time remembering the facts, despite practicing them each day. We've shown Cooper flashcards with the equation and had him answer out loud, we've listened to songs that contain the facts (hello Schoolhouse Rock), we've played clapping games and recited the facts together. None of it really worked.

I was praying and pondering over this dilemma. The question occurred to me, "How does Cooper learn?" Cooper's a pretty visual kid. So am I. When I practice something, it helps me to see the answer, then when I need the information later, I can recall it and see the  picture of the answer in my head. None of our practice techniques, not even the flashcards, had the answers printed anywhere.

And that is how the math wall was born.

I found these printables by searching for multiplication facts on Pinterest. I intended to print them out all the way up to twelve, but the printer ran out of colored ink and decided not to print the last four pages. I'll add them later.

How does it work?

Well, Cooper is kinesthetic in addition to being visual, moving helps him concentrate and remember. Everyday Cooper stands in front of this wall and recites all of the facts twice, all while alternating between doing jumping jacks and marching in place. The kids think it's great fun and often join him, even Sophie who likes to yell out things such as, "1 times 2 is 6!" But the other three are solidly learning their multiplication facts.

And guess what? It's working for Cooper. He takes timed math fact tests every day at school. For some reason, Cooper freezes under pressure. So even if he knows the answer, he overthinks everything. Before the math wall, Cooper was only getting a handful of problems done in the minute he was allotted. A few days ago he came home from school, excited to share his success. His goal for the test was getting twenty-five answers correct in one minute. Instead of his usual four or five, he had gotten twenty right!

Being a mom is a hard job, I can't imagine how much harder it would be without inspiration.

Natural Sleep Aid

Budding Dermotologist

Peter was invited to a sleepover for last Saturday night. We've decided we're not going to do sleepovers (unless our whole family is traveling and staying with friends), but we told him he could do a late-over. In other words, he got to stay until 11pm. Six hours of video games and friends was completely awesome for him. He especially loved staying up so late.

Until he had to function on Sunday.

We were all pretty tired yesterday. Peter fell asleep within minutes of his 8pm bedtime, which almost never happens. The night before, Bryan had stayed up to get Peter and I had stayed up to see them both back in the house safe and to hear about the fun night. It felt a little like a glimpse of the future, when my children will be out late at dances and parties and dates. That feels far away, but I know it's close.

But for now, Peter is still his eleven-year-old self. I did his bedtime routine last night, which includes a song. I asked what he wanted me to sing. In response, he got really close to my face and said, "Wow, you have really dark circles under your eyes!"

"Yes I do. What song do you want me to sing?"

"And I can see some of your pores."

"Okay Peter, what song?"

"Some of them are sticking out-"

"Ack! The song?!"

Yeah, he's definitely still a kid.

A Week Off

On Sunday morning I sat down at the computer to print out a few items for my Primary lesson (I'm Phoebe's Primary teacher, in addition to being a Webelos den leader for our ward). The kids were all happily playing, a beautiful and rare occurrence. I decided to take a minute and do my blog post for Monday. As I looked through my recent pictures, I realized that I had material for several quick posts, just waiting to be shared. In about thirty minutes I had four blog posts scheduled.

Usually at least a little time each night is spent on the blog. But not this week. How did I spend my free evenings? Well, on Sunday and Monday I read. It was delightful. And my book was due on Tuesday, so I felt the pressure of time. On Tuesday I planned our cub scout activity, then on Wednesday I carried it out.

In reality, I didn't have that much more time in the evenings. Peter's bedtime is a little later than it used to be and I've been trying so hard to go to sleep earlier, so my personal time is nearly non-existent anyway. The big difference was the lack of stress I felt each night. And bonus, I had a sense of accomplishment knowing that something was already scheduled to be published the next morning. I've been much more mindful over the last few weeks about being prepared, thanks to my New Year's goal. It's interesting to me that something as small as posting on the blog a few days in advance would make the rest of the week feel smoother.

Let's Hear It For the Boys

Thanks to the Rediscover this Day feature on Google Photos, I came across these pictures. I remember how long those days felt, before we were constrained by the hours of school. We would read and play and color and read and go to the park and play and read and eat and go to the library or the store or the museum and find all kinds of activities to keep active little boys busy. This was before we had pink or princesses in our house, back when I was convinced I would only ever be the mom of boys.

I know that the boys don't remember this far back, but I am so thankful that I do.

"Mom! I Forgot to Bring a Book! I Need Something to Read!"

Coloring Your Hair

"Sophie, what's on your head? Did you draw on your head with something?"