Taking It Easy

In the three weeks since their week away with their dad, I’ve mostly been trying to correct bad attitudes, reteach basic behaviors, and reintroduce them to fairly simple and enjoyable lessons. I’m not keeping track of our time spent on lessons, I’m just giving myself a pat on the back when we manage to do one at all.

We work in math problems by saying things like, “he is 2 years older than me and I am 25.” when they ask how old my partner is. C is still super interested in reading, and even identified the store we were going to (Party City) when we were Halloween costume shopping. Over lunch, I just talked to them about the ways in which computers, phones, and video games were different when I was a kid, what a signature is, why some grapes have seeds and others don’t, and why wild gorillas probably wouldn’t just take your food if you offered it to them. They've helped me clean, made caramel apples, and finger painted.

Last weekend, we made pine-cone bird feeders and hung them on our balcony. I took that opportunity to talk to the girls about why bird feeders are particularly important for birds in the fall and winter months. We’ve also been observing the color changes in the tree outside their window. 

A friend of ours came over and played a couple of rounds of kid-friendly Mouse Guard (a role playing game that seems like the amusing and adorable child of Burning Wheel and the Mouse Guard comics by David Peterson) with the twins, Friday night. That seemed like the highlight of their week. They had a lot of fun, we got to have dinner with a guest, and I got a chance to make a craft store run so I don’t lose my mind being 28 weeks (and counting) pregnant, on the third floor, in the winter.

My partner does a great job of presenting learning opportunities at every corner, and doesn’t seem to mind when the information isn’t absorbed. As a result, we’ve spent a little time talking about coin and dollar values, reminding S that she can, in fact, tie her own shoes, and practicing riding bikes. But, last weekend, the temperature suddenly dropped and we even got a couple of inches of snow, early Friday morning.

So, we were basically stuck in the apartment for the weekend, since we’re still waiting on M’s new snow boots to arrive, and even after the snow melted it was too cold to seem at all appealing. But most of this week should be in the 70’s, so I’d like to enjoy that before winter comes crashing down on us again.

Anyhow, the last few weeks haven’t been a total loss as far as their education is concerned. It’s just been fairly unstructured and eclectic. That’s just fine.