School at Home: Day Three

Wednesday. Wednesday is cleaning day. Can you BELIEVE that Ernie was excited? She's been waiting for "school" for so long, all I have to say is that something is part of school, and she's all over it. I love it :)

We had our circle time, and got out a special library book called This Little Piggy, editen by Jane Yolen. I can't find it on Amazon to link to it, but it's a fun book STUFFED with finger plays and wiggle games from Brittain and America. Think eensy weensy spider, "here is the church," and yes "this little piggy" and then add tons of variations and lots of new games. The girls really liked it- we'll work on memorizing our favorites to add them to the rotation! (Looking at Jane Yolen's pages on Amazon, though, she looks like an author I should look into. Anyone who has a collection of stories called "Not One Damsel in Distress- Stories about Strong Heroines" is someone I should definitely look into :) She also wrote books called "Devil's Arithmetic" which look like they've been made into movies with Kirsten Dunst? I'm kind of a cultural dunce, but they sound vaguely familiar.

The girls stripped the beds and put all the sheets in the washing machine while I cleaned up the kitchen, and they helped start the dishwasher and put away the vacuum when I finished vacuuming. I intended to have them wash the windows with vinegar water and rags, but our morning slipped away from us with the chores that we DID get done.

The sun came out right about then, so the girls REALLY enjoyed their outside time today- lots of bike riding and chalk in the driveway. I've given Ernie permission to open the garage doors to get the bikes out, if she asks me first, and with the understanding that closing them is ALWAYS my job, so she's rather proud of that right now!

A family member asked me on Facebook "What does chores have to do with school?" and I think I feel another post coming up :) EVERYTHING! :)

Now, if you'll excuse me, Wednesday is also Piano Day. Three lessons in the morning, and I have five scheduled for this afternoon (that's four regular, plus one rescheduled lesson.) It's lovely to get so many done at one whack, but this is our first week in the new school year with EVERYONE here, and I think I need to go breathe into a paper sack!