1. This is Ginny's homeschool desk. When she's not actually doing her work, her new laptop and kitty get to rest there. Do you see the kitty? She snuggled in there the other day for almost 5 hours! We were wondering if she'd ever get up to take a wee or get some water! Here's a closeup of that furry thing.
Ginny had her purple sweater in the kitty bed. I guess Mona thought it was extra comfy that way! You can also see the cardboard "backsplash" we made for Gin's desk in this picture. When we got rid of the giant desktop computer and the monitor and etc., Ginny didn't have any privacy from me any more! (My desk is on the other side there) So I used a bunch of duct tape and the box her laptop came in and built this screen! Not that she needs privacy, but she probably didn't want all the "junk" from my desk finding its way over to her desk all the time!
So laptops you ask? Yep, both the kids got them. The old desktops were taking up too much space and they were really OLD. Now they have some good equipment and can get some serious homeschooling done. What they've really been enjoying most is getting to chat with their friend Alex who lives 8 hours away. When you move every couple of years, it gets hard to keep in touch. But computers really help. So far they have spent more time on their computers playing games, but I'm just grateful that I don't have to trip over network cables every time I try to get to my desk!
2. Saturday is TableTop Day! Wow! You can read more about it at the Puzzle Nation blog. I've told the kids that we will spend the day playing board games. This used to be one of our favorite things to do. But as everyone gets older, we have more contention over what game should be played and some people just refusing to play certain ones. I remember when I was a kid, I would play anything with anyone who would play with me! I begged my mom all the time to play games. We would spend afternoons playing Backgammon, Pounce, and Scrabble. It was sublime! I wish my mom lived close by so we could play more. Now she and my dad play Gin Rummy in the afternoons. Whenever I call them, they are busy crushing each other! Cracks me up. We used to play a lot of Cribbage too. And on the weekends, when neighbors would come over, we'd get to play things like Double Deck Pinochle and Oh Hell! This weekend, we'll probably get in a game or two of Settlers of Catan, Niagara, Samurai, Trans-America, Carcassone and Thurn and Taxes. And those are all just board games!
Are you going to celebrate TableTop Day this weekend? What games will you be playing?
3. Here's another good article from Puzzle Nation. It's a review of the game Loonacy. Looks like a blast to me! We are planning on spending several weeks in Va Beach this summer. I think we'll pick up a copy of Loonacy to play with our friends and family there. It says its for 2-5 players. We'll easily have 5 players when we spend afternoons with Alex and his mom! Apples to Apples is another fun game to play with lots of people of different gaming abilities.
4. Here's a blog that I discovered recently, that am loving, Math and Science With My Kids. They are doing some explorations of parabolas right now. They have two videos so far, and both are terrific! Check these out, Parabolas I and Parabolas II. I did not know that you could use a parabola to multiply! Holy Cow! That's just cool!
5. The 11th Gathering For Gardner took place in Atlanta just a couple weeks ago. How in the world did we not know about that?!! Atlanta is like right next door to where we live! Here's a nice article from Scientific American about what goes on at a G4G. Maybe someday we will get to go to one. My husband grew up reading Gardner books. I know he'd like to go too! And for those who don't have any clue who Martin Gardner was, he used to write a monthly column called "Mathematical Games" for the Scientific American magazine. He explored the wonderful world of flexigons, penrose tiles, card tricks and all sorts of other amazing mathy and puzzly things! His field of expertise is called Recreational Mathematics...doesn't that make math sound fun!?!
Hope you all have a great weekend!
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