Lazy Summer Days

The hot summer days slip-slide past each other, like wet wiggly monkeys in a wading pool.
We have been busy and lazy at the same time, if that is really possible, and I have had so little to report while feeling so very occupied with the day-to-day.

In the last 7 days we have:
*Taken the van (Beloved Fred) in for an Oil change and discovered that the sway bar on the driver's side had snapped in-two. After a whole day of courtesy shuttles, babysitters, and waiting,  our quick oil change resulted in a Fred that is more road ready and decidedly more expensive than the $24.99 I expected to spend.

Not dead, yet

Our week in review:

Sockie graduated from preschool!

Yigh yigh yo

We're having mammal week at our house. Mammals.... it was Grape's pick. We're not really learning too much new stuff, but we're having fun identifying mammals everywhere and in everything.
School starts in one week, and I am struggling to feel like it is time to get ready.
I think of school time more like "You've Got Mail" with beautiful fall colors, crisp air and bouquets of sharpened pencils. I guess for this year we'll have to settle for sweltering 100+ degrees and a few Monsoon storms to go with our pencils.

Out of this world!

We've been astronomers this week. (in the most loose interpretation of the word)

We've read about and made a solar system.

Dino Dayz Part 2

My apologies that this second half of Dino week has been slow in coming. Turns out we made it a Dino two-weeks. Part One Here

 We borrowed a million dino-related books/CD's from our library, and it has been so fun to talk dinos. We were also able to visit a local McDonald's that is (for some unknown reason) all dinosaur style. There are 2 life-sized statues (T-Rex and Miasaura) and footprints at the checkout and a mural on the walls. Wow. This was a big family date- the Doctor came too. It was fun to eat restaurant food and be together. I also felt a pang of accomplishment when Socks piped up out of nowhere and said, "Miasaura means good muvvo" He's learning something after all!! All the pictures of our McD's outing are on The Doctor's phone, so hopefully I'll be able to add them soon. Here are the pics from my camera.

Grapes made a cube-a-asaurus. Janice VanCleave's "Dinosaurs for Every Kid" had lots of activities and science projects. We didn't do very many, but we read about them.

Dino Dayz Part 1

I used to teach elementary school. I used to manage and teach 28+ kids all day. (10-year-olds, no less!)

While three kids with a wide range of ages and interests is a very different game, I am putting to use some of my old skills. I am also thankful anew for my training and experience as a teacher. I like to tell myself that it helps me be a momma. I like to tell myself that it also helps me be that parent that my kids' teachers don't hate. (here's hoping, anyway!)

We made coloring pages from this free font:
http://www.fontspace.com/category/dinosaur
If you make it 500 size it fits one 'letter' (dino) per page.

We talked about meat eaters and plant eaters, and how the scientists can tell from fossils which is which.
Then we sorted the toys we have into carnivores and herbivores. (we only own a zillion because my Grapes went through a HUGE dino phase early on. Picture a barely 3-year-old headbutting strangers at church and then announcing it was because she was a pachycephalosaurus. Yeah-- that was her.)