Bits and Bobs and the like...

[ohginnyfan]

...for a Tuesday.

I ended up taking yesterday off from work and stayed home with the munchkins.  The second eldest munchkin had a MAJOR science project due this coming Friday, and the info only came home on Friday.  It was a diorama, written report and prepare for an oral report on a Biome.  He did the Deciduous Forest Biome .  We had the diorama done on Sunday night but still had the report and oral stuff to get ready.  We finished up yesterday.  We never know what our homework situation in the other classes will look like during the week, so we wanted to get it done so we didn't have to worry about working on it if he has a ton of homework this week.  And he very well could have a ton of homework this week -- the end of the grading period is Friday.

Eldest munchkin has a report on Egypt due the first week of February, that has to be four type-written pages, in addition to maps and pictures and....  He worked on his research extensively yesterday for his report.  He says he has almost all the research done -- eight written pages (sloppy!), so we're going to start working on typing up what he has, organizing it, and whatnot this weekend.

In addition, science fair projects are to be started this week for the 2 eldest.  They have topics picked and need to get them approved.  They're not due until April.  Both boys are eager to start them.

We got up and did the homework early yesterday, so that we'd have the afternoon to do something fun -- after all, if mom's taking a day off from work, we need to do something fun!  So we went and saw Hoodwinked.  I have to say, that this is one of the best animated flicks I've seen in a long time.  It was truly hilarious.  The squirrell, Twitchy, was my favorite character.  This movie kept all the munchkins entertained, including the four year old, and we just all enjoyed it. Go see it if you get the chance, but definitely rent it when it comes out on DVD/VHS if you don't go to the theatre. It will definitely be one we invest in.  Hubby was disappointed he didn't get to see it once he heard how good it was.

As a side note, there's a singing goat in it (probably my second favorite character), that I was interested in finding out was voiced by Benjy Gaither.  He's the son (I believe) of Bill and Gloria Gaither, who are big names in Christian Music.  They wholly recommended the movie as a good Family-Friendly flick on their website.

It was a very nice day off, all things considering.  The weather was gorgeous, the homework got done, the munckins got to play, we got to see a great movie, and the kids were stellar in the movie.  A good day all in all.

As another side note, everyone in RL is always amazed that I take four boys by myself to the movies on a fairly regular basis.  I've been doing it since the youngest was still in an infant car seat. I go prepared -- when Ben was between a year and three, I always took them to movies that had been in the theaters for a bit, so there wasn't much of a crowd, we'd go to only theaters with stadium seating (more room between seats), and we'd sit in a row that I could park a stroller at the end, and strap Ben into it.  The movies were almost always animated, and I always bought soda and popcorn.  As long as Ben had something to drink and eat, he would stay quiet for most of the movie.  I buy the large drinks, and take sippy cups with me, and split off the large sodas.  I always take large plastic cups that we dole popcorn out in (I buy a large popcorn, too).  I sit on the end of the row, so I can sit the food on the floor by my seat, and the boys quietly pass me their cups when they need more soda and popcorn.  It works well.  Now that Ben is a bit older, he sits in the seats on a booster (most theaters have them now) right next to me, and we do the same basic routine.  We also are always the last ones out of the theatre.  I take my time getting things gathered up.  We always take our stroller with us, even now (Ben just doesn't sit in it), and we load it up with the leftover popcorn and soda and out we go.  Oh, and everyone goes to the bathroom before we go into theater.  They know if they screw up and act up in the theatre, that's the last time I'll take them all.  They are always on their best behavior when we go.

Comments

[sherylyn]

I'm glad y'all had such a good time and a good day! And yup... when you've got kids, you always just *have* to be prepared! I used to also carry straws that would bend in a toothbrush holder in my purse -- when the kids were little, they often couldn't reach far enough to get to the top of the straight straw in a cup at a restaurant, so the bendy ones prevented lots of spills. And the ziplock bags with the slider-closers were a god-send, esp. in church. That way, the kids could get in to the bag of crayons or Cheerios or whatever and be able to close it themselves without spilling it everywhere!

*HUGS*!!

[ohginnyfan.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I carried bendy straws for years. I should carry them still with Ben, but I don't. I always had a baggie full of them in the diaper bag, along with the baggies of snacks and crayons and whatever else I could stuff in a baggie to entertain...

homework...

[brother-art.livejournal.com]

Susie, you always seem to be struggling with homework in your family. I've always found this a bit puzzling. Is elementary school different than when I was a kid (early/mid 70's) or is it your school.

I rarely had homework in elementary school. My grade 7/8 teacher was a wonderfull tough teacher, and he assigned fairly large projects to his class. That was more the exception than the rule, though.

Now, I know I'm not big on dwelling on my school days, so perhaps I'm just not remembering everything.

It just seems like your boys are always drowning in homework.

Re: homework...

[ohginnyfan.livejournal.com]

Well, I can tell the kids have much more homework than I ever did when I was in grade school. Part of it is they go to parochial school, part I think is they expect more from kids. Our babysitter and I were talking yesterday and her daughter who's a grade higher than my eldest has just as many reports/projects/etc (maybe more) in public school. So, I don't think it's just the fact that my boys are in parochial school, I think they just expect more from the kids.

Frankly, I think they expect too much from kids ~ they are too young for some of these assignments so the parent have to be more involved than they should. We had a state cookie project last year, which was definitely more of a parent project. It's nice to have projects to do with the kids, but I'd rather they let me choose the subject matter, than telling me "do this with your child".

Have a good day.

Susie

oh, and movies...

[brother-art.livejournal.com]

... I haven't taken my four to movies yet. Just the two eldest (first to Wallace and Grommit last fall, and then to the Narnia movie in December) who are 6/8.

However, we do regularly take them out to the mall, the library, and the Home Depot equivalent. Sometimes we get looks. They can be rambunctious. To me, that is one of the nice things about Home Depot -- BIG aisles. I let them run around a bit there.

But we've pretty much given up on doing Groceries together. Too much whining, too much "I want... [insert sugar loaded item], and just too crowded. We still do go to Costco en masse, as they love it so much, but by the end my beloved and I are usually tense.

Ah well. Invest now, dividends later.

Re: oh, and movies...

[ohginnyfan.livejournal.com]

*snort*

Yep Home Depot is a good spot for them to go and be able to be more themselves.

We've always gone out to lunch on Sundays after church with my mom and brother. They've grown up doing that, and really in all the years, there's been very few times I've had to remove someone from a restaurant for behavior that isn't appropriate. (And mostly, it's been the youngest that's been removed).

We get looks too, but in addition to the looks for four children, I get the comments of "four boys? You poor thing!"

I do get a lot of comments on how well-behaved they are. And out in public, they actually do really well.

For movies -- I'm just well-prepared to deal with them when we're there. I was nervous when I first started taking them (esp. alone), but now it's fairly easy, because we're all used to it.

Have a good day!

Susie

[rinnamarie.livejournal.com]

I saw Hoodwinked on Saturday night with my husband and our good friend Steve - we LOVED it. It was so good, and the banjo-playing goat was the BEST part :)

[ohginnyfan.livejournal.com]

Did you post about the movie? Someone on my flist posted about liking it; I couldn't remember who. It was a great movie, and I loved the goat.

[ohginnyfan.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's one good thing about kids movies -- there are always kids who are making noise, so it's not such a big deal for the kids with you talking.

Kids really enjoy movies -- it's just a shame it's so expensive.

*hugs*

Susie

[wamfof.livejournal.com]

I just read "How this mom handles four kids in a movie theater." You have some great tips in there. I am always amazed at some of our friends who have one or maybe two kids and can't seem to do anything any more because of the kids. I have always believed that kids are capable of much more than most people give them credit for.

I have at times taken our boys to work with me or to work on special projects with me to "help out" and they have almost always behaved, and participated. Our oldest got to do more of it than the others but they all get to go with dad from time to time. This doesn't happen every day but if there is weekend projects or work I will take them if they want to go. I have been lucky that my jobs and projects don't have strict rules about that kind of stuff.

Our oldest was up on a two story building with me reviewing an upcoming project I was heading up when he was two or three. Of course I already had experience with him going me and was confident he would not get to close to the edge. (Julie may not know about that yet, but no one got hurt so I am sure she won't be upset.)

*crossing fingers* *typinmng slows*

When he was 4 we took him on a mission trip to Arizona. Of course he did great.

I have the philosphy that if you set high expectations for your children and clearly commuicate those expectations to them they will live up to those expectations most of the time.

I enjoyed reading how you handle four kids at the movies. I am not really nervous about our upcoming addition because I grew up in a family with four kids, but at times that little voice says what were you thinking. (of course we weren't but we are thrilled)

Thanks for sharing
Will