Old Faithful

At Old Faithful of California

This weekend, we found ourselves with a few hours to kill.  That is, there was a party happening in the afternoon at Grandma’s house and we really needed the four children under 6 to be out of the house and not undoing all of Grandma’s progress.  My husband grew up in the area, and so he had an idea of a place we could go:  Old Faithful of California!  So we took the kids on a field trip.

We arrived mid-morning and the kids found plenty to climb on and to investigate.  We saw crazy four horned sheep and fainting goats with spooky eyes.  The geyser was really fun to see and the kids noticed that it smelled like boiled eggs.  We had a really fun adventure.

It was a beautiful day, we had sweet fellowship as a family, and Grandma’s house stayed clean while she prepared for a very fun party.  A successful morning indeed!

 

My kids being themselves- crazy, cuddly, capricious, clueless

Always finding something to climb

Gazing at Goats

Four Horned Sheep

Princess found an acorn

Oooh! Geyser time!

Watching the geyser go!

The water shot up really high!

What a beautiful morning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memorable Moments: Week Three, People

Toddler Tornado

This has been a great week!  Our books were good and I am seeing progress in my children’s understanding of letters, sounds, and math concepts.  That is exciting!  We added a few things to our daily schedule that were really fun.  We did have a little more trouble with the Toddler Tornado this week.  I am participating in two Busy Bags swaps, so I am hoping I will get some good activities for him to do while we do school through those.  Also, I plan to take some time in this next week to plan and create some boxes and activities for him.  This week’s theme was the people around the world and where they live and what they eat.

What we did this week:

Bible- We are memorizing Romans 6:23 and that is going well.  We can all sing (and do hand motions for) “This is Our Father’s World.”  We started reading about Abram this week.  I looked a little in the garage for the flannel board.  Hmmm.  I wonder if the school year will end before I find it?

They told me what to write and I wrote it

Geography/History- We read People by Peter Spier, Houses and Homes by Ann Morris, and Bread Bread Bread by Ann Morris.  We made some bread that was quite delicious.  We filled in a little sheet on our habitat: our house.  K’s favorite place in the house is the schoolroom and X’s favorite foods that he can find in his habitat is nuts and oatmeal.

Literature- We read a sweet little story called The Little House by Virginia Burton, an engaging rhyming story called A House is a House for Me by Mary Ann Hoberman and The Little Red Hen.  The kids were definitely very into The Little House.  Princess was very concerned about the city crowding out the Little House.  She rejoiced at the end!

We have had so much fun with this CD!

This week, in the evenings, we began our very first chapter book!  After going camping in the woods, I thought the kids might enjoy hearing the tale of The Boxcar Children.  My mother read this book to us when we were kids and I remember adoring it.  And so far, this book is a hit.  Oh, the look on the kids’ faces when I declare that it is Boxcar Children time!  Pure ecstacy!  Yesterday, the chapter ended with a sound of cracking in the woods… what could it be?  Oh, the kids were wondering and hypothesizing and so anticipated the reading for the next day.  We are just loving this book.

Movement- I turned on the Kids in Motion CD I have and we had an absolute blast this week dancing to it!  All of us- me, X, K, and Z-urchin- having so much fun and getting such good exercise doing the dances and following the instructions.  My kids’ favorite song is the bean bag one.

Science- This week we did our first Nature Study and it was wonderful.  X did two nature journal entries, K did one.  We enjoyed our time outside and the kids are beginning to notice things outside just a tiny bit more.  I am looking forward to continuing the Outdoor Hour Challenges.

The end of our nature study this week

We did phonics, math, and calendar time as well- and the kids are doing great.  One thing we’ve been doing during calendar time is discussing our virtue-of-the-month: compassion.  All I’ve done so far is put the definition on a card up on the calendar board and we read the definition every calendar time.  A few weeks ago, when I started this, I gave them a few examples of compassion.  Now I ask them if they have seen any compassion in life, our reading, in each other.  It is neat to hear what they say.  This simple activity has opened up many teachable moments with the kids in the past few weeks.  (I did chose a virtue which I thought could use some work in my kids’ hearts.)  This morning, K was holding a basket of chalk and X took it away from her.  We discussed in turn how each could show compassion to the other.  X gave it back and K shared one of the biggest pieces of chalk with him.  I’m delighted to see how this is working out!

I already have next week’s books- I just love the hold system at the library!

X created a lego robot in his free time this week. As a completely unbiased mother, I think it is pretty great!

Outdoor Hour Challenge #1

Enjoying outside time

Last week, I thought about what I could do to nurture a love of nature in my children.  I was introduced to the  Outdoor Hour Challenges website by Ambleside Online.  I was intrigued and decided to try Challenge #1 this week.  It was a rousing success!

My first task was to read a few pages from the Handbook of Nature Study and this is what I learned:

1.  Nature study encourages love of nature- and modeling a love of nature will encourage it in my students’ hearts.

2.  Being out in nature will help reduce mischief making!  Now how do I get this benefit with my Toddler Tornado?

3.  Teachers must say, “I don’t know, let’s find out!”- this will give the student a feeling of thrill in investigation.  I know that the thrill of investigation and discovery was exciting and motivating and empowering to me and my attitude was definitely mirrored in my children.

It starts with the child’s interest

4.  In nature study, the work begins with whatever interests the child that is near at hand- we did this after I modeled what being interested in something in nature looked like.  Hopefully, as the weeks go by, they will discover more and more nature mysteries they want to solve.

5.  Nature study should be short.

Boys on a nature walk

The second task was to go outside for a 15-20 minute walk.  She said that it could just be in our backyard or neighborhood, but if I was going to model excitement for nature study, I felt that it needed to be in a more inspiring location.  So we went to a park with a path that winds through the woods and pauses every so often at a bubbling brook.  It is beautiful and I love going there.  So we got in the car and drove to the park.  When we arrived, I wrapped up Baby Shortstop in the Moby and told the kids that we would be taking a walk and they should be looking for things that were interesting to them.   Off we went down the path.  It didn’t take long for me to find something that intrigued me.  Stems growing out of the ground with bunches of what looked like tiny tomatoes on the top.  So I bent down to look at them, stopped Z-urchin from eating them, and admired them aloud.  This drew the attention of my children and they agreed that they looked interesting.

This caught my eye

While we were bending down to look at these strange plants, X-man found many leaves on the ground.  These he picked up and we talked a little about where they came from.  The tree that we decided they came from was labeled as a Black Walnut Tree.  Princess K found a round green object on the ground and wondered if it came from the walnut tree as well.

We kept walking and Z-urchin found some sticks and he drummed his way down the path.  We saw another labeled tree- the sycamore.  We saw a bed of dead leaves on the ground underneath the tree and Princess K thought that the leaves must have come from the sycamore.  I was impressed with her observations and conclusions!

Walnut leaves caught X’s eye and he stuffed many into my backpack.

We stopped at a log by the brook for a snack and Z-urchin promptly removed his shoes and sank his feet deep into the mud.  And then put his feet on me.  Thank you so much.  As we were walking back to the car, X-man received a bee sting.  So when we went home to talk about the nature walk, all the kids could remember was that bee sting.  However, when I pulled out the leaves X had collected and showed them pictures from our walk, then they were interested again in the black walnut tree.  I was interested in figuring out what that plant with the red berries on the top was.

We stopped here for a snack

The third assignment was to come up with two things to investigate further.  We chose the red berry plant (I did, anyway) and the black walnut tree.  Now, I have never been really good- or even all that interested in botany type things.  I don’t know how to use guides that identify plants.  I don’t really know what to look for on the plant.  So I fell back on my traditional source of answers:  Google.  I googled (using Google Image Search), “flower with red berries that look like tiny tomatoes.”  What do you know?  Good ole’ Google.  It had my answer:  Italian Arum!  The plant is poisonous (glad I stopped Z from eating it!) and does well in shade (where we found it, growing at the foot of the Black Walnut tree).  I also looked up the Black Walnut tree.  It turns out that green object was in fact a walnut.

An intriguing purple flower in our backyard

The nature walk and subsequent discussions and research was so fun that X-man began another miniature nature study in our backyard the next day.  We were outside, enjoying the sunshine and X came up to me with a vivid deep purple colored flower in his hand.  He had plucked it from the bush next to our swing.  He asked, “What is the name of this flower, Mommy?”  I replied, “I don’t know, let’s go find out!”  We went inside to Trusty Computer with Good Ole’ Google and I typed in, “Bush with purple flowers.”  It took awhile for us to look through the images, but we eventually found a few pictures that looked like our bush.  When we found a website in English, we discovered that the name of this bush is the “Blue Potato Bush” or the “Paraguay Nightshade” or “Royal Robe.”

I felt so empowered by my success in identifying two plants that it changed the way I looked at nature for the rest of the week.  All of a sudden, I was looking at trees in parking lots and across the street wondering what those trees were.  I saw a beautiful brown and black bird in my backyard and I wondered what that was.  And I am so excited to find out!  Such a change in me in so little time!

Yesterday, I decided that I wanted to do a nature journal entry.  X-man and Princess K decided that they wanted to join me.  It was incredibly sweet time, sitting at the kitchen table with my kids and the colored pencils, all of us drawing the same thing.  It was definitely the highlight of the week!  Outdoor Hour Challenge #2- here we come!  I’m hooked!

By the black walnut tree

Fascinated mostly by the fence

K was interested in the walnut she found on the ground

We found a sycamore tree

Snack time!

Muddy feet

Our nature journal entry about the black walnut tree- X’s is above, mine is below

Nature journal entry about the “Royal Robe” found in our backyard. The top one is X-man’s (and his includes the black bee he saw by it), the middle one is K’s.

One of Those Days

This was shared by a friend on facebook and boy does it resonate with me!

I’ve had several more people than I’ve ever expected comment on my patience.  I don’t know, perhaps because my anger triggers are different than theirs.  Or perhaps they see that I have four children and discover that I am homeschooling them and think that an impatient person would never have chosen that craziness (the truth is probably more like the Lord knew how much I needed to develop patience and He chose this life for me).  But most likely people see patience in me because they are present.  I still have a long way to go in the patience department.  This was made abundantly clear to me this morning.

My destructive toddler

It was shaping up to be one of those days.  My toddler was particularly destructive, my daughter, particularly whiny, and my oldest, particularly exasperating.  Even without the three aforementioned provocations, I was particularly grumpy.   I grumbled through the morning, and when I yelled loudly at my toddler for tearing off the cover of our library book, I knew I needed to do something about my heart.  So I sent them outside, gave them a snack, and sat down at the table with my Bible.  I prayed and asked for wisdom to know what verse or passages I needed to meditate on to apply to my particular heart issue today.  The Lord brought to mind Psalm 145 (one of my very favorite Psalms since early high school) and the verse in James about being slow to anger.  Traveling between those two passages, I happened across a passage I have memorized- but definitely needed reminding of- Hebrews 12.  I wrote them on a card and thought about them as I did dishes (and the kids were still outside!).

Psalm 145:8-10 “The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.  The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works.  All Thy works shall give thanks to Thee, O Lord.  And Thy godly ones shall bless Thee.”  This was a good reminder that our Heavenly Father is patient with us.  And obviously, His patience, grace, mercy, and kindness do not depend on our deserving of them.  So it doesn’t matter if my children deserve my gracious patience with them.  And since the power of the Holy Spirit resides in me, I can ask Him and He can bestow grace and patience upon my children through me.  That is how I, a godly one sometimes only in name, will bless the Lord.

Every good and perfect gift surrounding me

James 1:17 “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.”  My children are good and perfect gifts from the Lord, who is good and perfect Himself.  I really am so thankful for them.

James 1:18-21 “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the Word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the firstfruits among His creatures.  This you know, my beloved brethren.  But let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”  Believers are set apart for His purpose.  To be an effective witness for Him, we must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.  How many times have I sized up a situation with my children-or anyone- quickly, made assumptions, issued judgments and commands, only to regret my words when I discovered more about the circumstances.   What a blessing to us if we develop the habit to be slow to speak and slow to anger and quick to hear.

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…  Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that we will not grow weary and lose heart.”  Fixing my eyes and heart on Jesus would be the only way I could get through this day.  The only way I would not be weary.  The only way I could avoid losing heart.

So by lunch time, I really was a much more joyful person!  I went outside with the kids and we enjoyed the flowers that were blooming on the bush by the swing.  At lunch, we discussed how I had been grumpy and that I read a Bible verse and God had worked in my heart and changed me!  The rest of the day really was wonderful.  The kids were particularly good at Michaels where we went to purchase sketch books for our nature journals. We completed a page in our nature journal and my oldest son was particularly kind and sweet.  My older children were happy and cooperative during our school time.  They picked up their room and the living room cheerfully.  God transformed the whole day when He helped me change my attitude.

His Word is truly very powerful and very effective.  All His works shall give thanks to Him!

Having Fun with Our Housework

Princess K, helping by drying the dishes

Cleaning: a task I’ve never really enjoyed.  I enjoy a clean house though, so even though it is boring and sometimes really hard (or stinky or sticky) work, I must do it.  When I was a kid, I remember my mother folding clothes and then putting them in a little basket that was just my size.  She would give me the basket and then tell me in hushed tones, “Ok, Little Red Riding Hood, these berries (or cookies or cakes) are for Grandmother.  Go take these to Grandmother’s room (which was actually my mom’s room) and be sure to be quiet and sneaky to get past the wolf!”  So I would climb the stairs ever so quietly and sneak into my (Grand)mother’s room and place the “berries” on her bed and then bring the empty basket back to my mother for a refill!

So clearly, I am a girl after my mother’s own heart, for I applied the

X is learning how to vacuum. He really likes to vacuum. I encourage this.

lessons I had learned from my mom- that is- make cleaning fun! When I was 13 and in charge of doing dishes, my brother was assigned to assist me.  He didn’t like doing dishes much.  So I came up with a game.  I would set a timer for a certain number of minutes and choose a small task such as unloading the silverware basket.  We had to finish the task and then run and jump over the couch in the next room to avoid the bomb going off when the timer rang.  In the years following, my sister and I often did all of our housework like this.  And now that I am a mom myself, I want to train the kids how to clean the house.  I also want to have fun as a family, so I employ several strategies for making the housework as fun and easy as possible.  Really, it is all for me- it is just more fun to have fun, right?

K is washing the mirror!

1.  Chore Jar– I have usually used an empty kleenex box for this.  I divide up the tasks to be done into small 5-8 minute tasks, write them all on slips of paper, fold up the slips and stuff them in the box.  Then each person assisting pulls a job from the box and does that task.  I like the anticipation of not knowing what job I might pull.  I also like that whatever the job is, I know it should only take about 5 minutes or less.  A small task is less intimidating.  I usually combine this strategy with others from this list (especially with #2).

Bomb!

2.  Bomb!– I described this above- I set a timer and we have that long to complete the task.  When doing this with children, we hide under blankets, behind couches, or something else while the “bomb” is going off.  It is very exciting.

3.  Music or Audio Book– Any fun, loud music that can get us moving is good.  These days I like to use Antshillvania because there is a good song in it about working hard.  It is both music and a story and it is really cute (also, it brings back fond memories of my childhood!).  We try to get one task done in each song.  Often there is some sort of reward at the end.  I have often listened to Focus on the Family Radio Theater Presents The Chronicles of Narnia when I have a large house project.  I love these so very much!

Ready to go on a special piratey mission

4.  Special Mission– My mom modeled this strategy for me when she would send me upstairs as Little Red Riding Hood.  I have given my son a “sword” (wooden spoon or paper towel tube) or other pretend tools and then given him a mission.  One time he needed to cross a river with a scary aquatic monster in it to deliver the bed linens to the needy children in Hall Closetville.  This strategy works best with small children and delivery errands, though I have heard from my aunt that my mother was quite good at making up stories to make whatever job they were doing more interesting.

Quest board

Another way I’ve used this idea is to try to make housework fun for my geeky/nerdy husband. (He and my sister have a war over whether he is a geek or a nerd… this venn diagram is very applicable.)  In the past, I’ve employed a “Quest” board with our tasks written in clever phrases or puns on index cards.  One time I wrote out all the chores as Star Trek away missions and called our bucket of cleaning supplies the medical kit and the swiffer dusters were our phasers.

Helping the kids get excited to clean the house!

5.  Race– The last two weekends, I have used a new way to do the housework.  I make a list of jobs that need to be done.  (This could work with strategy #1 though.)  I carefully divide them into two lists- one list for the girl team (Princess K and I) and the other list for the boy team (Daddy & X-man).  While the toddler and baby are sleeping, we begin.  I announce the first job on each list and we race to see who can finish first.  The first team done chooses the video game and we complete one level (or play for 7 minutes, if there are not levels in the chosen game).  Then I announce the second job on each list and we do it again.  This makes the whole house cleaning lengthier than it would be otherwise, but the kids stay pretty motivated the whole time, and it is really precious time as a family having fun and doing useful things.  It also gives my husband and I opportunities to take the kids alongside and train them in how to clean.

Quest board for me

Ecclesiastes 5:18  “Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his  reward.”

Ice cream cone reward!

Monday Musings: I Took His Hand and Followed

This is an inspiring and beautiful poem that reminds me how good it is to spend time with my children in the great outdoors, enjoying God’s creation together, marveling in the wonders and glorying in the beauty.  How much more valuable it is to invest in my children, who are eternal than in my dishes which are not eternal (though I admit it sometimes feels like they are).

I Took His Hand and Followed
Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,

I didn’t make the bed,

I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.

 

Oh yes, we went adventuring,

My little son and I…

Exploring all the great outdoors

Beneath the summer sky

 

We waded in a crystal stream,

We wandered through a wood…

My kitchen wasn’t swept today

But life was gay and good.

 

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade

And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest,

Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

 

We watched a robin feed her young,

We climbed a sunlit hill…

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,

We plucked a daffodil.

 

That my house was neglected,

That I didn’t brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth

Will know, or even care.

 

But that I’ve helped my little boy

To noble manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world

May look and see and know. 

I heeded this advice several times this past week.  The weather has been gorgeous, so we went outside a lot.  We took walks and saw squirrels and wild turkeys.  We went to a totally awesome park that had a ship theme- the play structures were on an island in the middle of a large pond!  Wow, it was fun!  I taught my oldest two to swing on their own.  We went to the beach and made sand castles out of kelp and they played tag with the waves.  Not all weeks can be quite like this- my dishes are indeed piling up on the counter.  But I am very thankful for these opportunities to create memories with my children that I will cherish for years to come.

I followed this wandering toddler everywhere!

This poem also reminds me of what God has been teaching me this year about my plans.  It can be summed up in this verse:  Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s will that prevails.”  I Took His Hand and Followed reminds me of how good it can be to let go of my own plans and embrace the Lord’s will.   I was inspired to write my own version-

My list might go unchecked today

My plans, unachieved

I’ll take His hand and follow

Where His wiser footsteps lead.

 

Oh yes, we’ll go a-minst’ring

My loving Lord and I

Perhaps we’ll offer a list’ning

ear with a cup of chai.

 

Maybe we’ll hug a hurting child,

Take time to share a verse,

Make a meal for a brand new mom,

Let someone else go first.

 

Perhaps we’ll rock my teething tot,

Have patience with his cries,

Or laugh again at my son’s tale

We’ve heard a hundred times.

 

We’ll read a Bible story and

A tale of noble deeds,

Love a bouquet my daughter gave

Though it is only weeds.

 

The things I’ve planned might not get done

If I’ve an open heart

God has a greater purpose in

Which I might take a part.

 

I can show who Jesus is and

His love by what I do.

And if I do what Jesus does,

My kids will see it too.

Memorable Moments: Week 2, Backyard Habitats

Good job, princess!

We are now finished with our second week of official unofficial school!  The kids are still excited- Princess K anticipates the moment each day that we “play school.”  Each student has a treasure chest incentive chart and they receive stickers for certain achievements in each subject.  On their 8th day of school, they both had filled in their chart and got to choose a prize from the prize box!  We are still just focusing on the basics: phonics, math, literature, and Bible with some science and geography sprinkled in.  During their free time, they did a little art (K loves to draw!) and we went outside several times.  But we are still taking it slow so that I can figure out the right rhythm for our family as we add schooling to our family of six (and that sixth is still pretty new to the schedule).  Also, my toddler is getting those 2nd year molars and so he is needing quite a bit of extra comfort and attention this week.  We’ve done quite a bit of snuggling and reading books together.  Schedule wise, we’ve continued to mostly (with the exception of one day) read in the morning and do our calendar time, math, and phonics during Z-urchin’s nap.  So far, it is working very well.

Reading to my baby boys

What we did this week:

Bible- We read the account of Noah this week.  They have now memorized Romans 3:23, so we’ll have a new verse next week!  Still haven’t found the flannel board, but I haven’t really looked.  I should go out to that garage and just find it.  Maybe this weekend.

Literature- We read Snow White translated by Paul Heins (this one had very engaging illustrations), Little Red Riding Hood illustrated by Christopher Bing, Cinderella from the Treasury of Children’s Literature, Roxaboxen  by Alice McLerran.  We really enjoyed all of these stories and the illustrations were beautiful in each one.  There was something special for me about Roxaboxen- it brought back memories of my childhood when we would pretend that certain rocks at the edge of the creek were our houses and we would blaze trails through the tangled woods on scouting missions.

Made a castle in the sand

Calendar Time- On Tuesday, my children were outside playing early in the morning, about 8:15.  Suddenly, K dashes in and starts shrieking, “Mommy! It’s cloudy! It’s cloudy! For our school time!  Sticker on cloudy! Let’s do school!”  I shrugged,  “Sure, why not? Sounds good.”  So we got to add one solitary sticker to the cloudy bar that day (and really, it was quite sunny later on, but whatever- I’m impressed that she looked up and noticed!  Awesome!).  They are getting closer on memorizing our address and we are singing a fun song that I made up regarding the things we do on the days of the week.

History/Geography- This week, we had fun putting together a floor puzzle of the world map.  We also read about oceans in Kingfisher’s First Picture Atlas.  We went to the beach and a creek this week, so I had them draw a picture of their favorite water location and then describe to me the differences they noticed between the water at the beach and the water in the creek.  The difference they noticed: the waves in the ocean.

Science- We read the book Backyard Habitats by Kelley Macaulay and Bobbie Kalman.  We went to our backyard and looked for living and nonliving things.  We went on a walk at an Open Space Preserve and looked for living and nonliving things.

A nonliving rock

Nonliving rocks

Grapefruit from the branches that hang over our fence from the neighbor’s tree: living.

Flower from the bush in the back: living.

Phonics- X is getting better at sounding out simple CVC words and even some words with

I said the short vowel sound and they (X with a ‘short arm’) pointed to the vowel.

final consonant blends.  One of his favorite words is “jump,” because he calls his favorite video game (Super Mario Brothers for the Wii) “Mario Jump.”  So today, I added the word “Mario” to his word flashcards and when I helped him sound it out, the slow grin that spread across his face made my day.  K is getting much better at the alphabet sounds.  We have Zoo-phonics flashcards and we are going over the alphabet sounds and body movements that go along with each sound.  She is having fun with that!

Introduction to the abacus.

Math- The kids really enjoyed learning the nursery rhyme: “One, Two, Buckle my Shoe.”  Today I introduced the abacus to them and so far, they are enjoying math.  We did a fun coloring project with math this week: I gave them a piece of yellow construction paper on which I had written the “Yellow is the Sun” rhyme (RightStart Math).  I had them draw five of the same item with one color and one in a different color, and then place five of the same sticker and then one of another sticker on this page.  I am hoping that this will help them visualize six as five plus one.

So, we’ve had another pretty good week.  Now, I must go put a hold on some books from the library for next week!

She’s choosing her prize

He chose stickers as his prize

Fun art project: drawing with chalk

She drew a chalk mommy (with really big ears)

Loving the outdoors

At the playground

And here’s Shortstop- just hanging out while we do school

Nurturing Nature Lovers

“…See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” Matthew 6

Outside time.  It is good on so many levels:  physically, mentally, spiritually.  When you go outside you are getting fresh air and perhaps more exercise.  You observe things in nature and learn through direct experience.  And when you breathe deeply and find delight and peace in the beauty of God’s creation, you are given a glimpse of His glory and goodness.  The creation is a reflection of the Creator, so as you contemplate nature, you understand more about the One who made it.

Last week, I instituted a new policy.  Video game/television time would occur only when I am fixing dinner and only if the kids have fulfilled their allotted outside time that day and after they pick up the living room and bedroom.  It is amazing how motivating video game time is for X-man.  Well, last week, I noticed that often, they would sit on the patio or lounge on the swing during much of their “outside time,” rather than explore or play with the various outdoor toys we have.  It got me thinking about how to nurture a love of nature and the outdoors in my children.  So here are the things I am trying and plan or hope to try to do just that:

Figuring out something to do in the backyard

1.  Continue to mandate outdoor time- I remember when I was a kid in New Hampshire, we lived on two acres of forest land.  One hot and sticky summer day, my mother kicked us all outside and told us we would stay outside for a set time (the amount, I do not remember).  I was a very willful child and did not being forced and so I sat on the front porch the entire time.  However, the more time I was required to spend outside throughout the rest of the summer, the more I explored the woods behind my house where I found a half burnt cabin and played in the creek.  So I will do as my mother did and require plenty of outside time for them.  I did notice that as long as I left them out there for awhile, they eventually came up with something to do.

He found many ants on the tree stump

2.  Vary the outdoor experiences- After they did so much lounging last week in the backyard, I decided to take them to some different parks and the beach this week.  Maybe a little time away from their backyard would make it interesting again.  I hope to visit parks or other outdoor locations about twice a week this year.  We’ll see how I do.  This week, they enjoyed splashing in a creek, seeing some farm animals, climbing on tree stumps, finding a few wild animals (many squirrels and a few turkeys), creating sand castles with the materials found at the beach, and playing on the swings and playground equipment at the playground.

Using kelp and other materials she found at the beach for her sand castle construction

3.  Model enthusiasm for nature- I need to be excited to go outside and interested in the things I find in nature.  Maybe my enthusiasm will be contagious.  And the time with my kids will be precious and incalculably valuable.

4.  Learn more- A few years back, when I was researching the Charlotte Mason method, I found Jeannie Fulbright’s website and journal.  I read her journal entry about Nature Walks.  As her family started going on nature walks, they found it a bit boring.  Then she realized that her kids were not enjoying it because they didn’t understand what they were seeing.  She wrote, “Once we began studying botany, our love of nature literally blossomed.”  So we should do some reading and research and learning about nature- perhaps then, they will be excited about what they see!

5.  I am considering going through the Outdoor Hour Challenges.  It would be pretty helpful to have someone directing me in what to do.

 

We found many squirrels darting around in the grass and on the path as we walked at a nearby Open Space Preserve

Wild Turkeys

We played at the park!

 

Top 25: Preschool Books

We really enjoy books over here.  Here are our 25 favorite from this last year:

1.  Good Night Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann- It is a pretty cute little bedtime board book.

2.  My Father’s Hands by Joanne Ryder- Beautiful book about a daughter spending time with her father in his garden.  This is a truly wonderful book.

3.  Feeding the Sheep by Leda Schubert- Cute illustrations and a great explanation of how you care for sheep and then make a sweater.

4.  Charlie Needs a Cloak by Tomie dePaola- Another fun tale of sheep and sweater making.

5.  Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack- An adventurous tale that my children enjoyed and I enjoyed reading to them as it brought back memories from special times at my Grandmother’s house.

6.  The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper and Loren Long- I bought this book to read at my son’s train party.  This is definitely a favorite of all my children (well, the three that can indicate what book they would like to read).  They ask for it again and again.  And again, I am happy to read this as I listened to this story on my Fisher Price record player! (Anyone else remember that little toy?)  The version we own has great illustrations!

7.  Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey- Cute little story.

8.  Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey- Another cute little story.  I lived this story in April when I was driving on the freeway to take my children to Awana.  I actually had to break for a mother duck leading her little ducklings across the road.  Wow!  I’m really not sure how they managed to make it.  This question is left for me to ponder: Why did the ducks cross the road?

9.  Stone Soup by Marcia Brown- This was a fun story and my  kids acted it out for days.  Well, they gathered all the little pebbles and rocks they could find, put them in a bucket, turned on the hose and called it “Stone Soup.”

10.  Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney- A sweet little story, though not very exciting for my son.

11.  Tale of the Three Trees by Angela Hunt- I read this story to my kids every Easter and Christmas.  Their reaction is mostly bewilderment because I can NOT get through that book without crying.  I love Jesus so much!  (Also, I’ve been pregnant during many holidays lately… that also might contribute to the all-out sobbing involved… hence my children’s confusion.)

12.  Little Tim & the Brave Sea Captain by Edward Ardizzone- An exciting adventure on the high seas!

13.  You Are Special by Max Lucado- I have always enjoyed this book, but it went a little over my children’s heads.  They don’t particularly care about what others think of them yet.  Yay!

14.  Little Old Man by Natalie Norton- I found this book on my mother’s bookshelf, it brought back memories and so I absconded with it.

15.  Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown- The kids ask for this story occasionally (we have it in a collection of Little Golden Books).  My daughter loves art and kittens, so this is the culmination of her delights.  If you were to add cooking and dancing there would not be room on the internet to describe her ecstasy.  Anyway, we sometimes read this book and then do painting things… that is pretty fun.

16.  Home for a Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown- Another book I lifted from my mother’s shelf.  My princess also likes bunnies and the illustrations in this book are quite engaging.  We all like this book.

17.  The Little Red Hen by Carol Ottolenghi- When we read this story, we made bread (you can read about that here).  I like this story for the same reason my mom did- to teach the kids to help out!

18.  If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff- This is cute little story.  We created our own versions of this after we read it.  They were a lot of fun.

19.  Bartholomew and the Oobleck by Dr. Seuss- We all enjoyed this story.  I think I will read it again this year and use this recipe for making oobleck!  All the kids could really get into that!

20.  Corduroy by Don Freeman- A cute tale of a teddy and the girl who became his friend.  The kids occasionally ask for this one.

21.  The Twelve Dancing Princess by Marianna Mayer and illustrated by K.Y. Craft- We, and especially my daughter,  really enjoyed this fairytale.  The illustrations are truly spectacular.

22.  King Midas and the Golden Touch by Charlotte Craft and illustrated by K.Y. Craft-   A touching tale lavishly illustrated- this is my daughter’s favorite book.  She slowly turns the pages, gazing at the pictures, her eyes drinking in all the gilded details.  I highly recommend it.

23.  Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne- My kids didn’t really get into this book.  I’m not sure if they were too young or if they didn’t get the references or just aren’t into stories about a stuffed bear who loves his honey.  I enjoyed it so I think I will probably give it another try this year.

24.  The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter– We definitely enjoyed these.  My kids were so excited every day for the next “bunny story.”  (It’s true- they are not all about bunnies, but our copy has Peter Rabbit on the cover, hence the title.)  We ended up stopping part way through “The Tale of Little Pig Robinson.”  It is a long story and it was around that time that I had a baby.  Everything paused at that point.

25.  James Herriot’s Treasury for Children– Delightful stories about a veterinarian who works in rural England.  Again, the kids anxiously anticipated our animal story time each day.

There you have it: our favorite preschool books.  I am thrilled that they love books so much!  And I am quite thankful that some of them are out of the really boring book phase- you know- where they have pictures and thrilling text like: “Egg Cup” or “Bath Towel” or “Monkey”.  They loved them for some reason and I think these types of books are how they learned colors, numbers, animals and their sounds, and so on.  But still- hooray for real plot and character development!

Monday Musings: Driving in the Light

 “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible…” Ephesians 5:13

The other day, I found myself driving to the store at sunrise.  Normally, I get my groceries delivered (Grocery delivery through safeway.com is awesome!  I buy one participating baby product and get my delivery for free!) but I had failed to fully plan ahead on this particular day and needed a few items.  Since I do my best to avoid taking four children to the grocery store, I rose quite early so that I could get the stuff I needed and get back before my husband needed to leave for work.  (Proverbs 31 comes to mind: “She rises while it is still night. She provides food for her family.”  I totally relate.)

As I was driving  down the road, the sun shone down on my windshield that had not been washed in quite some time, and it seemed almost opaque.  I quickly turned on my windshield wipers and I was pretty impressed with the change.  It was quite a drastic difference!  I had not realized how dirty I had let it get.  It had happened so gradually that it took the glare of the rising sun to reveal it.

It struck me that I had been letting this happen in my spiritual life.  In the past few months, I have

“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. ” John 15:4

been quite busy.  I had a new baby, I moved and I’m trying to get settled while caring for four children, my mother also moved from the house where she has lived for the last 18 years, and July is always a busy month with a national holiday, three birthdays, and our anniversary.  So in the midst of this craziness, my time with the Lord has been sporadic at best.  And like with the windshield, I have let sin gradually creep in.  My thoughts are more unkind, I’m more impatient with my family, I am more easily angered, more selfish.  I feel a little more entitled to God’s blessings than grateful for them.  And like the revelation by the sun upon my windshield, I see my sin more clearly as the Son shines His light upon me.  Spending time with Him gives me the opportunity to repent and let Him wash me clean.  And once I’m walking in step with the Spirit again, I am amazed at the difference!

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “ I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12

Being a mom is hard work.  There are constant interruptions, stickiness and dirt that find their way everywhere, and clumsiness that wreaks havoc upon my possessions.  It takes strength, energy, patience.   And then there is immaturity that grates and my sins displayed in their behavior.  It takes grace, humility, and faithfulness.  I really need to abide in Christ and let His words abide in me to be able to do this parenting thing right.  This is an extremely important job God has given me and I’ve only got one shot at it!  I am so thankful that grace and forgiveness abound in Christ.  I need it!

Driving in the sunlight was a good reminder!  Spend time every day with the Light of the World so His light can shine through me!