Growing Up

MIND YOUR PEAS: First thing this morning, Annabelle exclaimed, "Look at the PEAS!!!!"

I could see why she was so excited - they appeared to have nearly doubled overnight. (They get much bigger and we're going to have to start stringing them up pretty soon!) And the beans are busting out all over, too - to the point we've got a bit of a problem. It's too early to put 'em in the ground, but I think they need bigger pots. So I guess we're going to have to do some kind of intermediary potting.


CJ's apple seed experiment continues to impress us, and Annabelle's watermelon seems to be off to a good start, too. No sign of tomato plants yet, but hopefully something's happening under that potting soil.



WORD UP: It was a little cold outside today, which meant it was a little cold on the main floor of the house too (our basement is still uninsulated, and that makes for a cold main floor on many days). So, we headed upstairs to do some word work - specifically spelling. They both aced the spelling bee we held. So tomorrow, it will be time for a new word list. Onward, upward!


RIGHTEOUS RAILROAD: Part of celebrating women's history month, BrainPOP Jr. is offering a video about Harriet Tubman, a hero of the Underground Railroad. We watched the animated biography twice, and then the kids took two comprehension tests. Fortunately, Super Fail didn't quite make it back, but CJ, especially, could have done a whole lot better on the test. I think I need to talk to CJ about test taking strategies.


One thing I learned in the film is that Harriet Tubman's name was not originally Harriet Tubman. She was born Araminta (Minty) Ross, in Maryland around 1820. Tubman was her married name, but apparently she also chose to change her first name around the time she married a free black man, John Tubman.

We talked about what it meant to be a slave, and how Harriet Tubman took huge risks and broke the law, and how sometimes breaking the law can be the right thing to do.

SPRING TRAINING: For get up/get out/get moving time today, we headed to nearby Bay View Park. The kids played on the playground for about a half hour while I walked Kirby. Then, we moved to the upper park, where the baseball field is.

Crews have been working hard to get the field ready for baseball season. It looked great. There's even a fully enclosed (netted) batting cage. The kids played in the cage for awhile before moving to the field for a simulated inning or two. We really need to remember to take a bat and ball and some mitts with us next time.

WHOOO: Tuesday is yoga day. One of the things the kids learned this afternoon is the owl pose, which Annabelle demonstrates here. I think perhaps it's called the owl because her head is turned around so far. ...