A Walk in the Woods

Link for Punctuation Worksheets

2011-10-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Write Shop Skills Sheets

Also, Robert E. Grammar Handout

2011-09-21T11:04:00.001-07:00

2011-07-14T21:31:00.001-07:00

More Chemistry...

Caleb: Secrets of the Universe

Khan lectures

and books from this link!

Update to Self...

2010-09-09T20:42:00.000-07:00

H. first read- To Kill a Mockingbird (assign the same essay I assigned Ar. last year!0
Ar first read- Les Miserables
C. first read- Adam of the Road
Aa. first read- D'Aulaire's Abraham Lincoln!

Pops will do a study of Darwin on Trial with the kids (his idea!!)

Silkscreening with Papa too!!- can't wait!! We will schedule this in the end of October, beginning of November (in time for Christmas gifts)

Spelling City for H. with lists daily from Sequential Spelling (AAS was a BOMB!)
AAS with Aaron
Dictation still weekly with Ar. and biweekly with C.

Science- The Way Life Works thing I found online again.... looks like just the ticket for H. and Ar. (Have to iron this all out!!)

YIKES!! Need to get this all flowing...but at least I am excited about it this year!

More books...

2010-09-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

Schoolhouse Rock- multiplication tables - Aa. and C. will drill, drill, drill, in the Fall!!

Usborne Illustrated Chemistry Dictionary

More books for C. and an Author etc......

2010-08-31T09:42:00.000-07:00

For C.
Robin Hood- have this one
Beric the Britain- ditto
Captain's Courageous- Kipling
Prince and the Pauper- he just has to finish this
**Cathedral
**Castle
(May read the last two outloud to he and Aa.)

To two youngest:
Chingas Kahn
Arabian Knights
The House of Sixty Fathers (Matt will do this one)

Our Term Artist:
Emily Carr
I have a great kids picture book I will read with the kids as well...

Older Two:
They will begin reading about the Nativity of the Theotokos today out of the Incarnate God to be ready for next week.

These are such scattered thoughts, but such is life right now. Thankfully this is a scarcely visited blog!!

Science...

2010-08-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

Frogs etc.- Aa.
Golden Book of Chemistry- add that on for Ar.
Paul Fleishman book and The New Way Things Work- C.(and H possibly a bit too with the Fleischer book).
Science Matters- Ar. and H. for an intro to some of the topics
Journey to the Ants- Ar.
Secrets of the Woods- Me to C. and Aa. in 2nd term

Typing

2010-08-27T23:23:00.001-07:00

Note to self:

Oldest 3 will type this year... they will become very fast...or at least work at it!

Number 4...

2010-08-27T23:17:00.001-07:00

It is too late for this tonight, but here goes a two minute shot!!

Religion:
Ditto C. plus some great Saint picture books- 1 every other week or so.

Reading:
Lots of practice in Word Mastery, flashcards etc.
Nate the Great
Thornton Burgess

Math:
Singapore
Times Tables- nail em down!! Work at it every day with C. and Aa. in Sept. and Oct.!!

History:
Ditto C. plus some Egypt stuff!
Picture Books for History too!!

Literature:
Fairy Books
C.s read alouds
Pops reads at night...

Writing:
Me glued to his side for copy work.
Beginning dictation
Once a month letter.
Freewrite a few times a month- I scribe!
Introduce cursive (need a new italics book!!)
Use a few lesons in English for the Thoughtful Child (here and there or when needed)

Fine Arts;
With all of us
Illustrating narrations.

Music:
Taken care of.

Science:
Frogs and Amphibians- begin with Frog Calls and colouring book (ORDER IT!!) Get field guide at library (or A.s bookshelf!). Books from library.
Experiments- once a week with C. and sometimes H.

Learning to read well is the push this year, with lots of read alouds and a real joy of learning new things sprinkled in with lots of beauty!!

Child Three..

2010-08-27T23:09:00.001-07:00

Getting down there!

Religion:
Stories from the New Testament (once we finish the Old Testament)
Lives of Saints
Hmmm....

Math:
Onwards with Singapore- hopefully get to 6A this year.
Nail those timestables!!

English:
Typing
Dictation
Intermediate Language Lessons (as needed or 2 times a week)
Weekly narration/ Letter/ Book Journal

Literature:
One Classic (or 2)-finish Prince and The Pauper
The Bronze Bow
Adam of the Road
Robin Hood (possibly out loud)
Beorn the Proud (probably out loud)
Need more here.....
Edited to add: Beric the Britain
Captain's Courageous
Cathedral
Song of Roland???

Science:
TOPS with us
Need LOTS more ideas here as he LOVES science

Latin:
First Form/ or keep on with the Greek

History:
Famous Men of the Middle Ages (out loud)
When Knights Were Bold/ The Story of the Middle Ages (or something like this on the Baldwin Project!!)
Bede- out loud
Some great historical fiction: The House of 60 Fathers, Beorn the Proud, Illustrated Canterbury tales (slot this with the older kids), Gawain and the Green Knight (with older kids) , picture books with Aa. for history such as Chingis Kahn ...need more things here!!

Music:
Taken care of

Fine Arts:
ditto the other kids
Memorise 2 poems per term
Illustrate one -2 things per month
Nature Journal 2 times a month

Phys-ed:
Don't all little boys run around!! Actually this one draws mostly!

Three sort of, kind of, down- one to go!!

Child Two...

2010-08-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

Religion:
Same as brother, but less books!
Abbess Thasia (to herself)
Women Martyrs of the Church (ditto)

Math:
ditto

Latin:
ditto

Literature:
Jane Eyre
Sir Gawain
Simmirillian
Till We Have Faces
Canterbury Tales (Librivox- but I think she will read this one on her own a bit and I will read it out loud)
Watership Down
Daughter of Time (Audible)
Then some books she can read- we will conference on this!

Writing:
**All About Spelling- darn it, we are going to go through a spelling program!
Narrations and essays. Work with what Ar. is doing...
Grammar- ditto for A.
Poetry memorisation- we will collaborate together and pick a new one each month or so. I will also pick a time of day to listen to her poem!!
Shakespeare- probably Romeo and Juliet first!!

Science:
Genetics ( in A.'s bio. text)
Chemistry with A.
Chem. with C. (TOPS stuff)
Botany with both of us!
Natural History- Under the Sea Wind
The Life of a Spider (Librivox)

History:
The Orthodox Church
The Birth of Britain (Audible- have it already)
Could listen in on Famous Men but it has been read SOOOOO many times to her already!/ Could also listen to When Knights Were Bold...)
Bede

Fine Arts:
Drawing with the Masters with Pops
Reading to herself in The Story of Painting
Bach in the Fall
Artist- Emily Carr
Illustrating more poems etc.
Romeo and Juliet

Phys Ed and Handicrafts: She has it covered!!

Note To Self: Take pictures of finished projects- one credit (or 10) for textiles, dressmaking, quilting, cooking, home-ec covered!!

Next years plans... the rough off the top of my head version!

2010-08-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

A: The Orthodox Church- reading with me and separately, discussing certain points together, researching one area from each chapter on own, making parallels to the wider history of each chapter through discussion and further reading.
The Incarnate God- read around the great Feasts together.
Lives of Saints

Math: Geometry- Jacobs
Latin: still slugging through Henle- have a new syllabus. Who knows, we might even sort of, part way, possibly, follow it!

Writing:
We need to work on grammar. We will go over some in the Mother Tongue as well as the great bookmarked site I found tonight on one of the tutorials..
Ten Great Essays: Intro, Read 3 Essays.
On Writing Well: Cover the first 1/3 to 1/2 or more (great book)
Format Writing: Dry as dust but will get the job done in the essay department (and heh, I have it here!)
Narrations- on lit. , history, religion, and natural history.

Literature:
Simirrillian (outloud to both olders)
Till We Have Faces (outloud to both olders)- this is when I wish I had liked English in school. I am so lost at discussing books!
Beowulf- Heany translation
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight- Tolkien translation
Canterbury Tales- excerpts
Le M'Ort D'Arthur (I am sure this spelled horribly)
My Antonia- Willa Cather
Wendell Berry: Stories from The Wild Birds (short stories- aim for 2-3)
Dostoyevsky's Short Stories (again, aim for 2-3)
These are the 'prescribed books'- A will also have some classics he has chosen on the go- that is why the list is a little on the short side. These will be most probably Dickens! We may do Pride and Prejudice this year, and his Papa is going to read and discuss Watership Down with them!)
Oh, and Tale of Two Cities- because A looooooooves Dickens.
My dad, pleeeease, will be available for some book talks here!
Edited to add: Rob Roy
Song of Roland

History:
The Orthodox Church
Bede's Ecclesiastical History of Britain (select parts)
The Birth of Britain- Churchill

Science:
Chemistry: The Joy of Chemistry
Jean Henri Fabre's Chemistry Book
The Chemical History of a Candle
TOPS Solutions
Medelev's Dream
An old dusty Chem. text on my shelf!
Botany: Our Golden Guide and sketching in sketch books etc.
A Natural History Book
Biology: Finish off the last two units in September...(or 1 in Sept. and 1 in Oct.)
Asronomy: hmmmmm.....
The Whole Confusing Evolution thing: Darwin on Trial, and The Orthodox Word article I have (this may happen next year....)

Music: taken care of!

Phys Ed: got to go running I think, off to the Y sometimes too!

Fine Arts: Drawing With Children with Pops, Bach in the Fall, The Story of Painting beginning again, this fall's artist is up in the air!

Have to work this out soon! One week left...

Highschool Biology- Year 1

2010-05-12T13:46:00.001-07:00

We have been having a good time adjusting to a more formal science course this year and learning lots! But we (read me) needed some change near the end of the year. So we have added in some other books, some videos, and soon some good hands on outdoor Nature Study.

For our study of invertabrates we really enjoyed Life in the Undergrowth. We read about the various animal kingdoms in our DK Animal book first to put everything in perspective. We did the worm dissection online and observed a worm from our garden. The crayfish dissection was done via the Zoology Colouring book (he also read the appropriate pages in there and they were quite meaty). A. also read through the chapter in our text and skimmed the study guide and we realized that most everything on it we had covered. Now he is reading a Jean Henri Fabre book dealing with insects- he has chosen the caterpillar since we are keeping one presently.

For the study of jellyfish etc. we moved into the Seaside Naturalist and the Marine Biology Colouring Book, also quickly reading the text. A. kept notes on various things he read about in the Cnidarian section as well as diagrams of life cycles and polyps.

We skipped two modules, on evolution and ecology, as I wasn't comfortable at all with the presentation in our text. I think we will study ecology in September along with the sections on the plant kingdom. I figure we will do two more modules, those on the snakes, reptiles etc. and mammals in the next month and call it a year. That sets us to begin Chem somewhere around November which seems good. We might leave it for January if we stretch out the Biology with more Natural History.

Some additional books he has been enjoying are; The Double Helix and The Microbe Hunters.

That's a wrap!

Today- Tuesday March 29th, 2010

2010-04-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

Up early, granola on, and cookies on for the Shakespeare group H is a part of.

After breakfast C and Aa had a great (I mean GREAT) violin practice separately and together- I think the group class last night really spurred them on to greatness!

After prayers we read some of the Acts of the Apostles and our new great book the Singing Tree- what a wonderful novel. It started slow and thoughtfully, setting the stage for what was to come. Now war has been declared! We are all loving this book.

H. left at this point and the boys headed to the table- A did his Spiritual reading and Algebra (new lesson), Aa did some terrific handwriting (it really helps when I sit beside him and help him with it), and C finished off the math lesson from yesterday and did today's. C. then did his grammar while Aa did a very good phonics lesson- his reading is really coming. At this point we melted (except A. who was hard on Biology at this point)- into the yard, to the laundry etc.

Lunch was a late affair of subs after a quick bike to the store with Aa. At around 3 I corralled in C for his Greek- he has yet to read.... maybe after dinner.

A finished biology, read the Aenied and Microbe Hunters, and then we read Till We Have Faces together. That is going to be a very interesting book. I really need to look up some notes on it- literary analysis is like Latin to me (except I am studying Latin- so it is more like Turkish or something to me!). Onto Henle after this- a pretty easy lesson for Ar. Whistle lesson after that and whew, a slow evening probably!

Trying to finish strong...

Last spring's read aloud list...

2010-01-21T12:58:00.001-08:00

Thought I would save this before I changed my sidebar...

Founders of Russian Monasticism- Mom to all
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe- Papa to boys (March)
The Magician's Nephew- Papa to boys (March)
The Story of Mankind- mom to olders
The Princess and the Goblin- mom to all
Underground to Canada- finished.
Secret of the Andes-not a go..again (third time trying)
Charlotte's Web- Mom to Aaron...finished
Byzantium- Matt to Ariel
Sense and Sensability- Mom and Hannah
Asterix, Asterix and Asterix!! Everyone loves Asterix!
Winnie the Pooh- myself to little boys
Harry Potter 3- Papa to little boys. Temporarily on hold.

7th Grade Plans presently....

2010-01-21T12:31:00.000-08:00

For Religion (mostly done as a family)
~daily Gospel reading
~Church History read aloud
~participation in our family liturgical prayer life
~some readings from The Orthodox Church and a catechism book
~readings of Saint's lives on the days they are commemorated (hope to download some daily readings onto her mp3 player soon)

Math
~Finishing Algebra1 then onto Geometry (Jacob's)

Latin and Greek
~moseying along here and there in Henle Latin 1 Unit 3
~Elementary Greek Book 1 (just beginning here in mid January)

Language Arts (for want of a better name!)
~Writing her novel, dictations from Tolkien, narrations from her lit. and history books as well as lives of the Saints, copywork from Paidia Classics, some essays
~she is beginning to learn about the different forms of essays
~Grammar- incidental and slowly working through The Mother Tongue (mostly covered in Latin though). Some diagramming as well but that got done quickly- we went from lesson 2 to her diagramming the Lady of Shallot!
~spelling done with Spelling City
~poetry memory

Literature
~The Two Towers (45 minutes a day)
~The Simmirillion (read aloud)
~Macbeth and Julius Ceaser (read aloud)
~Many poems and some poetry studies with the Harp and Laurel Wreath
~Ivanhoe (mp3)
~The Age of Chivalry- The Mabinogean (mp3)
~The Sword and the Circle (read aloud)
~Jane Eyre (read aloud)
~short story study on The Gift of the Magi
~A Christmas Carol (Dickens)
~Great Expectations (Dickens)

History
~A Child's History of England- by Dickens (mp3)
~a portion of Story of the World 4 (we left this for the above history instead as we will be reading Churchill's book next year and it will prepare us- we also really enjoy Dickens!)

Science
~ Marine Biology ala Lapaz Homelearning- we have followed the first 8 weeks as well as coloring in the Marine Bio. Coloring Book. Now we have paused for a science fair project dealing with salinity and density.

Music and Art
~listening to the music from Carmen (Bizet)
~she has begun to play the concertina- the lessons are spaced when we have time
~study of Jan Vermeer (6 paintings, short bio., and great paintings)

P.E.
~ballet many times a week! She is learning alot about time signatures in this!
~swimming- passed level 10 and will take her bronze this spring or summer

Home Ec.!
~she is still the laundry girl
~working at that room organization
~cooking dinner once a week (usually homemade soups)
~babysitting here and elsewhere
~much sewing (Eowyn dress and Jane Austen dresses), knitting, and quilting

This sure makes me feel a lot better in this dreary weather (outside and inside!)

Off to sew...

Reading Aloud Presently...

2009-10-12T12:17:00.001-07:00

The History of the Church- this is very interesting
The Life of St. George
The Simmarillion - one of my favorite books!!
The Sword and the Circle - finished! The children all loved this and want to continue with the next one in the series The Light in the Forest (These have the flowery language my daughter loves combined with enough chivalry, action, and head hewing to keep everyone interested!)
Lycurgus (Plutarch)
Around the World in 80 days- still!
Macbeth
Seabird- we really like this one
The Children's Homer- to Caleb
Jane Eyre- with Hannah when we can eek out the time
Treasure Island- Papa with all the children
The Horse and His Boy- Papa to the little boys
Greek Myths- they all love this (again)
Story of the World Ancients- to Caleb and Aaron
Idylls of the King

We could read all morning (and often do), but I think we need to rotate these a little more since our evenings are so full this year....

Next up on the Read Aloud list...
Great Expectations (the littles and I began this but put it aside to begin with Ar. and Hannah too)
Onion John

Morning Time...

2009-06-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here is one routine from Cindy- I would like to organize my Morning Time so it doesn't become 'WHOLE DAY time' , which is lovely , but not everyday....

Let's See...

2009-03-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

Some rambling comments on the day....

Breakfast (at a stunning 9am- who created that time change anyway (this is my yearly complaint- see archives for details!).....oatmeal with raisins and heaps of salt, yes, salt! (Bad idea to shake it right out of the box!), supplemented with toast and yummy jam and a glass of OJ

Dressed and chores....Ar. garbages and toilets, H. vacuuming, C. table and folding, Aa. sinks etc, me- made bread and frittered away time on the computer

Math for Ar. and C. and Aa- I taught Aaron how to use the '9 sucks' rule. I was pretty impressed with his progress with it.... did a dictation from the poem 'Cats' with Hannah.... (somehow forgot prayers in here- for reason see the end of the former point!)

Caleb here went and started beautifully playing with Aaron. Who could disturb this? So that was his job for quite some time.... Hannah played some piano, then I got her to read Our Island Story on the computer (she had read Pride and Prejudice and Macrina in bed). An informal narration followed....Ar. still on the Algebra

Snack (Lunch??)- fried dougnuts and lots of sugar and tea with honey (can you say possible STRUNG out kids later in the day??)...we read some poems about spring and then I sent the kids outside to find some signs of spring to draw for their nature journals and I tidied up...

Nature journalling by the older three went very well and Aaron did some drawing as well....I read aloud from Comstock's book a wee bit about trees and growth then a couple chapters of the Princess and the Goblin and one more poem....

Hannah moved onto Algebra and was delighted with the prospect of drawing a diagram to explain some complicated thing involving sandpipers outdistancing an airplane and wind resistance etc. (how creativity and math meet in this child!)....Caleb went up to 'read' (this should read play with Aaron).... then he came down to Read- he got through a bunch of Black Ships Before Troy with and informal narration, and then some Hobbit....

Aaron did some sight cards and aced most of them the read out of Mouse Tales to me- fantastic job...Ar read The Young Carthaginian, the Bible, and Secrets of the Universe (which he claims today he Loves and is so glad I required him to read it- who would have known with the cheasy 70s cover?)...

At this point Violin and Irish music were put on the back burner for the Wii game that arrived in the mail today- all children are now glued down there in the basement playing and I can hear them loud and clear up here!

Me, I am off to the yarn store to grab a new round needle for the beautiful sweater I am beginning for H.'s birthday (can't link or I will spoil the surprise.)

Dinner tonight: Black beans, salsa, basmati, corn and a salad (fresh bread as well)

This seems probably dull as anything, but it is good for me to look back to at times.

Have a great day,
Kristie

Read Alouds From Last Fall Until Christmas 08'

2009-02-06T21:23:00.000-08:00

The Return of the King
The Borrowed House- to Hannah
The Endless Steppe- with Hannah
Over Sea, Under Stone (LOVED this)- listened to in the car on the way to the coast
A Little Princess (audio)
Winnie the Pooh- to the little boys
I, Juan de Pareja- a definite winner
I-Ville to You-Ville- another winner
Harry Potter 3 (not quite finished)
Taren Wanderer
East of the Sun and West of the Moon- D'Aulaire (the kids loved this)
The Wheel on the School (technically only half way so far...)

And heaps of fabulous picture books, as well as the entire Asterix series many times over I am sure.

Books, books, books

2009-02-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

Around here they are my main way of decorating, purposefully or otherwise.

On people's stacks these days

Aaron
I am reading him Charlotte's Web- just him and me, together with some tea. I would not trade it for the world.
Asterix- more than I will list here

Caleb
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Hobbit
Random Books on Chemistry

Hannah
Pride and Prejudice
Macrina the Elder (by gentle, ahem, persuasion)
The Dark is Rising (audio)

Ariel
The Prince and the Pauper
The Lightening Thief- the whole series (except the last one)
A Ginormous stack that just left his room on the way back to the library (too numerous to list)

Me
A World Lost- Wendell Berry (by far, my favourite author...and this one is a gem. A whole host of stories from the Port William Membership)
The Incarnate God- working through the major feasts of the Liturgical year
The Brother's Karamazov

I will be transparent with my own list and admit that I read the first two Twilight books and the third (and probably fourth) would be touching down on my bedside table, if not for the fact that the line up at the library is ridiculous, and I refuse to pay hardcover prices for a book I will read in a few hours and definitely never again- entertaining, yes. Enduring, no. Don't even think I can move on to number three for a bit now- not after Wendell Berry.

Morning Time Readings...

2008-12-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

We had a nice slow and lazy 'Morning Time' today. Here are the books and poems we enjoyed together...

The Children's Orthodox Bible- Finding a Wife for Isaac

Saint Innocent of Alaska- a few chapters

The Story of Icons- what an amazing book, so engaging and informative. We read about the 'War of the Icons' today.

The Wheel on the School

The Harp and Laurel Wreath- two poems from the Rhetoric section with the questions. Discussed alliteration again.

Read a paragraph about Storks from our animal book (The Wheel on the School is about storks)

Beyond the Sea of Ice: The Voyages of Henry Hudson- we read about the Third Voyage. This is a great, informative picture book that we can all access.

East of the Sun and West of the Moon (D'Aulaire)- we read The Princess on the Glass Mountain, another story of the humble hero Cinderlad (no blood in this one though).

Now it is off to get dressed, tidy up and look towards lunch. It was a lovely morning and the children kept themselves busy while I read- first with breakfast, then Ar and Aa played lego and built some great ships, H. finished painting her still life (a Christmas present for Nana) and started working on her Lord of the Rings crosstich, and Caleb painted a great canvas complete with mountains, lightening , a storm, and a lush green valley (possible prompted by our many rememberings of our home in the mountains!).

Good day to you all!

2008-12-07T20:35:00.000-08:00

I was reading on Willa's blog and thought I would try this blog analysis....I would call it sort of accurate. I think I was much more this way pre kids.

ISTP - The Mechanics

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts.

The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

The Nativity Fast...

2008-11-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow begins the feast of the Nativity.

As our family makes this transition to Orthodoxy this will be the first major fast we will go through together, with the children doing what they can.

I am so grateful for the loving guidance we have had, and continue to have, in this process.

Things I Love

2008-11-11T13:00:00.001-08:00

My family~God~the ocean~the mountains~moss~tall trees~lots of oxygen~rushing streams~clean floors~freshly baked bread~balls of new wool~a new book~an old favourite book~fresh sheets off the line~creativity in it's many forms~family meals~simple foods~comfort foods~dark chocolate~books in bed at night~reading aloud to my children~watercolor painting~folk music~friends~jars of canning~vegetable gardening~a basket of fresh veggies~a newly organized space~going through papers and bringing order~sun shining on wood~children reading~children playing~margin~walks~quiet times~prayer~movies with my husband~knitting~tea~an afghan on a cool winter day~the seasons~eighties music with friends~Ultimate~Art~poetry~Natural History~shovelling~ironing~baking~Indian food

Thanks to Susan for the idea.....(this was my off the top of my head list)

On Develping a Writer...

2008-11-10T11:54:00.000-08:00

A Wonderful article, once again, from Bravewriter.

Also Enjoying.....

2008-11-07T17:30:00.000-08:00

I, Juan de Pareja

2008-11-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

We REALLY enjoyed reading this book- I would put it on our favourites list, right alongside Number the Stars, The Lord of the Rings (well, not quite up that high!), A Single Shard, and Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze.

It was a beautiful story, very vividly descriptive without being wordy. Actually, I think that is what so many of the books I had listed above share: The ability to express simply, but richly, the authors intent; to paint a picture of both setting and the traits of the characters. Now Tolkien is a fabulous crafter of words, and he can pull of using ten words where one might work. However, I find that many authors believe that the more descriptive words you add the better- heap them on. It reminds me of the same themes we find in the homeschool writing world, and I am the first to admit that they both turn me off. But back to the review..

This tale is told from the standpoint of the servant/slave of Velazquez. From the first page this endeared us to the story- how often do we hear history, albeit historical fiction, expressed from the view of it's most trodden upon persons. As the story unfolds we are brought into the world of Michaelangelo, of the Rennaisance, into the courts of Spain, and into the friendship of Velazquez and his servant Juan.

We had read many exciting books leading up to this so at first the pace took some getting used to for the children. Action packed would be a poor description for this book. Thoughtful, descriptive, and at times both emotional and challenging would be better terms to describe it. All four children listened in and were quite still during the reading aloud. This story is one that will definitely stay with all of us.

How many stars then??
Ariel ***** out of 5
Hannah **** out of 5
Mom ****1/2 out of 5

Juan de Pareja, painted by Diego Velazquez

ps sorry for the multiple posts! I was working out the picture sizing.

Presently Enjoying....

2008-11-07T15:33:00.001-08:00

Together~

The Wheel on the School
East of the Sun and West of the Moon- like reading fairy tales with extra gore
The Return of the King
Winnie the Pooh (myself with the two younger boys)
The Story of the World 2
Lamb's Shakespeare

Ariel~

Bullfinch's Age of Fable
The Story of Art
A Little History of the World
Fabre's Insects (Wasps)
The Wouldbegoods
And many, many, more (oh, to have all those hours for reading!)

Hannah~

Mary- Demi
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkhaban
The Turning- historical fiction dealing with a ballerina in communist Russia

Caleb~

The Hobbit
Summer of the Sea Serpent

Aaron~

The Foot Book
Hop on Pop
I Can Read With My Eyes Shut

Mom~

Jane Eyre

Papa~

Father Seraphim Rose- His Life and Works (as well as a gigantic stack too numerous to post!)

Slaughtered Gauls and all that....

2008-10-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

We were doing a translation exercise out loud today from our Latin text and I must admit that Ar. and Hannah are doing great-they have left me in the dust for sure!

We always have such a hoot with the translation exercises- those poor Gauls are always getting slaughtered (one of our new verbs from the last vocab. list). I guess this little village of indomitable Gauls won't figure into our exercises anytime soon!

Hi, I'm Kristie...and I am an Introvert

2008-10-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

This week seemed like a literal flurry of outside the home activity- ballet class, 'the' ballet, swim lessons, play dates, whole family over to the friends afternoon dates, knitting etc. By the time we arrived home this afternoon, after spending such a lovely afternoon with a new friend and her two daughters, I felt completely frazzled. Then I was immediately invited to a movie with a friend (this I could do!) and then reminded by my husband that tonight I was going to go to a new study with the Orthodox church we have begun attending. Ahem...

Now, fast forward about 1 hour, the children are happily engaged in various pursuits and I have had time to come in, grab a snack and put dinner on in peace. I am beginning to feel rejuvenated. When it is that I have become more of an introvert who knows? I thrive on outings with my little group of friends, with homeschool get-togethers, potlucks, and late night Ultimate games. But too much of that leaves me frazzled- almost like I have lost my bearings.

I have also noticed this with my children. They enjoy going out and hanging out with friends, going to the pool, and being in the bigger scene. But I know after this week that they feel cheated if we are having too many meals on the run, if their down time, the time where they create, think, sit, and become refreshed, is seriously compromised. It all seems to point back to that elusive thing called Balance: Living a full and Rich life with lots of room for margin.

I am not saying I have arrived in this department. The whole world (definitely including the homeschooling world- my how those homeschoolers are busy) is screaming at us to be busy, to buy, to produce, to consume, to better ourselves, to become more cultured, more intelligant, more useful, ad infinitum. And I feel like one of my top 5, or possibly one of my top 3, things I work at daily, day in day out, is to protect jelously this balance. It is like I am the scale and when I am working diligantly at reading my children, noting our family routines and family culture, that scale is balancing out nicely and we are more refreshed and can handle the ups and downs of our days. But when I am sitting with my nose to the screen too much, dwelling too much on what we are or aren't doing, comparing (ouch) our beautiful family to some virtual family, losing touch with my first job, that scale goes all wonky. I would go farther to say that without prayer that the scale is almost impossible for me to bring to balance.

So this whole thing takes courage- but I believe that it is a work well worth it.

A Night With Neil....

2008-10-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks honey...

A Little Break...

2008-08-19T14:35:00.001-07:00

Too many hours in front of the screen
Too many good moments of great weather to waste them
Lots of good times to spend with family on hubbie's holidays that begin now!....

See you in September!!

Kristie

Jean Francois Millet

2008-08-12T17:41:00.001-07:00

Done

2008-08-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

One child with Nemo + One child at a friends + Two children with an audio book and the craft supplies + a mom with her face not in a screen but with a pencil and paper in her hands = a nice list of saints books, good literature, living history books, geology and ornithology books, an abundance of possible writing topics for the children, poetry book found, classical cds in order, first read aloud chosen with lots more lined up, and the art prints saved in my pictures. I feel great.... I have a great bunch of books, a rhythm we like to work with that mixes the best of some skill practice, a generous palette, and lots of real life, and a cozy (computerless!) evening with Taran Wanderer (our present book we are enjoying together) before us.

Hey, thanks Theresa for a bit of a reality check...

Back and Forth and Around in a Circle

2008-08-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hmmmm, are my plans ready?

A few sets have been drafted, expanded upon, simplified, ditched, and recreated again! I seem to enjoy the part of planning called researching but am fairly weak on the areas of decision making and follow through...

lots of research - lack of decision- lack of follow through = lots of face glued to screen, some enjoyment, lots of new blogs to visit, and unfortunately generous amounts of wasted time.

Will have to remedy this....

On a better note: Ann has reminded us to look after our souls. To put aside those curriculum catalogues (in my place that reads computer) and to plan for how to nourish our souls and fire ourselves as teachers and mothers....

Homeschool Planning (Enthusiasm)

Another thought worth thinking on....

2008-08-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

Julie from Bravewriter writes...

But homeschooling is more about creating a context for nurturing and leadership, emotional security, understanding what stage of development your child is in (field position), and intellectual prowess (aptitude to match the tasks set before the child). Positive outcomes are a result of not just positive expectations on the part of the parent, but on the part of the child. A child’s sense of progress comes from increasing competence in each skill-based area. These are the habits of education that you help cultivate through enthusiasm, routine, level-appropriate lessons and a lifestyle of emotional nurturing.

Consistent learning is the result of a happy environment, reasonable expectations, and habits that are not burdensome or tedious.

At this point the article goes on to talk about how to evaluate your homeschool. She talks about looking at the child's developmental stage, where that child is at, whether that is 'ahead or behind', and to meet that child where they are. Slowing down or covering already covered ground, or challenging them with harder work so that they don't slip into boredom. Next she discusses the environment of the home...

What is the emotional temperature of your home? Are children free to share their real reactions, feelings and ideas? Can they openly state that they are bored, that their work is too hard, that they are too tired from a late night to concentrate? Likewise, do you bring a cheerful, realistic, supportive person to the table when you start the day? Are you undistracted and available to help, support and applaud the work that your kids do?

She concludes by talking about habits.

For me, these are all things I feel strongly about- when asked about homeschooling one thing I often mention is the beauty I have of moving at a child's own pace. But little do the people whom I am talking to know that inside me is that little voice that is comparing and trying to either catch them up or push them ahead. Granted, most of that never reaches the children as far as workload goes, but it can sure mess with Julie's next point: Atmosphere. Nothing wrecks a good atmosphere like highblown expectations and a distracted, uneasy mother.

I want to conclude with this Charlotte Mason quote...

Education is an Atmosphere, a Discipline, a Life.

The Joys of Homelearning

2008-08-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ann writes.........

The finest home education flows from a well-lived life.

+ + +

:: family relationships :: prayer :: music :: nature :: baking ::

:: unhurried meals :: flowers :: laughter :: art :: hikes :: conversation ::

:: thoughtful reading :: sunrise :: tea time :: down time :: play ::

:: worship and sacrament :: helping others :: friendships :: fitness :: writing ::

:: a comfortable home :: celebrations :: gratitude ::

:: joy in the ordinary ::

I loved reading this tonight....it has helped me to put our educational goals within the context of our family life, and to ponder what is lovely and what is beautiful about that life. It has also inspired me to build those routines in again when summer wanes, the routines that allow for the all the wonderful parts of living this life together.

Some great posts from What I Know Now

2008-08-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

Religion's Reality

Opening Day Traditions
....I think this will be plachintas on our 'first' day. Oh, and heap on the homemade applesauce and strawberry jam!

Some good 'real books' science

2008-08-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

Note to self....

There are some great lists of books about germs, electricity, weather etc. here. They would make some great whole family reading and jumping off places!!

Planning Update

2008-07-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

Enjoying....but....tired....of....planning.

Back to keeping it simple with heaps of books, some good art prints, that tape I picked up for free at garage sale of Vivaldi, and lots of real life together.

A couple great things that emerged from my planning bonanza are...

lots of great lists of books (much needed for my son who devours books)
the realization that I only need to purchase one book for next year
a simple system for me
seeing that Sonlights year 7 and 300 could be mixed together to give Ariel heaps of great reading and lots of good read alouds for us and discussions
realizing that the older two are missing having more historical type read alouds and are not big on the grand overviews at the moment (ditto with that here!)

So today I did lots of cleaning, spent time in the garden, puttered (one of my favourite summer past times), and read the children lots of books. It was a very good day, and now it is off to bed to read Scarlet (after much urging from Ar.!).

Hope this finds you enjoying your summer.

Picture Book Bonanza!

2008-07-28T20:36:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago I decided that we needed to branch out in the picture book area- I had read enough Tintin and Asterix to be a bit of a household authority on the subjects! So I went and picked up around 50 great books with the kids....picture books we could all enjoy. I put them in big baskets in the living room and they are being looked at and read consistently with lots of enjoyment.

Some of the ones we have been enjoying..

One Grain of Rice- Demi
The Stonecutter- Mc Dermott
The Kitchen Knight- Hodges
Comus- Hodges
Clown of God (looooove this one)- de Paolo
Fin M'Coul- de Paolo
Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato- de Paolo
Hansel and Gretel- illustrated by Adrienne Adams
Saint Ciaran- Schmidt
The Emperor's New Clothes-Demi
The Magic Tapestry-Demi

I love how a well written picture book can bring all the children crowding into the couch to listen....even my teenager!

The Simple Woman's Daybook- July 9th

2008-07-09T21:05:00.000-07:00

Please visit Peggy's for all the daybook links....

Outside My Window... a quiet and cool evening- a wonderful thing in the middle of the summer. Tomatoes are growing and coriander is blooming. Lots of tasty greens for salad.

I am thinking...about how wonderful it will be to see Hannah on Friday when she arrives home from camp.

I am thankful for... my great son, Ariel.

From the kitchen...mixed green salad from my garden: beet greens, mizuna, red leaf lettuce, romaine and buttercrunch!

I am wearing... an olive green tee, faded jeans with a 'scarf' belt, bare feet, and my hair down so it can dry!

I am creating... a dishcloth, a pair of socks, and a binder with my different menus and such in it.

I am going... to Folk Fest this weekend, sans children.

I am reading... Hood by Stephen Lawhead

I am hoping... to go to bed very soon.

I am hearing... the hum of the computer. It is very quiet down here. Our turn of the century house has no opening windows on the main floor and I've shut the storm door for the night.

Around the house... loads of picture books. We went to the library yesterday and picked out around 50 picture books. All but 2 from the folk tale/fairy tale section. My boys have been on a Tin Tin and Asterix kick for months and I wanted some variety.

One of my favorite things... reading in bed with a cup of tea (and a piece of homemade buttered toast!)

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Hannah's arrival, dusting and cleaning the kitchen windows, packing, relaxing with my knitting at folk festival.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... (my camera's batteries are dead, again, so here is an old shot...)

Update on that computer like thingy...

2008-07-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I lugged our big tv up from the cellar again. I just seem to have this aversion to it in our living room. It was a gift, but a bit too large for the space. I also have my on again off again hangups with television in general. So it gets lugged up and down this narrow set of stairs in our turn of the century house (it's actually surprising I haven't permanently damaged my body lugging it around!).

Anyhow, I set it up in our hot sweaty house for a little Planet Earth for my kids and the kids I was looking after for the night. I hadn't hurt myself in that last trip up the stairs but the tv hadn't faired so well. When I turned it on it flashed alot then the picture just went.

I would like to say I am upset but it would be a little far from the truth!

Back to watching movies on the computer (the screen may be smaller but the sound is way better!).

Thinking on...

2008-07-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

Less is more- school planning

It was good to read some of the articles Kim linked to. I must admit that I didn't resonate with heaps some of them said, but I pulled out some very helpful nuggets that have sharpened my focus and brought some simplicity to my planning.

Some of these would be:

Self teaching: as much as we have loved our all together time, I saw a lot last year that it needed to take a different shape. The age range is greater than when I just had the older two and it was starting to not work as smoothly. As well, Ar. is ready to really dig in more on his own and seems to prefer this. So, to borrow a term from Cindy at Dominion Family, we will have small Morning Times to enjoy some of those things together like artist study, poetry memorization (kids LOVE this), bible reading, literature, Shakespeare etc. We will still cover some history together but Ar. will do another stream as well (maybe H. as well).

Stick to the basics! Focus on those and the beauty that comes from the Morning Time themes. Read lots together and alone!

Include drawing and painting more in our days. The children used to illustrate a number of their narrations but it has slipped as more children have been added to the mix

Focus on a generous palate in all years, but in the early years (this would include my two youngest) don't worry about chronology or grand schemes. Pile the books up, all sorts, especially good picture books (think Diane Stanley or Demi), and start reading. There are plenty of years to work out the specific chronology.

Short lessons!

Lots of time outside- has to be a priority, especially in the September to January bracket (as it is just too darn cold here in the latter parts of the winter to do anything)

Simplify our outings. Is a child screaming for a new class/lesson/activity? If not, then reasses whether it meets your goals or how it melds with the rest of your life.

What are the needed areas of focus for each child? How can I best meet those needs?

I really appreciated Kim's focus here....
School planning is in full force here. It is actually far less planning and more refocusing. We know what our vision is. We know what we love and what we don't. We know what works. This season is less one of decision and more one of prayerful consideration of what challenges the new year will bring, individually and collectively, and how best to meet them.

I have also been enjoying the forms for housekeeping on this post (tried the one for emergency quick clean today and it worked smoothly)

The Home Management Journal- Housekeeping forms/lists

I should sign off now. The computer has become a wee bit of a monster for me as of late....of to read some Asterix.

Heard today at my house...

2008-07-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

Mom: No computer games today Aaron. It is a no computer day (for kids I guess!)

Caleb: What is that other thing that is like a computer that we watch movies on?

Me: A tv?

Caleb: Yeah, none of that either eh?

Forms

2008-06-16T20:53:00.001-07:00

At this point I think we would do well with some goals for next year and in that vein I have begun some focused planning and much too much of the unfocused type (the type that fills up headspace but gets you nowhere).

Willa has one form here which I really like the flow of. So much so that I think I will plug in my own things under her headings. For me forms have to be appealing to look at and visually work with my brain. This one does.

Next step: filling it in.

The Return of the King

2008-06-16T20:51:00.003-07:00

We are at the Paths of the Dead... loving this again.

My Reading on Writing

2008-06-16T20:51:00.001-07:00

Since the Well Trained Mind came out I have balked at the whole idea: it looked too overwhelming, too structured, too much, and so on. Even the Story of the World books, that my kids do enjoy, I have sort of avoided. I think it is the idea that my 6-9 year olds need some sort of in depth chronological history study. Yes, I am opinionated. (I think that there are way better ways for that age group to spend their time.)

That said, somehow I linked over to the WTM boards and found out that Susan Wise Bauer is writing a series of books on the topic of writing.

I downloaded a sample that outlines that three stages of a writer. I went in thinking it would be all complicated and drudgerous but came out agreeing with a lot of what she wrote and appreciating the simplicity of which it was set forward.

The Three Stages

Ideas for nature study composition...

2008-06-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

Meredith has had her kids building biomes and researching them after enjoying Planet Earth. We own the series and are great fans so this might be fun.

(#1 for the writing file!)

Rain...

2008-06-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today was such a nice day- full of rain. We miss rain since leaving the rain forest and moving to the prairies. The garden is green, the walk is clean, and we had a nice slow day. That is one thing I love about this life of being home with my children. Amidst the busyness of spring soccer, ballet recitals, and such, we can start the day off slowly. Breakfast was a nice relaxed affair that finished around 10:30 or 11 with Papa being able to join in as he was working from home this morning. We had a good talk about communion and how partaking in the body and blood of Christ nourishes our souls and brings us in to full communion with Him.

Some math was done, some Latin translations, and a heap of history read as well as some other books. Ar took the two younger boys to the library in the rain (hey, for us west coasters we figured it was just a drizzle) and then we sort of drifted off into our own spaces for a bit.

This evening was nice and slow too- soccer was canceled and I must admit I am not too crestfallen. We had a leisurely supper that we could all sit down to together and enjoy and there was still time for The Return of the King with Papa before he left for a meeting.

I have been beginning to open my planning eyes a little bit more lately and have found this article a good read and a good think

Can we stop talking about curriculum...

This part of the post really spoke to me

Let’s talk about how you are living the dream - the life that you always wanted with your children. Wordly Wise is not living the dream. Buy it or not but don’t waste another second of your precious life deciding if you want a $7.60 workbook. Don’t use up your valuable free time (time you could spend drinking margaritas with a friend or playing Zooreka with your 5 year old) talking about math endlessly. Pick a math book and use it. Get help if you don’t understand it. If it rises to the level of crisis (Math. Isn’t. Working!), then by all means devote time to finding a solution online.

I have wasted so much of that time in the past and still waste it so much. Where on earth did that closet perfectionist come from in me that wants it all to work SO well- for us to have the CM/unschooling/delight driven yada, yada, yada perfect scene. Then there is the not so in the closet organizationally challenged me that is not too good at following through on the things I do decide on. Now, I am not saying at all that it is this black and white. We do some great stuff around here and if I could pick one way or the other I would have to pick the track of not following through completely vs. slaving away to some set way in the face of my children's eyes glazing and our joy sapping away.

So what is one to do with this conviction- that yes it is good to do some research but A. It is way more profitable when the research leads somewhere B. I don't over research into oblivion C. That all of this takes time and even though I enjoy researching different methods, seeking out book gems, reading thought provoking blogs, it all has to fall into a balance. If my 5 year old is taking back seat (ouch!) than I better turn the computer off and turn to focus on the real goods of living this full life with the ones I love around me.

So I will be looking for balance over the next weeks as I make some plans for our year to come. I see that my time spent on this, in order to be fruitful and economical, will need to be cconducted in a more structured way than it has in the past. I have my three catagories I have been thinking on since the last post as well as some specifics that I will put on my list;

Poems (a cache of poems to pull from if stuck for memorizing- my dd LOVES this)

Essay topics (a store of these too to pull from when needed)

Writing in general (a bit of an outline to make some simple goals for each child. Also, I would like to look over some of the writing they have done this year. Resources: Bravewriter, The Writer's Jungle, DYOCC, book on the Progymnasta, and especially ideas from their writing from this year- what they enjoyed, areas of strength etc.)

Book lists
-a big list to keep Ariel in books this year (good luck- that kid reads them faster than we can find them!)
-some new historical fiction to brighten our days (the kids are kind of tired of the history 'spine' type books we have been using along our novels....
-a history, natural history, lit. , and biography list for Ar. with lots of possible options
-some non-fiction reads for H. and C. that will break them in slowly
-a great list of picture books for us all to enjoy that I can use to order books to the quaint library down the block
-beginner list for Aa.

Grammar topics that link to Henle

A workbook creation for Henle (did this for part of this year and it worked great)

Oh my this list seems long. Not a good format for my tired eyes. I will have to look at it with fresh eyes tomorrow.

I am rereading some Charlotte Mason stuff and want to see how to make sure more of the things we love about her approach happen next year. My dd loves it all but the boys aren't too sure. That is another thing as the kids grow- my group teaching method for some of this has to change. How to make those changes, work with my kids distinct learning styles, and stay sane? Keeping things simple, but adding in the beauty of art and music, and saturating it with living books has always been my answer here. But I am going to look for ways to individualize things amidst this.

Spring thoughts...

2008-06-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy around here- good, but busy. Soccer is in full swing, swimming is wrapping up and dance is officially done tomorrow.

One post I have enjoyed today in between lawn mowing and dinner is this one from Willa:

Time to Breathe

The title caught me, especially as our life has seemed to have a bit of an absence of that breathing space as of late.

As a mother here at home with my kids, I have been seeing that one of the big areas I am always trying to guard in our life is 'margin'- that space that allows my children to think, discover, grow, breathe, and just be. It is no small feat in this busy world, especially at times among 'busy homeschoolers'! But without this time I see how our lives can lose their anchor: with God, with each other, and with ourselves.

So as I go about planning for next year this 'breathing space' is going to be in the forefront of my mind.

While reading Willa's post I found myself pondering this line...

I find it easier to have things thought out ahead of time, and be flexible about the approach. I should remind myself though, now, that I am trying to structure things minimally

I don't tend to plan things out ahead of time to well- I research heaps, have lots of fuzzy ideas, even some well written out goals, but they seem to get overlooked all year. The unschooler in me balks at them. However, my slow brain has realized how helpful it would be for us to have some skeletal plans, some goals I look back at. Otherwise our tides can be overfull, or sorely sluggish, without me having much of an anchor. I am seeing how these simple plans would give me enough of an anchor that as we wander off on our adventures, work at our lessons, and live our lives, I would be able to keep grounded.

I also appreciated how she looked at the three focal areas; disciplina, discovery, and basic life skills. It reminds me of the book I read years ago by Clay and Sally Clarkson, Educating The Wholehearted Child. Enjoying all the scientific diagrams from my science years in University, I think I could use these three categories to give myself a good visual for the year to come.

As I am singing Willa's praise, I can also give her a hat tip for this idea as well: to keep a notebook this summer where I can journal about my children- how they are spending their time, what interests they are developing.... the skies the limit!

With these ideas percolating in my brain I am excited for a summer of intentional planning for next year and lots of margin and joy.

Boys with Books

2008-05-15T21:14:00.001-07:00

The Rhythm of Spring

2008-05-15T21:11:00.000-07:00

Spring seems to have come for good now to this neck of the woods. My hands are cracked and full of earthen lines.... I am happy. The garden is shaping up and I am waiting somewhat impatiently for the tree to be limbed and I can put out the vibrant seedlings growing in the window.

Today was one of those days that seem to come naturally in the spring. I had thoughts to do a sort of intensive finish in our present areas of study to finish up our time before summer, but our family rhythm wasn't in the same groove.

So today we woke sort of lazily after a late night at the soccer field. Aaron, Caleb and I snuggled for a good read of Tintin first thing. Breakfast was had and Ar read to us from the Bible. We informally talked about Diego Rivera (his art! not about nitty gritty of his life!) and I pulled out Caleb's violin. He practiced while I cleaned up and kids were off getting ready etc. Hannah had already created a neat sign of congratulations for Bilbo, Caleb's caterpillar (he successfully attached to the top of his jar in readiness for his chrysalis). After some more music practices Ariel was on the Gutenburg Project reading a novel while Hannah was hanging laundry with Caleb. (I was I think by this time distracted looking at more fuel efficient cars on the computer- our minivan is terrible on gas).

Hannah's hair needed doing for her first feis so we got out all the gear, boys all went out for a croquet match and to string up a large spider's web with old yarn, and got going on the hair. We figured out how to download Inkheart from our library so we listened to that for the last hour of the curling.

At some point I made some lunch and we ate it out on the deck while I read out of some field guides about caterpillars. All the kids were pretty interested as we have about 16 caterpillars at present.

Hannah then went off to continue on with her pond building and found a caterpillar that we didn't recognize. Onto google to look it up but with no luck. Hannah and I continued to work on the veggie garden, dig and chat while Ariel played lego inside with the two younger boys.

Dinner (Ariel's now on the weekly rotation and he did a great job- we needed some new juice in the menu department as my mind always wanders to the garden these days and not to the kitchen!).....then onto my Ultimate game. Lots of Redwall on tape both ways, and home for a late bedtime.

This is probably pretty dull reading for any of you but I have been in a wee bit of an attitude rut and I wanted this day to be my reminder of the joy that comes from being home with my kids...present...living out our day to day lives....working...praying...and being together.

Definitely Silly...

2008-04-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Theresa.

The 'Golden Mean'

2008-04-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

I think our society tends towards a dichotomy -- XTreme precautions, to the point that you can't buy a real chemistry set anymore and laws are being proposed to restrict fast food; and on the other hand, simple neglect or indifference to a toxic environment. Everyone has to find their own balance for their own family and children. But there is a golden mean between any two extremes, and it seems to me that children learn more about risk by learning to handle it to some extent according to their maturity than by being kept from it altogether.

When I read this tonight I went Yes! with a capital y. Just this month when my parents were visiting this whole controversy about plastic water bottles was in our paper every day (front page). I generally am a little more than neglectful about reading the paper, but my mom and dad read it and so they were informing me of the daily saga. We all have those Nalgene water bottles (I purchased them a while back thinking that they were good because they were hard plastic) but the paper was now saying they were no good. Probably that we would all have cancer by next week. Day by day it went on, describing the ills that await those of us who consume our liquids in these 'unfit' bottles and so on. I explained to anyone who wanted to hear that I think all this fuss about the water bottles is severely missing the point: as a society we drink milk full of drugs and residual pesticides, we drive around our vehicles way too much, we consume too much. Right here in this same city who puts the evils of number 7 bottles on the front page of the paper, the whole city is sprayed with poison to lessen our mosquito population.

Maybe this has turned into a bit of a rant. But it just seems like more and more we are growing away from a our own practical sense and wisdom into this chaos of complete dichotomies.

Following up on the newspaper, by day 4 or 5 we got to the point where now it was alright for people to drink out of the bottles, just don't give them to really young kids and don't put really hot stuff in them.

Maybe I am just a skeptic. Maybe I need to go to sleep. Probably it is a little bit of both.

If you want to read a good thought provoking read on this 'golden mean' visit Willa, from whom I quoted above.

2008-04-29T21:56:00.000-07:00

My blog is worth $3,951.78.
How much is your blog worth?

HT: Dawn who by the way has a blog full of great ideas (regardless of it's price!)

Pining for the West Coast

2008-04-29T20:45:00.000-07:00

Seascape by Emily Carr (one of our favorite artists around here).

A Busy Day

2008-04-29T20:13:00.001-07:00

Swimming.....homeschool coop.....dinner.....swimming.....all the things waiting for me after a day of being out....

I think one of the things I love most about homeschooling is being home. So when we are out for the day, busy and out the door at the outrageous hour of 9:30 am (gasp) it is always so wonderful to come home again. Even if it is to a heap of dishes that we were in to much of a hurry to wash (as we are not very polished at leaving the house in the morning in good speed- how do people do it every day??). Even they look inviting as I fill the sink with warm sudsy water and plunge in.

Being home gives me time to be with those four children I love. To see them shine, to help them when they struggle, and to stand back and admire the children they are and who they are becoming. Being home gives me time to look after my family and the home we live in. Not that we don't enjoy a day out, or in the case of spring, and increased load of fun sports and activities. But the coming home is always one of the best parts. It can often look like it did today....

....the three younger children came in the front door and out the back. The two smaller boys to the sandbox and Hannah up 'her' tree. She came down after a bit of some good thinking and decided to begin building her 'egg dropping device' (a carry over from todays experiment of seeing what the kids at the learning coop could construct that could cover an egg so it could withstand a good drop onto the concrete) .

....Ariel could be found fairly quickly on the couch with some books.

....After the dishes, getting the curry on, I came onto the 4Real Boards with a cup of tea.

We were all glad to be home and each of us debriefed from a busy day in our own way.

Thoughts on Unschooling

2008-04-21T14:41:00.001-07:00

Once again, I am going to leave this first post to some thoughts from others (not that I don't have any of my own....it is just that tax season is almost over and my reciept stack is calling!)

Unschooling Revisited

Unschooling Inspiration

This quote is also something I have enjoyed thinking on today...

…describing ourselves and our families’ lives via precise words is not about labelling, one-up-manship or peer group pressure. It’s about finding our tribe. It’s about identifying with like-minded people in a world of other-minded ones. In addition to our strong need to establish a unique persona, we human beings also have an equally strong desire to be accepted, to be among people who understand our choices, who accept us as we are, without reservation, and who support us on our journey.

The need to identify and be identified by a supportive community is especially intense when our journey follows a lightly trodden path, when we are taking risks. The need for nourishment from such a group of like-minded people is probably also stronger when we’re living in nuclear families, isolated at home with very young children or feeling the lack of the status that society unfortunately gives to those who go to jobs.

My New and Improved Computer

2008-04-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

I actually should have named this post "Why you shouldn't just learn to live with something when it is easy to fix!"

Our computer has been dinosaur speed for almost 10 months. Two days in the shop, $100 dollars later and VOILA, lightening speed (thanks MTS!)

Hopefully this will translate into me getting some more focused thoughts on the great unschooling discussion I have been following in bits and pieces!

Some Great Thoughts...

2008-03-31T20:51:00.000-07:00

Not from me! I have been silent on this blog for a while but not absent from the greater blogging world. My time has been taken up by reading some wonderful posts by some very thoughtful women. The conversation that has ensued has been very thought provoking. It has been directing my energy into really looking towards my children with the thought of our connectedness; where it is good and where it could use some work. The whole concept of parenting as a creative art, one in which we learn by trail and failure, one that requires our creative juices, our energy, our heart and soul: one not to be looked at as a side profession. Our children learn what they see, but family life is not perfect. We are working towards Christlikeness and have our successes and failures daily. But what a gift it is, and I saw this clearly again this week, more clearly than I have in quite a while, for me to be able to spend these minute, hours, days, weeks, and years with my four beautiful children: loving them, walking through their ups and downs, and travelling this journey together.

Here are some of the great posts that have been percolating goodness in our days here....

Parenting as a Creative Art and this one as well by Willa.
Every Face I Look at Seems Beautiful....the title grabbed me and I am so glad it did. Don't miss the great comments as well.

Maybe...

2008-03-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

I find that these tests give different results as the years go by- not that I seek them out, but here and there in different conferences etc. they come up. I used to score very one sided (you guess the side!) but now I seem to be mellowing into more of a middle ground!

HT: Willa

Ditto what she said....

2008-03-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

Karen put it quite nicely here...

Daylight savings time always bugs/annoys me. Spring is sort of approaching (although it is hard to imagine sometimes under all this snow....) and we are miraculously beginning to wake earlier which I always think is kind of nice- lessons get done and then we have those delicious extra afternoon hours. But than BAM- the clocks go forward. Couple that with my 11:30 pm Ultimate game last night and a late night movie watch for the older two children and you get a fairly lethargic morning!! If I drank coffee I would be having it extra strength this morning. But alas I don't so instead the tea got an extra bag and an extra dollop of sugar!!

A Bit of Random Silliness

2008-03-10T10:32:00.000-07:00

You Are Cilantro

The bad news is that there are some people who can't stand you.

The good news is that most people love you more than anything else in the world.

You are distinct, unusual, fresh, and very controversial. And you wouldn't have it any other way.

What Spice Are You?

That's great as cilantro has to be one of my favourite herbs!

HT: Meridith

Lent...

2008-02-18T21:14:00.000-08:00

Some of our simple plans and routines I want to focus on in this special time...

....prayer: Our morning prayer, the Lord's Prayer with our lunch, and ending the day with a compline.

....spiritual reading for me: I have a few books that are on the go but are sadly neglected. I will also be looking at some daily thoughts from CS Lewis.

.....time to reflect: On our relationships with one another and how they can be infused more fully in the love and mercy of Christ.

....a creative visual: Hannah and I had an afternoon of painting a crown of thorns with watercolors. I still want to spend an afternoon with the boys doing a similar craft.

Putting aside this time to focus, to take those moments to reflect, and to spend more time in prayer, sharing the journey with my children.

May your Lenten season be one of new found understanding and love.

Some Holiday Reading....

2007-12-17T20:31:00.001-08:00

My great husband just nabbed this for me at one of the university libraries...

It has quite the hefty price tag, and I have been really wanting to read it, so I was glad to find we could borrow it.

For my fictional reading I am (slowly) reading this.....
I am quite enjoying it, except that I always fall asleep after a just a few pages. Which is great for my sleep, but means I am moving pretty slowly through it.

The older kids and I have begun to read The Striped Ships. I am glad that I began it with just the older ones. The first chapter was fairly graphic in one scene and I almost read right through it before I realised what it was describing.

The younger set if really enjoying the Father Christmas letters and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. After our Harry Potter binge (still continuing for some family members) it has been so refreshing to pull out C.S. Lewis again. Today we read of Ramandu and his daughter: what beauty Lewis captures, what awe and majesty. Matt, my husband, had just stepped in when we were reading it and we were both captivated again....

I hope that this Advent and Christmas you find a corner of peace to enjoy a good read!

Any books on your bedside table begging to be opened?? (I have The Imitation of Christ that is calling me. On our other bedside is my husbands stack.... all of which would have my head reeling in minutes. His idea of bedtime reading is my idea of mental aerobics!)

A Great Read...

2007-12-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

We have read this one a few times and always enjoyed it....

A Breath of Fresh Air....

2007-12-14T13:05:00.000-08:00

Our Advent plans went a little astray over the last 10 days, but for a wonderful reason- my mom and dad were here for a great pre Christmas celebration.

Prior to their coming we had had a lot of -35 and under days. Not the days to tell the kids to go play outside. Well, by the time they had been here a couple days the weather broke. Hey -15 is not cold after the cold weather we had been having- it felt balmy. So we got OUTSIDE. EVERY. DAY. For four or five straight days.

Now, it is not like I do not appreciate creation. My husband has always joked that I should live outside (this is usually said at my grumpier times) since I am always so much happier. But with the onset of the cold winter, and lots of knitting projects and kids who were happily engaged in their pursuits I did not make it a priority. But it has been 'a breath of fresh air' (excuse the pun).

We now have a huge pile of snow awaiting excavating into a full fledged snow hut, large enough (hopefully) to spend a night in!

So...while some of our beautiful Advent plans may not have reached execution, it has been a lovely time, and we all feel in a better more gracious space!

Have a blessed Advent.

Advent Plans....the simple version

2007-12-02T14:03:00.000-08:00

If I have learned one thing living here with my children it is that if I don't just plan simply than we are all overwhelmed. Sure I might have a few more suggestive ideas that I will strew but I have found that my kids have so many creative streaks of their own that it is best if I just plan lightly!

Through looking at our Advents past, and also talking with some dear friends, I have decided on a few things that I would like to work into these next few weeks. I was inspired by Willa to list my ideas here....

Advent Wreath
-we always have our advent wreath that I make anew each year. This year I thought that on Sunday evenings we could have an extra special time with baking and songs, and sometimes friends, around our wreath.

Jesse Tree
-We have never done this before so this will be our first year. The children LOVED making the different symbols to hang on the tree. We will do this with Papa at dinner.

Carols and the Messiah
-I want to work this into our morning read aloud time.

Spiritual Reading
-The Glorious Impossible
-St. Nicholas by Demi

Crafts and Baking
-One craft a week (Nativity pictures ala Hannah, popcorn and bead chains, paper chains, illuminated scripture)
-Gift making
-Bake together once a week (to have goodies for Sunday)

In our Morning Read Aloud Time
-I would like to read some Christmas poetry, continue memorising our Christina Rosetti poem, sing carols and have some great reading aloud sessions. All this doesn't have to happen every day, and it's usually best if it doesn't!

I would like our prayer time and read aloud time to be the focus of our mornings, after that we will do what fits until lunch (probably not much for us slow risers!). After lunch I would like to have rest time and/or tea time and do our crafts or baking. Lately we have been doing a neat art project on Friday and this would be great to continue with.

For myself, I am going to make my devotional life a priority. Using a couple prayer books I have here, I am going to spend some time in this area that I have been sadly neglecting.

Overall, I want this to be a time of peace, of living intentionally together and serving one another, and enjoying a time of a slower pace (which seems to go against the whole drive of the culture surrounding me!).

Have a blessed Advent...

'Exam' Reflection

2007-12-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

Our first attempt at an exam week went off great! The children loved the change in routine (so did I) and the essays they wrote or narrated were excellent. Even my little Caleb narrated some great things and drew a wonderful Royal Garden.

I think next time I would try to have a little more variation in the types of requests I gave for narrations for the different subjects, probably even just focusing in on a few subjects as far as the essays and use discussion for the rest!

Overall, I think it was a great success (even in the midst of a 24hr bug sweeping through the house). We finished it off with a great read aloud session and a trip to the pool!

Fairly silly....

2007-11-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

Your Inner European is Irish!

Sprited and boisterous!
You drink everyone under the table.

Who's Your Inner European?

I don't think I would drink anyone under the table, although I do enjoy a thick Irish stout!

Exam Week (sort of CM style!)

2007-11-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

The words test and exam don't have a lot of meaning in our household. We don't do any type of government testing here in Manitoba, and besides the occasional math review 'test' the kids haven't encountered these things much.

But I was inspired by Cindy here at her Exam Week for Dummies (ha!) and by Willa's great series of posts here.

So I decided we would have a VERY relaxed type 'exam' week here- to illustrate what the kids know, NOT what they don't know, and to also have them enjoy seeing some of the learning they have been doing. I also thought it would be a good change of pace for a few days.

So I woke up this morning after a really good sleep (no middle of the night Ultimate game until Tuesday...when will I learn?) and had a pretty good idea of what I would start the older two kids on, which would give me some time to write up ideas for each of our different study areas. Then of course, when the children woke up, my oldest has the stomach flu (I do not handle stomach flus well- weak stomach- so it is good we have rarely had them around here). So after settling him in his room with a good book on tape and a glass of gingerale, I decided to start Hannah off and also have a little informal 'exam' with my 7yo Caleb.

Caleb
-tell me about a little scene from History you remember (blank look... then, oh yes, Ceaser crossing that river ..me: The Rubicon... yes, and the man came and took the trumpet and blew it and Ceaser knew he could go across the bridge!)
-addition facts... good job with these for my little math whiz!
-Who was your favorite character from A Door in the Wall? Tell me about a scene with him in it (he chose John-go-in-the-wynd)
-Draw me a picture from a book you have read or been read to (he chose the Imperial Garden!)
-Give me a line of your best handwriting for the first line of the Lord's prayer

Hannah

Poetry
-Write out as much of The Bath Song as you can remember (She did the whole thing!)
Art
-draw or describe on paper one of the Winslow Homer paintings we studied
Bible
-please write out one of the parables we have read this term
Literature
-please draw me a scene from either The Door in the Wall, Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze, or Girl of the Limberlost
-list the character traits of either; Young Fu, Robin, Brother Luke, or Aeneas
Saints
-tell the story of one of this terms saints orally
History
-narrate, the best you can, either the coming of the Romans to Britain or the story of Hannibal crossing the Alps
-in your opinion, what are some of the rather grim details of the beginning of the Roman empire
-who was believed to have started the fire in Rome?
Math
-a review test (I probably will skip this...Hannah is very proficient in Math)
Latin
-decline terra on paper
-decline servus on paper
-go through all the flashcards with mom
-oral translation exercise from the last section
Piano
-play me a song of your choice!!

We will do what we can today, then I will take some time to write up Ariel's list for him (for when he is feeling better!)

Note: I seem to be the one with the worst retention! I keep wondering what books we have read etc. this term.....

Marguerite Makes a Book

2007-11-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed this book tonight, all four children and I, snuggling in bed under the big fluffy down comforter. I saw it mentioned on the Tapestry of Grace website and thought Aha, Hannah would love this. She even looks like the girl in the book!

I also knew that she would want to try and do what Marguerite was doing- make an illuminated script, with the homemade dyes and everything. Because I know Hannah. And Hannah is a hands, on crafty soul, who never sees a project that daunts her!

The illustrations in this book were gorgeous, and they held the attention of my 4 and 7 year old boys intently. The story also flowed with a good narrative, while adding in a generous dose of interesting knowledge about the making of dyes and manuscripts, not to mention that Medieval feel.

This book is also part of my quest to find great picture books that will capture the attention of my younger boys, while being something the older ones might enjoy as well. More of that idea of the building from the ground floor up idea I talked about here.

So I think next week may find us gathering some parsley, some saffron, some nice heavy old looking paper, and all the great things we will need to make some of our own illuminated pages. I think the kids might enjoy copying some of our Morning Prayer or a compline onto them.

Snow on the Doorstep

2007-11-14T11:10:00.000-08:00

We awoke this morning to a nice, slightly frigid, feeling in the air (I haven't changed our program on the furnace yet!). There was snow on the roofs, a light dusting on the ground, and on our newly finished herringbone walk way (finished at 6pm last night in the last balmy evening of the season!)

This morning found me snuggling lots on the couch with a cup of tea and my two smaller boys. I have found lately that Caleb, age 7, has had a VERY hard time focusing on his lessons. So yesterday I decided to devote the first part of our lesson time in the morning to him. So today we began again by him reading to me a short story from The Book of Virtues For Young People on the couch. After that we did an extensive flash card review of addition facts as we are waiting for his new Math U See book. Next we snuggled down on the couch again to a pick of Aaron's, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and the Tale of the Firebird. These both were great re tellings and we all enjoyed them. Then I set him free to play with Aaron. They were both content having this time with me..... After a time of play, I reeled him in for his Italics. He finished his half page in record time, which these days is unusual.

This alternating between play and his lessons I am finding is better for Caleb, and also for his little brother- Aaron was feeling quite lonely for his playmate when Caleb was engaged in his lessons more back to back. I am also enjoying reversing the usual trickle down style we have here- I am so used to reading and studying topics that engage my olders, realizing the youngers will enjoy the trickle down. But they haven't been enjoying it much. So I am reading more engaging picture book biographies, myths, folktales, and fairy tales to the younger ones, and then if they want to listen in on the Shakespeare and great reads from the Middle Ages than they are welcome!

Hope you are enjoying your early winter....

Planning Writing and the Progym.

2007-11-12T11:11:00.000-08:00

I have been inspired by the thoughtful posts here by Willa to again to dig out some resources I have around the house and on line, as well as ordering this textbook from the library, and look at the progym again. The whole idea of the progym I find makes sense. If there was one thing I detested in school it was writing- period. I loved math, loved science, (could have loved history if it wasn't taught in such a dry and boring way), but could never stomach writing- having topics like 'what was the best thing you did last summer?' or 'write a story about a mouse' didn't help a lot.

So this concept of using various good models of literature- myths, fables, narratives, proverbs, and so on- and using exercises to work with them to develop a writer really sits with me. No blank page phobia there!

Because of my interest in these exercises I ordered Classical Writing Aesop about four years ago. I read it, reread it, tried it a little with my then resistant 9 year old, then ditched it.

Now, a few years later, and with kids that are not resistant to writing (hat tip to Julie over at Bravewriter), I feel like we are ready for this again. I had bought Homer (from the Classical Writing folks) last spring, but once again ditched it- the format doesn't work with me, makes me squirrley just looking at it! (But I know it works for lots of folks).

So our first step this week will be to work through this sample.

This will give me another week to plan. I am thinking of writing out a basic framework for the first few exercises (the forest), then plan the next three weeks writing assignments (the forest). In this time I hope to recieve the text and start to peruse it. I tried last night to get further into this planning, with the help of a large dose of dark chocolate and a not so hot cup of tea, but I got a little lost on the internet searching around (funny how that happens- too many good blogs out there). So I retired to bed with the Classical Writing Homer- it looks like it would be such a good book for one of those types of moms that love all that organization- but for me, it's back to the basement for Homer again!

The progynasmata... a good outline here.

Note: sorry about all the post edits... I need to proof a little more before I post!

Fun Math With Candy

2007-11-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

What Math couldn't be fun if it involved candy? Maybe math with candy where the candy was strictly a manipulative and not to be eaten? Maybe math where your mother is a serious chocoholic and she might eat it all herself? (Note: I DID not do this!)

The morning after Halloween I announced to the the kids that for math that day we were going to sort our candy into 'types', count the number of each type, and then we would graph the results.

So I pulled out our current read aloud out, The Door in the Wall (wonderful book), and the kids started sorting. It was sort of crafty of me- I knew they would be obsessed with the candy the whole next morning anyway so why not incorporate it!

We ended up with three great bar graphs. I wish our camera was working so I could post Caleb's- he colored each bar all the different colors of that type of candy he received.

Yes, we have a rule that there is no candy before lunch. Yes, I am the only one who continues to slip past the rule!! (All that chocolate ......)

Poetry Friday

2007-11-02T15:48:00.000-07:00

This is a poem that my two oldest have been using for copywork and dictation. We just can't seem to get enough of J.R.R. Tolkien's poetry lately. We have been so enjoying the compilation in this book, and the Alan Lee artwork is gorgeous.

Luthien Tinuviel

"The leaves were long, the grass was green,
The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,
And in the glade a light was seen
Of stars in shadow shimmering.
Tinuviel was dancing there
To music of a pipe unseen,
And light of stars was in her hair,
And in her rainment glimmering.

There Beren came from mountains cold.
And lost he wandered under leaves,
And where the Elven-river rolled
He walked alone and sorrowing.
He peered between the hemlock-leaves
And saw in wonder flowers of gold
Upon her mantle and her sleeves,
And her hair like shadow following.

Enchantment healed his weary feet
That over hills were doomed to roam;
And forth he hastened, strong and fleet,
And grasped at moonbeams glistening.
Through woven woods in Elvenhome
She lightly fled on dancing feet,
And left him lonely still to roam
In the silent forest listening.

He heard there oft the flying sound
Of feet as light as linden-leaves,
Or music welling underground,
In hidden hollows quavering.
Now withered lay the hemlock-sheaves,
And one by one with sighing sound
Whispering fell the beachen leaves
In wintry woodland wavering.

He sought her ever, wandering far
Where leaves of years were thickly strewn,
By light of moon and ray of star
In frosty heavens shivering.
Her mantle glinted in the moon,
As on a hill-top high and far
She danced, and at her feet was strewn
A mist of silver quivering.

When winter passed, she came again,
And her song released the sudden spring,
Like rising lark, and falling rain,
And melting water bubbling.
He saw the elven-flowers spring
About her feet, and healed again
He longed by her to dance and sing
Upon the grass untroubling.

Again she fled, but swift he came,
Tinuviel! Tinuviel!
He called her by her elvish name;
And there she halted listening.
One moment stood she, and a spell
His voice laid on her: Beren came,
And doom fell on Tinuviel
That in his arms lay glistening.

As Beren looked into her eyes
Within the shadows of her hair,
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored shimmering.
Tinuviel the elven-fair,
Immortal maiden elven-wise,
About him cast her shadowy hair
And arms like silver glimmering.

Long was the way that fate them bore,
O'er stony mountains cold and grey,
Through halls of iron and darkling door,
And woods of nightshade morrowless.
The Sundering Seas between them lay,
And yet at last they met once more,
And long ago they passed away
In the forest singing sorrowless."

           J.R.R. Tolkien

Roman Apple Cake

2007-10-22T20:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, we are studying Rome. No, I don't think this is related to Rome in any way I can figure out. Basically, we really love this recipe. It comes out of my ever faithful More With Less cookbook put out by the folks at the Mennonite Central Committee.

Roman Apple Cake

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine in mixing bowl:
1 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
1 /4 tsp. salt
3/8 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon
Beat in:
2/3 cup margerine (I use Becel)
2 eggs
2/3 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
Add:
3 cups raw apples, chopped small (leave on skins)
Mix well. Pour into greased and floured 9x13" pan.
Cover with topping:
Crumble together:
1 Tbsp. melted margerine
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts or coconut (optional)
1/4 cups rolled oats.
Bake for 35-40 minutes.

I usually opt for the coconut as my kids are not too fond of nuts in things.

Enjoy!

The Lovliness of Apples

2007-10-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'.

Yes, we have all heard this quote many, many times. And yes, apples are very nutritious. But there is so much more to an apple than that. Today alone we slipped some into the oatmeal (which decidedly among my children is a matter of personal preference), snacked on some whole and sliced, had some in the form of applesauce with the sausage, and I am going to try to fit in making an apple coffeecake for tomorrow's homeschool chess club! Yes, we do indeed love apples around here. (It is also about the ONLY semi-local fruit that you can pick up around here for more than half the year!)

If you love apples too, or if you have been trying to figure out just what to do with the abundance available right now, or are just on the lookout for a fresh new recipe or craft to enjoy with the children, here are some great ideas and recipes for you to enjoy. Pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy!

A great place to start would be at Dawn's and her taste testing extravaganza in her post An apple by any other name. She also has inspiring thoughts and a wonderful poem (from one of her own crew to boot) here at Our Nice Red Rosy Apples, and great instructions for an 'apple tote' that you could store apples, or just about anything in A Quick and Crafty Apple Tote.

Elizabeth and her family had a wonderful Autumn day with apples being the focal point in this post. What could be more fun than a day with a couple friends, numerous friends for your kids, beautiful fall weather, and a ready-made snack?

Marianne and her children have made some beautiful watercolors that she shares with us at The Apple Bird - Watercolor. I had never seen this Brian Wildsmith book, and we are big fans!

This next post sounds like so much fun to me, honestly, it sounds amazing. The whole family out working together, learning together, and producing something for the table to boot! Check out the fun at the Grove.

Mary has a great list of books here along with instructions for an apple doll craft. This looks like a must do with my daughter. (By the way Mary, did you say snowing??)

Mary has a Unit Study posted over on her blog that centres on apples. For all you unit study folk, this looks like some fun. Even for me, it looks like some great reading!

I had to think hard on what recipe to share that would contain the ever useful and versatile apple. (I am not very crafty, and love to bake, so a recipe was my easy choice. ) I decided on this one, because it is so easy, isn't too sweet, and we eat it lots over here!

Last, but not least, Barbara (this previously said Marianne....sorry about that ) sent me what looks like a scrumptious recipe that I think will keep me up late tonight baking (and probably eating!). I am not very computer savvy and can't seem to link it so please head over to her blog and have a look around for the recipe (and to enjoy the beautiful photo that tops it!).

I hope you have enjoyed yourselves, and that this Autumn will afford you some time and peace to enjoy some of these great ideas!

The Lovliness of Apples Fair... coming here next week!

2007-10-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

We have had a lovely fall here, in the land of half year long winters. It looked as though it was going to skip out quickly with the cold snap in the first days of September. But it has hung on.

When the leaves begin to fall seems to be when I head into the cupboard for my baking pans and grab my cookbooks from off the shelves. We had 'tea time' so many times last month that my 4yo was heard telling anyone who would listen that now we have tea time twice a day.

My favorite recipes are often the ones which contain the ever faithful apple. If I was a better poet I think I could spin off a pretty nice sonnet right now, praising the lovely apple....

Instead, I think that I will let you know about the Loveliness of Apples Fair I will be hosting here next Tuesday. If you have an apple recipe you love, a craft, (or even a sonnet), or anything else that is apple related that you want to share, please send it on over here by Monday at 8am. You can leave it as a link in the comments section of this post!

See you next week!

The Lovliness of Apples.... or lack thereof!

2007-10-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

I am very sorry. The apple fair is not here today. I actually thought I wasn't hosting it, then life sort of took over and I haven't been online as much lately.

Hopefully it will still get up later in the week, either on another ladies blog or my own.

Thanks,
From one apple lover to another.

Goblin Slobber!!???

2007-09-18T12:02:00.000-07:00

Theresa over at Lapaz homelearning has a great new unit up and running.
Since Harry Potter is on everyone's minds over here at our home (Mom, Dad, and Hannah reading them while son 12 swallowed them whole in the last month!), we decided that we were in for a Harry Potter unit study. First up is Goblin Slobber.....

Planning

2007-09-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was going to be doing a little planning... instead I am tucking in early with a cup of tea ( a bowl of cereal too!) and a good book.

But on the topic of planning, I read a great post today. I found it both simple and wide. I think tomorrow when I spend a some time in the evening planning and making up some goals for our year of learning, I will write up something similar but unique to my own family. Something that recognizes the large goals, and realities, so that they don't (or I don't!) get lost in the details.

Off to my book and my teacup...

The Next 'First ' Day

2007-09-11T20:59:00.000-07:00

I think the last few words of my 'first day' post were 'it was wonderful'. If I had to pick a key three words to begin this post with those would not be in the first 300 that would come to mind.

Honesty.... our little 'homelearning/studies etc. or whatever you wish to call it, does not always go smoothly. During math, even with Steve Demme, it can rarely go smoothly for days. But this is not the fault of my dear children- at least not most of the time. It is that old adage my friend Wendy likes to quote- 'if Mom's not happy, no ones happy'.

Our 'next day back' was not a smooth day. Maybe I was under the allusion that they would all be as smooth as that glorious 'first day back'- but hey, I have been at this for eight years now and knew it couldn't be that.

Whatever it was, it was.... and the next day was new. This adventure called 'living, loving, learning, and growing through it all' is not a sprint- it's a marathon. Not for the light of heart. But boy does it take heart. It is a humbling process, one that on those type of days I come to realize (again) can't be undertaken without grace.

Off to bed to try to be a little more rested for another day full of possibilities.....

Note to self: GET TO BED (too little sleep can often mean more of the above days!_

A neat post about 'next days' written by Karen at her wonderful blog.

2007-09-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

The sorting hat says that I belong in Gryffindor!

Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those with brave deeds to their name."

Students of Gryffindor are typically brave, daring, and chivalrous.
Famous members include Harry, Ron, Hermione, Albus Dumbledore (head of Hogwarts), and Minerva McGonagall (head of Gryffindor).

Take the most scientific Harry Potter
Quiz ever created.

Get Sorted Now!

Our First Day Back...

2007-08-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

Back from where???
...back from those long days of summer. When the hours are endless and the outside is calling and so is the lake. When mealtimes are hazy, bedtimes late, and the days have more spontaneity than usual.

After quite a while with those glorious days we all start yearning for a little more rhythm and ordering of our days.

So this week has found dinner way more intentional and on the table at a reasonable time. The house has shaped up a lot, and mom has been in front of the computer etc. a lot less!

I also was very inspired by Dawn's pictures of her learning space. We have definitely been more fly by the seat of your pants the last year or so, and it felt so good this year to try to bring some more beauty and order into our space. I found it very energizing. In our dining room I started to fuss with the different things in that space: computer desk, bookshelf, craft shelf, craft table, keyboard, hedgehog, and 8 seater dining table (luckily it is a big dining room with high ceilings). I moved things here, I moved things there... and they all ended up where they started, except that the bookshelf and the piano swapped places. I added in a new desk ($4 garage sale) for myself and some nice baskets for the kids stuff. I also reorganised the books on the bookshelf in the living room, placing some on upstairs shelves and reordering categories (I worked at a library in high school and have a thing with organising books!). It felt so nice to come down this morning after I had put my heart and creativity into the space, and enjoy it so much!

So we started off our day.....
With nice chai with breakfast and a Psalm and a parable. Then I announced that it was a morning chore free day and the kids were mildly glad (they actually like helping out)- Caleb also proceeded to tell me that he doesn't do chores anyways (he usually slinks off and plays in some out of the way place nicely hoping (succesfully) that he won't be missed).

Then we gathered and said a prayer out of our Celtic Book of Daily Prayer.
Next it was onto a new read aloud- Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze. Everyone enjoyed this thoroughly. Then I read a chapter out of one of the world history texts on the Baldwin Project. All four children decided to draw, then cut out pictures out of old National Geographics to cover their copywork etc. books with. Boy, they looked awesome when they were done. On the theme of China, I read Aaron the Story of Ping (it just happened to be in the basket).

After this I put on some pizza dough for lunch... it was such a nice morning I wanted to make something special.

Next we did Latin. The two olders did review with me while Caleb requested the Prima Latina workbook and worked his way diligently through a lesson of maybe two. I handed him a page of Hannah's old Math-U-See and Ariel and Hannah started in on a review page in their Zeta math books. Oh Math- How I love thee! But Oh, how I am not the person to share you with others!!!
This is our sticky subject! The kids really like it, but it is when my double comes in - the one with the rolling eyes and pained look!

After this, and a few pieces of fruit, Ariel dove into his project, The Songs and Tribes of the Lord of the Rings. He is so into this project still- he started it late last Spring, worked on it over the summer, and today he created a blog to put it on! This is a first for us here.... at least in the formal project sense. I know that Theresa uses a sort of project based learning and her son really enjoys it. Hannah decided to do more dictation from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (she has hand written 17 pages now), and by this time I had pizza in the oven and was in the yard with Aaron pitching balls (he is completely into this these days).\

Dh came home for lunch which was a treat (and he also reminded me nicely that maybe Ar and I should take a break with the Math (we had gotten in a rut at that point.... sigh)). After lunch Ar was back on the project and the other kids were reading (Hannah is loving Harry Potter right now- I have never seen her read like this. This, and the first book, are the first books she has really dove into. She has read 30 hours already this week (equalling I am sure all last year!)).

The rest of the day was spent at the park with friends, resting around the back deck, cooking dinner, and now more reading.

It was an amazing day.... all days are not this smooth. This one was not free of kinks, disagreements, or hard moments. But it was a day spent together, one day out of many that we will have this year, one with rhythm and meaning. It was wonderful.......

Lesson Planning

2007-08-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

The Loveliness of Lesson Planning fair is set to be held on August 20th. So I thought I would write up something about our plans for the upcoming season.

The last couple years have been more unschooly around here: focusing on the 3Rs plus Latin and a heap of good books. So this year I was pleasantly surprised when I felt a desire to plan a little more. In the past, in my beginning years, I would plan and plan and then not follow any of the plans. After that, a good break included, I have learned that for me simple is better. A plan that works around the framework of our days, something simple enough that adding or subtracting things are easy. Also, I think I will try to work with year long learning goals plus three week at a time plans (Ann, over at Mozart and Mudpies inspired me with this post http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/mozart/62717/). I am going to try to maintain the studies we choose for those three weeks- not rigidly, rabbit trails/colds/etc. will always be well received, but I want to try out a more stable path for a few weeks at a time.

The Plan

Faith Studies- these are just part of our life here and my husband has an aversion to having them including on any daily to do list.
*I read the Bible to all the kids at breakfast and Ariel reads his after on his own
*A few times a week I aim for our Morning Prayer from our Celtic Prayer Book
*Once a week I want to talk to them, or read them, something from one of the adult books I am reading. Last year it was Imitation of Christ.
*continue on with memorising the Sermon on the Mount

Latin

*Latina Christiana 2 or Latin for Children B (any faves out there??) for Ariel and Hannah

Math

*Singapore 1b for Caleb- our first year with Singapore (Mom needs a MUS break!)
*Math U See Zeta for Ariel and Hannah (they are a 1/3 of the way through the book)
*short focused lessons

Writing

*We will aim for dictation 1-2 times a week with Ariel and Hannah
*Ariel will continue to do written narrations a couple of times a week
*Hannah will start to journal and do the occasional written narration
*Caleb will continue doing copywork
*We love Bravewriter and will use some of those ideas as well as some of the exercises from Write with the Best
*Need to work on Ar's handwriting, so he will write his narrations more this year (instead of typed)

Grammar

*......not sure. In the past we have skipped it entirely. Then we started Latin and I figured that was enough. However, I think we will do some orally (for Ariel and Hannah) from Intermediate Language Lessons since I own it anyways, and I figure I can do both children together.

History

*we will continue on with our study of Rome
*The Aeneid by Church
Famous Men of Rome,
The Bronze Bow
Outcast and many more books I am sure
*Ariel is 2/3 of the way through The Story of Rome by Macgregor and he will finish this and then I will find a new read for him- possible How the Irish Saved Civilisation
*onto the Middle Ages when this ends (Hannah has been begging for Otto of the Silver Hand again - a wonderful book)
*some studies of the Celts as they enter into the above studies (our children love all things Celtic)
*A modern history biography- possibly Dietrich Bonhoeffer
*50 Famous Stories Retold for Caleb and Aaron
*this year we will try to add a little geography in by printing off some of our blackline maps, and also using our timeline (this will require me to take the time to do this)

Nature Studies, Poetry, Science, Art and Music

*I rotate the above things (actually, we more go in spurts)
*we are in the middle of Tennyson's Lancelot and Elaine and will continue to read this
*Hannah wants to study Monet
*Papa teaches the kids art with the Mona Brooks great book Drawing With Children
*I am teaching Hannah the piano, Ariel is continuing with his Irish Whistle, and Caleb is set to begin the fiddle (Hannah also is doing Irish dancing... we are looking at a possible future trio!)
*We hopefully will use our Nature Journals more (famous last words..)
*We are reading the Storybook of Science by Fabre- I am also going to try to do a few labs (more famous last words from a professed bookie!)

Literature

*we read reams of books here- always have a bundle of read alouds on the go. Almost all of them from the library (except the bundle coming from a gift card from our good friends). Yesterday I went to the Newberry Award list online and ordered the ones we haven't read from our library....
Some of them are..
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze
The Singing Tree
The Westing Game
Secret of the Andes
I will skillfully hide the ones that really stand out as good read alouds from our book gobbler (aka Ariel) so they can be a fresh read for all of us!!
*Viking Tales and In God's Garden (from Yesterday's Classics) are in the mail for Caleb and Hannah to read, as well as Beric the Briton for Ariel

Good Meals

*I have my favourite cookbooks out and am looking through them with the kids for some good meals for our two week rotations. I find that advanced planning saves us money and we eat alot healthier too.

Room to grow and time to think

*Last, but definitely not least. This is one of my top reasons for homeschooling. I like to have many afternoons at home or with friends, living a full life together, or in solitude.

Aaron

On the 4real forums there are so many neat Montessori ideas. I want to set up a nook for Aaron, my 4 year old, with some neat things for him to do. He has to be tops on my plans otherwise he can feel a little left out in the shuffle, and I know the craft table I set up especially for him last spring thrilled him!!

Happy Planning!!

More Habits.....

2007-08-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

Chores
Today we worked together on the dishes, and yesterday we had a great 'pre-company' cleaning session.

We go in definite seasons of chores, but most days some type of chore is being done by most kids (although the littles are great escapee artists at this time of the day).

I really enjoyed this post on Danielle Bean's http://www.daniellebean.com/?view=1261 about chores. We have no large blown system here- I often post our routines on the fridge, but I think I am about the only one who looks at them. The children for the most part get reminded for a time and then it becomes more second nature (let that read, it gets so that mom doesn't need to remind them quite so much!).

My ideas for this year are more of a continuation of last years chores-
*for breakfast I like to do the tidying up, but I thought I would try placing Hannah in charge of clearing, stacking the dishes, and wiping the table. Then at lunch I could wash both meals dishes while Hannah dries and the two little boys clear and wipe. That leaves dinner, which Ariel and I have gotten into the habit of doing together- it is our together time to talk, and we are also a fast duo to boot!
*Friday room cleaning worked two years ago so I will try to implement it this year including training the littles
*The other jobs would be -the animals
-laundry
-floors
-bathrooms
So I will see how I will parcel these out. For us Laundry is a 1-2 load a day job, which Hannah has been on for the past couple years. Ariel has always done floors, but is more interested in bathrooms this year (if you could call it that). I am also thinking of having the two older ones do their own laundry twice a week together- alternating who takes care of the washing, hanging, folding. Laundry is an area we have tried many things, but it always boils back to one communal laundry hamper, and an early morning wash followed closely by a morning hanging (the laundry that is). One thing that has helped with volume is to hang only gently worn things on the boys beds to be worn the next day: the rule is that new undies and socks are daily, the other things can go as long as they are reasonable.

After a great summer I am quite excited about all of this....

Habit #2- The Computer, or lack of

2007-08-18T12:52:00.000-07:00

Habit#2
Mom needs to be face to face with the computer alot less.
I always have my arsenal of excuses, and many are very resonable: our connection is very slow right now, I use/grow/glean so much from the ieas and information on various blogs ie., the 4real forum etc. not to mention the support. But a post I read a few days ago http://4real.thenetsmith.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=14135&PN=2 (sorry about my links, I still have to work on them) really convicted me, as did my 4 year olds comment yesterday, "Mom, you are always on the computer!"

Even though this is an overstatement, it still cut to the heart.

The Process:
*The past couple days I have done more of my computer time at night, or when the children are visibly happy and contented.
*I do get up from the computer, even during a blog post, to get drinks etc. for littles- the days of pouring soymilk beside the moniter are over!
*Going simple with my reading choices... not getting sucked in
*Waiting till the house is orderly ( a post of Elizabeth'shttp://ebeth.typepad.com/reallearning/ I read last year inspired me this way)
*Living fully in real time!

How do you work your screen time?

Habits....part 2

2007-08-18T12:05:00.000-07:00

Habits... hmmmmm. Lets see. I wrote the first part of this post before we left for a three week trip to my parents, to endless days with beach, lake, and friends. So habits? well, lets just say we are starting to look at them now.

Habit #1
The first habit that I feel we need to work on is (drum roll please): MOM needs to get out of bed in the morning. Not that I don't get out of bed now, but for the past (ahem) three years or so I have been a definite night hawk and have gotten into the habit of being pulled gently nudged out of bed by my starving seven year old (the rest of the kids aren't hungry till they have been up for a while). How hard can this be you may be thinking? Well, for me, a mom of four great children, who spends most of her time with them, I really enjoy those hours after the kids are tucked away and I tend to get onto a really awake cycle and then don't go to bed until much too late. But with older children I find to get that time I am staying up even later. So I realised I have to switch things around, to find those quiet early morning hours, the ones I used to so enjoy in my breastfeeding days.

So how is this habit going so far?? Out of the past three mornings I have tried I am 1 in 3 (and the one was a mere 7:45). But slow and steady wins the race. So I am going to aim for 7:30 tomorrow and up it by 10 minutes each day until I am at 6.

If only my chocolate habit could be so easy....

How do you handle mornings? Sleep late, up at dawn, up with kids? For my benefit, how do you do the early mornings??

Habits

2007-07-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

Habits- the wonderful things that bring peace to family life, and happiness to the mother. But lo, it is the mom that often needs to be working on those habits!!

I have noticed lately, and for a long time, that I am not a follower: not a list follower, routine follower, fashion follower, etc (ask my parents, actually, maybe don't). But I so need to set some routines down. Not that we don't have any routines, we do. They are a little harder to see in the summer, but they are there. But oh it seems so easy for me to just go on about my days in the summer, and forget those 'pegs' to our days- to get busy with this or that project and let the day slip away. I have realised that some of this is what I love about summer- but by about the third week of this low tide time we all crave for a few more routines- enough to pull us together.

In the realising of this need for routines in the 'low tide' times it has been a bit of a rocky path- me lamenting about the lack of responsibility of my flock, lamenting (nice way of saying complaining) about the house work all falling to me, lamenting about the sibling rivalry...you get the point. Then I got a good sleep- it is amazing what that can do for your mind!! I felt refreshed and ready to see everything in a better light- yes, we have let some things slide- but changes can be made. We read the Bible at breakfast than the kids did some chores. At lunch I pulled out the poetry books and then I even think I got dinner on the table before 7! Boy I felt better, and so did we all I think.

I don't know if this is making much sense, but to me it is helpful to look at these different seasons and to accept them as this: seasons. There are times when things flow more, when spending hours reading makes more sense (like when it is -45 out). This is all part and parcel of the ebb and flow of our days here. At times I have not accepted this as I should, thinking all the chores/routines/musical practices/reading times etc. all have to be nicely humming all the time instead of seeing the ebbing and flowing. Writing this post has helped though, and I am feeling much more at home and positive about it again!!

But what about the title 'Habits'. How is this post all coming around to that?? I am not totally sure, all I know is that those pegs, those parts of our days which we count on and come together around, bring a nice routine that lends itself to the formation of the aforesaid 'Habits'.

So.... the next post will continue (hopefully more directly) with Habits.

The Peace and Joy of Growing Things

2007-07-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

It's summer, and the days are long and full. Summer always begins with a little bit of an adjustment here- later nights, later mornings and that getting used to a new routine.

When spring hit here, after a long winter, we entered more of a 'low tide time'- we couldn't get our hands, muscles, and our beings out of the yard and the developing garden. We had just moved into this house at the onset of the cold snowy winter and were so excited to DIG. Yes, we love to dig here.... and then watch the fruits of our labor grow.

Yesterday as I was working in our humble urban vegetable patch, Hannah, my 10yo, noticed not one but two large cucumbers. This was enough to send her into ecstasy for the day. The said cucumbers were sliced, salted, and devoured.

This warms my heart, makes me grin very wide, and relax. My spirit connects with the Father in his creation, it always has. So, it always leaves me with a wonderful peace to see my children communing with growing things, especially in this fast paced technological age. Actually, if I think of what I want for my children as they grow, what I consider the most important bricks in their formation/education, I would have to say that this connection with nature, whatever that would look like for each child, would be very near the top of the list, definitely in the top 5. I am sure many writers could say it much more eloquently than I could, so I will leave it to them.

Next up looks like the zucchini......

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

2007-06-18T19:06:00.000-07:00

As summer approaches, spring calls, and we are outside more I always begin to reflect on last year, plan for what comes next and often read and read. This year it is a bit different though- in that I don't have a burning desire to purchase and plan. I definitely have been enjoying seeing what neat books are out there etc. but am more apt to go right onto the public library site from there and see if they have the said neat books. Part of this is the budget, lots I think is the fact that I have learned that while I love to plan and write out notes I never (yes never) follow them or even have the same sets of ideas as when summer hit. I guess this would be the learning curve, and oh it can be slow with me!! I think part of it is also the whole idea of simplifying- multum non multa.

As I add more kids into the mix, as new readers begin and old ones dive into more complicated studies I find that to keep (guard) the down time, the time where one can enjoy one's interests and think and play and cook dinner etc., I need to really look at what each child needs and what we need together: what juices us, what suits us, what do we need to work on as a family and individually, what can I personally handle (this is where the types of materials come in). By the end of this year I seemed to be able to streamline more, although there were days when I was sure that we needed alot more of X and Y and they were dutifully added, for that day.

So this year I am trying to find...
-used Henle Latin level 1
-some good titles for our history topics:
Rome
Middle Ages
A Modern era Biography (Ex. We read ones of Gandhi and Mother Theresa this year)
-a new (from our great used bookstore) Poetry Anthology
-a new calender for Fine Art (or set of prints)
-a globe and/or a good quality laminated map (we need a new one every year it seems!)
-someone who feels it is their life purpose to clean up lego for free (just joking,well maybe)

We generously used The Baldwin Project this year for many topics. It is amazing how much my children enjoy ants after hearing 'Uncle Paul' tell about it. We will use alot of titles as the year goes on I am sure.

I also want to study a Shakespeare play again: any favorites out there?? The children have still not had the chance to see one, so I hope to get a video and also to check out the outdoor Shakespeare theatre this summer.

Well, this is alot of posts for my first day of this new blog (my family blog and old blog are looking on enviously)
Peace,Kristie

Declensions with Dog

2007-06-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

The Peace of Wild Things

2007-06-18T18:14:00.001-07:00

Here is a poem- a little early for Poetry Friday- but something I could have reflected on in the heat of a somewhat 'wild-day'. Wendell Berry is my all time favorite author, tied with Tolkien!!

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry

Spring!!!

2007-06-18T11:42:00.000-07:00

Spring here comes after 6 months of winter- yes, six months. We enjoyed our prairie winter this year: I love to knit and now we have three knitters in the family (the other one's read all the time).

With the arrival of spring came a new rhythm- sort of like a spring break that lasts all spring!!
Here is a favourite image of nicer weather....
by Emily Carr

An Introduction!!

2007-06-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

As a bit of an introduction I feel as I should tell you something about us. We have been at this parenting thing for 12 years and have four beautiful children: 12yo, 6yo, and 4yo boys and one wonderful 10yo girl. We have lived in many different places, all in Canada, but are staying put here for a while on the prairies (though the mountains are always calling!!).

As far as homelearning, we have done many things: most fairly relaxed. Most frequently we have done things with a Charlotte Mason flavor. We love to study fine art, love books, thoroughly enjoy poetry, love books, drool over history, love books, all need the 'wild' out of doors for sustenance, and all enjoy math!!

We have tried so many of the approaches out there: classical, interest led, unschooling, CM , but always returned to a sort of relaxed/CM/Classical with loads of free time for hanging out and personal interests. This is what I've discovered I am most comfortable with, and gives enough structure with lots of personal breathing room. I cannot stick to a schedule, but we live by routines instead. A regular day here would involve a handful of things in the morning and then a late lunch followed by life- one of these regular days does not happen every day here!!

This has gotten long....
Have a Great Day
Kristie

A New Start

2007-06-18T11:18:00.000-07:00

I started a blog more than a year ago, but I fell to doing more blog reading than posting. Here's to a fresh start!! I am wanting to post weekly, which seems doable.
Have a great day and thanks for visiting,
Kristie