"Mom, don't go dancing like that to make money."

Said in response to me dancing around the kitchen to The Numbers Rhumba by the Wiggles (little Kaela's favorite band).  I am not quite sure where she got the idea that I would try to make money as a dancer or why she felt she should discourage me from trying! Says a great deal about my dancing though...

I am utterly amazed at how much I have learned in the past few weeks.  I have been helping Chloe explore her interests and have had the wonderful benefit of learning alongside her.  We started out reading a couple of really nice picture books:
The Rag Coat 
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
The Quilt Maker's Journey
These books brought up many of topics for us to discuss (beyond the obvious subject of quilting)- coal mining in Appalachia, slavery, the Underground Railroad, helping the needy.... From here Chloe asked if we could make a quilt that she could give to her children when she was grown up.  She is planning on having 17! Her favorite number these days....
So I started exploring quilting a bit, thinking, how hard could it be?  I ordered an ebook and spent two days reading and deciphering the instructions and then made a trip to the craft store for supplies.  Chloe was thrilled and couldn't wait to get started.  Then I needed a lesson in measuring from my husband, because the quilting mat and ruler is a bit difficult to figure out.  For me.
We cut our fabric and started to lay out the design and then I had to step back.  I really wanted to design it myself.  I at least wanted to give my opinion. That was hard. ow I think I will have to make a quilt of my own.  Chloe worked out a nice pattern. She wants to embroider the center with a picture. On our next trip to the library I checked out a bunch of quilting books and I am loving it!  Chloe likes to work on her quilt for a few minutes everyday. I should add that I am a knitter primarily.  I really don't sew very well.  We are learning together.  I am also becoming well read on the history of quilting. Really, it is fascinating, if you have an interest in it.
Chloe has been counting her savings regularly now. She is saving for a horse, of course.  She wanted to know what the picture of the pyramid on the back of the dollar meant.  I had no idea, and looked it up online for her.   

Chloe has also been putting her new addition skills to work.  She has been making up her own word problems.  This amazes me, of course.  Word problems in school always drove me nutty.  She mentioned this morning, that in the book Peter Pan (which we are almost finished reading) that Hook wants to make six of the boys walk the plank and two to keep for cabin boys, there fore there must be eight lost boy's in total, but if you add Peter Pan, then you have nine.

I never would have guessed that she could use literature to play with numbers. Or I think I wouldn't have expected her to come up with it on her own. I am thrilled that I am learning so much just from  observing how her brilliant little mind works. 

Life has been wild around here lately.  I found out last week that I am expecting!  Baby #3!  We are all very excited, even Chloe who is not so crazy about her toddler sibling right now. So, there has been a lot of planning around here. 
I guess I was feeling a little stressed and maybe a little out of my mind, and I forced Chloe to read to me. Then she decided to read the same book to her father.  This seems like a good thing, but she is now unwilling to do anymore reading practice. Perhaps I just need to let it go for a while.  Pushing never helps. I can't believe that I keep forgetting that.
I was thinking about how  other  kids her age were finishing up first grade, probably reading pretty well, and I started to get nervous.  I guess I just wanted to get this reading thing "done" to some extent before the baby.  I need an attitude adjustment.
Chloe is on the verge on learning to canter a horse, and she will probably be jumping by the end of the summer. Maybe I should just let her focus on that right now! 
We are still exploring the Middle Ages and castles and knights and all that goes along with that...her passion for it has not yet burned out. She would really like to learn to joust, and combine her two main interests right now.  I actually found a group that does medieval equestrian practices / competitions!  It is two states away, but maybe when she is older.  I don't think they let 6-year-olds participate!
We have a couple of castles to visit here in CT, and the Renaissance Faire' is coming up this summer, so we have plenty to do.
Unfortunately, it seems we may be loosing another friend, Chloe's closest. And this feels totally out of our (my) control. I just have to believe that it is for the best and that perhaps it was not a healthy relationship for us to begin with.
We have to run to a graduation party now...my niece...I can't believe she is graduating from high school already.