Everyone is working on something

We've been working on projects this week.  The boys have all been busy with school and it's amazing that we've been able to keep up on due dates and such.  Eli had his first project for school due this week.  He was so excited to work on it with Mike.  He is learning about Africa and had to make a diorama of an African animal of his choosing.  He chose the Nile Crocodile.  He worked so intently on it, making snakes and coloring the background and writing up his report.  My favorite part was how excited he was about everyone else's projects.  He came home and told me about all the other projects and there wasn't any, "So and so's was better than mine."  He was proud of his work and didn't feel the need to compare it to anyone else's and was just interested in seeing what everyone else had to share.

Also, he decided to shove green foam clear up his nose last night.  That is a first for us.  I kind of thought that seeing how our boys are almost six and older we wouldn't have to deal with sticking tweezers up their noses to get stuff out--and never anticipated foam.  Peas, perhaps.  Foam, no.  Sigh.

Eli's diorama

 Isaac has been learning about simple machines.  He had to think of a project that had at least two simple machines and then build it and explain what it is and how he built it to the class.  He decided he wanted to make a catapult.  Mike had him draw his plan and then sat back while Isaac gave his ideas and hammered and built.  Mike did have to give a few pointers and helped with the tools and such but mostly, Isaac came up with it on his own.  He has been shooting marshmallows at me ever since.

Isaac's simple machine

 Piperleigh is working on growing hair and teeth and seems to be finding success in both areas.  For everyone that keeps calling her bald, I present a picture displaying her bed head.

Piper grows hair

 The boys have all started taking piano lessons.  So far they really look forward to it and practice each day.  I bought Mike a guitar for Christmas.  He is nice enough to share it with me and we have both been practicing.  He already knows how to play but this is a first for me.

I don't generally decorate for holidays--just Christmas and Halloween.  But the boys always want me to decorate and I had a Christmas project that I didn't have time for so I decided to turn it into a Valentine's decoration.  I cut out these clay hearts which I cooked in the oven and then covered with glitter.  Then I just strung them up.  They are cute and I like that they are just small.  They don't lay as flat as I'd like but they are still cute.  Then I just printed out a few Valentine's printables.

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 The boys are uncertain about this printable because I confess I keep taking the advice to Keep Calm and Kiss on.  They run away acting as though they don't want me to kiss them but they always come back for more.

I almost forgot the projects Will has been working on.  He is working on getting done with his Advanced Reading Challenge at school.  The challenge is to read 25 books from a specified list and then do a project for each book you've read.  He has finished 15 books and 13 projects.  This week he presented projects for Because of Winn-Dixie, Henry and Rigsby, and Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Cake.  He reads anything he can get his hands on, which I appreciate but also has been getting him in trouble in Math when his teacher catches him reading instead of listening to the Math lesson.  If he finishes all 25 books he gets a bunch of prizes.

This week the only project I am aware of is Will's Pinewood Derby car.  It's his first and he is super excited to work on it with Mike.  I for one am happy Mike is home to work on some of these projects with the boys.  I wouldn't know the first thing about helping Will build a pinewood derby car.