Thursday

I think that once we start the "school year" (scheduled for next Tuesday) I will list the formal academics at the top, and then the informal learning log underneath in a bit more detail.

No formal academics today.

When Paddy got up he was following me around with stories to read, so I read to him for about half an hour.

We did our weekly jobs, then I took the three younger kids to the lakeshore and to the library. Kieron went into the market to buy a couple of things -- he has gotten pretty comfortable with doing this (a life skill I neglected with the older set). We stayed at the lake for about an hour; cloudy and a bit choppy on the water. I read "Deconstructing Penguins" (recommended by JoVE at Tricotomania -- showed up in our library pile today).

Brendan and Sean played Madden '08 and Liam worked on designing a robot for Kevin's new game.

Paddy and Aidan are still playing with the playdough set at interims during the day. The cabinets have become an oven and a refrigerator. They love to make food and Aidan will saying "How long will it take to cook? About one hour ...oh, my goodness, it's steaming" and then he rushes to get it out...cute.

When we got back home I cut the hair of the younger set....Kieron, Aidan and Paddy.

Then I read to Paddy again.... several stories. He wanted to keep reading and I wanted to have a little nap, so I got out the Duplos. When I woke up a few minutes later, music to my ears.... Paddy and Aidan engaged in imaginative play with the Duplos -- you know that intense, connected conversation that little kids have when they are deep in a shared pretend game. They never really did this together at all until this summer... Aidan was apparently not there developmentally, and Paddy wasn't able to carry the play, though Paddy could play this way with Kieron. They played together for nearly an hour.

Kieron was working on his Bionicle comic strips -- he does them on the computer.

Sean went off to football practice with Kevin. Clare and Brendan and I talked about Harry Potter, and liturgical music. .... agreeing on the most execrable songs. Sorry, and parodying them. Some things just lend themselves to parody, and "Ashes" and "Gather us In" are two. There are plenty more. Please note it is not sacred things we are making light of.... it is like Chesterton says, some things are not funny and not serious. But making a joke of them can be a defense.

On the home front, I straightened the freezer.