this moment {go buddy go!}

inspired by soulemama
a single wordless moment.  a little snippet in time that I want to remember...

a peek into Buddy's world

This is the first home we've lived in where the kids each have their own room.  Moonpie seems to enjoy this more than Buddy does, however, he has a space of his own that he really likes.  I am by no means a designer, but I like what I like.  Even better, Buddy has specific ideas about how something should look. He is six, but has the soul of an old man.  He likes old stuff, particularly old cameras.  He likes to put stuff together...and take stuff apart.  I worked to create a space for him that gives him areas to create and build.  Lots of floor space, and a place for all of his collections.

(think of this as less of a "room tour" and more of a documentation that his room can actually be clean)

Most of the items you see here were purchased at the thrift store.

Lamp- $2, desk and chair- $30, phone- $1, map- $3, polaroid camera- $3, funky Cadillac mirror- $2, the large shelf was gifted to us, as was the book shelf.  The wooden boxes are the crates that Melissa and Doug blocks come in.

Buddy likes to keep his current Lego creations on his shelf, so I display them in the wooden crates.  That way the little pieces that tend to break off can stay put for easy reattachment.  I keep one crate of books in his room that I try to rotate weekly.  The rest of the children's books live in our hallway closet.

These framed prints are steampunk graphics from The Graphics Fairy.   Buddy is totally steampunk and doesn't even know it.

Buddy's bed was gifted to us by a family friend.  Can you believe it?  It is about 150 years old!  Isn't it beautiful?  It is a 3/4 bed- half between a twin and a full.

We found this huge piece of drift wood at the beach.  Buddy likes to wrap his stuffed python around it or use it in battle scenes.  The targets on the wall are bb gun targets from the feed store.  Their color and shape appealed to me and I thought they'd look really cool grouped on the wall.  The whole package cost me $2.  The dresser is from Pottery Barn and was gifted to us.  So grateful for this!  It is the only modern made dresser in the whole house with drawers that just glide open and shut.  You come to appreciate something like this when all of your other dressers are over 70 years old and you practically pull the whole thing down on top of you when trying to get your pj's out!

 All of his Lego's are stored in a giant box under the bed.  He also has shelves in his closet that house his other toys.

Moonpie told me yesterday that his room looks "official and grown-up".  I'm not sure if that is a good thing, but she assures me it is.  As long as Buddy likes it, I'm happy!

de awesomest fing!

 I knew the minute I saw this box that Buddy would love it.

He loves old stuff.

He collects vintage cameras.

He's five.

The rust, the fact that it belonged to the Highway Dept.  It just screamed Buddy to me.

And then I opened it!

Cue the angels.

I told the elderly man at the estate sale that I was buying it for my son.  He insisted I dig through it right there to see if any razor blades were in the box.  So I did.  And there weren't any.

When I got it home, Buddy was just as excited as I knew he'd be.  Not too long after, his friend from next door came over and I overheard Buddy tell him "I have got to show you something.  It is de awesomest fing!".  And when that other little boy opened the box he responded with "WHOA!  Is this yours???  Awesome!!!".

I can't wait to see what he does with his little box of treasures.  Will he glue it all together?  Build a robot?  Or will he just hold onto it as is, preserving the catch of all of the grandpa that used it to hold his odds and ends?

Whatever he chooses I'm sure it will be awesome.

Probably de awesomest.  Because that's who he is.

this moment {haircut}

joining soulemama

this moment {photographer}

joining soulemama in a wordless moment.  so sweet that i want to capture it forever.

this moment {a bit of quiet}

joining soulemama

this moment {first lost tooth}

sorry for the blur.  but you know how it goes when trying to get a 5 year old boy to "show me your lost tooth".  mmm hmmm....

joining soulemama

caught purple handed

Soooo... Buddy and Moonpie were out back mixing up vinegar and baking soda with a dash of food coloring.  Next thing I knew, I had a walking Easter egg on my hands.

You know how vinegar sets in the dye?  Making it impossible to get off?  Well, we're going on day three of a vivid Buddy.  It's not just his belly and his hands, by the way.  He painted EVERY inch of his body that he could reach.

This boy sure does make an ordinary day around here more exciting!

this moment {five}

this moment- inspired by soulemama...

no words.

please share your moments in the comment section.

this moment {helping}

{{{as inspired by soulemama- one single, wordless moment that is worth hanging onto}}}

Buddy working the pedal...

this moment

{{{as inspired by soulemama- one single, wordless moment that is worth hanging onto}}}

a new past time

Buddy has a new favorite past time.  He likes catching the bees that fly into the house in glass jars.  Usually he just puts a jar over a bee that has made it's way onto the floor, but yesterday he was feeling risky.  He trapped a bug that had been buzzing around the window.  Just like his daddy does.

Here he is, sliding the glass jar down.  At this point he ran to the drawer and came back with a lid.  He slid it under the jar, righted it, and screwed it on!

Success!

I have loved this about him lately.  His wanting to be just like daddy.  The way he passed up all the transformer, bat man, sponge bob sunglasses to choose the plain black ones.  The ones that are "just like Daddy's".  I see it in the little things like this.  The things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things.  But I also see it in the big things.  In the character building things.  The way he wants to work hard "like daddy".  Or how he reminds us to pray before meals ("umm, guys, aren't we forgetting something?").   All of us are so incredibly blessed to have this man in our lives.  A man of integrity, great wit, ability, strong work ethic, and deep love.   In my opinion, Buddy could choose no better person here on earth to want to be just like.

homeschooling {Bible and Buddy}

This post picks back up where we left off after {circle time} and our {typical day schedule}.  After circle time we move into Bible study.

I am very excited to share with you the Bible curriculum we use!  I love it and have learned much myself by using it.  And it's really cool to hear my four year old recite the books of the New Testament from memory- I ain't gonna lie!

We use The Bible Study Guide for All Ages.  They offer books according to your child's age and extra resources to buy.  A special note:  be sure to investigate all shipping charges on their site.  The first one that pops up is very expensive, but you can get it mailed media for much cheaper.

 Buddy spends most of his day in play time!

Now on to my Buddy boy.  After Bible study Moonpie has some independent learning activities that she does and I work a little with Buddy.  He is only 4, so the work we do is short and often times involves legos or blocks!  I set up a time for Buddy so I would be mindful of spending some one on one time with him and he feels big having some "school work" to do like his sissy!

When teaching children under six, I take my cues from the philosophies of Charlotte Mason, Waldorf and Montessori.  Both CM and Waldorf don't recommend formal schooling until first grade.  So our learning time is multi-sensory and fun!  I also try to include some Montessori elements during this time using the book Mommy Teach Me: Preparing Your Preschool Child for a Lifetime of Learning by Barbara Curtis.  This is a fantastic resource!

We also do some basic letter work and number work.  For letter work we use the book Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth Nathaniel Taylor.  This book has been updated, however we use the original copy that I picked up in a thrift store for a quarter!  Currently we are working through the book, one letter per week.  I introduce the letter by reading the page and then we make our letter rock.  

This was one of those ideas that made me feel like such a creative genius!  We have rocks all over this house (I'm sure you do too!).  I decided to put those rocks to work!  On Monday Buddy chooses a rock and then attaches a letter to his rock.  We do the capital letter on one side and then the lower case letter on the other.

The letters are just stickers from the scrap book section.  I found a big pack at Hobby Lobby.  

After Buddy gets his letter on, we mod podge it so it sticks really well!  He likes to stack his rocks, put them in order, put them out of order and so on.  This has been a very fun activity for us!

Later in the week we will continue doing letter work.  I don't buy workbooks for this- I just make it up as we go.  One day he might paint a giant letter using water paints.  One day he'll roll it out in play-do.  Another day he might cover the letter with stickers, bopper paint, or beans.  

I just make sure he is following the basics on how to make the letter correctly.  For fun extensions we might have a sound hunt (find 5 things that start with the /b/ sound) or search for the letter in a book.

For number work we read counting books and do dot-to-dot.  That's pretty much it.  He loves dot-to-dot and will do an entire book if I let him!  We like the Buki books and can find them locally.

We have also enjoyed using the Kumon tracing book, number book and folding book (this is beginner origami-lots of fun!).

After Buddy's time is up, he likes to spend some time playing with his legos or blocks while I work with Moonpie on math, reading and language.  After lunch he joins us for history or science.  

Most of Buddy's day is spent playing.  His book work time maybe takes 20 minutes of his day.  The rest of the day is spent in the dirt, looking at books, building and playing with cars.  Oh- and as of late- "writing" letters to everyone.

One of my priorities in our day is that a love of learning is stoked in my children.  For Buddy this looks like little "schooling" and lots of play and cuddle time.  So that's what we do.

**For book links- see side carousel**

this moment

{{{as inspired by soulemama- one single, wordless moment that is worth hanging onto}}}

helping

"stay golden pony boy"

John took Buddy to get a haircut this weekend. One of the things I love about living in a small town is seeing this barber shop. I have never been in, but just seeing it makes me happy! When John recommended cutting Buddy's hair, I asked for him to go to Otto's instead of the home haircut we usually do.

doesn't that floor just make you all swoony?!?

Mr. Travis cut Buddy's hair. John said that he didn't speak to Buddy the whole time. Buddy, being the quiet sort that he is, was fine with that system. See the man getting a haircut in the background? Remember him, he comes in to play later in the story!

When Mr. Travis asked John what to do with Buddy's hair, John replied "give him the Ricky Nelson".

And Mr. Travis did just that! He put two palms full of 'tiger oil' in Buddy's hair and then combed it in.

When he was all done, the man mentioned above said "he came in looking like a girl, but he's leaving looking like a boy". Ha!

Would you just look at my little handsome man? I can't stop kissing the back of his neck. You know, that sweet spot right behind the ear?

That night we washed all of the goop out of his hair before going to bed. When I was lying with him singing and tickling his back, he wrapped himself around me like a little spider monkey and asked if I could "please, please, please just stay a little longer". That little boy holding me tight still smelled like an old man.

It made me all melty inside.

Every time I see this picture I think of the line

"stay golden Pony Boy" *.

I was so tempted to rush him home and put him in a white t-shirt, jeans and some black converse. And I wanted to teach him some moves and songs from "West Side Story". You never know when you're going to need to have a 'snap-off' with some hooligans!

*Ten points AND a gold star for those of you who guess the literary reference.

the gifts...

We had such fun celebrating Buddy's birthday yesterday! Thank you for your well wishes for him!

There was some home made love being shown here yesterday and I wanted to share.

Buddy finally got his robot, the one he picked the fabric out for last year (he received 'Spaceboy' for Christmas). He was more relieved than happy, I think, to finally get it! Robot man was promptly tied to the back of the monster truck trike and taken for a ride around the house!

And now on to the stars of the birthday present show. Moonpie made him a race car track with four race cars ("because he's turning 4, mama"). She left it blank so he could color it himself. I was so touched by her creativity and thoughtfulness. Truly, the most perfect present for the birthday boy.

And then- the nesting dolls! Buddy loves to play with nesting dolls at his Grandma and Grandad's house, so I thought to get him his own set. I found some plain wooden ones on Etsy, and John painted mustaches and wooly eyebrows on them! Buddy loved them! Who wouldn't?

for the birthday boy

Hey Buddy-

Guess what...

I love you more than you love blueberries.

And you know as well as I do-

that's a whole lot.

Happy birthday

my big ol' 4 year old!

tough guys wear pink

buddy has a new favorite color...betcha can't guess what it is.

i have been fine with his new found love of pink. honestly, it hasn't even caused me to pause and think. a color is a color. no big deal. but then, when we went fabric shopping yesterday to choose fabric for some new soft pants** for him, he wanted pink. i'm a cool mom, i'm down with the idea of boys liking pink. i mean, pink ice cream? sure! a new pink hot wheel? fantastic! but, pink pants?!? i am ashamed to say that i tried to talk him out of it. the conversation went back and forth like this:

"how about green!"

"no mama, pink."

"ooh- what about gold!"

"no mama, pink."

so we left. with a yard of raspberry hued fabric. and one shameful mama. i would never have tried to talk moonpie out of a color, no matter how 'boyish' it seemed. i whole-heartedly supported her thomas the tank engine phase when she wanted to only wear blue and red thomas t-shirts and underwear. i even thought it was cute. so why the discrimination? why can't my buddy love pink? he tells me "pink is the most perfect color in the world, mama". who am i to say he's wrong? i'm just glad i came to my senses. because look how cute he is in his pink pants (with the requested giant pockets for lizard catching).

***soft pants are buddy's newest quirk. i can't get him into a pair of pants that are not

(a) of a soft material

(b) button-less
(c) zipper-less

it's been easy with the cooler weather to just have him throw on a pair of sweat pants, but with the days warming up i wanted a cooler material- hence the linen.

sneak peek

a couple of weeks ago i posted on what is going on the backyard. but here's what's going in the front yard....

a little sneak peek until the final reveal! know what he's up to?

(see all those lovely raised beds john made for me!??! they are busy growing broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbages, lettuces, beets, turnips, radishes, brussels sprouts and carrots.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and in other news, buddy is practicing using his self-control. we'll be doing it through several different activities, but here he is with his dropper. he carefully had to move water from one bowl into the other, without making a spill. he loved this activity!

momma gets schooled

last night moonpie and her daddy went to run an errand. that left buddy and i to some quality alone time. even if just for a couple of minutes.

buddy wanted to spend his time with me putting puzzles together. this is his new favorite thing- puzzles. we put his new one together, spent some time talking about the colors, what different things we saw, and then he wanted to put it together again. we disassembled the puzzle, put it back in the box, and then took it out again. after putting it together this time, i thought that i would make our observation time more challenging. i hadn't yet introduced buddy to shapes, and felt this would be a great time! i pointed out a circle on the puzzle, and then another one. i then asked him to do the same. we proceeded to identify every circle on the puzzle! i was so proud! he picked it up so quickly. i felt such success!

we decided it was time for some dinner smoothies, so we got up to go into the kitchen. i quickly turned to him and announced that we would be going on a shape hunt in the kitchen. let me just say, that if you ever need someone to be excited, just give buddy a call. he clapped his hands as he lifted onto his toes and gave an exuberant "o-tay!!!". we ran into the kitchen. i spotted the first one- a jar lid- on the floor (of course).

he stood in the middle of the kitchen for a moment turning around, and then moved with determination to the dishwasher. he pointed to one of the buttons "look momma- a circle!"

"...and that one"

(pointing to the one next to it)

"is a diamond."

***crickets***