When Everything Goes Wrong, It’s Alright

Ok, not everything went wrong.

The irresistible red button

Actually, most of it went right.  But we did have an unusual number of challenges and misfortunes on our family vacation this past weekend.

We packed up the car early Friday morning, took the Princess to her ballet class and then headed south with bagels late in the morning.  The kids were so excited.  We would be going to Legoland!  They had been counting down the days for weeks.  We had packed them each a backpack of fun things to do in the car and had brought along snacks.  My husband’s phone’s screen decided to blank out, but he could still receive calls and his work phone was in good shape, so it was no big deal.

Our first misadventure had everything to do with an irresistible red button…. irresistible to a certain 5 year old redheaded boy.  We had stopped for food at a gas station with a fast food and store attached to it.  It didn’t take long for our son (actually, I take that back- my husband’s son) to shut down the entire gas station- 25 pumps.  For each pump that was shut down, a message came over the loud speakers in the restaurant that declared that it was shut down.  So my husband and kids (I was in the car, nursing the baby, thankfully) heard this message repeated 25 times.

Hot Dog Car

But seriously- who puts an emergency shut-off button within reach of small children anyway?  Shame on them!  So other than that, our trip down south was for the most part, uneventful.  It was raining by the time we got to the Grapevine and there we got to see the Wienermobile!  We all thought that this hot dog car was pretty amusing.  There were a few ominous sounds emitting from our engine (this is a foreshadowing of things to come- we really should have paid closer attention to these), but they went away after a short time and we relaxed.

The kids were great the whole way down.  They didn’t start getting restless and edgy until dinner time, right at the end of our journey that day.  I don’t blame them, I was tired of driving by then as well.

Kids crawling the floor -working off some energy and all of us snuggled together, ready to watch a movie

Evidence of Shortstop’s crime- he stole and ate his brother’s crayon

We arrived at our hotel around 6 in the evening and after eating dinner in our hotel room we donned bathing suits to hit the hot tub.  Princess K thought that it was so funny to be going to a pool in the dark!   After enjoying the warm waters of the pool and hot tub, we went back to our room to wash up and change into our jammies.  Then we cuddled up on the bed and watched a Veggie Tale together.  It was a delightful evening of family togetherness and fun.

Saturday was a delightful day.  We visited with old college friends, wandered around my old college campus, played at a park, and jumped on a trampoline in my friend’s backyard!  I was so encouraged and refreshed by my conversations and time with my dear friends and it was difficult to tear ourselves away!  Shortstop decided that he was hungry for his brother’s green crayon and it rained a little in the morning, but other than that, it was a perfect day.

Good Mythical Morning at Legoland!

That night, Shortstop got sick and woke up every two hours because he was having difficulty breathing through his nose and sucking his thumb (which helps him get to sleep).  Poor guy.  By morning, he was a little better- though he did have a runny nose and difficulty with sleeping for the remainder of the trip.

The next morning was a little cloudy and misty, but we were happy with that.  We were hoping that would keep the crowds away.  We managed to get four kids ready and out the door, breakfast eaten, and a diaper bag packed by 9:30.  We were in the car and heading for Legoland!  The kids were ecstatic!

Car breaks down? Rub some bacon on it!

So it was at this time that our next challenge presented itself.  Our car died in the middle of the road.  This was not that fun, I’ll admit.  Thankfully, the Lord was looking out for us and we managed to get the car back in the hotel parking lot (after a few harrowing moments in the middle of an intersection).  Since it was Sunday, there wasn’t much we could do about fixing the car.  The rental car place that the hotel front desk guy recommended was closed, so we just called a cab (we got really good at quickly installing our car seats in the various cabs and shuttles we took over the weekend).

Lego animals eating the family

Z-urchin had fun at Legoland- whether he was riding rides or waiting in line

Guest services at Legoland was great- we were able to store our three big, bulky, Britax car seats there while we enjoyed our day at Legoland.  The weather was a little misty and cloudy, but it was warm, the kids were excited (and they had kept their good attitudes even though it took a little longer to get to Legoland than we had expected), and we had a lot of fun.  We spent the next day at Legoland as well- and it was sunny and warm and on both days- there were no crowds and hardly any lines.

She found a secret passageway

Everyone is riding Lego cars

Dad’s got his hands full while he does the waiting half of the parent swap

Legoland is great for little kids!  The rides are gentle and the ride operators are very good at handling “parent swaps.”  Since we had Shortstop with us, and Z-urchin was too short to ride half the rides, Hubby and I would take turns taking a kid on the ride while the other stayed with the remaining children in the front of the line or in the exit zone.

Helicopter controls

Helicopter ride

Rides with the kids!

Kids Jousting!

Taking flight

They were all utterly fascinated by the Lego Star Wars exhibit and I really enjoyed the mini Lego cities.  We also visited the aquarium attached to Legoland and a certain redheaded 5 year old set off a very, very loud alarm in the middle of the aquarium by attempting to exit an emergency exit door.  We ducked out of that room quietly and quickly, I assure you.

Lego Star Wars!

Kids IN the aquarium

At the end of the second day, my husband discovered the “Build and Test” center and he and the kids spent an hour building Lego cars and racing them down the ramps they had.  I think this was my husband’s favorite part.

Super fun slide

Watching a Lego Pirate Band

Shortstop- as happy as always all throughout our Legoland adventures

Kids driving boats

Goodbye Legoland

We discovered at the end of this day that our car would not be ready in time for us to leave when we planned, so we extended our stay for an extra day.  That night Z-urchin got sick- he came down with croup and had that loud barking seal cough.  He was up a few times that night with his cough.  By morning, all he had left was a runny nose.

That extra day was so relaxing.  We took the hotel shuttle to the Carlsbad outlets and had lunch and ice cream there.  We spent the rest of the day relaxing.  Hubby took the older kids to the hot tub  and then spent Z’s naptime building Star Wars ships out of Lego kits they had bought at Legoland.  I read, napped, and relaxed.  Our laptop died.  Completely.  Of course.

Riding the luggage cart

Our car was ready in time for us to go out to dinner- McDonalds with a great indoor playplace!  That night, Princess K wanted to go swimming in the dark again (she thought it was so funny!), so we all went to the hot tub and had the whole pool area to ourselves.  It was very nice.

The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and then packed the kids and stuff into the car and headed north.   The older two caught the mild cold that the younger boys had, but since the trip up did not involve any emergency buttons or doors or alarms going off, I say it was a great success.

Found the Cheerios

Really, other than the emergency shut-off, the car dying, the emergency door alarm situation, the laptop dying, and the four sick kids, this was the best family vacation we’ve ever taken with four children!  Also, it is the first family vacation we’ve taken with four kids.  It can only get better from here, right?  Truthfully, it was wonderful family time.  The kids had great attitudes and got along well.  They were so excited about all of our adventures and Hubby and I were able to laugh (you know, for the most part) in the face of our difficulties.  He and I had a lot of time to just talk and so I am just so thankful for our weekend away.

Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow!

Spiderman car ride

Car ride at the outlets

Having fun on the way home with Mommy’s sunglasses- Goodbye Southern California- it’s been fun!

Homemade Alphabet Book: F

F is for flowers, fish, flag, and frog.

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Our Rock Collection

Enthusiasm for rock collecting led to this

Our rock adventures with the Rock Study Grid for this month’s focus with the Outdoor Hour Challenge inspired the kids.  They were very excited about Rock Walks and collecting cool rocks in the backyard.  One day they got particularly enthusiastic and when our little tray filled up, they just dumped the rest of the rocks they found (in handfuls) on the carpet in my living room.  When I objected, X-man exclaimed, “But Mom, all of these rocks are my collection!”

I did finally overcome my loathing to curb their enthusiasm and got the rocks back outside (though ever since, I have found many small rocks in far corners of the living room and in Shortstop’s mouth).  So our next Nature Study found us in our backyard on a “Rock Hunt.”  I listed the adjectives from the rock study grid on an index card (all my printer paper had been used up by little artists- this happens frequently) and we had fun looking for different types of rocks.

We then took the rocks that matched our descriptions inside to draw them.  We enjoyed drawing the rocks we found.  The drawing process got us to slow down and look at each rock closely and notice the variety of colors and textures.

Then we stacked those rocks on a placemat on our table and it is our centerpiece.  The stack gets dismantled at every meal, but that means that the kids are interacting with the rocks and this is a good thing.  My precious 4 year old Princess K told me the other day, “Mom, I really like learning about rocks!”  Delight fills my heart and a grin covers my face every time I think of her words.

Backyard Rock Hunt

Ready to draw in our nature journals

Hard at work

Getting her drawing just right

Princess K’s entry

X-man’s entry

My entry

Our rock collection centerpiece

Homemade Alphabet Book: E

E is for egg, emerald green, engine, and elephant.

Outdoor Hour Challenge: Rock Study Grid

The very simple book that has been the basis of our rock studies and learning

Life since my last Outdoor Hour blog post has been very full of travels, illness, and the holidays, so I wasn’t able to do to much in the way of school or nature study in December.    We finally got back into our routine and are enjoying our nature studies.

The topic for focus with the Outdoor Hour Challenge this month is rocks.  I will admit that I know next to nothing about rocks.  I borrowed a rock & mineral guide from the library and looked up the rock section in the Handbook of Nature Study to try to gain a little knowledge to assist us with our rock challenges this month.  But to be honest, the book that was the most helpful for me was the one I borrowed for the kids:  Rocks! Rocks! Rocks! (a book recommended in the Handbook of Nature Study January newsletter).  So this month, we are all learning the very basics about rocks together.

There is an oval rock, a rectangular rock, a round rock, and a square rock in there

In the Rock Study Grid, provided in the Newsletter, Barb gives many ideas for rock activities.  So far, we have taken several “Rock Walks” and found rocks in our backyard to inspect.

1. Find a rock shaped like an oval  (we didn’t really find one shaped like an animal- at least not yet)

Stacking rocks- this is right before the knocking down part

2.  Stack some rocks- 3, 5, 10

With small children- 2 of which are boys, 3 was all we got stacked one on top of the other (before there was the knocking down part).  But we did make a rock pile centerpiece on our table that is pretty cool.

3.  Find 3 rocks to take home in your pocket.

I sent the kids out with Daddy a few weekends ago during the small boys’ nap time.  They were given the mission to collect 3 rocks to put in their pockets.  Princess was wearing a dress and did not have a pocket, so she brought a little purse she and I wove together a few years ago.  They went to our neighborhood park and saw some ducks in the creek and rocks in the path and by the water.  Daddy had fun helping them notice the differences between the rocks they found in different places.  I enjoyed the time to myself and they loved their Rock Walk with Daddy!

 

Off on a Rock Walk with her purse as her pocket

On the lookout for interesting rocks

Getting the rocks out of his shoe

Enjoying the little rest

The rocks they brought home

Since then, we visited another nearby park for another Rock Walk and they collected a few more rocks to put in their pockets.  Z-urchin and Shortstop just come along for the ride.  We had just read the book Rocks! Rocks! Rocks! and they were very excited to know that erosion causes rocks to become smaller.  Every time we found a small rock, they exclaimed that the wind or the rain must have been involved.

Princess found a teeny tiny rock- a demonstration of erosion!

All three were very excited to look at maps of the park

X-man found three rocks to take home

Princess K and I noticed that the ground was very rocky

They wanted to help push their baby brother- I love this!

4.  Toss some pebbles into a pond or lake.

In our case, we tossed some pebbles into the creek.  Z-urchin, especially, really got into this activity.

Z-urchin loved throwing rocks into the creek and watching the splash!

He also found this hole in a tree stump and filled it with rocks, leaves, twigs, and finally, his socks and shoes

5.  Find a rock that will write on the sidewalk.

Princess K was astonished when she discovered that several of the rocks would write on each other.  When she tried these rocks on our sidewalk, it didn’t work.  We finally did find a rock that did write on our sidewalk and she was delighted.

Sidewalk rock writing

We enjoyed our Rock Study Grid activities!

Memorable Moments: Weeks 13 & 14- Germany & Russia

We studied Germany during two half weeks- the week of Thanksgiving and the beginning of the next week, before I left with Shortstop to go across the country and give my family a hand with things.  So it was a long time ago and I hardly remember anything about what we did.  I do have a list of the books we read-

1.  Exploring Countries- Germany – I like this series.  We’ve used this series to read about each country we’ve studied.  These books have great pictures, good information that the kids are interested in, and a list of words like “Hello,” “Goodbye,” and “Friend” in the language of the country (and how to pronounce them).

2. The Fisherman and His Wife – a Grimm’s fairy tale about contentment.  We liked it, though the real message went a little over the kids’ heads.  That’s ok.

My princess’s favorite book this year

3.  Into the Castle– this was a very simple story that we all loved.  We read it a couple of time and it truly was a hit with all three of the older children.  It had really great illustrations too.

4.  Robert Browning’s Pied Piper of Hamelin– the language was very old and rich.  The story was good and the kids didn’t fully understand it.  I expected that- but now they have been introduced to the tale.  The next time they read it, they will understand it better.

5.  Rapunzel retold and illustrated by Sarah Gibb- this was my daughter’s favorite book.  Not only of the week, but probably her favorite book we’ve read all year.  She held this by her side for most of the day, several days that we had this one.  I think I’ll have to get it for her for her birthday.  Anyway, this is a lovely version of the fairy tale and it is beautifully illustrated.

Illustrating the Bible story

So that is all I remember of our studies of Germany.  Last week and a little into this week, however, we studied Russia.  We also got back into our phonics and math work.  So here are the highlights of the past 2-ish weeks-

Bible:  We’ve started afresh in the story of Moses.  One day, X-man decided he wanted to draw and illustrate the story I read from the Bible- the story of Moses and the Burning Bush.  We started learning the hymn, “On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand.”

We continue to work their weekly Awana verses and we haven’t started a new “virtue of the month” yet, but I’m contemplating doing honesty (because of the new book we’ve started this week).

Moses is on the left with a staff and a couple of sheep. The Burning Bush is on the right. They are on a mountain.

Showing her favorite part- the beautiful princess getting married- while she is dressed up as a beautiful princess

“Trip Around the World”:  We read a number of books in our study of Russia.  We read the book from the Exploring Countries series.  (Russian words are hard to pronounce!  The only one I was able to pronounce at all was “Do svidaniya!” since it is sung in the animated movie Anastasia and my sister and I spent many fun hours singing songs from that soundtrack.)  Then we read Peter and the Wolf, Clever Katya, The Tale of the Firebird, and The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship.  X-man gave me a very good narration from Peter and the Wolf and really appreciated Peter’s bravery and cleverness.  My daughter especially enjoyed Clever Katya because of the last page, when she gets married, she looks very beautiful.  She also enjoyed The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship because of the princess at the end.  All of these tales were very enjoyable and quite interesting to me as well.

Showing one of his favorite parts where Peter cleverly catches the wolf

Telling the story after matching the words to the pictures

Phonics: We visited Grandma’s house last week.  She has a fun set of simple word puzzles.  The word is on one half and the picture is on the other.  X-man and I sat and he read the word and then found the picture that matched.  He lined them up in a particular order and then when we finished matching all of the words, he told me a story using the words in order.  This is a game he and Grandma came up with and I think it is pure genius!  What a great game!

Rhyming word pairs

When we got home, we worked through a couple of phonics lessons from The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading.  I introduced the blends we were focusing on, he read a few words off the white board, and then I had flashcards with words I wrote that contained the blends.  I had written pairs of rhyming words.  So after reading them all, he matched the rhyming words.  He enjoyed this- he thought of it as a game!

While I worked with Princess K- she wanted to read and match the rhyming words too!- X-man played with our String-A-Word phonics activity- he did great with creating the words and identifying the missing initial letter.  Princess K had a lot of fun reading each word.  As soon as she figured out the word, she explained to me- with hand motions- what the word meant.  She got a little confused with the word “moss,” though.  She explained, “Like when you moss the floor,” as she did a very good impression of mopping the floor.

String-a-Word

Sounding out “hill”

Explaining what the words mean

Math: I am really loving our RightStart Math program.  We work with problems on the abacus, sing math songs, play number games, and just have fun.  I am definitely noticing a great improvement in their understanding of mathematical concepts.  X-man especially enjoys this- he tells me that he likes doing the “numbers” part of school better than the “letters” part of school.  Princess K tells me that she likes the “drawing” part of school best.

Starting to learn “tens”

We finished with Russia early on in the week and have started studying the countries of Scandinavia.  With this, we’ve started reading Pippi Longstocking, and the kids are absolutely loving this story.  They think she is hilarious and she is, although we do have to talk about how lying is not a good idea (and thus, I think honesty might be the next “virtue of the month”).  They beg to read the  next chapter every time finish.  It is fun to see them get so excited about a story.  We’ll finish our studies of Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark (and I think we’ll throw the Netherlands in there too) next week.

Highlights of Charlotte Mason’s Volume I, Part II

An Out of Door Life for the Children

Two weeks ago, I reflected on Miss Mason’s Preliminary Considerations in her first volume of the Original Home Schooling Series.  Today, I want to record a few insights, encouragement, or instructions that stood out to me in Part II, An Out-of-Door Life for the Children.

A game of squirrel tag-  I need to remember that when I’m outside, I see stuff like this! 

1.  “Never be within doors when you can rightly be without.” (p42)  She encourages parents to make full use of their opportunities- to eat meals outside and spend as many glorious hours in the fresh air and sunshine as they can.

We don’t do this nearly as often as we should.  I think that perhaps I am the one to blame in this area.  I find it uncomfortable outside (when I am out there for extended periods), besides somehow always feeling too busy to just spend hours outside.  Of course, if I would just go, I might have less picking up and cleaning to do, since the children would not be inside making a big mess.  This is something to ponder and aim for, anyway.  Maybe soon- when I have time (hah!), I can set the backyard up for being able to eat more meals and snacks out there.

2.  Though she wrote over a hundred years ago, I find this passage particularly insightful for us today: “In this time of extraordinary pressure, educational and social, perhaps a mother’s 1st duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet growing time… the waking part of it spend for the most part out in the fresh air.” (p 43)

Observing a bay leaf with all of the senses

There seems to be a lot of pressure these days with regards to educating young children.  It seems that preschool is just the norm now and Kindergarten is the new 1st grade.  So this advice speaks to my heart.  I have tried and will continue to work on securing for my children a quiet, peaceful time for growing, playing, and being kids.  Getting them outside in nature helps with the advice to put “An Observant Child… in the way of Things worth Observing.” (p69)

3.  “Suppose we have got them, what is to be done with these golden hours, so that every one shall be delightful?”  (p44)

I am so glad she asks this question, because it is one that I asked when I first heard about her idea of spending hours and hours outside “every tolerably find day, from April till October.” (p44)  Her answer:

Time to climb trees

“They must be let alone, left to themselves a great deal, to take in what they can of the beauty of earth and heavens…. At the same time, here is the mother’s opportunity to train the seeing eye, the hearing ear, and to drop seeds of truth into the open soul of the child, which shall germinate, blossom, and bear fruit…” (p44)

‘…while wits are fresh and eyes keen, she sends them off on an exploring expedition- Who can see the most, and tell the most, about yonder hillock or brook, hedge, or copse.  This is an exercise that delights children, and may be endlessly varied, carried on in the spirit of a game, and yet with the exactness and carefulness of a lesson.” (p 45-46)

Through an exploration expedition, the children are learning to observe.  When the return to mother to describe what they saw, they are learning how to express themselves and mother can increase their vocabulary and range of ideas as she discusses with them what they saw.

4.  Charlotte Mason recommends children keep a nature journal and a calendar of “firsts”- where they record the first oak leaf, tadpole, flower, fruit, etc.  Then over the years, they can look forward to their favorites as they arrive.  These are to be a source of delight to them.  (p 54)

We do keep enjoy entering things in our nature journals.  My daughter’s favorite thing about “school” is drawing, so these nature journals are fun for her.  The calendar, though, seems like a great idea… but I’m not sure how I would go about keeping one.  I’d have to learn more about how to do that in our climate here.

5.  “Let them once get touch with Nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life.” (p61)

A love of nature and the outdoors is a source of delight.  I really do love getting outside and taking a walk and breathing the fresh air.   It is also a source of health and well-being.  If I work hard at giving them the habit of going outside often and plant seeds of loving nature and the outdoors, they will hopefully find it easier to keep going outside.  There have been so many studies and books about how great going outside is- for children and adults.

I need to model this love of nature and the outdoors for my children and to this point, Charlotte Mason speaks as well, of “Two Things permissible to the Mother…. There is one thing the mother will allow herself to do as interpreter between Nature and the child…with look and gesture of delight… she will point out to the child some touch of especial loveliness in colouring or grouping in the landscape or in the heavens.  One other thing she will do, but very rarely, and with tender filial reverence…she will point to some lovely flower or gracious tree, not only as a beautiful work, but a beautiful thought of God, in which we may belive He finds continual pleasure, and which He is pleased to see his human children rejoice in.”  (p79-80)

Homemade Alphabet Book: D

D is for dots, ducks, Dora, doll, dogs, and dinosaurs.

Monday Musings: My New Year’s Resolution

Of making lists there is no end

January is a great time for new resolutions.  The holiday season is over and it is time to get back in the swing of things.  There is something very refreshing about getting back to normal.  It works well that there is a new year to ring in and a fresh start in the calendar.

It always takes me a few weeks of intermittent pondering (while doing dishes or driving or something equally routine) to come up with what I’d like to change or focus on for the year.  Two years ago, I resolved to do nothing out of false guilt, make no decisions (especially calendar decisions) based on other’s expectations of me… or perhaps actually my perception of other’s expectations of me.  Last year, I decided to be a finisher.  I would finish the projects I started.  I had- and honestly, still have, though hopefully to a lesser degree- a problem with getting all excited about a project and then halfway through, getting bored of thinking about it and moving on to the next project before the first was completed.  I am still working on these things.

In the past week and a half, I’ve had a couple of longer drives (We went 2 hours north, to visit my mother-in-law and I went to visit a dear college friend I haven’t seen in 9 years- both visits were wonderful).  So I’ve had some good pondering time.

This year’s resolution:  Stop planning and start doing!  

Okay, not stop planning entirely.

I love planning.  I love lists.  I love calendars, routines, systems, organizing.  And it is good to plan.  It is wise to start the day with a plan.  Proverbs 21:5 says, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”

Why I prefer to make lists rather than accomplish things- all good things get undone by small children

However, I feel that the passage about the making of many books in Ecclesiastes could be speaking to me about list making: “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.”  Ecclesiastes 12:12b

I think that sometimes, when a hard task is before me, making lists and plans is a way to procrastinate.  There really is no end to the lists and plan I could make.  But I need to get up from the table and start working on my list.  So therefore, my goal this year is to spend less time planning- make enough of one to go on- and more time doing.

So I’m off to make dinner and throw a load of laundry in the wash!

Homemade Alphabet Book: C

C is for cotton, cats, cars, and colors.