Here’s a very recent drawing of a T Rex by Gareth, made without any help. I was impressed to see him label it with the name—that’s “T REX” on the bottom, spelled backwards, with an extra line on the E. That is the first writing of his that recognizably matched what we has trying to write, rather than random letters / scribbles. Way to go, son!  

Daegan and I created these poems using the letters in each family member’s name, and he challenges other homeschooled kids to make poems of their own. Here’s our family: DAEGAN: Dinosaur-crazy, and I am pretty Amazing, Excellent at identifying bugs. I love Gareth, my brother. I am Awesome at reading dinosaur books, and I Never want to give Daddy a big headache. JIM: Jumps and plays, I love him; he Makes the best black...

Here’s some of what the boys got up to today. Gareth built a city: And both boys built dinosaurs with their magnet sets. (We have a ‘Under the Sea’ set too; I think the company that makes them is called Monkey Magnets). Some they built following a guide: Others, they made free-hand. Daegan made a pteranadon and an archaeopteryx: We also played a couple rounds of the math game, 4-Way Countdown, using addition only, and...

Here’s Daegan’s answers to completing the proverbs. Many hands make…life work. [Interesting improvement on the original, eh?] A leopard cannot change…spots. If at first you don’t succeed…just jump. [Daegan jumps on our mini-trampoline to calm himself down when frustrated] Every dog has…a nose. A good man is…Daddy. [Awww….] You can lead a horse to water, but…the horse sinks in the mud. All work and no play…is just silly! [the wisdom of youth <g>] The best things in life are…hugs, kisses, and…hugs. Ask a silly question and…laugh. Look before you…touch....

I made up a little exercise for the boys, to see how many proverbs / idioms / common expressions they had picked up. It will also serve as a writing exercise for Daegan when he completes it later tonight or tomorrow morning. And humour for us adults. :-) Here’s the proverbs the boys completed, in case you’d like to run them by your own kids before reading our answers: Many hands make… A leopard cannot change… If at first you don’t succeed… Every dog has… A...

Both boys seem rather taken with the idea of telling a story—especially one Mom makes the effort to write down! Here’s a couple more. I think next time I will ask the boys to draw pictures to illustrate their stories. MAGIC OTTER ISLAND – by Gareth Once Upon a time, there was the Animal Mechanicals flying in a parachute in a helicopter. The helicopter broke into pieces and the pieces of the helicopter were flying. And then a broom flew. Then the Animal Mechanicals rode on the broom, and they bonked into their heads. Then the broom disappeared....

Here’s Daegan’s first attempt at making a cartoon. It’s called The Life Story of a Pteranadon, and is from his (yet to be completed) Cartoon History of the Earth. He drew the pics and created a told the narrative without any help; I was just behind the camera. Enjoy!

My friend’s son, on his blog, issued a challenge to other kids: design a bug that can live under water. Here’s Daegan’s bug and his description of it: My bug is called Coristerus snipperus, or Coral Snipper. Its diet is below—the little dots are phytoplankton, the (stuff to the left of the dots) zooplankton, and (the thing to the right of the dot) a little fish. It’s an omnivore. Its claws in front (right-hand side) are for snipping its food. It has antennae to help it feel stuff because it doesn’t see very well....

I showed my boys a story and picture a friend’s son had posted on a blog, and Gareth immediately wanted to create his own. As he had a toy school bus, helicopter, and Wigget—his trusty T. Rex puppet who goes everywhere with him—this is what he dictated: Once upon a time the Animal Mechanicals were sleeping. They all heard their clocks go “RING!” They go to their bus and open the door. And they close the door. And Kimodo drives the bus. Then their bus turns into a time machine. Then they go to the time of T....