Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Day Six
Oh, we were so tired this morning! It was so very hard to get out of bed. Except when the stupid cat woke me up at 4:30 am begging to be let outside. OK, not so much begging as ripping holes in the carpet to prompt me to leap out of bed and grab it by the scruff of the neck and heave-ho! out the door like some kind of Olympic hurler.
I'm a wuss, I admit it. I let the girls sleep in this morning. It was wet and rainy outside, and the wet, rainy weather always makes me feel extra-sleepy. So after waking up for the third or fourth time since 4:30 am - this was probably around 6:45 or so - Mary came downstairs and wanted to eat a bit of breakfast before heading out. Then Deb came down, wondering what kind of exercise we were going to start with. Then Cheryl showed up, and suddenly it was time to go!
Unfortunately, Cheryl and Deb weren't really in the mood to go walking, so it was just Mary and I. We only did a half-walk, though, skipping through the shortcut to the other side of the development and then coming back the normal way. Say a mile and a half. Or something like that.
Upon our return, Cheryl and Deb jumped right into our post-walk weight training exercise, which lasted a good twenty minutes and was pure torture for an old bod like mine. I was only to happy to flee upstairs after all my muscle groups had been ripped anew, take my shower, then head off to work.
I'm a wuss, I admit it. I let the girls sleep in this morning. It was wet and rainy outside, and the wet, rainy weather always makes me feel extra-sleepy. So after waking up for the third or fourth time since 4:30 am - this was probably around 6:45 or so - Mary came downstairs and wanted to eat a bit of breakfast before heading out. Then Deb came down, wondering what kind of exercise we were going to start with. Then Cheryl showed up, and suddenly it was time to go!
Unfortunately, Cheryl and Deb weren't really in the mood to go walking, so it was just Mary and I. We only did a half-walk, though, skipping through the shortcut to the other side of the development and then coming back the normal way. Say a mile and a half. Or something like that.
Upon our return, Cheryl and Deb jumped right into our post-walk weight training exercise, which lasted a good twenty minutes and was pure torture for an old bod like mine. I was only to happy to flee upstairs after all my muscle groups had been ripped anew, take my shower, then head off to work.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Day Five
This morning, we went to the High School pool, bright and early, first thing in the morning. All of the kids, plus two extra. Nathan and The Other Adam. (James had done an overnight at Nathan's, but he was under strict instructions to be back at the house by 7 am so we could go to the pool.)
We were hoping to do some lap swimming in the competition pool, but the competition pool was being used for ... competition. Apparently there was some kind of junior swimming meet going on, so we had to use the shallow pool. It has eight (small) lanes. But then, unexpectedly, there was a class. And they took half the pool. So we were left with four lanes. Two for going up this way, and two for coming back the other way.
The kids took a while to "get" it, having never really done lane swimming before. You know, sharing a single lane with a bunch of old ladies who have been doing it for a million years and have absolutely no patience for young kids who haven't quite figured it out yet. Needless to say, we were all getting annoyed. So we didn't stay long.
Back home, after showers, we went on-line and picked up our tickets to the movies (thanks to Aunt Jan!!) and then drove up north through the two demolished bridges to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides (4 of us) and X-Men: First Class (3 of us). I took 3 of the boys up early because X-Men started half an hour early. Adam and Mary came along for fun. And we ended up sitting in the Pirates theater for half an hour waiting for Cheryl to bring the rest of the kids. While waiting, we ate up our popcorn and Coke and candy. I won't tell you how much money we spent on snacks, because it is too embarrassing. Makes me want to quit going to movies altogether.
So we watched both movies and waited all the way through the credits to see the very last scene which made absolutely no sense, and then gathered up the troops afterward and headed back home to drop off the 'extra' kids (should I mention the part about sitting in traffic for twenty minutes because of the two bridges which were being ripped apart?) and then rushed over to the Sabri's for an Open House (those weird High School Graduation Open Houses they have out here in Michigan). And we had some wonderful cake and fresh fruit. And ended up taking some home because they had lots of leftovers.
Then it was time to head home to watch some Dr. Who!
Not sure what we learned today, other than the fact that Dad can barely swim a lap before losing his breath...
We were hoping to do some lap swimming in the competition pool, but the competition pool was being used for ... competition. Apparently there was some kind of junior swimming meet going on, so we had to use the shallow pool. It has eight (small) lanes. But then, unexpectedly, there was a class. And they took half the pool. So we were left with four lanes. Two for going up this way, and two for coming back the other way.
The kids took a while to "get" it, having never really done lane swimming before. You know, sharing a single lane with a bunch of old ladies who have been doing it for a million years and have absolutely no patience for young kids who haven't quite figured it out yet. Needless to say, we were all getting annoyed. So we didn't stay long.
Back home, after showers, we went on-line and picked up our tickets to the movies (thanks to Aunt Jan!!) and then drove up north through the two demolished bridges to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides (4 of us) and X-Men: First Class (3 of us). I took 3 of the boys up early because X-Men started half an hour early. Adam and Mary came along for fun. And we ended up sitting in the Pirates theater for half an hour waiting for Cheryl to bring the rest of the kids. While waiting, we ate up our popcorn and Coke and candy. I won't tell you how much money we spent on snacks, because it is too embarrassing. Makes me want to quit going to movies altogether.
So we watched both movies and waited all the way through the credits to see the very last scene which made absolutely no sense, and then gathered up the troops afterward and headed back home to drop off the 'extra' kids (should I mention the part about sitting in traffic for twenty minutes because of the two bridges which were being ripped apart?) and then rushed over to the Sabri's for an Open House (those weird High School Graduation Open Houses they have out here in Michigan). And we had some wonderful cake and fresh fruit. And ended up taking some home because they had lots of leftovers.
Then it was time to head home to watch some Dr. Who!
Not sure what we learned today, other than the fact that Dad can barely swim a lap before losing his breath...
Friday, June 17, 2011
Day Four
Today we went early to the middle school and played frisbee / soccer. We couldn't use the regular grass field because it was too wet from last night's rain, so we played on the basketball court. Which was hilarious, because I stood in the middle and let them throw frisbees at me, and then let them kick soccer balls at me. Thank goodness we weren't practicing baseball!
In the afternoon, the girls and I went over to the High School to pay for our pool membership and to play for awhile. And swim for an hour or so in the Open Swim pool. It was very relaxing and fun, and I've missed playing in the water! So I hope we can do it again tomorrow, bright and early in the morning.
In the afternoon, the girls and I went over to the High School to pay for our pool membership and to play for awhile. And swim for an hour or so in the Open Swim pool. It was very relaxing and fun, and I've missed playing in the water! So I hope we can do it again tomorrow, bright and early in the morning.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Day Three
Today we took a walk (with Rachel), then I had to run off to work -- but not before giving the kids the task of modifying their travois to include a wheel!
Then I came home for lunch and helped them build a model. And left it to them to complete.
Cheryl did some finances with the boys, and they figured out that after all our living expenses, we have only $72 left!
Then I came home for lunch and helped them build a model. And left it to them to complete.
Cheryl did some finances with the boys, and they figured out that after all our living expenses, we have only $72 left!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Day Two
Today we wanted to do something completely different than walking around the neighborhood, something a little more challenging, so I took the kids over to the High School track and we ran some initial "test runs" to see where the kids are at, endurance-wise.
It was rather interesting.
We started out with some stretching exercises (obviously). Since all the kids have had P.E., they knew how to do that, so I didn't have to teach anything about that. Then I had them run 50-yard sprints. Then 1/8-mile runs. Then 1/4-mile. And I took some measurements of their time. Just so we'd have a basis against which to measure our progress.
When we got home, we went out in the backyard and built a travois! Actually, I took the kids out in the back and tossed them a pile of sticks and some rope and told them to "build something to haul stuff with." And they designed and built a basic travois.
From there, we went inside and talked about wheel stuff. Like, how people came up with the original wheel, and how it developed into what we have today.
At some point, we're going to build some more wheels, and come up with our own wheelbarrow.
It was rather interesting.
We started out with some stretching exercises (obviously). Since all the kids have had P.E., they knew how to do that, so I didn't have to teach anything about that. Then I had them run 50-yard sprints. Then 1/8-mile runs. Then 1/4-mile. And I took some measurements of their time. Just so we'd have a basis against which to measure our progress.
When we got home, we went out in the backyard and built a travois! Actually, I took the kids out in the back and tossed them a pile of sticks and some rope and told them to "build something to haul stuff with." And they designed and built a basic travois.
From there, we went inside and talked about wheel stuff. Like, how people came up with the original wheel, and how it developed into what we have today.
At some point, we're going to build some more wheels, and come up with our own wheelbarrow.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Summer School Plans
I've got a big agenda for the summer, teaching these kids the survival skills they're going to need to make it in the world. Not sure if we're actually going to get through any of it, but here's the basic plan.
Between June 1st and August 31st, I would like the kids to learn the following skills:
- Growing a simple garden
- Writing a play
- Writing a novelette
- Sewing their own clothes
- Building several wooden projects, including:
----Back porch pergola
----Front porch railing
----Backyard shed
- Building a simple PVC-based plumbing system
- Building a simple copper-based plumbing system
- Building a simple 4-wheeled go-cart
- Understanding basic electronics, including:
----Computation of Power, Current, and Resistance
----Serial & Parallel circuits
----Useful Loads (i.e. lights & motors)
Generators (AC and DC)
----Simple household circuits
----Simple relay circuits
----Simple transistor circuits
----Simple radios
----Simple logic circuits
- Using computers, including
----Putting together a computer
----Administering a computer system
----Creating and maintaining a computer network
----Programming a computer (general concepts)
Horribly ambitious, isn't it?
Between June 1st and August 31st, I would like the kids to learn the following skills:
- Growing a simple garden
- Writing a play
- Writing a novelette
- Sewing their own clothes
- Building several wooden projects, including:
----Back porch pergola
----Front porch railing
----Backyard shed
- Building a simple PVC-based plumbing system
- Building a simple copper-based plumbing system
- Building a simple 4-wheeled go-cart
- Understanding basic electronics, including:
----Computation of Power, Current, and Resistance
----Serial & Parallel circuits
----Useful Loads (i.e. lights & motors)
Generators (AC and DC)
----Simple household circuits
----Simple relay circuits
----Simple transistor circuits
----Simple radios
----Simple logic circuits
- Using computers, including
----Putting together a computer
----Administering a computer system
----Creating and maintaining a computer network
----Programming a computer (general concepts)
Horribly ambitious, isn't it?
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