Amazing Christmas gift

 B wrote down a few things on his list for a sibling to gift him.  The first item was $200.  The second was $89.  The 3rd and 4th were possible for the budget.  I found the 3rd item on Facebook Marketplace for such a good deal that I could get the 4th item also. 

Here's what is amazing about the 3rd item.  I actually got $150 of that item for $20.  B loves saving money.  Instead of just 1 of the item, he will have 10.  B loves to collect.  I'm very grateful that this person was selling this awesome gift in time for Christmas.

So good at school

 B is a very conscientious person.  He's doing great at school.  His handwriting and writing ability have improved so much in school.  He works hard for his teachers.  He made a shoe box diorama for his Language Arts class that looked like a locker for Auggie form the book "Wonder".  He had little pictures, a mini notebook with quotes, and a mini potato light for the science project.  I think it was awesome.  I helped him with it but tried not to do it for him.  I showed him how to spray paint and then let him do that.  I showed him how to make the quotes on the computer, and then let him do that.  One thing I did do was bend the wires for the potato light.  Guilty.

lunch duty

 Today I volunteered to cover lunch duty for the teachers.  It was so loud.  It was cool to see the boys classes.  I had been on a field trip with L so I knew some of those kids names.  B's class was a surprise to me.  The children were nice, and juvenile.  Like kids!  One of the kids that B sat near looks like a mini Sandra Oh.  I've had interactions with this little girls biking to school, saving worms, etc... I'm usually with L, so it was funny to meet her as B's mom.  

So loud.

B is doing so well in class.  I'm so glad he is obedient and kind.  He often gets sinus troubles and he once let snot roll down his face rather than get up and "cause a distraction" getting a tissue.  Oh B.

He is such a sweet boy.  I love his delight and love of learning.  He surprises me with the details he remembers in books.  The class has been reading "Wonder" for a while now.  B has to do a diorama for the end of the unit about one of the characters.  He's got supplies to make a potato light, Auggie Doggie mini poster, astronaut sticker, and a little composition book to write precepts in.  He also made a "Darth Daisy" dog mini poster.  Oh, he plans to make the shoe box look like a locker.  So these items would be in the locker.  Cute.

Storm trooper

I found this costume for B today at the thrift store. I laid it on his bed to find.  Ever cautious he asked me who it was for.  It fits him perfectly and he is so delighted.

He was able to solve the runic cube following the instructions.  Way to go!

 

new bike and the privilege of 2 parents

 B had been struggling with his bike for over a week.  The brakes wore out so P put on new brake pads.  The gears weren't shifting well so P tweaked that.  The bike was used 9 years ago when we got it for G and it has been in constant use by someone all these years.  Finally I realized that B was raising the seat above the safety mark on the post so we shopped for a newer bike.  We found a bike for $75 close by and went to look at it Saturday.  It needed a new intertube but seemed like a nice bike and B was very pleased.

P spend a lot of time working through how to buy a tube, going to get one, and then also replacing the tube.  He had B involved the whole time.  P is very deliberate about teaching the children these skills.  P also tuned up the brakes.

B asked last night when he was going to get an apple watch.  I told him that I didn't get one until I was 43.  He knows some kids who have them.  Some kids parents have more money.  I want our children to see how fortunate they are.  It is true that we don't have all the luxuries that some may have but we have no debt and our life is wonderful.

Big brother goes to school

 

B is in 5th grade.  He enjoyed the independence of riding his bike to school.  It rained several days in the first 2 weeks so B was interested in getting the bus figured out.   He even rode L to school once when they tried to catch the bus and missed it while I was taking M to seminary.  This picture is from the first day they rode the bus home and came running up the sidewalk holding hands.  B has been very sweet about making sure L was OK.  It's hard on him when L takes too long.  L had bad behavior and I told him he couldn't ride until next week.  It's hard on B when L gets in trouble.

B is a sweet boy and he's doing a good job of figuring out school.

He told me he thinks he's the smartest kid in his class.  I'm not sure what makes him think that but I told him that whether he is smart or not he needs to do the work and not boast.

as a bird flies

 B spend hours exploring the neighborhood on his bike today.  He went from our neighborhood over into the next and over to the next.  When we went later in the car I was shocked at how far he went and all the turns he was able to navigate to get home.  I told him that my mom had the ability to visualize her location as a bird looking down.  He said that's what he does too.

Fasting

 B has a hard time fasting.  He has been in a growth spurt for the last 6 months!  He is constantly hungry and gets shaky.  He goes to bed hungry and begging for food to be left out in the morning.  This usually happens on nights when he gets on the computer and forgets to eat at 7pm.  I even have an alarm on my phone to remind myself to offer L and B food before bedtime.  L doesn't usually eat dinner.  I just feed him whenever he is hungry which is usually right before bedtime when the medicine wears off.

Last month B offered that he could fast something else instead of food.  He suggested he could fast "being mean".  I thought that was funny since B is pretty good at being nice.  But he is probably mean about as often as people eat breakfast.  

His fast offering prompted me to fast from getting on my children about their chores on Sundays.  Fasting from food isn't hard, but I do think that I can keep the Sabbath day more holy if I just do the chores myself or let them go on Sunday.

Sweet singer

 B has a strong voice.  He sings melody and lets me sing harmony because he can hold the melody all by himself.  

B sings in a children's choir and is sometimes very full of wiggles.  He sings well and when he is not wiggly he is the image of good behavior.

He looks after L and has fun at homeschool group.