Milestones

I've mentioned how easy (yes, I said EASY) it was to potty train Meme. One day he up and told us he needed to use the potty and "ahem" to close the door behind us. When he was done, so was my potty training effort (basically).

Recently I posted about how he came to us one day and decided he was ready for training wheels to come off. And so it was.

Earlier this summer he tackled the monkey bars like no one's business... even passing a struggling older child along the way. Just weeks before he didn't dare.

He is a kid who just won't attempt something until he is 110% sure HE is ready. I love that about him. I know when he comes to me asking permission to try something, he has thought it through and is truly prepared.

So it should come as no surprise that at 6pm tonight he set his mind to learning how to spell and read. After 15 minutes of practicing he was off spelling words on his own.. yelling them at us as he mastered them. "PAN! PEN! HEN! OFF! ON! TAR! TAN! YES! CAR!"... and I could go on. My favorite was Daddy standing at the bottom of the stairs asking Meme, "If you wanted to dig a hole.. how would you spell "dig"?". Meme thought for a moment and said, "Daddy.. tomorrow I want to go outside and D-I-G!".

I'm amazed. I'm proud. I'm excited. And I'm sad. No longer can we spell over the head of our dear little Meme. *sigh* Igpay Atinlay, anyone?

Bar Soap vs. Body Wash??

I had a discussion with my cousin Deanne a close family member and she told me something that literally rocked my world. She said something I had never heard before in my 37+ years on this earth. She does not use bar soap. SCREECH. I will wait a moment for that to sink in. Yes.. she went so far as to say she *hates* bar soap. Apparently she has had trouble with slimy soap but regardless, her entire family only uses body wash.

Personally speaking we use bar soap.. Ivory Aloe to be exact. And I keep mine in a draining tray on the opposite wall as the shower head. No slime for us! We use soap to clean and then body wash because I am cheap for the scent only. Let's not mention that the body wash lasts longer this way!

So how about it? Do we have other bar soap haters among us?? Or is my family member as crazy as I have always believed? (kidding!!)

Enough Said!

TV Good? TV Bad??

So I hear it all the time.. TV is not good for children. It causes them to sit in a coma-like state and just be entertained. Same goes for computer time. Children should have their "screen time" limited. I have always doubted some of these theories. Yes, I agree that some children prefer to sit in front of the video games instead of playing outside or getting some sort of mental stimulation. I agree that part of the obesity factor in today's child has a little something to do with the couch time some families allow. I don't think this is the case for all children and these theories and "studies" are unnecessarily alarming some very well-intentioned parents.

Here is a perfect example of why I believe TV can be beneficial to children, their learning, mental stimulation and development: Meme has been having trouble with the lower case b&d. I mean really.. who boesn't? As Meme and I were working on his Alphabet Game this week he pulled out the "d" and set it aside. When we arrived at "b" he pulled that out and set it next to the "d". Still I didn't ask what he was doing. Finally, when I flashed the "e" he got very excited, grabbed the card and placed it between the "b" and "d" and announced, "Look Mamma, I made a bed!" He went on to explain how he learned it on WordWorld.. a PBS television show.

Now I ask you: If a television show can so effortlessly teach my child how to spell, how to recognize letters and essentially how to read, how can it be so bad for them? In a 30 minute show, the TV taught my child what some schools fail to teach a child in 13 years of classes. I think maybe if we all just did what we believe to be best for our children, and let everyone else alone we would see that things are not.so.bad.

End of an Era..

Things have been a little "off" since we started Homeschooling Meme. We are trying to get into a routine with things and with that comes a deeper desire for adult conversation less computer time for Mamma. *sigh* Sadly, my blog has paid the piper (I know, I too have no idea what that phrase means!). Either way, my writing has suffered. Today, I wish to buy you off provide you with a little video of Meme this week. First, some background (knowing full well you will just skip through all this Mamma talk and jump right into the motion picture below!). Meme saw a sign for a local bike race last week. He immediately declared he would without a doubt WIN that race. Being a mom who has no desire to sit and wait for her 5 year old to be the last one over the finish line or worse yet.. drive around town looking for him because he tuckered out say, around, block #2.. I simply explained you cannot ride with training wheels. I thought I was free and clear after his simple, "Oh, ok" from the back seat. Jump to Sunday. Meme came to Babe and said, "Daddy, I want to race so can you take off the training wheels?". GULP.



Babe did but like a good husband of a blogger waited patiently while I retrieved our camera. He walked Meme up and down the walkway a couple times and then we took him out to the lawn. No sooner did we place the bike on the lawn did he jump on and take off. So quickly, in fact, that I missed the first time around the yard. Y'all.. he did not fall once. Just took off! This here is the 2nd go around the yard.



It is definitely the end of an era.

*As an added note, I learned we have a new reader all the way from Cape Coral! Just wanted to post a shout out to Lyn! Glad you stop by from time to time!

Seven Years Ago

A moment of silence, please.

*Photo from about.com

First Day of Kindergarten!

Not your typical "first day of school" shot, huh? Well, today we started the process of homeschooling and I am willing to say it went well. But then again, how often does the first day of kindergarten go awry? Here is a short list of the things we did today:

Researched used cars and drove out to test drive one. Realized it wasn't a good deal so left the lot before trying it out (quick lesson in bait and switch).

After realizing our water bill was due tomorrow, we all headed out to avoid paying a $10 late fee (budget analysis lesson as well as one in time management).

While Daddy took Bean to the store, Meme and I worked on his first lesson in creation. We made page one in his creation book, learned a song or two and did some computer work (colors and numbers).

When Daddy returned we all headed upstairs to repair a leaky toilet (lesson in plumbing and saving a buck by doing-it-yourself).

Lunch, naps and then a ride around the block on their bikes (we'll just call this recess).

Played a game of Mr.Mouth (lesson in colors and hand-eye coordination.. oh yeah.. and lesson in being a sore looser when Mamma beats the pants of them wins graciously).

Meme has been very excited about starting the school process and turned immediately into a student when I started explaining things. As if instinctively he treated me more like a teacher than Mamma. It was a little bit strange but fun at the same time. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.

*quick housekeeping note: Shout out to Lyne down in Cape Coral, FL! I hear she is reading my blog now and again but I'm not convinced it is after work hours *wink, wink*. Thanks for stopping by, Lyne!