Camp Aim for the Stars

I have to go backwards a bit. A few weeks ago the boys went to Aim for the Stars | Science and Math Camp at University of Nebraska Omaha.

I like that the camp is so parent friendly. What I mean by that is, is that they have a before and after care program, they have a self pick-up for kids that have been to the camp for more than a year - you just drive up to pick your kid(s) up and they get in, their registration is simple and online, you can pay for all of the camp or installments, and the family event is in the evening.

They've been going to this camp for years now. What I like is that they offer different camps within the camp. Examples: Isaak was in Stack it Up! and Mica was in Get Your Game On! The year before the camp names and content was different for the boys.

Family Night was the night before we went on vacation. There are options, so we do things different each year. You can go into the classrooms to check things out. There's also a choice of going into the planetarium for a slightly cheesy movie, or C.A.P.O.W. - Chemistry and Physics on Wheels. C.A.P.O.W. almost seems like a magic show, but it's science. They have their gift shop open. For the camp the kids get a $5 off coupon for anything in the gift shop. We always have gotten something small for the boys there.

Here's their camp t-shirts they got this year:

We actually opted to skip the big fancy presentations, and spent our time in the boy's classrooms this year.

Isaak was so excited to be in Stack it Up! with his cousin Elijah. They built a city with Legos. Isaak had a theater. He had a container where he was collecting fake tickets from people. 

Isaak was really happy that Mr. Miller was his teacher for the camp. He has worked at the elementary school when Mica still went there. He has a boy that's Mica's age and a girl that's Isaak's age. We've had their other oldest child babysit a long while back. We've hung out with them at different times. 

Besides stacking things up with Legos, they also played Jenga and were supposed to have a paper airplane contest, but it rained all day so that got canned. 

Mica wouldn't shut up about Get Your Game On! He was a little bummed that his cousin Evan wasn't with his. My sister Terra signed him up for a different camp. 

Mica's never really gotten into bored games as much as Isaak or I. With his birthday coming up he has been going on and on about games he wants. A few are $45 games! Yikes! He's talked about all these survival games: Risk, Pandemic, Settlers of Catan, and Stratego. 

I bought Risk on vacation to keep them occupied at Travis' Aunt and Uncle's house. 

I got Settlers of Catan on Amazon with a GC I won. 

I've contacted Z-Man in hopes that they'd give me Pandemic to review. I even laid out what kind of a post I'd like it to be. Where I'd go over board games for older kids, and ways they benefit them. I haven't heard back, so I'm betting that's a no go. I kind of wish they'd just email me saying, "Nope", so I'd know to just buy it. I thought with reviewing for ThinkFun, Goliath Games and Tenzi they'd be all over that. My life feels a bit full of rejection these days. Oh well. 

Mica even taught me Othello; saying it would now be my favorite game. It was good he was thinking of me. I did like it.

We spent most of our time in the game room battling it out. 

Isaak got a bit bummed the teacher kicked his butt in Chess. Ha!

What board games do you like the most? Are there any that you've played that we should try out?

Disclaimer: None of these products were given to me to review. I'm only sharing an experience.

WW: Chess {Linky}

Mica has a friend at school that has been teaching him Chess. He's been wanting us to learn. Santa bought him a Chess set. The boys decided to make a set on their own.  

Cardboard, Marker, and Lego Pieces

Humm...maybe they don't really need a Chess set when they can make their own board. At least the Chess set Santa got has 3 other games you can play on it.

 

WW: Lego Club {Linky}

What Mica Made:

What Isaak Made:

Dad and the boy's made me a mask out of Duplo's last night.

If you have a moment please enter my low entry giveaway listed on the side bar for Specialty Coffee.

Christmas

Mica woke up at 2 AM to see what time it was. I woke up at 4:30 AM. The official wake up time was 5:15 AM. 

Santa left our fireplace open again. 

Isaak was so excited to get the gold stuff out of his stocking.

I know it may seem odd to some of you that Santa would buy such things for a little boy. Isaak's favorite color is gold. He loves glitter to. The boy uses all my tape, and asks for the stapler to.

When I saw the gold stapler and tape dispenser at Michaels on clearance I had to get it for my son. Then I won the Bling Toothbrush.

Isaak had a huge smile on his face when he saw his gold merchandise. 

I stuffed the top of Mica's stocking with socks. I'm sure at first that's all he thought he was getting. There was a few Star Wars Lego mini sets, and other things in there. Mica's been wanting glasses, so I got him and Isaak clear ones.

Mica got the biggest Lego set that he's ever gotten. It's a castle.

Both boys started right in with building, while they ate their breakfast. A dangerous combo I know, but it was Christmas after all.

I was expecting that Dad would have to help Isaak, but my littlest man isn't so little anymore. He figured it out on his own! He was so busy that he wouldn't look up for the camera.

Legos at the Library

I've taken the boys to 2 Lego events at our local library. They both like going.

Mica's the type of kid that loves to build something based on a theme. In fact the last time we went we were a tad bit late. Mica said first thing to the lady in charge, "What's today's theme?" The lady said, "Build something that incorporates Halloween."

Mica started building right away. He came up with this: 

Isaak is more the kid that says, "I know there's instructions, but I want to build whatever I want." He is just like me in this area. I find too many directions creatively stifling. It drives Daddy nuts! I'll take a recipe and add and subtract to make it healthier. I get eye rolls from the oldest male in our house. 

Isaak actually worked with the theme that day. He made a scarecrow.

While they build I pick out books I think they'll like. Usually I do a pretty good job.

Over the weekend I heard from the other room:

Isaak, "Mica can you help me make a Lego thing?"

Mica, "No I'm building my own thing."

Isaak, "Come on I don't want to be a master builder like you. You can help me!"

I stayed out of that one.

Blocks and Bricks

We decided to check out a new place called Blocks and Bricks. I actually saw a fellow Omaha blogger - post about Blocks and Bricks opening.

I ran into a road block. Yes I messed up. It happens with directions and me sometimes. I marked down that it was on 108th and Pacific instead of 180th and Pacific. A big difference! The phone number on their ad wasn't working. I'm assuming because the place is so new. I drove around, and it just didn't seem right. Sure enough when I got back home I realized my mess up. Mica rolled his eyes at me.

We still went.

Blocks and Bricks is a place that has a ton of bins filled with Legos. They have birthday parties, and tutoring classes there. I'm really surprised that more places aren't open like this. 
  
I'm not sure if the tutoring classes involve Legos, or not.

There is a big Lego wall as soon as you enter the place:

We sat down and just enjoyed building. My boys weren't top notch with how they felt that day. They were good enough, that I would have sent them to school. No fevers. We washed our hands, and kept to ourselves though.

Mica was a little bummed they just had pretty standard Legos. Nothing too out of the ordinary. There were Lego books around, but not the right Lego pieces to build what was in the book. We all had fun building something though. 

Mica built a submarine.

Isaak built a little field with a house.

I built Frank. Yes I named my Lego man.

Isaak built this awhile ago, but I never posted it. It's a Lego bow tie. I thought it was pretty out of the box thinking on his part.

Random Tid Bits

1. Once upon a time I was a Resident's Assistant in the dorms at Kansas City Art Institute. I went to meetings, had to patrol the area once a week to make sure everything was running smoothly. I have to say that I had more training with safety than I do right now being a teacher. Sad, but true. I've always been an observant person.
   
   Back then I noticed a girl who came back after a year. Since she took a year off, she was withdrawn from her friends. I noticed that she was super skinny, too skinny. Her fingers looked long, and her skin had a greenish tint. We ate in the school cafeteria. The girl would come down to eat only sometimes. When she did I noticed her plate only consisted of veggies. I brought up my observations to 2 people that brushed it off as no big deal. In other words they didn't want to deal with it. I talked with the school Therapist. She talked with her, contacted her parents and got her help. Later she told me that if I would have waited 1 week to talk to her, she would have been dead. Still to this day I sometimes think of this girl. I hope that she found happiness, and a way to deal with her eating disorder. 
   
   Have you ever helped someone that was deep in depression, or had a drug problem? I had a student try and commit suicide this last week. I didn't see it coming. I wish I would have seen the signs that something was way wrong!


2. Sometimes Much of the time Mica is all about Mica. Last weekend he went on and on about the Lego magazine he got in the mail. I could handle him talking about for an hour. After that I wanted to hit my head against a brick wall. Mica: "Mom which character do you like better? Mom I really want this for my birthday! Mom this magazine is the bomb!" His birthday is in August. Needless to say I was done talking about the Lego magazine! He moved on to talking about it with Isaak. It know it's normal to talk about yourself a lot when you're in 2nd grade, but it's wearing on me.




Later on that day he said, "Mom if you get tired of what you're doing, you can check out my Lego magazine." I just burst out laughing. He said, "What's so funny?"


3. We bought a little bit of Easter candy. Not as much as before. I thought we could do what we did when the boys were younger. That is put Annie's Bunnies in some plastic eggs. Last year I found tiny erasers to put in them at the dollar store. We've put money in them as well. What do you put in your plastic eggs? 





Source



4. Midterms are next week. It will be a busy one! I'm ready for a slight break from my students though.


5. I got Art: 21 - Art in the Twenty-First Century from PBS seasons 1 and 2. I find newish art to be more of an interest to me. I'm excited to watch it! Have you ever seen that show?