Sept 22, 2010

Busy, busy, busy... that was today!!!

The kids had free time this morning to play and they spent their time concocting quite an elaborate little plot with their dolls, it was fun to watch. Then off to the library for story time and craft time, where they made trees by tracing and cutting out the shape of their arm and hand on brown paper, gluing that to blue paper, and making red, yellow and green fingerprints for fall leaves all around. It was cute. I'd post a picture but I don't have a camera at the moment so you'll have to imagine it :) They picked out some books to bring home - C's are "A Walk in the Rainforest", one about Arctic animals, and one called the Enormous Carrot. A picked out some board books which C has been reading to her this evening. :) I love to watch that.

Quick lunch from A&W on the way home, stopped for about five minutes then back out the door, off to the babysitter while I went BACK to the dentist to have Monday's filling replaced (it fell out!!). Interesting bit of learning there - did you know that amalgam fillings do not actually bond to your teeth? The dentist makes a hole that is larger at the bottom and fills it with amalgam, and when it hardens it is supposed to stay put. Well, this one didn't. So I am now sporting a different kind of filling, which is (bonus!) white, and actually bonds to the enamel. So it ought to stay put. But I digress.

Off to the thrift shop where we found two fabulous princess gowns for $3.00 each - they need minor alterations but will serve nicely for the party this weekend and for Halloween. We also got some new games - Cadoo, Bioviva, Fish Addition Puzzles, and a Crokinole board (!!!), all for - get this - TEN CENTS each!!!!! The kids have been playing with the Crokinole board for a good bit of the afternoon, they think it's great. And I see a nice place for another hidden math lesson :)
Back home for a bit to play and have a snack before we hit the road for soccer (aka PE). Sadly, I am not sure how well it is working out... it sounded good at the start, because I was under the impression that there would be 3-4 year olds and 5-6 year olds on separate teams. As it turned out, they are all together. Well, this could work, I thought. A chance for the kids like C to chill out a bit and just play for fun. BUT. That failed to take into consideration the sheer drive for excellence that 6 year olds have. C has been in tears to one extent or another every single time we've been there. Either because the other team got a goal, or because she doesn't think she's playing well enough, or something else along those lines. Okay, I can usuallyf get her past it and get her back out there.

Tonight a brief solution was to put her in net and let her contribute to slowing down the other team. HER idea of a solution is that she needs to be on the other team. LOL But tonight there was another one in tears - a 6yo boy who, like C, has a year of soccer already under his belt. He stormed out and wouldn't come back because the little girl they had playing goalie was just standing there staring off into space and not paying attention to the game (she was four). Apparently last week he flat-out refused to participate once he saw how many little kids were there. So... I'm not entirely sure how this is going to go. I'm continuing to encourage C to play for the sake of playing, to take this time to practise playing and have fun with her sister. But I'm not really sure she's buying it. At any rate, they are getting a lot of exercise running around the gym and that was what I really wanted them to get out of it - exercise and a fun time together. Hopefully I can keep encouraging her and help her to see herself in some kind of a mentor role, and then maybe we'll see if she can join a different team after Christmas when Daddy is home to take her. Because let's just say, after a couple of weeks of them playing together, I don't want the nightmare of trying to take her to a soccer game right now where A can't play with her!!!

Now they're chilling out in the playroom, playing ponies (aren't they always lately) and winding down before bed. Tomorrow's plans - story/craft time at the MFRC, coloring, party planning, and if the weather is nice a Fall scavenger hunt around the neighborhood.