Today R.C. headed to NYC for his class again. He is usually gone for the day, but this time he is going to stay the night (possibly 2) with a friend since another of his classes is meeting in NYC on Saturday. My thoughts on this...yuck. I am happy he gets to spend time in the city, but don't like not having him around a little on the weekend. I'm being selfish, I know.

I have had many questions as to what we are doing in "school" now. Here's a little update:

The boys and I have been keeping busy learning about Christopher Columbus. Russell is on his way to being an expert already. Lets just hope he doesn't forget all the information by Monday.
A few facts he can tell you about Columbus:

• He set sail in 1492
• King Ferdinand is from Spain and gave him ships and supplies
• The ships were named the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria
• Looking for Asia to get silk and spices
• Found North America instead
• Named the Native Americans that greeted him Indians because he thought he was in the Indies.
  

Russell can also sing a great Columbus song while Max hums along. Maxwell on the other hand is enjoying a workbook I picked up for him the other day. He is now interested in sitting during school time and doing some worksheets along with Russell. He is doing mazes, big and little exercises, and number recognition. It makes me thrilled that he can identify the numbers 1-5 correctly and is learning to count higher and higher. Russell is also still working on addition along with his daily reading. Russell is a whiz at reading and spelling! Maxwell loves to listen to Russell read and I hope this will encourage him to read also. We also spread some grass seeds in a few pots last week to watch them grow. They have been watering them daily and making sure they have proper light. Today we had to "mow the grass" as it has really taken off and was beginning to look messy.

They also have chores to do each day. Russell "makes" his bed and they both help set the table. Russell even helped me take out the trash today!

We do art 3 times a week. Crayons and pencils are always out during the day for drawing, but during art time we can get out paints, clay, scissors, glue, glitter, anything really. It's usually a mess, but they LOVE art (Hmmm...I wonder where they get that from?). They also love when there is an art opening at RISD. R.C. lets us know when they will be, and we meet him downtown for an evening of art. I could be wrong, but I think the boys are mainly after the snacks provided.

We have also started doing yoga together. Now this is really funny to watch! Russell has always been interested in what I am doing when I do my exercises, so I thought he would enjoy joining me. Russell loves it and one day he even said, "I need a haircut! My hair gets in my eyes when I do my yoga." What!? But so far, no haircut for him. He is doing a great job, and it might just be my imagination, but after he is done he is much calmer for the rest of the afternoon. It's great really! Maxwell has tried to join in a few times but would rather sit on the couch with a book and glance at Russell once in awhile.

We keep busy.