Hello everyone!! This week has been beyond chilly and I am so grateful that I have not had to venture out into it too much. I did see that a lot of the country is cold right now too and I hope you are all staying warm!
After New Years, we were able to just relax a bit more. We had a few commitments but for the most part, we spent time just hanging out at home together.
We did go out twice, at least. Wyatt was invited to go bowling with some of the kids in his old preschool class, so we went and did that. He loves bowling so much! And strangely, the very next day a local adaptive group posted that they were forming a bowling league, so I signed Wyatt right up, immediately! I think he will have so much fun!
Speaking of Wy-guy, he has been kicking butt and taking names at therapy! He is working so hard at walking. This kid is tough. Like seriously tough. At his last therapy appointment, he walked 48 feet before he needed a break. Yesterday, and with a two week break because of the holidays in between, he still walked 112 feet before needing a break! He is making significant improvements every week and he is so proud of himself, as he should be! This is an older picture, when he was first using this system back in September, and has been making such big gains every week since then!
We have also been working really hard in our homeschool and Wyatt has been making some gains there too! He is just kicking butt all over this week. We started all new books this week too which is fun. In literature we are reading My Side of the Mountain which is super interesting, from my perspective as a parent, because this kid just takes off to live alone on a mountain? Are his parents looking for him? What is happening? That is all I can think about as we read this one together. Wyatt likes it, but has said he would not like to sleep outside in a bed a leaves and branches and I told him that was a good choice.
In history, we are covering the colonial era, and our book to accompany the lessons we are doing is The Courage of Sarah Noble. It is so funny to me that I didn’t read either of these books as a kid. We are also going to read Sign of the Beaver and also The Witch of Blackbird Pond. My degree is in history so this kid of mine will be learning about American history probably this year and next, with how long I spend on each time frame. We move slowly through time over here! I also need to add in a week or two of Michigan’s place in history during this time frame, because Michigan looked pretty different from New England during this time frame. I found a fiction book to accompany some of the history we will be discussing about the French and Native Americans here, and Pontiac’s War. The park, which was once the land where Pontiac and his people gathered before their attack on Detroit is like a mile away from here. I feel like I am rambling!
Our artist this month is actually one I didn’t know much about either! Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who was an Austrian artist and architect. He was influenced by Gaudi, who we studied a few years ago, and you can really tell by looking at his designs. I love how colorful and and interesting his shapes are! Wyatt is enjoying him as well – loves to draw houses and trees and builds houses all the time with his toys so I thought he would enjoy Hundertwasser, and he does. I am actually pretty fascinated with him as well.
So, it’s slow days around here! Lots of school, lots of art, lots of hanging out at home. In fact, Saturday is our first Cozy Crafternoon Zoom! It will be frigid here on Saturday so I am ready to just get cozy and work on my embroidery while chatting with the other ladies on the zoom.
And that is really it from around here for now! Whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile!
Here are some random photos from the old camera roll!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 
Great photos! I like how you spent the holidays, and your time with Wyatt was great.
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Thank you Laurel-Rain!
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I remember thinking so many of the books I enjoyed growing up were weird to me reading them with my boys because yeah so many adventure books are just a kid all by themselves surviving in the wild and I always wondered where were their parents/guardians/ elders, etc. Our school days are so short because my son has already finished a lot of his work so he just has 3 subjects left (plus he’ll start taking a college level math course in a few weeks 2 days a week).
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Right? It is so funny how your perspective on these changes? Lol. You just can’t help but view them through the mom lens!
That is awesome!! That is so cool! Good for him!!
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Loving all the photos and already talked to you about the books, of course. I’m loving the slower pace of school at home right now. Sometimes we are a bit too slow but I know some days are just like that and can’t be helped!
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Me too Lisa. It is so nice to not feel rushed, and like we can really take our time. That is one reason I homeschool so when I feel hurried I am not happy about it.
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Congrats on all of the progress! And the bowling league sounds like a good fit and will be fun for Wyatt! We had a snow day today, only about an inch or two but since we hadn’t had any snow here in 7 years, it was a lot of fun! We made do with one sled, borrowed another and used our river tubes to go down the playground will with kids in the neighborhood.
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
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Thank you!! He is working so hard. And I am really excited about the bowling. He is too.
It sounds like you had so much fun!! Snow is awesome. We did finally get some here!
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112 feet? Erin, that’s amazing! I remember when just a few steps was a miracle. He’s working so hard and that’s just the best new EVER!
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He is working so hard! His therapist and I were blown away by him on Wednesday! And thank you!
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Yay for Wyatt! That is really impressive!
I like the pictures, is that the embroidery you are going to be working on for the Crafternoon?
By the way, I’ve seen a Hundertwasser house in Vienna ages ago and we also have one in a town about 15 miles from here which I always came by on my train commute.
https://www.hundertwasserhaus-plochingen.de/
The neighbor across from our house took inspiration from it and created his own “Hundertwasser Light” which people either hate or love, but which definitely never fails to catch attention. We usually just call it the “colorful house”.
Cat
https://catswire.blogspot.com/
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Thanks Cat!! He is working so hard!!
Yes. I am usually hopeless at sewing/knitting anything like that but I can manage when I have a kit thing. Lol.
That is awesome!! The ones that I have seen online are so amazing. They don’t even look real!
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Way to go, Wyatt!!! His muscles must be working hard. I think your history books sound really good. When you get a little farther along in the history, Dear Levi and Dear Austin cover western expansion and the Underground Railroad. They’re written as letters rather than narrative.
I haven’t heard of that artist, but I will look for him. Maybe, he’ll show up on Style Imitating Art!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
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Yay Wyatt! He really is kicking butt – and so are you. I’ll be curious to see what you think of Witch of Blackbird Pond. I really enjoyed it when I was a kid but didn’t love the reread – but I didn’t give it much of a chance before I DNF’d.
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Go Wyatt, go! 😀 That’s so awesome, on all fronts!
I’ve also got an undergrad degree in History! I blame all the Little House and other “frontiersy” books I read growing up, lol
I remember reading My Side of the Mountain and Julie of the Wolves as a kid and wondering “why?” 🙃
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Aww thank you Lisa!!
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