Eager Eyes of Blue: Family Blog

Garden Girl

2011-06-11T18:51:00.000-04:00

A few years ago Cayli wanted to plant a garden. So we bought seeds, soil and tools. We planted. We watered. We waited. Nothing happened.

The next year: same scenario, nothing grew.

Apparently the horticultural knowledge of my farming grandparents (my grandfather was a peach crop inspector and my grandmother grew her own food every year) and parents decided to skip my generation.

So I did what any other brown-thumb mother would do: enroll her green-thumb wannabe in a Jr. Master Gardener program. Our local botanical gardens offers this 4-H program to homeschoolers. We were the first to sign up!

The program answered all Cayli's questions and gave her specific how-tos. Using the botanical garden's greenhouses she learned about the parts of a plant and the water cycle, the correct way to sow seeds and how to cultivate and ultimately harvest.

Recently we've enjoyed her cucumbers and carrots:

We're currently waiting on her tomatoes. Don't you just love her handmade cages (pieces of scrap wood held together with crochet yarn?)!

What we're reading

2011-06-04T18:12:00.000-04:00

Fabulous book about the Dani tribe! Until the 1950s, this tribe was an unknown warrior group living in the Stone Age. Christian missionaries flew in during the 1960s and, because of the grace and love of God, helped to radically transform these fighting men and women into a God-fearing civilization.

Last Sunday our church celebrated the Lord's Supper, which took on a new meaning for us since we had just read about the Dani's first observance of the Lord's Supper. We may use wafers and grape juice, but they used their staple product of sweet potatoes and red raspberry juice served in bamboo bowls. I had never thought of how other people partake of the Lord's Supper so this was a good glimpse into another culture.

Birthday Boy

2011-05-29T07:00:00.005-04:00

FOUR years ago our family traded pink and purple frills for lots of blue and a plethora of cars, trains, trucks, planes and NoIsE! And lots of it!

We love our Micah Man!

And he loves his new drum sticks!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Micah!

The Music of Angels

2011-05-24T07:17:00.002-04:00

Last summer my girls started harp lessons. On Sunday they played This Is My Father's World in a harp septet during our church's worship service.

Here they are preparing during an early morning rehearsal:

Mabry and Kenna have harpsicles and Cayli has a Hallelujah Harp. That harp is on loan from their teacher and I believe every child that was playing on the platform started on that particular harp.

Many thanks to their teacher, Mrs. Adair, for sharing her love of harp music with the girls! She has been a blessing and an encouragement to our entire family!

The hymn they played is one that I sang to them at bedtime for many years. What a treat to hear them play it!

Casualities of Childhood

2011-05-20T08:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my John James Audobon wannabee, Mabry, paid the price of inquisitiveness as she traipsed through the woods with Cayli. Apparently Cayli pulled down a tree limb to take a closer look at it when it fell from the tree and sliced part of the back of Mabry's head.

It was really a simple scalp injury but it sure it bleed. So I packed up all 4 kids (and a bunch of crackers/cars/books/iTouch to keep Micah occupied) and headed to Urgent Care.

This was our third visit to urgent care in the past 5 months and the first not involving Micah. We see them so much, the staff is almost like family. And they were happy to see someone other than Micah.

Micah's first visit was back in November when he danced right off the table and busted the back of his head. That required 4 staples.

His second visit was last month when he tripped on the top of some playground equipment while jumping to Matt. He fell face-first in a pile of rocks. Nothing required stitches but his face was messed up for a bit.

Fortunately Mabry only needed a single staple to help heal her wound. We left with the medical staff saying, "See you soon!" They know it's only a matter of time before we return--because childhood has its consequences for the active & curious kids.

A minor brush with blood sure can calm a kid. Here is Mabry nursing her headache by watching her favorite movie, Narnia:

Milestones

2011-05-16T20:26:00.000-04:00

Last night proved to be bittersweet as it marked the last time all three of my girls would sing together in a children's musical at our church.

Cayli, a rising 6th grader, moves up to the youth group in two weeks. Of course the twins have another year before they join her, so we get to participate in next year's musical. It will just be different without the trio singing together. Cayli, however, is excited to become part of the backstage crew that will help with costuming and props. That's been the role I've played for the past few years, so next year she'll be my right hand gal as we help put together the stage--together!

Priority #1: Not Blogging

2011-05-14T15:17:00.000-04:00

Last night as I lay pondering the finer events of our day, I realized that I need to return to blogging. Honestly I have no time to blog but my family needs this blog as a record of their homeschooling years. So I resolved not to let our busy-ness interfere with the memories this blog provides.

Without this record of events, we would possibly forget all the cute things Micah says:
Hanitizer = hand sanitizer

Christmas Cream = Krispy Kreme
With the red and green logo who can blame him? And it's a place we hardly ever visit because the their coffee is bad and their doughnuts are too sweet...but I surprised the kids with these treats for their last day of school!

And when he can't find Nap Nap, his trusty blanky, he reassures himself with the thought that Nap Nap has gone down the road to the Farmer's Market. Which then cause us to question:
How do we keeping losing Nap Nap? It's over 5ft long! And...
Why does it keep going to the Farmer's Market when we've never been their ourselves?

In this busy season of life blogging isn't necessarily tops on my daily priority lists, but making and keeping memories is. Maybe you can join us as we make our memories!

Farewell 2010

2010-12-31T12:49:00.000-05:00

In 2010 I wasn't an avid blogger, mainly because I had other things to keep the kids and myself hopping. Our favorites:

In May I found a new calling in life: teaching violin. I've always loved music and played the violin through college. I was a closet musician for the past 15 years and only dusted it off to play for my kids or teach them how to play themselves. I'm still very shy about playing in public, but I'm delighted to play with my students!

The twins donated 10" of their hair.
Kenna:

Mabry:

Cute:

My little twirler preformed in the children's talent show at church during the fall festival. She twirled to "Surfing USA" and made her own hula skirt from plastic table coverings.

Mabry and Kenna decided not to twirl since they wanted to sing "Sisters" from White Christmas. You would have thought that this song was written just for them.

Micah became our first child to visit the urgent care needed staples after falling from the kitchen table. (Sorry no ER pictures...a little to much blood. But enjoy a cute one from his first time with the preschool choir.)

The girls started harp lessons.

We, along with some great friends, made pillowcase dresses for girls in Botswana.

We've taken our music on the road to play and sing for our church's homebound members. Here are the girls with Mrs. Mary Rogerson, a sweet, sweet lady!

We discovered delicious and flavorful loose leaf Amanzi Tea. Strawberry Magic is my favorite and so is Citrus Splash. (Raspberry Vanilla is good, too, as well as Winter Romance.) This is my favorite pot, but I also like this one too. I've significantly cut my coffee consumption. Haven't quite given up Dr Pepper, though.

Our new favorite handicrat: hand embroidery. Still love and prefer my quilling, but have found embroidery is a great car craft for when I'm waiting on the girls to finish harp lessons. I made this for Matthew for Christmas, featuring the kids' handprints and Psalm 40:5:

Here's what Cayli embroidered for my mom for Christmas:

The girls and I have lots planned for 2011 from pursuing musical abilities to perfecting more crafts to ministering to others with our talents.

Micah's goal is simple: to find out how many licks it take to get to the center of, not just one tootsie pop, but two...

Happy New Year!

Perfect Harmony

2010-08-31T07:24:00.004-04:00

to listen to these two practice together:

Mabry and Kenna have only been playing their instruments for a few weeks (thanks to some of our church's most talented musicians), and they are loving playing together.

This was even an unprompted practice session since they took the initiative to play together.

I always knew this day would come. They were born with some musical talent!

Botswana Bound

2010-08-01T17:32:00.003-04:00

The dresses--not the girls (though we'd love to go to Botswana!).

Two years ago, Kenna decided that she was destined to live in Botswana after reading an article in a National Geographic. Since she has been very persistent in her Botswana pursuit, I learned as much as I could about the country.

Botswana is the country right above South Africa. Diamonds are actively mined there. If you're into safari photography, Botswana doesn't disappoint. Sadly, the average life expectancy is 35 years as AIDS takes many lives.

So, for our family, Botswana became more a prayer project than a fascinating place filled with exotic cheetahs and expensive stones.

Still we really didn't know what to do. Until 2 months ago, when a lady from our church gave my girls some black yarn and asked if they would like to make hair for rag dolls that are sent all over the world to missionaries working with children.

The coordinator of the doll project called me and humbly asked if they could make 50 pieces of hair for a missionary in Botswana.

Botswana? Seriously? I was totally surprised. Of all the countries she was sending dolls to, Botswana topped the list. I told her how we loved the country, though we have no ties to it.

So my girls have been busy making hair to go on the rag dolls that the ladies sew and clothe.

Then two weeks ago, the coordinator called me and asked if I had ever heard of a pillowcase dress. Honestly I'd known about them for a long time, but only recently did I make one. A group of women from our church had purposed making these dresses for the Botswana children, as the children there only have their ragged school uniforms to wear.

I'm all for sewing for kids, so yesterday I made these for my girls to wear to model for our church as the pastor talked about this new ministry at the church.

We'll be donating the dresses the girls wore and the matching doll dresses that Cayli sewed to the Botswana project.

We feel very blessed to be a part of this project. I'm in awe of how a young girl's fascination for a foreign country has brought about an incredible opportunity for my family!

Busy, busy, busy

2010-07-20T07:03:00.000-04:00

Been preparing for the upcoming school year...even though we started 3 weeks ago.

This year:

Cayli is in 5th grade
Kenna and Mabry are in 4th grade
Micah is into making messes

This year, however, we have no textbooks. Not even for math. *gasp*

Our library is filled with math books that teach concepts in such an engaging way. Math will no longer be a subject to "do," it will be a part of life to experience. This summer reading/doing around here:

Sure, we'll have a few worksheets here and there for drill, especially since all the girls can use some extra practice with multiplication and division. But we'll also use other books along the way:

We're 3 weeks into our new school year and every day one of the girls asked when we can do math. That's never happened before since math was a subject to be dreaded. But with a little extra planning and some creativity, my girls have come to love real-life math.

Planning for next year?

2010-07-02T07:16:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to share with you...

holdthatthought.com notebooking pages are ideal for letting your kids write about history and Bible topics.

My girls don't mind writing on these pages because they have a set border so they don't feel like they will have to write forever. I like that I can hand them a page and now that the topic will be covered with a little research. It sure beats plain notebook paper any day!

After hearing about them for awhile, I've specifically ordered the Bible ones and I'll let you know how the kids like them.

First Baton Competition

2010-04-18T19:19:00.004-04:00

My twirlie girlies went to their first baton competition this past weekend. They only participated in the marching portion of the contest, but enjoyed watching other girls perform in the other events. Honestly they were bored watching, so next year they plan to twirl in every event.

The only downside to having three twirlers in one family is that they will constantly compete against each other. But they all have talent, so they should do well individually. Besides, twirling is just good sisterly fun for them right now.

Caitie, the graduating feature twirler (talk about talent! She's amazing!) for the University of South Carolina, has coached them for the past 6 months. She also dressed them for this competition--she looked through her stash from her younger years and let the girls borrow them. We are so thankful for Caitie and her Christian influence in the girls' lives.

Never thought I'd be parenting three twirlers, but I find the sport fascinating and my girls make it look so easy! :D

Recent Events

2010-04-05T06:45:00.006-04:00

Recent events--like the fact that my kids are growing up--have prompted me to limit my computer time, thus almost eliminating my blog time. Having a 4th grader who likes to research and write, 2 3rd graders who live in Webkinz World and a toddler who thinks Thomas the Train and author Frank Asch are online just for him, leaves me little time to connect to rest of the world.

So here's a quick recap of our lives:

Yesterday was a beautiful Easter day. I love this holiday for it's significance and also for the fact that it hasn't been totally ruined by commercialism. I made the girls' dresses this year and it was probably the biggest sewing undertaking yet as it was my first time with lining a dress and adding a zipper. What a blessing to make something so bright and beautiful for my little ladies!

My kids are also proving themselves crafty.

Both Cayli and Mabry made coverings to send to an overseas orphanage for special needs children via Reece's Rainbow.

Cayli cut squares into every piece of fabric she could find and sewed them together for a quilt. She put together the entire piece by herself, inspired by all the times she has watched her Granny quilt.

Mabry loves to crochet and was the first kid to jump on the opportunity to use what she does best to benefit another child. She picked bright colors to crochet together.

It's a blessing to see my girls use their hands to brighten someone else's day!

Another thing we recently started is Kids Cook Friday. Every Friday one of the girls gets some much-needed mommy time in the kitchen. Typically, at day's hectic end, I send the girls outside to play while I prepare dinner. I get somewhat of a breather being by myself, but it doesn't serve the girls well. I realized they had very limited kitchen skills. So I use Fridays as the day for one child to help in the kitchen. I get one-on-one time and she gets a fun Friday of culinary experiences.

Each child prepares a menu from the main dish to dessert, makes a grocery list, gathers the ingredients at the store and then tells me what to do to help cook. I simply assist in the kitchen and allow each girl a chance to grow in responsibility. This has probably been one of the best things we've ever done as a family!

Until next time,

Bible Scribe

2010-03-05T13:27:00.003-05:00

As of today my kids are beginning a reading and writing journey to discover the life of Jesus. I recently downloaded the Bible Scribe pages from the History Scribe site.

Every day they will have a pre-chosen passage to read, a place to illustrate what they read, another place to write a key verse from the passage and a writing section to summarize their reading. In a month or so, they will have a book of drawings, Bible verses and reflections about the life of Jesus.

Since testing is on the horizon and my rambunctious kids can't sit in a chair, much less be quiet, for half an hour, I set a 30-minute timer for them to practice focusing while they complete their page. I feel silly having them practice the "skill of quietness" but these kids are wired for nonstop activity and silence has a steep learning curve.

Even with the hefty time requirements, the kids enjoy these pages. The end result will be priceless!

What a treat!

2010-02-15T07:25:00.002-05:00

Our church hosted a spiritually rich concert last night, featuring Keith and Kristyn Getty.

From Ireland, they are pioneers of modern hymns for the world. They have a passion to express scripture and solid theological truths in music, far surpassing the fluffiness in Christian music that's been floating around for awhile.

When I'm in the car or room, I'll play either one of these CDs for an uplifting praise and worship time. In the busyness of my home, their music supplies a lifeline of encouragement and creates a spiritual focal point solely on God and not the chaotic world around me.

My girls enjoyed hearing them, also. They knew many songs already and the concert--complete with an Irish fiddle and a set of pipes--had them dancing jigs in their sleep.

Blizzard of '10

2010-02-13T15:28:00.002-05:00

We received over 8 inches of snow--the largest I have ever seen in my life! And the most our state has received since 1973. It is absolutely beautiful!

"Who's woods these are, I think I know...."

Love my Robert Frost scenery.

You see those few flakes? That's called a blizzard, according to my kids.

Yes, I know it started yesterday, but today was glorious! What a treat for Valentine's!

Mabry had to practice snow angels. Seriously, this is the first she has ever made:

My uncle came by to help unstick Matt's work vehicle that slid into a neighbors gate and stayed there. Micah would have preferred to just ride the tractor.

We did lose power for a few hours last night and got the joy of watching the snow gleam in the moonlight. This snowfall has made all of our Little House on the Prairie readings even more memorable.

We also figured out that a whole lot of snow and a little sweetened condensed milk, along with a handful of chocolate chips, makes for a delicious snow cream!

Toddler Tuesday: Jesse Bear

2010-02-09T08:30:00.003-05:00

This morning, Micah woke up early. Most of the time I'm good with early, as long as I have coffee and a plan. Today's plan was Jesse Bear by Nancy Carlstrom.

The girls were still sleeping so I could just read to him. Just him and me--it was nice. Micah was quite envious of Jesse Bear's dumptrucks in the sand and hauled out his collection so as not to be outdone by a cartoon bear. He also loved that Jesse Bear sleeps under a blue blanket, just like he does.

I love watching a child find all these tiny details in the pictures books!

When the girls awoke and settled into their school routine, I gave Micah some coloring pages (click on the pages to print your own):

And the energetic Jesse Bear himself:
Now we're playing Hide N Seek with this Jesse Bear Cutout. One of the girls counts with Micah (great way to learn the order of numbers!) and then another girl hides the bear somewhere where Micah can find it: under the couch pillows, in the library basket, behind the tote of music books, etc. He loves finding and saying, "I found you, Jesse Bear!"

Oh, the be 2-years-old again! :D

Spiral vs Mastery Math

2010-02-04T15:30:00.007-05:00

This week has been a great homeschool week, which is a relief since last week was a really, really bad one.

As a matter of fact, I almost gave up on homeschooling twins. Last Wednesday, for the 400 bazillionth time, I had to refocus them to finish their math worksheet. We are using a very simple math for them this year, Saxon 3. We spent 1st and 2nd grade working through Horizons Math, but this year I wanted something simpler to help limit distractions.

It didn't work. And 2/3 the way through their 3rd grade year, they still have not learned anything new (thanks to a very thorough Horizons program).

And learning nothing new just bores them. And boredom breeds distractions. And distractions demand a simple black and white program. And simple means they learn nothing. And the cycle continues...

until the lightbulb burst in my brain.:

I have set my darling twins up for failure, requiring from them what they aren't wired to do.

Horizons and Saxon math programs, though well-recommended, are spiral approaches to math mastery. This means that every lesson presents some new information and then reviews all previous material until the kids know how to do math. So over the course of many years, they will practice a little bit of age-appropriate addition, all while practicing a little bit of subtraction, measurement, fractions, etc. until they finally know everything there is to know about these skills.

For some kids (such as my oldest) this approach is perfect. Cayli prefers variety in her math and likes to do a little of this and little of that all while mastering each stage.

The other method of learning math is simply the mastery method. Students focus on one skill for an extended period in order to know it inside and out before moving unto another skill. Some review is given so that all previously acquired skills stay fresh, but for the most part the student only focuses on addition (from single digits to 4-5 digit numbers) before moving on to subtraction or multiplication or division, etc. Sure a little measurement (linear and liquid), telling time and geometry is thrown in the mix, but the focus is on a single concept.

That is precisely how Kenna and Mabry think. Their brains just don't transition between addition and line graphs and fractions and centimeters over the course of a single page of problems. But give them a sheet of 4 digit subtraction problems with regrouping/borrowing and they are set. Allow them a day of review each week of previously mastered concepts and they prove to be some of the smartest kids around.

It's all in the approach.

Mastery math would be curricula by MathUSee or Singapore (and a few others; the names have left me, though). We tried MathUSee early in our homeschool, when Cayli was in 1st grade. She hated working with a single concept. She didn't want to have to prove what she already knew and she didn't want to have to work on a single skill that she thought was difficult over and over. She thrives on variety, not repetition. So spiral math (Saxon) really does work for her.

Mabry and Kenna need the repetition, not variety, to function properly. Transitions are tough for them. Even day-to-day activites require great prep time from me. Once they start on something they don't want to stop even if it's going from a playdate to dance--both are their favorite things to do--but going from one to the other is torture for this weary mom. They need to simply focus on one thing at a time, whether it's time for free play or fraction practice.

There are pros and cons to each way of teaching, but for our family, I'm all for teaching the way they need to succeed.

And math time is more focused for everyone.

Which then frees up some time for me to work with Micah, reading Truckery Rhymes, the best book ever for every toddler/preschool boy:

Brownies

2010-01-23T10:09:00.002-05:00

On the 4th Friday night of every month, Cayli makes brownies.

Because on the 4th Saturday morning of every month, Cayli and her sisters and a few other church members serve them to the homeless men and women in our capital city.

Cayli has a passion for helping feed those who are hungry. She's the motivation behind our family's involvement with our church's outreach to the local homeless people. She's normally shy and quiet, but in the serving line, her face brightens as she talks to these people who are so thankful to have the grilled hamburgers, chips and homemade brownies.

We have discovered that "homeless" can mean 3 different things:

People who just prefer living on the streets. It may be hard and cold during the winter, but they find their friends and acceptance in this street culture.
People who really just need a little help. They are willing to work for a living but have recently lost a job or a home. Some of these families are living in a car because car insurance is more affordable than a house payment.
People who abuse drugs and/or alcohol and the addiction has cost them everything. Their drug-induced highs are the only "hope" they feel.

We also know that all of these people--no matter why they are homeless--need food, clothing and a glimpse of the all-encompassing love of God.

So every month, Cayli does exactly what God has placed in her heart to do: She makes and serves homemade brownies.

Here's her recipe:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

3/4 cup baking cocoa

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and flour a 9 by 13 inch pan.

Microwave the butter in a microwave safe bowl for until melted. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cocoa; beat well until well blended. Add the flour, baking powder and salt; beat well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the pan sides.

Though it's not a lot, and we wish we could do more, it's what she can offer now. And she eagerly serves, talks to and prays for these people.

And I love seeing how God is shaping her heart. :)

Sign Language

2010-01-19T16:57:00.009-05:00

Often I'm asked how I learned sign language. Well, almost 30-some-odd-years ago I first learned the finger alphabet on the school bus. Some kids pick up bad language, I learned to to spell with my fingers.

Through the years, I learned a few signs here and there--mainly at church in the children's choir or at a summer camp.

Eight years ago, with a vocabulary of maybe 5 signs, I introduced myself to a lady at church who was deaf. She was waiting on her niece in the children's area and I felt badly that she had no one to talk to. So I bravely smiled and awkwardly spelled my name...and made a new friend. Her name was Teresa. Over the next two years she patiently helped to expand my signing vocabulary to almost conversational status.

2 years after I met her, she died. I helped interpret her funeral for the rest of her Deaf friends.

Inspired by her life, I determined to learn all that I could so that I could confidently carry a conversation with with other deaf people.

Before her funeral, I also heard these two statistics from Silent Blessings:

Only 2-4% of Deaf Americans attend church, making them the largest unreached people group in our country.
90% of Deaf children do not have parents who can communicate effectively with them.

My heart was touched, my course in life was then set and I have made friends with some of the most interesting people I know. They can't hear, but they are full of wisdom, understanding and compassion for others. And they have taught me much.

Currently I know enough sign to interpret at our church:

So how did I learn? Only by sitting with my Deaf friends and watching and learning and signing the wrong signs and letting them laugh at me and patiently show me--yet again!--signs that I kept forgetting.

I've never taken a class, except for the ones that are freely offered at my church. Now I help teach one of them.

These are the books that I constantly refer to when teaching or studying to interpret at church:

The Joy of Signing

ASL Dictionary

I also utilize ASLpro.com often for their online dictionary and videos. I recently taught a group of women how to sign the National Anthem. I studied the ASLpro site and SigningSavvy.com for a refresher of certain words and phrases. Then I asked two of my Deaf friends how they would sign it in order to finalize my signs.

If you are teaching kids, nothing beats the Signing Time videos. Even older kids can learn lots from these videos aimed at preschoolers. I've actually learned a few signs! Signs can vary across the country--almost like our voice dialects--and learning how different regions sign will easily expand your vocabulary.

For kids, start by learning the manual alphabet (if it seems a little daunting, keep patiently practicing and be happy that you're not in England--their manual alphabet uses both hands!) Kids can easily practice spelling words with their fingers--and they can use it as a secret language to communicate with friends. Practicing with others help you not only master fingerspelling, but also the skill of reading someone else's fingerspelling (which honestly is the hardest skill of all for me).

After you and your children are comfortable with fingerspelling, use The Joy of Singing to learn a few vocabulary words. Use the signs to help memorize Bible verses, poems or songs. It's okay if you don't know a sign for every word--just get comfortable with the few signs you do know. I personally think one way to build your memory is to use your hands to sign. There's just something about putting your hands in motion to increase your mental capacity.

If you use some resources that I haven't listed, I'd love to hear about them. But remember, one of the best ways to learn, is to get to know someone who is deaf or hard-of-hearing. Who knows? Maybe the little you learn now is a good preparation for a future friendship. You never know when you'll be able to use what you know.

Even if it's to make your kids an "I Love You" sign:

Enjoy signing,

Kick-off to our new semester

2010-01-05T01:57:00.002-05:00

Here's our course of study for the next few weeks:

Cayli has already read the books in this series. So I'm reading for the first time, outloud, to all the girls as we study prairie life, thanks to a Beyond Five in a Row unit.

Today we read chapter one and then talked about the formation of a baby. We read Psalms 139 and then went over a month-by-month growth of a fetus.

This discussion was very, very basic, but led to interesting conversations about what each child was like at birth. So I shared a few memories that I had treasured in my heart and showed them lots of pictures, even their ultrasound photos.

This is my sweet Cayli, who always slept with her hands near her head. By two months she was an avid thumb sucker. :)

Here are Mabry and Kenna, who were caught in a rare sleeping pose. They began life as womb-mates and have always shared a bassinet or a crib. Now they share a room. They are very close.
What a precious time we had flipping through the pictures to revisit their entry into the world!

One thing I'm purposing this year is to spend individual time with each child. Homeschooling allows me to spend lots of time with all of my kids, but I don't have much time one-on-one. So today each girl got their own baby story--told for the 18,000th time, but every time is special to them. :)

P.S. No, these pictures do not make me long for another baby. :) I'm loving my kids where they are--each stage is a joy. And the three-kids-ages-8-and-9-with-a-toddler-in-tow stage is so much more joyous than the three-kids-under-17-months. ;)

10 years

2010-01-03T20:27:00.006-05:00

There's been a lot of discussion about the last decade, which is the first decade of the 21st century--you know, the century when the world was suppose to come to a crashing halt. Well, nothing has stopped around here--we're busier than ever!

I've taken some time to reminisce just a bit, especially when I realized that 10 years ago I was just beginning to dip my foot into the swirling sea of parenting as my oldest daughter was born. A year after I tested those waters, I was thrown into the sea, with no swimming no-how or lifejacket of salvation, as my twins were born. By the grace of God, I survived!

And now, 10 years later, we're thriving! Life is good. All those girls of mine now have become exceptional big sisters to their little brother and I've spent the last 10 years learning to be the best mom I can be. And I've also learned how to sew, crochet, quill paper, decorate a cake and take decent pictures. I've also mustered enough know-how to create a meal that my entire finicky family will eat.

10 years ago I was a houseparent at a children's home. Now I parent a house full of my own children.

10 years ago I could only fingerspell my name. Now I know enough ASL to carry on a conversation with my many Deaf friends and my girls are picking it up as a second language.

10 years ago there were no blogs, iPhones, Facebook walls or tweets. Google was still a noun--now we google whatever we need to know. 10 years ago life was just a tad simplier, don't you think?

And during a certain point in the last decade, my husband lost his job due to cutbacks, we had no friends in a new town and had no idea what to do with two children that never slept and cried 24/7. The only place to go was straight to God Himself--and He proved himself faithful. He provided the finances we needed to put food on the table. He blessed us with life-long friends. And He endowed us with great patience and stamina to raise our "tiny-whineys." Not only did He surprise us with a baby boy that allows a-not-so-frazzled-me to finally experience the joys of raising a toddler, He also continues to meet our needs on a daily basis. He has truly filled our cup to overflowing with family and friends.

So I guess if one word describes this past decade, it would be BLESSED. I'm more blessed than I deserve. And I'm blessed to see what the next decade holds.

P.S. Also during the next ten years I'd like to get a full family picture--with the kids, me and Matthew! :D (The picture above was taken during our vacation to Washington DC this fall because I purposed to have one with my young'ns. Now as I'm organize my bazillion pictures, I realize that not a single shot includes all of us, since one of us is always holding the camera--or holding the 2-year-old away from it.) We really need to work on that...

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T12:26:00.003-05:00

My 2010 resolution is to do more paper quilling and using metallic watercolors on the paper like I did for the fireworks and the year. It's very therapeutic!

Have a great start to a new year!

Christmas Poem

2009-12-21T08:28:00.003-05:00

When the stockings were hung on our wall,

Santa Clause was calling to call,

"Merry Christmas to all!"

Then, a little mouse squeaked and swade threw our hall;

Then I tiptoed out of my bed to look for presents under our tree,

There I saw 10...no, 18...no, 20 presents just for me.

-Cayli and Kenna

Quilling

2009-12-12T09:50:00.004-05:00

This past summer, I discovered quilling while meandering through Hobby Lobby looking for something new to do. I was in a creative fog and my normal crocheting/sewing/photography-self just wasn't excited by anything. Nothing at all. I needed a challenge.

Knowing nothing about quilling, I bought some strips of paper, found a toothpick to wrap paper around and within minutes I made this to thank a friend for her hospitality:

Now I'm hooked! The first ever quilled works came from England hundreds of years ago. Book binders would trim off some of the guilded paper and artisans would quill the scraps (by wrapping the paper around--you guessed it!--quills) to decorate the covers of the books.

I, however don't have fancy gold-edged paper, but I did quill hair barrettes for the girls' Christmas pageant attire from my overflowing stash of scrapbook papers:

The snowflake ornament nicely decorates the tree, too:

The best thing about this craft is that the girls quill alongside me. Every evening we twist and twirl paper into ornaments and snowflakes.

These are Kenna's creations:

The bad thing about this craft is that it isn't Micah-friendly (this was a Christmas tree):
So we usually wait until our resident tornado has gone to bed before we break out the quilling supplies. The girls and I enjoy gathering 'round the table, crafting and chatting. With no expectations, each piece is lovingly handmade and always perfect. It's Christmas memories in the making.

Christmas Pageant

2009-12-11T11:38:00.003-05:00

The 22nd annual mammoth production of our church's Christmas pageant began last night. If you're local, we've got four more performances, so come see us!

Here the girls (and me, far right) are signing Bethlehem Morning as Dawn Smith Jordan sings. (Thanks, Ann, for the picture!)

Hope to see you there,

PS For locals, the entire production will be televised on WLTX-19 on Christmas Day at 12:30am (when I'm wrapping gifts! :D) and 9am (when my kids have long finished ripping the wrapping paper). Other times and stations for state-wide viewing are here.

Deaf Banquet

2009-12-05T09:29:00.006-05:00

Every year our church hosts a banquet for the area's Deaf and hard of hearing people. This year my girls attended. (Thanks to Dan, The Snake Man for these pictures!)

They came because they were going to be signing with the Silent Sounds choir. Our choir has practiced I Want Your Presence for Christmas and the girls learned all the words to sign with us. Tomorrow Cayli will lead her 4 grade choir in signing a song during the worship service. Then all next week they'll sign Bethlehem Morning in our church's Christmas pageant.

I first started learning sign language in the second grade when my friend and I would pour over a signing manual on our bus ride home. I got serious about it about 7 years ago when a precious deaf lady befriended me. So really, all I have ever learned, I've learned from my friends who are deaf. With 4 kids I haven't had the opportunity to take ASL classes; just hanging out with my friends, like sweet Mollie (below), I've learned quite a bit.

Signing has blessed my family in so many ways. Not only can I worship and communicate with great friends, I also get to share these friends with my family.

Miracle Math

2009-11-04T16:00:00.004-05:00

Math is anything but pleasant to my distractible darlings. They can easily compute, but the extra boring processes of writing and thinking when they would rather be outside playing is ~~torture~~ challenging to them and me.

Miraculously, I discovered math on a dry erase board. We sit together on the couch and finish our lessons in record time--as long as they can mark and erase themselves. So far that's working great--except when I gave them a test the other day, they acted like they had never seen a math worksheet. So today, they did their actual math lesson with their miracle markers.

Apparently to them, it's not really math if it's done with a dry erase marker (of their favorite color, of course).

I slipped their worksheet into a sheet protector, thus giving them a dry erase surface. They snuggled on the couch, happy to get their work done. Dry erase=no whine!

All the doodles disappear with a paper towel. Of course I don't have a record of what they have done, but that's okay because it's actually getting done. Besides, I'm only keeping tests as a sample of what they accomplished.
This sheet-protector/dry-erase-marker-system works entertains toddlers and preschoolers, too. When the girls were younger, I'd slide various coloring pages and tracing worksheets (you know letters, numbers, etc) into sheet protectors. Instead of giving them use of a permanent dry erase pen, I'd give them a washable crayon. Voila! Instant no-mess, reusable pages!

Happy learning, y'all!

Fall Festival

2009-11-02T09:20:00.006-05:00

Yesterday our church hosted its annual fall festival with its first ever kids talent show. Some kids song, some tumbled, some danced and some twirled!

My girls dressed as birds and twirled to Rockin Robin. Their costumes were courtesy of every.single.piece of fabric stashed in our house and my little ol' Kenmore machine.

Homeschooling provides us with extra time to pursue the interests our kids have. They chose the music and choreographed their own routine. They even helped with the costuming. I'm so thankful that we could take a week to focus on the creative side of kids.

As for the fall festival, we had so much fun with our friends! Thanks First Baptist for doing a fabulous job!

Stepping on my soapbox...

2009-10-30T08:24:00.011-04:00

In just a few short hours, the streets will be decked to the hilt with laughing kiddos raking in the sugar. Churches and other venues with be filled with all the fun surrounding these fall festivities. Though there is debate about Christians celebrating a pagan holiday, I firmly believe that every family has to make their unique decision of how to celebrate this cultural carnival of candy and costumes.

Jellybeans: Halloween '07:

As for my family, we enjoy dress-up! I don't personally morph into another character, but my girls sure do love it. Ever since they could say "pink" they have been one princess or another or any number of story book characters. Not a day has passed that they haven't pretended to be someone/something else.

And they are oh, so creative! Yesterday they stripped the sheets from their bed and transformed themselves into Nutcracker mice. Recently they stuffed a leotard with baby blankets and called themselves "nesting penguins in a rookery."

These silly kids enjoy this simplicity of childhood and allow their imaginations--and a few pieces of fabric--to take them places that are inaccessible to adults.

Spring and Winter Fairies: Halloween '05:

I'm excited that our church is hosting a fall festival where we can be around others who party like my girls. I've spent hours sewing the right costume for what they want to be this year. Yet I'm concerned for the number of Christians who use this fun day of dress-up to portray the darker side of reality.

Perplexing is the number of active Christians who use their blogs and Facebook statuses to sing their praises to the Lord...except for the days leading up to Halloween. On those days, they post pictures of themselves or their children spookily dressed as ghosts, vampires or dead people, display all sorts of creative, but ghoulish, crafts or they relay their tasty recipes for ghostly treats.

Please, consider what you, as a Christian, are communicating to an unsaved world! Never should a true Christian celebrate the disaster of death--Our Redeemer conquered the grave! We need to be purposeful in the way to live our life--every day. We should be focused on all things that are pure, trustworthy, holy. And our costumes, food concoctions, crafts and actions need to reflect our Savior, the Light of the world.

Don't get so carried away in the festivities that you find yourself unintentionally paying homage to evil. Anything dark and evil and hideous is very real. We as Christians fight a spiritual battle of good and evil every single day. Even if it is only for a night and all in the name of fun, don't trade your steadfast armor of God for the horrific armor of Satan.

I'm off my soapbox now.

Today is Theodore Roosevelt's birthday.

2009-10-27T10:14:00.003-04:00

And in honor of our boisterous 26th American president, my kids declared a no-school day in order to celebrate his energetic life.

While we were in Washington, DC a few months ago, we took a detour to Roosevelt Island so that my kids could see Teddy up close:

Teddy was a great conservationist (which is way he has a tiny island named after him) and thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors. He actively hunted his own food, created games for his children and guest, and even set up obstacle courses for White House visitors.

I thought his quote of nature--"There is delight in the hardy life of the open..."--perfectly applied to my self-proclaimed country girls...

...especially the lively ones that observed his island with great speed:

Today in celebration, we reviewed his life. The girls relate well to his 6 children who supposedly slid down the White House banisters on cookie sheets--with their father's permission!--and kept a mini zoo in their executive bedroooms.

The Roosevelt kids were apparently a bit loud and rebellious and had so many chaotic and fun adventures that I had to stop telling the girls about the Roosevelt kids. I don't need any Roosevelt ideas enlightening my household. :D

Today, on Teddy's 151st birthday, the girls got their semi-wish today. I didn't let them take an entire day off, but I did let them do a report on a political Roosevelt family member. We used Easy File Folder Reports to aid in the presentations. Mabry is working on Theodore, Kenna is working on Franklin (the 32nd president and fifth cousin to Teddy) and Cayli chose Eleanor (who was Teddy's niece). (Whew! That Roosevelt family tree can give you a headache!)

Currently the girls are have a teddy bear tea party in honor of their fave president. Did you know that teddy bears became a popular toy after Theodore refused to shoot a big black bear on a hunting excursion? The softer side of Teddy continues to live on in today's generation.

Happy learning, y'all!

Math Test

2009-10-23T09:25:00.004-04:00

It's amazing Cayli gets any work done at all. She finishing her work even though Micah thinks the table is a play place.

Goodnight, Micah!

2009-10-17T18:20:00.006-04:00

This is Micah's most favorite book. Truthfully, like most 2-year-olds, he likes any book for an average of 3.5 seconds, but this book holds his interest for a bit longer.

I never liked to read it to my girls. I'd rush through it, yawning, because I thought it was boring.

But now that I have a few years of reading aloud experience, this book is a true treasure. Besides, it has a magical calming effect of my zealous toddler.

The secret to reading this book? Read it s l o w l y and q u i e t l y. In a whispering voice, enunciate clearly and smoothly. Linger on all of the s and sh sounds. Ssssssavor it with a little one.

And if you still have a difficult time, enjoy the carefree images from a simpler era of life. Notice how the illustrator casts shadows over the pages, so that as the book ends, it's much darker. Point out particular items in each picture and let your child enjoy the look of each page.

This book single-handedly turned my non-verbal two-year-old into lively talker. We would read this book on the couch and then proceed with our bedtime routine--all while telling everything in the house goodnight.

Goodnight toothbrush.

Goodnight sisters.

Goodnight pillow.

Goodnight stars.

Goodnight...

One simple book with very simple words--book that I didn't even like--transformed my child's vocabulary.

And the time we spent together talking about each page--absolutely precious!

Happy learning, y'all!

What's wrong with this picture?

2009-10-12T10:52:00.004-04:00

Besides the fact that Mabry's shirt doesn't remotely match the sundress.

I guess it's a twin thing, but it's how they did their schoolwork today--one sitting on the top of the other. Maybe they think better this way? :D

Happy learnin' y'all,

Swimming Creatures

2009-10-07T00:53:00.003-04:00

While we were on our family vacation to the DC area, we ventured at bit north to visit the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD. We chose this particular aquarium because my kids are aquarium groupies and it is the only aquarium, other than Sea World, to house dolphins.

For the past two years, Cayli has been our resident ocean expert. She first fell in love with the ocean when she was a bitty baby; though when we began Christian Cottage's Oceanography Unit Study (you should try it--it's FREE!) and completed Five In A Row's Night of the Moonjellies study a couple of years ago, she began acquiring knowledge to grow her love of the most amazing places of the earth. Through the study, she discovered her fascination for dolphins.

She finally got to see one for the first time in Baltimore. Thankfully, it posed for a picture.

The National Aquarium also hosts a dolphin show to showcase these magnificent creatures of grace.
The Aquarium also had other displays of amazement, including Micah's favorite, Nemo:
And spectacular, but grumpy-looking, Lionfish:
And my personal favorites, Jellies:
Currently, Cayli and I are going through Apologia's Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day.A thorough factual collection of information, it challenges her to continue her ocean studies and enhance her already high level of knowledge. So far my budding marine biologist has learned all sorts of things about benthic and nektonic creatures. And about zooplankton and phytoplankton. And a whole plethora of other words that I never learned in my country school.

I'm excited to see where her passion for oceans and dolphins will lead. She hopes it will land her a trip to Sea World and the opportunity to swim with her loves. And maybe it will. Because I'm all about encouraging a child's pursuits--especially if it involves a family-focused road trip.

What is your child passionate about?

Happy learning, y'all!

A new favorite resource: Dance Mat Typing

2009-10-06T10:09:00.004-04:00

My girls are fairly fast finger peckers and this FREE online program is helping their fingers dance correctly on the keyboard. Check it out!

Lentil: Pucker Up!

2009-10-02T18:42:00.003-04:00

This week was all about lemons, puckering and harmonicas courtesy of Robert McCloskey's Lentil. Lentil may not be able to sing or whistle--because he can't pucker, poor kid!--but he can save the day with his harmonica.

Lentil can't sing. Lentil loves music, but sadly couldn't pucker to whistle. So he practices on a harmonica. In the tub.

So I gave Kenna and Mabes harmonicas to practice...where did they go? To the tub!

Of course, then the lesson involved a discussion about acoustics and how the sound resonates in a small room such as a bathroom with no carpet to absorb it.

Mabry and Kenna have enjoyed their ~~noise makers~~ so much that they play them all.the.time.

Hopefully next week's lessons will be quieter.

Rubies, Sapphires, Diamonds...oh my!

2009-09-21T16:28:00.006-04:00

Quite honestly, I thought the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History would be boring. I only went because of the dinosaur bones that I thought might hold the interest of my dinosaur-smitten toddler.

He could have cared less.

But the girls and I fell in love with the gemstone collection. We saw the diamond necklace given to Marie Louise by Napoleon Bonaparte after the birth of their son:

Though the bluish hope diamond was grand, I much prefer the pure blue of this mammoth 423 carat Logan Sapphire:
And rubies (which, by the way, are really sapphires; but since they are red, we call them rubies)--all 31 for a total of 60 carats--are gorgeous:
The twins didn't know their birthstone is so lovely. My birthstone is an amethyst, which the museum had plenty of in various displays, including this monster from Brazil:

Though all the gemstones were absolutely breathtaking, my favorite piece was this crown also given to Marie Louise by Napoleon. Apparently when Marie Louise wore it, it held 950 diamonds and 79 emeralds. The emeralds were sold and eventually replaced with Persian turquoises:

Who knew history could be so beautiful?

Reports

2009-09-18T11:37:00.006-04:00

Last week we took a vacation to Washington DC and Philadelphia, so, like all good homeschooled students, this week the kids get to write a report on what they saw. Earlier this summer I purchased Easy File Folder Reports to make reporting a bit more fun and manageable for my distractable kids.

Kenna chose to write about the Washington Monument. One of the highlights of our trip was going to the top of the 555ft monument. From the observation windows you could see all of DC! The elevator took 70 seconds to arrive at the top, but it slowed on the way down to showcase the engraved stones that make up the interior of the monument. Organizations and states commissioned special engravings to pay tribute to George Washington and placed them inside the monument. Very unique, I thought.

As part of Kenna's report, she had to display the monument. She carved it from soap:

She also had to create an ad to encourage others to come visit. She could have drawn one herself, but since all of our pictures from our recent trip are on the computer, she just made a digital one:

It's been a blessing to see the kids write about their new found knowledge from the trip. We could have spent more time in DC but only had a week. So this week we got to relive it all through conversations and fun report forms.

Summer '09 Highlights:

2009-09-14T16:03:00.012-04:00

(Just in case you are interested...)

We joined the state's aquarium.

The girls learned to swim.

We read a lot--even when the electricity went off for a few hours.

We traveled back in time to New Testament Rome.

Cayli Grace found her passion for homeless people.

Mabry and Kenna turned 8.

Micah began talking and hasn't stopped.

The girls twirled at the Celebration of Liberty.

We visited Washington, DC.

We had fun together!

See you in September!

2009-06-09T08:21:00.002-04:00

I'm officially on a summer-long

BLOG BREAK !

No lesson plans, no schedules to follow. We've put away textbooks and planners. I want to simply enjoy my little ones during this summer season.

We just going to follow our hearts' desires with a daily sprinkler run, building lots of castles in our sand pit, spontaneous visits to the local zoo and aquarium, art camp, crafts and more crafts, day trips to the beach, fellowship with friends and probably a movie or two.

I'll be back in September, refreshed and renewed, with lots of fun family ideas for photography and homeschooling. See you then!

Birthday Boy

2009-05-29T21:25:00.002-04:00

He's two!

Country Girls Guide to Polishing Rocks

2009-05-26T12:17:00.003-04:00

First, gather rocks:

Second, roundup the polish (lip gloss is optional):
Third, apply a thin or thick coat (the choice is yours); wait 5 seconds, repeat:

(Where do my kids come up with this stuff?)

S L O W I N G down...I think

2009-05-18T16:56:00.004-04:00

The past three weeks have been a whirlwind from dance-twirl recitals:

to the children's musical at our church:

Above Cayli debuts her acting career as she cracks a joke. I want to be a frog so I can eat what buuuggggs me!

Mabry and Kenna each sing a verse about their invisible dog, Germs.

During all the hullabaloo of May, Micah entertained himself by trying to flush Little People, drawing on everything but paper, building towers of blocks and then knocking them down, contaminating himself with viral croupe, staying in bed with a fever and an ear infection, digging holes outside, riding the dog, staying up late and then getting up early, biting holes in loaves of bread, refining his yelling of "NO!" and "MINE!" and unrolling mountains of toilet paper.

Sadly, our whilwind of May commences tomorrow at the barber shop. This last thing on our to-do list this month is cutting baby boy's hair. In the girls' free time, they've began putting his hair in pigtails. So it's time.

Besides, I'm more than ready for the lazy days of summer.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T20:18:00.000-04:00

This year, my precious family blessed me with a handmade card:
Sweet roses (fresh from their dance recital bouquets!):

And a ever-so-practical pack of tape and a stapler:

Love these girls! We had such a sweet day of simply enjoying each other. I'm so blessed to be their mommy!

Memory Box

2009-05-05T14:44:00.004-04:00

A year or so ago, I read this article about creating and using a scripture memory box. Like many ideas, I tucked it in the back of my head for future use when I had plenty of time to institute it.

I still don't have plenty of time, but I do have much desire to implement a system to assist my family as we store the very words of God in our hearts.

We don't participate in an Awana program or Bible drills, but we do actively read our Bibles. This system allows for everyone's input into what scripture they would like to memorize.

For starters, I chose a box. I picked a pretty one over a practical one because I'd rather look at colorful flowers over boring plastic anyday. Please, friends, don't laugh at me as you now see that I, Mrs. Flybytheseatofmypants, actually own an organizational tool:

The box also contains dividers (and yes, I really did know what to do with them!). I altered the system to fit perfectly on 24 dividers instead of the 41 that the program utilizes. I made the changes because ~~the box only came with 24 cards~~ this way will be a bit more practical for our family.

My labels:

1 label for Daily
1 for Odd
1 for Even
5 for weekdays (because honestly, we won't even think about this box on the weekends)
16 for numerical days of the month (one label is for days 1 and 16, the next is for days 2 and 17, then 3 and 18, etc because it won't kill us to review our verses twice a month instead of once a month as prescribed by the original post; Day 31 is all alone so those verses are reviewed 7 times a year and by then the kids should be able to recite them in their sleep)

As you may suspect, I did have to purchase index cards. I never, ever thought that I would actually use these, but I have come to find many good uses for them throughout my homeschooling career.

There are many, many lists online of verses that are excellent for remembering. But I simply flipped through my Bible and wrote down key verses that I had highlighted over the years.

Everyday we read a card, mainly focusing on the verse or passage that is in the daily category. Then we review the ones I've moved to other places, starting with an even or odd day of the month and then the actual date of the month.

So for today, 5/5/09, we read Joshua 1:9 twice and the kids said it with me. Then I'd read a few words and let them say the rest. They sort of knew this verse, so I moved it to the odd category-- We won't read it again until 5/7. I then picked the veres out of the odd section and those happened to be Psalms 23. We read through it, saying it together. I put it back and we'll revisit it in two days. When the kids can say it fairly well, it'll be moved to one of the twice a month labels.

The only discipline this takes is remembering to actually do it. But my kids seem to remember to actually eat breakfast every morning, so I just serve up some Daily Bread along with their cereal. I love copying scripture so I keep a stack of cards with my Bible and will add the box as I come across something we need to or would like to memorize. I'm also letting the girls contribute whatever verses they find meaningful.

So what's your method for memorizing scripture?

The ugly spider

2009-05-03T12:14:00.000-04:00

My uncle brought us a sand pit to play in. Since then, spiders think it's their home. But my sisters and I found this unique spider that was jumping on our sand pit. Isn't it ugly?!

Mom's note: This was an unintentional blog posting as it was suppose to go on Cayli's personal blog. But that's okay, because everyone needs to see an ugly wolf spider every once and awhile, don't you think? I used to think spiders were nasty--and still do--but as long as they are viewed at a distance, preferrably away from my kids' playthings--I'm beginning to find them fascinating. That's homeschooling for you--the whole comes alive!

Precautions

2009-05-02T11:42:00.003-04:00

With this whole swine flu floating around (and local school districts closed indefinitely) you can never be too cautious. Moments after giving my kids the scoop--sans media hype--these signs appeared all over my house:
The creator, my germophobe elder dear daughter, also taught her baby brother how to blow into a kleenex and throw it away.
It seems to take me years to teach my kids basics like this, but only seconds from them to learn from each other.

Hope all is healthy where you are!

Love days like this!

2009-04-30T07:50:00.004-04:00

For some reason brown boxes, delivered by men wearing brown and driving brown trucks, excite me!

For inside our box is our future:

Last week, Matthew finally gave me the go-ahead to order all of our books for this coming year--this amazing year that I will have a fourth grader, two third graders and one two-year-old tornado.

All throughout the year I observe my kids and then set goals based on what they would like to study and what I feel that we need to study. The past four years of my homeschooling have been centered around getting everyone to read and write. Now that those basic skills are well established, we can heighten our learning fun!

Mystery of History will be our history spine for the year as it covers the ancient (Biblical) world. I hand-picked this spine because it's what I'm most interested in right now as I research and study Biblical archeaology. They girls have caught my enthusiasm, and are equally exicted by this study.

We chose physics as our science spine because it encompasses all of my kids' favorite everyday activites from the pulleys on the playground to the sound(waves) of music. Rumor also has it that our family's favorite engineer, Mr. Steve, will be explaining--with the use of restaurant napkins, nonetheless--airplane wing designs and other intriguing aspects of physics left out from this manual.

As supplements to our history, we'll build a paper tabernacle, flip through a historical atlas and listen to a CD or two by overly enthusiastic history teacher detailing Noah's Ark, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and Jesus' birth..

To enhance our language arts studies, we're adding in some root words. I have absolutely.no. desire.whatsoever to teach Latin, but I do share a love of lanugages with my kids. The girls are already learning some Greek, courtesy of their daddy, but this should be a fun play with words.

And no school year would be complete without a read-through of Hank the Cowdog as read by the author. Matthew cut my school wish list in half, but quickly added Hank back in when my girls started crying (with real tears!) and begging for another installment in our Hank adventures.

The only discouraging aspect of receiving our box of goodies, is that we have a few loose ends to tie up on our current school year. We've got in our mandatory days, but the math books have a few more pages and we haven't met our goals for the year. So we'll be finished up our study of the continents during May. We're also planning a run-through of US history as we study the presidents and then do an overview of the solar system. Then, and only then, we'll be able to partake of these fabulous finds later this summer.

A slice of country girl heaven...

2009-04-26T21:18:00.002-04:00

My uncle dumped a ton of dirt in my side yard...and the girls (and BB) have been doing the happy dance ever since!

iSchool

2009-04-22T14:41:00.003-04:00

My iTouch is by far the greatest asset to our homeschool right now. We watch all sorts of educational videos that help the kids visualize a concept without leaving home.

I've also downloaded all sorts of educational apps (mostly free!) for the girls, along with a few fun drawing, tangram, story and music apps.

One of the girls' favorite apps is the weather app preloaded on the iTouch. Whenever we study a new place they arrange the settings so that they will see the weather from that area. The other day I was quite bummed that it was going to storm all day long...then I realized that I was looking at a weather report for Costa Rica.

YouTube has been the biggest has been the biggest hit (along with the tootsie pop):

What's Kenna excited about? The Great Barrier Reef:

Since we can't go to Australia right now and the library isn't the most fun place with toddler, YouTube is perfect! I just love technology...

(If you have any favorite techno tool or app that you use in your school/home, please let me know!)

It's a miracle!

2009-04-20T20:01:00.001-04:00

Recently we had two mornings of dentist's appointments back to back. I can easily give up one day without math, but two was a little too much (more than 24 hours without number crunching overly softens my kids' brains). Anyway, I tried something I have only heard about--letting students do homework in a waiting room. I don't normally bring work because my girls are terribly distracted by the surroundings, but this time it worked! I only had to remind them roughly 487 times instead of the usual 21,374+ times to focus...but their lesson was done by the time Cayli was finished with her dentist. This never would have worked before; now that the girls are finishing 2nd grade and growing some mental maturity, things are beginning to mellow around here.

America's Fabulous First Ladies

2009-04-18T09:37:00.005-04:00

This book:

Plus our favorite timeline method:

Equals one of the most fun, informative, enjoyable unit studies we have ever done on our own!

I'm all about keeping things simple. So I created a template in word and converted it to a pdf so that you can use it if you'd like.

We (as in me too!) took turns filling in a card. I'd read about a first lady from the book and then we'd talk about and appreciate her life. Whoever had her card to do would write the years she served, who she was married to and 1-2 interesting facts about her life.

Then we cut out the page, glued it to one of our cardstock pieces and put in on our plastic timeline.

Mabry did the above card about Jane Pierce who hated that fact that her husband was even in politics. She buried her favorite son days before her husband took the oath of office; she felt her son's death was God's punishment for politics. Sad.

But then there was Grace Coolidge, a fabulous first lady and a favorite of both Cayli and me. Cayli did her card after we learned that Grace kept a pet racoon in the White House and supported deaf causes. Sadly, she lost a son during her White House years, but remained near her husband's side for the rest of his term and life.

We'd also pull picture books from the library. Two favorites were of Eleanor Roosevelt's time:

The DK book came with a poster with pictures of all the first ladies. It also came with a CD of clipart images with helped in creating our timeline cards, but I mainly googled images and utilized the First Ladies Library for extra bio info and pictures.

Oh, one other--believe it or not--indispensible resource: YouTube! We found videos of Jackie Kennedy's televised tour of the White House.

Our next venture will be the US presidents and the historical events of their presidency. I'm betting that American history is much more interesting when viewed through the life of the commander-in-chief. I'll let you know how that study goes.

Galimoto

2009-04-13T12:23:00.001-04:00

For most of this school year, we have studied other countries. And as we journey through Africa, we discovered Galimoto, a book about the practice of Africa children making their own toys out of spare wire.

Since we didn't have any wire laying around, I picked up a spool of very flexible jewelry wire and let the kids create their own toys.

It took a little concentration...

...and patience to twist, pull and place the wire in the exact spot...

...and in the end, Cayli had made an Easter bunny.

I even joined in the fun and created a camera:

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T21:01:00.000-04:00

Parade of Parks

2009-04-06T07:37:00.003-04:00

Matthew had a few days off and the weather was beautiful so we toured a couple of different state parks and picniced at Swan Lake.

At a local state park, the girls found all sorts of things...including this friendly catepillar.

Mabry, of course, found lots of natural treasures. By the time we got back to the car, she had filled an entire bag with collectibles.

My kids may be curious about nature, but this swan sure was interested in my camera.

You ain't gettin' nothin' over on my kids!

2009-03-24T11:05:00.001-04:00

Recently we canceled our basic cable service because, well, we don't have time to turn on the TV.

So the cable company sends some guy out to cut some line. Since we live waaaayyyy off the beaten path, any strange car is open to scrutiny by my kids.

And if they are really scared, they hide in the woods and record evidence:

They also took a video of what this guy did...just in case they needed it for incrimination.

I feel pretty safe here in the country with my little sleuths at work. :)

Co-op: Reptiles

2009-03-19T21:11:00.001-04:00

Thanks, Dan, for taking the time to tempt these kids with the wonders of nature! You made my country girls' day!

How do you homeschool with a toddler?

2009-03-18T23:01:00.002-04:00

Interested people ask me that question more than any other.

The answer is easy: he just does his own thing!

St. Patty's Day 09

2009-03-17T11:21:00.008-04:00

(The girls got up early this morning to go pick green clovers and put them in a green cup. Silly me, I didn't know they even knew what the day is.)

From an educational standpoint, St. Pat's Day is the funnest, educationalest (can you tell I have young kids?) day of the year. You can do so many things on this day! Not only can you count by 3s and 4s with clovers, you can also mix yellow and blue to make green and eat all the green m&ms you can handle while doing math drills. Not to mention history is covered with a bio of St. Patrick himself, geography lessons are fulfilled with an overview of Ireland, and you can even throw in some science in the form of snakes--or rainbows if you'd like something less slithery. And don't forget about studying the richness of an Irish blessing or the tales of a leprechaun.
And then there's Irish dance, Irish music, Irish eyes...and this list could go on forever...

So with all of these various options to choose from, I took the easy road: I threw a box of Lucky Charms on the table and called it a day.

Still, the kids learned. My sheltered, deprived children had never had anything so magically delicious. Which then turned into an entire lesson on advertising. My tongue thinks the cereal is nasty, but my brain tells me a tasty marketing slogan from years ago. Besides, 20 years later after all the commercials I can still rattle off the first original charms and you probably can too.

My kids then learned that Frosted Flakes really are Grrrrrrreat! But their response, I'm sure due to lack of TV in their lives, was that they are just good. And I really couldn't convince them that they could have a Coke and a smile.

Lucky for me, and as if on cue, their pot of gold--in the form of a box from Books-A-Million--arrived as the precise moment that my advertising lesson was loosing steam. BAM boxes give the girls a magical giddy-ness, even if nothing is in the box for them. But today, on this special day o' green, they each had a book all to themselves.

They tore away the paper from the box and grabbed their special books. Who needs advertising and marketers, when the innocence of an imaginary world of a book will suffice?

Oh, here's a fun video from the makers of Veggie Tales:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

WARNING: Spring Fever Impedes Brain Function

2009-03-14T06:48:00.002-04:00

First it started with forecasters predicting inches of snow for our never-does-it-snow area. And sure enough, as always, the hype exceeded the (no) snow fall.

Then the time change welcomed longer daylight hours and the weather became a heavenly 75 degrees. That's when I completely lost my kids as they trapced through the woods, exchanging their worksheets and textbooks for bird songs, lizards, and the winding yellow jassmine that has decorated our yard.

Spring fever had sprung and life was joyful and grand!

Until we had dinner with a set of grandparents, who are apparently required to ask about what each child is learning.

Kenna holds up 8 fingers and proudly says, "I can name all 7 continents!"

That's when I should have called off this conversation. Mistake #1.

This is my child with mini hand-drawn maps of all 7 continents tacked to her bedroom wall. She loves geography and knows her stuff--until someone asks her.

She then proceeded to forget 6 of them, including her beloved Africa.

At this time I really should ended the conversation. Mistake #2.

But I gave Mabry a chance to answer. I asked her a simple, can't-go-wrong question: What continent do we live on?

"Mom, that's easy!" she proudly exclaims. "We live in South America!"

Um, no.

"Where is South America, Mabry?" I asked, trying to salvage any signs of intelligence from my family.

Her quizzical response: "The Bahamas?"

Strike 3. That's when my humbled head hit the table in shame, creating a new rule as I heared the thud.

My children are never allowed to talk again in public. Never. Ever.

Better late than never, right?

2009-03-05T15:21:00.001-05:00

Here are some pictures from our Valentine's Party held many weeks ago. Sorry, gals, that I'm just getting these to you. Enjoy!

Boxcar Children

2009-02-27T10:48:00.002-05:00

Somewhere between a major headcold and my birthday celebrations, we began a new study of The Boxcar Children. You may have read this series as a child; I apparently was deprived of this fabulous set of books. We are thoroughly enjoying reading and studying this piece of literature.

In the beginning, the children fall asleep inside a haystack. This led to a discussion of farming and the evolution of haystacks to hay bales that we see today. My cyberfriend, Gail, composed a blog post of life on her farm, including excellent pictures of hay. Check it out!

Photo Scavenger Hunt

2009-02-20T20:35:00.005-05:00

We hosted our support group's 2nd and 3rd grade girls at the zoo with a photo scavenger hunt.

We were just in time for the display of the zoo's baby giraffe as seen here with her mother, a picture in our hunt:

Here are the items that we looked for, plus a few others that I thought about while we were there. So grab your camera and took a new look at the wildlife through your viewfinder:

Your favorite animal
An animal that starts with the same first letter as your name
The longest tail
Animal with its tongue sticking out or yawning
Paw print
Animal native to your area
Zookeeper caring for the animal
Sleeping
Picture of you in front of the zoo sign or on an animal statue
Capture two different species in one photo
Mother animal with baby
Animals playing together
Animal you wouldn’t want to meet in the wild
Animal you would love to have as a pet
Cute and cuddly
Stripes
Horns
Animal looking at you
Nicest living area
Animal playing with water
Picture that captures the most birds
An animal from another continent
Smallest animal
Largest animal
Eating
Animal with your favorite color

There once was a little boy

2009-02-17T15:43:00.003-05:00

cute and cuddly to the core

but every once in awhile

he morphs into a tornado

and no matter how many times I tell him NO

there's always some destruction to show...

Micah, being all boy that he is, loves electronics. Forget the cars and trains and wild animal pieces he has cluttering his room.

He'd much rather play with mommy's toys.

Before his first birthday, he carefully peeled apart our TV remote layer by layer ; right after he turned one, he drowned my cell phone by dipping it repeatedly in the dog's water dish; and now--he's still a few months from two--he climbed higher than ever, grabbed my camera...and now it doesn't work anymore. :(

Since I can't take any pictures to show what happened, the girls drew you the scenario so that you can see for yourself. :)

Above you see that Mabry depicted his naughtiness by walking away from the table with the camera. Notice the chairs are still pushed in towards the table--I really thinked he scaled the table leg to get on top. Or maybe he can really can reach that high in a single bound.

The camera was actually on our computer table, pushed all the way back to the wall. I was downloading images, stepped away for a second to fulfill a motherly duty and now live with the knowledge that my toddler is really a mighty Superman.

Below Kenna writes about what she saw. She was the one to find him with the camera. On the left, she yells, "Miiiiiiiiccccaaaaaaaaaaah" and on the right she describes

We'll be sending the camera back to the manufacturer in hopes they can undo the damage of a 20-month-old. Though I suspect he's probably outsmarted them too.

I just hope we find some kryptonite to slow him down soon! He's taking on increasingly complex tasks--if he started with a simple remote and now befuddled a camera so soon...I'm a bit concerned about my house and car.

I can handle these reptiles...

2009-02-14T15:10:00.005-05:00

Snakes, gila monsters, snapping turtles, crocodiles...I have not affection for.

But these creatures--straight from my kids' imaginations--can make themselves a home in my yard anytime!

Kenna's creation: The Rhode Island Famous Crocodile

Lives in Rhode Island; is green with a pink head and red dots on it's legs; eats oysters, leaves and bird; grows to be 14,000lbs; uses it's oversized tail to swat birds and leaves from the trees.

Mabry's creation: The Pink Snap-headed Allicroc
Lives in cars; is very little with a spikey tail just like a porcupine; it is poisonous because it eats poisonous flowers; it's tail is shaped like a pecan.

Cayli's creation: The Cactus Green Lizard

(Cayli isn't one to fill in the blanks--she wrote an entire story of finding this creature!)

I once was skipping through the rsin forest on a hot sunny day. I knew it was going to rain this afternoon. But it was morning, so I had nothing to worry about. As I was skipping, I saw an odd-shaped green lizard. It had a white long zig-zag flowing down his back. On it's light green tail it had white spikes like a cactus branch on each side of it's tail. The tip of each spike was blue. I saw that he had green eyes, but the middle of his eyes were dark greenish brown. I put out my hand. He crawled on. And I tell you, he was as light as a feather! He was at least 4 inches long. I brought him home and researched him hard. I could not find it in my research, so I gave him a name. I named him the Cactus Green Lizard. That very same day, I observed what he eats and where he lives. He eats green cocoa brown leaves. I learned that he had a family that lives under a green cocnut tree in the rainforest. I let him go under a spikey plant--whatever it was called--and that was where I found him. Even today, the lizard I found is called the Cactus Green Lizard.

Reptiles

2009-02-11T10:57:00.002-05:00

I figured at some point in my kids' young lives they needed to study about reptiles. Most of what they already know is based on the thousands of lizards they have captured over the past few years and they also hear my warnings of "look out for snakes!" I yell with a ting of vocal disgust at that slithery, slimey creatures as the girls go traipsing through the woods around our house.

So this week was as good as any. I swallowed hard and started ~~shuttering~~ reading about how reptiles have 3 chambered heart, are cold-blooded, legs (if any) are in pairs, so forth and so on...

Then I sent them out with a camera to see what they would come back with.

Here's what they found:

Fortunately we were at the zoo and the snake was securely behind glass. Thick glass.

Which was good because this snake was active. It kept spiraling around it's area, checking us out like he was as interested in us as we were in him:

Turns out, this snake is a Boelen's Python, native to New Guinea.

Here's a tip: When you go to zoo to take pictures of creepy interesting creatures, make sure you take a picture of the informational sign. That way you can always go back and remember the name of the creature that you want to avoid at all cost in real life.

Curious About Quetzals

2009-02-09T16:07:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago the beautiful weather was calling us to put away our books and go ahead tie the loose ends on our rain forest study. The only thing we had to do was go to the local zoo and take pictures of the birds that call South America their home and put into our lapbooks.

Mabry's only request: find a quetzal, please

I had never even heard of this splendid bird before our study. And that's a shame--everyone in the world needs to experience this beauty:

(Image lifted from the gorgeous pictures at http://www.natureslorephotography/.)

As we made our way through the zoo, we snapped some shots of a parrot:

and a toucan:

and this magnificent blue crowned pigeon (wish our city pigeons looked like this):

But no quetzals.

Mabry was sad, sullen and downright grumpy. While she was thankful for all the beautiful birds we had seen, she refused to smile for the customary family photo. Her day was ruined. And so was ours because she had not seen a quetzal.

I jokingly offered her a glimmer of hope: why don't you write the zookeeper to see if he can go catch a quetzal for you and the rest the state to see?

Her cantankerous countenance returned to the upright position as she, much to my potential embarrassment, penned a letter:

Dear Zookeeper,

I think you need some quetzals. If you do not know, quetzals live in the South American rainforests. They are all kinds of different colors. They have red feathers and green feathers and blue feathers too. Will you consider catching one and putting in the zoo? We would love to see one.

We perfected her rough draft over the course of few days, and she finished it off with an illustration of her favorite bird--just in case the zookeeper needed to know what it looked like, she said.

Three days later, Mabry received a reply:

Dear Mabry,

Thank you very much for your letter suggesting that the zoo get a quetzal. Your drawing of a quetzal is very nice. I really like the colors.

There are some animals that are difficult to keep in zoos and I am afraid that quetzals fit into that category. In fact, there are no quetzals in captivity. Since we only try to keep animals that will thrive in the zoo I doubt that we will ever have them. So I'm afraid that you may have to enjoy them through books and maybe television...

The letter continues with a personal story of when the zoo's director visited Costa Rica and saw a real, live quetzal.

So now my Mabes understands that she'll never see a quetzal at our zoo and I'm as thrilled as a mama can be that a busy executive took the time to affirm my daughter's love for animals and explained away her disappointment as only a zookeeper can. Of course, now I have to figure out a way to get Mabry to Costa Rica...

You know you're a homeschoolin' mama...

2009-02-04T22:54:00.007-05:00

when you go to the store to buy diapers, but come home with a bundle of tulips (though I would like to know how tulips are available in early February...).

Why tulips? Because you're studying Holland. So it's a must-have accessory. And Wally World (of all places) conveniently had them on sale.

And what do you do with them? Why you wait for them to open before dissecting them (we apparently don't simply enjoy flowers and their beauty, we take them apart, like all good homeschooling mini-scientists. The girls had their exacto knives and field microscopes ready before I got in the door). While you wait, you draw them!

Not 5 minutes after pouring water into the vase and sorting the flowers, the crayons, markers and paints spontaneously appeared and the creativity flowed.

The rebel of the family decided that tulips are nice and pretty and all, but a passion fruit flower would be more suitable for a sheet of paper and a post-pad sticky (it's amazing what my kids come up with!):

I spent some time with my watercolor set and slowly got a grip on my reality: I did NOT inherited my grandmother's artistic talent. So I took a picture:

Here's some fascinating trivia for you: In the 1700s the goverment of Holland had to begin regulating the sale of tulips because the national economy started to collaspe as the price of tulips rose well above the cost of living. And, though the tulip is a national symbol of Holland, it originated in the Mediterrean region. The Dutch were able to harness the beauty and bring prosperity to the Netherlands, thus creating the iconic tulip that we can purchase at the local grocery store.

It's official: I'm the meanest mom ever!

2009-02-01T18:30:00.003-05:00

Tired of the fighting, biting, bickering, shoving, aggravating, screaming and general lack of respect for parental authority regarding each child's computer time allotted for Webkinz World, I quietly fought back.

I secretly changed all of their passwords.

I suspect my kids will be perfect angels this week. :)

In other news...

Cayli Grace turned 9 this past week!

She even decorated her own cake...

And spent the day of her birthday with her forever friend (they've been best buds since they were 2!). Together they decorated a large cookie...

Dear Ariana,

2009-01-23T10:41:00.005-05:00

Thank you for mailing us cookie mix and decorating supplies! We had a fabulous time making and decorating them. Please come visit us soon because we want to make cookies with you!

SNOBAMA Day

2009-01-20T15:10:00.002-05:00

Yeah, yeah, I know, today was historically significant. We may have seen national history unfold in Washington, DC...but real family history happened in our front yard. Three of my children have never seen snow. So when the white stuff fell from the sky, we trusted the government to do their thing while we did ours. But we enjoyed the snow, just like the government would. ;)

Micah really didn't care about the snow. He just wanted to play in the cold, wet sand (just like politicians totally missing the obvious!)

Cayli easily wiped out any accumulation (kind of like the economy, don't you think?).

Mabry confidently climbed on top of the Trailblazer to collect enough snow (makes me think of drastic measures to gather taxes)...

for Kenna's snowball. Sadly we only had enough for one snowball...and she threw it--splat! on the ground, didn't even hit it's target (yep, just like taxes.).

Overall, my kids really don't know what to do with the novelty of white stuff and found themselves standing around, wondering what to do next (sort of resembles Congress):

We did venture inside to see a few inaugural festivites, such as President Bush and soon-to-be President Obama riding together to Capital Hill. It was at this point that Micah, totally oblivious, ran to the TV and yelled "bye!" and "car!" Even a toddler knew the grand significance of the event.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2009-01-15T16:33:00.002-05:00

Before my children landed on this planet, I wondered and dreamed of what they'd become as adults. The older they get, the more I'm convinced that I don't have to think too hard. All I have to do is peek into my mirror.

They are what I am. They are perfect imitators of my strengths and weaknesses. They are Mini-MEs.

I take pictures, they take pictures. I crochet, they crochet. I read my Bible, they read theirs. But they've inherited all my nastiness too. They have their mother's temper, sarcasism and preference for laziness. I've learned to control and work through my yucky tendencies, but they haven't and they eagerly air them at the most inopportune times, especially public places.

Parenting has been easier since I realized many of the daily issues were really my own fault. They were reflecting my impatience and disorganization and tendency to be easily frustrated. So confessing my own faults and dealing with myself has made for a much more quiet and controllable household.

Years ago, my own mother cursed me with "I hope you have kids just like yourself!" and today she laughs at her prophecy fulfilled. Fortunately I have that same hope. That one day my kids will have their own Mini-MEs.

A church girl's resolution

2009-01-12T11:17:00.002-05:00

Confession time: I've been in church all my life, but have never read the Bible cover to cover. I've probably read the entire Bible, but just in little bits, never methodical.
Until this year.
I've resolved to read every single word of God this year since I've found a translation that I enjoy reading: New Living Translation, full of richness and beauty.

I'm using this pocket size The One Year Bible as my guide. It's small enough that I can carry it in my bag and pick it up when I have a few minutes while the girls are at dance or drama class.

It's broken down by day, with a portion for the Old Testament, a passage from the New Testament, a bit of Psalms and a smidgen of Proverbs...all in one day. So I'm not flipping from here to there and back again to get a full day's reading. It's all right there in one place.

I typically read the OT part in the morning when I wake up and the NT portion at night before going to bed. My well-churched brain was having a hard time flipping from "God created" to "Jesus walked" all in the same 5 minutes, so I decided to break up the readings throughout the day.

I'm not an overly structured individual and have tried to do this many times in the past. But I'm getting too old to make excuses for not reading the Bible. So in a moment of eagerness--and a fear of failure--I started reading this Bible in November. And though I've missed a few days here and there, I'm way ahead of schedule, because once I start to read one passage, I don't want to wait until the next day to finish it. So I keep going.

And I hope that even if you've tried to read the entire Scripture in the past, that you'll continue reading or try again. Because, take it from me, your Sunday School teacher was right: it really is the living, breathing word of God!

Cinderella, Dressed in Yellow...

2009-01-05T07:53:00.001-05:00

We, like half of America, got a Wii for Christmas. The girls like it, their daddy likes it better. But the best gift of all seems to be our 16 foot jumprope that Santa brought. One girl gets on one end, another hands to other end, and the lucky third one gets to sail up the ceiling of our back porch.

I'm the lucky mom in that I get to share part of my childhood with my girls. When I was their age, I loved to jumprope! I loved to repeat the rhymes of the day and jump and skip and hop along my merry way. Now my kids get to do it themselves.

But jumping with a long rope didn't come easy. I'll spare you the pictures, but I had to demonstrate how to jump. Now an easy feat for a 30-something mom who hasn't jumped in 15+ years. But it got the job done and the girls entertain and exercise themselves with "Cinderella, dressed in yellow" and "Johnny by the ocean, Johnny by the sea" for lengths of time.

We've also found it to be a great way to practice spelling words, memory verses, science and math facts. You name it, you can jump to it!

Sunday Nights

2009-01-04T19:42:00.001-05:00

I love our Sunday nights! We only have family time. We don't participate in any outside structured activies, including church (*gasp*), it's only family togetherness for us on Sunday nights.

This evening Matt sat down with Kenna to help her paint her horse. This was his gift to her for Christmas--daddy/daughter time, just the two of them.

Micah and I played trains. (I just love my baby boy!)

And Mabes and Cayli Mario-carted all over the imaginary worlds. I'm not a gamer, but these kids are quickly becoming serious about their Wii.

It's nice to have a family of even numbers. Everyone has a pair and everyone is occupied together. It makes for a nice, quiet, homey Sunday evening--all in preparation for the craziness of Mondays!

Enjoy the last few minutes of your weekend!

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T10:07:00.001-05:00

Welcome '09!

Ever noticed how fireworks also represent life with little kids? A whirlwind of motion with lots of bursts of excitment? Yep, that's my four livewires!

Passing the time...

2008-12-24T16:00:00.001-05:00

While we wait for the big fat guy in red, the girls and I have been crocheting. It's actually our favorite winter sport. We don't get any snow and the weather has been unseasonably warm (hovering in the 70s) for the past few weeks, so we have to make winter wear to feel wintery.

So far I've made scarves for the girls, and this one is my favorite. It's the Botswana flag for Kenna. She loves that particular African country and now has something to show everyone. Santa will bring her a few more African articles, but this one will suffice while she waits.

Silent Night

2008-12-21T17:20:00.002-05:00

May your Christmas be merry and bright...and peaceful. :)

Our pioneer Christmas

2008-12-15T09:26:00.000-05:00

Last year, amist all the lavish gifts and crumpled wrapping paper, I declared this year to be a Little House Christmas. I told them that they would only receive what would fit into their stockings--just like Mary and Laura.

This year they reminded me of what I said, except they wanted a tree just like the Ingalls may have had.

So we picked a tree from the woods (okay, really it come from Lowes, but that's near the woods of our house...) and strung some popcorn

with cranberries (that could have come from our backyard, if we had any).

The girls enjoyed this project so much that they even helped clean up. Mabry even asked if she could do it again because it made her "behave," she said.

I think I'd behave too if Santa was coming next week. :)

If you have to stay home from church,

2008-12-07T19:43:00.001-05:00

you might as well make marshmallows.

And if you're the sick girl with pink eye, you get to pick the color and the shape. In my crazy Christmas mind, I thought we'd do green Christmas trees. But, nope...she wanted pink hearts.

(Anyone else have "yellow moons, orange stars, green clovers and blue diamonds" randomly repeating in your head?)

Pieces of Pennsylvania

2008-12-05T09:31:00.003-05:00

(This post is a bit late; the presentation happend over 3 weeks ago. But hey, what's a mom to do when she's got sick kids? So far we've passed around general nastiness and pink eye. We've avoided the stomach virus, but have visited the doctor more times in the past two week than in the past two years.)

For our co-op on the 50 states, we presented Pennsylvania. Kenna was a red crayon in honor of the Crayola Factory in the upper part of the Keystone State.

Kissable Mabes told about the Hershey factory and how chocolate is made. I think the girls would really like to move there forever.

Behind her is our poster. Everytime they presented some information, they would lift up a blue flap to show a picture on a red background. The turned the entire state into an American Flag a la Betsy Ross...

Cayli Grace's hero! CG was able to share Betsy trivia and facts about American Revolution, much of which started in Philly.

Then we all cut out Betsy's famed 5-pointed stars. When George Washington approached Besty to sew our first flag, he suggested 6 points on each star because they were easier to cut out of fabric. Betsy, creatively knowing better, showed him a 5-pointed one, with a few fold and a snip. The rest is history.

Excuse us as we withdraw from civilizaton...

2008-12-01T19:28:00.001-05:00

and empty these containers:

I truly believe that for every trip to Walmart, a virus finds a new home. We must have loaded up on the common crud last week, because it's been never-ending since Friday. And this virus is especially family friendly, jumping from kid to kid (which explains why my sedated girls played 6 hours of monopoly yesterday). Hopefully we'll be our jolly selves in time for the Christmas pageant next week.

6.5 hours

2008-11-30T18:40:00.002-05:00

For all of the afternoon and most of the evening, my can't-focus-on-anything kids played Monopoly with their daddy. They sat calmly in their seats, bought and sold, counted their money, negotiated, made change, sat still some more, assessed probability, made educated guess-timates, played banker, continued to sit still (even while in jail) and loved every minute of it.

I think this should count for an entire week's worth of math! I can't get this much cooperation on any school day.

FWIW, Cayli Grace claims victory, but in reality, Mabry and Cayli tied (but after 6.5 long, tiring hours, we let CG think she won!).

So I took a blog break...

2008-11-28T11:21:00.007-05:00

Want to know why?

It's all his fault:

This michief maker keeps me hopping. I have no time to do anything other than chase this little devil around and around and around and....whew! I'm dizzy!

He hates toys. So please don't bother with any for Christmas. He'd much prefer to swish my hairbrush in the toilet, try to pry the protective covers so that pencils with stick in the electric outlets, throw handfuls of dog food/giggle/throw more and mess with my computer so that sometimes it sleeps, sometimes it types in a funny font and sometimes it just crashes. Then he giggles more.

And that in the first two minutes he's out of ~~the starting gate~~ his crib.

He can't open doors but he takes full advantage of the fact that his sisters can't close them. And if he gets outside, I get plenty of exercise chasing after him. Oh, if you see him walking down the road, please bring him home.

Love my boy, but don't expect another blog post until he's in college. lol

Actually I've got some great pictures of the girls' Pennsylvania presentation and I hope to get those up sometime this weekend during a naptime; for now, though, I've got to go stop him from propelling all of his blocks into the dog's water dish. Wish me luck. :)

It's raining, it's pouring...

2008-11-15T13:26:00.004-05:00

in the rainforests that is. Rainforests get anywhere from 30-100 feet of rain each year. Makes the miserly 47 inches we get each year seem like only a drop. Though yesterday we finished up our study as a record-breaking 2 inches of rain fell from the sky during the day. And since it was fiercely thundering as the rain began pelting the earth, the kids were up before the roosters. So we jumped into our final day of rainforest study by making chocolate.

Chocolate pods are native to the rainforests. You break open one to find the beans:

You crush the beans, add some sugar and cocoa butter a la Milton Hershey (who perfected the process for chocolate-happy Americans) and viola! you've got chocolate:

Very enjoyable, rich, smooth tasty chocolate...until Micah gets a hold of it. :)
Did you know that the aztecs enjoyed hot chocolate? Of course theirs was crushed cacao beans mixed with water and hot peppers! So glad Mr. Hershey left out the spices...or chocolate would be worthless bribe for my kids. ;)

Uplifting words

2008-11-12T23:40:00.002-05:00

My nature artists designed a sign just for me...on a day that wasn't necessarily going as planned and was going downhill fast:
But the girls redeemed the day with 3 simple words and a heart. I love it when they love me!

Micah is now 17 months, 11 days...

2008-11-09T14:34:00.000-05:00

A trivial young age for sure, but very tender to my mommy heart. For it was the exact age that my sweet, sweet oldest darling, Cayli Grace, was the day her sisters were born. For the most part, I remember every aspect of Cayli Grace's life up until the moment Mabes and Kenna were born. But then my happy-go-luck life became a collection of mundane, rigorous, frazzled-mommy schedules. I remember nothing from those early years. I can look at pictures to put together pieces of our family's adventures, but I really don't have any warm-fuzzy recollections of life with three less than 18 months apart.

And that's why Micah, our surprise baby, is such a refreshing blessing. I cherish each step and word and laugh. Even the messes...I love them all! Even though he's baby number four, it's really like the first time I've experienced it.

God Bless America

2008-11-08T08:54:00.000-05:00

Don't you love a kid's version of patriotic pride?

Our patriotic fieldtrip

2008-11-04T15:36:00.001-05:00

to the polls so that the girls could collectively tell me how to cast my vote. Who knew 7-8 year olds could be so opinionated?

I bribed the kids with Sonic slushes. I brought book and paper and pencils. I was prepared for a lengthy line. Four years ago I waited over 2 hours to vote and was expecting the same this year, but with rowdy kids in tow. I was anxious about the anticipated wait, but 36 minutes later, I was surprised that the cup of cheerios (but not the Dr. Pepper) lasted longer than our wait.

We'll be finishing up our election study this evening as we plod through the election returns. Such an historic election should provide some great entertainment. :)

Leaves

2008-10-30T12:55:00.004-04:00

Months ago I purchased the FIAR Fall Nature Study and oh, how we are enjoying it! We haven't done every activity, so we have plenty to look forward to when Fall '09 frosts our window.

My country girls love nature anyway and constantly challenge me to delight in the simple pleasures of the seasons: the changing colors, the creepy crawlies, the simple sounds.

One tiny sentence in this nature study inspired some beautiful creations from my kids: Make a rubbing of the bark or a plaster cast of the leaves. We've been doing leaf and bark rubbings since the girls could hold a crayon, so we opted for a bit of variety. And I just happened to have a box of plaster of paris hiding in my craft cabinet waiting for a project such as this.

While they were out gathering leaves, I removed the top of their pencil boxes, lined them with wax paper and poured in the plaster (after following the mixing directions on the back of the container).

They set the leaves in the plaster and rubbed them until we were sure that the leaf pattern was set. After it dried just a bit, we used a knife to loosen and lift the leaf.

The leaves made a nice permanent imprint. Honestly I'm not real sure that this is a true leaf "cast," but it's what happens when I find usual craft supplies laying around and decide to wing a project.

A few days later, the girls were admiring the miracle of plaster, a decided it need a little color. I didn't have any watercolors to give it a soft finish, but I did have some tempera paint. Viola! A remarkable memory of fall:

Even the broken corners add to its charm.

I even think the color choices of the girls reflect each child's personality. But that's another post for another time.

Who knew that stopping to enjoy a fall day would lead to such artistic renderings? Imagine what you can do with your family with the simple nature around you!

Election study

2008-10-28T21:18:00.001-04:00

It's that time you know. Finally one week left in all this blah, blah, blah jargon. So we're doing a basic study this week so that my kids know what's really going on when we hit the polls next Tuesday.

I started by downloading a fold-n-learn from FIAR. This resource comes complete with info, graphics and ideas to further study this topic.

We used construction paper to put together a file folder of sorts and then made a flip-up section to divide the candidates.

Tomorrow we plan on adding a section on the inside about the history of voting, including women's right to vote. I'm in the process of printing off a basic bio of each candidate so that kids will know a little bit of each man's resume. Next Tuesday we'll color in each state's election returns, just like the big newsrooms do. We'll also spend some time praying for the outcome of this election.

During this mini-unit, the book So You Want to Be President? has been a great humerous overview of all the presidents. It's truly a must-read! (Did you know that Roosevelt's kids brought a horse into the White House elevator?)

If you've got any other ideas, I'd love to hear them. Leave a comment or shoot me an email. I'm sure my kids would enjoy someone else's fun ideas! You know it's so much easier to teach my kids when they think another mom come up with the project. ;)

Skipped the church's fall festival...

2008-10-26T19:22:00.003-04:00

and carved a family pumpkin and roasted its seeds instead.

This week has been one of our crazier ones. But we're comfy cosy at home this evening, enjoying each other. We're also listening to Casting Crowns' new Christmas CD. Fall time is great...but Christmas is right around the corner! Yeah!

Harvest Hope Food Bank

2008-10-23T12:58:00.007-04:00

The girls group from church toured the Harvest Hope Food Bank yesterday evening. We were met in the parking lot by friendly Sam, the Can Man.We brought with us many canned goods that we collected during the month. All of our food weighed 172 lbs. This is enough food to feed 2 people for 2 weeks each.

The goal of Harvest Hope is to give each person who uses their services 87 lbs of food. That amount should get them through 2 weeks. With government food stamps, they will have enough money to buy food for the other 2 weeks of the month. These tough economic times have seen an increase of 12 extra people per day using their services. Currently this agency is serving more per day than at any time in the past, including holidays.

To fulfill the need of the community, Harvest Hope takes donations from grocery stores and private citizens. With the holidays approaching, many places are hosting food drives. The food collected is then sorted and organized so that emergency bags can be given to hungry people.

One thing our family would like to do is volunteer to sort or stuff bags. And with the extra people really needing food, they sure can use donations and hands to help.

Cayli has been begging to help, so I think we'll since we found out last night that they'll let 8 year olds join their team. Of course I think my girls secretly want to learn to drive the forklift that organizes bundles for food onto these high shelves.

Lizard Lover

2008-10-16T15:56:00.008-04:00

I think fall is one of my girls' favorite time of the year because they get to be "friends" with tiny green creatures. Mabry also think these pets also make fashionable hair accessories, too.

During this season we'll collect a fair share of lizards, praying mantises and other creatures that unsuspectedly get caught in my girls' mesh houses.

Kenna went out the other day armed with two ladybug lockets and a bug watch. Poor bugs.

Queen Cayli, however, seems to relish the beauty of fall and was quite content to leave the lizard-catching to her sisters.

One of their assignments this week was to photograph fall colors. Sadly in our area, it's either still very green or red. We do have a little yellow but not a whole lot in between the fall spectrum of colors.

Speaking of vibrant colors...fall brings the state fair at this time of the year. We had fun!

And remember this ugly guy? It's a nasty wheel bug. I've never seen one before and hope I never see another one. Apparently its bite is painful.
Many thanks to my cyber friends who helped me identify this little fellow. Some fellow homeschooling moms also suggested two more sites to our growing list of online bug guides:
Bug Guide
Insect Identification

So, what's your favorite fall activity?

The uglier, the better

2008-10-14T05:51:00.001-04:00

So, what do you think this thing is? Other than ugggggglllyyyy, that is. You'd think that since I've lived in the country for 4 years now and even graduated from a pretigious country highschool, I would know the precise names of 2-inch-long, 6-legged (so we know it's not a spider), red antennaed, brown and ugly bugs.

But I don't and my fascinated children are on a search. We caught the uglyness and put it into our classy bug condo (gotta love recycled spaghetti sauce jars!) and Kenna proceeded to investigate with a magnifying glass.
While Mabry was looking through a few bug ID guides I asked Kenna what the bug was doing. And she said it was acting like this:
Her drama coach would be proud!

Since eNature and I have come up short on names, do you have an idea of what this thing is?

Chore Chart

2008-10-13T10:50:00.003-04:00

With dirt-loving, mess-making kids, chores are a necessary evil for our family. Knowing that my kids like checklists and I prefer not to sound like a broken record day after day, I printed off a custom made list from this site. I picked a picture for the top and then typed their name and personalized to-do list, stuck on the fridge and viola! my house is clean.

I kept their lists basic: make your bed, clean your room, unload the dishwasher, fold laundry...But I also added an extra space: Ask Mom. Everyday they have to ask me for something else to do. My list for them is 2-3 miles long, for it includes things like: clean out the car, wash windows, sort laundry, help in the kitchen, etc. Just stuff that doesn't have to be done everyday, but needs to be done when I think about it.

So far, so good. We're on day 4 and they are still checking away. How long do you think this will last?

Week in review

2008-10-10T10:02:00.002-04:00

Those pesky, mudane but mandatory 3Rs consumed most of our week. But we found some time some explore the life of Helen Keller using our senses of touch and smell. The library has a shelf of embossed picture book with the words in written text and braille. The girls enjoyed feeling their way through a book about an airplane flying through the clouds.

Later in the week I cooked a few sausages, put them on the table and blindfolded the girls. One by one they tried to find their food. Not an easy task using only your sniffer.

We also enjoy another poetry party, using our teapot filled with milk for dipping brownies! Yummy! Brownies just seem to go better with the magical poems of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Up into the cherry tree
Who should climb but little me?
I held the trunk with both my hands
And looked abroad on foreign lands...

...To where the roads on either hand
Lead onward into fairy land,
Where all the children dine at five,
And all the playthings come alive.

Grab your kids and enjoy a poetry party! Milk, brownies and Stevenson's poems proved to be a delicious memory to help earse the day-to-day duldrums of necessary schoolwork.

All good things must end...

2008-10-06T09:17:00.000-04:00

This is the stuff childhood memories are made of, so I froze this moment in time, as Matthew reads the last page of the last chapter of the last book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. He's been reading the to girls regularly over the past six months as they made their way through all seven books of Narnia, further up and further in.

What are you reading to your kids?