Some Photos

Zoe in her Santa hat and summer pajamas...please ignore the chaos that is our living room, we'll have that cleaned up around the year 2020....



Sascha the ham



We used a carving kit this year for the first time - very cool. Bat, smiley face (no kit needed for that one), and monster going trick-or-treating.

Questions for Walt Disney, From Zoe

What is Sleeping Beauty's last name?

Why does Snow White wear a cape?

Where is Snow White's dad, and why does he let the mean queen send her into the forest?

A Little Compassion

They say kids do what they know...


I was reading Zoe "Snow White" last night. On one two-page spread, there was a picture of the nasty queen on the left, looking into her mirror, and a picture of Snow White on the right, scrubbing the dungeon steps.

I was reading about how the queen banished Snow White to the dungeon and made her clean all day. Zoe wanted to know why the queen was so mean. "Because she thinks Snow White is pretty and she doesn't like that," was the gist of what I said.

Zoe looked thoughtful. Then she started giving suggestions as to how Snow White could make the queen feel better.

"'No White could share her toys," she said. "'No White could give her (the queen) a hug."

I said I thought that might help a lot, but since Snow White was locked in the basement, she unfortunately could not try any of those compassionate acts.

Thankfully, Zoe is confused as to why someone would be mean for so petty a reason. And is not interested in 'No White seeking revenge for being wronged. Let's hope that lasts...

Why Zoe and I Usually Only Make It Through One Bedtime Story

Conversation while reading "Snuggle Puppy" by Sandra Boynton:

Zoe: Do dogs pick their noses?
Me: No.
Zoe: Why not?
Me: Dogs don't have fingers.
Zoe: *Them* dogs have fingers (pointing to the book).
Me: Well, those are cartoon dogs. They're also making cookies. Real dogs don't make cookies.
Zoe: Choc CHIP cookies.
Me: Yes.
Zoe: That dog girl?
Me: I'm not sure. I can't really tell.
Zoe: Has a short tail. Long ears. Must be girl.
Me: Really? Is that the rule with cartoon dogs?
Zoe: Or maybe boy. Some boys have long hair.
Me: Yes, yes they do...

One Possible Reason Some Kids Might Be Overweight

Sascha ran a kids' fun run today - a one-mile race with her friend Lindy. Then we went to a library "event" - a volunteer appreciation get-together. Sascha & Zoe were the only two kid volunteers there. The fun run came up in conversation, and I mentioned that after this, S and I were going to go hiking. "Wow, that's an awful lot of exercise!" someone said.

Okay...well, maybe we'll just go home and sit on the couch instead, then. Wouldn't want to break a sweat or anything!

(We didn't -- we hiked for almost 2 hours and it was great. Yes, tiring - but great. And Sascha was running down the trail at the end, so she had plenty of energy left!)

An Interview With Zoe

Favorite food: General Tso's Chicken (she calls it "Moe's Chicken")
Favorite color: Orange
What about purple and pink?: I like those too
Favorite animal: Manatee
Why?: Because they are cute
Favorite bird: Chickadee
Why?: Because they are very cute
Favorite bug: Dragonflies and butterflies
What do you dream about?: Cheetahs. Nice cheetahs.
When you are hurt, what makes you feel better?: Sharing Sascha's toys

The Cat On Which You Should Not Dance

He deserves his own post - Theo rocks. He turns 15 years old at some point this month. He is very mellow and tolerant - but please, no dancing.

Mathophile

Sascha did an entire page of 2-digit addition on her own yesterday. And can do simple multiplication (4x5, 2x6, etc). And counting by 2s, 5s, 10s. I am going to have to scare up some challenging workbooks because she says everything we have is too easy! Maybe it's time to start algebra....

She also read me a BOB book from this set. It took awhile, but she did it! She got hung up on "was." She is very visual, but sight words confuse her sometimes. Ah, well, she has years to get it. She really wants to learn NOW, though (we are on lesson 24 or so of "teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons").

And we learned about spiders. National Geographic has a great video about them. She was intrigued that some of them have eight eyes.

A Lotta Nature, A Little Nurture

So...I have come to realize that kids are going to like what they like, and there's not a *whole lot* we can do about it. As in, I have one kid who LOVES hiking (this I just discovered over the weekend) and one who prefers not to walk except when absolutely necessary. Do I think I can instill a love of hiking in the non-walker? Maybe. But I don't think it will be ME instilling it. Once she is older, she might think hiking is the coolest thing ever. But forcing her to do it now is not going to help that!

Which all is just a long-winded way of saying that Sascha and I went hiking on Saturday and it was amazing and we both wanted to stay out there all day. We are now planning a thru-hike of the Long Trail (all 270 miles of it!) when she is old enough (but before I am *too* old).


My girl! She is getting so big....


Sascha took this one




Do you see the chipmunk?


The Lamoille River, taken from a narrow suspension bridge WAY up high.

Fall Photos

As a picture's worth a thousand words, I'll just keep my hands off the keyboard.

Weekends are Relaxing?

Our weekends are almost always fun, but hardly ever relaxing.

Tonight: bowling birthday party (for an adult, but it's a family party)

Saturday: soccer in the morning, either tie-dyeing or the Stowe Arts Festival in the afternoon, and women's game night after dinner

Sunday: Meeting friends in Montpelier for lunch and running around with the kids, followed by ice skating if I can still stay upright

I need Mondays at my desk just to recover.

Homeschooling Theatre

There's a great arts center in Burlington, where we've been several times to see plays, etc. They have a student matinee series that brings 20 performances to the stage throughout the school year, at reduced prices. Homeschoolers are welcome, and the first age-appropriate performance is tomorrow. We have noted at least eight others that both kids should like, from plays to an orchestra performance to Aboriginal songs. (Plus the National Acrobats of China.)

Makes me want to play hooky from work and go to a show!!

Geography, History, Art

Last night I took the kids to see Nicaraguan native dancing at the school. Three women performed, and we also saw a video about the group they belong to that helps women in Managua become self sufficient. We learned a bit about Nicaragua, and since the video was in Spanish, I and our friend Dave read the subtitles to Sascha. We picked out Nicaragua on the map before we left.

Zoe's Three-Year Stats

Height: 38 inches
Weight: 34 lbs
How she answered when the doctor asked "What do you like to eat?": "Chocolate and candy!"

(Well really - what do they expect her to say?)