Celebrate Canada

Our version of poutine and shepherd’s pie

Our Canadian celebration meal was quite simple.  We had our version of poutine- fries with brown gravy and mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top.  My husband and I are not gravy people at all.  But let me tell you, this dish surprised us.  We thought it was great!  We have enough of the ingredients for another batch and we fully intend to make more!  The boys were enthusiastic about this dish and the Princess would not touch it.

We also had Shepherd’s Pie- a version of this is in all cuisines, but we used the French Canadian ingredients of potatoes, corn, and beef.  Well, the internet told me those were the ingredients and the internet is never wrong.  Right?  The kids all love shepherd’s pie, this dish and this exact recipe has been a part of our regular meal rotation for as long as we’ve been a family.  Actually, I remember the first time I had this dish.  My Aunt Judy was babysitting when I was 8 or 9, living in New England.  She prepared this meal for us and I enjoyed it so much I asked about it.  She explained the ingredients and preparation to me and I have always remembered it.  So when I grew up and got married to a man who loves his meat and potatoes, I made this for him.  He enjoyed it and now  my kids do too.  So thanks, Aunt Judy!

Must have more fries with gravy and cheese

Loves the fries

Would you like one, Mommy?

Shepherd’s Pie is always a winner in our house

My little cutie pie eating shepherd’s pie

Daddy and his princess

 

Memorable Moments: Week Six, Canada

This week we learned about Canada

We have had a full, fun week.  We added the Canadian flag sticker to our “Suitcase” and learned all about the country that borders us to the north.  I am still trying to figure out the best schedule for our daily activities, including school.  And I have good news to report:  I finally found my flannelgraph board!

Bible:  This week, we most often did our Bible story during breakfast.  I set up the flannel board on one side of the table and read the story from the children’s Bible storybook and illustrated it with the flannelgraph.  We’ve been learning John 3:16 this week and our virtue-of-the-month is patience and we’ve been taking special notice of people and circumstances that either reveal or require patience.

Literature: We read many stories that took place in Canada.  We enjoyed Fiddler of the Northern Lights (X was really enthralled by the idea of skating on a colorful river), Gift of the Inuksuk (this one was K’s favorite and after which they each made a little inuksuk of their own),  Nessa’s Fish and Nessa’s Story.  We also read The White Bear out of the Around the World in 80 Tales.  I borrowed two books that were more for toddlers, as special books for Z:  On Mother’s Lap and Owl Babies and we really enjoyed those as well.  There was something very sweet about mother and children in both of those stories.  I borrowed the second book of the Boxcar Children series and we are enjoying reading a chapter each night.

Coloring a map of Canada

“Trip Around the World” Lessons:  We looked at pictures of the Niagra Falls, the Northern Lights, the Ice Hotel, and Lake Louise.  We attempted to build a structure with ice cubes (a brilliant idea from Expedition Earth, a geography program I purchased at Confessions of a Homeschooler), but I don’t think I followed the instructions quite well enough as the ice cubes did not stick very well.  The kids enjoyed playing with the ice cubes and eating them, though, so it was fun.  We colored a map of Canada and read an interesting book about Canada.  This book told us that our maple syrup might possibly be from Canada.  When I checked the bottle, it was true.  So we made sure we ate plenty of pancakes and waffles with our Canadian maple syrup this week.  We also read a book about the tundra and then noticed that the illustrations in the books we read depicted life on the tundra.

I got two ice cubes to stick together! Victory!

Eating the ice was their favorite part of this activity

B is for Buttons

We also danced to our movement songs, practiced writing numbers with dry erase markers, and worked on our ABC book.  The ABC book is currently K’s favorite school activity.  She gets very excited when it is time to work on it!  We read about Canada Geese and then went on a nature walk and found some to look at.  They also had fun painting this week.  I gave them a number of different types of paint and paper and they explored the various materials.

On Friday, when Princess K was at her dance class, the boys and I took a walk in the park nearby.  There were no Canadian Geese (I read that the city is attempting to evict the current goose residents and perhaps they settled upon a solution, as there were no geese to be found) but we did see a number of Mallard Ducks.  X-man chased the ducks, found a feather, and ran after a crow.  He was fascinated by the way it hopped on the ground a few times before taking flight across the field to meet its friends.

Tonight we will be having our Canadian meal with American versions of Shepherd’s Pie, poutine, and Beaver’s Tails.  Next week,  we “visit” Mexico!

Practicing his numbers with the dry erase board

Fingerpaint

Watercolors

Fun art time!

We went for a walk in the park

The urchin in the cast had to stay here

Following the ducks

Found a feather!

Chasing a crow

Outdoor Hour Challenge #5- Making a List

Lake Park

The outdoor hour challenge walks are the highlight of my week.  I enjoy them immensely.  Monday, X-man said to me, “I want to go on a nature walk.”  Unfortunately, we really couldn’t as the two younger boys were napping at the time, but I’m so glad he is so enthusiastic about our nature studies.  This week’s outdoor hour challenge #5 was another fun and precious time of learning, exploring, discovering and adventuring with the kids.

Task #1- Choose a focus and make a list.  We chose birds as our focus.  I looked through the Handbook of Nature Study, considered my backyard and our area, and came up with a list of birds I think we might encounter in the next few weeks.  It includes Canada geese, Mallard Ducks, Western Scrub Jays, Wild Turkeys, Chickens, Hummingbirds, and Chickadees.

Goose Island

I read through the pages about geese and looked at the observation questions.  Yesterday morning, before we left for our walk, I read to them a few sections from a book from the library about Canada Geese.  We learned that Canada Geese spend much of their time caring for their feathers- straitening them, oiling them to keep them waterproof and washing them.  We also discussed one of the observation questions ahead of time: how are ducks and geese similar and different?  The kids were able to point out that they both swim in the water, but that geese have longer necks.

Bare white branches above the green trees

#2- Nature Walk.  We went south to another park with a lake.  Since we read about Canada Geese, I wanted to be sure to visit a place that might have them.

We started with some lunch in the shade.  We looked at several trees whose leaves were starting to turn different colors (though autumn here in California is nothing like the glorious autumn of my childhood in New England) and Princess K noticed a tree that didn’t have any leaves on it.  With so many green trees all around it, the stark white branches did look interesting.  As we were eating, a very bold squirrel came scurrying over to snag some snacks we had dropped on the ground.  Z-urchin had dropped pieces of his sandwich in the dirt, and the squirrel managed to snatch that as well.  X-man was fascinated by this crazy little squirrel.  Z & K were a bit frightened (understandably- the squirrel was darting under the stroller and table- a wild animal with little fear of humans is a thing to be cautious about… but I was having too much fun taking pictures to be too cautious) and they begged to leave the squirrel’s area before long.

Lunch with Hello Kitty

We all enjoy our Outdoor Hour

Enjoying a delicious, crunchy red apple

A very bold squirrel

Boy Meets Squirrel

Probably hoping for some of my food

Even if they are a little scary, squirrels are awfully cute

So we took off down the path and stopped to smell the rosemary and peer into a hole that looked like an animal lived there.  We were all very curious about how the hole was made.  K found some mud to play in- she has always loved mud!  I spotted a tree that I recognized from a previous nature study!  The Pepper Tree.  It is really neat to see how much I’ve learned in the past few weeks with these outdoor hour challenges.

Stopping to smell the rosemary

Checking out an interesting hole under a tree

Six inches deep in mud, I’m absolutely certain

The Pepper Tree

X-man was really struck by the huge number of white birds in the lake and flying overhead.  K was amazed by a big brown bird with a crazy long beak resting on a log in a shallow part of the lake.  She exclaimed, “I want to draw that!”  We wandered down a winding dirt path that ended right at the bank and saw a little island filled with geese and ducks.  We witnessed the Canada Geese grooming their feathers with their beaks and Princess remembered that they put oil on their feathers.  This was an exciting moment for me.  While we were at the bank, we heard a loud quacking sound and a brown mallard duck that had been hiding in the brush nearby took off toward “Goose Island.”

Gulls overhead

Brown pelicans

Hurrying to check out “Goose Island”

Winding dirt path

Silly face

At the water’s edge

It was at this time that I noticed Baby Shortstop had fallen asleep and thought that it was probably time to leave.  So we walked back down the path and the kids found walking sticks.  We then had the opportunity to watch that big brown bird awkwardly lift out of the water and dive into the lake.  When it came up again, we saw the pouch on it’s bill.  A pelican!  I looked it up later, and indeed, it is a brown pelican.  A juvenile brown pelican, I think.

Walking stick- it’s a bit short

Pelican diving for fish

Tasks #3-#4 Discussion and Nature Journal. When we arrived home, the younger two boys took their nap and we drew pictures of the birds we saw in our nature journal.  I added Snowy Egret, Brown Pelican, Snow Goose, Gull, and American Coot to our list.

Nature Journal Entry

I am really excited about our further bird studies.  There is an adorable little black, brown, and white bird that I keep seeing in my backyard that I have tried really hard to identify, but it is a quick little guy who keeps flying away before I can get a really good look at it.  I am excited about the section in the Handbook of Nature Study about “Attracting Birds.”  It says that a good time to set up a backyard bird feeding area is in the autumn!  Perfect timing!  We’ll have to do that soon.  I also want to visit a friend (who used to be my neighbor) who has chickens!  We took care of them for a week this summer, so I think the children would enjoy observing and learning more about them.  On Friday, when I take the Princess to her dance class, the boys and I will walk around the park next door- it also has water and lots of Canada Geese and Mallard Ducks.  We’ll have to watch and look for similarities and differences between them.

This challenge is the first week I’ve noticed that their observation abilities are improving.  Their vocabulary is  also increasing- they were better able to describe what they saw.  Improvement in just five weeks of nature studies?  Wow!

 

How We Like Them Apples

We have a lot of apples

A few weeks ago, we went to an apple orchard and picked our own apples.  We came home with a whole bunch of apples.  We’ve snacked on them daily and we’ve experimented with them in a number of different recipes.

So in addition to snacking- here’s what we did with all those apples:

1.  Apple Tasting:  We had five varieties of apples- Newton Pippin, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Gala, and Red Delicious.  I gave each child a plate with an apple slice from each variety on it.  We took one bite from each slice and I attempted to get some discussion on it.  However, the only observation the kids could make about each slice was, “Yum.”  Ah, well, I’m glad they like apples.  I thought it was interesting to compare, so here are my observations:

Newton Pippin- very crisp and tart, reminded me of Granny Smith apples

Golden Delicious- pretty crisp with sweet, good flavor

McIntosh- tender, white flesh (not crisp at all), really delicious flavor- sweet with a hint of tart

Gala- crisp and sweet, a mild flavor (but that might have been because it directly followed the McIntosh which was a strong burst of flavor)

Red Delicious- slightly crisp (more so than the McIntosh, but less than all the others) and it had a slightly bitter aftertaste

Coring and slicing  for apple crisp

 

Conclusions- X-man’s favorite was either the Newton Pippin or the Golden Delicious (when I asked, he told me “the last one I ate” which was either of those two flavors, I’m not sure which one).  Princess K’s favorite was the McIntosh.  I just can’t pick a favorite.  I like to cook with a combination of the Newton Pippin, Golden Delicious, and McIntosh.  I like to snack on the Gala, the Golden Delicious, and the Newton Pippin (for me, a snacking apple must be crisp).  I do know that the Red Delicious is not my favorite.

2.  Apple Crisp– this was the first thing we made with McIntosh and Golden Delicious apples.  We read How to Make Apple Pie and See the Worldand worked together to create this tasty dish.  The kids like the crisp topping, but not so much the cooked apples.

It is fun to make apple crisp!

Our tasty apple crisp!

3.  Applesauce– this was actually quite a hit with the kids!  We made it with McIntosh and Golden Delicious apples and flavored it with cinnamon and pure maple syrup.  This is something my mother would make with us when I was a young girl in New England.  She would always use McIntosh apples and so the smell of McIntosh apples always reminds me of my childhood autumns and holidays.  Z-urchin and Princess K enjoyed helping out with making the applesauce.

Z is putting the apple slices into the pot to cook

Cranking out some applesauce

Delicious apple dumplings

4.  Apple Dumplings– The previous two recipes are ones I’ve done many times before.  This was my first experiment.  I used Pillsbury biscuit mix, Golden Delicious apple slices, and a brown sugar, cinnamon and butter syrup.  It tasted like apple flavored monkey bread.  It was delicious, especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

5.  Apple Oatmeal– I threw peeled and chopped Golden Delicious apples into my oatmeal one morning with cinnamon, brown sugar, and maple syrup.  My husband and I loved it, but the kids vehemently protested.  They really wanted their normal cinnamon & sugar oatmeal.  Crazy kids.

 

 

 

 

6.  Apple Chips– I tried making apple chips (out of the Golden Delicious variety) by slicing them thin (though probably not thin enough as I don’t have one of those mandoline things I’ve never heard of until I was looking up how to make apple chips), sprinkling them with cinnamon and sugar, and putting them in the oven at 250 degrees for several hours.  I made the mistake of placing them on wax paper.  They stuck dreadfully to the paper and so I pretty much had to throw them all out.  However, the few I was able to salvage were quite tasty.  Z liked them, but the other kids were too suspicious to even try one.  I think I’ll try this again sometime this fall, but without the wax paper!

Apple chips heading into the oven. They remained there for a long time.

7.  Apple Turnovers– I used Newton Pippin and my last McIntosh apple for this.  I heated the peeled apple slices in the pot with butter and sugar, spooned some of the apple mixture into some pie crust and folded the crust over.  I cut some slashes into the crust and popped them into the oven to bake.  These were also quite tasty.  Apple pie in a convenient little hand-held package.  I didn’t even offer this to the kids.  I figured it would be wasted on them.

Cooking the apples until they were deliciously tender

Apple turnovers- not too pretty (I’m no expert chef, for sure!) but tasty!

8.  Apple Cake- I used Newton Pippin apples and a boxed spice cake mix.  K saw me cooking and really wanted to help.  I allowed her to assist me with the shredding of the apples and the mixing of the ingredients.  The cake turned out absolutely delicious.  Even the kids loved this one!  We drizzled it with butterscotch topping and served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  What a treat!

Apple cake and french vanilla ice cream drizzled with butterscotch topping- yum!

There it is- our adventures in apple tasting and baking!  With all the delicious baking apple scents floating around the house this month and my chai tea- it really feels like autumn, my favorite season of the year!

 

 

 

Monday Musings: Making the Most of My Mornings

Lamentations 3:22-24 “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

My morning cup of chai

For as long as I can remember, my relationship with morning has not been entirely a friendly one.  It started when I was just 5 and my grandmother came to wake me up.  “Go ‘way Grandma,” was my reply.  My feelings towards mornings remained the same through high school and college.  I posted this verse on the front of my door as a warning to my family members:  “If a man loudly blesses his neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse,”  Proverbs 27:14.  After I got married, my husband and I learned early on not to engage in any serious life-changing or important decision making conversation in the morning.

Despite this, I chose teaching as my profession and so my professional life included early teachers’ meetings and classes for which I was responsible.  Gradually, through these years, my attitude toward morning changed.  As long as I didn’t have to interact with anyone before my morning cup of tea, I actually enjoyed the quiet peace and crisp clear air of the early hours.

My first born reason to get up early

Now I have four children and sleeping in is a thing of the past (I am still holding out hope that my future might include some sleeping in).  Getting up early is a different thing for me now.  It means quiet peaceful time with the Lord, to think my own thoughts, and to get a good start on my day.  Rising early is difficult, but the rewards I reap are so great that I am often motivated to do this.  The past few months, however, I have not been in the habit of rising early due to pregnancy and middle of the night feedings causing me to be very sleepy in the morning.  The warm, cozy bed and the soft, fluffy pillow are too much of a draw.  Lately, I have been waking up when my toddler starts whining to get out of his room, at about 6:45.

My 2nd born reason to get up early

Last week, I found a blog written by Kat at inspiredtoaction.com who authored an e-book (it’s free!) called Maximize Your Mornings.  I already was convinced of the benefits of early morning rising, but her book inspired me to action.  I had gotten out of the habit of rising early since being pregnant with our fourth child and during his first few months.  Now that he is sleeping through the night, I am ready to begin early  mornings again.  Her book and blog posts have encouraged me and these are the main things I’ve been struck by:

1.  “Get in motion.”  It is true that if I’m up and moving around early in the morning, the momentum keeps me going and I get a good start on my daily chores.

2.  “Be prepared.”  I lay out my Bible, prayer journal, and planner- and a pen and pencil-  on the kitchen table.  Last night I even selected my clothing and placed them in the bathroom.  The morning goes much more efficiently and smoothly if I’m ready for it.

My third and very charming reason to get up early.

3.  Have the hubby deal with early risers.  This was a new thought to me.  I figured that if we had early risers (and we do- by 6:30 or 6:45, my boys are up!) then whoever is up should take care of them so the other one can sleep in.  I will still want to let my husband sleep in on the weekends, but he has been surprisingly very open to this idea of getting up with the kids so I can have a full hour to myself to do my morning routine.

4.  “Get uncomfortable.”  She explains that if she is in her cozy chair with a cup of tea she would be asleep in 6 seconds.  I find that if I get comfortable in my cozy chair, I will not get up again.  So I sit in the office chair if I have to nurse the baby (it has supportive arms) and at the kitchen table if I don’t.  It is so much better.  I am more efficient, alert, and focused at the kitchen table.

5.  “Stop waking up TO your children and start waking up FOR your children.”  Rising early gives me the quiet, peaceful time I need to be prepared to be kind, joyful, and patient with my children for the rest of the day.

My youngest reason to rise early.

I am happy to report that this morning, I woke up at 5:50, got dressed and ready for the day.  I had my steaming cup of chai tea and sat down with a nursing baby and my Bible to soak in God’s truths that would help me respond well to my children today.  I lifted my praises and requests to the God who cares so deeply for me.  I reviewed my planner to see what my day would include, threw a load of laundry in the washer and then jumped in  my car to drive around the corner to my friend’s house.  We took a brisk 20 minute walk together.  Exercise is so much easier for me when it is either with someone else or is Dance Dance Revolution for the Wii.  It got my heart rate going so that when I got home, I was ready and raring to go!

So, although I should still avoid serious discussions in the morning and those who loudly bless me might still face a solemn stare (my sister calls it “the bug look”) now I will be posting these verses on the front of my refrigerator door:

Psalm 5:3, “In the morning O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Psalm 90:14 “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, so that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”

Psalm 143:8 “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.”

USA Celebration!

We completed our studies of the United States and last night we celebrated with an American meal- hamburgers, corn on the cob, salad, and applesauce with apple cake and ice cream for dessert!

Our American feast

Is he singing “The Star Spangled Banner” or ready to take a huge bit of his hamburger?

This sweet girl LOVES corn

Thumbs up (or to the side) for the USA

Brandishing the husk

Where’s my food?

Born in the USA

Woohoo! I got my food!

You can’t have a feast without dessert!

 

Farewell United States, hello Canada!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Memorable Moments: Week Five, Having fun in the USA

Our nature walk for Outdoor Hour Challenge #4

We had a good week.  It was our second week of ‘visiting’ the USA.  Though we haven’t been outside much (Z has only 16 days more with the cast, hopefully), we managed to take a good long walk for Outdoor Hour Challenge #4 and had fun baking with apples.

Nature walk with friends

 

 

 

 

 

Some fun things we did this week:

Putting leaves stickers on our autumn page

Bible- We read the Pillar of Salt story and then made salt dough to create pillars.  It didn’t work too well as dough to make pillars, but the texture was fun to mess around with.  We then continued learning about Abraham’s life for the rest of the week.  I did manage to use flannelgraph to tell the story and then the kids really enjoyed playing with the flannelgraph to make up their own stories.

Literature- We read about  Paul Bunyan and the story of “The Star Spangled Banner” in The Children’s Book of America and about Brer Rabbit in Around the World in 80 Tales, and we reread The Little House for our Seasons lesson.

Our personal Four Seasons

“Trip Around the World” Lessons-  We read about life on the prairies and put sticker animals on a prairie page.  We also did a special project on the four seasons.  We read The Reason for the Seasons and had a page for each season.  We decorated a tree for each season and attached stickers appropriate for the different seasons (holidays, activities, foods).  We placed pictures of each member of our family in the season in which our birthdays occur.  We sorted pictures we’ve taken at the park near our house in each season (except Autumn) and pasted those on the papers as well.  It was a fun little project.

Movement- We had fun being Kids in Motion with the Kids in Motion CD.  Z-urchin was determined to keep up with the rest of us.

Dancing to the Kids in Motion CD

He’s dancing with his (monkey) bean bag on his head! (I did try to get a picture of his bean bag on his back!)

Z-urchin is joining the fun one way or another

He’s determined to keep up!

 

They are all playing with geoboards and rubber bands

In Math, we worked with geoboards creating rectangles and squares.  We also used colored tiles to work on patterning.  They are getting better at recognizing quantities up to ten without counting.  It is really cool to see their improvement and learning!

Z moved quickly on to stickers! He had so much fun with his animal stickers.

 

Patterning with tiles- she chose to use these two colors because yellow matches her hair and green matches her eyes.

His pattern: ABAAAAB

In Phonics, we finished going through the first 26 lessons- one for each letter of the alphabet- in Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading.  So now we are taking a break to complete a personal ABC Book for each student.  We have been going through the house and finding items that start with each letter of the alphabet and taking pictures of the kids holding these items.  We’ll finish that fun project next week.

Tonight will be our United States celebration dinner of hamburgers, corn, salad, and apple cake.   Goodbye USA and hello Canada!

Outdoor Hour Challenge #4

The beautiful park we visited for this weeks Outdoor Hour Challenge

This week’s nature walk for Outdoor Hour Challenge #4 was special because we went with a couple of friends!  This means that working on being quiet didn’t really happen.  On the other hand, a whole lot of running happened, which is just what my non-casted children needed.

Task #1- Read in The Handbook of Nature Study about the use of scientific names and the field journal.  I was very encouraged by this:  “the purpose of nature-study is to know the subject under observation and to learn the name incidentally.”  Such a relief- I do not know the scientific name of very  many things.  As we do further research, though, we can all discover it together.

I also appreciate the clear rules the author gave regarding the field journal (or nature journal, as we call it):  1- It is the personal property of the child and is not to be criticized.  2- Drawing what is observed rather than writing about it should be encouraged.  3- Do not deal with grammar or spelling in this notebook.  4- Outlines for observing certain plants or animals may be placed in the notebook prior to the excursion.  5- No child should be required to have a notebook.

One of the many birds we saw on our nature walk

So this week, I told my kids that these journals belong to them.  They may record anything they see in nature in this notebook whenever they wish.  I do have one rule that is related to #2: They must attempt to draw what they saw and use faithful colors to the object they are representing.  I made this rule to counter my princess’s desire to color everything, from rocks to ducks, pink.  I told her that she was welcome to draw on another paper whatever she liked and color it whatever color she wished, but that the nature journal is a record of what she actually saw.

Task #2- Pick a focus.  I picked birds because that was what caught my children’s attention yesterday and there are plenty of birds everywhere around our home and in the nearby parks.

Task #3- Nature walk.

Exploring a winding dirt path

We met some friends at a park and all four non-toddler/baby children were charged with finding something interesting.  They explored winding trails and the bank of a creek.  I carried Z-urchin to a horizontal tree trunk so that he could get out of the stroller.  We saw a female mallard duck in the creek and when the boys approached, she flew a short distance, landed with a splash farther down the creek and paddled swiftly away.  We had lunch at a picnic table nearby and before long, she had returned with two friends, a male mallard duck and a beautiful white duck.  I think they were hoping that we would feed them, for they actually let us get quite close.  We observed them for awhile and then my toddler who had been restrained in the stroller again for lunch protested.  So we started walking down the paved trail to find more interesting things.

Duck at a waterfall

Checking out the creek

He’s feeling the texture of that tree trunk

Watching the duck paddle swiftly down the creek

Ready for lunch!

It is thrilling to have the three ducks so close

Three ducks

 

How did he get so dirty while restrained in the stroller? It is amazing!

The path was right next to the creek, so we saw many ducks and geese as we walked along.  We spotted a Canada goose floating in the middle of a wide part of the creek and X-man was delighted to spot a bright white egret up in a tree.  We found a dirt open area with feathers scattered about.  There were so many feathers!  We collected several to take home for our nature journals.  We found a beautiful spot with a bridge and took fun pictures with the kids.  It was a lovely walk.

Observing more ducks in the creek

Canada Goose

Found a feather

Examining the feather

On our way back, I noticed a blue potato bush growing to the side of the trail.  I was amazed that I saw and recognized it.  I’ve never been all that great at botany.  I pointed at the bush and told my kids to take a look.  X-man recognized it as the same type of bush that is growing in our backyard.  The dawning smile on his face as he recognized this plant was delightful to see.

Silly friends

Strong friends

Sharing secrets

Task #4- Follow up with discussion and research.  I have looked over the pages in The Handbook of Nature Study about birds and geese and I am excited to bring these up with the children soon.

Task #5- Follow up with an opportunity nature journal entry- We taped the feathers we found into our journals, I drew the Canada goose I saw and photographed, and the kids drew mallard ducks.

Our feather treasures

Putting the finishing touches on his nature journal entry

Our nature journals

I am really enjoying our explorations and adventures outside!

Monday Musings: Balance

All ready for dance class

Friday was a lovely day.  I signed my daughter up for a community dance class that was held in a community center building next to a park.  After her class started, the boys and I took a walk around the park.  Since Toddler Tornado was strapped into the stroller, we only briefly paused at the play structures for my oldest to climb and jump and slide.  X-man plucked dandelions and we tossed them into the waters of the pond.    He climbed a hill to see what was on the other side and we saw many, many geese.

Having fun on the monkey bars

After Princess K’s dance class was over, we meandered over to Farmer’s Market that is held in the parking lot of the mall in town.  We picked up mushrooms and garlic for the pizza we would make that night.  We purchased pita bread for our lunch and pears for a snack.  We also got kettle corn to keep them occupied while I purchased all of the above.  My kids really enjoy going to Farmer’s Market and it is a nice Friday morning outing for me.

While we were at the mall, I decided to stop in at the Payless Shoesource for K’s needed tap and ballet shoes.  Right outside the store was a collection of cars and a little tiny merry-go-round that they wanted to climb on.  Since I was in no hurry and I was delighted that Z-urchin could finally be let out of the stroller, I let them climb and play.  I had enough coins for each to choose one ride and they were ecstatic!

Riding the car is so much fun!

 

Really getting into it

Riding the mini merry-go-round

Yummy chocolate ice cream

We had passed a Coldstone’s on the way to Payless, so I asked them if they wanted to share an ice cream with me.  You can imagine their response.  K requested chocolate (that’s my girl!) and we all gathered ’round a small table to consume the tasty treat.  The older kids desperately wanted to ride the escalators up and down, so when we finished our ice cream, I let them go for it.  Then we went home.

The morning was lovely, simple, and relaxing.  One of the reasons I am so glad to be homeshooling is that I get to share so many of these quiet, precious moments with them.

Having fun on the escalator

I have been thinking a lot lately about balance in our homeschool and in our life.  We as a family are at our worst when we are in a rush, trying to get somewhere on time with diaper or potty emergencies, boys’ clothing getting covered in mud or paint as they play, and trying to locate all of the things we need: socks, shoes, papers, keys, sunglasses.  We as a family are so much better when we are relaxed.  This makes me want to cut as many things as I can out of my life.  But many of these things are very, very good- or necessary: church, doctor’s appointments, play dates, nature walks, Awana, birthday parties.  We should be in community- how can we teach our children to serve others if we are never in a community where we know what needs there are?  How can we be encouraged and uplifted if we never fellowship with others?

In homeschool too, balance is needed.  I want to give my children structure and do Kindergarten with them.  But they also need plenty of free time to explore and play.  There are so many good ideas out there that I want to do them all this week!  But Friday really revealed to me how beautiful it is to take things slow once in awhile.  This year especially, as it is only Kindergarten- a grade not required in my state- I need to relax and let us do a lot of playing.  On the other hand, the more they learn and the more structured activities I carry out the more they discover that they like.  If we do a few art lessons or play with several different types of art, they may discover some things they would really enjoy doing.

Finally, personally, I have many, many things I want to do and need to do.  My house is not yet fully settled or organized the way I wish it to be.  I love to scrapbook and plan school.  I have so many projects that I’d like to do- like creating toddler activities to occupy Z-urchin while we do school and creating portable activities for when we go to the doctor’s office or travel north to their grandmother’s house.  And there is always some area of this house that needs cleaning.  I can’t keep up.  But I also need to rest and relax and have fun and spend time with my husband.

Since I started homeshooling last month, I have been very anxious about all these things-  how to make decisions on our activities, how much to try to do in a homeschool day, how to do all the things I want to do.  I have been very frustrated that I seem to have no time for things.  I have been very impatient- I want everything done and decided RIGHT NOW.  I have wracked my brain, trying to come up with a system or idea or routine that means I can fit more things into each hour of my day.  As I try, my anxiety mounts because there is no way I can fit it all in.

The conclusion I have come to, as I have prayed over my stress and longed for a more peaceful approach to life, is that the key is patience.  My house may not be completely settled and decorated until next year.  There is no rush on travel activities; we are not going anywhere right now.  We do a lot of school while Z-urchin sleeps, so I can work slowly on creating activities for him.  If there is an outing I should go to, or people we should invest in, patience helps remind me that all the things at home can wait.  People are more important.  People are eternal.

I do have a routine, a planner, and checklists (I am a planning queen- I love to plan, I cannot resist planning!), but the most important thing is that I do the tasks that God wants me to do and choose the outings God wants me to attend.  So I am endeavoring to do two things: pray over my plans and when I have a free few minutes, pray and ask the Lord what I should do.  If I am frozen in indecision because I can’t tell which of my one hundred projects I should focus on now, prayer does end up unfreezing me.

Patience and prayer- two very good things.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”  Provers 3:5-6

Memorable Moments- Week Four, Welcome to the USA

Auntie Suzie has arrived! We are celebrating with smoothies and the boys thought that a hat on Auntie Suzie would be funny. They were right.

The last two weeks have been a bit crazy.  We had my sister here last week and then the day she left, our toddler fractured his shin.  Therefore, not a whole lot has been accomplished.  We did our nature study each week (outdoor hour #2 and outdoor hour #3), we went on a field trip, and a few of our books got read- but much of my time was occupied with spending time with my sister and then with dealing with a needy toddler.

We managed to get some stuff done though-

We went to the park on a warm day for fun! I love homeschooling so much!

Bible- We read about Abraham and I used flannelgraph on a flannel background attached to the easel to illustrate the story one day.  It is amazing, but that flannel board seems to have disappeared in the move.  However, the kids definitely enjoyed the flannelgraph, so on Friday night, I pulled out the flannelgraph box with the figures and backgrounds and selected all that I needed for the stories I will be reading next week.  They now have Romans 6:23 memorized and we have started Awana again, so they are memorizing verses through that program.

Geography/History- We read about North America (in a Rookie Read About book) and then began our visit to the United States of America.  We put a flag sticker on our suitcase binder and looked at maps of the United States.  I forced my sister to help me teach the kids the song “America the Beautiful” and we read about the Grand Canyon (and looked at many pictures).  We received a United States puzzle from my grandmother and we have put it together several times.  I played some of John Philip Sousa’s military marches to the kids and then read about him to the kids (John Philip Sousa, World’s Greatest Composers series by Mike Venezia).   We watched a few youtube videos of military bands playing “Stars and Stripes Forever” and this was just amazing.   I don’t know about the kids, but I really enjoyed this.  We listened to his military marches at various times throughout the rest the week and boy, everything I did felt so patriotic!  (“I’m changing this diaper for my country!” And you should have seen the way I marched through the house, putting away my laundry.)

They are pretending to be a ball or an apple or something that the CD told them to do. This CD is a lot of fun!

Literature- We read When I Was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came, two sweet stories about living in the mountains of West Virginia written by Cynthia Rylant.  We read John Henry and the Steam Drill and The Legend of the Grand Canyon from The Children’s Book of America.  We read three American tales out of Around the World in 80 Tales.  We also finished The Boxcar Children and the kids really want to borrow the next one from the library.  I am delighted with their enthusiasm.

Movement- We had fun with Auntie Suzie and the Kids in Motion CD.  Our outings and outside time have been abbreviated this week with the toddler in a cast slowing us down.  However, my little princess attended her first dance class on Friday.  (She has been singing and dancing her way through our various dwellings since she was able to do so and since I don’t want the three brothers she lives with to remove her of her extreme girly tendencies, I decided to sign her up for dance! And a class called “Fairy Princess Tap and Ballet” at that.)  She loved it!

Waiting for dance class to begin

We did a couple of math lessons and sang our math song.  They practiced writing tally marks on a white board and then on paper.  We did a couple of phonics lessons.  I wrote a couple of sentences about Mario and put them in my pocket chart.  X-man looked with amazement at the long sentences and when he discovered they were about Mario, the smile that slowly grew on his face was delightful.  (I told him the world “Mario” and then he read the rest- he was quite motivated to find out what was said about Mario!)

Practicing writing tally marks

I have no high expectations for next week, but I am so thankful that Auntie Suzie sent Z-urchin some stickers (and when I say some, I mean lots and lots).   Perhaps he will enjoy sitting and playing with his new stickers and a few other activities I planned for him so that I can actually get some school done.  And so that he doesn’t break his other leg with all of his climbing antics.  We’ll see.  As the cast guys said to me, “Good luck with that.”

Stickers for Z-urchin! Lots of stickers!