Thursday, October 17, 2019
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Last Friday: on the way to Chicago
It was a busy day. I woke up too early, afraid that we'd miss the train, but then everyone else woke up early too.
The boys were super excited...for everything. For Chicago, for the train, for not going to school. (Isaac only had a half day though.) One of the things that I thought was cool is that as he was looking out the window Isaac was figuring out what kind of a community it was...rural, suburban, or urban. They had studied it a few weeks ago in school, so it was cool to see it being put into practice.
Once we were almost to the train station Joshua decided he wanted to start counting the roofs of the houses we were passing. ...well, he and Grandma counted as fast as Joshua could, which wasn't very fast.
We stopped at the hotel to drop off our stuff. There was a bear.
Joshua: Is the bear real?
Isaac: No, it's wearing a shirt.
Later when I asked Joshua if it was a real bear he told me it wasn't because of the shirt....not because of the many other reasons that it might not be real.
We went to the Museum of Science and Industry and stayed pretty much until they kicked us out...and we still didn't get to everything.
There was a large bucket with balls that tipped over every few minutes. Joshua was intrigued/worried about it.
Joshua carried around these two red balls a lot longer than I would have thought was fun. Sometimes he let go to put them in the river or what not, but then always got them back again.
My favorite part was the large Tesla coil. The boys' favorite part was "everything" (including the movie Joshua fell asleep during.)
After dinner we had reservations at the Sugar Factory. Oh my goodness, Isaac was so excited. Joshua was excited too, but Isaac went a bit crazy. Everything, the food and the desserts, were delicious.
And what trip to Chicago would be complete without a stop at the Lego store? Joshua got Kai as his Mini-fig match, which was pretty cool.
Phew. A great day, but by the time we got to the hotel I was exhausted and fell asleep quite promptly.
The boys were super excited...for everything. For Chicago, for the train, for not going to school. (Isaac only had a half day though.) One of the things that I thought was cool is that as he was looking out the window Isaac was figuring out what kind of a community it was...rural, suburban, or urban. They had studied it a few weeks ago in school, so it was cool to see it being put into practice.
Once we were almost to the train station Joshua decided he wanted to start counting the roofs of the houses we were passing. ...well, he and Grandma counted as fast as Joshua could, which wasn't very fast.
We stopped at the hotel to drop off our stuff. There was a bear.
Joshua: Is the bear real?
Isaac: No, it's wearing a shirt.
Later when I asked Joshua if it was a real bear he told me it wasn't because of the shirt....not because of the many other reasons that it might not be real.
We went to the Museum of Science and Industry and stayed pretty much until they kicked us out...and we still didn't get to everything.
There was a large bucket with balls that tipped over every few minutes. Joshua was intrigued/worried about it.
Joshua carried around these two red balls a lot longer than I would have thought was fun. Sometimes he let go to put them in the river or what not, but then always got them back again.
My favorite part was the large Tesla coil. The boys' favorite part was "everything" (including the movie Joshua fell asleep during.)
After dinner we had reservations at the Sugar Factory. Oh my goodness, Isaac was so excited. Joshua was excited too, but Isaac went a bit crazy. Everything, the food and the desserts, were delicious.
And what trip to Chicago would be complete without a stop at the Lego store? Joshua got Kai as his Mini-fig match, which was pretty cool.
Phew. A great day, but by the time we got to the hotel I was exhausted and fell asleep quite promptly.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Tuesday: bragging on the kids
Last week I was picking Joshua up and while he was getting off the playground she was relating a few stories from the day. Then she said, "I know you're not supposed to have favorites, but...he's up there."
Today we met with Isaac's teacher about math. This time his number for math went down a bit to 218, but the test changes a bit from first to second grade and with summer it was expected. It was still high though. Anyway, we talked about some ways to keep him engaged and pretty much ended up with the same solution as last year. She mentioned relief that we didn't just want him set aside with worksheets during class. :) (During school if they're just drilling addition he might do something else. If they're doing something more activity based it might depend on how things are going. I get to do his homework...this week we're doing the coordinate plane and today he mapped out a smiley face. He liked it.)
Anyway, she had so many nice things to say about Isaac too. He's been doing a much better job getting his work done this year, and finding pockets of time to work on it if he isn't going fast enough during the set aside time. (Yay!!) She mentioned that he is really interesting to converse with and finds appropriate times to talk to her. He's still a bit of a loner, but interacts with other students appropriately. Although I feel the same way, it's nice to hear.
So we also got a packet of topics that Isaac is (supposedly) ready to learn (so that I can appropriately make the homework). Some of these items are super surprising to me. Let me give you some examples...
*Writes and solves proportions to make inferences about populations
*Completes complex conversions of customary units of weight involving fractions, decimals, or more than two units.
*Solves real-world problems involving least common multiples
*Writes and solves a two-step linear equation in one variable involving a real-world or mathematical context
Today we met with Isaac's teacher about math. This time his number for math went down a bit to 218, but the test changes a bit from first to second grade and with summer it was expected. It was still high though. Anyway, we talked about some ways to keep him engaged and pretty much ended up with the same solution as last year. She mentioned relief that we didn't just want him set aside with worksheets during class. :) (During school if they're just drilling addition he might do something else. If they're doing something more activity based it might depend on how things are going. I get to do his homework...this week we're doing the coordinate plane and today he mapped out a smiley face. He liked it.)
Anyway, she had so many nice things to say about Isaac too. He's been doing a much better job getting his work done this year, and finding pockets of time to work on it if he isn't going fast enough during the set aside time. (Yay!!) She mentioned that he is really interesting to converse with and finds appropriate times to talk to her. He's still a bit of a loner, but interacts with other students appropriately. Although I feel the same way, it's nice to hear.
So we also got a packet of topics that Isaac is (supposedly) ready to learn (so that I can appropriately make the homework). Some of these items are super surprising to me. Let me give you some examples...
*Writes and solves proportions to make inferences about populations
*Completes complex conversions of customary units of weight involving fractions, decimals, or more than two units.
*Solves real-world problems involving least common multiples
*Writes and solves a two-step linear equation in one variable involving a real-world or mathematical context
Monday, October 14, 2019
Monday: spinner, dryer
Joshua had two sets to chose from to put together this morning. He went back and forth a bit, but decided on the spinner because he got it first. While it didn't take him long to put together, he played with it a lot!
Also, our dryer started making terrible squeaking noises. The good news? We already have a new one on the way. The gasket had been brittle and disappeared, and where the gasket was was slowly eating the laundry. So we ordered a new one last week. It won't get here until Friday, but we can line dry as needed until then.
Also, our dryer started making terrible squeaking noises. The good news? We already have a new one on the way. The gasket had been brittle and disappeared, and where the gasket was was slowly eating the laundry. So we ordered a new one last week. It won't get here until Friday, but we can line dry as needed until then.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Thursday: excel
Lately the computer that I teach at has had an extra feature where Excel quickly restarts itself while I'm in the middle explaining something. It's been a bit annoying, but had hadn't yet contacted CIT.
Today, however, I was unable to keep two worksheets open. Every time I tried to do something it would restart and the work I did would be lost too. I ended up moving into Google sheets, which I really don't care for...but it at least didn't reset every thirty seconds.
Surprisingly, excel worked almost fine for the second class. It restarted once like normal, but it was with a different file.
Today, however, I was unable to keep two worksheets open. Every time I tried to do something it would restart and the work I did would be lost too. I ended up moving into Google sheets, which I really don't care for...but it at least didn't reset every thirty seconds.
Surprisingly, excel worked almost fine for the second class. It restarted once like normal, but it was with a different file.
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
Tuesday: winter is coming
Today was fall break, so I stayed home and got some stuff done. While I didn't work all day, I did work consistently and got some of the important things checked off the list.
Including dealing with the garage. This needs to happen twice a year when the seasons change. This year we decided to put the kayaks in the garage instead of puzzling out how to get them in the storage area of the basement. I think this will be a very good choice. I also stowed a lot of the outside toys and made room for the winter tires, so it'll be easy to switch once snow comes.
We also got some fish yesterday. Some shiny ones and, as Joshua calls it, an allergy eater. I think it's too cute to correct to algae eater, so I just smile whenever he says it.
Including dealing with the garage. This needs to happen twice a year when the seasons change. This year we decided to put the kayaks in the garage instead of puzzling out how to get them in the storage area of the basement. I think this will be a very good choice. I also stowed a lot of the outside toys and made room for the winter tires, so it'll be easy to switch once snow comes.
We also got some fish yesterday. Some shiny ones and, as Joshua calls it, an allergy eater. I think it's too cute to correct to algae eater, so I just smile whenever he says it.
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