Monthly Archives: June 2010

Homeschool

To share or not to share?

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Here’s an equation I’ve been puzzling over lately:

3x(2y)+h=s

wherein:
x = the numbers of bedrooms in our house
y = the number of children in our family
h = homeschooling
s = where, precisely, is the homeschooling going to take place?

We’ve been doing our schoolwork at the kitchen table and on the couch. It’s worked out fine, but I’d like to get all of the stuff into one place. I’ve been thinking about putting the kids’ beds in one bedroom and turning the other room into a playroom/schoolroom space. Because we have a boy and a girl, it wouldn’t be a long-term solution. But right now they’re nearly-5 and nearing-3, and I think they’d be fine with limited privacy for a few years, at least.

What do you think?

Screen time

We had ‘Lotso’ fun at ‘Toy Story 3’

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Toy StoryOur first family movie-going experience went so very well. The kids were riveted, and there was only minor squirrelyness from Petey. One of us had to wipe away some tears, but I won’t reveal that gentle soul’s identity to you. Here’s what the kids thought:

(There are some very minor spoilerish statements below.)

Poppy: “It was great. It was awesome. It was a great movie. My favorite part was when Woody and Slink stopped the monkey.”

Pete: “My favorite part was ‘Toy Story 3.’ ”

I enjoyed it, too, but I still think the original was the best one. I did find the similarities between “Toy Story 3” and the “Lost” finale interesting — the live together, die alone theme was there, as was the echoing of the movie’s/series’s opening sequence.

Because this was a movie, Rockford had the most to say. I asked him to keep it to five sentences. He wasn’t able to be quite that succinct, but he did pretty well:

It’s a bittersweet send-off meant for the people who were 6 years old when the first movie came out rather than the people who are 6 years old now. The characters have gotten older. They’ve seen toys come and go, and they’re all a little world-weary. This might be the most well-directed of the three movies; of all of them, it’s the hardest thematically. It has some of the darkest moments of the trilogy, but it also has some of the best examples of the friendship and camaraderie between these “people.” I would watch the movie again just to see the Chuckles the Clown scene, which used the convention of film noir. And you found yourself laughing at the reference, but it was also really well done. I give it four out of four stars.

menu plan Monday

A landmark occasion on the horizon

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menubutton

Monday: Grilled pork sliders.

We had these last week, too, and they were equal parts easy and tasty. Rockford and Petey gave them high marks and requested them again this week.

Tuesday: Tacos.

Tuesdays are supposed to be Kids’ Choice days, but the kids were napping when I made my list this weekend. It was Pete’s turn to pick, though, and he loves tacos, so I figured they’d be a safe pick.

Wednesday: Breakfast for dinner.

This week, breakfast for dinner will feature egg and cheese muffins and probably pancakes.

Thursday: Hot dogs.

Rockford loves hot dogs. I will eat them, so long as they’re the fancy kind.

Friday: Pizza.

This is going to be a Very Special Pizza Night. It’s “Toy Story 3” day, and we’re having our first whole-family movie date! Rockford is going to leave work a little early so we can see a late-afternoon matinee, and then we’re going to go out for pizza. Rockford and I used to love going to the movies (still do), so this is an event we’ve been looking forward to for a long time. I think Pete will sit still and mostly quiet for the movie. We’ll see!