Two Little Victories

Tuna's grandparents gave her $30 to spend at the store for her birthday. She combined that with her $25 gift card and $5 she made from selling her skates, to give her $60 total to spend. She mentally calculated her total as she shopped, and bought herself a dress and leggings set, two Barbies, a Ken doll, and a spy gear set, with her total coming to $59.95: an amount she already knew would ring up because she added it in her head. 

Later, in the car, her grandmother asked her how her birthday was going so far and she answered, "Amazingly!"

AmazingLY. She answered in proper part of speech. 

Of course, these grandparents are the ones who refuse to acknowledge that Tuna is homeschooled. They ask her things like, "What are you wearing on your first day of school?" and "Are you excited to start school?" even though they have been told time and again she doesn't go to school. We usually just change the subject now. 

Funny, they tell her she's smart as a whip, predict she will grow up to do something noble with her brain, yet refuse to see or admit that NOT being a product of the public school system might possibly be a better idea for Tuna. 

Being a non-testing, non-prescribed curriculum using mama, it makes my heart flutter when I see real-life examples of success in my daughter, especially when it happens in front of nay-sayers. 

Tomorrow: off to Munich with the in-laws. Going to make the most of it. 

Wood Shop, Agriculture, Physical Education, and Culinary Arts

If schools can give fancy names to their courses, so can I. Today, we had wood shop, agriculture, phys. ed., and culinary arts.

Wood Shop

I'm in the process of renovating some furniture I don't love. I bought this table at The Salvation Army thrift shop five years ago with the intention of stripping it down and repainting it.

 

I'm finally getting around to it, and I'm enlisting the help of my kids. They learned how to use my sander today, and they learned that it's hard work to sand corners by hand. We didn't even come close to finishing this project. It'll take  couple of weeks. When it's fully sanded, we're going to paint it grey and white stripes. We have a new knob for the drawer, as well.

 

My kitchen table is a touchy subject. Once upon a time, in a land far, far away from here (in Georgia, precisely), I let my bully mother-in-law convince me that my husband needed a new kitchen table and chairs for his birthday because my high-top bar table and chairs (solid cherry wood, and I loved it) was unsuitable for company. So she bought me a chintzy table and chairs that looks like it has toes. Granted, it was free. But I miss my old table. The wood is bubbled up and the fabric on the chairs is hideous. So I'm going to sand it and paint it bright cherry red. The chairs' fabric arrived in the mail yesterday. It's red and cream chevron pattern duck cloth. The kids will help with the sanding, painting, and reupholstery work. They're pretty excited about the final product.

Of note: the in-laws are coming for a visit this summer. I wonder what monster- ..I mean mother-in-law will have to say about my project.


Also, I bought a three-drawer chest for $5 at a used furniture sale. It's solid wood, very sturdy. It was a great bargain. But the pattern of the staining and the hardware on it make it look like it stepped out of the eighties. New hardware and new paint (same white and grey stripe job, as it is going in the same room) will breathe new life into it. Another thing my kids are learning: Buy cheap, buy used, and transform your bargain into a masterpiece.

Agriculture

Spring has arrived in Germany! Today, we planted our carrots and lettuce, and started some more lettuce and some parsnips in starter pots. Later this summer, we're going to have some good eats! The kids helped plant and learned about fertilizer, seed depth (ooh, math! in real life!), spacing, and crop yield.

 

 

Physical Education

I don't push this one. I don't feel like kids need a class in running around. Tuna skated and Bay ripsticked (I know Blogger spell check is going to love that word). There you have it. Gym.

Culinary Arts

The kids and I volunteer at the thrift shop. We found a pasta rolling machine. So, today, we tried our hands at fresh pasta, for the very first time. See? Adults can learn, too!

 

 

This good stuff is destined for a creamy broccoli-garlic sauce mmmmmm

There you have it. Our "school day" is done (not really...we never stop learning around here). We've learned so much more than those kids learn in that big brick box down the road. And we've had fun doing it (and we absorbed lots of vitamin D in the process).

Tomorrow: volunteering and reading, preferably outside in the sun. Happy Hump Day, everyone. :)