Even more rarely, that rare tide occurs durying the daytime on weekends when folks can go observe it.  Today, from 3-5 pm, we had the occasion to visit Moss Beach to check out marine life as a family and with friends.  It was really cool to see the rocks and sea life that one normally only gets to see at an aquarium.  Hermit crabs, anemones, and sea stars and other creatures were easily discovered by the thousands of people who were drawn by the same event to the area.  The weather was shockingly warm, and the sun shone brightly (great for people, tougher for photographers!).

Here are a few of the photos I snapped.  I didn’t get any particularly rare species (to my knowledge), but did capture a few very pretty shots of anemones up close.  I may even print & frame a couple of ‘em!

The website offers videos of how this sharpener works as well as repairing it when a lead gets stuck inside the mechanism.  I’ve had to remove the lead several times and the video proved very helpful in getting the lead out.  I find that when I sharpen colored pencils, the lead tends to break off more easily, but it can be easily remedied.  Happy sharpening!

They started out with using fun noodles as foils or swords.  Now we’ll be purchasing some fun noodles for practices at home.

Now it’s time for the real thing, but they must put on their protective gear.

Let the bout begin!

And finally, a photo of a bout between brothers.  Yes, we’re promoting sibling rivalry, but in a pre-ordained fashion.  Looks like the younger brother won this round as his foil hit his older brother’s torso.

When I did the school prep for this particular lesson, I told my husband that our children will have a biased view of this lesson.  I didn’t flash any snake pictures on our big screen.  Turns out that my children didn’t get a biased view of snakes despite my phobia.  They knew all about snakes.  When I started explaining how snakes move despite having no legs, the children already knew that it was because snakes had scutes or scales under their bellies that enable them to move.  They got so into the lesson that all of them decided they would be snakes and scoot on their bellies.  They even had a race!  Now, that’s as hands-on as we’ll ever get on learning about snakes.

Here are the kids scooting on their bellies on their snake race.  Notice the cute moo moo cow diaper my 2-year-old is wearing?  I love it.  So Adorable.  I get distracted easily.  I know.

The boys decided that they’d have a private race just between the two of them.

Now, I can handle these types of “snakes.”  I can even hug them, kiss them, and cuddle with them.  That’s my kind of “snakes.”

This morning right after I set up the screen for school, one child yelped in pain.  One of the siblings decided to leap on him.  So, before we could even start, we had an interruption.  Not a great start in the day. After some talking, apologizing, and relationship-mending, we are ready.

Half way through the lesson, the same child cried because he had a bloody nose.

Another interruption.

Nurse Mommy came to the rescue and took care of the bleeding nose.  Then, we discovered the the blood on the child’s shirt as well as on the couch!  There’s more work to be done.  So, we proceeded to take off the shirt and the couch cover off  to get the blood stain out.  (Can I just say that I’m thankful for these removable covers from Ikea?)

After removing the cushions, another discovery was found.  There was a lot, and I mean a lot of fish food pellets between all the cushions.  Apparently, the youngest culprit dumped out the fish food a while ago without our knowledge. I took the vacuum cleaner out and cleared out all the fish pellets.

Where were we again?  Ah, let’s see, somewhere in the lesson.  But, we managed to pick it up and finished the lesson.

We transitioned to a different subject.  While the boys worked alongside me, the youngest one came down, needing a diaper change.

Another interruption.

Before I went off, I reminded the boys to keep on working even though I’m not physically there.  Five minutes later when I returned, I found the boys had stopped working while I was away.  Their disobedience needed to be addressed so I took the time to talk to them, which resulted in . . . .

Another interruption.

We worked on the lesson for some more until the kids started to get hungry.  I left for a while to heat up some leftovers for lunch, which of course translated into. . . .

Another interruption.

Today’s interruptions were par for the course: a very typical day.  I always set out to do what we need to accomplish, but it doesn’t always happen the way it ought to.  It’s frustrating because a task takes twice or three times as long to accomplish.  “Can’t we just get on without any more interruptions?!!!”  That’s an impossible feat, I’ve learned, when you have children.

When we are inflexible with the schedule or are under the pressure to complete a lesson or task within a given day, any interruption is frowned upon, let alone the mass of interruptions that I typically experience.  However, I’m learning to accept the fact that interruptions are a normal course of life and that they offer teaching opportunities.  Remembering to keep this perspective in mind isn’t easy.  In many ways we are driven by our goals and deadlines so that we forget that it is through interruptions that teachable moments arise.  What’s amazing is that interruptions provide teachable moments for both the parents and the children.  So, the next time when you’re ready to complain about the umpteenth interruption you’ve already had, rest in the idea that you can use unwelcomed interruptions as a valuable lesson.

Matthew thinking hard and trying to use up his tiles.

Andrew is our most unassuming one.  He’s only six-years-old so we don’t  expect him to win, especially when he comes up against his big brother and his mama.  Well, once again, he proved us otherwise and took the win!

Andrew’s winning tiles.

And likewise, there is no shortage of book shelves.

So imagine my surprise when Lois asked if I’d be willing to build yet another book shelf.

But when she pointed me to this blogger’s idea, it made sense: build a book shelf that doesn’t just hold books, but actually advertises the books in a way that encourages kids to read more.

Not that my “book worm” kids need too much help; but this is a great idea to use idle wall space all the same.

So I assembled and installed a rain gutter book shelf in our family room (aka school room) out of a vinyl rain gutter after we made a family trip last night to Home Depot.  I installed it just under our homemade white board.

And just to prove that reading isn’t just for little ones (or that we’re asking a lot of our little ones!), check out the book on the end:

My eldest got creative and wrote a book about his stuffed animals today, and in the process of composing his adventurous story, he asked me how to spell several words.  Finally after several rounds of asking, he came to me and said, “Mommy, sometimes when I ask you a question, you answer me like Socrates.”  Be still, my heart!  Every nerd fiber in me got me excited.  My boy actually understood the Socratic Method and realized that I’ve been applying it.  I love it when they get it!