Mia's soccer game

So while Cailey was avoiding stepping on a toad, Mia actually played one of her best games ever. She was really paying attention to the game and strategizing. She decided to plant herself in front of the goal a few times and blocked numerous shots. I was quite proud! Go Mia! However, this might be her last soccer season, as she keeps telling me I MADE her play this year. Totally not the truth, in fact, knowing her past attitude toward soccer, and NOT wanting to waste the $85, I tried to persuade her not to play, but that's not how she remembers it. Anyway, she has informed me that now she wants to do "finger skating," referring to figure skating. There is a camp at the end of August, so maybe we'll try it.

Mia's letters

Mia's teacher is letting them finish out the year writing letters to each other. During center time they get to use envelopes (which are all properly addressed-I'm impressed!) and stationery to write to each other.

I was a little worried the first day when Mia said she didn't get any letters, but today she got something like 6 or 7.

The letters are very cute, telling Mia she is a great writer, "you hardly ever tok", that she's the nicest girl, etc.

Mia did tell me that they aren't allowed to write "boyfriend girlfriend things," but that a boy does like her. His name is Malachi and that when his friend told Mia that Malachi likes her, Malachi chased him around the playground.

Mia didn't really seem interested, just kind of nonchalant, in Mia's matter-of-fact way. I hope she keeps that attitude for a long time!

Luke can read!

I am super excited and proud. Luke learned all of his letters and sounds within a few days after watching The Letter Factory video. So we moved on to the Word Factory video, and wow!

Luke can do a super job blending cvc sounds/letters into words! He can both read ones and make ones.

At this point he is way ahead of where the girls even were, so I'm feeling better about sending him to kindergarten when he'll still just be 4 when school starts.

However, it means he'll barely be 13 when he goes to high school and 16 when he's a senior, and 17 when he goes to college! :( So we'll see.

Hoppy

My children had a pet toad for about an hour Sunday. During the soccer game we suddenly realized Cailey was standing in the middle of the field looking around down by her feet. We hollered at her and got her moving a little, but then she'd be looking by her feet again, even as her team was down on the other end by the goal. This went on for quite a while. We finally asked her what she was looking for. She had seen a toad while playing and was concerned that she would step on it.

Cailey later told me she had decided to avoid this one section all together so she wouldn't accidentally step on him. I had seen her run down the field, stop at the center field line, walk straight down it, and down the sideline at one point.

Towards the end of the game, after she had been benched (not really), she did find the toad. With the help of her coach she gathered him up and brought him over. She had every intention of taking him home and keeping him as a pet. Grandpa cut the top off of a water bottle for his transportation.

As we left, in her sweet Cailey voice, she was holding the bottle towards the creek near the soccer field telling her toad (Hoppy) to "say bye-bye!"

Going home we talked about wanting the best for Hoppy and decided to let him go at the pond by our house. So when we got there we went down to the edge of the pond and told him good-bye. Everytime we pass now, we say "Hi" to Hoppy.

Cailey's Books

Cailey recently read her first chapter book. She was talking about a classmate who was reading "chapter books" and she wanted to also. We went looking and found the "Puppy Place" series. It was cute watching her read it. On the way home she read the first chapter in the van, apparently not inheriting my motion sickness. Then she was walking around Grandma O's yard reading while she walked. She did a great job!

Luke's View of Fetal Development

Luke is waiting for chicks to hatch at preschool. He's very excited. He also has a baby cousin in Aunt Sarah's tummy that he's waiting to "crack open." He's seen pictures of them in side their respective "eggs." He thinks they are an octopus now, "but it will turn to a baby (or a chick)."

Luke's Temper Tantrums

Luke has been a little frustrated by our household rules lately. You know, unreasonable things like, "Don't spit on your sister!"

He's had several time-outs lately. Boy do those make him mad! He doesn't love us, nobody loves him, he's going to live with grandma, he hates our house because it is BROWN....!

That last one made us laugh.