Bowling

Wednesday is dollar day at the bowling alley so I decided we needed to do some p.e. there yesterday. Before heading to the alley we went over the rules and such of bowling. We play the Wii bowling game pretty often so we knew many of the terms but needed to officially go over the rules and ediquette of the game. We took some time to really learn how to score a game even though the computer always just marks the frames for us.  I had never understood how the score is determined when you get a strike or a spare. I now know!

 Molly tossed, rolled and pushed her ball down the alley each and every frame of the two games. Her ball would go so slowly some times we were amazed it even made it down to the pins.

 It is nice to bowl with the bumpers up because that was the only reason most of the balls made it down to the pins. I think Henry was the big winner on how many times his ball can bounce off bumpers on its way down to the other end.  I think he had one pass where the ball bounced 4 times off the bumpers and then hit the pins in just the right place to get a strike.

Ian had great ball handling and seemed to use a great stance and even gave the ball a lot of power down the lane. For some reason his ball would constantly curve and end up hitting only one or two pins each frame. His score was not the highest. In fact during one of the games Molly scored more points than Ian. He wasn't discouraged. He was just there having a good time.

Sophie really could care less about form or speed. She walked up to the line and swung her arm back and forth and would toss the ball down lane. I tried to get her to bend down a little lower and roll it more but she did it her way and surprisingly she did alright. Her scores were pretty good.

After bowling two games my kids were tired. They all complained about their bowling arm being a bit sore. But when we got in the car they asked if they could do it again next week.  I guess they enjoyed it! And better yet the boys are excited that today experience was enough to earn them a cub scout belt loop for bowling. If we play another few games we could even earn the pin to go along with it.

Personal Progress - Individual Worth #5

In the fourth grade I decided to learn to play the flute. My parents bought me a used flute and I joined the elementary school band. I learned to play the flute. I played through eighth grade and even tried out for and was part of the county honor band my eighth grade year.


 In High school there were to many flutes and some of us decided to switch from our woodwind to a brass instrument because there were far fewer of them. I played the euphonium the last three years of High school it was a very fun instrument to play. I enjoyed getting to play very different parts than what a flute usually gets to play. It was a little bit heavier than my flute so playing in half time shows and in parades was a little more fun. Plus lugging that big case home wasn't easy so practice didn't happen all that often.

I went to college and thought it would be fun to play in the band but I wasn't a music major and the idea of trying out just didn't suit me. I didn't pick up my flute for years and didn't own my own euphonium so my music playing days were pretty limited.

About 5 years ago a friend of mine found out I played the flute in my younger years and invited me to play in the community band of which she was a member.  I decided it sounded like fun. A night out learning something new and getting to listen and play music. It was a lot of fun.

 When we moved a few months ago I was sad to leave my weekly band practice and the friends I had made being a part of the community band. I looked online to see if our new city had a band and sure enough it does. In fact the kids new piano teacher is a clarinet player in the community band. In January I started to come to practices.  It felt much like my former community band. It is a little smaller but so is the town I live in. We play much the same types of music and I am just as limited in my abilities as I was before. I consider it an accomplishment when I am able to make it through a piece and not get lost.

We had a concert on Monday night. My kids and husband came to hear us play. The piano teacher gave them two days off of practice this week for attending. We played some lovely pieces. A suite by Gustav Holst was my particular favorite. We also played selections from the musical The Music Man and a tribute to Louis Armstrong which was what my kids especially liked.

I try not to compare my playing abilities to the others in the band. The high school student who sits next to me can sight read everything and have it sound great. My goal is only to enjoy playing the music and be able to play more or better than I did the week before.  It is a lot of fun for me to perform with the band. It was something I enjoyed doing in my younger years and it still makes me feel good when I am able to play something I couldn't play before.

Giving it a go

Molly is always in need of "school work" she can do while I do other things with the boys or Sophie. I figured I would give K5 Learning a try and see how it works since I recieved an email inviting me to give a go for 6 weeks and then write up a review.

K5 Learning has an online reading and math program for kindergarten to grade 5 students.  I've been given a 6 week free trial to test and write a review of their program.  If you are a blogger, you may want to check out their  open invitation to write an online learning review of their program. 

Reading, Watching and Visiting

 Our latest read aloud was the book Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham.  I started it because it takes place in the time period we are studying for history but also because it is a great "boy book" (my two boys are my main read aloud audience lately) and teaches so many great things. We had great discussions about "sailing by ash breeze" or being "becalmed". Nat Bowditch is alos a great leader and we discussed the qualities that made him such a great teacher as well as a great learner.  I love that Molly, who never appears to be paying much attention while I read, will use terms from the books we are reading. She has been saying "Carry on. Mr. Bowditch" here and there each day.  She does listen a little!

This is a great book for kids to read. Very inspiring how Nat can take very humble, ugly circumstances and make the most of it.





When we finish a book we often try to find a movie version to go along with it. But there isn't a Carry on, Mr. Bowditch movie so instead I had them watch an eppisode of Horatio Hornblower. I figured it takes place at about the same time period but it it British and not American.  At least it would give them a taste of what life on board a ship would be like at that time.  The boys were thrilled by the first episode of this series and wanted to watch the next one. It is a little more violent and brutal than I usually let them watch so I don't know how much farther into the series we will go just now. It is a great series and we have all of them on DVD sitting on our shelf so it is only a matter of time. We will see if they continue their interest.

It just so happens that a nearby city was hosting two 18th century tall ships.  This was perfect timing to go along with our reading! (Funny how moms always know which books to pick to go along with cool outings or is it the other way round? Cool outings to go with great books?)

 We told our cousins and Grandma about the ships and they decided to come along too.

 Look at all those ropes. It is amazing how many ropes there are on these boats. The sailor on board said he could tell you exactly what each one was for and even what they were called.

 Here is Grandma, Sophie and her cousin  at the wheel of one of the ships.

 I told the kids to look for Nathanial Bowditch's book The New American Practical Navigator while visiting the captains quarters. Sure enough they spotted it on his shelf of books! Still in use on ships today.

 Now the little girls are taking the wheel.

 Everyone had a great time!

 The wind was blowing. It is nice to have a break from the storms this week. But I sure hope the storms continue for a little longer.

Saliors on board told us a little about the ships and what it too to sail them.

 Just to prove I was there I had to take a selfie of me and my neice leaving the ship.  I am always the photographer. I need to learn not to squint when I take pictures of myself.

 I think that field trip will help them always remember or at least appreciate what the sailors of that time lived with and on.

Since there were two ships they were going to put on a little sea battle. We didn't stay for that part of the show (They wanted a lot of money for that 3 hour tour). This was enough for us! We had a great time.

Just another Morning

I don't know why it is so hard for me to blog anymore. I guess my life just seems so routine and boring. Nothing exciting to share with the world. We just plug away at our usual school routines and somehow the days fly by.

Sophie has been doing great this year with her online school. Williamsburg Intermediate has been a great fit for her. The Fall semester didn't go too well because she got very behind on assignments because of our move. I was also rather distracted and wasn't able to prod her along.

 This Winter term is going so much better. She is taking all three of the classes and gets all her assignments in on time and even completes the extra credit assignments each month. It was a goal she set for herself since starting in the fall, because she will 13, those assignments won't be extra credit but will be part of the usual line up required projects. She has done some great things the last few months. Perhaps I will devote a whole post to that some other time.

 Ian has discovered the joys of Scratch. He is either building Mindstorms robots or creating games on Scratch. This boy loves writing programs and seeing what happens when he changes a few varriables.  He has also been putting away a lot of groceries and loosing a lot of teeth. He lost three in one week. All canines. I have a feeling he is going to start shooting up and growing even more into a handsome young man and less of a little boy.

This boy is a hard worker. Henry doesn't love paper and pencil class work but he loves yard work. He gets out in the backyard and digs holes for new fruit trees, pull weeds, pushes the lawn mower, or rakes leaves. He has even been up helping clean out rain gutters. (Hurray that we have rain and need those gutters clean!) He loves getting out and doing some hard physical work. He is quite a handy boy to have around.

 This little lady is learning to read. Her reading program may be a bit time consuming and I don't always enjoy the repetition of it's games and such but it is working. She points out sight words when I read her books and I know she is sounding out signs when we drive around town. It won't be long now before she is a confident reading machine.

And then there is Peezy. She is our little mascot. She greets us at the door when we have been gone. She is so fun to watch play with her toys. She has a number of little puff ball toys that she bats about like a soccer ball. She loves to chase strings and jumps and flips when the kids twirls a rope for her pleasure.  She certainly is a fun addition to our home. 

The kids all admit that I am her favorite person. She often follows me about the house and is usually where ever I am. She perfers my side of the bed to take her cat naps on. And is always up early to give my nose a lick when it is time to wake up. 

And then there is me. What am I up to? I read a lot. I keep reading books that I agree to review on NetGalley. Most of these are light fiction so not very challenging but they are a fun escape from the noise and business of being a mom, teacher, taxi driver, etc. 

Fun at the Cabin

We were invited to spend the weekend at our friend's cabin. We were excited to get to spend a few days with friends that we don't get to see often. They are friends from our former home. We have made an effort to keep up with many of the friends from our old area. The kids were really excited to get to go and play. 

Sophie helped make a fort in the "girls room" in the cabin. 

 We were actually hoping to have snow. This time of year there is usually snow up in the Sierras. The cabin is at about 5000 feet so in February there should be snow. But this is what it looked like.

 The kids had a great time playing outside. But we are really sad that we didn't get to see or play in any snow.

 You can tell from the pictures that there is only a little bit of snow up on the tops of the mountains. Certainly not enough for the time of year.

 It was pretty scary when we went to the nearby lake/ reservoir.

This should be all covered in snow.

 We might be wearing jackets in this picture but soon those came off because it was rather warm in the sun and when we hiked around to the dam we were all toasty.

 During our hike to the dam the kids all had a great time climbing all the rocks.

 Here is the dam. This is the only place there was much water in the lake and that is usually almost up to the top of the dam. We sure are in trouble here in CA when our reservoirs are this low and there is no snow in the mountains.

 It was a lovely hike around to the dam. And we had a great long weekend with our friends playing games and talking.