February 2010 -
Camera tag
Playdate with Elsie and Christopher (Waterford, NY)
Wiki Stix art
Helping redesign Annalise's bedroom
Food choices and nutrition
National Geographic Kids DVD - "Swinging Safari"
Olympics - Opening and Closing ceremonies; history; geography; flags; anthems; figure skating; skiing; snowboarding; speed skating; luge
Trip to local ski mountain to watch skiers and chair lift.
Thrift store - purchased secondhand TV and assorted videos and a Japanese kimono.
Food art
Set up new television/VCR connections, and added Gamecube.
Animal Crossing - finances, fish, dinosaur, shellfish, and insect species, bartering, reading currents
Honey decrystallization experiment
Bouncing
LED light play
Overnight (2 nights) visit from cousin Cameron, age 9.75
Mentored Cameron in Animal Crossing
Visit to New York State Museum (Albany, NY) - Caorusel, Escalator independence!, NY wildlife and tracks, phosphorescent NY minerals, NY in Bloom Annual Flower Show, trapping/logging, Penny Pot computer game, checkers with Cameron, red slider turtle observation, solar system, A-train, Sesame Street, NY Metropolis (fishing, whaling, New York City history, evolutio of bicycles, architecture, Wright whale skeleton, skyscraper construction, 19th century street market, Chinese grocery), NY birds.
Visit to Chuck E. Cheese with Cameron
Games with Cameron - "Cops and Robbers" and their invented game, "Back to your Base".
Crayon Physics computer game
Joined Live and Learn Homeschool Co-op - free indoor play, Foozeball with Annalise and I
Hypothetical discussions of psychic powers
March 2010
Food preparation
Helped make Annalise's new loft bed
Attended fourth birthday party for his cousin, Carlee
Welcomed new family additions, Rintoo and Tolee the rabbits - hutch, rabbit care, purchasing supplies, bonding, and observation of rabbit behavior.
Day visit to Lake George Lodge and Water Park (Lake George, NY) - water and crowd safety, studying effects of current (Lazy River), studying tubes and chutes, physical exercise, physics and mechanics of rides, historic Adirondack postcards, arcade games, multiplication to calculate cost of tickets, purchases at gift shop.
Visit to Brock's Dairy Farm (Schagticoke, NY) - Observed and discussed various aspects of dairy farming (milking machines, milk tank, antibiotics and syringes, veal calves, railroad safety, swan observation).
Attended fourth birthday party for friend Marcus at the Children's Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST; Troy NY) - NY wildlife, electricity; including making an electrical circuit, Alka-seltzer rockets, planetarium show on the solar system, solar system activity, reading meteorological report using greenscreen and teleprompter, model of capital region, burden water wheel, reptiles, purchased dynamo torch from gift shop.
Visit to Waterford/Halfmoon school playground - organized Pokemon card battle with other children on playground, physical play including running, spinning, climbing, swinging,sliding, balancing
Inveting and playing a battlefield building game with Annalise
Played Don't spill the Beans with Annalise
Played The Hobbit video game on Gamecube, and watched the beginning of the live-action film "The Two Towers"
Live and Learn Homeschool Co-op meeting - dyeing yarn with Kool-aid, observed wool dyeing, free indoor and outdoor play
Visited grandparents - road safety during walk, saw map of grandfather's Mediterranean cruise aboard a navy destroyer escort
Performances and shows with Annalise using her small farm animals
Live and Learn co-op meeting - shark exhibit provided and shown by Echo, age 13 (shark jaws and teeth, preserved baby nurse shark, books, and charts), piano improvisation, foozeball, organized candy trade from birthday pinata
April 2010:
Live and Learn Co-op Easter party - egg dyeing, imaginative play, egg hunting, DS conversation and play
Littlest Pet Shop play with Annalise
Visit to Indian Meadows Park (Scotia-Glenville) - playground, nature trail, bridge building, dramatic play with Annalise, Naomi (4), Devin and Ethan (7)
Chose to purchase, experiment with, open, and taste raw coconut and coconut milk (not to his taste, but fun finding out!)
Discussed motorcycle safety, and tried on Jim's gear (helmet and gloves)
Observed and sampled garden asparagus (also not to his taste)
Outdoor play and nature exploration (buds, shoots, flowers, bees, other insects)
Navigating the Interet to find games and Pokemon episodes online.
Discussed the idea of starting a blog and renewed interest in social networking with his cousin
Visited grandparent's house for Amma's birthday
Visit to Pizza-Hut - made salad, claw machine and toy vending machines, experimented with magnetic Bakugan balls,traffic safety
Observation of great blue heron (Mechanicville Reservoir)
Live and Learn Co-op - using manual wool carding machine, organized Matchbox car scene play
Invented measuring stick game with Annalise, using a branch she found
Observed an ant carrying dead prey; discussion of ant strength, diet, and community
Dancing solo and with Annalise, variety of (and sometimes without) music
Copying game codes
Attended cousin Cody's 18th birthday party (Ballston Spa). Indoor computer play alone and with Cameron (9). Outside play with cousins Sam(5), Nate(3), Carlee (4), and with Annalise and several other neighbor children of assorted ages.
Journey Through the Body (Colonie Center) - examined cows heart, kidneys, real and model bones, model skeleton, defibrillator, brain models and puzzles, intestine and ear models, nutritional information, Anatomy Jeopardy!, and much more.
Animal Crossing
DS play with Annalise (linked in PictoChat)
Balancing items on fingertips
Pokemon card battle with Annalise
Two dimensional pattern block building
Live and Learn Co-op - Ice cream making (ice cream balls and coffee cans), crushing ice with rolling pin, free play, piano improvisation, bubble experimentation
Discussed dental work and oral hygiene after my tooth extraction
Outside obstacle courses
Playing school with Annalise, which involves sand play and a lot of giggling
Helping make grocery list, shopping, selecting grocery items, budgeting allowance for additional purchases
Decided to save up his allowance, and asked me to help him know when he would have saved $36, which we worked out together on the calendar
Invented game, "Galactic Pokemon Adventure!"
Visit to Chuck E. Cheese
Beginning to think more about personal hygiene choices - a little more concern for cleanliness of himself and his environment
More helpful - began to prepare my sweet coffee, use toaster oven, and make tea for himself; offering help with household chores, back rubs, other acts of kindness and generosity
Watching PBS Kids - favorites are Fetch!, Word Girl, Martha Speaks, Arthur, Electric Company, Sid the Science Kid, Curious George
Visit with friends Elsie and Christopher (8 and 6; Waterford) - sharing DS with Elsie, and mentoring her, attending Elsie's softball practice, conversation about gaming with pat and jack (11), DS play
Sorted through items given to them by Elsie and Christopher's mom, who closed her small daycare. Chose items to keep, and some which could be shared with co-op friends or donated elsewhere.
Asked a gentleman for directions to a water fountain, received a map, and used it to navigate us successfully to the fountain and Friendly's
Witnessed two girls in a high velocity wind chamber. He wanted to try, but not alone: Annalise was afraid, so maybe another time. Wind velocity reached hurricane force of 83 mph
Noticed and read aloud the billboard for Shrek 4. Several feet later, he exclaimed, "It's not ogre till it's OGRE! Now I get it!" He hasn't grasped that variety of wordplay, before now
Visit from CPS worker - dealing with conflict, being interviewed by script and not allowed to speak as he wished, homeschool laws and government representatives. he comported himself well, although he was angry, threatened, and frustrated with the worker's no-nonsense and minimizing way of treating him in his own home. Sadly, he also now knows that there are some things his parents cannot protect him from, such as family members who will go to such lengths to express their disapproval, rather than do so openly.
Live and Learn Co-op - Vampires and Werewolves game orchestrated by teens Echo, Andrea, and Emily. Excavation game with other children, ages 4-8, searching for buried treasure.
Credit union business - check cashing, savings.
Helped with repurposing of our front rooms by sortig through books to store, give away, or keep readily available, which of course led to some impromptu reading.
Listened while I read aloud from The Little Prince, a favorite of his.
Played a variety of video/DS/computer games, including: Madagascar, Dogzz, Animal Crossing, The Hobbit, Crayon Physics, assorted Pokemon games, He tends to choose games of epic proportions which require a gradual collecting of skills, items, information, points and money, with ample room for exploration, problem-solving, and perseverance.
Used coin operated popcorn vending machine.
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