Cara: “Hey, Mommy! AUTUMN rhymes with BOTTOM!”

Today serves as a good example of what our life as homeschoolers looks like. Lori woke me up early (7:00) this morning, which meant that I could get a shower before the day got rolling. Everyone had a leisurely breakfast of cereal, fruit, and yogurt and then got dressed. Liam had time to practice the piano. I packed lunch and gathered some things and got everyone out the door by 9:30. We drove to Kindermusik, where Lori and Cara have classes. Liam and Evan bring book-work to do in the adjacent classroom while they wait (about an hour and a half). Cara joins me and Lori for the first class, and then she has her kids-only class while I hang out with Lori and the boys. By 11:30 we were back in the car and headed for Park Day. The weather was GORGEOUS today: 75 degrees and sunny with a light breeze. The local unschooling group meets at a park every Tuesday, and today they decided to put together a traditional Field Day, plus a pot-luck lunch and a curriculum swap! We contributed a watermelon and some dress-up hats (for the dress-up relay race, of course). The boys rode their scooters around with their friends, ate lots of good food, and participated in tricycle relays and three-legged races. I snagged some new books and activity ideas from other moms. Cara played with kids of all ages and spent a lot of time on the merry-go-round. Lori climbed the stairs to the giant slide and held up traffic at the top until I retrieved her. Repeatedly. By 2:30, everyone was worn out, so we headed home. Lori fell asleep in the car. When we got home, Liam spent some time reading alone in his room while Evan and Cara played quietly. At 4:00 we all geared up to go back out – Liam to soccer practice and the rest of us to free play at the My Gym. At 5:30 we went back to the park to meet Liam after practice, and played on the playground while we waited for the pizza dude to bring us dinner. At 7:00 it was time to drag everyone home and throw them in the tub. (With soap all over. Scrub, scrub, scrub.) Hopefully I’ll have them all tucked in by 9:00, because tomorrow is another jam-packed day of non-stop fun!

Cara’s teacher related the following conversation to me, which occurred in front of the bathroom in the classroom as Cara was coming out and a little boy was going in:

Boy: “I have a penis, and you don’t.”

Cara: “No, I have a vulva.”

Boy: “No, you have a ‘gina.”

Cara: “No, I have a VAgina, and a vulva. And a BUTT,” which she slapped for emphasis. Then she turned on one heel and marched off to wash her hands.

The little boy was left standing there blinking, wondering how he had suddenly lost this game.

Cara was playing peek-a-boo with Lori and proceeded to try and make Lori cover her own eyes with her hands.

Mommy: “Cara, please be gentle. Remember, Lori’s not a toy. She’s a person.”

Cara, giggling as if I had made a joke: “No she’s not.”

Mommy: “Yes. She is a person. Just like you are a person.”

Cara, indignantly: “No I am not. I’m a skunk.”

Well, then. What do you say to that?

Click on the picture below for a short video of Cara reciting the Turkey Poem:

Cara is 2.6 years old!

Cara’s Quote of the Day from a few weeks ago, while looking at herself in the bathroom mirror:

“My eyes are blue – like Liam’s.  And Evan’s eyes are green – like yours, Mommy. And Daddy’s eyes are brown… like poop!”

Liam: “Mom, may I please have a clementine?”

Evan: “I like to call them pumpkins. Because they look like pumpkins.”

Liam (with a look of disdain) “But they are clementines.”

Evan (with his mischievous grin): “Mom, may I please have a pumpkin?”

Cara (with an equally mischievous grin): “Mommy, may I please have a pumpkintine?”