Rembrandt Portraits

This week has been much more refreshing than other school weeks.  I have always wanted a quiet time in the afternoons and this week we made it happen.  I told the kids that no matter where they were in their school work, from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. we were having a quiet time. Everyone relegated to their own rooms and they can play quietly, draw, read, nap, I don't care as long as it's quiet.  It has been Ah-maz-ing!  Just to have a time to recharge in peace and quiet has been so good for all of us.  No one has complained about it, and Henry even mentioned that he really likes it. 

Our CC group started back up this week.  The next six weeks are going to be so fun.  We are studying physics in science so our experiments are fun and very interactive which is really good for the kids.  This week we learned about sound waves and made spoon bells - simply tying kite string around a metal spoon, wrapping the string around our index fingers, sticking our fingers in our ears and banging the spoon on the table.  Instant bell.  The kids loved it.  We also made empty wine glasses hum with just vinegar on our fingers.  Later in the semester we will add different amounts of water to make different notes.  Then in art we are studying great artists.  This week was Rembrandt who was known for looking in a mirror and painting himself with different expressions.  He also painted many portraits.  Our director had printed out a black and white picture of each of the kids, folded it in half and the kids had to complete their portraits.  The boys did really well with it.  All three kids were really happy to be back at CC.

Josiah has been trying out all his new birthday gifts.  He's been reading his new books and drawing with his charcoal pencils.  He also got walkie talkies from his cousins that he wears on his hip like a cell phone.  Henry and Caroline both want the second one, so they've tried to come up with an elaborate, complicated schedule for who gets to use it and when.  Henry is always up for making lists of complicated rules that no one can remember. 


This weekend started off as a rainy one.  The kids spent their morning building giant forts in the living room using many many blankets and chairs.  They had porches and their own individual rooms.  After they got tired of that they played video games for a while.  Later in the day Caroline was telling us what had happened in the game.  She said that Henry kept telling her to bring her character over to where Henry's character was.  She kept saying no, but when she finally did, he blasted and killed her.  Brothers. 

Sunday proved to have better weather, cool, but sunny.  They were finally able to get outside and play.  They had two neighbor kids to play with and besides playing Legos, bikes, and tag outside, they also set up their usual card table right outside the garage and asked for chips and salsa.  Every time the card table comes out, there's always a request for chips and salsa.  Texas kids! 

It was a nice easy week.  Tomorrow we head out to Newman's Castle for the day.  The kids are excited to have sword fights and climb up the towers.  The man who owns the house also owns a bakery, so they're hoping for some baked goods at the castle as well.  (When we went three years ago  he had lots of doughnuts!)