Yesterday morning I printed out some circles to fit in our strip word chart. Miriam and I coloured them to match our handbell set and then we arranged them in the chart to help Miriam play Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It was quite a long process but we got it all figured out in the end and Miriam enjoyed playing her handbells.
Benjamin wanted us to play The Wheels on the Bus. He found the music in our ukulele folder and pulled it out. Here he is gearing up to yell, "BUS!":
And here he is, still waving the music, still begging for the bus song. "Peasey, peasey, peasy?"
We don't have any sharps or flats in our handbell collection so the sheet music we have for The Wheels on the Bus is a little too complicated for us. But I did eventually get out the ukulele and play the chords for him while Miriam finished getting all the notes up.
Here's Miriam playing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:
She doesn't need me to point at the chart, apparently. Technically I think she does need me to; she just doesn't want me to. She does the same thing when we're reading together. She hates when I follow along under the words with my finger but if I don't then she loses her place.
Here is some evidence that my children actually wear things besides nothing and pyjamas:
They had so much fun playing with the LEGO yesterday. I've been lurking around Craigslist, waiting for someone to get rid of a huge lot of LEGO for a low, low price but apparently that never happens.
I did, however, see some DUPLO that someone was getting rid of for cheap so I made Andrew go pick it up yesterday. We added 128 blocks to our collection and our children couldn't be happier.
This little lady (pictured in pyjamas again because she says she's not getting dressed until we go to the pool, which isn't happening until after Rachel gets home from school) has been building with LEGO all day:
This is a store that she made. It's part of the new set we got (this one, only we paid $10 not $100).
Benjamin wanted us to play The Wheels on the Bus. He found the music in our ukulele folder and pulled it out. Here he is gearing up to yell, "BUS!":
And here he is, still waving the music, still begging for the bus song. "Peasey, peasey, peasy?"
We don't have any sharps or flats in our handbell collection so the sheet music we have for The Wheels on the Bus is a little too complicated for us. But I did eventually get out the ukulele and play the chords for him while Miriam finished getting all the notes up.
Here's Miriam playing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star:
She doesn't need me to point at the chart, apparently. Technically I think she does need me to; she just doesn't want me to. She does the same thing when we're reading together. She hates when I follow along under the words with my finger but if I don't then she loses her place.
Here is some evidence that my children actually wear things besides nothing and pyjamas:
They had so much fun playing with the LEGO yesterday. I've been lurking around Craigslist, waiting for someone to get rid of a huge lot of LEGO for a low, low price but apparently that never happens.
I did, however, see some DUPLO that someone was getting rid of for cheap so I made Andrew go pick it up yesterday. We added 128 blocks to our collection and our children couldn't be happier.
This little lady (pictured in pyjamas again because she says she's not getting dressed until we go to the pool, which isn't happening until after Rachel gets home from school) has been building with LEGO all day:
This is a store that she made. It's part of the new set we got (this one, only we paid $10 not $100).
Love it!
ReplyDeleteI don't seem to be having any luck with this comment - it keeps deleting on me!
ReplyDeleteOk. So here's the short version - Thrift stores! I always look for LEGO first. we've found some great bags full. And always ask at garage sales. They might not have put any out, but they might be open to selling. (we've found a few that way). We're kind-of (but not kind-of) LEGO snobs. So if we get anything other than LEGO in our finds, they find their way back to the store we bought it at! It's just not worth it to have pieces in your collection (such as mega blocks) which won't snap into (and stay on) your precious LEGO.
And we LOVE your handbells! Where did you get them? Otto thought they were pretty cool and we should get a set. Also. I recently purchased a ukelele and would like to learn enough to be able to teach the boys to play. Any tips? My piano fingers really suck at stringed instruments.
My mom gave them to us. I think she ordered them on Amazon.
DeleteAs for ukulele, there are a lot of online resources that we've been using (though we're lucky enough to meet with a few other families and one of the moms we meet with plays the guitar—so she's our expert). I would recommend mastering one chord—probably "C" and playing single-chord songs (like Row, Row, Row Your Boat) until you get strumming down. And then work up from there.
Dr. Uke is a great resource, as is Ukulele Hunt. There are many other excellent websites out there.
Once you master the C chord, try G7 and F. A lot of beginner songs use those chords.
Anyway, I'm not great at the ukulele either, but that's where I'd begin. :)
Thanks for the tip about LEGO. We'll have to check out some thrift stores to see if we can find any!