The Beginning of an Obsession

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We're SERIOUSLY into Legos in our house these days.   Oh, we've had Legos for years, but my daughter never seemed to like them all that much.  My son, on the other hand, loves them!    He likes to make everything "from scratch" (as he puts it).    The Legos are taking over his bedroom, they are under the cushions of the sofa.  Somehow Legos creation even wind up on my dresser -- because "mom, you really like them!".

I read this post a while ago - 10 Good Things About Legos - little did I know how Legos would be overtaking our life in such a short time!

I'm on a mission now to find lots of fun things to do with Legos!  Rather than go through all of them with you, why don't you visit my Pinterest page.  I've made a board called "Lego Activities".  Check it out!   

Another activity I found that we WILL be doing very soon is a Lego Lapbook from Walking by  The Way.   Scroll down her page of lapbooks until you find the Lego one (in the second grade category).  It is so well done and incorporates history, math, geography - you name it, she's covered it!   

We're lucky enough to have a Lego outlet store about an hour from our house.   As a Fun Friday activity we visited the store.   My children had never been there - needless to say there were a bit overwhelmed.    What's better than a Lego sarcophagus?!?! 

I had heard (via the Lego website) about Lego mini builds.  They are held the first Tuesday of each month at Lego stores.  Each month there is a different project children can build (with the assistance of employees at the store).   When I mentioned we lived far away and had missed the August mini build the cashier told me they still had some projects in the back left over.   She got a wonderful young man from the back; they set up a table and called all of the children in the store for a mini build!    It was a great exercise in listening and direction following.  

  My daughter excelled at building - it was great to see her getting involved with her brother.   When we got home they rushed to his room to build Legos.   

My great find of the day was this Lego calendar, which you need to rebuild each month!  I thought the price was right at $14.99 (considering it retails for $30 on Amazon!) 

Do you have some Lego activities to share with me?    Or, maybe a favorite website?    I'd love to know, because I'm a Lego newbie!!

Weekly Wrap Up #2 - Mom is Getting Better

It was a good week in our homeschool.  It has been a GOOD week for me personally, as well.  Do you remember when I asked for your prayers and shared my story about my two year struggle with a herniated disc?    Well, I've been seeing a wonderful physical therapist!  God directed me to a kind, knowledgable woman who has homeschooled five of her own children.    I have been going to therapy two times each week and being diligent about exercising at home.    I'm beginning to feel there is LIGHT at the end of this tunnel.    


I truly believe that sharing my pain allowed so many of you to pray for me, and God is working in my life.    I cannot tell you what an amazing feeling this is!   Once physical therapy is finished I will continue with Pilates classes at the same rehab center.   A key to feeling better has also been not spending time at the computer.  I am limiting my time sitting at my desk to just the time I spend writing - all other reading of blogs, etc... is done on my iPad, where I can put my feet up and be comfortable!   I think God is using this struggle to get some out of whack priorities back in place.   


In our homeschool this week we went full steam ahead with almost all of our subjects.  We added science.    Apologia's Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day seems like it's going to be a winner.  Miss B enjoyed the very first experiment in the book about air pressure and is liking keeping a science notebook.  

The weather has been just miserable here in Georgia - hot, hot and more hot!   We've had to seek out indoor places to play - my little guy HAS to get his energy out, or we are all doomed!   Here he is playing basketball:

We also went to the YMCA to swim laps.   I swam for an hour - and it felt wonderful!   After I was finished I got the kids to come  in the lane with me and I coached them through some laps, too.  Great excercise!

Miss B is continuing her knitting projects.   She's working on  some American Girl scarves for her friends.   I love this yarn! 

Our cooking project this week was making tapioca pudding.  In a chapter of The Story of The World we had learned about the root of the Cassava plant and how when it is ground up it makes the tapioca "beads"/seeds .... one day for snack we made tapioca pudding.  It was a wonderful exercise in following directions!

Most importantly, I'm steadily learning to let go of my rigid schedule ideas and just have fun learning with my kids.  Oh yes, we covered all of the necessary math, grammar, spelling (oh how I love Spelling Workout by the way), reading, and fine arts things, but what stuck out to me about our week was the fun we had together.   


Fun Friday this week will be spent at the Lego store north of Atlanta.  My son is obsessed with Legos and I told him if he got to 1,000 on his number scroll we would pay a visit to the store (we've never been) and get something to make as a family.    That little stinker got up early a few mornings this week so he could write his numbers to 1,000 for me.   He claims he will get to 5,000 next week!   It's funny what motivates some kids - numbers do it for my son! 


How was your week?    I'm happily joining the weekly wrap up at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers!