Farm Visit

Our home school group visited a farm that belongs to one of the families in our group. They have a horse, cows, rabbits, chickens, and goats. It was a wonderful visit and we had such a great time. We even got to make our own butter.



My two cute farmers.



A rare picture of me with Sugar. A friend took my camera and kindly told me to be in a picture for a change.



This was a mom moment for me. I had to constrain myself from grabbing baby wipes before I grabbed my camera. The older kids made butter then left it on the rock wall. Sugar came along and decided that she needed a sample. Can you say butterball, literally?!



Oh yes, they had that bird too.



There's Shakespeare looking in at the goats.



This goat was a day old.

We had a "big time" as they say around here!

Clean Sweep

Today I am cleaning. I'm not teaching a stitch of school; we're done with that for the year. Often, I can't keep up with my house. It moves too much. It wiggles and skips and rolls down hills. When it does this all the things inside my house, especially toys, fly all over the place. I even find things like Legos in underwear drawers.

So, today I grounded my house--just nailed it down to its foundation, and I'm cleaning from top to bottom. I'm making nice neat piles of Legos, cars, game pieces, Go Fish cards, stray socks, and board books. They are all finding their homes today.

Tomorrow I will untether my house and maybe it will feel like it's all dressed up in Sunday's best and behave itself while I get some other things done.

I don't think that any child let loose for Christmas break could be any happier than I am that break has arrived. Maybe I'll wiggle, skip and roll down hills--nah, 'cause I would have to get the grass stains out.

Bah! Humbug!

Today I took Gem and Shakespeare to a matinee performance of A Christmas Carol, put on my the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. They did a wonderful rendition of Dickens' story and filled in the scenes with colorful musical numbers.

We went to the production with two other homeschool families. Shakespeare was dismayed to find that he was the only boy, but soon didn't care because he enjoyed the play so much. Here they are in front of the set during intermission.




It made me remember what fun it was to be involved in a production. In high school I was in The Sound of Music, South Pacific, and Oklahoma. What fun to dress up and pretend to be someone else, somewhere else. Being fitted for costumes, caking on makeup, navigating a crowded dressing room and laughing with friends was all part of enjoying back stage.

And under the lights everything came to life--the choreographed dances became just plain fun and the songs, complete with harmony, are stowed in a memory box in my head and pop out every so often in the shower. I'm sure I sound silly singing my harmony lines, but I don't care. I bellow them out for my kids to enjoy. Sometimes we dance around the kitchen to "My favorite things" or "Dites-moi"(fancy Frency lingo).

"The corn is as high as an elephant's eye!" Name that musical.

The play stirred up wonderful memories. I hope my young'uns will get to experience it too. Oops, been thinkin' 'bout those Sooner melodies.

"So long...farewell...auf wiedersehen, good ni--ight! I'm going...to bed...be-cause it's mi--id ni--ight!"

All-A-Flutter

Last Thursday we went on a homeschool field trip to a butterfly farm! They did a great presentation and then turned us loose in the butterfly house. I think we fluttered around as much as the butterflies! They gave us sugar pads to attract the monarchs. We rubbed the pads next to their antenna (where they taste) and they crawled right on. It was a treat to watch them in the kids' hands.

First Day of Homeschool Group

She slept from 8:30-11:30. It was a dream for me. Our group meets from 9-12 and 1-3. She woke up during lunch to smile at everyone. I couldn't have scripted it better. Thank you, Lord.



Here is Popcorn with his best friend at lunch. It was chilly today so they wanted to sit in the sun.



Gem sat with old and new friends at lunch. She loved school today and came home eager for tomorrow to begin--our first day of homeschool.



Shakespeare in his class with my best friend, Melissa--the tutor. Melissa's son is also in the class, but he ducked down in his chair when he saw the camera. I'll get you, you silly little booger!



These last two pictures are from this morning. Jon went out last night and bought the kids gift bags and filled them with all kinds of treats to make their first day of school special: their favorite chips, mini Lego sets, Dr. Pepper in a bottle that looks like a football, a new hairbrush for Gem, mouse for the boys' hair (it's fun because it grows in their hand), mechanical pencils, and for Sinatra--a bobcat. The boy is obsessed with anything that is a manly machine. Bobcats seem to be at the top of the list right now, although Grandpa's Gator and "Monster Jeep" are heavy competitors.



And here is Popcorn getting his Lego set.

My Alter-Reality

I have this other side of me that I don't post about often. It has actually dominated my summer. Nope, it's not Sugar. It is the reason that I have not blogged as often. It fact, it led me to create 14 new blogs recently. Thankfully, I only have to post on two of them. It has also led to the mass destruction of my house. Ask my hubby. I thought I was behind when the baby was born. It got worse. (I can hear you groan, Mom). I finally got some relief today. Spent 4 hours cleaning (must have those genes in there somewhere, Nat)and it felt soooooo wonderful.

What has caused all the commotion, you ask? I'm directing a home school group this year called Classical Conversations. You see, it just wasn't enough to remodel the bathroom, paint the kitchen, go to my sister's wedding, travel to Florida, make up a month of school that was missed, and have a baby. It sounds like I don't enjoy it--I do, but I've had to keep up with so many details and it feels a bit like I never left school. My mind has stayed there and there is no end in sight. The outgoing director told me that the summer was going to be the most intense time for me, but that my mind will be on it all year. Oy, vey!

Last night I hosted my orientation. It went well. I have 23 families (36 children) enrolled this year. I have 5 tutors who teach classes ranging from K4-6th grade and another afternoon program that teaches 4-6th graders English grammar and writing. We also have two nurseries and an afternoon class for the younger kids. We meet every week for 12 weeks in the Fall and 12 weeks in the Spring. Getting the orientation done was such a relief. Now I feel the forward motion. Next Tuesday is our first day of classes. We're off and rolling!

Pray for me, not just to make it, but to soar through next Tuesday. I'm blessed to have the privilege of administrating for such a wonderful group of people. The families in the program have blessed me for years and I know that will only continue.

Anyway, that's where I have been hiding--with my head stuck in the details.

Why I LOVE Skype

Skype is the free online video conferencing service that I use to connect with family and friends. My camera is built into my laptop and all I do is press a button to make a call. Then, when the person on the other end answers I hit another button and video comes up. I enlarge the screen and we talk "face to face".

At first, we enlisted Jon's Mom and hooked her up with a plug-in camera. She loves to see her grandkids gathered around the monitor: showing her the space from the missing tooth, the picture they colored that afternoon, or the new bedroom set-up.

My parents got a camera last week and have been enjoying the same things. But today the benefits of Skype multiplied (think exponential). Right now I spend an hour + per day quizzing my kids in preparation for Memory Master testing next month. This test is rigorous and involves reciting about 600 facts, ranging from a 160 item history timeline, identifying U.S. geography features, Latin vocab, Bible passage, English grammar definitions, math facts and formulas, etc. etc. Needless to say, the quizzing process to prepare(for two kids) takes hours of time every day. As they get faster it gets quicker, but even at the end of the year when they are sharpest, reciting takes about an hour (each) of fast talking.

So why is Skype golden? Because I sent proof sheets to my Mom and she is quizzing them every afternoon in four of the subjects. Today was the first day. It gloriously freed my time. While she was asking question after question I finished cleaning my van, played a game of Candyland with Popcorn (much neglected child when we drill), swept up my kitchen and tidied up the entire house.

The only thing I can't do with Skype is hug my Mom.

Poo Crackers

During the holidays, Jon came home with goodie baskets that vendors had brought to him as gifts. Among these was a local treat: a sleeve of Moravian cookies. These wafer thin, crispy cookies are wonderful with tea or just to munch. They almost look like crackers because they are so thin.

When I opened the package, Sinatra asked for a cracker. I gave him one and he skipped off to the playroom, happily munching. The others saw him with the cookie and came running. "Can we have some crackers too, Mom?" I handed them around. Shakespeare didn't care for the taste and spit his out with all the drama of a poisoned victim. "That thing tastes like poo!" he shrieked between gags. Everyone under the age of 10 erupted in laughter. I chuckled. From then on, Moravian cookies were called "poo crackers" in our house. Even Sinatra asks for them by name--"Poo cracker, Mommy?"

Soon after the dubbing of the poo cracker, a home school family from our local community announced a field trip opportunity to Mrs. Hanes' Moravian Cookie Factory. During the announcement, Shakespeare's eyes got big and he turned and caught my eye. "Poo cookies?" he mouthed.

So, this Wednesday we made our way to Mrs. Hanes' Moravian Cookie Factory. Mrs. Hanes' Cookie Factory's claim to fame is that they still roll, cut, and package all their cookies by hand. That's right, by hand. The only machines they have are a tape machine in the packing room and a dough mixer that mixes 700lbs. at a time. The factory is still owned and run by the Hanes family and they have such pride in their product.


That woman sits there all day packing wafer thin cookies. Fun. They said that she counts them by the feel, not by number, and that when she weighs them she has almost always gotten it right. "What kind of guy takes a job in a lighthouse?" Extra points to anyone who can name that movie.

We paid $2 per person for the tour. That covered the cost of the 6 cookies that each person got to sample at various points in the tour. At the first stop, Shakespeare thanked the woman for the cookie then looked back at me with wary eyes, as if to ask, "Mom, is this going to taste like poo?" He was delighted to find that lemon was safe.


Here is their 700lb. capacity dough mixer. All I could think about was how glad I was not to have one at my house. It looked like something one of my children would climb into to take a spin.

The next stop was chocolate--another good cookie. Butterscotch, sugar, not bad. Ginger, a bit spicy. Then the piece-de-resistance...Black Walnut. Ah ha! We found the poo cracker!

On our way out, we bought three packages: lemon for me, chocolate for the boys and ginger for the girl. We've been munching for days and no one has gagged yet.



Notice the rolling floor behind the kids. All those women stand there kneading and rolling all day. They all wear headphones and listen to books on tape and music. I would want one of those rubber mats to stand on. The day we visited, they were cutting out bunnies and chicks for Easter.

To get your very own poo crackers visit here.

All About Attitude

I've been finding that my home schooling experience has lately been more about attitude than academics. Gem struggles with being overwhelmed if she doesn't get something right away. Math and piano have been the main focus of this frustration. She often explodes, hurling blame at me and anyone else close enough to come in the line of fire.

I have to admit that I understand this struggle. It's not that she can't actually get the material being taught; it's just that she doesn't want to make her brain work as hard as it has to in order to get the mastery. Work. I've kicked against it since birth. Dread, procrastination, worry, they all have been partners in the fight against me. Can you feel the weight of them?

So what is the remedy? We had a long discussion (lecture) about it this morning. We talked about casting cares on Jesus. We talked about embracing challenge. We talked about having overcome obstacles that seemed like mountains, but are now molehills (last year's math, for instance). We talked about approaching work as part of life and not living for the vacations. We talked about how pouting and blowing up only made us spew ugliness, but didn't do anything to solve the problem. We talked, and talked, and talked.

And guess what? Attitudes changed. Wow!

Now maybe we can get some school work done.

I'm so glad that even if the new math concept doesn't sink in today, something far more valuable was grasped. I expect that we will have to brush up on this subject from time to time, but for right now work isn't the enemy, a poor attitude is.

Directing

I've taken on a new responsibility: directing the home school group that we have been a part of for the last 4 years. My duties are already beginning. I had to meet with some perspective families that were checking out our program. My interaction with them went okay, but I really need to brush up on what the Classical Model of Education is.

For all of you who don't know (everyone but Natalie, Rebecca and my Mom), the Classical Model is an approach to education that doesn't get ahead of itself. Modern education tends to tell the child to paint expressively before letting him get acquainted with the brush, techniques, mediums, and styles.

Fair warning: The next three paragraphs will describe this model.

Classical employs a three step process called the trivium that is broken down into 3 sections: Grammar, Rhetoric, and Dialectic. In the grammar stage (to about 6th grade) the child naturally is inclined to soaking up facts like a sponge. Being able to recite facts is exciting and the more knowledge stored up the better. It is a time when the child has a great capacity for memorization of names, dates, events and stories. This is also the period where English grammar is drilled, multiplication tables are memorized and writing and spelling take firm root.

The Rhetorical stage takes all those facts and puts them to good use. In this stage, from about 12-14 years old, the child becomes "pert". This natural argumentativeness and inclination to be contrary is annoying, but can be directed and molded. If the child is going to argue, why not teach him the correct way? This is where formal logic training begins. The child is taught to think and reason, to detect fallacy and fact. In the Grammar stage, the child learned about the Boston Tea Party. In the Rhetorical stage, the child asks if the Sons of Liberty were justified in their civil disobedience.

Finally, the third stage of the trivium kicks in at around 14-15 years old. At this age, the child is naturally "difficult" and usually quite self-centered. Because he has already learned the basics and tested different theories, it's time to let him have a little freedom to express himself. He finds that he wants to appreciate literature instead of criticize and dissect it. He wants to write his own opinions and express himself. He wants to specialize in subjects that interest him. It is the kicking back out of all that was put in, only in his own form. The child has been taught to think, not just regurgitate. Now it's time to pick up those familiar tools and paint his masterpiece.

I'm sure you wanted to know all that. Anyway, I'm directing a program that tutors children through the first stage:Grammar. The parents are the teachers, but the program provides the structure. The tutor introduces the information at the beginning of the week, and the parent follows up during the week. The program, called Classical Conversations, is a wonderful tool for home schooling families to hold them accountable, to spur them on, and to keep an aggressive pace even when life happens. I'm excited about being able to administrate it.

Keep me in your prayers. I must have God's direction for this group.

Dusting

Today our county schools were closed due to snow. All of you in Pennsylvania and Indiana can have a good laugh over the threat of this massive snow storm. As you can see, you can still glimpse the pavement in spots and the grass was never covered. We were supposed to get up to a whopping two inches, but it has mostly melted away. By tomorrow there will be no evidence left.






It was kind of nice to have our homeschool group cancel today: we got to see the inauguration from home.

The Capital of Maryland

This year, Popcorn is in the kindergarten level class at our homeschool group. They learn all the same material as the older kids, but not as in depth.

We've been going over the states in the U.S. The older kids are learning capitals. The younger ones are concentrating on names of states. We also cover history, science, math, Latin, etc. etc.

When I review the material at home, Popcorn often interrupts and says, "Let me answer." I wasn't surprised when he tried to answer my question today.

"Shakespeare, what is the capital of Maryland?" I asked.
"I know, I know, Mom!" Popcorn said as he popped up from the floor where he was playing cars.
"Okay, Popcorn, you can answer. What is the capital of Maryland?"
"Butt whiff."
"What?!!!"
"Butt and whiff."

It seems that we have some confusion with a Latin conjunction and preposition from the last two weeks: Sed=but, apud=with.

Back to the Books

School officially started today. Shakespeare was happy to accomplish his first English lesson and Gem was tolerable toward math, even mentioning that she doesn't mind it as much as she used to. Yea!!! This means getting back in the grind and even picking up the pace a bit as they take on a more work load. They are off to a great start.

As a change from last year I've decided to ditch the year round schooling in favor of two semesters with sizable breaks between. We'll go from now until Thanksgiving then take off until January. Then we'll plunge into the second semester and finish sometime in June (I think). You see I have this thing down to an exact science.

I really enjoyed the year round schedule, but it's just too hard to mesh with our homeschool group schedule. The nearly-traditional calendar will fit perfectly.



This year I added a 30 minute reading segment to the daily list. I chose books in a wide range of subjects, from fiction to science. They have to pick one from the bag and read it until it is finished, then progress to another one until the basket is empty. I figure it will take them several months to empty a bag. Then I will have ample reason to go buy more.


Here is Gem reading. Mom, that's my new lamp in the background.

Three Week Break

Year round school has ups and downs. One down is that while everyone else is talking about hanging out at the pool all day long, I'm talking about math equations and spelling rules. But now, for three weeks (maybe four) we're on break too. We're done with our final 9 weeks of the year. Gem is officially in 4th grade and Shakespeare is in 2nd. Yea!!! I think we'll celebrate by going to a movie.

Typing

When I was in 4th grade my dad made my brother and me learn how to type. That would have put Mark in Kindergarten. Every day after we came home from school we had to sit in front of our computer and play Typing Tutor for 30 minutes. Dad made us do this until we could type 45wpm and very few mistakes.

We whined about the whole thing, but in the end I liked the payoffs. I was the only kid in 4th grade who was handing in typed papers. But hey, when you can type 45wpm and use spell check, why attempt the hand written stuff?!



In the spirit of keeping up with the Joneses (maiden name), I'm having my kids do 30 minutes of typing a day--20 min. drill and 10 min. games. The games have GREATLY improved since I was 9 years old, but are still drills in disguise. My kids argue over who gets to do typing first. They love it. I guess it helps that I home school. I just make it a subject in school for the summer (year round schooling). They like that it's on the computer and has games. I only wish Math was as popular.

Re-entry

This past week was our first week back to school. We just finished a month long break--a restful, mindless break. But now we're back at it.

Shakespeare has been struggling with reading for awhile now. It has never come easily for him, but it appears that he's slowed to a snail's pace. This week, instead of backing off I pushed ahead. That was foolish. It just made him say things like, "I hate reading." And made me almost agree with him.

When Gem doesn't instantly understand a concept she runs to despair--much weeping and head banging on the school table--very dramatic. This is the way that the distributive property (math) was received this week.

Combine those two attitudes and add in two younger children with pink eye and you will get an idea of what our school week looked like.

On the up-side, Gem grasped the concept and likes math again, pink eye is gone, and I've decided to do a couple of easy reading weeks for Shakespeare. Mix all that together and our second week promises to be a huge improvement.

Lots of people comment, "I don't know how you do it." Sometimes, I don't know either.

It's amazing that 15 minutes of silence can be such a luxury to a mother.

Wild, Wild, Wild, Wild Animals

My wild chickens hatched at our local zoo on Tuesday.


My friend, Melissa, and I braved the wilds without husbands, but with 8 creatures.

Here is Gem with a cougar.

And here are my big kids with the sea lions.

After Gem freed Shakespeare from a giant spider web . . .
We joined our friends: you've met Muppet and Adrenaline, but I'd like to introduce the 6 year old who is sticking out his tongue--"Ondependya" (something he says before he charges--we don't know why), and the little guy standing in front--"Cub".
Popcorn and Cub looking at the gorillas.

Funny moment: I called Gem over to see the rhinos that were mating and Shakespeare came running, exclaiming, "They're still doing it!" A lady next to me laughed and said, "Well, I guess that's one way to teach them."

Memory Masters

We went to our home school group award ceremony this evening. An extra treat was that Nana, Grandpa and Mama Jo were there for the show.

My very shy Popcorn even got up and sang the A,B,C Song with his preschool class.


Shakespeare received his very first Memory Master award.



Gem received her second Memory Master award.



To achieve Memory Master level, the student is asked to recite 24 weeks of information in eight subjects: history, geography, time line, math, science, Bible, English grammar, and Latin.

Can you tell me the formula for the circumference of a circle or the area of a triangle? How about the Latin endings for 1st conjugation present tense? Ephesians 6? When did William the Conqueror defeat King Harold? What are Newton's 3 laws of motion? The laws of thermodynamics?

In a classical-style eduction even young students who can't possibly calculate the circumference of a circle or understand the significance of the fall of Rome can still memorize facts ahead of time and be introduced to characters in history like Marco Polo or Sir Walter Raleigh.

A year ago, Shakespeare came running across the library to show me a book about St. Francis of Assisi!!! That never would have happened without Classical Conversations (our program).

Congratulations, kids!!! Mom is so proud of you.

Extrordinary Everyday Event

Today is the first day of spring. While all the blossoming and chirping is happening outside, something also happened inside. Our long-time visitor decided to make some noise and then emerge from his cocoon.

So welcome spring and Kermit, our luna moth.



Please excuse all the crying (Sinatra wanting attention) and commenting. We were all excited. Gem even pronounced him a boy. (You can actually tell by the thickness of the feathery antennae). The footage is so quick that you are hardly able to see the thing, but you might notice that he doesn't look much like a moth. When they emerge
their wings are folded up. Within an hour they are fully open and dry.

If you're looking for a pet, I highly recommend a luna moth at the point of hibernation: only high maintenance for a few weeks then they spin a cocoon and sleep for six months. When they emerge they do not have a mouth or a stomach. They live for a week (in which they must mate) and then die. They're also the largest moth in North America, have swallow tail shaped wings, and are a lovely shade of pale green.

More pictures to come when we set him free.

Ryaninjun Bread

This morning Gem did a presentation in class about food and etiquette during the late 1700's. She dressed up in her colonial outfit and pretended to invite everyone into her kitchen (the church where we meet has one). She explained different dishes that she was "making" and then talked about the bread that was commonly found in colonial stoves--ryaninjun bread.

We actually made the bread the night before, so Gem pulled it from the oven. Then she talked about tea etiquette and we served tea.

If you'd like to have an adventure, try making Ryaninjun Bread.

Three cups of conrn meal
One of rye flour
Three cups of sweet milk
One cup of sour
One cup of molasses
To render it sweet
Two teaspoons of soda
To make it complete

Mix dry ingredients then add liquid. Mix well but don't beat. Bake in a 9x13 pan at 200 degrees for 12 hours. Put a pan of water in the oven with the bread to retain moisture, or bake it along with baked beans (the traditional colonial way).

One recipe we found said that the bread was actually done within 4 hours, but that old timers swore that the longer you left it the better. After putting the bread in the oven at 9pm I awoke at 1:30 (no alarm) and yanked it out of the oven. Don't do what I did. The entire thing fell and was underdone. The flavor was there, but not the texture. Live and learn and don't panic.