Friday, March 20, 2009

Once upon a Time in the land of sugar cubes

lived a froggy king named Zargon. Zargon lived in a sugar cube castle with his wife, Zalmuzzia and his 25 pollywogs lived in the mote outside the castle. The pollywogs would oneday inhabit the castle, but they had to receive their landlegs, as they called it. So, during this season it was only Zargon and Zalmuzzia, who lived in the castle together.

They would hire a great many frogs and toads to take care of the grounds and their needs, so that they could attend to their pollywogs. They were the educators and caretakers of the pollywogs and were convinced that a happy and productive set of pollywogs would be a happy and productive new generation.

What they did, was akin to doting on the pollywogs. Zalmuzzia would catch the flies in her special fly catching net and daily cook them to perfection, before serving them in creative and health conscious dishes at the table just outside her kitchen door. The pollywogs were kept fit by a personal coach, who forced, continued lapswimming and water leaping, upon them and kept tabs of the calorie content of each of Zalmuzzia's meals; to ensure that health was, first and foremost, the consideration at the kitchen table.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Today, the sugar cube Castle comes home.

Even though, my Ethy is down for the count, at the moment; the sugar must be picked up and taken home. Lots of labor from himself and everyone in the family made this the sugarcube castle we will always remember. There was even a guest appearance from Uncle Elijah to top off the significance of the sugarcube castle. We must take our last pictures and find a sugar cube home for this RonChamp of the 4th grade. He is a love, that Ethy and his castle cannot stay here. We will have to dig a hole and, shhhh. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. :)

Monday, March 16, 2009

The St. Paddy's Day parade in your bloodstream

The fever +100 degrees and a warm boy has been the evidence of the St. Paddy's day flu this year. You are home today and you're sick. Watching the tv and dreaming of school. The balloons of illness and heat are running through your bloodstream. 5th Avenue have nothing on you this year. You are alive with sickness and we will nurse you back to health my son. Enjoy your math and Kipling and tv because soon you will be back to the grindstone.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Rainy Day Revels in Beverly Cleary books

We started the day giggling at Jack Prelutzky and the antics of Ramona and the characters. Tis limerick season, but we haven't taken in hand to pen one down for the historicity of our family. We enjoy the rain together with a good set of books and vocabulary building doesn't seem such a chore when Jack and Beverly have put them in such beautiful contexts.

I love being mom to the nine year old.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Waking up to the last day of work at the sugar cube castle




Last night when we went to bed the castle was still in the wall building stage and when we woke up. The gremlin of Peter Cooper had come, in the night and developed it into a real live Rennaissance Castle. This is the reading project for my Ethan and he worked so hard on it. Dad helped and we are always grateful to the memory of Peter Cooper who lives in our house through that wonderful education at the Union!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

The day of Geisler' clouds, makes me think

that we do get to go to heaven with what ever abilities that we develop on earth and that God has use for them.
Little dutchboy, don't forget to be diligent in your building. As I watch the development of your sugarcube castle, I am reminded that the mind and the hands are building their skills at your age and that these will be the skills that build the world of the future. Do it all to the glory of God and don't forget to take into consideration the sheer factor. The wind will blow and the rain will fall and if you have studied structures, you will have taken the sheers into consideration and the building will be strong to hold up under many weights and much change. There is such a thing as math. There is such a thing as science and if we relegate those thinking sciences to the menial, the winds and the rains will catch us unprepared and we will not be able to get up...

Sunday, March 1, 2009

This is the season for Beverly Cleary and Jack Prelinsky.

We have had such fun entering into the reading times with eachother. Enjoying the sillyness of Henry Huggins and Ramona Quimby and the other silly things which make up the 9 year old reading pastimes. Sometimes 5 or ten minutes of reading put a giggle in my mind all day. Just imagining the silly things that happened with Beezus and her sister. Thanks, son, for sharing that with me.