Melissa's Ramblings

Montessori Training Videos

2012-02-12T22:37:00.000-08:00

I use Montessori for my little ones. I had watched many videos by Margaret Humphrey, but then I lost her name and link. I found it again and am reviewing her video on binomial cubes as we are beginning algebra, it is rather neat, but I am not yet sure how it exactly applies to the little ones work nor the big ones. Her videos are here http://homepage.mac.com/montessoriworld/mwei/Course1/VideoCourse1/The_Course.html.

My Day

2011-11-10T22:04:00.001-08:00

Dare I admit that my schedule is sometimes far from ideal? Ok, here goes. My ideal is to follow a nice simple rhythm (I gave up on schedules a few years back, rhythms are so much nicer). The day started as normal-I wake, yoga for 15 minutes (yep, that's it these days, but at least some exercise is still in there), read scriptures with notebook and pen, pray, make my husbands lunch and that was as far as I got in the normal routine of things. It was one of those rare days where I actually had to leave all of my kids for most of the day. I dressed and prepped for work, while hugging a child, who just needed a cuddle time that I could not do sitting, so carry, walk, hug, kiss, sit down, while I slip into clothes, pick up, hug, kiss, sit child half on counter with one arm around him while I do my make up with the other... As I served oatmeal and gave final instruction to the older kids I knew my daughter needed an I appreciate you day and while it couldn't be today, I made a mental note.

Then I was gone, off to a learning record appointment and then to meet an advisor and other educational specialists to discuss student portfolios, complicated high school transcripts, BTSA requirements and new laws that may or may not affect our school. What were my children doing? Well, my two workbook loving children were working through workbooks, one child was writing an essay on justice and mercy and how it relates to "The Merchant of Venice," and one was doing Brain Pop, watching videos about the brain, brushing teeth, and the earth's crust. Milly was waiting for her aunt. By 9:30 the oldest two were off to a Shakespeare co-op, and the younger four were off to cousins to play. Then friends returned them home and three left for PE at the park where they stretched and did a soccer scrimmage working on skills they previously had learned.

At six we were all back together, only for me to take the three older ones to see a play their cousin was in about the rock cycle. By seven we were home again and I was hugging and tickling Milly, while listening to Logan read. Kamron was reading his science text, and Aubrey was reading. Then Brennen and Logan and I decided to hang up skip counting charts in the bathroom so they could practice while brushing teeth-online search, print, done. Brennen got work sheets on the rock cycle, we then watched videos on the rock cycle, learned a song, pulled out a rock collection named them, pulled out loose rocks and looked at which could float and which sink. Then it was story time and we reviewed the card on red-winged blackbirds, sang nursery rhyme songs, read a chapter from the Charlotte Mason Geography book, then the story of Saint Augustine and his mother all while cuddling little ones on my lap. After prayers I tucked them in with audio books and said good night. An ideal day? No, a decent day? Yes, as long as I am not away from them that much that often. And that is true life in this homeschooling household juggling two full time jobs, six kids, and 11 weekly extra curricular/outside classes.

Youth and Youth Leaders

2011-07-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

I am feeling so blessed by those in my ward and stake. Because I often feel so much of the weight in raising my wonderful children to have values, love God and want to serve others, I am so grateful to have other older children and adults who really want to help them be great people.
Kamron was interviewed for Boy Scouts by three of his leaders two weeks ago. I got to sit with him as the leaders each bore their testimonies of the gospel and what makes a great man and that while learning to camp, shoot, climb and meet any emergency situation they are really learning to be men who help and step up when it is time to serve the Lord. One of the men called his older son in and he also explained how what he was learning in scouts was helping him to make good decisions.
Kamron went to Boy Scout camp and had a great time. He failed his swim test the first time in the ice run off water. The next day he tried again and passed it. Then he got to take a rowing class, where he learned to swamp a boat and then get out of it. He was the only boy in his troop who passed his rifle shooting badge. He had to shoot 3 times into a target the size of a quarter, five times. He also learned to paint and take care of painting supplies. He also passed off his woodcarving badge. He rubbed shoulders with funny and fun kids and got along with everyone. He loved it.
This last week Kamron also went on a pioneer trek, where he helped push a handcart 18 miles over part of the Mormon Trail. He came home so uplifted. At church today his trail “Grandpa” Brother Rogers spoke. He talked about Kamron, who was the youngest in their family of 13. He said Kamron was the cutest kid with his hat too large, pioneer outfit, and pants that ended in puffs of dirt where his shoes should have been. He said the big boys were pulling the large cart up a rocky hill and he and a couple of others were pushing when suddenly he felt the cart get lighter and he looked down to see Kamron pushing with both his hands and everything he had. He said, "right then I thought here is a boy that is going to be a great missionary, a great dad, a great husband, a great young men’s leader, primary teacher and bishop. Here is a young man that without being asked is going to give everything he has to help others." Of course, as a mom, hearing this from one of the great men in our ward, as his story of how great this trek was, tears came to my eyes and it was one of those moments when everything I’ve ever put into this child was bearing glorious fruit, because I have a boy who doesn’t shirk but steps up and helps. Could there be anything greater? His sister leaned over to me and said, “I am so proud of Kamron and I want to be like that too.” Kamron told me when we got home that on the trip he had borne his testimony for the first time and said he talked about how important it is to be kind and do right, because everywhere you go people are watching you. He said after what Brother Roger's said he really knows people are watching him and it makes him want to do right.
I am so grateful for others who care about my kids and provide experiences that challenge them and help them to grow. And I am grateful for long conversations with these kids that help me to help them to see a vision of who they can be, how and why. I am also grateful that they talk to each other and encourage things that are good in the heart-to-hearts I overhear. I am living my deepest desire and I am sure blessed to be their mama.

Today

2011-06-28T13:43:00.000-07:00

Today, we hung bells and let the fairies know they were welcome in our yard.

Aubrey built a fairy house and planned to spend the entire day outside, except for when she came in to make brownies and collect donuts (cheerios) for the fairies.

Brennen made two small houses.

Logan and I made a snail out of beeswax and a snail shell.

Then a giant game of building houses overtook the whole yard.

Summer Project

2011-06-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

One of our summer projects this year is to walk all of the trails in our city. Because a creek system sprawls through it, there are a lot of trails. We drive to where we left off last time walk a mile of two and then walk back to pick it up at the end of where we walked previously. A lot of the trails run into parks and then we stop and play. We are trying to go really early in the morning, taking picnic breakfasts, so that if we spend three hours out we are still out before it gets too hot. The children have caught fish and taken them home to put in our kiddie pool to watch before releasing them again. They have also caught a snake, which took the place of the lizard we just let go. We also saw a beaver leave its den and return. Such fun rambling summer days.

Monterey

2011-06-28T13:25:00.000-07:00

Kevin and I went to Monterey for two days. We were supposed to be gone four, but our poor baby caught pneumonia and we came home early. We had fund though. We walked on the shore for a couple hours the first night and saw little, dark dolphins for over an hour, jumping and playing. They looked like they were herding fish with birds following them and diving into the center of their circle. At one point one came within 20 feet from shore. It was so awesome.

County Fair

2011-06-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

We went the first day when it was almost empty. It was great. I really want to have my children enter something next year. Four of the kids did the tractor pull. When Seth went he was soo excited. Everyone laughed and said that is what it is all about.

How to Get Kids to Clean the Car

2011-06-02T22:20:00.000-07:00

This time I had no complaints, because I bribed with a secret project-hidden crayon rubbings. They loved finding the hidden objects.

Camping

2011-06-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law came out from Georgia the beginning of May and stayed for three weeks with her little one, Braden. We went camping at Folsom Lake, which is only a half hour from home. S'mores were delicious. The most precious was that Milly was scared and wanted to sleep on me with her arms wrapped tightly around my neck. I didn't get much sleep, but it is worth it just to hug that precious girl for hours on end.

Memorial Trip to the Beach

2011-06-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

We have decided to start summer with a bang around here. My sister and her husband and their 5 little ones stayed with us for a week. We went to the beach on the most perfect day.

The water was cold, but the sand and air were warm. Jenna and Seth played and ran in the waves and then made sand angels, then would act surprised to see themselves covered with sand and they would then jump in the water only to repeat it all over again as a great game.

Here I am being mother hen and calling my little ones, plus a half dozen and more cousins to stay together where I could watch them better.

Milly was very scared of both the sand and the water. She sat on my lap, Nanny's lap or Aunt Helen's lap or held in arms the entire seven hours. Helen got her to touch the sand with a big toe a few times, but she wanted nothing to do with standing on it.

Helen and I.

There was a lot of buried treasures in the sand.

Brennen and Andrew caught sand crabs.

All of the children played in the sand for hours. I didn't get many pictures of them in the waves, but the older ones were up to their chest for a couple hours also. This was the perfect beach day--so fun.

Encouraging Moms of Many

2011-05-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

I got a question about how to homeschool with many children. While I wrote a post here http://melissacalapp.blogspot.com/2010/04/homeschooling-many-children.html about it I thought I'd add a few things.

Everything has a season. We all know this. We know that when we are pregnant and the oldest children are still just becoming helpful everything is not going to be as smooth as we like. But some times this does not help when we are in the midst of it all, because we really want it to be smooth! When we find ourselves here I think we need to do two things, smooth out what we can and redefine smooth.

To make things smoother we need to go back to the management side of things. Set a calm schedule with extra time in it-delete some things from the schedule. Add those things in which are really important. Switch over to learning modes which allow the kids to learn independently most of the time. Train the most important aspects of behavior. Set up realistic chores systems and basic meal plans. Purge belongings in each room. And set up realistic help when possible. All of these are topics in their own right and perhaps I will get to them soon.

The second area is one I keep having to remind my husband and myself of-when we have a houseful of little ones the expectations can't be as high as they would otherwise be. It is okay if the house is not spotless and our son does not finish his logic program. It is okay to eat hot dogs for dinner. It is okay if all the little girls don't have bows in their hair and the boys are wearing mismatched socks. Of course these things aren't preferred but there are seasons and sometimes whole lives lived in less than ideal conditions and joy is still present, the gospel lived and service and love is still given. We have to realize that what makes life smooth and that what creates peace and joy and passes the greatest things possible on to our children is not always having every detail perfect, it is instead in our attitudes and the general atmospheres that we give off.

I'm not perfect at any of this, my kids aren't perfect, but we are growing and we do find delight in the process. Creating home centered families is worth the work and the less than ideal situations we find ourselves in.

Online Classes

2011-05-09T12:14:00.001-07:00

For work I have been comparing online classes and I thought I'd share for anyone interested in this type of schooling for their kids. These prices are not all accurate for those not in our charter school, but for they give a good starting place.

http://www.k12.com/
k-8 grade (working on 9-12 grade license) $175 per course per semester
Each course includes
a. Online access for 10 months
b. Standard materials and printed Student Pages and Teacher Pages when
applicable
c. OLS—Online Learning System

http://www.learningsprings.com/
4-12 grade $130 for all courses, minus foreign language per year
$85 for one course
Parent grades against answer document. Parent grades essay answers with less guidance.
Tutorials, text reading, quizzes, assessments. Can get teacher grading for $200 more per course and the teacher will do all of the grading for that course.

http://www.time4learning.com/
k-5 grade $25 per month for full access
Offer complete online curriculum in Language Arts, Math K-8, Art, Science & Social Studies. Automated portfolio, teachers guides & answer keys. Parent does grading. Email and phone support with system. (in Fort Lauderdale, FL)

http://www.apexlearning.com
$360 per year for full year license.
Has a-g tracks (University bound students)
Parent uses rubrics and answer guides to grade
Must purchase required course materials separately-much lower price than on website-description here http://www.sscs.cc/Newsletters/SSnews1210.pdf

http://ce.byu.edu/is/site/
6-12 grades About $126 per one semester course
Some a-g courses. Graded by teacher, online real time discussions in some parts. Some finals given by ES.

http://www.advancedacademics.com
6-12 grades. $150 or more per semester course.
Online teacher, graded by teacher.

http://www.wacademy.org/
9-12 grades $100 to $150 per recorded class or $200 to $250 per live class.
Williamsburg Academy, Scholar Phase classes, classical book discussion method. School gives assignments and kids study independently then get together for virtual video based classes and to turn in assignments. Graded by teacher.

https://www.ndcde.org/Home.aspx
6-12 grades. Between $220 and $290 per semester class.
Teacher evaluates and grade student work.

http://www.globalstudentnetwork.com/
2-12 grades. $625 per full year of unlimited courses for first student $525 for additional students.
Can use audio component for courses to be read to students. Videos to enhance lessons. Pulls from other websites when they are appropriate to the content being studied. Parents given answer keys to grade student work.

http://www.sascurriculumpathways.com/portal/
Free. Trying to get more info on this. Looks promising.

Subject specific

http://www.time4writing.com
2-12 grade. $99 per course.
Subject specific writing classes. Graded and coached by teacher.

http://www.writehomestudio.com
3-12 grades. $75 for first month. $95 for 3 months after.
This is one on one coaching by published writers in various aspects of writing, including SAT prep and other writing tests.

http://www.studyisland.com/
2-12 grades. $25 per year.
State specific test prep, CASHEE prep material. Quizzes, reviews. Automatic grading by computer. This vendor also has reading comprehension material using graphic novels etc. for an additional fee.

http://readingeggs.com/
3 years to 7 years. $50 for 6 months, $65 for a year.
This is a guided interactive phonics program with plenty of review built in. The kids work through learning paths to build their skills. My son loves this. Evaluated by program.

http://www.writeathome.com
6-12th grade. $427 per year for complete language arts class.
Students are given instruction and assignments with a due date a week later. The assignments are graded by the teacher and new assignments are given.

http://sciencecastle.com/sc/index.php/home/index
k-12th grade science classes.
You get a membership for $6 then buy science kits according to subject then watch videos of a teacher walking through the kit and explaining it.

www.aleks.com
3-12 grades. $40 for 1 full year.
This is an online math program that assesses students and only teaches them what they don’t already know. It reteaches until areas are mastered. It has a drill component where students can unlock games. Students can move up or down a grade level very easily. Computer does all the grading.

www.ascendmath.com
3-10 grades. $60 for 1 full year
Online video based lessons. Students use a study guide, watch a video, practice, review and take an assessment that is graded by the computer. Focus on comprehension. Not full years course in the younger graders.

Supplementary

www.brainpop.com
3-10 grade $99 per year. K-3 grade Brainpopjr $125 per year.
Fun animated videos on almost many areas, including science and history. Students can then take quizzes on the videos.

www.discoveryeducation.com
k-12 grade videos on all subject areas. $265 per year.
Thousands and thousands of videos. Has some series that can make up full instruction for a class. Some lesson plans to go with them. Also library of articles and pictures. Multiple ways of searching to find videos.

http://www.learn360.com/index.aspx
k-12 grade videos in all subject areas.$100 per year.
8000 videos including A&E, history channel etc. Also audio clips of speeches. Multiple ways of searching.

Being Busy

2011-05-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

Melissa means honey bee, did you know that? Honey bees are busy workers in a state of constant activity. I have been well named. I have been in a state of constant activity since I went back to school five years ago, telling myself when I was done it would slow down. Then I got a job. After I learned the ropes I'm sure it will be less busy. Then I got a house. When the house is finally organized I will be less busy, I said. So I took the spring break week off and didn't do work-work, mostly. I organized my house. It is almost there, really it is. So when school is out for the year and I have the final report cards in I will be less busy...no, no, no!
I want to live the life I've always wanted right now, starting today, not in three weeks. So today I was not too busy to make and have milk and cookies with my kids. I was not too busy to have family home evening and sing all four verses to the hymn my four-year-old chose. I was not too busy to begin a 1000 piece puzzle with my son. And I was not too busy to read "Anne of Green Gables," to six children and listen to their delighted cries as they met Anne and listened to her talk most of the eight miles to her new home. I was not too busy and it felt great-and I still have an hour and a half until midnight to get my work reports done=).

The Lady of Shalot

2011-04-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

I love a good discussion don't you? I also am beginning to value a sad tale. My children and I are studying paintings by John William Waterhouse. Our Second one was "The Lady of Shalott." After the children memorized it and told it back to me they wanted to know the story. As I didn't know it I couldn't tell them. Kamron said it reminded him in a scene in Anne of Green Gables. It is the same story they were acting out in that movie I said, but they didn't really explain it there either. We looked at the painting a few more nights. I tried to pull out a new painting but the protests at leaving this painting were so large I had to find the poem by Tennyson so they could know what it was all about. We read it and the Sparks notes verse by verse. They were fascinated, but saddened at the death of the lady simply because she looked up at Sir Lancelot and then when he sees her all he can say is well she was a pretty lady. We then talked about some of the analogies that others have found in this poem (leaving ones art to join the world even a little will ruin you etc.). We talked about the effect of the poem and painting if it had been a young man or a knight and not a lady, and my daughter protested at the sadness of it all. Yet, I found that I think there is value in not always reading stories to my children with happy endings.

Kid Funnies

2010-11-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

At dinner someone said “Don’t scream you head off.” Seth, 3, replied, “Yeah, cause then you couldn’t see.”

Kamron, 12, wrote a formal essay for his Key of Liberty class and ended it “in Jesus’ name amen.”

Seth screams chasing other kids, “I’m going to get you. I’m the paparazzi!”

“How old are you?”
Seth replied, “I’m three and five. I’m mixed.”

Our black nameless cat brought in his 12th mouse since moving here, and laid it in front of our bedroom door. Our little Siamese cat, Surrey, then came up carrying a moth and laid it next to the mouse and then looked up proudly. Aaah… let each contribute what he can.

We quizzed the younger kids on body parts. Seth said, “You didn’t ask where is my brain.” So I asked, “Where is your brain?” “It’s in my head.” Then he ran around jumping and shouting, “Don’t shake my brain! Don’t shake my brain!” This is the real reason human babies aren’t born mobile; if they were they’d all give themselves shaken baby syndrome.

I bought Eggnog this week. Sethie opened the fridge and his eyes grew big and he says, “Look Mom, there is Christmas in here.”

Our home teacher lives not too far from us and asked us if we could hear him yelling at his kids. Kamron replied very politely, “Oh no, we can’t hear you. We are too busy yelling at each other.”

Aubrey, 10 yrs. says to Millie 8 months, “Say dada.” Millie says, “dadada.” “Say mama,” “Mamamama.” “Say la, la, la.” Millie, replies in her harshest squawk, “unch, unch, unch.” Aubrey pauses and then says, “Well, I don’t think Millie is going to be a singer.”

Brennen, 7, calls me, “Mom, look we can win America’s Funniest Home Video. There is a headless fly doing ballet on the table!” Sure enough, there was. Umm, gross.

We were trying to find a radio station where the DJ was not swearing or talking about something inappropriate. I finally gave up in frustration and said, “In Utah not all the DJ’s cuss.” Aubrey says, “Yeah, we should move to Utah for the radio stations.”

Beeswax

2010-09-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

I got beeswax awhile ago and tried to use it but found it tricky so I set it aside. Then recently I needed a duck for a story and did not have one so I thought of the wax. My hands bother me sometimes so I was reluctant to try to mold the hard wax, but to my delight as I got going with it it became warm and pliable. Then as children do, my daughter wanted to make something. I think her projects turned out very well.

For a good video on creating with beeswax see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu0MYGZlr48 .

Montessori Work

2010-09-16T23:24:00.000-07:00

Seth has been asking for "activities" lately. My Montessori materials are not all set up yet, but I have a few that he is able to use. Of course when he does them the other children want to also. It is interesting for me to start over again with these activites. Logan worked through them and Seth is only my second to start at the beginning. He has a hard time following them through to completion, but I get to see that focused attention peek out every once in awhile. When he spills beans for his pouring activiy he immediately stops to pick them up. I find the order within the Montessori activities is very enjoyable and calming even for me as I teach them. Now I just need to get everything organized for the rest of them.

End of Summer Adventures

2010-09-16T23:10:00.000-07:00

We went to Fairy Tale town with my sister and mother-in-law. Then for Brennen's birthday he wanted to go to the zoo. He said it was the greatest birthday ever. It was a lot less work than having the 13 boys over to have a nerf gun war for Kamron's birthday, but they also had a blast. Kamron was so excited to have so many of his friends together at one time.

Mother's Are the Heart of the Home

2010-09-06T17:16:00.001-07:00

I know that my position in the home is powerful-I know I am the heart of the home, and sometimes I feel like since this is so my home must be on its deathbed. We are having an unorganizational heart attack currently and I am grumpy, which makes for unhappy children and husband. I wish I could say it was a mild unhappiness, but it is not-I have seen my kids look a little insecure, which is the absolute opposite of what a home should be. But I am going to repent and get organized and learn to pick up my own stuff so that my kids can at least visualize what it is and my section, which is an awfully large part of it, will be clean.

Today I am caught up with all of my work, work and have no appointments until Wednesday. Tonight I am going to fold the mountain of laundry and clean, and tomorrow I am going to create a memory with my children with a nature walk and outside game, making yarn dolls and a mathematical puppet show, because that is the subject that needs the most spark right now. Did I mention that I just had my kids tested? The three older are all above grade level in reading and language arts, two are not doing so hot in math, so we are going to declare Tuesdays math days and pull in puppet and chalk stories, Montessori manipulatives and good old fashioned drill to see if we can get them to understand numbers more intuitively, so that when asked what 2.3 and a half are they would never choose 24, because it simply doesn't make sense.

After all that study, I am going to organize something-not sure what yet. It all needs done, except the kitchen, which was done last week. And while I am doing all of it, I am going to pray and repent and pull those rhythms in to create that structure and security that is non-negotiable for our family to function.

Philosophy of Education

2010-09-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

I travel and work with families who homeschool. One mother asked me what philosophy I follow. Umm, well I pull a lot of my book choices-what I read to the kids, and what I offer them for their own reading-and ideas from Charlotte Mason inspired programs. At one point I was pretty close to a purist with this method. My younger children do a lot of Montessori type things, and some Waldorf. Our handwork is often very Waldorf inspired. Aubrey,10, and Brennen, 7, are going to a Waldorf school one day a week for handwork, wet-on-wet watercolor, spanish and eurythmy and Kamron, 12, is going to a TJed Lemi trained co-op one day a week for Key of Liberty and Shakespeare, very excitedly and all of his own accord I might add-just how the TJed philosophy says he should. So what philosophy do we use? We use what fulfills my goals and my children's goals. I find that many of the philosophies overlap and so I use parts of several of them. For instance, you will find that handwork is a key part of Charlotte Mason, Waldorf and even Montessori. CM and Montessori ask that this work be practical and teach real skills. Waldorf asks that this work fill the need of mastering something difficult and be beautiful and natural. All ask that the hand be trained. The ideas dovetail and work well together. All three teach the skill of attention-just in different ways. They each respect the child as an individual, in what they take from what is offered, so does TJed. Perhaps, this is the philosophy I follow-one of respecting individuality, but with very high expectations. I like to know about all philosophies and help my little ones take whichever parts will best meet their needs.

Wool Birds

2010-08-21T22:28:00.001-07:00

Kamron went to an LDS homeschool youth conference last week. I didn't want to do any lessons in our regular schedule, so he wouldn't miss anything. I thought a poem and fairy tale might be fun for the younger ones as our group lesson. With this we made birds out of wool and then flew them outside. Then the children created a puppet show and told me the story.

Calvert Art Class

2010-08-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

We are really enjoying Calvert's video based art class this year. I like that everything needed is included in the kit. We try to watch and then do a lesson about once a week. We have studied about contour lines and inner lines. We have drown blind self-portraits, line drawings and etchings with ink. This is a really good program for a mixed age group.

Wool Painting

2010-08-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

I am trying a wool painting. Here is where I am so far-

Starting Over With History

2010-08-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

We finished modern history last year and so we are beginning the history cycle over again this year. We are using "Story of the World" and "Children's History of the World" and will pull in "Our Island Story" later for the younger set. The older children and I are reading "The First Two Thousand Years," by Cleon Skousen. These are our spines and then the studies will be fleshed out with atlases, topic specific books, Veritas Press cards, www.discoveryeducation.com videoes, timeline and activities. One of our first activities this year was an archeology dig to answer the question what is one way we learn about ancient civilizations and what can we learn. All the kids had fun with this, even Seth who had no idea why we were scraping a clay block on our table=).

Computer Studies

2010-08-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

Let the dismantling begin.

2010-08-01T21:03:00.000-07:00

When not riding horses, little Millie finds her big brothers' many cars to suck on.

Sometimes this makes her quite sad, after all she is a girl and she is sure that there must be something a little softer to play with.

So her mom uses this pattern http://s93855831.onlinehome.us/knotteddollinstructions.html to sew a little doll.

The next project is a little larger.

Aubrey's Recital

2010-07-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

Aubrey took tap and ballet this last year. Loved it and hated it depending on the day, what the other kids said to her and how often she was corrected by Miss Nancy. It was a good experience for her, but I do not think we will be doing it again.

Photo of new house

2010-07-08T19:33:00.000-07:00

I have been cutting roses twice a week since we moved in.

And here is a photo if the new house.

New Life for an Old Desk

2010-07-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

I inherited my Mom's antique sewing desk. It is built to hold the machine in the whole so the material can be level with the desk when one works. I liked this desk mostly because it was hers. My husband was frustrated with moving it yet again knowing that I rarely sew.

As you can tell it needed work. So I decided to attempt my first furniture redo.

I emptied it and found this cute pattern stuck behind a drawer.

It was my mom's. I love that there is a story to tell there. I also found a scrap of paper in the desk with her signature on it that I will be putting back into it.

Isn't it pretty now.
I sanded, primed and painted twice. I intended to get new handles for it, because after I polished the originals they came out such a shiny brass which I really did not like. Apparently the size of these handles is very rare, none of the local stores carried them and the ones I could find online were ridiculously priced, so I got satin nickel spray paint and went to work. I like them quite well.

The list grows.. and stuff

2010-06-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

If you came to visit and pressed this button last week,
We would have heard one short ding
If you came on Tuesday and pressed ever so lightly
We would have heard an insistent nonstop ring
Today you will find it has been disconnected,
so if you do not knock you may wait on our porch for quit some time undetected.

If you see this notice on a door, you have found our house. Inside you will see this notice-

"A home for everything and everything in its home. We have found ours, our stuff has not.(It doesn’t seem to be looking very hard either, you’d think it was on summer vacation)."

Okay, not really, but it should be there.

Moving is harder on me than it used to be. My husband finds it amusing though, in fact he was doubled over with laughter last night. Why you ask? Well, I turned off the light and ran straight into the wall, fully into it... with a thud. You see, the walls, they are not in the right places. It didn't hurt as much as falling down the stairs, which I did in the daylight. Just call me Grace.

Speaking of summer vacation, we were just talking about that right?, my kids have never had one before. Nope, never. We've always just schooled year round. Not this year. They are in their third week of it. Aubrey and Brennen have learned to love reading for pleasure, both read five books yesterday, but today... Aubrey says, "Mom, my doll is on her horse see."
"Very nice."
"Can I have a banana split?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because you don't like bananas."
Pause... "can I feed Mila mushed bananas?"
"Why?"
"Because, I'm bored."

Welcome to summer vacation. Hope yours is going great, and that your kids get to experience boredom, at least once.

New House

2010-06-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

If my camera was working I would post a picture of a beat up duplex, and then one of a two story, three car garage with a large pine tree out front, a walk and rose bushes and simply say, "Yea!"

Since my camera is not working you will just have to imagine it.

Potty Training

2010-05-14T06:27:00.000-07:00

We are working on potty training Sethie right now. He is a boy that is all present from the moment he wakes until he crashes and he is drawing me into it with this new step for him. If he is excited he is all excitement, if he is sad it is all sadness. So now he is potty training and when he goes he needs that honest to goodness, look me in the eye and be fully aware of my achievement this very minute type of praise and join me in a mouth open, down to your toes clapping session. It's nice to join him in the achievements of one particular moment.

Extracurricular Activities?

2010-05-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

"How do you manage the extracurricular activities?"

We have a hard time deciding this sometimes. We schedule classes and events
based on how much they will impact us, and how interested the children are in it
and whether it fulfills a need. I also limit classes for kids under eight. My
son is in piano and scouts, my daughter is in dance and activity days. All of
these are 4 p.m. and later, but allow us to eat together at 6. They are all
within 10 minutes from my house, and my daughter is picked up and dropped off
for activity days. My daughter would like to do gymnastics, but the classes are
a 20 minute drive, so the answer is no for now. We are moving to the other side
of town in a month, and then she will probably pick up gymnastics and drop
dance. The rec classes are also on the other side of town 5 minutes from our new
house, so we may add in a month long class here and there. My son will continue
piano after he takes two months off for summer-he is making so much progress
with the teacher I am willing to drive across town. He will switch scouts to the
one that is closer to us when we move. We also do a family park meet-up day from
3-5 on Fridays (the Tuesday morning park day for homeschoolers was nixed,
because it is too disruptive to morning academics). We have a gym membership,
which has a pool, kids classes (art, basketball, toddler tumble etc.), and a
rock climbing wall etc. All the children go to this whenever the mood strikes
and time allows. For field trips-we only average about once a month. So
basically an activity needs to

-have minimal driving
-be for 8 yr. olds and older, unless it is a very short run
-be in the late afternoon to evening, to allow time for academics and my work
schedule, but mustn't disrupt dinner time
-I usually need to be able to drop off and come back for most activities, so I
can get other things done (I do tend to come the last two to fifteen minutes of
classes to watch the kids, ask what they've learned or exchange any other info)
-we do allow a very occasional exception, such as a morning play, drawing class,
but never for more than a month

Next year we will be adding ceramics and Spanish classes, but both instructors
will be coming to our house, so impact will be little.

Baby Mila is 3 Months

2010-05-01T22:45:00.001-07:00

Don't you love those dimples?
This is today, 3 months exactly.
You may recognize this dress from one of my projects before she was born.
She's already rolling over.

What a beautiful princess.

Amelia's Blessing

2010-05-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

I have been intending to put pictures of Amelia's Blessing up for awhile, but right afterward my camera's memory card got broken. I finally got some pictures from my mother-in-law.

I had called my sister Starr about three weeks before the blessing to see if she could make the dress. She said she would love to, then called me back that afternoon, said it was done and would be in the mail the next day. I got it two days later. She's amazing. The dress turned out beautiful. I had taken a few close ups of the details on the dress. I will try to retake those soon.

Uncle Dan, Grandpa Guy, Great Grandpa Larson, Dad, Uncle Steve, Bishop Wansguard

Here are the California cousins who were at the blessing.

I figured while I was snaggin pictures from my mother-in-laws camera I would take these ones too.

I love Aubrey's look here.

Girl cousins at the lake.

A Definite Ramble

2010-04-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

My children and I have attended multiple Spring plays for my students. “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Cinderella-Musical,” and “Beauty and the Beast-Musical.” So in my records for all of these fabulous drama students I get to write about blocking, voice projection and improvisation. Hmm, improvisation-now that is totally a skill I use as a Mom. My little boy was rather, snotty, poopie and tooth pastie last night, which warranted a full on scrub down in the bath. This of course made him howl. I had to pull out my improvisation hat and since I had just been singing about not wanting to dig through the laundry mountain to find the above mentioned boy something to wear I was sure a musical diversion was in order. And out came a musical story, complete with actions, of me cutting down a tree only to sadden a squirrel who had lived there and then a poor mouse who moved into my house and shared cheese with me. It was a fabulous performance let me tell you, or at least it would have been if I knew how to sing, but anyway it did the job and cheered the poor bath afflicted boy right up. Yes, yes we must teach our daughters to properly care for their future homes, clean, cook, love them babies (you all should have seen my son trying to calm Amelia down while I made lunch, poor little man his eyes glazed into that somebody-come-rescue-me look) and how to improvise musical scores on the spot to divert their poor sad little ones.

On another note Aubrey gave us a musical performance for our extended family home evening last Sunday. She has memorized two songs from “Wicked,” and sang them beautifully. I was quite pleased with pleasure at listening to her. Why, I do believe she can actually sing. Who would have ever thought I would have musical offspring, of course none of it comes from me. Kamron was explaining majors and minors to me yesterday and then singing “I’m Going for a Ride In the Car,” in two different ways so that I would get it. Poor child, he actually thinks I understand what he’s talking about. He even still asks me for help with his piano homework-I’m afraid all I can do is stare blankly at him and offer to look it up on the internet.

On another other note I only had five kids with me two days ago (once that was a lot, but I’ve got big kids now so it’s a snap), so I decided to go grocery shopping. We drive through town and pull into a spot. Sethie (3) says, in his animated way, “Mom, you’re alive!” pause, “Good driving.”

Well, the laundry mountain is still there and I just found out I have a stack of paperwork to fill out, so Kamron can go camping at the air force base with his scout troop. Oh, and I have a notice sitting in my work email (4 learning records-late, ccd to my advisor), umm, I’m working on that. Double date tonight for date night with Kevin’s folks, town parade tomorrow, escrow loan papers to do (did I mention we’re in escrow?). Really, I am going to get my work done, at some point… or we could all just continue to dig for things to wear—who needs dressers after all?

Clutter Question

2010-04-14T23:56:00.001-07:00

"When you are able, I would love some great advice on fitting a familyinto small spaces. The clutter is sometimes a little too much around here."

Let's see, my best advice is to get rid of everything you can, then keep everything in the garage that you are not using in the next three months. I put kids toys, clothes (including mine), school supplies, books-everything out there, so that I am not constantly running over a bunch of stuff that I am not using. Every three months go through your house and put the things you are done with or bored of in the garage and take out the things you need, this way toys/school supplies/clothes/even dishes feel like new. We only use half of the garage for storage and then we use the other half as living space, which we heat and cool. This gives us a little more room. My parents sealed our garage door when I was a kid and my three sisters and I shared the whole garage for about eight years-it adds a lot of space. Another idea is to use your back yard as much as possible. A shed could be used for storage, or a quiet space for play or study. Some times I am better at keeping on top of it than other times. I have three little boys in one room-the amount of stuff was getting out of hand, driving all of us crazy. So over the last two weeks I got rid of four garbage bags full of toys, clothes and garbage and then I put everything else in the garage except three winter outfits, five summer outfits, two church outfits, pajamas, each boys" small box of favorite toys, one small three drawer chest of toys, and one box under the bed of toys. They were thrilled! They can now get to their stuff that they want easily and their room appears so much bigger. Also if I have lots of things, like books or kids toys that I can see, they tend to drive me nuts. So I try to hide them as much as possible. Many of bookcases have doors, all my videos are behind doors etc. I hope that helps somewhat.

Audios

2010-04-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

"HI,
Just reading your post and wondering where you were able to find all of your tapes. Thanks"

I have over 100 sets of CD’s and tapes. I am a pretty big believer in their value. My older two children ages 9 and 11 pick the Your Story Hour CD’s most often these are usually historical stories from
a Christian perspective. They can be found here http://www.yourstoryhour.org/transaction.php.

We also have almost everything by Jim Weiss and love them all. Some of these are more appropriate for younger children and some older. His site is here http://www.greathall.com/ .

He has also done the Story of the World, however this is not one my children pick by themselves, but they don’t mind listening to it if I put it on. It can be found at Rainbow Resource among other places.

My older children also love Jonathan Park, not me so much though. This is a creation science series and can be found here http://www.visionforum.com/boysadventure/productdetail.aspx?productid=33690&categoryid=198.

We also have the Vision Forum History of the World, but I feel like it is more fluff and argument than history content, and was disappointed in it. We do have the movie making and entrepreneurs packs from them that my kids will probably listen to when they are older.

I also pull a lot of our content from Ambleside Online and this company
http://www.alcazaraudioworks.com/schooling.html has done several of the audio books recommended by them. My kids don’t typically grab these, except for the “Tales From Shakespeare,” because they love everything Shakespeare. I really appreciated the “Our Island Story” series.

I like the History Audio series by Diana Waring, http://www.dianawaring.com/ but my kids think she talks too fast and won’t listen to her-maybe when they are older.

We’ve gotten some great literature on tape here http://www.chinaberry.com/cat.cfm/pgc/11400 We have the autobiography of Santa Claus, which my kids absolutely love and listen to year round, even though it is very long and follows Santa all through history as he meets historical people, such as Genghis Kahn and Da Vinci. I also loved “The Windboy,” and got along great with “The House Above the Trees.”

My younger children love Winnie the Pooh and AA Milne poems, and Alice in Wonderland. These can be found on Amazon.

I also like the kids to have a pretty good background in the original fairy tales and liked this one http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Famous-Fairy-Rosemary-Kingston/dp/0786197013.

I am LDS and my children and I find Scriptures Scouts and the All-Abouts indispensible, these can be found here http://deseretbook.com/auth/7338/Scripture_Scouts

We also have all of the audio books from the distribution center-love the scriptures stories for kids.

Hide em in Your Heart is a series of scripture verse with explanations set to music. I got mine from www.lovetolearn.net.

Beethoven’s Wig series is indispensible, and is at Amazon

The Classical Composers (Meet the Masters) life stories mixed with their music is also wonderful, but out of print, though it can still be found here http://www.ldfr.com/catalog/detail/beethoven/5 .

For myself, I love The Teaching Company series, love, love , love these. http://www.teach12.com/teach12.aspx?ai=16281

That should give you a starting place=).

Homeschooling Many Children

2010-04-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

Question-How do you homeschool many children at the same time?

One thing that helps for us is after we had been going for a couple years I began to let the environment and rythms do much of the work.

For instance, instead of reading a geography text we stuck a world map under plastic on the table. Within two years my older kids could pretty much tell you where ever place in the world is and what it is next to. We have also stuck artwork under the table, I wrote about that here- http://melissacalapp.blogspot.com/2010/01/child-sized-masterpieces-level-3.html.

I have also trained all of the children to listen to tapes before bed and then I bought tons of History, scriptures, poetry, musician biographies, and works of literature on tapes and CDs. This morning I mentioned for the first time George Washington Carver, and got a huge explanation of who he was and what he did, not because I had taught it, but because they heard it on tape.

One of the rythms we have also that works well for us, is first thing in the morning I roll the kids out of bed and start reading to them--this morning it was the last chapter of "Gulliver's Travels," and then a chpater in "Story of the World," about Africa after World War II, which was followed by a discussion of racism, inequality, and then somehow how one should pick who they marry and what to look for, and then what kind of jobs can be done from home, so they can be their with their families as much as possible. This rythm of first reading and then letting any discussions come, allows a lot of learning to occur early in the day, since I work from home and need afternoons for that.

If I keep going I'll start rambling, so I will just stop and say. Homeschooling large families does work for the parent willing to deviate from the grade level paradigm, and there is a lot of satisfaction in it.

Logan Turns 5

2010-03-31T22:14:00.001-07:00

Logan is very proud that he was the easiest birth.

Logan is a quiet nonconformist. "Logan, what color crayon would you like?" Slowly he stands, looks the teacher in the eye, but the teacher feels as if his focus is more inward than out. Then he quietly climbs under the table and sits down, almost oblivious to the fact that the other children are coloring.

Logan is a thinker. "It is time for bed, hon," and I lean over to kiss him. He doesn't move, he is focused inside again. Then, right before I am going to scold him, he asks his question, "Mom, can I be a kid another time? Could I be a baby again?" "No, we only get to be children once." There is a pause, then he says, "I guess that is one of those things God can't do. Make me be a child again."

Logan is our overseer. "Kam, the plates are a little dirty. It is hard for you to wash dishes as good as me. I'll do it if you want."

Logan is fiercely loyal to his big brother. "Mom, if I get done cleaning the hall fast, can I help Kamron with his chores?" "Kamron is my best bud."

Logan has his own time table. "Logan, please get your shoes on." "Okay." Wander. Sit. Lay. Stand. Sit. "Logan, shoes." "I am getting them." To drawer, the shoes are in his hand. Sit. Stare. Sit. One foot in. "Mom, I have a question. What does shirked mean?" A brief explanation is given, as I push the other shoe towards him. "Oh, okay." Second shoe is now on! And he's up and running. He's in the car!

Logan is giving. Brother-"I don't want this cup." Logan takes his cup, gets down out of his chair, walks around the table and says, "here you can have mine."

Logan is a joy and Logan is 5.

Nanny got him ready for summer. He wore his cool glasses all night.

Two family parties, same kids at both parties, same type of cake at both.
Grandpa could not make either party, but came during the day and to the amazement of all performed magic tricks.

A Week of Renewal

2010-03-31T22:04:00.000-07:00

Spring has begun and it is spring break, which means the kids are off “school.” The term gets fuzzier every day as I watch learning and life mesh more and more. On their own the kids have still been doing reading, piano lessons, dance class, political discussions, grammar lesson, piano practice, discussion for starting a business and learned about bills, laws and how common people create change, writing and drawing. They are also meeting friends to go ice skating later. They’ve asked me if we could also take summer off, except for me reading to them-sure we can be “off.”

So while we are living life this week, and I am still working I am also taking a little time for my own much needed renewal. I have been feeling a little overwhelmed lately, mostly because I am not doing all the home making things I am craving. So this week I am cooking, baking, organizing and beautifying, while listening to audio talks. Today I listened to “The Biggest Gap in Education and How to Fill it,” by Rhea Perry. It can be found free here, http://talk-a-latte.com/. It is over on the sidebar. I loved this! She talks about raising here children with respect and allowing them their individuality. The education should conform to the child not the child to the education, with and emphasis on entrepreneurship. Her husband was a public school teacher, and she was trained to be one. As her husband taught he began to encourage her to not send their kids to the schools. She did bring them home to learn and had a difficult time until she starting asking them what they wanted to learn and letting them lead. They moved the family to forty acres and told the kids they could do any project they wanted, but they would have to finance it and take care of it. Some awesome things resulted.

She also talks about some problem areas and how to keep the children’s hearts. I need to listen to this again with a pen and paper. This time I was baking.

Sunday Thoughts on My Home Town

2010-03-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

We had stake conference today. Since we have moved across the freeway in our town, we are attending church in the building I went to as a child. Stake conference is where between ten and fifteen congregations meet together. This meeting was held yesterday and today in the building I went to as a youth. My children love to hear about me as a child, so I told them about attending this two story, two chapel building that even has an elevator. We used to sit with another family that had nine young children and no father. I would sit with the little ones and tell them stories before the meeting began. During General Conferences (thoses meetings broadcasted to the whole church twice a year) we would stay at the building and eat in the kitchen as it was too far to drive back home, and we had no cable then. This building is also where much of my husband's and my courtship took place and where we took our engagement pictures.

As we sat and I looked around the room I saw so many people I knew as a child. I had witnessed many of their trials and had seen much of their growth as people and in the gospel. As a child, I can remember thinking that some of these families were perfect, only later to discover that they weren't, but that they struggled and worked towards better following God just as I did and do. I can remember first attending Relief Society, (a class for women) with all of these grown up ladies, when I was eighteen, to discover that these were real women with trials and triumphs and that they were intimate friends of my mom. I sat next to her in that class and felt that they cared about her deeply, like she was their sister. That was the first glimpse of the sisterhood in the church that I received.

I listened to the speakers today, and I have thought about all that was said. One thing struck me. One speaker said "we are in eternity." This life we are living now is part of eternity. We do not need to be in a hurry for we have eternity. Another speaker talked about advice he had received once, "don't be a busy bishop." He applied this to all of us. If we appear to be busy how likely is it that our children will say, "hey, Mom, can I ask you something?" How likely is that the shy neighbor or ward member will come to you for help? This hit me, because I am busy.

How can I be less busy? How can I make time for my little ones and for others? I may need to be creative. My mother always had things to do. She had a sewing room, where she constantly was making something. It was also a room where her children were always welcome. She had lots of places we could sit and talk to her as she worked, and we did. We sat and told her everything, and she listened and didn't judge. She listened, sympathized and encouraged. She could have locked that room and declared it her room and her spot for me time, but she didn't. We were welcome, and she made sure we knew it. Oh, how we loved her for it. We also avoided a lot of trouble, because of her quietly inviting us into her room. As a youth I remember a speaker say that if we were on a date and a boy was getting a little too close for comfort to casually mention that we couldn't wait to get home and tell our Mom about the date, because we told our mothers everything. He said it in a half joking way, but for me it was pretty much true and it was because my Mom was not rushed and she had arranged her home in such a way that we were encouraged to come in and talk.

As we left the building today a woman stopped me, introduced herself and said I was her big sister at girls camp when we were youth. After loading everyone in the car we drove home and I pointed out the place my husband proposed to me, a little restaurant called "Vince's" set back off the road and closed except for dinner.

Once I wanted to move away from this town where everyone seemed to know me. "You are Ken and LaRyce's daughter." But, now, I am glad to be back. This little town has exploded into a large busy town with new stores and a lot of traffic. There are many new faces and special people I have not met, yet under it all my hometown is still there, and now it is me that introduces myself to those, who have not seen me in many years as, "Ken and LaRyce's daughter." The reply more often than not is, "oh, LaRyce! I just loved your mother." Yeah, me too. Mother meant home, but in a way so does this town.

A girl named Mary Frances

2010-03-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

"Mommy, I got hurt!" How often do we as mom's hear this phrase? Some moms jump up with a gasp and rush to their children to inspect their injury. I, on the other hand, usually tell my kids,"aren't you glad bodies heal?" or "show it to Nanny next time we are there." My oldest son politely suggested a couple weeks ago that I learn more about how take care of hurts. I am planning a human body study next year and thought this might be a good place to start. I was also ready for a more spring-like (light and home-makey)book. What could teach us about first aid, introduce the human body and fulfill my need for a light, home centered story? Enter "The Mary Frances First Aid Book." This book was perfect! I love Mary Frances.

When Aubrey was about five we read "Mary Frances Housekeeper." It comes with paper dolls and furniture to cut out and advice on wallpapering and carpeting a home, etc. We created a little paper doll house and decorated it as each new piece of advice was offered in the subsequent chapters. Earlier this year Aubrey read "Mary Frances Cookbook: The Adventures Among the Kitchen People." She worked through many of the recipes as she followed the story. We loved the story and all of the recipes.

So, I knew the First Aid book would be just as good. In this story Mary Frances has had a birthday and her brother, Billy, promises to play anything she wants for a whole day, so she asks him to play with the dolls' house and she will show him through the play all the first aid she knows. And so the doll family begins with a runaway automobile, which has brakes that have gone out.

We spent several mornings and several afternoons reading this book-the whole thing in about a week and a half. One afternoon the children, who have no muslin squares, used their play silks to practice bandaging different parts of the body, It was rather amusing to see them with bright blue and green bandages on arms and legs, hands, feet and heads. A free online version of this book can be found here http://www.archive.org/stream/maryfrancesfirst00fryeiala/maryfrancesfirst00fryeiala_djvu.txt.

We enjoyed this book so much that I ordered "The Mary Frances Gardening Book." We have been studying botany this year, and this book will be the perfect conclusion to that study and introduction to gardening, along with just great summer reading.

Relating to Authors

2010-03-11T10:18:00.000-08:00

Kamron has been reading "The Aaronic Priesthood: Seven Principles That Will Make This Power a Part of Your Daily Life" by Chad Daybell. It is his first pick of what to read each day. I have been getting comments, such as, "You know Chad's list about how we know we are feeling the spirit, I have done all of those." "Chad said I should go camping at the bottom of a mountain, that would be fun." "You know those guys that almost hurt Chad by jumping over him on their bikes, it is probably good he found out how bad they were and didn't become friends with them."

When referring to authors some people use their whole name, others use last names, around here we are on a first name basis=)

Unrelated side note-my baby is gently snoring with her head on my shoulder and her little arm dangling down right now. Why do little things like that make a Mamma's heart swell?

Can We Drop This Book?

2010-03-11T10:04:00.001-08:00

We had a breakfast discussion this morning. I let the kids have a say in a lot of their school work, so this morning I brought up my thought of dropping "Gulliver's Travels." I know it is a great book, a classic. It is also a classic I would not hand over to my kids, because I need to edit as I read. Also, to be honest we are not getting all of the political references. He is calling up the ghosts of historical figures only to find everything written about them is pretty much false, interesting, but heavy-very winter. We are almost done with his third adventure, only one more to go, but I want to read something more springish, more homemakingish, like "Little Women." Yes, "Little Women," and then "Little Men." I know my kids would love these and we would have great discussions.

So I brought up dropping the book. It took about three seconds to be firmly vetoed. Brennen said we couldn't drop it, because he had seen the movie, and that meant he had to hear all of the book. Kamron said the movie only had the first two adventures and he wanted to find out what happened in the last two, although he knows he goes home at the end. Aubrey said, yes, and we hadn't even visited the horses and we needed to hear that one. So another hundred pages of heavy reading to go. Now, I am just wondering how fast we can read those hundred pages so I can read them "Little Women."

A Woman Wants a Little Corner to Call Her Own

2010-03-04T21:17:00.000-08:00

"The beauty of the house is order. The blessing of the house is contentment. The glory of the house is hospitality. The crown of the house is godliness.” ~Author Unknown

I am wishing for more order, more contentment, more hospitality, more godliness. I am also wishing for a house. I'll be honest and say six children, homeschooling and working from home in a two bedroom duplex is getting taxing. So I am seeking order, soft words, and godliness. I do not really want anyone over in this place so hospitality is out for now, which probably means I should be seeking humility. Oh, how I pray for a house to close soon. I am dreaming of a home to organize, to decorate, to bake bread in, and to plant a garden.

We have offers in on two houses, which both look possible-both we offered on last year and came back on the market. One is waiting for a response from the bank, while the second is waiting for the neighbors house to close-to bump their appraisal. Pray for us to get a house, so that we can build a home.

Baby Girl

2010-02-21T17:07:00.000-08:00

Yes, we call her Baby Girl. We have called most of our babies Baby. There is something so cozy about Baby, something so precious. We also call her Baby 'Mila. And Princess. We've been asked if we will call her Milly or Amy or Mia. I don't know, whatever we call her will come. After all, my mom named me Melissa intending to call me Missy. It never happened-I was Melissa and occasionally Mel. So what shall we call her? Baby. For many years I'm pretty sure.
This is at almost two weeks, in a sweater I made her.
Here, she's in another.
This is what our Big Girl wore today, 2 weeks, 6 days in a size 3 months dress.

.

Moments At Our House

2010-02-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

Kamron’s method of persuading his younger brother to keep trying at long jumps that he wants him to do- “Be physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. When you are 11 you will have to obey those rules, so you should get started when you are young.”

Yesterday, the children had chores and then wanted to play card games their Grandma had taught them when they spent the night. To make the chore time go more quickly the Numa, Numa song rang out for about 20 minutes. They have sung it so many times, the two year old knows it and they are now working on variations and creating different parts for each child. It is delightful to hear them working so well together. I used to sing silly made up songs as I went about my work, but I haven’t lately. I think I’m missing something.

We have a certain child that woke up one day before anyone else, finished all must do’s for school, made breakfast and then proceeded to do her brother’s chores. She was so pleasant and helpful, I was so grateful for her help. The next day when asked to listen to a tape the same child threw a fit, talked back, rolled eyes and was generally unpleasant the rest of the day. I was discussing this with my husband, he said this is the exact reason psychology was invented. The behavior of some people needs teams of people to research and study just to attempt to explain it.

Brennen and Logan were discussing the merits of wooden and plastic train tracks. They both said something at the same time. Brennen said, “It is like we are twins. We even don’t have the same name, just like twins don’t.”

Kamron has started doing a lesson time with the three little boys. Today he worked on teaching them to hop, basic science concepts with cards, and music lessons on the recorder and penny whistle. Find the note on the piano, then singing the “Cheeseburger Song,” from Veggie Tales. This was then played with a funny instrument on the keyboard, to the giggled delight of his brothers. He is fun and makes everything into a game. Logan who idolizes his big brother told him, “Kamron I think you are the best teacher in the whole wide world!”

Seth is playing with his trucks. His big truck ran over his toe. “No, no big truck. That hurts, you need to stand in the corner.” Before he made it to the corner he says, “you say sorry and give a hug and kiss.” “I’m sorry,” the truck says in a very deep voice, and then Seth proceeds to hug it and kiss its grill. Conversation continues among the cars and trucks; each has a different voice and they typically disagree and then help each other and become “useful” again.

Did I ever mention that I love my kids?

New Book

2010-02-18T09:55:00.000-08:00

I have been published in a new LDS Homeschooling book, with a very small piece, but it is fun anyway. I am waiting for my copy to be shipped and then I'll let you all know more.

To My Valentines

2010-02-13T21:07:00.000-08:00

Kamron told me the other day he "loved Valentines Day, because of the jar that said all those nice things." I'm so glad he said something or I may have just let this one slip by again. Because of the chaos of no family meal times we didn't do this last year. But we will do it this time, and probably each year after. What I do is a write things about each person in our family, put them in a jar, and then we read them at mealtimes on Valentine's Day. My sister, Helen, made similar jars for us as Christmas presents when we were kids-I still have mine. It was such an awesome gift.

So for all to see, these are to my Valentines-

Kevin
You are such a hard worker and determined provider.
You are such a good wrestler.
You are so forgiving.
You are so encouraging of all we do.
You rescue us with park days.
You are fun and funny.
You are very good at fixing all of the things we break around here.
You are our support, that which holds the rest of us up.
You have such an eye for detail.
When you do something you do it well.
We love it when you are home and talking or playing with us.
You are highly prized for all you are and all you do.

Kamron
You are a very good older brother.
You are funny.
You are make up great songs to sing to us.
Your piano playing is fun and a blessing to those around you.
You are good at helping to keep the house clean.
You are responsible when watching your younger brothers when Daddy and I need to do things.
You are a gift from God.
You are a delight to our hearts.
You are fabulous at building Legos.
You are a good friend, sharing and behaving well at other people’s houses.
You are positive and help us to complain less.
You have a testimony and desire to do what’s right.

Aubrey
You are very affectionate.
You are good at talking with others.
You care well for the little ones.
You are creative, always filling your time with worthwhile pursuits.
You are more precious than any diamond or ruby.
You are as a rose beginning to blossom into something truly exquisite.
You are a true help to Mom and Dad.
You are good at caring for animals.
You are very good at helping with the boys.
You are a good artist.
You are good at making friends.

Brennen
You are good at making us laugh.
You are good at being happy.
You are friendly to others you meet.
You sparkle with creative enthusiasm, so full of possibilities.
You are a precious gift who helps us to remember family is the most important thing.
You are good at building legos.
You are good at trying new things.
You are good at helping.
You are a good playmate to your brothers and sisters.
You are very good at being gentle with babies.
You are creative and have many original ideas, especially with your art.
You are good at your reading.

Logan
You are very good at trying to do what’s right.
You are very brave.
You are a precious joy to us.
You are very good at building big legos.
You are very good figuring out pushing buttons.
You are very good little brother.
You are very good at playing.
You are a gift from Heavan.
You are independently driven to succeed at whatever you will.
You are very adventurous.
You are good at climbing and jumping.
Your thoughtful nature helps us all to slow down.

Seth
You are a a determined car and train enthusiast.
You are a delight to have in our family.
You are a loving little boy.
We love your smile.
You are good at giving hugs and kisses.
You are friendly.
You are a good helper when you throw all the garbage away.
You have the cutest sayings.
You are a focused little one.

Amelia
You are so nice to hold.
You are soft and snuggly.
You are wonderful.
You are a miracle and a joy.

Small Chances

2010-02-10T06:24:00.001-08:00

"There is a 1 in 1600 chance of a perforation." That one cost me surgery.

In 1% of cases the dura may be pricked during an epidural insertion, and since the needle is larger than in a spinal tap it is possible that the cerebrospinal fluid may leak out resulting in less cushioning to the brain resulting in a severe headache and neck ache that will last for days and may require a second epidural insertion to create a blood patch to clot the hole, but this is very rare. It may be rare, but it hurts... a lot.

Maybe I am getting old enough to read the fine print and start taking it seriously.

Introducing Baby Amelia

2010-02-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

Baby Amelia Juliet has finally arrived!

She was 21.5 inches, and 9 pounds 11.4 ounces!

On the last day of January, at a week post dates, I went in to be induced. I was at 2cm when we started the pitocin at 10:00 a.m., by 4 p.m. I was at 3cm. It was at this point the questions of whether this whole thing was not going to work again came up. But I had already gotten things lined up for the next week, so we kept going. At 7 p.m. I was finally at a 4 and my water was broken. By 7:30 I wimped out and asked for an epidural, by 7:50 I made them get the anesthesiologist back in and up the dose. I began shaking and feeling nauseous, I was given an oxygen mask, which I admit to having torn off more than once, but the nurse didn't get it and kept putting it back on. By 9 I was at a 9. This is when my husband said, if I waited three hours we could have a February 1st baby and that would make the date easier to remember. I said that I wanted the baby out now. I began pushing at 9:30. The nurses' shifts changed at 11:30, and I accused them of turning off the epidural. They promised me they hadn't. The doctor was called in at 11:58, and said we didn't have time to break the bed down, go. She emerged. The time was 12:00.01 a February 1st baby. As my husband points out this is very cool because her entire birth date can be expressed with three numbers. 2-1-2010, at 12:00.01.

Kevin brought all of the kids in to see us the next day. Seth's reaction was a hysterical giggle of delight at seeing his mama after a day and a half, when I drew his attention to the baby he said, "it's baby 'Milla," in a nondescript tone and then turned around to drive his train across the edge of the bed.

Logan wanted to see her, but his first question was if my stomach was smaller now and he could sit on my lap. He wanted to hold her, and did so for about three seconds before handing her back. He then began to describe everything about her that was small, small eyes, small ears, small hands, and small "this part," he said forgetting the name for wrist. He was also amazed that even when I was holding her and talking to others I still knew he was getting into things behind the curtain. "How can you know what I'm doing always?" He asked.

Brennen looked on quietly (yes, Brennen/quietly-same sentence) and held her for for about a minute gazing at her. He made the comment later, "She is not inside you anymore."

Aubrey asked all kinds of questions, did it hurt, did I cry etc. She held her baby sister in between each of the boys, and when it was time to do the hearing test she went with her and was very happy to report that she past. She told me that someday when she had a baby, she wanted a healthy baby girl, just like her.

Kamron smiled and looked. He held her about a minute and then gave her back. He wanted to know if I was all right now. He also said he missed me so much, he said it was very weird, because he sees me always and he hadn't seen me in so long.

Waiting for Baby (knitting?)

2010-01-30T14:10:00.001-08:00

What does one do when waiting, and waiting for a baby,
who wants to stay right where she is?

She takes two hours and coupons to Joann's and sits gracefully on the floor in front of the knitting and crochet books, devouring patterns and ideas. Because she is dreaming of wearing normal clothes again, she falls in love with this book... "French Girl knits" by Kristeen Griffin-Grimes. The patterns are exquisite.

There is one particular catch. She can't knit. Frantically, she looks for a "French Girl crochets." No such luck. Aah, she thinks, she will just learn to knit. After all learning to crochet from a book worked. Let's see... got it, this book will work- "I Can't Believe I'm Knitting!" from Leisure Arts.

Two evenings are spent trying to figure out how to cast on, and the garter stitch. All signs point to total confusion. This is how far she has gotten...

You know all of those people who said knitting was easier and more relaxing than crochetting? They lied.

Where to take Math

2010-01-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

I was over at www.ted.com, watching a video about symmetry and group theory, and then I watched Arthur Benjamin’s video on how he would change mathematics education. He asserts that our mathematical hierarchy starts with the four processes and builds to the pinnacle of calculus. He claims this is an outdated pinnacle and we should be building towards statistics instead. Statistics is more useful and would help the entire population to make better decisions in their lives.

What should the purpose of math be? In many ways it is the same question as what is the purpose of education? Is it so we can grow up and get a good job, make good living decisions and pay our taxes? Or, as Charlotte Mason suggests, is it to have our feet firmly fixed in as many rooms as possible, to think and to fully live in a world full of ideas? Would it be possible to build to statistics and calculus, the useful and the inspirational? Hmmm. What about geometry? Can I just study that in depth? Perhaps, there is so much to study and learn, we all may just need different paths, and there is no one right sequence to follow.

A Look At Our Day

2010-01-20T23:13:00.000-08:00

As I work with homeschooling families, I am well aware that everyone does this differently, and most families do it differently as seasons and circumstances change. If you were to ask me each year I would give you a different sequence and a different focus for most of my kids. But since I was asked today, I will tell you how it was done today.

I wake at 6:00, take a bubble bath and read in the tub. Then I dress, start laundry, make muffins and my husband’s lunch. The older two children wake at about seven and turned on a CD of biographies of famous individuals from history as they stay curled in their blankets in bed, until I called them at 7:30. They come in to the front room with their blankets and curl up again while I begin reading to them about trouble in the Balkans and the assassination of the heir to the throne to Austria. We pull out a map and see the changes that occur to this region of the world. Then we read 1 Nephi 18, as the little ones tumble out of bed and join us on the floor, we discuss the reasons behind disrespect to parents and cruelty to others. This discussion takes longer than usual and we decide to skip our novel for the day. We try to read a chapter from a novel each morning-currently from “Gulliver’s Travels.” A book that is not feeding the discussion bucket as much as I like books to do.

Then it is time to eat. We sit down to breakfast and I pull out the self-portrait of Picasso. As the children eat they look closely at this painting and then I hide it. I ask the four-year-old to tell me what he remembers about this painting, then I ask the six-year-old to add anything, then the nine-year-old and last the eleven-year-old adds his details. I then turn the painting around and the children see where they got it right and where they missed a detail or two. I then add this painting to the other three of his we have already studied. I ask the children whether it is harder to study Picasso or Mary Cassatt. Is it better or worse for a painter to constantly be changing his style? After this discussion we turn to poetry and I pull out the card box and turn to the next card in each child’s section, and have the children recite a poem they have previously learned, starting with the two-year-old and moving around the table. This month we are all learning the same poem, and each child then recites as much of “How Doth the Busy Bee,” as he or she can. Some get confused with the previously learned Lewis Carroll spin-off, and everyone is impressed that the four-year-old has almost all four stanza’s down. I then read a poem from American history and the children are excited to hear it has the same rhythm as the poem they are learning.

After breakfast today the older two children watch the next lesson in Excellence in Writing-they love the teacher, who uses humor and inflection superbly. They note the next two dress-ups, the because clause and strong adjectives, and they write a keyword outline on Washington. Instead of moving straight into their first drafts, I briefly explain how to give a speech from a keyword outline and they take turns giving one to Brennen and me before going on to their first drafts. During this time Brennen reads a chapter to me, and I then read to him about the Revolutionary War, while he finger knits. The younger two children are building train tracks on the floor. Brennen then wants to do the division board on his own.

The older two children finish their papers and move on to their required work. Kamron does a math lesson in Saxon, then picks which two books from his list he will read today-“Oliver Twist,” and “The School of the Woods.” He must write a summary using the writing dress-ups he has learned so far after he reads and then he is free to study what he chooses. Aubrey is working through an online math program, called ALEKS, and then she chooses to read and write about, “All-of-a-Kind Family,” and “Nature Reader 5,” but only after telling me what she learned about the brain and how it learns stuff from your senses. She asks me to correct her spelling after she writes her paper on it, and I wonder if my child who hates to be corrected asks just to see if she can shock me.

While the older two are working, I sneak in a few minutes of work time, and I respond to emails. Then Logan asks for a new activity, and I glance at my clipboard to see which activities I have not yet introduced him to and we settle on learning about weights with the scale and the knobbed cylinders. Sethie wants to match baby and mother animals, and Brennen chooses to do a dot-to-dot with numbers through 70. After awhile Sethie wants to cut, and then do playdoh. Brennen moves to studying pop-up books, then making his own story about a snake and creating a couple of pages of pop-ups about it.

Pretty soon Kamron is done and wants to do a music class with the little ones. Aubrey asks for a sewing lesson. After this, I do a puppet show of my impromptu version of “Little Read Riding Hood,” with a reversible doll and silks. Kamron gets most of the irony and subtle humor I throw in and as we move to cleaning up for lunch he can’t stop talking about a few of the phrases I threw in, until the other kids get it too.

Lunch is time for recalling all they have learned. I ask questions about what they have read and I write short notes on their study logs. We all clean up and then it is my time to work. I have packages to log in, two reports to write, emails to answer and a run across town to drop of some supplies to a family who needs them asap.

While I spend the next three hours on this, Aubrey reads an American Girl book, and then dresses her doll and does her hair, while listening to history story tapes from Your Story Hour. Kamron builds forts with the younger boys and then plays checkers with Brennen. Seth has several bursts of crying and wanting to hit, because he thinks all cars and trains are his and Logan picked one up to play with it. I stop my work to explain and convince Seth that he can’t take a toy from someone else, and then I use distraction. I set up a train track with “two circles, please.” When he is involved I head back to my room to work.

Soon it is four-thirty and time to do chores and dinner. I sort through my chore cards and pull out the ones that most need to be done. The children pair up and I hand out the cards. One child has a melt down, and a discussion of fairness and hard work in life follows. After this child finally accepts what needs to be done chores continue. I fold laundry, oversee, and grab a homemade dinner from the freezer. This I have bought from a woman who is a great cook, as my time is limited now. After an hour Dad comes home and the children are mostly done with chores. The table is set and we all sit to eat together. Tonight the children want to know how Dad and I met, and why I would date someone four years older than me-that is so old. Then the conversation turns to the coming baby and my daughter asks, “So how did the seed get to mom’s egg anyway?” Dad tells her when he kissed me that is what happened. I tell her I’ll talk to her later when it is just she and I as the boys aren’t ready to hear all about it yet.

Dinner clean-up, baths and a wrestling match follow. Then I take the three younger boys into their room for story time. They all want “Uncle Wiggily,” then we read the next chapter in Famous Heroes about Lincoln. Brennen reads three stories to us from a Bible Reader, then Logan reads the first story in the book to us again. He almost has it memorized, which makes him feel great to read it. The boys take turns saying prayers, and they want me to say prayers with them too. Then they all want to pick the tape tonight and a squabble breaks out about who gets to pick, which makes me laugh, because they all want “Alice in Wonderland.” I tuck them in with their tape on and visit the older two kids. They are listening to the history tapes again. Aubrey is painting “a girl with a watering can,” and Kamron is building a triple-decker rock monster mansion out of legos. I tell them twenty minutes until lights out. Then I settle down to check emails, put in an order for work and read, while talking to my husband. Logan, our night owl, comes in to tell us that in the Alice story there is broken glass. He comes back to say she keeps growing and shrinking. After the third time, I take my computer and park myself in front of his door, until he stays in bed long enough to fall asleep. All the kids are finally asleep. Time to crochet one line on my current project to put my mind to rest and then prayers with my husband and sleep.

Receiving Service, Giving Service

2010-01-17T18:47:00.000-08:00

I have had several experiences lately which seem to be teaching me about service. I can not say I have learned all the lessons I am supposed to from them, but as part of my pondering I am writing about them.

A short time prior to Christmas I was at the grocery store with my middle child. A man from East India came up to me as I was looking over the chip aisle and asked me if he could see my shoe. He proceeded to sit on the floor and take my shoe off then take my foot in his hands and massage it. Truth be told I felt rather uncomfortable and tried to stop him. He explained he was graduating from school and had studied the technique he was using. He could tell by my feet they were very sore and this would go a long way to helping them to feel better and for me to get a good nights sleep. Being eight months pregnant and having been on my feet most of the day I could not deny that my feet were indeed very sore, and I let him continue. He worked on one foot and then the other, and then he went back to the first again. For twenty minutes he held my sweaty socked feet in his hand, expertly massaging them in the chip aisle in the grocery store. I asked him if I could do anything for him, and he said no, it was his way of thanking me, and then he went on with his shopping. Why would a stranger perform such a service? He had talents in the area of service he gave, did he simply want to share those talents with those he thought they might help? What did he mean that it was “his way of thanking me”? I’m sure I had never helped him before.

As I was leaving the store a woman with one bag on her arm came over and insisted on pushing one of my carts-yes I had two. Again I accepted this service and she went out of her way to take the cart to my car, gladly doing so.

These people were helping me and they weren’t getting anything in return! Almost in desperation I racked my brain for someone I could serve. Sure I had dropped off a few cans of food and put money in donation buckets in front of stores, but… And then guilt swept over me. I had a neighbor who was lonely and poor. She came over often, in the morning, afternoon and evenings. She needed someone to talk to and occasionally she asked for food or money and to use the phone as she had none. While I let her use the phone, and gave her bus fare and food occasionally, I often explained I did not have time to talk as I was so busy with working from home and teaching the kids, blah, blah, blah. And … I had never given her anything beyond what she had asked for. I unloaded the car and immediately took over a tub of cookies I had bought. She was packing and explained they were being evicted and had to be out on the 22nd of December. Her sister, whom she lived with would be staying in a homeless shelter, and she would be staying in the dining room of a friend. She smiled when she said this as she knew two of my children had slept in our dining room until we finally had set up the garage for them. She then gave me a pair of booties for the baby, and I wished I had some money to give her to help her out and vowed next time I went anywhere I would get some from the bank. Then she moved. She has stopped by once to ask if I had money for bus fair, and I gave her all I had, but surely I could have done more.

And I have to wonder, why do I wait until I am specifically asked to help anyone? I do tend to help when asked and I enjoy doing so. I remembered the lady at the gas station, recently, who was out of gas and money and I filled her gas can, but she asked. The babysitting for others I had done, but they asked. The answers to questions for people I write, who ask, and those who I visit monthly for church, because I was asked to. Must I always be asked to help? No, now that I see this weakness, perhaps I can open my eyes to serving others-even without being asked.

Math Studies

2010-01-13T06:26:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post I mentioned the gap in my math education. I have since read two books on Montessori math, am halfway through one on Waldorf math and halfway through one on the history of the equation of symmetry. Whenever I study something I want to share it with my children. So in addition to our regular studies we have been doing a lot of other math, and especially studying with Montessori materials. I have gained so much respect for teaching in this concrete way that allows the children to choose what they are going to study without compulsion. Herein is another similarity to TJed Leadership education.

Brennen was introduced to using the rods and number board for addition.
Logan, Brennen, Aubrey and Seth were introduced to the geometric shaped insets. This activity is not always considered math. It develops the fine motor skills and control over the pencil before the children start writing, but it can lead to so many other things, including math and art.
I introduced Brennen to the division board. He loved it and spent almost an entire morning on it one day. With this activity the children pour out a number of little balls of their choice, in this case it was 82. They count the balls and write the number down and then put a "house" around it. They then decide how many skittles are going to share the balls-in Brennen's case it was almost always 9. They write the number of skittles they have chosen in front of the house and place that many skittles on the top of the board. Then they give every one balls one at a time until they can not give them out evenly. Whatever is left they have as the remainder. Then the student writes these down and starts over or puts the material away. I introduced this activity to Aubrey also, she did about three problems and then put it away, but she needed a concrete reference point for division, and even that much helped. After several days of begging I introduced it to Logan (the children aren't allowed to touch a material until they have been introduced to it). He is so far from abstraction with it, but that is okay. He built several problems and we both saw the need for him to work more with the sandpaper numbers as he still is not really writing.
Kamron continues to work through his Saxon 6/7 book. He enjoys it and almost always understands from reading the lessons on his own. He declines most other invites to some of the other concrete lessons, because "he already knows that stuff." I did do a hands on lesson with him on squares and cubes, square roots and cube roots. We built them and took them apart with rods, so he could see how they were formed and what they meant. He thought that was pretty neat. We also learned about angles of parallelograms by building paper ones.
Logan built the number quantities. He talks about this activity a lot, but he has not pulled it out again. His understanding in this area is now pretty good. When we do the sandpaper numbers he can place them in order, tell which is bigger etc. He has also begun building numbers, such as 82, 43 etc. and naming ones I build with the sandpaper numbers.

This is Aubrey's work with equivalent fractions. It was more of an exploration of materials than a formal lesson. She struggles a bit with understanding the quality of numbers and how they are related. One night everyone stayed up until about ten thirty showing Daddy different things they had been learning and it turned into a discussion of our number system, as Kevin tried to explain the relationships of decimals in the base ten system. They built numbers with rods, counted and talked about place value. At times she was frustrated, but the next day she got on her online math program, Aleks, and said I want to study decimals. At least she wasn't scared off the topic.

We have done other work, especially with geometric shapes and the quality of triangles and how they can form every other shape, except a circle. All of these studies lately have been rather fun and deeply satisfying. I think we will keep it up.

Child Sized Masterpieces Level 3

2010-01-12T22:46:00.000-08:00

I love "Child Sized Masterpieces" (it can be found at Montessori Sevices). We have many level 1 and level 2 folders. In level 1 children match the exact same painting. In level 2 children match paintings by the same artist. I have used these two levels for about seven years. One time I even bought enough religious art postcards to make about four folders, and I have taken these to Sacrament meeting and when I have taught nursery and sunbeams. The children love to look at the cards and match them. I have had the materials to build more levels for over a year now. One night during Christmas break I woke up at about four and couldn't go back to sleep-I am beginning to enjoy those nights, as strange as that may seem. So I got up and pulled out all of the folders and built a couple sets for levels three, four and five. I was all done by the time my husband came home from the gym at 6:30.

Last week I introduced level 3 to my children. I first showed Logan, 4, and Brennen, 6. They found this level to be a bit hard. In this level the folders have about six artist with four paintings by each artist that need to be matched. Some of the subjects are similar, but the style is slightly different. Other paintings have similar styles, but the subjects are different. I helped the boys work through this level. Later I introduced it to my older two children and the younger boys helped. It was quite a bit easier for them, as they have studied several of the artists already in our Charlotte Mason type artist studies, and they were familiar with their work.

When I saw it all laid out on the table, I decided we all might get more out of it if it was left like that for a couple months. We had a world map under a plastic sheet for about three years; we all learned so much geography. I decided to try the same thing with the artwork, and I'm pretty sure we will learn a ton. I plan to play some guessing games with the titles of the works, comparisons, I spy etc. It will give us great topics for dinner conversations. This is two sets of the cards under the plastic.

A good description of the program can be found here http://harmonyartmom.blogspot.com/2007/10/child-size-masterpieces-how-to-use.html. However, I disagree that you don't need the book. I have found it valuable.

I Am

2009-12-31T13:28:00.000-08:00

I was listening to the talk at church last Sunday, and I was juggling kids and thinking and something struck me about God. I can describe myself in so many ways and whenever I am asked to do so I have to decide which description fits. I am a homeschooling mother, I am eight months pregnant, I am a scout leader, I am a student, I am a writer, I am a crochettest, I am an Educational Specialist with a Charter School, I am tired ... You get the picture. This list can get so long that on introducing myself I often feel I do an inadequate job. For instance, if I say I'm the mother to soon to be six, then the conversation will go one way and I have been told that I can not possibly understand how it is to work, because with that many kids I, of course, stay home. So the next time I don't introduce myself that way, instead I say something else about myself. This response gets misunderstood also and soon when I am asked to tell about myself all I want to say is "I am me." So if I am so many things, what about God, how many things is He? He has many titles and takes much work to understand Him, His nature, His attributes, His desires, His accomplishments. So the thought occurs to me the best description for God is The Great I Am. And this makes so much sense.

Christmas

2009-12-31T11:09:00.001-08:00

I didn't get many good pictures from Christmas this year, but here are a few.

The little ones saw Santa at the gym. Seth was so eager to see Santa-not a speck of nervousness with that one.
Decorating the tree. Yes, it is winter but still nearly impossible to keep shirts on my boys.
Logan hands a breakable ornament up to his cousin.
Christmas Eve and the children are waiting to put on the Christmas play. The adults read from the scriptures and intersperse songs, while the kids sing and act it out.
This is what one reluctant actor thought of being a shepherd.
After more singing...look who comes in with presents for the children. Kevin did an awesome job.

Here we are Christmas morning.

The Nutcracker

2009-12-31T10:36:00.000-08:00

We took the older children to see the Nutcracker about a week before Christmas. My children are familiar with the music and the story, but had never seen a ballet before. In this version they added an extra dance and used a piece by Strauss, it was funny to see the looks of appall on my children's (and my husband's) faces. "That is not even Tchaikovsky!" The first half of the ballet was where the story was told and was very good. There were some really neat effects with the screens and props. Brennen, who sat next to me, really enjoyed it. The second half of the ballet is where Clara and the Nutcracker go back to his land and see the Sugar Plum Fairy, who entertains them with many dances by those in her kingdom. These dances went on for about forty minutes, and Brennen kept trying to add some type of action back into the story. He could be heard making comments such as, "And next the Rat King comes back to life and throws a bomb at the dancers," "Wouldn't it be funny if all of the dancers crashed into each other and they all fell down?"

After the ballet, some of the dancers came out on to the main stairs and we were able to ask them questions. They dance seven hours a day six days a week to prepare for performances! They also have a team of physical therapists, chiropractors and masseuses. Aubrey asked them if they had any injuries during this year, and they described several. It was a pretty fun experience, even the older boys enjoyed themselves.

The Formal Party Ingredient

2009-12-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

Oliver and Rachel DeMille offer as one ingredient to raising and educating a future leader that they should either go to or watch their parents go to a black-tie event at least once a year. I don’t know about you, but my sphere of influence does not exactly include the black-tie event crowd.

This last weekend, however, I did have an opportunity to attend a formal holiday party for my husband’s work. We arrived at his impressive home and were greeted warmly by the host. This was a party for the management departments of two of his energy consulting businesses and staff from an emerging third business, so there were numerous people, none of which I knew and less than a third my husband knew. The crowd was as diverse as one can imagine, a young couple in dreadlocks and kakhis with information about homebirths, a Russian scientist complete with thick round silver glasses and bowtie with a charming wife from Greece and stories from around the globe, a Puerto Rican University professor who teaches educational method and wrote a Spanish guide with her husband and daughter, a smiling mingler with a vague job description, but one got the impression had something to do with making everyone feel happy, a woman with nose rings and rings various other places, whose children had only ever attended Waldorf schools, those dressed in suits and formal gowns and those dressed in collared shirts, or blouses.

As we stepped into the large entry hall, several pieces of fine art could be seen. A large print of an Egyptian god in silver, stood next to a Grecian statue. In the dining room hung a still life of a fruit bowl on one wall with abstract and surreal paintings on the other. Family portraits hung in another room, along with a picture of the host with President Bush.

Quickly, the relevance of training our children in more formal manners was brought to my mind as I questioned the proper responses when introduced to a couple, or when I was not introduced and a conversation between my husband and a coworker immediately began, while his wife stood next to him and I stood with my husband. In my real estate training I picked up the need for a firm handshake, and yet so many people had those dead-fish ones, hmm. And what is to be done with the glass when one is finished drinking? What about the shrimp tail when one has just eaten a shrimp and is engaged in conversation? Is it appropriate for the wife of one couple to sit next to the husband of the other couple when both couples are seated on the same couch? This situation arose twice. When we sat near a younger couple they didn’t flinch, but there was an obvious awkwardness when this arrangement came up with an older more formal couple. The thought came to me that I could have used a few more formal parties as a child, but I was certainly glad for the formal parties I had attended at my Great Grandmother’s on Christmas Eves growing up.

As we ventured into one room and watched the string quartet play, I was at least gratified that I knew almost every classical piece (thanks to “Beethoven’s Wig”) and could name each of the instruments.

One thing I did notice, though, is that for all of Hollywood’s depictions of parties with women in revealing clothing, the one lady that wore an extremely revealing top was the one that was the hardest to talk to and not just for me. Our husbands had much in common and spoke at length, and though, I stood next to her I could not bring myself to look at her, much less ask her about herself. Perhaps, this is a lack of social polish on my part, and yet, I noticed that no one else seemed to talk to her either and many tried to avoid looking in her direction.

As the evening progressed I recognized the pattern straight out of the entertainment section in “The Joy of Cooking.” Cocktails and drinks, followed by hors’d oeuvres, then dinner, in this case an intriguing Persian buffet, as the host was Iranian and loves to share his food. This was followed by a later dessert and coffee table. I had always wondered how one party could hold so many different sections of food, I think the key is to have a very long party, and serve the dinner very late, so people are very hungry.

I’m not sure this would be considered a black-tie event, yet like so many things after I have experienced something similar I see the point for the DeMilles’ ingredient for educating future leaders, mostly because I see the wants in my own education in this area. My husband and I decided that next year we would bring the older children and let them experience it for themselves.

Another Try at Working With Wool

2009-12-07T14:42:00.000-08:00

We painted, drew, glued and colored Christmas pictures today and then we broke out the wool. Last week we had tried making people. We tried again this week using pipecleaners for the base and needle felting where needed. It went much better.

I made this one.

Aubrey set up a home in preparation for her cousin to come over and play with her. I made the smaller two dolls for her and she planned how she would give the little girl doll to her cousin, which she excitedly did as soon as Savannah walked in the door.
Brennen loves the felt and wool. He busily worked on a project he had started yesterday. He is sewing on felt pieces cut in the shapes of the stable, manger, and sun. Yesterday, he sewed on five little pockets that he can put things in. He put his little wool doll and several pipecleaner people in these pockets when he was done. It was very cute, even if it was a little monochromatic.
Brennen also made a wool picture today as I worked on mine.
Here's my first wool picture, before ironing,
and after--I am seeing the need for different background colors, but I like how it turned out. After this I had to stop the kids and insist on moving on to other activities, but I have a request for another day to make more people, to try felting people, and to make a baby Jesus for a cloth manger that we have that is waiting for the Christ child.

Getting the Tree

2009-12-07T14:38:00.000-08:00

We don't sleigh ride in California, we are still out hay riding at tree cutting time.

No pictures of the actual cutting of the tree as I was taking a couple little ones to the potty=).

Thanksgiving

2009-12-07T14:06:00.001-08:00

We got to go to Utah to visit cousins. Five of my siblings and nineteen of their children were there. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and let the kids get to know their cousins better. The pictures are really bad and we did not get nearly enough of them, but here are a few.
We had to search for snow, but we eventually found it in a canyon. Logan knew immediately to make snow angels. Kevin and the older kids had a snowball fight, until the little ones got too cold.
Aubrey, Emma and Caitlyn carefully walking over the ice on our short hike.

Sethie loved sliding on the ice.
Here is half of the under six set,
here is a few of the other half.
This is my nephew, which I got to meet for the first time. Where did that hair come from?

We also got to take the kids to Temple square, and we did a lot of visiting. We stayed at different houses and so got to visit different people on the different nights. We loved seeing everyone and are counting down until next summer when everyone comes out here for a reunion=).

Great Knowledge

2009-12-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

I have a child with a mission. He knows he is destined for great things and he has started early to let the rest of us know...he is two. As we were driving around the other day, he said, "Mom, I want great knowledge. I want GREAT KNOWLEDGE!" I asked him what type of great knowledge he wanted, and told him I would do my best to get him the resources needed, but he just looked at me and said, "I want great knowledge." This morning he woke up, came in my room and said, "I want great knowledge." He took my hand and said, "Come on, I show you." Alright, I thought I can always use another path, an easier one, to great knowledge and here my two-year-old seemed to know of one. So I smiled and took his little hand in mine and he smiled up at me and says very softly, "great knowledge." He leads me through the hall and dining room and into the garage and then stands in front of the refrigerator. I ask, "Is great knowledge in here?" "Open it," he says. I do and his face beams and he giggles as he points... to the eggnog. "Great knowledge," he says. So there you go folks, if you want great knowledge, drink eggnog.

The Gaps in My Education-Math

2009-12-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

Like most people I have gaps in my education, and like most people I can’t hit them all at once. But I am feeling the need to hit some of my gaps hard. One of these areas is math. Formally, I made it through trigonometry. I also took a math class in my teacher prep program. This was one of the few classes that I found relevant and interesting. The text book went through many math concepts and showed how to teach them in a project based way. We were assigned to read about half of this book, but it is the one book that I read the whole thing anyway. I did my internship for this class at a Montessori school and learned about some wonderful new ideas to teach math. I got to teach a lesson on fractions at this school where as I told a story we cut green circles into different sections and then in the end we had enough pieces to make a Christmas tree. When I student-taught in a traditional classroom, I got to teach math from the approved California textbook in the traditional, introduce concept on projector, kids copy you, kids try it and you correct them and then they do it on their own, now move on, lots of concepts covered (I daren’t say learned), but no depth. I don’t particularly like the last way, but it is easier for teachers who aren’t with students long or who don’t own the knowledge themselves.

Frankly, I want to own it. So here I go. I’m ready to fill a gap. I now need a plan. I want a historical overview of the discovery of math principles, I want an overview of how it is taught the Montessori way, and the Waldorf way. Let’s see I need a video of an excited teacher talking about these concepts, I wonder what Great Courses has-I love everything I’ve watched or listened to from them (we just listened to the history of World War II on our trip to Utah). I need to tackle Euclid. I have touched on Plato’s thoughts in other subjects in earlier studies, and I look forward to going into more depth on his geometry thoughts. I have “Flatland,” and “Mathematics: Is God Silent?” so I will probably hit those too.

When I nursed my first baby I read every one of Jane Austen’s novels. When I nurse this one I hope to get math a little more. As Blanchard and Johnson of “One Minute Manager,” point out I’m in the phase of high energy and low direction. Perhaps, I can find a mentor before the low energy phase hits…. Mentoring, there is another gap, and the importance of handwork to the development of the whole individual, and color theory, and sewing, and knitting, and the amendments, aaahhh lots of gaps- I think I’ll hit math next.

Our Chore "System"

2009-11-21T09:54:00.000-08:00

I thought I’d share the most effective chore system we’ve ever had as this topic has come up on several lists lately. I wrote down every chore I could think of on individual cards. At about 4:30 in the afternoon I sit down and flip through the cards to see what needs done that day. I pull these out divide the harder ones into two piles and put what seems appropriate for a 4 and 6 year in two other piles. I then call the kids in and hand them their pile. They go do all of the chores, bring the cards back when done and I check them and have them redo anything needed.
When the younger ones finish their chores they are free to help the older ones, but the older ones are not allowed to use any coercion methods to get their help. The older ones know that as soon as the younger children are trained they will take on more chores and make less work for them, so they very readily encourage the help and teach them to work. Also, if any of the children are done with their chores they are also free to come and help me with mine. This is most often done when I am baking anything. Kamron gets the most help from the little ones, because he offers time on his bed/fort for those who help him. Aubrey usually just pleads with them, which sometimes works, but we are also working on helping her to get cooperation through other means.
I also no longer pay for extra chores. If there are extra or unusual jobs that need done I write it on a card and hand it to them, during chore time. The kids do get an unconnected allowance for being a hard working member of the family.

A sample stack of chores for the day might be:
Kamron (11yos)
Wash tables and chairs completely
Vacuum all floors
Clean toilet
Clean out old food in fridge, wipe down shelves
Tidy frontroom, look around edges and under things
Change kitty litter

Aubrey (9yos)
Vacuum edges of all rooms with hose
Sweep and mop kitchen floor
Clean entry hall
Take everything, except maps out of car and put or throw away
Take out garbage

Brennen (6yos)
Tidy hall
Pick up room and make bed

Logan (4yos)
Make bed
Use wipe and clean all doorknobs and light switches

During this time I am typically tidying/reorganizing a certain area of the house, folding clothes and making dinner, while supervising or reteaching how to do a chore. That is our simplest, yet most effective method to date.

Overheard at Our House This Week

2009-11-15T22:23:00.000-08:00

I took Seth, 2 yro, with me to Aubrey’s dance class. He started talking to everyone. He walked up to a man and gestures to me and says very matter-of-factly, “That’s my sister.” Then he does his fake laugh and says, “Just kiddin’, that’s my Grandma.”

Seth got in the car after church today. He looked at Dad and says, “Dad you are my hero. I understand you.” He has been walking around telling everyone he understands them lately.

I told the kids we were going to have a pie. Four-year-old, Logan jumped up and asked if he could help make it. I took it out of the oven and said it was actually already done. He looked at me and said, “how can you make it so fast?” I smiled and told him I had bought it already made. His eyes grew wide and he said, “Mom, you are so cool.”

Sethie told me a story today. It went like this, “Once upon a time, there was a car. It went fast. Amen.”

Logan asked me today, “If I wash my hands and then they touch each other, are they still clean?”

Three of the kids went to friends' houses, Logan, 4, and Kamron, 11 were left home. Kamron allowed Logan on his bed/fort, where they developed a secret handshake and a secret club. He shared his candy and they played. Pretty soon I hear Kamron say, "Logan, I am so glad you stayed home today, I didn't know how fun it was to be with you." Logan just offered a huge hug and said, "You are my biggest bud."

Aubrey asked me if she was attractive. She then went into the bathroom and came back with globs of gel in her hair. Oh, my. "I want to look really nice today," she explained. Ummm.

Brennen has discovered a new talent-he can burp on demand...loudly. Kamron's friends were over and at first were much impressed, and then after awhile the oldest one said that was enough. See, it isn't just Mom that gets tired of some of the antics of boys.

I taught Kamron's class in church today. What a fun lot of boys! Before class Kamron asked me if I would only be teaching one week or more. The boy next to him, with one of those wrinkled expressions, asked in an undertone if he wanted his mom to teach him. Kamron replied, "Yeah! She teaches me at home, then she could teach me here too, it would be great!" After class, they asked me to teach again next week, Kamron's reply was "woohoo!" It's nice to know he likes having me around.

Crochetted Vests for Fall

2009-11-15T22:10:00.001-08:00

My children love to match, so I made the three younger boys these coordinated fall vests. Each vest is trimmed with the color of one of the other vests. I made Brennen's last and didn't realize how tall he was getting, so the stripe got added for extra length as I ran out of yarn, hey it's hard to gauge when you are just making it up as you go=). They love them and have worn them to church for the last three weeks in a row. My oldest asked for one too. He also asked for a suit as he likes to dress up for church. I opted to get him the suit, instead of making him a vest, as I didn't know how it would look on a boy his age. I thnk a knitted vest would look better on the older children, so if I ever learn to knit, maybe I'll make them all another set.

The next thing on the hook is pink... I hope to finish it next week when we are traveling to Utah for Thanksgiving.

Anniversary

2009-11-02T21:41:00.000-08:00

Kevin and I have been married 12 years! We took a few days to go to Yosemite alone. We had only a vague plan and no reservations. The only thing left was unheated tent cabins which the clerk told us were $100 a night, not willing to pay that we went to the car and called a reservation line and booked one for $50, then went back to the counter and told them we had reservations.

We hiked as much as I could as a six month pregnant lady. Kevin took lots of pictures, getting half dome from many angles. We drove up to a mountain point that overlooked the valley, which was particularly beautiful.

I wish we could have gotten more pictures of the animals. We saw families of mule deer that didn't flinch when we came within ten yards. We had two raccoons come and look at our dinner plates. We saw watched a crow repeat its call over and over in the Sequoia forest, and we saw an animal that had the markings of a raccoon, but the build of a ferret. It was rather nice, slow and peaceful.

Safetyville

2009-10-18T07:53:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun at Safetyville this week. The kids were taken on a one hour tour. After the tour the kids got an hour to explore and practice what they had learned all throughout the miniature town.
They got to raise and lower the guards for the railroad tracks and practice waiting for the train to go by.
They got to practice dialing 9-1-1 and talking to the operator. The emergency they described was always the same, "my brother broke his neck."
They got to practice staying on the sidewalk.
They learned to stop-drop and roll.
Sethie's favorite part was just hanging out on the railroad tracks. It took a lot of convincing to get him to leave these.

They were setting up for Halloween, so we got a picture with their props.

Needle Felt Pumpkins

2009-10-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

I feel like I am in catch up mood lately. You know that phase when you are running behind on everything rather than actively planning and working your plan- ie., doing those things that are most important. Last week I planned to do several fall projects with the children. They have been begging me to do more with the wool, and I keep saying I would get to it. So one day at almost bedtime, I invited them all on my bed and told them we would make pumpkins. I showed the older two how to use the barbed needle and then I helped the younger three. It was so cute to watch them all concentrating, and they were so pleased with their results.

2009-10-15T22:15:00.001-07:00

Create your own visitor map!

Another House Offer

2009-10-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

We are putting an offer in on another home. I would love this one, 5 bed, 3 bath, 3 car garage, two story, quiet neighborhood, near a nature walk and creek, and also a park, has five fruit trees and a raised bed veggie garden on a larger lot. We are offering more than asking but I am not going to hold my breath. To all those who think this is a great time to buy, it is, if you have infinite amounts of patience as your papers sit on a banker's desk for months until they get around to it, in the meantime you have to hope the house doesn't foreclose, and your lender stays in business long enough for the whole deal to come together. I feel like I'm boxing-round two, here I come. Lots of fun.

Brennen Lost His First Tooth

2009-10-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

He was coming up with theories as to where the toothfairy gets the money-she flies around at night and picks up all the money people have lost on the sidewalks when they were walking around. Then he told me he knew what she did with all the teeth-she builds sculptures which she then lowers to the bottom of the ocean, so if you swim down there will be many beautiful things to see. He then said, "but the toothfairy could be my mom, it is something I will have to investigate further."

What My Kids Do When I Am Working

2009-10-02T12:20:00.001-07:00

So what do my kids do when I am on a webex meeting for work?
They build blanket lands in the backyard...

or they draw all over themselves with inkpads.

I'm grateful for mute.

Needle Felting

2009-10-02T12:07:00.000-07:00

As I am studying wool, I have been wanting to learn about needle felting. The younger three boys and I took a walk in Old Town Elk Grove and saw a little art studio that was offering a class on needle felting. I jumped at the chance, and learned a lot of the basics from it. I made this rabbit, which took about six hours. I did not have the finer gauge needle for the finishing, and I am not sure how I like the front fluff, but as my kids played with it all of the real rabbit hair in the front came out anyway, it probably looks better now=). My daughter wants a dog to go with her dolls (who are on a wagon train, right now, and need a good guard dog that can also hunt), so I will probably work with her to make that next.

Tech Museum

2009-10-02T11:05:00.000-07:00

We went to the Tech Museum in San Jose a few weeks ago. This is a really neat museum! There were very few other people there so the kids pretty much got the run of it. Everything was hands on and included things from interactive globes that showed the effects of recent disasters, design stations for robots and roller coasters (the kids then got to ride a simulation of the roller coaster they designed). It had a room on earthquakes with a simulator, a computer/shadow interactive wall, where you could catch the shadows which would then interact with your shadow, a wall of music, etc.
Here is Aubrey using a pulley and ramp in tandem with other children who used various other simple machines in a system they set up and designed to get a ball from one place to another. She and Brennen spent over an hour on this exhibit alone.
Brennen is using a remote control to guide an underwater robot, which is similar to one that might take pictures of the ocean floor. In another part of the museum he used a computer to build six different robots for different purposes, such as deep sea, outer space etc. That was the exhibit he was most absorbed in.
Logan is next to the jet pack simulator. To be honest I can't remember what this one was=). It is a cross section of something that goes into space and the kids could climb in, that's all I remember of this one.
Kamron is working in the green energy room here. He had to tweak solar panels so that the maximum amount of energy could be gathered from the sun. In that room the kids also built windmills, placed them in wind tunnels and watched the gauges to see how much energy they could get from them. They also had to build water wheel type things to be placed in a dam that when the maximum amount of energy was produced it would light a tower all the way to the top. So much of this had to do with angles of the various things that it was a nice tie-in to what he is studying in math also.

I had an interesting question I had never had before as a homeschooling Mom. I was talking to a mom and when she found out I was pregnant with my sixth and I homeschooled she asked, "So are you just hoping they turn out?" As always the perfect answer didn't come right then, I said something about not going on a hope, but I was pretty sure everything would turn out alright. As I thought about it later I have to wonder who is going more on hope-the parent who turns the child over to another adult, because that is the adult assigned to them and that adult is supposed to follow somebodies goals-not the parent's goals, not the adult's goals-just somebodies that have come down to the adult in some almost unknown fashion, and doing this six hours a day, nine months a year is what will help make these kids alright. Hopefully. Or is the child more likely to turn out alright when under the direction of a self-sacrificing parent who is constantly monitoring the growth of character, knowledge and skills and tieing them into the goals the parent has for that child and the goals that child has for himself? The second scenario may have hope involved, but it certainly has more hard work and careful thought than the first. In either case there are no guarantees, but I think in most cases the degree of parental involvement and child's ability to have a say in where he wants to go in life will bring more growth towards positive ends than another scenario.

First Wet Felting

2009-08-30T16:22:00.001-07:00

The kids and I tried our hands at wet felting last week. It took us longer than the directions said (about 2.5 hours total), so we had to break it into two days.
We took wool roving, and soapy water, then built up a ball.
We took turns squishy the ball in warm soapy water. Here is Seth having his turn. Playing in bubbles, what more can a two-year-old ask for?
After covering the ball with plastic we added the next layer and squished in soapy water again. This was repeated for the remaining four layers.
After this was all nicely worked and squished, we cut into each layer forming the flower. We then rinsed it and set it out to dry.
Here is the final flower stacked.

New Introductions in Preschool

2009-08-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

I work from lists-many lists. I have just received a large order of Montessori materials and was researching logical orders of introductions, which I placed on a list. I then decided to add some of the other areas to the list. This list would be appropriate to start between 2.5 and 4.5 years. It is not going to all make sense, but for those familiar with the Montessori materials, and some Waldorf materials they may understand it. About one new item is introduced a day. After the item/lesson is introduced it is left out for the child to work on as he pleases. When items are no longer appropriate for the boys they are removed from the preschool cupboards, to be reintroduced later as is, with variations or not at all. Without further ado, here is my list-

Knobbed cylinders
Stacking blocks (pink tower)
Color box 1
“Los Pollitos,” “Lavender’s Blue” 1-3, “Knives and Forks” handrhyme
Art Folders 1-1

Cuisenaire Rods staircase
Tactile boards match-gradation

Fabric Box 1
Storytelling with props
Matching seeds
Baking Bread
Baby to Mother animals matching
Poetry memorization 1
Mozart Mouse 1 Music time

Japanese Painting Board
Pour beans
Geometric shapes
Mozart Mouse 1 Music time
Water Color Painting with yellow and story
Geometric insets
Art Folders 1-2

Nuts and Bolts
Music with parachute etc.
Sorting bears by color
Pouring rice
Classify shells

Wet felting
“Cabballito Blanco,” “A Wise Old Owl,” “Skip to My Lou”
Storytelling with props
Magnetic sorting
Baking
Spoon beans
Color wheel
Mozart Mouse 1 Music time
Poetry memorization 2
Fabric Box 2
Geometry gradation of sizes
Dusting
Leaf rubbing
Art Folders 1-3
Sound cylinders
Set up nature table
Mozart Mouse 1 Music time
Sand and paint wooden animal
Folding a napkin
Sorting bears by size
3-part language cards
Poetry memorization 3
String beads
Knobbed cylinders extension
Is it an insect file folder
Storytelling with props

“Arre, caballito,” “The Lion and the Unicorn” “Little Mice”
Watercolor painting with blue and story

Art Folders 2-1
Sound cylinder extension
Mozart Mouse 2 Music time
Change nature table
Sorting by size blindfolded
Using a large dropper
Modeling beeswax
Walking the line
Stacking Blocks extension
Color Box 2
Baking
“Aserrin, Aserran,” “Good King Arthur,” 2nd version of “Head and Shoulders”
Poetry memorization 4
Tongs

Using a small dropper
3-part language cards
Mozart Mouse 2 Music time
Fabric Box 1 extensions
Art Folders 2-2
Classify quadrilaterals
Carding wool
Linking cubes matched to numbers
Sponge transfer
Setting a table
Color Box 2 memory
Change nature table
“La luna es rednonda,” “Old King Coal,” “Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Grow.”
Storytelling with props

Pour water
Spindle box
Hand spinning of wool
Color wheel extension

3-part language cards
Baking

Overcast stitch on board
Mix colors with dropper
Poetry memorization-5
Mozart Mouse 2 Music time
Watercolor painting with red and story
Silence game
Hole punch

Straining
Sand Paper numbers
3-part language cards
Art Folders 2-3
“La viejita,” “There Was an Old Woman,” “I Travelled Over Land and Sea”
Storytelling with props
Tokens matched to numbers
Baric Tablets-2 boxes
Bookbinding
Running stitch
Coloring with block crayons
Wash chairs
Quanty Graphing
Knobbed cylinders further extensions
Mozart Mouse 2 Music time
Using a funnel
Sculpey clay animal
Tactile boards-blindfolded
3-part language cards
Hammering
“La Mariposa Linda,” “The Queen of Hearts,” “Show Me Your Handwork”
Scale
Make Numbers out of pipecleaners and beads, Syrendell
Folding paper
Sandpaper letters
Change nature table
Art Folders 3-1
Stamping
Mozart Mouse 2 Music time
Poetry memorization-6
Sounds cylinders gradation
Fabric box blindfolded
3-part language cards
Wash table

Magnifying images to match
Watercolor painting with yellow and blue and story
Screws and screwdriver
“La arana pequenita,” “Come Out to Play,” “In and Out the Bonnie Bluebells”
Baking
Comparant graphing
Flower arranging
Geography sandpaper cards
Cutting
Braiding
Storytelling with props
Art Folders 3-2
Smelling cylinders
Mozart Mouse 2 Music time
3-part language cards
Pressure cylinders
Weaving
Comparant graphing with symbols
Baric Tablets blindfolded

Color box 3 gradation
“Cinco Pollitos,” “Cross Patch,” “Looby Loo”
Polishing coins or metal
Baking
Command cards
Mozart Mouse 3 Music time
Watercolor painting with yellow and red and story
Art Folders 3-3
Poetry memorization-7

1-10 in tray, teach odd and even
Knobbed cylinder-memory
Change nature table
Sandpaper letters match beginning sound to words
Baric Tablets extension with 3rd box
Beeswax modeling
Mozart Mouse 3 Music time

Tweezers work
Command Cards 2
Mystery bag
Storytelling with props
Finger knitting
Moveable alphabet
Fraction skittles
“Este chiquito,” “Dance to Your Daddy,” “A Tisket, a Tasket” with dance
Watercolor painting with red and blue and story
Match words to pictures
Hundreds chart-count
Baking
Fingerpainting
Poetry memorization 8
Hundreds chart find numbers
Change nature table
Mozart Mouse 3 Music time
Hundreds chart skip count by 2

Links of Free Resources

2009-08-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

The charter school I work for begins Monday. Some of the students do not have there orders in yet, so I am required to give them options that they can do while waiting for the orders. As part of that I compiled some of my favorite links by subject. I only put in the ones that are free. I thought I would share that here, also, in case others are in the same boat or are just looking for something else.

Free Resources from the Web

Language Arts
http://www.englishgrammar101.com/
http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/library.htm
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page Books in the public domain
http://www.mainlesson.com More books in the public domain
http://www.loc.gov/index.html Library of Congress
http://librivox.org/ Free audio books
http://www.sylvandellpublishing.com/sitelicense.php?sc=R2OFNK Picture ebooks
http://www.geocities.com/gene_moutoux/diagrams.htm Diagramming sentences

Math
http://www.livingmath.net/
http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm Free complete math program
http://themathworksheetsite.com/ this site is predominately math, but also has worksheets for other subject areas
http://www.mathfactcafe.com/
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/
http://www.mathwithlarry.com/lessons/lesson001.htm Video lessons

Science
http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/
http://www.oplin.org/tree/
http://www.sln.org/
http://www.sciencebob.com/index.php

Social Studies/History
http://www3.canisius.edu/~emeryg/time.html A variety of timelines
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/
http://cagle.msnbc.com/teacher/ Studies for political cartoons

Art
http://www.artprojectsforkids.org/
http://harmonyartmom.blogspot.com/
http://www.rolandcollection.com/films/ Films on art

Music
http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/past.asp
http://www.gmajormusictheory.org/Freebies/freebies.html Free Piano Music by levels
http://intelli-tunes.com/free-teacher-resources.php
http://www.essentialsofmusic.com/main.html

Foreign Language
http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=eh

Handwork
http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/multimedia/enn/archive.aspx Videos

Typing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/

Complete Curriculums or Eclectic
Complete Curriculum with links to Many books and activities available online free http://www.amblesideonline.org/
http://www.homeschoolshare.com/ site for free unit studies, lapbooks etc.
A list of books found online and in the public domain found in all subject areas http://oldfashionededucation.com/
http://www.homeschoolfreebie.wholesomechildhood.com/ This site offers one new freebie each day that is about anything homeschool related
http://www.easyfunschool.com/
http://www.kidzone.ws/
http://ldshomeschoolinginca.org/gbp.html This describes the Great Brain Project that can be adapted to any subject
http://universitiesandcolleges.org/free-online-college-courses/
http://donnayoung.org/index.htm
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/free_printables.htm
http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/

Religion
http://www.christiananswers.net/kids/clr-indx.html Coloring pages
http://www.gardenofpraise.com/bibllnks.htm
http://www.padfield.com/photoindex.html Upper grade Bible Study

Running Record

2009-08-12T13:49:00.001-07:00

During my early childhood education I was introduced to the idea of a running record. I have really liked this way of recording a child's actions, and have used it periodically since my oldest was born. All you do is follow the child around for five to ten minutes or so and write down everything they do.

Here is one I just did of Seth at 2.5 yrs:

Seth was getting into something, his sister said, “No, no Sethie.” He looks up at her innocently and says, “I Fred.” Then he came in and told me, “I Mom.” I said, “No, I’m Mom.” His response was, “You Seth, I Mom.” So I began to pout and said, “Mommm!” He says, “Yes, sweetie,” in the cutest high-pitched voice. I told him I wanted my nana, “I get it, sweetie. You tired?” He ran off to get his blanket, but soon got distracted by a book. All of the characters in this book have noses. This is very exciting. He points to several noses and says, “a nosey, a nosey, a nosey.” He shouts, “Nose!” in delight. He sees Thomas the Train in a picture and says, “Thomas! Thomas where are you?” He begins commenting on other pictures, “He’s going swimming. Ooo, what shall he do? He hab a train, Thomas. Thomas! Thomas? James, where are you? Come here Thomas. Shoo, shoo, choo.” He looks up at me, “You want a milk? You want to go to sleep?”

The nice thing about these records is they can show how many words the children are using, what their interests are, and how often they move around. It is like a little snapshot in words.

Artist Studies

2009-08-10T20:56:00.001-07:00

This term our artist is Casper David Friedrich. He is not someone I had ever heard of before, but I tend to pull my artist from previous years Ambleside recommendations, so that I can glean from the archives, and because we often start school before the current terms works are selected. Over the summer the older two learned cursive, so I used the idea from Queen Homeschool and interweaved artist study with cursive. I had the six paintings printed at Walmart as 8x10’s. I then typed in a cursive font a sentence about the painting or the artist for them to copy each day. I put all of this in a pronged folder. On the first Friday of a painting study the children are asked to do a blind placement sketch of the painting. This is when the children draw as much about the painting as they can remember without looking at it. On the second Thursday and Friday the children are asked to attempt to recreate the painting as best they can with whatever art medium they choose. They may look at it this time.

This was the painting from the first two weeks:

Here is Aubrey's recreation:

Brennen is doing our typical method of study which is to once or twice a week study the painting and then hide it and tell me all he can remember. To this we occasionally add some other form of narration such as sketching, acting out the painting or discussing it. For him it is a short ten minute a week study. He spends two weeks per painting, six paintings by one artist. The older children have done this since the beginning and we love the collection of beautiful paintings that are now familiar friends, which we have gained.

This is the painting we began studying last week and are continuing this week. Brennen's blind narration was, "There's a guy on a rock and there is fog, and mountains. There's two mountains in the fog. It's light and there's a little tiny bit of yellow in the fog."

For the younger children we use the “Childsized Masterpiece” program. This is a Montessori type approach to art study and builds from matching paintings, to recognizing paintings by artist to learning to recognize the different schools of art throughout history. These are kept in folders and worked on as the child desires or as I reintroduce them, so there is no schedule. Even Seth is able to work at the second level with these, which is to match different paintings by the same artist, and differentiate them from paintings by other artists. We work with six pairs at a time as any more does overwhelm him.

Baby Sweater

2009-08-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

I have almost finished a sweater for the baby, whom the doctor thinks is a girl=). I still need to pick out and add the buttons. I also made a matching one for Aubrey's doll-it also needs buttons. She will get it for Christmas.

The Way of a Child

2009-07-31T22:27:00.000-07:00

My husband and I were talking about someday renting a cabin in the woods for a week in the summer and spend that time working on our various writing projects. My children overheard and asked if they could come. I said yes they would come, and they could go have adventures in the woods when Daddy and I were writing. My four-year-old started crying, "I don't want you to leave me in the woods." I assured him he could come in the cabin any time. He said, "No, the woods are scary." After a thoughtful silence he asked, "Are there hyenas in the woods?" My helpful daughter said, "No, there aren't any hyenas, but we will probably get chased by bears." Tears again broke forth, until I told him that it would probably be at least two summers before we could do it and he would be six. The tears immediately stopped and he looked at me, "Oh, okay, I will be able to beat the bears up when I am six." And he happily ran away to go play. Such is the way of the four-year-old.

The younger species in our home, the two-year-old has become increasingly friendly, not just with strange men sitting on park benches. Oh, no, why stop there? He has decided to spread his friendliness to cars. Yes, cars. He waves to them as we drive or walk. When Daddy gets home he greets Daddy and proceeds to aks him about his car, did he drive it? Is it good? When we get out of our Suburban he refuses to come in the house until he has walked around to the front grill, stroked it lovingly and said something to the effect of, "hiun fren vana un oon." Of course, all I can think of is, "ew, bugs!"
The other day we went on a two hour walk to feed ducks and meander. We stopped to look at bouncy little ball thingy's under oak trees(my husband says they are worm eggs, which I was glad to not think at the time). The kids were running their hands over them to see them bounce and just watching them. The older kids that is. My little one saw nothing interesting in bouncing little balls, but he did see a friendly car and so wandered over to it and smiled and began to carry on a rather one-sided conversation. His little hands were behind his back as he prattled away. He seemed content with his conversation and told the car goodbye with a most affectionate air. And with that we will leave the glimpse of the way of the two-year-old a delightful world where talking to cars is as normal as dragging your favorite blanket around, so as to always be prepared for a nap.

Organizing this School Year

2009-07-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

We are the second day of the second week into the new school year. Kamron is in Year 6, Aubrey in Year 4, and Brennen is in Year 1. We are mostly following the Ambleside Online Curriculum, with some additions, subtractions and substitutions. This is a heavier year for both of the older two than ever before as I am attempting to work in all of the goals we have for them. We have begun Plutarch, Form Drawing, the actual Shakespeare plays, Kamron is studying business and economics and Aubrey is taking a cooking and home economics course.

About three weeks ago someone on the Ambleside Yahoo group brought up workboxes. I had never heard of these, but I began researching them and then deciding that the basic idea might be very good as an organizational method. The system which I began implementing does not look anything like the original as I only use one box per child rather than twelve. The part I latched onto and love is to have all of the child’s work in one place along with all of the supplies they will need for school that day. That way they can wake up and see how much work they have to do, they can see a few fun things sprinkled throughout and as they get done they get to see the items remaining in the box begin to dwindle. This has been working great. At first the amount of work made both children balk, but Kamron has begun really buckling down and working hard. Aubrey still usually dawdles and was still working at 3:45 yesterday.

Logan has also decided he is too old for preschool and is big enough for real studying every day. So we have dubbed him in four-year-old school and at first I had set up a box for him with some of his projects, but as I lean towards many Montessori ideas for the young children I wanted him to be able to pick many of his activities. So this week I set up a cupboard of activities that will periodically/weekly change depending on his mastery and interest. He has enjoyed this so far. Brennen also likes to use this cupboard. I will do a separate post on what is in it later.

I am pleased with the progress we are making and the amount of serious study the children are getting done. We are also missing so much less, the form of narration I would like is also in there, so even that is getting done consistently.

We have also opted to do school for six weeks on, one off throughout the year with an additional week off here and there. At the end of each term we are also going to attempt the oral examinations Charlotte Mason recommends, as I want the children to retain the information and ideas while also learning to express themselves well. This schedule will allow me the prep time I need, the children the time for free explorations and play. It also builds in a buffer in case we get behind.

Bible Lessons Learned by One Brother at Least

2009-07-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Brennen, 5yrso, was doing some punch work. He left his tack on the floor and his older brother stepped on it. His older brother, 10yrso, screamed in pain and glowered. Brennen said he was sorry, but after a minute his naughty older brother picked up a tack and poked his arm. Brennen screamed and said through tears, "Do good to those who hurt you!' pause, "That is what the Bible says. I know it is hard but you should not hurt others even if they hurt you."

As for the youngest brother, who is two. He is full of terms of endearment lately. When he says thank you, he says, "Thanks, hon." When he wants me to come with him he says, "Come on, sweetie." What a precious little one is Sethie.

It Is Bedtime and...

2009-06-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

After the children put on a Calapp Comedy show, it is time for bed. But Logan has one more joke. “Well, I was sitting next to this frog and… someone ate it.” And I laugh. He runs to hug me. We say prayers and I tuck him in. Then I tuck in Brennen and Sethie, who want hugs first, and that car, and this blanket just so. Then Aubrey wants to talk. “Why did her skit about the girl whose favorite animal was a seashell fall flat, when almost everything Kamron said was funny and made everyone laugh. He’s always so funny, and he’s handsome and everyone likes to watch him and be around him, including me, and I don’t have any talents at all.” She says her prayers and prays for talents. I remind her of her artwork and she brightens jumps up and says what should I draw? With Logan’s joke still in my head I say “a frog.” In no time she has a beautiful frog drawn on her page. She smiles, and then frowns, “but that talent isn’t on a stage and nobody is watching me and clapping. I want people to watch me and clap.” We talk more and I hug her and tuck her in. Kamron is in the bath, so I go to my room. Pretty soon he knocks. He doesn’t have much to say just a little more about Twilight Camp-he did CPR again today, and lots of archery, and well, good night. He’s not too old for a hug and then he goes off to bed. It is 10:30 and I stop to think and it occurs to me, I am that lady. I am Mom. This means little to some people but when I say Mom, I mean like my mom. The lady who sat for hours listening to my questions and concerns, stories and joys-feeling them, sharing them and making me feel all was right with the world. When I think of my mom, it seems almost sacrilegious to say that I am Mom, and, yet, I can look through the eyes of my children and I can see it. To them I am that lady. I am Mom.

Nature and Habit

2009-06-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

Truth be told, I am a rather lazy person, or at least I have a very strong natural inclination to be so. Many days I just want to sit and surf the internet, or sleep-or lay there if I can’t sleep. I often can not fall asleep at night, and falling back to sleep is a nightmare, if I am ever woken, and lets face it- how many young mothers are not woken up at night? So, I want to use this as my excuse, while knowing that being lazy exasperates my insomnia. Yet, even while I desire to be lazy, I love productivity. I love to make lists and get things done. I just have an inner struggle daily making myself get started or keep going. Charlotte Mason said that habit is ten times as strong as nature. And there is the key. I must build within myself contrary habits to my laziness.

I have been home with my children for a month. There were things I immediately began to address-new habits I desired to establish, because I felt I must. And there is another of Miss Mason’s gems of wisdom.

“The sense of must should be present with children; our mistake is to act in such a way that they, only, seem to be law-compelled while their elders do as they please. The parent or teacher who is pestered for 'leave' to do this or that, contrary to the discipline of the house or school, has only himself to thank; he has posed as a person in authority, not under authority, and therefore free to allow the breach of rules whose only raison d'être is that they minister to the well-being of the children. Two conditions are necessary to secure all proper docility and obedience and, given these two, there is seldom a conflict of wills between teacher and pupils. The conditions are,––the teacher, or other head may not be arbitrary but must act so evidently as one under authority that the children, quick to discern, see that he too must do the things he ought; and therefore that regulations are not made for his convenience. (I am assuming that everyone entrusted with the bringing up of children recognizes the supreme Authority to Whom we are subject; without this recognition I do not see how it is possible to establish the nice relation which should exist between teacher and taught.)” Volume 6, page 73.

And I do feel I am under authority. I must not let my children be quarrelsome, I must regularly instruct them in the scriptures, and I must provide wholesome foods to nourish their growing bodies. These are the three things which I have been endeavoring to work towards this month. Only in the second has habit won out over my nature already, probably, because that is where I feel the must most keenly. The other two are improving, but I still feel as if I have to concentrate and force myself to redirect the quarrelsome pair, and even more so, to plan and prepare large and varied, wholesome food. If I can be more diligent in these two things over the next month, I am confident habit will win out. And, to paraphrase Charlotte Mason, when habit has won over nature I will have secured easier days, at least in these things.

Montessori Language Cards

2009-06-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

When I was student teaching the resource room was throwing out a bunch of curriculum and supplies. I saved a box of English Language Learner(ELL) cards. It has photographs on both sides and the word in english on one side. When I brought them home I didn't know what I would do with them, but I figured I would do something. Then I started thinking about the Montessori Language Cards. These would be perfect! My 5-year-old is studying insects and flowers, so I took out the insect and plant pictures, printed up labels, and then introduced him to the cards. He read the word and matched it to the picture. This was perfect for his level, but to make it harder later I will let him have all of the words and give him one picture at a time to match to the words. I may then print up spanish labels and then have the children label the objects in spanish, though it would not have the control of the english word that can be checked on the back, and would then be a paired activity rather than an independent one. Unless, I taped the spanish word to the back, too. Oh, and what if I give him loose letters to spell the words with and then he could turn over the card to check if he spelled them correctly. Hmm, I'm seeing possibilities here.

Pregnant?

2009-06-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

So I'm making baby clothes and am queesy-I must be pregnant, right? As a matter of fact, yes. I am about eight weeks along. Of course, I don't know if it a boy or girl, but I already have boys clothes and I have no girls clothes, plus girls clothes are just funner to make than boys, hence the girl stuff.

Melissa's Ramblings: Attitudes Toward Homeschooling

2009-06-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

Melissa's Ramblings: Attitudes Toward Homeschooling

Multiplication Art Book

2009-06-10T12:53:00.001-07:00

We finished our multiplication/skip counting books today. I did these with my oldest three children and my nephew and niece. The children bent a number line in a circle and then counted by multiples, drew either straight or curved lines to the number in the units place and then colored the resulting pattern with various mediums. They did ten pages and were required to use at least seven different art mediums. The three older children then wrote the accompanying multiplication problems, while the younger two wrote their skip counting numbers. The children were able to see various patterns and also how the skips of one number relate to another. Below are some that I liked from each of the kids collections.
Multiples of one in tempera paint.
Multiples of two in marker.
Multiples of three in colorix, which is a beeswax medium.
Multiples of four in crayon.
Another multiple of four in colored pencil.
Multiples of five in watercolor paintbrush pens. It is interesting that most of my nieces colorings were done in complementary colors. I don't think she even realized this.
I didn't end up with a six, but it comes out to be the same pattern as the four.
Multiples of seven in watercolored pencils, but not blended.
Multiples of eight in colored pencils.
Multiples of eight in broad pen.
Multiples of nine in chalk.
Multiples of ten in colored pencil.

Creating

2009-06-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

As a daughter of God I have a desire to create. Even with little ones hugging and kissing and climbing all over me. As a daughter of my mother I saw how it was done. My mom was always making something. She had a sewing room that she worked in, a place perfectly organized to make her many projects and that also had spots for her children to come in and talk to her as she worked. I can also remember her sitting on our fuzzy brown couch with patterns of brown twigs and other things all over it with her feet pulled up to one side or resting on our very ugly brown foot stool. She had a light next to her and a bag of supplies and as we watched movies she would be making something out of plastic canvas, cross stitch, embroidery, crochet or knit.

I have enjoyed taking advantage of the little moments. I am blessed with a little boy who needs someone to listen to him read and to generally be near as he works which is a perfect time for handwork. I have also been queasy this last week and been doing a lot of sitting, so it has been the perfect opportunity to crochet. I have finished a little jacket, and am nearly done with a dress. I’ll post a picture of the latter when I have it done.

Wire Sculpting

2009-06-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

My kids love to make things out of pipe cleaners, and have become quite adept at it. My son has an entire sweater box under his bed filled with all of his pipe cleaner creations-people, dragons, animals, the Cinderella characters etc. I thought it was time for them to take it to another level, so this week we began a study of wire sculpting. Kamron immediately began creating people, dragons, etc. out of wire, but I did get him to create a leaf for me today. Aubrey's scupltures are much more abstract. We're slowly going to broaden the scope of wire sculpture creation. Tomorrow we will do a project where we wrap an object in yarn, sketch just the yarn and then attempt to recreate it in wire. We'll see how that goes, but for today here are some of our creations. If you are interested in seeing any professional sculptures here is a neat page, http://www.wirelady.com/.

Logan and Seth wanted a picture of their tower too. Yes, Logan dresses himself-no I don't let him go out in public like that... most of the time.

Changes

2009-05-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

One phase is ending. I finished student teaching today: we move into a short term rental tomorrow. Another phase is beginning. I will begin training as an Educational Specialist to help others home school. I will be finding us a long term home, and most important of all I will be home with my children. I have missed them so much over the past nine weeks. I have my work cut out for me, though. They need some retraining, a lot more time away from the TV and involved with the family. A lot of their babysitters have used the TV as a helper and I am so glad that with this move we won't even have one in the house. I can't believe the phrases and attitudes they have picked up over the last nine weeks. After moving my first step will be to add back gentle rythms to our days. A half hour devotion time with the older children in the morning, a little bit of family study and cleaning, some quiet time after lunch, games after dinner and scriptures before bed. I'm hoping that this gentle schedule will heal some issues with the children and in our family. I pray for God's blessing on our summer phase.

I Got the Position

2009-05-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I have been working on getting my teaching credential for the last three years with the hope of getting hired by South Sutter as an ES. I had my interview Thursday and they offered me the position yesterday. Some of you have expressed interest in having me as your ES next year, and I am so excited to be able to do this. I love home schooling, love to talk about it, give ideas and get them. I am aware there are many ways of teaching the same thing and so hope to be able to offer alternative ideas if you get stuck. I am adept at taking life experiences and turning them into the “educationalise” required by the state. I also realize that sometimes this can get hard, after all, next weekend will be our third move in less than a year, I have been attending full time school, working full time, and juggling home schooling three different ages of students while have their younger siblings in tow. Of course, this has not been our best year, but some years aren’t. So if you hit a rough patch I hope to be able to encourage you to keep going. I feel strongly that the benefits of home schooling are worth the effort it takes. I also feel that the goals for your child’s education should not be designed by the state, but by the parents, the child and God. I love the individuality that comes when we can look at a particular child, pray and then say, for this semester this child really needs to learn to use poetry as an expressive outlet for her emotions, or he needs to learn to lead some time of group or she needs to learn to care for a younger child. Then we are free to find the best resources and methods to achieve these goals, and this is where I hope I may be of service to those who need it.
So for those who would like to go through South Sutter to home school and want me as their ES, I have 15 spaces available. If you are signing up for the first time, go to http://www.sscs.cc/ and click on the application form under the How To Enroll tab. On page 2 under the optional information section, it says requested ES. That is where you put Melissa Calapp=). If you are in the school already and wish to switch ES’s you can go to the Parent information tab, click on parent forms and then parent requests for change of ES. If love your current ES, don’t switch though, because it is awesome when you find one that you can click with. The school has said they will only assign me students who specifically request me for the next six weeks, after that they will begin filling in my spaces with other students.
I am so excited for next school year. If I can help in anyway prior, don’t hesitate to drop me a line.

Nanny Throws a Birthday Party

2009-05-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is Aubrey's birthday and Savannah's was a couple of days ago, so their grandma wanted to have a party for them at Girlfriendz. I thought this was more of a princess and tea party place, but it ended up being geared towards popular music, etc. They got to pick out outfits and then have their hair, makeup and nails done.

Here's Jenna getting her hair done.
Aubrey's hair is so thick it took the lady forever. She eventually just braided and wrapped the rest.
Aubrey preforms a solo, but since we don't listen to any of the music they had there she didn't know any of it, but she still had fun.
All of the girls pose.
Aubrey and her friend Heidi.
My dramatic daughter.

After they changed again, they got cute cupcakes and blew out candles.

German Wonder Ball

2009-04-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

A pile of trinkets and a ball of thick wool yarn, becomes a beautiful German tradition. When a child is taught to knit they are given a ball of yarn with special presents throughout so that every once in awhile as they work through their ball a new price is discovered. Here are the first five balls completed. I then decided to make three more for my nieces and nephew. After we made chains we turned them into flowers, which we then handed out on Easter. Here is Uncle Steve with a flower in his pocket.
Here the children are working away on their balls. The older two boys spent about three days finger knitting. They worked their way through about four skeins of yarn. This was a lot of fun.