October Throwback

The problem with email is that it piles up.  Rapidly.  I was going through some of it today and found this beautiful photo.  Although it's from last October, it's certainly worth sharing, no matter what the date:

Dancing Fun

Tate is a fearless fellow.  He wanders in and out of dancing kids:

He gets this fearlessness about crowds and dancing from his father:

In fact, the whole family joined in!

Homeschooling, Lesson #27: Non-Newtonian Fluids

Ooblek is an inexpensive non-Newtonian fluid made by combining cornstarch and water.  A few drops of food coloring entertain and excite the younger set.  

Hypothesis:  Young kids are willing to stick their hands into anything gooey and messy.  Let's see what the video evidence shows:

Confirmed.

The lesson was expanded:  what happens when you add red food coloring to the already blue ooblek?

Did you answer "purple"?  You're right.  But it also makes for two happy kids and one happy mama who was thrilled to find that this stuff cleaned up far more easily than I had hoped!

Little Man, Lots of Snow

The littlest man in the house is slowly warming up to the idea of snow.  Lots of snow.  Here he is, walking around in his big boots:

What's very cute is how he says the word "snow".  To the untrained ear, it sounds like "no".  But if you listen very closely, he pauses as he tries to make the "s" sound.  The other big giveaway?  He pounds on the windows and points outside.

Snow Faces

Adam got a faceful of snow after sledding the other day, but that sure didn't stop him!  Even though Ashley managed to keep her head out of the snow, she thought it looked like fun to take a dunk, so she joined her brother in the action:

Who's on the Sled?

Every now and then, MLM makes a rare appearance on this blog.  Look closely, because she flies though this one with Tate very quickly!

Schoolwork

Every day, each teacher sends home a stack of papers and artwork that was lovingly crafted by the A-Team.  Here are some recent favorites:

Reads:
gro
nby
ad
am
tsy
mbal

translation:  drawn by Adam Tsymbal

Ashley drawing herself on the playground red saucers

Adam's phonetic sentence:
it is my brteda on ogist u11th

I'll admit my favorite part is the "u11th"!

Hunkered Down

The snow has sent Adam and Ashley into "fort-mode".  Hunkered down in their room, surrounded by more stuffies than either of them can count on their collective fingers, they're ready to wait out the next blizzard.

Hard to spot the citizens in their not-so-natural habitat

Citizen close-up

One Random Evening

If you were to stop by our home on almost any random night, you'd see and hear general chaos.  Maybe chaos is a strong word.  But there's playing, running, reading, screaming... all the usual suspects with three kids under the age of 6.

Decaf Soy Latte, Light on the Foam, please

All of our kids learn about coffee at an early age.  Tate however, seems to be very intent on actually drinking it:

Housework

If there's one thing I learned from my grandfather and father, it's that you're never too young to push a broom.  While the kids have spent plenty of time learning how to sweep with their toy brooms, this is the first time I saw it in action for real:

Columbus Park: Winter

Columbus Park is transformed in the winter.  Remember our trip there in summer 2015?  Of course you do!

It's not often we snap a photo with everyone looking at the camera, so this one is sure to be remembered as a favorite.

Crafty Auntie Strikes Again!

A Crafty Auntie strikes again!  This time she's hit the mark with a cozy and warm sweater for the little guy... and he's so proud that he keeps pointing to it:

New England Aquarium

Q:  What's busier than a shiver of sharks chasing a shoal of herring?

A:  The New England Aquarium on a weekend.

Not one to back away from a challenge, the tribe set out on an adventure:

Together in Motion

Tate loves climbing, jumping, and boppin' around to the beat:

Mesmerized

All sorts of cries were coming from the changing table.  What was happening?  We were trying to trim Tate's nails.  Sesame Street via youtube to the rescue!  The result? One mesmerized kid with clean hands.  Not too shabby...

Hats Off to You

Our hats are off to our little guy who hammed it up for the camera:

Big Bro, Lil Bro

Big bro and lil bro have their moments too:

Fun Visit

The best visits are with grandparents!

Cookin' in the Kitchen

Our littlest helper is learning the kitchen ropes like his older sibs did:  via the backpack method.

Haircut #20

Maybe it's not haircut #20, but there sure have been lots of 'em.  Here's the before and the during photos.  Want to see his hair after the hair cut?  Tune in to the blog in a few days and you'll find out!

Connect 4

I loved this game as a kid.  Of course, I played it a little differently than this little fella, but as long as it keeps kids occupied, does it matter?

2017 Boston Auto Show

It would not be a winter without our family heading to the annual Boston Car Show.  Adam and Deda enjoyed their visit.  You get exactly one guess as to which car (and color!) Adam likes best (answer below).

** A red Mazda Miata, of course!

From Adam, with love

Today's drawing shows the Lionel rocket launcher, the milk cart landing platform, the wood barrels, and most importantly, the Virginian locomotive.  This kid loves Lionel.

For those of you who cannot interpret kindergarten hieroglyphics, the drawing reads:

FRUMADAMTOPOPUMRDY

From Adam to Papa Marty

Our kids are learning how to spell at school using a scaffolding method.  Makes for interesting reading around our home!

 And in an interesting mix of art and architecture, Adam brought home an Eiffel Tower!

 

Homeschooling Lesson #26: Friction

What do you get when you mix snow tubes, kindergarteners and snow?  A fantastic lesson in frictionless surfaces.

Farewell, Bouncer

Bouncers and activity stations are sources of endless fascination for the <1 set.  This appears to be the last time we'll use it, now that our little fella is walking on his own.

With a Little Help

Just before Tate started walking on his own, big sister Ashley loved to help keep him on course:

And in this clip, there's a bonus:  couch surfing!

Big Sis, Lil Bro

These two love to ham it up for the camera.  Wind 'em up and watch 'em go: