Caleb’s Latest Invention

Posted by Cindy on April 24, 2009

What can an eight year old boy do with a yard stick, two clothespins, electrical tape and too many rubber bands?  Create a weapon, of course!  (And it really works!)

Gum in the Dryer

Posted by Cindy on July 9, 2008

This isn’t the first time I’ve found gum in the dryer.  The barber just loves handing out handfuls of gum to the kids as they leave.  Sadly, the gum rarely finds its way out of Caleb’s pockets and into his mouth.

This time, HE was the one who had the lovely job of scraping the gum out of the dryer.  Hmmm….I’m afraid it didn’t turn out to be the punishment I’d hoped.  It seemed he was having way too much fun.  In fact, the fun didn’t stop with Caleb.  Eli brought his tool and was ready to help, too!  Aack!  My dryer!!

My Little Boy

Posted by Cindy on December 6, 2007

Is it all little boys, or do I just have a really funny kid?  He keeps us in stiches, well most of the time anyway.  I find it hard to laugh at some of his shenanigans – like holding his crawling baby brother’s feet and considering that “babysitting”.  Anyway, here’s the latest installment of Caleb’s Creativity.  (I’m being generous to call some of it creativity!)

Caleb and Ethan are great buds.  They’ve learned each others phone numbers – need I say more?  Here’s a typical conversation:

Ethan:  Whatcha doin’?

Caleb:  Oh nothin’.

Ethan:   Are you doing school?

Caleb:  No, I’m finished for the day.

Ethan:  Okay, bye.

Caleb:  See ya later.

One rainy day not too long ago, they were having a phone conversation and I heard the door slam.  I *thought* I heard talking outside and then the door slammed again.  Caleb said, “Wait just a second.  I have to put on my raincoat…..Okay, I’m on my way back outside.”  Those two little stinkers were talking on the cordless phones AND playing in the rain at the same time!  Neither one of them saw anything at all wrong with standing in the rain and talking on the phone!

Another day, I saw Caleb running laps around the house.  After about five trips around, I looked out the window and thought I saw him holding something.  Yep, he was runninng laps AND talking to Ethan.  I have no idea if Ethan was running, too!

The best conversations go something like this….

Caleb:  Have you set up a booby trap for your sister yet today?

Ethan:  No, but I’m going to do it right now.  I’ll call you back as soon as it works!

And finally, here’s proof of one of Caleb’s latest booby traps.  Ahem, he was supposed to be CLEANING his room, not setting traps!  (By the way, I fell victim to one of the traps later that night!)

These are supposed to make you trip like a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

If someone puts his or her foot under the tractor, Caleb can cut the string from another location in his room and make the tractor fall.

The belt and hanger system doesn’t seem to be stopping baby brother!

And, yes, we had a talk about this one!  “You may not set up any more traps that can impale people!”

Have I ever mentioned his homemade punching bag?  This room used to be his sister’s (hence the purple walls that we keep promising to paint!!)  There’s a hook in the ceiling from a canopy that used to hang over his sister’s bed.  Well, one day I see him standing on top of three big Rubbermaid tubs that he’s stacked.  On tiptoes, with boxes wobbling below, he’s hanging this contraption!

I’ve written before that we are still working diligently on reading.  Beginning readers can still be a struggle, so asking him to read a whole passage from the Bible just hasn’t happened.  Well, this week in Sunday school, his teacher asked him to read a couple of verses.  When he got home, he said, “Hey Mom, I want to show you something.”  He opened up his Bible, found the verses and read them without the slightest bit of hesitation!  Then, he kept reading until he had read an entire passage of 10 or 12 verses!  Praise the Lord!  I had tears in my eyes the entire time, but best of all was the pride that shone in his eyes when he was done.

After reading to me, he read the same passage to his sister.  By the time his Dad came in from feeding cows, he had a “pulpit” set up with a vase of flowers, a cup of water and his Bible.  He said, “Sit down, Dad.  I’m going to preach you a sermon.”  And he did.

As always co-op moms, please be careful what you share with your kiddos.  Caleb doesn’t like his friends making fun of what mom “tells on him” here on my blog. 

This One’s For You, Mrs. Debbie!

Posted by Cindy on November 19, 2007

Debbie teaches the Contenders of the Faith class for our little boys at co-op.  She’s doing a fantastic job!!  So far, they’ve learned things like fire safety, camping skills and how to use various tools.  She sent an email out not too long ago encouraging the parents to build something with their boys.  So, for you, Mrs. Debbie, Caleb and his Dad made from scratch this bike ramp.  (It’s only fallen apart twice!)

Next project….a tree house!!  Hopefully, it won’t fall apart even once! 

Diane Craft on Boys

Posted by Cindy on June 30, 2007

Ever wonder about dyslexia with a child?  Ever wonder about a child’s “abundance of energy”?  Ever wonder about other learning disabilities?  I’ve found a website by Diane Craft that has many interesting articles and helps for some of these problems.

Although I’m not one for labels, a mom does start to wonder when her seven year old isn’t reading very well after much instruction and still has many letter and number reversals.  I haven’t worried, and still won’t, for a little while longer while I give him a chance to mature, and actually care that he’s not a great reader.

At the same time, Diane offers lots of simple suggestions to assess and help with potential problems.  She offers some advice about adding essential fatty acids to the diet – of boys especially – to help with many potential learning problems.  I always love to hear about natural helps!

I first found her after perusing the Homeschooling Boys site and Yahoo group.  I hope someone else might find her information useful!