Friday, February 11, 2011

Hello Lentil, I Love You!


This week we finished up Five in a Row Volume One with Who Owns the Sun? by Stacy Chbosky, a book about slavery and freedom. We talked briefly about slavery and injustice for social studies. For language arts, we learned about periods and question marks. We made some watercolor paintings for art using the book's illustrations for inspiration. For math, we practiced counting various items throughout the book. We also continued with some daily math and handwriting lessons. Aidan really seems to enjoy math so I'm trying to take advantage of his enthusiasm.


Today, for science, we learned about good nutrition and made a little book about food groups. Aidan seemed to really latch on to the concept that eating well makes you healthy. Earlier in the day, he had made repeated request for doritos. I had told him that he could have some after he ate some fruit and we finished our school work. Well, after our discussion (and his nectarine), he decided that cheese slices would be a healthier choice. I couldn't have agreed more. About an hour later, he asked if we could make oatmeal. He has not eaten oatmeal in more than a year, and the last time I offered it to him for breakfast, he threw up at the table. We made a pot of oatmeal that I was sure I would throw in the trash. Instead, he ate every bite of it and asked for more! Needless to say, I was shocked.

Curious to see how far I could push this, I asked him if he wanted to help me make dinner. We looked through some cookbooks and browsed some websites for ideas. He had just about settled on steak when he declared, "I think we should make lentil soup!". I asked him a few more times and he assured me that's what he wanted. So, into the kitchen we went to make a pot of French Lentil Soup. He helped me chop and measure lots of veggies and add lentils and tomatoes. We let it cook for a while and I made some biscuits for backup in case things didn't turn out well. I also figured Adelaide, who was sleeping through this food revolution, would not be pleased to wake up to a lone pot of lentil soup . When the soup was ready, I asked him to come taste it and "see if it needed anything". He ate a big spoonful and told me, "This lentil soup tastes perfect".


Now, before I nominate myself for "Teacher of the Year", I suppose I should address what may be a socialization issue in our homeschooling plan. While I was cleaning up the kitchen, he found a runaway lentil that had escaped the pot. "Hello lentil," I heard him say, "I love you". He then promptly fished a few more out of the sink and rinsed them in a colander. He took his "lentil buddies" to the table and began conversing with them. I asked him if they had anything to say back. "No," he told me, "they're a grocery, not a friend". He then asked for a tupperware bowl with a lid so he could keep them in his room. Aidan and the lentils are now watching TV together while I finish up dinner. I'm very curious to see what happens when an entire bowl of his "buddies" are placed before him.


DINNER UPDATE: The soup was very good. Neither child ate it. Addie now has a tupperware bowl of "fellas", too.


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