Week Eight - February 19 - 25

We've had a busy but fun week this week!

We didn't get around to doing any specific letter this week but did talk about the letters a lot. Instead of focusing on their names we're working on their sounds more. The boys are both picking that up quite quickly which is good. I think they were having trouble with the whole alphabet concept because I was focusing too much on the names of the letters rather than the sounds they make.

~* This week was a playgroup week for our Homeschooling playgroup. We went swimming together which was a hit. The kids all love the water. We had an older boy come along for the first time - he is 8. It was great for the younger ones to have him there and they all got along really well. Next week we are going to start going along to a mixed ages homeschooling group. After playgroup this week, I'm looking forward to it even more - I think Liam will really benefit from mixing with children of all ages. He's always really liked being around older children so he'll enjoy it.
My mum came along to our playgroup this week. I was a bit nervous about what she'd think but it went over well. It was good for her to talk to other homeschoolers and hear about their experiences.

~* We had our first visit to the nursing home this week. We got to have morning tea with the residents in the dementia ward. The boys were a little unsure at first and Liam was quite annoyed about being asked his name over and over again. He got quite angry at one of the ladies there. I was so embarrassed but they handled it really well and were very understanding - I think they expected that it would take a little while for the boys to get used to the different behaviour. I hadn't really thought that it would be a problem for Liam so was a bit shocked when he got upset with them. It is a big difference to the adults he usually is in touch with so it much have come as a suprise to talk to an adult that was so child-like. Once he had his outburst though, he went and held a few people's hands and listened to them talk so it wasn't a disaster at all! I spoke with the coordinator and we agreed that we will stick to shorted visits and build up from there. We're going to go for morning tea again next Wednesday and I'm going to make sure that the boys take a toy to show the residents - something to talk about other than names! Liam is keen to teach them all about Star Wars so that should be interesting!!

~* Liam and Ewan have been getting quite good at helping out around the house. It feels like just a couple of weeks ago that I was yelling at them to do anything - now though they seem to enjoy it! So nice! I have started encouraging them to make their own beds in the morning, they bring their bowls to the kitchen after meals, sometimes help with the washing up, and are getting very good at tidying up after they play with their toys. Liam helped me to make crumbed chicken for dinner the other night. He did all the crumbing steps and really enjoyed it. He used to love cutting up vegies too but has cut his fingers a couple of times this year so is very wary of using a knife now. He's such a worrier! Ewan, on the other hand, can't wait to get his hands on a knife!! He loves chopping things up and he's enjoying helping with the dishes too - though it's mostly just pouring water in and out of cups and jugs.

~* We had our first session of Kids Sports on Monday afternoon. The council is putting it on for free in our local park. The boys had a ball. They did lots of games - running around, playing with balls, sack races and obstacle courses. It was really good so we will be going to that again.

~* Hmm what else..... we did counting a lot this week. Liam is into lining up all of his Star Wars toys to count. We also did counting with some glass stones that I have and a box with little compartments - so we'd put one stone in the first section and then repeat up to fifteen. I have written the numbers on the base of each section. We also did playdough and lots of independant craft activities - the boys have access to most of our craft supplies and just get it all out and make things when the creative urge strikes!