Spring Fever

One thing I have been reminded of lately is the importance of a big picture goal. Recently my husband and I sat down one evening and discussed our long term goals for the family. Actually we do this pretty often, a few times a year.

We need to start writing things down though, it is not easy to remember to 'take notes' during those intimate talks though. But every time we have one of those good, sit down, long term, big picture discussions I feel soooo much better about the day to day stuff.

Our long term goals are not very complicated the biggest, most important one is 'get to Heaven bring as many people along with me as I can' Not very earth shattering. But-remembering that goal does put things into perspective for me. Then we drill down a bit and discuss how what we are doing day to day is helping us achieve that goal and the little ones in between like having a strong family sacramental life, encouraging our children to be close siblings etc. etc. Not that it is so formal when we talk, we just always seem to get around to those points.

One thing I have been missing lately, a key point I think, is the mindset for myself that if I am doing my job daily of taking care of the household, parenting and educating my children and nurturing my marriage, then all those small baby steps, as small as they may seem in the day to day grind (laundry?), are are still on the same path, the road I want to be on heading for Heaven. When I look at my life with that vision, I don't feel so overwhelmed, (or at my worst, apathetic, which is a sure burn out symptom for me)

a dream for my children

“Our aim in Education is to give a Full Life.––We begin to see what we want. Children make large demands upon us. We owe it to them to initiate an immense number of interests. ‘Thou hast set my feet in a large room,’ should be the glad cry of every intelligent soul. Life should be all living, and not merely a tedious passing of time; not all doing or all feeling or all thinking––the strain would be too great––but, all living; that is to say, we should be in touch wherever we go, whatever we hear, whatever we see, with some manner of vital interest. We cannot give the children these interests; we prefer that they should never say they have learned botany or conchology, geology or astronomy. The question is not,––how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education––but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?”
Charlotte Mason(Vol. 3, pp. 170, 171).

Neighborhood Field Day

We live in a great neighborhood. There are about 60 homes and we have everything from empty nesters to newlyweds. Luckily, there are several kids my kids ages and as all the parents have gotten to know their familes we all feel comfortable letting them play at each others houses. All summer and every afternoon it is like grand central station around here. The phone ringing, door banging, dog barking... you know the drill.

We are the only homeschool family and our kids were bummed at the end of last school year when all of their buds were getting ready for field day. I always hated field day in school so it was hard for me to relate, but when Lee announced we would host a Woodland Forest Field Day I went along with it and got into the spirit.

First our kids picked some events. here's what they came up with:

1. water balloon toss

2. run around the neighborhood

3. hole digging

4. soccer ball goal kick

5. quick dash down the street

6. timed karate bag kicks

7. swim race

getting ready for the first event

They invited all the kids in the neighborhood. We ended up with way more than we thought and some came after the events had gotten underway.

They're off!

Lainey in the water balloon shotput

We also decided we'd have individual winners, an all-round winner and a sportsmanship award.

The kids were pumped and the big day arrived.

my neighbor handing out some refreshments

here goes Ryan

Head coach and Master of Ceremonies {note the whistle!}

The kids had SO much fun (so did Lee!) and lots of other parents came out to cheer. We had volunteers to do this again next summer, bigger and better! I have to say this was much better than the field days I remember at my schools. Heh.

Hands on science

We had nice short school week that ended on a high note today at our homeschool co-op. I was assisting in the K-1st program where we had a science lesson, a brief Spanish lesson and some time in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium. Jake and Ryan are working on a unit study with other 2nd and 3rd graders and also have the opportunity to take a class on Gregorian chant.

The science lesson was on organs in the human body. The lead teacher had a fabulous lesson plan. She had a body poster for each child with stickers for the major organs she had placed on already. Then we went through several major ones and discussed their function. For each organ she had a short hands-on type of activity to bring it home for the kids and then they placed the label sticker themselves. For the brain we did a round of Simon Says. For the lungs we used a latex balloon illustrate inhaling and exhaling. We found our pulses, listened to our hearts and did a resting vs. activity pulse experiment. We saw how the liver acts like a coffee filter to clean our blood. We had a particularly icky demonstration of the large intestine. Mrs. Carr had pre-mixed up individual baggies with chocolate cake mix and oatmeal to familiar consistantcy (unless you suffer with some bowel issues!) then we cut a corner off the baggie and the children squeezed out the mix and saw how God designed our bodies to get rid of body trash. Ewww! Then the children got to demonstrate how our bladder collects and releases liquid waste using water balloons and a safety pin.

Isn't that a wonderful lesson? I know these kids will not soon forget the amazing functions of our organs. I think I had just as much fun as they did!

Diorama-Rama

Last week went pretty well considering the size of our school has doubled this year!

We are off to a great start I would say. The highlight of the week was the completion of a diorama that depicts the crossing of the Red Sea during the Exodus.



We began with a cereal box. (Yes, very healthy I know) We opened it up completely and then Jake and Ryan painted the sides blue and drew and colored some fish to paste on the 'water'. For the bottom of the sea (actually one of the narrow,long sides of the box), we spread some glue and then some sand. I made a little Moses out of pipe cleaners and he went in the front. The the stick people crowd of Israelites are behind him. Laine used watercolors to paint a sea-like background. I cut off the top of the cereal box and taped Laine's watercolor to it. That became the background of the diorama. Then I cut a sky light into the top (which was the other narrow long side of the box. In the front I cut a small hole to view the scene.




This project was based on one we found in the Story of the World vol.1 activity book. Fun was had by all. I love taking pictures of this stuff. There is no way I'll be able to save this diorama from being destroyed so the pictures are a great way to save the memories. Now I don't have to feel guilty for tossing out the crumpled and smashed box two weeks from now. This week's project is based on colored glass. I'll be sure and take more pictures.

First Day!

Today we officially begin a new school year. We have been doing some schooly stuff this summer, but today is the 'real' first day of the new school year. Luke and Laine are so excited to begin. Jake and Ryan are kind of bummed because we decided that there will not be any video/computer games during the weekdays. They are not sure they can survive, which is exactly why we instituted this rule. :)

Great website

I used this website a bit last year with Ryan, but I had forgotten about it until a friend of mine reminded me. Her son is in speech therapy and the therapist recommended it to her.

I am so glad she reminded me of this website. Starfall is free and has exellent and safe content to help pre-readers and new readers. Luke and Laine have been using the alphabet recognition pages and just love playing 'computer games' like their brothers.

Planning mode

I think I finally have my basic plan for curriculum this year done. I feel so much better prepared to begin this year. I love looking at different curriculum and books, but I am going to try so hard to just stick with what we're doing (as long as it's working) and not get distracted and interested in the Next Best Thing. My name is Tracy and I am a curriculum junkie.

I have loved books as long as I can remember. I love their smell! I was a regular at every school library and now I am making the regualr round at the local libraries. I like to go to amazon.com and read reviews for fun. So I guess it is no surprise that I love browsing for homeschooling stuff.

I did not go with one set curriculum this year. We will have a classical and Charlotte Mason mix mainly. I think this will be the right fit for us and I resolve to give it a good 12 weeks no matter what. There, I wrote it here so i have to do it!

Summer Moon

Tonight we will enjoy viewing the 'Summer Moon Illusion'

We plan to head outside and let our eyes be tricked. I will try to take some pictures to share too. I can't believe I have never heard of this before. Thanks Dawn!

Hair

Today my Mom came by and as she was leaving she offered to french braid Laine's hair. It has just gotten long enough and well, she is the expert! Laine was thrilled and was so good and still.

The braids were so cute and she immediately wanted to run off and show her brothers her new 'do.




There is something about hair and mothers and daughters. Hair is such a very big part of our feminine culture. It was this discussion over at the 4Real Learning Boards that first had me pondering the whole hair/mother/daughter/sister/friend importance.

I don't really have anything deep or meaningful to say about it only that I find it interesting and comforting. I would guess that probably every woman in every culture around the world has some childhood memory involving hair and the care and maintenance of it. I have several myself and I can also recall countless discussions with friends and even mere acquaintances about hair. How to achieve a certain look, struggles with poof or flatness etc...

Many of my childhood memories involve the braids. I remember the pull and tug of my mothers fingers and the softness of her hands. Sometimes when she was doing my hair, we were in a hurry or I was particularly squirmy and that might warrant and extra tug here or there or even the dreaded bop on the head with the brush!

Now with my own daughters the memories can come rushing back as they sit before me on the bathroom counter. Laine and Mary Claire actually like bows and braids. Mary Clare doesn't always keep them in, but she will bring me them from all over the house and tip her head so I can fix her up.

After Laine was all braided up I decided to see if MC was ready for a new look too.





I love the pigtails!

I also had to include this pic. Mary Clare sure is a fox!

Testing..one, two,three, testing......

I am administering the CAT tests to Jake and Ryan today and tomorrow. It isn't required by law here in Georgia until 3rd grade and then every three years after, but I wanted to give it to them now both for my own reference and also so they will learn how to take this kind of color in the bubble test. I will send it back to be graded and then I will get results by mail.

Part of me thinks standardized testing is bunk, but part of me does see the value in it. I am glad that in HS this test does not become the be all and end all of learning.

Late Winter Science and Nature

Late Winter Field Day

So we're in the car on I-75 on the way home from seeing our friends and Jake says, "Hey mom, I think that's a tornado!" Completely unphased, I look out the window and I am shocked to see this amazing funnel cloud. Luckily, I was able to get some great pictures. As we kept driving (a teensy bit faster now!) I was able to snap several more pictures. It was pretty clear this did not touch down anywhere, thank God! We spotted this in south Georgia, along I-75 on Feb.4. A couple of nights before there were some deadly tornados in north Florida.

It was very thrilling and I am just in awe of what we witnessed. Eventually it completly tapered out and just trailed off. Incidentally, we are doing a bit of weather study and had just read a Tomie DePaola book on clouds. In our region, tornado season will begin soon. Hopefully we will never see any one any closer. This is close enough for me thankyouverymuch. I hope you enjoy these pictures.

Incredible!

Lee and I have been talking about getting a piano. We both would love for our children to have a good grasp of music theory and music appreciation as well. I have been working on the recorder with Jake and had some success, but truly I have had a hard time disciplining myself to fit it in our schedule. We have a piano teacher in the neighborhood so they could walk to lessons....ahhh, if only we had a piano we sighed!

This weekend I was dropping some stuff off at Goodwill and then I was browsing around. Suddenly, I heard the unmistakable sounds of children goofing around and banging on a piano. It sounded as if it was coming from the back corner. I hightailed it across the store and there it was, a beautiful old piano. It sounded pretty good too! Cautiously hopeful, I stretched up and leaned over to check the price tag. Wouldn't you know it was quite *quite* reasonable! I called Lee and got the go ahead.

So, we are the proud new owners of this Grinnell Bros. upright piano. It will need a good cleaning and tuning and it is missing a panel at the bottom, but it has already brought joy to our home. The kids love plunking out tunes and Jake has mastered "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat". Yesterday my sister came by and we partied to "Heart and Soul"

As I was cleaning the counters before Mass yesterday, I listened to all of the joyful noise in our home. Someone was doodling around on the piano, someone was playing with Sparky in the den, a couple kids were up in the bathroom giggling and brushing teeth and Lee was in the shower talking and singing to Mary Clare. In that moment the noise really was joyful to me and not overwhelming. It is not always the case of course, but it was a moment to remember and cherish and pull out of the corner of my mind when I am, *ahem* less than enchanted with the clanging and clamoring around here.

Real History

We did these last week. And yes, after the pyramids were complete, everyone got to eat a sugar cube.

Smell the Birds

Several days ago, Marjorie blogged about the cedar waxwings. I had never seen one before but they looked like cute little guys. We began a bird study in the fall and 'birding' is an ongoing family project. Well, the very next day we were about to pull out of the grocery store parking lot and I glanced over to one of the landscaped islands and saw it was teeming with birds. I drove over to check them out and it was a huge flock of these handsome birds. They were feasting on some juniper berries. We sat in the van and observed them for a long time. We noticed their interesting markings, how they hovered over the berries in a a way reminicent of a hummingbird and how they flew up into the branches of the trees if they were startled, but they quickly came back to the berries. Quite the impromptu nature study, no?

I have, of course, heard the phrase "stop and smell the roses" at least 400 times in my life. The concept of slowing down and enjoying your surroundings, both the people and places, is very appealing to me, but practically I have not 'owned' this idea. One of the reasons we began HS was a yearning to do more of it though.

Reflecting on the cedar waxwing sighting I began to realise that a big hinderence in actually taking time to "stop and smell the roses" is not really knowing much about them! It is undeniable that roses do indeed smell very good. However, I am sure I would be much more likely to stop and take the time to smell and appreciate them if I knew more about them. Perhaps if I knew more about their necessary growing conditions, their particular name and maybe how old they were or who knows what else, it would be some much more fufilling to pause and enjoy their beauty.

I am sure this theory holds true in relationships too as well as nature or any subject actually. The more you know about the lady who sits in the front pew in a hot pink blazer every Friday at daily mass, the more likey you would be to take the time to stop and enjoy her company. Closer to the home front, the more I know how much my child has practiced pumping himself on the swing, the more excited I can be for him when at last he has the independance to swing for the clouds!

I am so thankful I have this opportunity to learn this lesson. I really want, I really and truly desire to feel connected with my environment and with the people around me, both close to home and not. I think this insight will help me so much, not only in our HS adventures, but also in my relationships. I admit it sounds intuitive; the more you know the more you care. Honestly though, I never stopped and took the time to 'smell the roses' and put two and two together!