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Saturday, March 27, 2010

Come On In!

Living Room 1

It's been a looooong time since I've invited you all in for a tour.
I figured that I should take advantage of the one time all year that my house will be clean and take photos.
(Ignore the grainy photos (forgot to fix the ISO) and bad lighting. I was lazy.)
Not much has changed since the last time, but come on in and make yourself at home.

Above is the view from the front door.
The French doors head into the school room. (Pictures of that another day...)

Below is the living room view from the front door.
You can see the hallway on the left. We'll head down there a little later.

Living Room 2

Below is the living room view from the fireplace/French doors.

Living Room 3

Looking back towards the front door:

Living Room 4

The messy view from the piano:

Living Room 5

Heading into the kitchen:

Living Rm to Kitchen

(Door on the left leads to the mudroom:)

Kitchen 1


Kitchen 2

Dining nook (there is a window seat in the bay window):

Dining Nook

(Curtain to the right leads to a laundry nook:)

Kitchen 3

Looking back towards the dining nook and living room:

Kitchen 4




Kitchen 5

The hallway (I promised you we'd get there). Our bedroom is straight ahead:

Hallway 2

(The attic room used to be a playroom, but right now it is the 'point of no return' so we won't risk our lives going up there.)

(The one and only) bathroom:

Bathroom 1




Bathroom 2

The master bedroom (nothing master about it...):

Master Bedroom 1




Master Bedroom 2




Master Bedroom 3

Heading into the boys' bedroom:

Boys' Bedroom




Boys' Bedroom 2




Boys' Bedroom 3




Boys' Bedroom 4

(Have you noticed the lack of storage, yet?)

Boys' Bedroom 5

So, there you have it: Our Spacious Home.

And the burning question: Where on earth are we going to put baby #4?

Friday, March 26, 2010

Educational Goals for the Whole Child

The Whole Child

Have you ever just sat and gazed at your child, wondering: Who is this person? What is she feeling? What is he thinking? What moves her? What does he aspire to be?

After researching, dreaming, and planning my children’s education even before they were born, I have found it to be a fundamental shift in my parenting life as I realize that their education isn’t about me.

The boys I am raising and teaching are individual people. Children who have their own thoughts and desires.

These children in our care will become adults with their own lives.



I'm over at Simple Homeschool, today. Head on over to read the rest.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Look! I'm Still Alive!

Chicken Love

Well, I guess this is only proof that Leif is still alive, but still.....

And while I'm at it, I'd like to tell you what a joy this little boy is.
Affectionate, smart, playful, cheerful, observant, outgoing, adventurous, and just. plain. fun.

He loves people in general, but when he puts his hands on my cheeks and says, 'You're my best mommy,' by golly this heart melts.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Social Studies 101

Or, 'Why on earth would you skip history to fit in 'The Fireman is Your Friend' lessons,
when your kids will spend hours pouring over these books anyway.'

Or, 'Why I love Sonlight.'

Or, 'Kindergarten = Reading, Writing, Counting, (a library card) and These Books'





What can I say about this book that will tell you how much I love it? The illustrations are worth pouring over for hours and hours. People in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Clothing, hobbies, homes, sports, feasts and holidays, pets, foods, religions, languages... from all over the world. Scotland, West Africa, Indonesia, Pakistan, Arabia, Caribbean, South America, Holland, and more.





My youngest two boys have logged more hours on this book than I can count. The building of a home fascinates Luke. Beginning with an empty lot, and moving on through various stages, the book shows the bare bones of a house, with hot water pipes, cold water pipes, dirty water pipes, furnace and air ducts, electrical wires, and more. The firemen pages are his other favorites.

Learn how the mail system works, visit a hospital, travel by train, follow a seed from farm to grocery store to a home to a home garden, find out the many ways we use wood, build a new road, go on a ship voyage, and watch wheat turn into bread. These pages are packed with simple step by step stories, detailed (and labeled) illustrations, and entertaining characters.

This book is invaluable for keeping young children quiet.


Want to add in science (including the calendar, holidays, weather, and seasons)?



All three boys are mesmerized by this book, as well. I am astounded by how much information is packed in these pages. After the almanac, we learn about animals (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects), plants (trees, cactus, algae, ferns, moss, mold, fungus, and carnivorous plants), and the earth (topography: plains, deserts, caves, hills, valleys, dune, marsh, inlet, bay...). Then we move on to machines and how they work, the science of matter, energy, projects and experiments, and things to make and do.... Highly entertaining with fully illustrated pages.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Saturday Seven

2010 ~ Week 9



{1} Days Walked/Ran: 0
(Russ was gone all week...)


{2} Dr. Peppers Consumed: 1


{3} It was a bit of a rough week with Russ gone on a business trip, but we survived.
My sister, Shannon, and I managed a girls' night out at our favorite theater to see When In Rome.
I don't know the last time I've laughed so hard. The movie got terrible reviews, so maybe I just really needed to laugh.
At the very least, it was a refreshing change to watch a romantic comedy that didn't go for the raunchy jokes.
(Thanks, Mom and Dad, for letting the boys come over for a movie night!!)
My sister, Holly, and I (and the kids) met up at our favorite nature hike location for a wonderful time of walking and enjoying fresh air on Friday afternoon.
Russ returned home this morning at 3 am. He got in a few hours of sleep and then took us all to my favorite (sentimental) donut shop
and to the last event of the Children's Performing Arts Series: African Acrobats.
The boys have played like crazy outside in this lovely weather, and we're headed to my parents' house for pizza.
Not bad.


{4} Daily Reading (Bible, A Year With C.S. Lewis, Intellectual Devotional): Still plugging along.


{5} Days of Math with Levi: A couple. Yeah, not such a good week.
Dad gone and Levi and Leif both sick. That's my excuse. Next week we'll make up for it.


{6} Intentional Reading:
Finished The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma. Read The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf (Gerald Morris) cover to cover.
Headed into Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz for book club this month in honor of Easter. This one is a book with a capital B. Whew.
I really need to catch up on book reviews.


{7} No pool. Again.
I just can't manage all 3 boys at the pool by myself. (Can you hear the whining?)


Give thanks for what you are now,
and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow.
~Fernanda Miramontes-Landeros

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Spelling: It's a Good Thing

Spelling Lessons

Spelling. We had to do something.

A year ago (or so) we started in on Spelling Workout. It just felt like busy work book stuff, a waste of time.
I dropped it, and decided to wait on spelling.

After hearing Andrew Pudewa speak and watching his Spelling and the Brain DVD,
I wanted to try Phonetic Zoo, but there were three things holding me back:

I believe it is geared toward 3rd grade and up, it is done independently by the student (not Levi's forte),
and it is not inexpensive. So we waited.

I had it in the back of my mind that Andrew Pudewa had mentioned that Sequential Spelling was similar in theory (I could be wrong about that, certainly don't quote me).
I checked out their web site, where conveniently they have the first eight lessons available for download.
Levi and I got down to business, and it was an immediate fit for us. And it didn't break the budget. Perfect.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Bookshelf

School Room Bookshelf (2)
A while back I posted a picture of my new bookcase (lovingly made by my dad).
I thought y'all might like to see it with books on it!

School Room Bookshelf


I'm so happy to have a tiny bit of white space and wiggle room. It won't be around for long.
My sister, Holly, and I share books, particularly for history.
She has many of my modern history books (which is why I have room for history encyclopedias on that shelf),
and I have quite a few of her Medieval history books.
In the next couple weeks, I might have to do some rearranging, as I borrow her huge collection of late Renaissance/early modern history books.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Saturday Seven

Sunrise (2)


Daylight. It is a precious thing at 6 am.


2010 ~ Week 8
(Yes, I've missed a couple.)

{1} Days Walked/Ran: 4
I walked 4 on week 6, then had a week off when Russ was out of town.
We were back in the swing (sorta) this week.

{2} Dr. Peppers Consumed: I have no idea. Less than one a day, though. (Smile.)

{3} Blah, blah, blah....

{4} Daily Reading (Bible, A Year With C.S. Lewis, Intellectual Devotional): Still plugging along.
(Finished Matthew and Exodus.)

{5} Days of Math with Levi: 4?

{6} Intentional Reading: Finished Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson, meandered through Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, and Nurture by Nature by Teiger, and began The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma.

{7} No pool for a while. We were on vacation (with no pool at the hotel...boo!), Russ was gone, and the boys spent this Friday evening at Knights of the Realm (staged jousting tournament).


Though the circular round-and-round of routine be the bulk of life's affairs,
make an occasional jutting diversion - of fun, love, or something that will outlast you -
so the shape and motion of your life shall resemble the round lifegiving sun
with bright rays shining forth from all directions.

~Destin Figuier


Sunrise

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Giving Our Children the World: Education Through Geography

As a child, I would sit in a chair and look at my grandfather’s world globe for what seemed like hours at a time. Feeling the bumps of mountains. Reading the names of each country. Plotting a course across the ocean.

What is it like to live there? How does it feel to swim in those waters? Would the sky look the same if I lay on my back and looked up from another continent? How long would it take to get from here to there?

As soon as I had children of my own, I knew that I wanted to impart to them this same curiosity about the wide world around us. Architecture, food, folktales and stories, history, art, music, languages, and scenery-it is all fascinating to me.

I want my children to be world travelers, even when we don’t have the ability to go far from home.

There are many simple ways to incorporate geography into daily life and
education.


I'm over at Simple Homeschool, today. Head on over to read the rest!


Sunday, February 21, 2010

Field Trip #13

(Let's lump the Space Needle and two science museums into one weekend field trip, shall we?)

OMSI

Pacific Science Center

Actually, I think that last guy is an Allosaurus, but dinosaurs aren't really my thing.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Weekend Get-Away

Seattle

We managed to get away on a mini trip to Seattle this past weekend.
Russ had a class up there all week, so we went early and did a little bit of sight-seeing.

Things are always much more simple in the initial wave of inspiration.

We ended up having to drive two vehicles.
I thought there was a pool at the hotel. The boys were ecstatic. Then no pool.
Sunday was overcast, and then it rained.
Keeping 3 young, fearless boys reigned in in a major city took both parents and all hands. Hence very few pictures.
I hate driving in big cities. I really do.
A hotel switch the second night. Smaller room. Still no pool.
Russ headed to his class on Monday.
I took the boys to the hotel's restaurant breakfast buffet. Lamaze breathing necessary.
And then the 4 hour drive home without Dad. Sigh.

On a positive note:
I'm glad we went.
The boys enjoyed seeing the Space Needle.
They really enjoyed the short monorail ride.
We visited two science museums.
The boys are great car-riders, all things considered.

And we are really glad Dad is coming home tonight.

Good for the Soul

Oh, Beautiful Day


The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another.
The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.

~Henry Van Dyke


Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;
To-day the glint of green is there;
Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;
I know no thing so wondrous fair,
No miracle so strangely rare.
I wonder what will next be there!

~L.H. Bailey


May I tell you just how much I needed a beautiful day? We got one today... and spent hours outside.
I feel like a new person. But the mud, oh, the mud.

Friday, February 12, 2010

To Love

Valentine's Lunch

Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

~Robert Heinlein

Happy Valentine's Day
a little early, my friends.
I know I haven't been around much. It has been about all I can do to keep up with life.
And life is more important than a blog about life, no?

We are going on a little family holiday for the weekend.
I'll be back later next week.... hopefully with a refreshed spirit and new photos. Grin.

Monday, February 8, 2010

A New Adventure


Simple Mom has been a favorite cyber-stop of mine for a long time.
Her posts are encouraging, informative, helpful, and inspirational.
(Simple Kids has also been inspiring parents for over a year.)
Today, Simple Mom launches three new blogs:

and.....

This is the beginning of an exciting new adventure for me, also,
as a contributing writer for Simple Homeschool.
Click on one of the links above or the button on my side bar to head on over for a visit.



The purpose of learning is growth, and our minds,

unlike our bodies, can continue growing as we continue to live.

~Mortimer Adler



Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will.

~Vernon Howard

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Saturday Seven

Had Enough

My attempt at learning manual exposure means that the boys are spending more time as guinea pigs.
And at some point (usually sooner rather than later) the photo shoot abruptly ends....


2010 ~ Week 5

{1} Days Walked/Ran: 5
(Week 16. Two days were a little shorter than usual, but at least I got out there!)


{2} Dr. Peppers Consumed: 3, I think.
(Need to drink more water and tea!)

{3} Fruit/Veggie Smoothies: 4
(Made a really tasty one yesterday that had red cabbage, yellow squash, and spinach in it along with lots of fruit and a little agave nectar.)

{4} Daily Reading (Bible, A Year With C.S. Lewis, Intellectual Devotional): Still plugging along.

{5} Days of Math with Levi: 3 or 4.
(We had an off week due to some sickness going around...)

{6} Intentional Reading: Finished the last little book in the 26 Fairmount Avenue series by Tomie DePaola. Reading Shakespeare: Life as Stage by Bill Bryson,
Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson, Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, and Nurture by Nature by Teiger.

{7} Made it to the pool again!


Sorry about the lack of blog posts lately. I've been feeling a little blah (what is it about January and February?), and we had a stomach flu bug around here this week.
I have a few things to share this next week, which I hope will include book reviews.
Oh, and I totally spaced Living. Lovely. on Thursday. Guess we'll have two weeks to make a phone call. Grin.



Anyone can carry his burden, however hard, until nightfall.

Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day.

Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, till the sun goes down.

And this is all life really means.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Textures: I'm In Love

Ocean Textures


Thanks to Jodi at MCP, I've jumped on the Texture Bandwagon. And I don't ever want to get off.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Shakespeare for Children (And Their Parents, Too)



Twelfth Night


If music be the food of love, play on;

Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,

The appetite may sicken, and so die.

That strain again! it had a dying fall:

O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet sound

That breathes upon a bank of violets,

Stealing and giving odour!

~Twelfth Night, 1. 1


Those of us who had the misfortune to miss out on Shakespeare during our own childhood education may be just a bit intimidated at the thought of diving in during our adulthood, but I think some of the joy is in sharing the learning experience with our children.

Three years ago, I had no Shakespeare under my belt. None. Nada. Since then, Levi and I have read or listened to many retellings, watched a handful of movies, memorized a monologue or two, and attended 11 live plays! (Six of those plays were thoughtfully abridged and presented as double features.) Though I am nowhere near an expert on the subject, I thought it might be helpful to share with you some of the simple steps my family has taken to make Shakespeare an exciting part of our education and enjoyment.



1. Meet William Shakespeare.

We enjoyed Bard of Avon: The Story of William Shakespeare by Diane Stanley, which contains a generous amount of biographical information paired with beautiful illustrations.


2. Hear the sounds of Shakespeare's language.

The Young Person's Guide to Shakespeare contains a biographical sketch, information about the Globe, and brief introductions to his major works and most famous characters, but the real gem is the accompanying CD. It includes recordings of actors performing a few of Shakespeare's most famous speeches. We have listened to this CD over and over again in the car and even memorized King Harry's speech from Henry V, Act III, sc. 1. It is very rewarding (for child and parent) to speak it along with the actor! (More about memorizing later.)

Then imitate the action of the tiger,

Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,

Disguise fair nature with hard-favours rage.

Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;

Let it pry through the portage of the head

Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it

As fearfully as doth a galled rock

O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,

Swilled with the wild and wasteful ocean.



3. Read or listen to retellings of Shakespeare's plays.

There are many picture books and story collections available. Bruce Coville has authored several retellings in picture book format. We've used Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by E. Nesbit to prepare us for each live performance we've attended. With twenty plays, this is a handy book to have on hand. Charles and Mary Lamb's Shakespeare for Children on audio CD has been played often in the car along with Shakespeare for Children by master storyteller, Jim Weiss. Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield is just one of many other options. Check your library to see what is available!




4. Watch recorded versions of the plays.

Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, and As You Like It are a few of our favorites.

Parental previewing is recommended, as most of the plays have some scenes or innuendo that might not be appropriate for all ages. I've found, however, that fast-forwarding occasionally works well for us.


Twelfth Night 2


5. Attend live performances.

Again, you may need to check ahead of time to find out of specific performances are family-friendly. We've been to both kinds. My personal favorites have been the performances put on by a local homeschooling group. The plays are classically interpreted, appropriate for all ages, and slightly abridged (with narrations to help keep the flow) which makes them easier to sit through for younger children. Each year, they perform one tragedy or history and one comedy.

The local college also puts on spectacular performances with interesting interpretations, fabulous costuming and choreography, excellent actors, and a beautiful setting. The downside is that the content tends to be less appropriate for kids.


6. Memorize speeches and quotes.

Start small, and let Shakespeare roll off your tongue! Be thoughtful or witty. (Need ideas? Browse here.) Then move on to slightly longer speeches, such as the one above.


I feel within me a peace above all earthly dignities,

a still and quiet conscience.



I wasted time, and now doth time waste me.




All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players.

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts...




7. Read the original plays.

This one is fairly self-explanatory. Try reading the plays aloud, taking turns with other family members. The plays are also available online.




8. Imagine being there!

The Shakespeare Stealer is an entertaining historical fiction series for children. I must not be entirely grown up, as I was also entertained.

9. Learn more!

Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson has lately been calling my name from its home on my nightstand. I finally unearthed it from the towering stack and started in.




The boys and I have only scratched the surface in the past 3 years. I'm so glad I have the rest of my life to discover, learn, see, read, watch, participate in, explore, memorize, and enjoy new things.