What Matthew Made for Me Today

My Little Patriots

In history we've been studying the American Revolution and the founding of our nation. It's been super. Meg and Matthew have been doing more independent study to supplement what we do together, and they have flourished in that.

We brought home from the library a cool book, Projects About the American Revolution. Meg and Matthew both had to read it and choose a project to complete. As it happened, they both chose headwear.

Meg in her mobcap and Matthew in his tri-corner hat:

And Esme, who was at that moment clad as a mermaid (don't even get me started on Ariel's kind of revolution), getting in on the photo action:

We also made parchment paper, though it barely looks aged at all in this shot.

Another cool thing is that we found this cartoon series, Liberty's Kids, on YouTube. It's the Revolution (starting with the Boston Tea Party) as seen through the eyes of three (fictional) young people who always seem to be at the right place at the right time and get to meet everyone from Ben Franklin to Phillis Wheatley, the poet and slave. It's fairly detailed, engages the real questions of that day, and is quite well done overall. I gladly recommend it!

Matthew, Giant Robot

Last week we had these boxes laying around the house from some new window blinds that Dave installed. Naturally, Matthew needed to use the boxes in some way before they went the way of the recycle bin. With a little help, he spent some time as a very tall roboty thing...

In case you didn't notice, that's Meg supporting him from behind there, and providing some perspective on how tall he was when all boxed up.

I think cardboard must dream of being shipped to guys like Matthew, don't you? Who but a little boy is going to put so much of himself (see what I did there?) into an old box?

Midwest Memories II: "Sailing" at the Ponds

The second leg of our midwest trip was to central Michigan, where we stayed with Dave's wonderful Mom and Tom, or Grandma Dawn and Grandpa Tom to the kids. Their beautiful (if buggy) little slice of paradise, a.k.a. "The Ponds," was just as grand as ever a spot for relaxation and exploration. The fountain bubbled, the frogs sang all day, the baby deer came right up to the house, the hummingbirds buzzed through magnificent gardens, displaying their gorgeous ruby-colored throats. Lucky for us, we had a week to spend there soaking it all in!

It just so happened that Grandpa Tom had a brand new basketball hoop that he wanted to set up while we were there. The basketball hoop just happened to come in a very large cardboard box. It just so happened that we had someone with us who really loves very large cardboard boxes and never lacks for creative ideas about how to use them. And it happens that Grandpa loves to power creative ideas. Thus:

Matthew's Cardboard Sailboat + Grandpa's Tractor Mower = Sailing at the Ponds

What a great memory!

Matthew on the Wild Side

One of Matthew's recent creations, inspired by seeing pictures on a friend's blog of a teenage boy practicing with his (real) bow:

All from his own little imagination, with no input from anyone else. He never ceases to amaze me.

Aaaaaaaand... then there was the day he asked for a mohawk. That night was bath night, so afterward, I tried to oblige. His hair is super thick and coarse, so once it was wet, all it took was some finger-sculpting...

Matthew was pretty proud of himself that evening.

The next day was Sunday, and much of the fauxhawk had flattened out over night, though there was a remnant. I asked if he wanted me to redo it for church, but he said no. I guess one night as a (pretend) punk was enough for him... this time.

Token of Spring

It was barely in the 40's here yesterday evening, but the kids were stir-crazy and hyper, so I sent them outside. At the end of their playtime they returned to me with this:

Is this the sweetest invention ever, or is it just me? One of our first forsythia blooms, accented with some other tiny white blossoms, arranged in a walnut shell--it might be the most heart-melting gift I've ever received. One look, and whatever residual stress I felt from the past three weeks of solo parenting (while Dave was up to his ears in the youth group's spring musical at church) melted right away.

Of course, today the forsythia bushes are heaped with snow, so it was a good thing they seized those first treasures of spring while they could!