So Much To Tell: Not Such A Surprise!

"Literature.": The second thing that son wrote down on his "positive reinforcement" list his first day of lessons (after proclaiming his loathing of school).

Son loves literature! It's no surprise, really. My children just love good books. The fact that he thinks he knows this story so well, since he's listened to the dramatization a hundred times! (It's really good, too!) This has not dampened his enthusiasm to hear it read aloud. He's only sad that I'm keeping to a slower pace so that we can notebook. Daughter is truly enthralled as well. Me too! It's been years since I read the story and I have my old copy with beautiful pictures to inspire.

I found a neat resource at CurrClick to go along with the book. There are some errors in the e-book, but it's still a great resource. Son has actually enjoyed recording his thoughts on our reading, as well as being introduced to ideas like compare and contrast, and we're only in the second week!

I look forward to our time with this treasured book.

Helpful Font

Here is a helpful free font that you can download if you have young beginning writers who enjoy tracing!

Remember the Dictaphone?

I've had this thought in the back of my mind for some time. Actually a memory, I kept thinking about my father's dictaphone. Remember those hand held voice recorders with the little tapes? Daddy's is long gone, but I haven't been able to shake the feeling that I was missing out on an opportunity, so I went shopping.

It wasn't hard to find a small, inexpensive ($25@Target) digital recording device. As I brought it home, I mentally listed all the possibilities for it; justifying my purchase. I held it for a few days (in deep contemplation), then handed it over to my nine year old son. Oh BOY!

Can I just tell you how much excitement there has been around here because of that recorder! To say he loves it, would be putting it mildly. He's having an absolute blast with it.

Right off the bat he recorded his first story written for IEW. He was proud! So proud! Next, he secretly recorded everyone in the house. This, of course, precipitated the rule that no one may be recorded without their knowledge.

He has recorded himself sleeping--all ten hours worth. He recorded how to make oatmeal for breakfast. He made up his own version of Jonathan Park. He became a cub reporter and began interviewing his sister. The two of them made up some great tales.

He, and his visiting partners in crime, recorded themselves screaming at the top of their lungs. Oh yes indeed. He recorded himself reading his history assignment. AND he recorded music he was listening to on the ipod. Weird :) I've caught him recording various appliances and basically any sound he is capable of recording. I'm not sure if he's been in the bathroom yet. Probably has. Boy!

Did I mention that he recorded himself reading his story he wrote for IEW? That was the whole point. Love that.

Now...I'm a bit bummed that I didn't consider computer compatibility with this thing. I imagine that would require a lot more money. But now that I know the possibilities, I'll be thinking about where to go with this "hobby" next!

Missing: Ding

Missing!

Our Beloved Ding

Last seen playing to daughter's heart's content in the back yard.

Description: Elephant. Stuffed. About 6" long...used to be 6" tall, but is a bit flattened by love and frequent washing. Grey/blue with a tinge of grey/dirt. Trunk, tail (tipped in something resembling pink), four legs. Two black eyes. A pink cross-stitch belly-button.

Answers to: Love Ding, Dingy, Ding-a-Ling, and Ding.

Has a special attraction to a four-year old girl who has loved him since she was two.

Reward! We'll pay just about anything.

We want our Ding back.

We've searched high. We've searched low. We've searched the trash, the laundry, the drawers and cabinets, the purses, the baskets, the gutters, the roof, the street, yard and neighbors' yards. We've searched every room, closet, corner and crevice. We even searched the grill and turtle habitat...twice. This is a sad, sad time.

Where are you, Ding?!!

So Much To Tell: Being Four

Our four year old was quite eager to begin school. I was happy to see her enthusiasm and have enjoyed seeing her reactions all week.

Some of the highlights include her love of memorizing scripture. She asks for MORE! She also likes our hymn and poem time.

She is also thoroughly enjoying our reading aloud of "The Secret Garden", by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

She has begun her Spell to Write and Read and is beginning to write the phonograms. I will need to keep coming up with new ways for her to practice because she gets bored with the repetition. The pre-printed sheets I've used, she doesn't like. She likes her wipe-off book with the colored markers, but gets tired of it. Time to get creative.

I've started her in RightStart A, which she also likes and is doing quite well with. Who wouldn't! It's a great series.

I'm happy that most of these things just take a few brief minutes. I'd forgotten how nice that was! She moves from one thing to the next very quickly.

Most of all, she is enjoying the art time with her brother, and her piano lessons. We are using Artistic Pursuits which is so fun! This week alone they have used paint, chalk and modeling clay.

I'm using the Bastien Piano Party (available from your local retail music store) series for her piano time and she loves it--wants to play all the time!

I've started her with the Noah Kindergarten lessons (though she's still a bit young for it) for Bible and Literature. The lessons are so short, I'm finding it hard to adjust to the slower pace and the spreading it over a week business. I'm also tweaking because who can help but, at this stage in the game! I'm mainly using them for more foundation development.

I'm doing a good job thoroughly wearing her out! She had to lay down for a few minutes one morning because she could hardly hold her head up. She hasn't napped regularly for about a year and probably should! Her little brain is very busy.

So Much To Tell: Surprises!

With every new day, comes a surprise or two! My most pleasant surprise has been son's interest in our writing lessons from Institute for Excellence in Writing.

On Monday, I set up the video for him on my laptop at the dining room table. I made a point of removing myself from the temptation to let him watch it on TV like it was a show. Next I handed him a PEN (recommended) instead of a pencil. He was curious. He fussed a bit at first, but by the time he finished the 40 minutes, he was sold!

My totally reluctant writer may be a thing of the past! He has written his assignment for 30 minutes each day without complaint. He completed his great "work" and proudly presented it to me today.

Part of my "master plan" to get him writing was the purchase of a portable recording devise. I presented him with it today after a full day of lessons with no whining. One of the first things he did was record himself reading his story! That would be me jumping up and down and woohooing in the corner! :) He then set off to record his own version of the Jonathan Park stories (after I told him about the newest volume being released).

In case you haven't heard Andrew Pudewa, or purchased the IEW program, YOU ARE MISSING OUT! It is beyond good and Andrew is an incredibly smart man and gifted speaker/teacher.

So Much To Tell: The Rough Spots

Our roughest spots out of the gate these past three days, were undeniably math and spelling: two places we've achieved the most and had the best results curriculum wise.

First off, as we moved to Level E with RightStart, there was seemingly no review. Son panicked and did not handle his fear well. The lack of summertime practice took it's toll and patience became the order of the day as I watched him struggle to remember his tens facts. (It has begun to come back quickly now.) Needless to say, math took a good hour. There were tears and lots of hugs. We're over it now. :) Prayer helped immensely and then there was this...

I took the advice of the great Andrew Pudewa and used a white board for the first time. Success! Son loves the board and has asked to use it everyday so far. More than that, his attitude has done a complete about face. Of course, it may also have to do with the disciplinary tactic that I'm resorting to.

I'm calling it "positive reinforcement". Every time he whines or cries and utters words in the categories of "I hate..., I can't..., No...", he must write three things down that he loves about school. It will be a running list and no two items may be the same. The more he utters, the deeper he's going to have to dig. It's my most brilliant mommy moment in quite a while, if I do say so myself. He gets it and there's no room for misunderstanding.

Back to the math. It was just today (third day) that I heard it: "This is fun!" I'm recording it here for posterity so that I'll remember that, if even for a moment, math was fun. My cup runneth over.

The last tactic that I embraced was that of letting son decide when he would do his math. He has wanted it first thing when he is fresh. A bit of good wisdom that has helped. I think we're over the hurdle now, so we're going to try it after Bible. (I like to have Bible first thing, don't you?)

The second bump in the road was spelling. This makes little sense to me. He's good at it, it's not hard and there was nothing new. We continued the same routine (with Spell to Write and Read) and began with review words. Mentally, he's gotten into an attitude rut with spelling and he knows it. A couple of things will help: more prayer! use of the "positive reinforcement" tactic, and the use of the recorded spelling lists on the ipod. Also, he does like his new notebook pages for spelling. Today there was nary a peep from him about it. The conniption fit of Monday is just a faded memory. May it ever be so.

That's the extent of our rough spots so far. Well, unless you count daughter's "adjustments" into a learning routine...but that's a different story!

Pilgrim's Progress Favorites

Truly a classic, Pilgrim's Progress comes at us in many forms. Our favorites include the book, Dangerous Journey, with the audio/video series presented here (scroll down). We also love the children's version that's called, The Progress of Pilgrim Mouse.

Then there's this fabulous dramatized audio version from AIG.

And now there's this movie that looks like it'll be interesting (watch the trailer): Journey to Heaven.

I'm sure there are more, beyond the original, but I thought we'd share these few gems!

Have You Seen This?

We don't have TV so I was happy to get this link and be able to see this Good Morning America interview of Steven Curtis Chapman and his family, after the death of Maria.

So Much To Tell: The Schedule

We have three days of school under our belt and are making all kinds of progress! I must tell you how grateful I am to my prayer buddies who lifted us up this week. Thank you, thank you!

Let me just tell you how thankful I am. I'm thankful that Monday's only happen once a week and that the first Monday of a school year only happens once a year! Yuck. Now, while it wasn't completely horrid, it had it's rough moments and they were looonnggg moments. Our day began at 7am; school starting at 8:15am and ending at 4:30pm. Yep. It was a long one.

I'm happy to report however, and am oh so grateful, that Tuesday came in two hours less. Whew. Today lessened the load still further by another 15 minutes. I'm hoping we'll sit comfortably at 1:30ish.

Getting everything done was not an issue since we literally had all the time we needed. I'm thankful, again, that experience has shown me that things will settle down as time goes on. The schedule that I made for the first week lasted half the day as I "let it go" for better results. The next schedule I made didn't get used at all, and I'm contemplating whether or not we've had enough days to justify truly attempting a third! I will say, nothing would have come together if it weren't for check lists. LOVE check lists!

Overall, daughter's lessons did not take near as long as I thought they would, and son's are about what I expected, give or take a bit. It shouldn't take too long to find a balance.

I'll add that time-wise, we've all gotten up on time and done very well getting ourselves together, breakfasted up and moving. By last night, however, this Mommy was feeling it. Just a wee bit on the tired side (iow--wiped out!). That carried forward to dragging myself out of bed this morning, rather than the bounding out that I had hoped for.

I'm excited to share more about what we are doing. It's going to be a great year!

Sunday Night

It's Sunday night. Down to the wire and I think I'm finished. Oh, I'm sure I could come up with something else to plan or organize, but for the moment, I'm done. I'm ready.

I asked daughter if she was excited about starting school tomorrow and being with Mama and brother to learn good things. She said no. But, she said yes yesterday and earlier today. I pick those answers!

Son. Well, I'm trying not to project my anxiety over him "hating" school work. Especially because I know he really doesn't hate it, but is dealing with this 8/9 yo attitude issue that I keep hoping will pass. Now would be a good time. :)

I'm concentrating on thankfulness. I don't want this week to be about my efforts, or my children's attitudes but about how awesome it is that God has given us the privilege of knowing Him and learning all that He has for us. Oh, please Lord. Let us see your face.

I'm nervous about managing both children with lessons. I'm nervous about my own energy level, as well as my patience. I know all too well how the best laid plans of man often fail. That's why it's got to be about Him. I don't want to forget for a moment.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the hottest day of the year, so far. We'll be inside! I offered son the option of having lessons outside, but he wants to be in the school room (pictures to come). Now, having seen the weather, I'm relieved.

I'm really thinking that my response will set the pace for the day. No pressure. HA! I'm not sad that the public school down the road starts on Tuesday. That will help with some issues.

I'm off to enjoy the rest of my evening with a little bit of kitchen cleaning thrown in. Everyone has their clean underwear and 4yo is already asleep--on time! One more to go. If you don't hear from me, send out the troops.

Our Last Hoorah

Today is the last week day of our summer break. Monday, it's back to the books. Though we've had a glorious break, it's difficult to imagine what may be ahead. The planning and scheduling is nearly complete. The organizing is done. The laundry is in a state of "being laundry".

There is never a lack of things to prepare. There never will be! But for today, we will prepare for son's birthday party tomorrow, do a little errand running, and catch a little "play in the sun" between scattered showers. We will enjoy each other and go to bed weary from our day. We may even forget for a moment that our free-time is soon to be limited and our brains will soon be in over-drive!

We'll probably miss our carefree days, but maybe, just maybe we'll appreciate our down time more. We're learning to make the most of each opportunity and here's our chance to put it to the test! May God have mercy on us and show us the benefits of seeking His face. This is Friday, August 1st, 2008.

Ten Days

We are just ten days from the official start of our next learning year. I'm up to my neck in paper, but I know what I'm doing with most of it. I've prepped and freshened our school room. I've shopped for what few supplies we needed and I've pulled together some First Day gift bags. I've worked on our daily habits and even loaded my i-pod with new audios, music and old favorites for our in between time listening pleasure. I've planned a birthday party for our last weekend, I fought through the coughing-hacking plague. We've nearly completed our summer list for all intents and purposes. And everyone...everyone...is getting restless. The true sign that all-things "play" gets old even when you're 4 and 8.

I still have to update our timeline; the figures are all cut out. I need to finish assembling our last lapbook from the previous year. I've got to finish a couple of great books I'm reading and do more deep cleaning sweep through my house, (sarcasm alert) because everyone knows you can't start school with things out of order (eyes rolling). I have a burning desire (also) to lose ten pounds, bake enough bread to get us through the winter, crochet everyone new sweaters, have all grey hair miraculously revert to it's previous splendor, and be 35 again (don't ask). But in all reality, I'll have to settle for everyone having clean underwear that day.

I'm facing up to the calendar I'd previously decided on. Starting this early does have it's down sides, but I'm pretty sure the frequent breaks will make up for it. I like all the things we're planning and pray that the Lord is in it all, going before us every step of the way!

Reflections From a First Year Veggie Gardener

We're midway (I guess) through our vegetable growing season and what do I have to show for it? A few goodies and a lot of gained knowledge! It's been a great experience for our family. There is most assuredly room for improvement.

We really want to try corn next year! Everyone's hankering for sweet corn. I'd also like to try seed growing and maybe find some heirloom varieties.

First off, none of my spinach grew. Not sure why.

Also, cauliflower is more hassle (bugs, bugs, bugs!) than it's worth. No yield yet. Takes up a lot of space too.

The one melon plant that we put in has gone nuts and may yield 100 melons, if the flowers are any indication. Some of the leaves are appearing to brown and dry. Not sure why. It's getting plenty of water. Maybe too much sun?

The lettuce was a hit, but 2nd crop went to seed way quick. Have to be on the ball with it. I probably planted too much (12).

Our Sweet 100's are awesome, but it's been difficult to harvest enough at one time for more than a taste. We'll plant two of those babies next year.

Ack! The Japanese Beetles love the greenbean leaves. They haven't affected the beans yet. I just didn't want to use pesticide on them and those bags just attract more!

The one pea plant is not producing very much; same for the green bean plant.

The lima beans started out well, but fizzled.

The broccoli came out great, but a lot of room for the amount of yield. Probably not worth it for the size garden I have. Rabbits ate one.

Big tomatoes just didn't come in this year. Not sure what happened. Maybe transplanted too late.

Need more strawberry plants. Blackberry bush doing well in it's pot. Not sure about the blueberry bush. Maybe next year?

No sign of any peppers yet. We'll see. None of my squash or zucchini grew. Second year in a row! Very frustrating. They have good soil, water and sun. Could be those blasted rabbits!

My vine plants need more room. The greenbeans and peas are all intertwined. The melon needs a lot more vine. The Sweet 100's could use a tall cage instead of the vine. We'll see.

Overall, for what I started out to grow, we're only getting about a fourth. That seems like a lot of waste. I need to read more.

Don't laugh, but one of the biggest frustrations has been figuring out when to harvest. The book I have doesn't tell you. I did find out from the web why all my tomatoes were splitting--I was waiting too long and they were over ripening on the vine. Problem solved! I'm such a green-horn at this green stuff!! :)

If She Only Knew

The word "hic*key" (excuse the *'s to prevent unwanted traffic!) hasn't been used in my house ever. The last time I probably heard it was 8th grade (public school, of course!). So you can imagine my shock and horror when I discovered a very large "one" on my daughter's upper arm. Speechless, I gasped and sputtered looking for the proper thing to say. "That" word was NOT chosen. Once we realized how it got there, we were stunned (to say the least).

It turns out, my 4yo daughter has taken a liking to su*cking on her own upper arms. She does this until a very pur*ple mark appears! This is definitely a new one on me. Why on earth she would take to that habit is beyond me. I promise you...she is getting enough to eat! After repeated warnings and appeals to quit, I'm down to pulling out the long sleeves in this 90 degree weather and getting (hopefully) my point across.

Ewww! My poor baby... What ever is it that's causes children to come up with stuff like this?!

It's just a phase. It's just a phase. It'll pass. It'll pass. It's just a phase.