Belt Test

Andrew and Skylar had their belt test today.  You can see the video on my Youtube channel.  If you haven't seen it yet, shoot me an email or leave a comment with your email address and I will get it to you.

Heading into the test.

 Inside our Taekwondo room

 Andrew listening to Master Matt give directions.  He is all attention.

 Skylar going through her blocks.

 Andrew doing his kicks.

The award ceremony, Skylar gets her belt first since she was a white belt.

 Now she is a yellow belt.

 Andrew was up next going from his yellow belt to his

 

 Orange belt.

 The new yellow and orange belts.

 The kids were so proud of themselves as they should be.  Andrew took only 1 month to move from yellow to orange.  His teacher didn't think he could do it but Andrew proved him wrong and he earned it.  He practiced so diligently everyday.

 At home, still proud and wanting to show off his orange belt.

Next, Andrew will work on his green belt and Skylar will work on her orange belt.  Skylar's will be different than Andrew's because she is moving up into the next age group too so she will have to learn a more difficult form.  She is ready for the challenge.

St Patrick's Day

Today, we woke up to Leprechaun messes.

Toilet paper tower in the bathroom

 Dirty sheets all over the living room and table

 New chairs in the kitchen

 Lego mini-figure parade - this was the favorite mess of the day.

 Shoes mismatched and placed in odd places with gold coins inside.

After the search for all the messes, we finally got to eat a breakfast of green pancakes because the leprechaun dyed the batter and the butter green.

We finally got to work on schoolwork for a few minutes before we headed to Taekwondo.

Skylar got her uniform today.   She was so super proud and she even earned her first yellow strip.  Andrew earned his 2nd orange strip.  Both kids are going to test for their next belts on April 5th.

After class, we went swimming with A and her mom.  A had been out of town so Skylar needed some play time.  After a couple hour swim we went home for lunch and to finish our schoolwork.  The kids did a great job of getting right to work.  I sent them to the backyard as soon as they were finished to enjoy some of the warm weather but the storm was blowing in fast.  The wind had picked up and the temperature was dropping quickly.

They came back in to play and I fed them an early dinner because we had Taekwondo again tonight.  Dinner was supposed to be Irish Stew and Soda bread but I didn't get it made so we had Asian stir fry and edamame.  Oh well, maybe next year.

We got to work with the boxing gloves tonight.  They were super heavy but fun.  Not only are we learning Taekwondo but our teacher is also teaching us some self defense moves.  I hope to never use those but I am happy to be learning them.

School, roller skating, piano and finally Taekwondo

Dad had the day off today and it was such a beautiful day.  We did our schoolwork in the morning.  It seemed to be a little bit of a struggle but we finally got it all finished at noon so we could head to homeschool roller skate at Skate City.

All 5 of us went to the rink to skate.  Andrew and Skylar shared a pusher we found to get their skating legs back.  Cairn remembered how to skate and was off skating the whole time.  Dad and I shared skating after all 3 of them all afternoon.  We had a blast and everyone asked when we get to go again.  Next month.  I will try to talk some friends into joining us next month.

We stopped by a friend's house to drop off a Christmas present but he was out of town so we headed home to have some lunch - a very late lunch.

The kids played outside until it was time for Skylar's music class.  Cairn and Andrew played outside the entire time we were at class.  I got home just in time to stop Dad from feeding Andrew dinner before Taekwondo class.  Good thing too because Master Matt really works us hard.  If you have food in your stomach, you are likely to throw it up.

In Taekwondo, we worked on sparring each other and our kicks.  My legs are definitely getting stronger from all the kicks we do in class.

We got home, fed the kids and sent them to bed.  What a full full day.

Taekwondo, playdate and Shooting Range

Today was another full full day, it didn't help that everyone slept in too.  We were slow to get started on our schoolwork and didn't have much finished when we had to leave for Taekwondo.  Cairn stayed home to work on her schoolwork while I took the other 2 to class.  

We arrived a couple minutes early so we got to ask the teacher for some help on our forms.  He was very impressed that Skylar and Andrew had gone to class with me on Monday.  He liked what they had learned and kept pushing them in class today.  It was another great class with just the 3 kids.  Andrew has also decided that he wants to earn his orange belt this month.  I think he can do it.

After class, we went home to finish school and have lunch before we headed off to our friends' to play.  The weather was gorgeous so the kids got to play outside on the trampoline.  They couldn't play in the yard because of the snow.  Yes, we got 3 inches of snow overnight.  It will be all melted soon since tomorrow will be 65 degrees.

We got home just in time for me to pack my firearm and ammo and head to Castle Rock to attend my first Well Armed Woman chapter meeting.  We met at a shooting range, had a class with an NRA instructor and then got to go onto the range and practice what we had learned.  He taught us a new grip.  At first, I didn't like when we were just holding a dummy gun but after shooting with it - I am hooked.

Check out my target.

Those are 3 different times that I was aiming at different parts of the target.  Only one went astray but still hit the target.  With my old grip, I would have many shots that never hit the target.  I am very happy.

Check out a local chapter of the Well Armed Woman.  I was very happy with the meeting, the nice ladies I met and I love the website.

I may have to miss one Taekwondo class a month to go to the shooting range for the chapter meetings.  I feel a lot more confident tonight.

4 Workouts

Today, I had to shower and style my new haircut.  It didn't look half as good as the hairdresser but hopefully I will get better at it.  It looked a little frizzy today.

After breakfast of yogurt and blueberry muffins, we did a little schoolwork before our first workout.

The kids and I are doing Turbulence Training videos.  I love it and so do the kids.  They go right along with me except the pushups.  Andrew says he doesn't have to do any because he does so many in Taekwondo class.  I let him slide on those.

At 10, we left for Taekwondo class.  Skylar started class today too.  Andrew was very proud to show his teacher his new yellow belt and Mr. Cody made a big deal about it too.  None of the other boys were in class so it was Andrew, Skylar and J.  Andrew learned a new kick - Axe kick.  Skylar learned 2 kicks - roundhouse and side kick.

After class, we went home to eat lunch and finish our schoolwork before Skylar's dentist appointment and our swim date with A.

Kids worked diligently and got everything finished by 1:30.  Skylar had a dentist appointment to check her infected gum.  Her gum was infected because she chews on her toenails or a fingernail.  It gets between her teeth and then works itself up into the gum.  After several days of watching her struggle to get it out, we get the tweezers and pull it out.  I wanted the dentist to talk to her about how dangerous it is to chew on her nails.  She wasn't listening to Dad or I so I had to go to the next level.

After the appointment, we headed to the pool for our swim date.  The kids swam while K (A's mom) and I walked the lazy river.  Now, you might think that is easy but we walked the opposite direction of the current.  It was tough and every once in awhile we would be pushed back a little because the current became so strong.

After swimming for an hour and a half, we headed home for a little break and dinner.

Tonight, I started my Taekwondo class.  It is a family class so as long as kids are already in the program they can come to class.  It ended up being only the 3 of us - Andrew, Skylar and myself.  We had a blast.  It is a different teacher than the kids' regular teacher but he is still a lot of fun.  I learned my form tonight and Andrew started learning his new yellow form.  I taught Skylar her form while Master Matt worked with Andrew.  The kids thought it was pretty funny when we were doing our last exercise - building our core - and I got pretty red faced.  All I could think of was the 5 tenets of Taekwondo and the one called perseverance - never give up.  I couldn't let the kids see me quit so I had to really dig deep to get those last few reps out.  I will be sore tomorrow.

So Andrew and Skylar did 4 workouts today.  I did 3 and Cairn did 2.  Andrew and Skylar fell asleep quickly tonight and I am certainly ready to go too.  We have Taekwondo 3 nights a week.  Can't wait!

Belt Test

Today, we all got up slowly.  I didn't want to add too much to Andrew's day since he had his belt test at 1 PM.  I wanted to cook something new for breakfast so we tried - Garbanzo bean omelette's.

First, I cooked leeks, and mushrooms.

 Then, Andrew helped me add in the garbanzo bean flour, spices and almond milk.

Let it cook and yummy stuff. The kids liked it but Dad wasn't interested in trying it.  I definitely will be making it again.  Sun-dried tomatoes will be fantastic!!

We had an early lunch and then got Andrew to his belt test.  There were other kids in the room and they were practicing but Andrew didn't want too.  I did convince to go in the hallway with me and practice a couple times but he really just wanted to watch.  He is my observer so that's how he gets comfortable in a situation.  He sat quietly on my lap and watched the other kids.

Finally, it was time to start.  They lined up by belt color.

They did their bowing to the teacher, the flags and each other.  Then they sat back down but only for a second because white belts were up first.  Andrew did great.  He was on the opposite side of the room from me so I couldn't get any video.

I was sad when the audience laughed at Andrew though.  He was answering a question about the 5 Tenets of Taekwondo and he said the same thing the boy before him said.  Everyone laughed.  I shuddered because I know when Andrew feels he is being laughed at, he refuses to do anything, but today that didn't happen.  He stood proud and finished his entire belt test.

After he was finished, he had to sit through the yellow belts, the orange belts, the green belts, the blue belts, the purple belts and the red belts.  He sat quietly, he watched intently and was very respectful.

Finally, it was time to award the belts and he earned his yellow belt.  I could feel his smile across the room.

After the test, Andrew wanted Taco Bell so we stopped and got him 3 bean burritos.  We went home and had a relaxing rest of the day.  It was cold and snowy out anyway so it was nice to stay home.

New day, new friends - great day

No one slept too well last night, lots of restlessness, especially Andrew.  But we got up and got right to work on school because we had Tae Kwon Do and a playdate.

Skylar finished her schoolwork first and all by 10 AM.  I left Cairn at home while I took Andrew to Tae Kwon Do.  He had a great class because there were only 2 kids - both of whom are testing on Saturday.  So both boys got a ton of attention directed toward them and their test.  Andrew is super ready now for his test.

I was talking to his teacher and asked if it was possible for a kid to earn his black belt by 9 years old.  He said yes and the youngest he knows about was 8.  He also said that he see Andrew earning his black belt by 9 easily.  We will see.  It's all up to Andrew if he wants to do that.

After class, we ran to the store to get unsweetened almond milk because I am going to try to make my own yogurt in the slow cooker.  I will let you know if it turns out.

We returned home to Cairn who had completed her schoolwork, emptied the dishwasher and cleaned her room.  We had lunch and waited for our friends to arrive.

We had our regular friends coming over and then a new family for a total of 8 kids.  The kids all got along and had a great time.  It was beautiful outside so they even played out back for over an hour.

I was happy that we had a good day today.  It allowed me a couple opportunities to talk to the kids about what happened yesterday with them being more relaxed.  We talked about protecting each other if someone is hurting them and how we want to be good friends and good people and not ever hurt others.

2nd Six Week Period - Monday

As to be expected, today was a tough day back to school.  I had a telephone appointment call this morning at 8 AM so that didn't help.  By the time I got everyone working it was time to take Andrew to Tae Kwon Do.  He doesn't want to miss any classes between now and his test on Saturday.  Actually, he doesn't want to miss any classes ever.

Today, he worked on his form and answering the questions that he will be asked at the test.  Last Wednesday, Mr. Cody worked on cleaning up his form.  The hands facing the correct direction and his legs the right way - front one bent, back one straight.  Today when he showed Mr. Cody his form, Andrew did the correct hands and legs.  Mr. Cody commented. "I have never seen a 4 year old clean up his form to that extent.  Andrew really focuses."

Andrew also earned his third stripe today.  He was so proud.  He was disappointed that the other 2 boys - the ones that misbehave - also earned a stripe today.  He didn't think they deserved it.

After class, we ran to the post office and then home to have lunch and then we got right to work.  I had everyone working at the kitchen table which seemed to work really well except we needed more room.  I may add in the leaf but we won't be working over there on cold days so I have a few days.

Today was 64 degrees but at 6 PM it dropped 30 degrees and we are expecting snow tonight.  Bummer!

After much reminding and a little yelling, we finally got our schoolwork finished.  We took a recess in the middle of the sunny warm afternoon to ride bikes and then the kids played in the backyard when they were finished with their schoolwork.

Tonight Cairn and I went to Mother/Daughter book club.

Cairn is taking 3 online classes through Universal Class that we can access through our library.  Creative Writing, Reading Comprehension and Language Arts Basics 101.  She appeared to really like it today because she did a lot of reading, watched one video, took a quiz for each class, and had a short writing assignment for each class.  One of her teachers, graded her work and gave her a grade update.  She liked seeing that she had earned 100%.

Cairn's daily schedule looks like this.
Math - she is going to practice memorizing her math facts for 2 weeks and then move into Delta (division),
Handwriting - continue to practice cursive daily.
Reading - reading comprehension class and reading of her choice.
Language Arts  - 101 class
Writing - Creative Writing Class
Piano - she continues to pick the songs she wants to learn, I have her working in a theory book to continue learning theory and she also has a book on learning the recorder she is working on.
Spanish - Duolingo website.

First day off

Dad was home today because it was President's Day and C had spent the night because she didn't have school today either.

We got the kids to the pool at 9:15 so they could swim for an hour before Andrew's Tae Kwon Do class.  I walked 1 1/2 miles around the track while they were swimming.

Dad got to watch Andrew in his class and witness the 2 naughty boys.  I think he was just as irritated as Andrew but things are getting better.  The teacher is now separating the boys so that is helping with their attention.  They still play around a lot though.

In class, the teacher really worked with Andrew and the other boy that Andrew likes on their form.  He wants them ready to test on March 1st.  Andrew is ready!

After class we went home for lunch and then we had some quiet time.  Everyone just needed a quiet break.  The girls played quietly in their rooms but Andrew and Dad fell asleep.  The girls woke them up and they headed off to the park.

I think Spring is here with this beautiful weather but I can't get my hopes up just yet since it is only February.

Tonight, Cairn and I went to a lecture by the Highlands Ranch Historical Society titled, "White House Ladies Secrets"  We learned that Dolly Madison saved the portrait of George Washington and the Declaration of Independence when she ran into the burning White House during the War of 1812.  She also saved a pair of red curtains that she later turned into a dress to wear to a ball celebrating the win over Britain.  We got to hear a little something about most of the First Ladies up to Hilary Clinton.  It was very interesting and got both of us excited to learn more about the Presidents and their First Ladies.

Tomorrow we start house cleaning.  The kids are so excited (sarcasm).

Good Wednesday

Today was another out the door early and don't return for hours kind of day.

We left at 9:30 to drop off some Girl Scout things at Miss Jill's house.  She always likes to chat so we stayed for a bit and the kids played with her dog.

We had to scoot out the door so we could get Andrew to Tae Kwon Do.  See his 2 yellow stripes - he is ready for his belt test on March 1st!!

 After Tae Kwon Do, I stayed a few minutes to talk to his teacher and again he commented, "I forget that Andrew is 4 years old, his focus and attention is beyond anything I have ever seen."  He loves his Tae Kwon do class!!

I dropped off Cairn and Andrew at a friends to play while I took Skylar to Children's Hospital to have an evaluation of her ankle.  She has a lot of ankle pain along with her leg pain.  Her PT didn't know why the pain was traveling down her leg so she wanted to have her evaluated.

Skylar loved this painting in the lobby.  Can you guess why?

I had Skylar do all the talking since it was her appointment.  She checked herself in, and answered all the questions correctly.  Then the nurse called us back and she talked the whole time about why she wasn't at school and how much she likes homeschooling.

Then the doctor came in, "I am looking for Skylar, do you know where I can find her?"  Skylar spoke right up and said, "I am right here.  Why are you looking for me?"  She didn't know he was the doctor.  He introduced himself and then said, "You seem to be pretty chatty so I am going to talk to you," and he started asking her all kinds of questions about her pain and what she does to stop the pain and on and on.  She answered everything without hesitation.  I filled in a few historical pieces but she did most of the talking.  

In the end, he can't find anything physically wrong to explain her pain - other than what we already know - her twisted femurs and tibia.  He is leaning toward rheumatoid arthritis, especially considering her history of an immune deficiency condition (I have long suspected this).  We are going to try a few things at home to see what happens and then return in a few months to talk about next steps.

We went back to pick up the other kids and ended staying for 2 more hours.  We finally headed home at dark.  I put the littles in the bathtub to get them slowing down for the night while I got dinner started and Cairn practiced the piano.

Another full day and yet the kids finished all of their schoolwork with no complaining - something seems to be working these days.

Tomorrow is another full day.

Good Monday

Everyone is well again.  Dad went to work this morning and we got right to work on our schoolwork before we had to leave for Tae Kwon Do.

Today, Andrew had a substitute teacher - Master Matt.  He was fantastic.  He was very precise and really stepped up the expectations.  Andrew liked him too especially since he kept redirecting the 2 boys that mess around the ENTIRE class.  I learned a lot today to help Andrew improve and we found out that he can test for his yellow belt on March 1st.  Andrew is super excited!!

We returned home to the ice man working on our street.

The most amazing part was I had called at 8 AM this morning and they were already here.  It was so nice to see our street cleared of the ice and snow.  We have such a bad time when there is storm after storm after storm - our street just can't keep up.

For school, Cairn is working on her last unit in her Gamma book (multiplication), next she moves too Delta (division).  Andrew is working on adding +0 and +1.  He has 90% of them memorized.  Skylar is working on subtracting 8's and 9's.  She is working on memorizing them but she has a clear understanding of how to subtract.  All the kids started a new vocabulary/spelling book today called Word Ladders.  They start with a word at the bottom then they are given clues and how many letters to subtract or change.  The littles started with cow, then the clue - a small bed that is foldable - change one letter...cot.  Cairn started with vegetable, then the clue - a place where you eat - subtract 4 letters....table.  The littles had 5 words to change, while Cairn had 10.

One of the other new changes I instituted with the kids is everyone must practice the piano for 30 minutes.  We set a timer and I sit with them and work through each piece of music.  The timer helps them concentrate on their music and not on the time.  They know they will hear it when they are finished.  They are also more relaxed and practice a piece several times because they know they have to sit the entire 30 minutes and work so mine as well practice.  Skylar has already memorized her new song and is even doing the extra credit songs.  She has a lot of confidence right now because she knows her songs so well.  Andrew has also showed a lot of improvement with naming his notes on the staff and has memorized 2 new songs.  He will be ready for his solo on Thursday.  I told him today I won't be able to help him count for his solo and he said, "that's okay, I can count by myself. Watch!"  He did it and was very proud of himself.

Cairn and I went to the music store on Sunday and picked up a few new books for her.  She got 2 Disney music books, a Classical book and Tchaikovsky.  I also picked up an adult piano course to help me improve and also to model for the kids how to sit, study and learn something.  Cairn sees me doing it with my Spanish but the other 2 don't that.  I would really like to sit down and play a piece of music like Cairn, hopefully this course will help me do that.

The kids finished up their schoolwork by 3 PM and played until 5 PM, when we did a quick clean-up.  Then I gave them an art project to work on while I cooked dinner.

Tomorrow, we are heading to a museum with some friends.

Earned a stripe

Today we had plans with some friends to swim before Andrew's Tae Kwon Do class.  I had to wake everyone up because they had stayed up late the night before.  But they were ready to go as soon as they found out they were swimming with friends.

Dad decided to hit the pool with us before class.  Dad was super excited to see Andrew in Tae Kwon Do.

Everyone swam for an hour and then Andrew, Dad and I went to class while the girls stayed with their friends to swim.

As soon as we got to class, we found out that Andrew was testing for his first yellow stripe.  He had to demonstrate his kicks.  He was ready!!

Once again, Andrew was on task for the entire class and passed with flying colors.  His little voice is getting louder and louder.  I could hear him saying, "yes sir," and counting to 10 in Korean.

Finally, at the end of class, he was awarded his yellow stripe.  He couldn't wait to show the girls he was so proud.

We went home for lunch and then Dad took all the kids plus C to the park.  I thought they would only be gone an hour or so but 3 hours later they finally came home again.

It was an early night to bed since we had a busy day and they had such a late night the night before.

I stayed home to finish packing and getting the house ready for me to leave.  I prepped some meals to make it easier on everyone.  I made sure the things they needed were front and center, finished laundry and picked up.

I think I am ready to go to Houston but I am sure I will lay in bed thinking of a thousand more things to do tomorrow before I leave.

2nd Day of Tae Kwon Do

Tooth update first: I pulled out Skylar's 2nd tooth yesterday.

Now she is missing both front bottoms.  The amazing thing - you can already see her other tooth coming out.  Which seems super weird because I really had to pull that tooth out.

Today, the kids started a new checklist of the daily activities they need to do.  It is a way to remind them what to do without me constantly telling them what to do.  Lots of simple things like; get dressed, make beds, pick up room, put dirty clothes in hamper.  But then it also lists some new things that will help me keep the house a little neater - before dinner they have do straighten their desks, put their chairs under their desks and then they each have a chore that will rotate that helps me get dinner on the table; clearing the dinner table, setting the table, making drinks and then a rotation of who helps me with the dishes each night.  I put on my new checklist -  make sure the kids help with the dishes - I didn't get it done tonight though.

At 9:15, we left the house to get to the gym for our run and swim before Tae Kwon Do class.  Skylar's friend, A, came so the girls got to swim while I took Andrew to class.

Andrew was a different kid in class today.  The first day, he wouldn't do the "yell" that you are supposed to do whenever you kick or punch.  Basically, Andrew was silent unless asked a direct question.  I even tried to work with Andrew at home about doing the "yell" when we practiced.  He wouldn't have any of it.

Today, he did the "yell".  The very first time he did it today, he twirled to look at me.  I gave him the thumbs up and a smile - he was so proud.  There was no stopping the "yell" after that. You can even hear it in the video.  He remembered everything he was taught from last week and today he learned 2 new kicks.

After class, we went back to the pool so Andrew could swim a little longer.  Our friends invited us to lunch so we met them at Taco Bell and then headed home for showers and quiet time.  I knew they were going to need to rest and calm down from their morning of excitement before getting to schoolwork.  After quiet time, I read aloud and then everyone got to work.  School was fairly smooth today.

I set 4 alarms on my phone for read aloud times.  I even listed the books on my phone to make sure we read a variety of books and we did a lot of reading today.  We read Dr. Doolittle right before we left for the pool so we were able to talk about what we read as we drove.  Andrew really absorbed a lot of the story because he was able to answer all my questions.  After quiet time, I read a section in a History textbook and then read some first person account books so we could compare and contrast the types of books and the accuracy of textbooks.  The first books we read, I could tell Andrew and Skylar weren't really interested and weren't listening so I started asking more questions while I was reading.  This helped to focus their attention and they retained a lot more.  I got pretty tired reading out loud so much but we had some wonderful conversations about what we read.  I want to continue reading aloud.

Cairn worked on multiplying 3 digit numbers by 3 digit numbers, a new spelling list, Duolingo, and the book she is writing.  I also taught her a strategy for helping her remember her books - interacting with her text by making notes in the margin, asking questions while reading in the margin, drawing pictures etc.  She seemed to enjoy it.

Skylar was working on subtracting, handwriting, and practicing the piano.  Since she was a big recital coming up I am having her focus on piano a little more right now.

Andrew is working on counting to 50 and identifying even and odd numbers.  We practiced his handwriting and the piano, we played Word BINGO and did some extra Tae Kwon Do practice.  We found a video to help us learn to count to 10 in Korean.  He was very interested in practicing and even helped me find the right video.

Tonight, we went over their checklists and they didn't use them much to help them remember their tasks.  We talked and hopefully they will use them more tomorrow.

Tomorrow is a haircut for Andrew and yoga.

Workout, swimming, Tae Kwon Do and schoolwork

Today, we got started right away on our schoolwork so we could go to the gym for a workout and swimming before Andrew's class.

Everyone tried to get some work finished but it was a little bit of a struggle after such a long break but everyone did complete one assignment. 

We got to the gym and ran for 15 minutes before Skylar and Andrew swam for 30 minutes. They only had 30 minutes because we had to get Andrew ready for his first Tae Kwon Do class.

Andrew is the youngest person in class but there is only 4 of them.  

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Andrew absolutely loved his class.  The teacher gave us a worksheet of the things he needs to learn to progress to the next color of belt.  I suspect it won't take him long.

The teacher also gave him a wonderful compliment.  Most 4 to 6 year olds don't focus much and tend to get distracted easily during the class but not Andrew he was focused the entire time and listened exceptionally well.

After class, we went home for lunch and quiet time.  Then we finished up our schoolwork and finished the day.

Andrew's next class is Wednesday but he will have to miss it since we will be at Children's Hospital for a research study.