Vacuum? Sweep?

I'm busy today with work and house stuff, but here's a great little picture for you....



It's one of those things you never even imagine having to say: "DON'T VACUUM YOUR BROTHER!"

Both of my boys absolutely love the vacuum cleaner. So I vacuum first and then let them take turns pushing and pulling the vacuum. It's a great way to wear them out before nap time!



Do you Vacuum or do you sweep? I use vacuum and sweep interchangeably, but Superman insists that  sweeping is when you use a broom or dustmop and vacuuming is called "hoovering" (even though our vacuum is not a Hoover). I know this is a blistering hot topic, but does it matter? What do you say?

Marshmallow Building

I was inspired by Angela's post a few weeks ago about building with marshmallows, so we did our own. We started out with just shapes and it was a great reinforcement for Ender about how many sides it takes to make each shape.





He built the same triangle over and over for a long time before asking me what else he could build. I suggested other shapes and he tried a few but figured out pretty quickly that he could build taller things . . .





But I didn't catch a picture of his taller building before he started eating them!

Beyond Homemaking Daybook 3

Weather: Still cold, but I'm starting to get used to it. :) We had our first little bit of snow yesterday, so that was exciting for the boys!

 

This Week: Back to our regular schedule. Superman is getting ready for finals this week so he'll be studying more than usual after work. I've been fiddling with the housekeeping schedule to try to get us through my two longer teaching days, so we're going to try out some new things this week.

 

Current Fiction Read: Kushiel's Chosen by Jacqueline Carey. I'm giving up on Twilight. Sorry, but I just can't get into it.

 

Current Non-Fiction Read: Montessori From the Start by Paula Polk Lillard. It has been such a great read and has explained a lot about why my toddler does what he does and what materials to provide for him to help him through these stages.

 

Craftiness: Still working on Little Bit’s knit kangaroo AND his mittens. I want to finish those tonight! I'm cutting blocks from the strips for Reed's Quilt, so that's another step forward. Hopefully I'll get those done and pieced this week, then into the home stretch on the quilt. :) 

 

Learning at home: This week we're still working with the new 3 part animal cards. Big Kid is only interested in doing 2 or 3 at a time and then puts everything away, so that's been curious. I'm also wondering why he keeps getting them back out if he only wants to work with a few of them. He really enjoys the pink cards. We've been working with 1 short vowel at a time, but I think that he's guessing by the first letter instead of really reading, so I'm going to try putting them in groups by beginning letter. I know he can read 3 letter words, but I want him to get used to working like this before moving on to more difficult things.

 

New work: Practical life for Little Bit- Setting the table, and folding napkins. We started a little bit yesterday and he's in love with the placemat I made for him.