Big Fun on the Catwalk, and a Good Turn

The children were invited to participate in the Aveda Insitute's annual Catwalk for Water this last week. This is the organization's annual scholarship competition and fundraiser for their clean water programs and initiatives, and is comprised of designs, created by the students and staff at the Institute, made entirely of recycled materials (trash, leftovers, re-purposed goods, thrift store finds, etc). They then bring in the make up and hair teams to finish the look, and the happy volunteers take a turn on the catwalk.

Good fun for a good cause. What's not to love? We went with a group of homeschooled teens we've been very fortunate to get to know - doing this with friends made it even better. We arrived at noon, and the process began - matching outfits to models and tweaking this and that along the way. The kids all pitched in and helped each other out. They helped with adjustments to outfits, prep for the walk, went through rehearsals and blocking, then back for more prep. During downtime, they kept busy keeping our space squared away (it seemed huge when we got there, but after four hours or so, it felt awfully small, and hot), encouraging each other, or helping to keep nerves at bay and the Littles occupied.

They were a team, the entire time. (Well, except for one DS face-off. But even that was pretty high on the camaraderie scale.)

We didn't leave until ten o'clock, and while I honestly expected to be absolutely ready. to. go. by that time, I could have gone for a quick power nap and done another round. (Says the lady who didn't have to sit through hair and makeup, of course.)

The theme this year was Hunger Games, so each model was assigned a District. 

We had Livestock (as actual animals - there were three goats and one white reindeer)

Masonry (depicted as tar birds)

and Rebels from District 13.

The whole group of students depicted a wide array of Districts and creatures. They were such great sports about it, and had a really fantastic time.

John got mobbed by a gang of beautiful blonde models. It wasn't quite what most men have in mind when they think of that, but we told him he can check it off his bucket list, anyway. Close enough, right?

Jacob was the largest of the Rebel children. It went to his head just a wee bit, and he reveled in having chipper minions. (Didn't help that he had a star on his chest and fern leaves on his shoulders - that just oozes power and forest dominion, doesn't it?)

Em *hated* getting the eye make up applied. She was a trooper, though. The staff was wonderful and gentle and kind with her. But she *loved* the hair, and the dress, and the excitement of the whole thing. The three little girls looked like fairies scampering about in their woodland garb.

James was wonderful in character, although he said he felt a bit silly with all that hair up top. 

John did a double-take when he heard he'd be wearing actual hair horns. I do wish I'd captured that on camera. But when the time came, he rocked the persona and gave it his best Blue Steel look. (This only makes sense if you've seen Zoolander.)

I loved this opportunity for so many reasons. The kids got to see some out-of-the-box thinking in terms of The Real World. They got to participate in an active and interesting way with big projects and big ideas. Several of them stepped way outside of their comfort zones for this project, and that is commendable. Even better? Everyone, and I do mean every. single. one. of them, was supportive and encouraging and uplifting to the others. They were there for hours, and not a deprecating or negative word was spoken. These are kids who get it, and they're doing good things. Together. Wow.

Not every volunteer project will be this glamorous (quite literally - I think the next one involves... horse stalls...) but I imagine they'll have just as much fun at the next one. They're like that. It's one of the things I appreciate about these kids. I can't wait to see what they do next!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

One Last Freeze

Surprise Spring Cold Snap! After wearing shorts and light shirts all weekend, we had to break out emergency layers this morning! The ground is littered in oak and grass pollen, but the temps were in the low 40's by noon, and the low tonight is going to be in the 20's. That's a little crazy.

We went to see the San Jose Taiko performance this morning. If you ever have the opportunity to see this group perform, please treat yourself and go! They truly are art in motion, and it's a visual thrill as well as a musical one. Every one of our group sat, entranced, through the whole performance. I was a little nervous about how quickly two hours would pass (what with the small one), but it was over before anyone got antsy. I'd have gotten pictures, but they said we can't. And then one of the door guards sat right behind me. James thinks I looked a little sketchy. He's probably right.

James needed a suit for an upcoming project, and he's outgrown his Dr. Who outfit from Halloween, so we got him suited up and ready to roll. Luckily, the old suit fits John, and he thought it'd be perfect for Easter service. So now, of course, Jacob's thinking a suit would be swanky for Easter, too! It's been a while since everyone had a suit. The default "dress clothes" have consisted of a general pair of Docker-esque tan pants and a polo for so long, now. (I really miss the days when we could pop into Sears and grab those little boy suits for $30. Those days are long gone for most of the crew.)

And, haircuts. Because we are a shaggy, scraggly bunch at the moment. Jacob's hair whisperer is back to work at a new place, and he can't wait to see her. Brian, The Hair Guy, can squeak us in, too, for the rest of the kids. (Funny tidbit about Brian. He has two homeschool families, and he's spent the last four years constantly asking us if we knew each other, but we didn't. He insisted we had to. We just HAD to. We figured it was a case of, "Oh, you're from Earth! Do you know Bob?" It happens. Yet, now that we've met, we can see how he thought we *had* to know each other. We do SO many of the same things. And we live in such a small area. Somehow, we've orbited around each other without ever being in the same place at the same time the last few years, like a comedy sketch in a restaurant kitchen. I think his stress level has dropped considerably now that we don't all smile-and-nod and give each other sidelong glances when he mentions us knowing the other family!)

We've had an airsoft gathering, and done some work on the property. Buddy doesn't smell like skunk anymore. The dogwoods are in bloom. We haven't tackled a garden, yet, but everyone has expressed an interest in having one, so I guess we'll have to get on that at some point. (This is where my competent gardening friends roll their eyes and start saying, "Honey, you should've had..." It's a wonder they admit to knowing me in public.) I'm going to blink soon and find we're smack in the middle of Summer, aren't I?

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Awesome Weather!

This is why we school year-round. It was so cold, and wet, (and did I mention cold-for-here?) this Winter, and we know Summer's going to have its hot'n'sticky days (it always does...) So we've been running amok now, with highs in the low 70's and lows in the high 40's.

We went to Clarkson Covered Bridge and spent the day playing games, roaming about, enjoying the day.

We went to Monte Sano and spent the day running about, enjoying the view, and refreshing our spirits with all the color and laughter the day had to offer.

Our local homeschool group had Field Day this week. We spent the day... well, you get the picture. Plus, there was ice cream!

The chicks are out of the basement and into their tractors!
Em told me the other day that she really enjoys reading.
Jase loves phonics. (Classical Phonics, from Memoria Press. If you have one that likes to illustrate and doodle, this is a great, great program!)
We've had to replenish the duct tape supplies twice this week.
James is gearing up for a trip. (I can't wait to tell you more!)
John is happy.
Z is happy, and busy, and making things, and just generally excited about life.
Aside from the fact that I simply cannot get a grip on the house right now, life is pretty darned fantastic!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Old and Cold

I feel like I'm 97, shuffling about with my cardigan and hot tea, talking about the weather. But not talking about the weather right now is like tossing a slipcover over the elephant and trying to pretend it's a beanbag chair.

Do you know how cold it is right now? It's so cold I don't have to tell the kids to keep the door shut. That's cold! The wind chill is -5 at the moment. I understand if you're in Wisconsin or Maine that's not a big deal. Down here, we have native plants that are staggering about in shock, gasping, "It's the big one, Ethel!"

I-65 was a crazy mess, and we've tried to keep an eye on local friends. But wow. 

Thankfully, this should put the kabosh on the tick population for 2014, and that would be all kinds of wonderful.

School's going well this year. First term was pretty fantastic, once you grade on a curve for all the reasons they can't live on their own yet.

Jase loves his phonics lessons (using Memoria Press' Classical Phonics and the First Start Reading workbooks). I think some of it is peer pressure. Em used that, and she got to make beautiful pictures and read books together with the rest of us. Everyone else was already reading by the time he had any cognizance of the issue. So, to his mind, this is how you learn to read. And it is happy making.

Em's finally over King Harold's death, but I doubt she'll ever be a fan of the Normans. (This makes me laugh. Seriously, I had no idea. When I was her age, I didn't... oh, where to begin. No clue. Anyway, she cracks me up.)

Jacob has thoroughly enjoyed Ambleside Online's Year 5 program. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching him learn, and hearing his narrations. This is possibly the first year (out of... *phew*, ten) that narrations have come easily for any of us. It's a huge relief.

James and John are working together on a modified schedule of AO Yr. 7. James has additional Logic, writing, and programming work, and that seems to be working out well for him. It's hard to tell. John is nailing it. He's engaged and, if not enthusiastic, at least paying attention. Mostly. My hope is that the various developmental highs and lows of growing up hit at somewhat staggered intervals - more for me than for them. They've each only got to get through it once.

And that's about it. Time to throw more wood on the fire and see what we can get done today!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Moving Right Along

I stayed up way too late the other night re-reading Charlotte Mason. The irony (of going headlong into sleep deprivation to read up on the importance of balance and healthy habits) wasn't lost on me. So I chuckled at myself and poured another cup of coffee (because when it's already too late to go to bed at a reasonable hour, you might as well really go for broke, right?) It was a good refresher, and a great reminder about the purposes and goals of education. With our extra-curricular schedule reined in, and a decent head of steam going on our routine academics, I thought this would be a good time to formulate some simple steps we could take to get back to the things we enjoyed when the Bigs were smaller -- things like afternoon teas, regular nature study, oral narration (well, nobody enjoyed oral narration, which is a big part of why we don't do it anymore, but that doesn't mean it lacks value. It just means it's really hard to get water to run uphill without a good pump.)

The next morning, I pitched some of my ideas to the kids. The littles are gung-ho. Art study! Afternoon tea! More stories! More time outside! (The narration bit didn't really ping the wee radar, which is probably a good thing.) The bigs... well, they're polite. They smile, nod, offer input and suggestions, and ultimately agree to give pretty much anything a try. I have no idea if they think this is brilliant or if this will be one of those memories that causes them to smile gently when they're grown, and think, "Mom was so quaint with her quirky educational theories..."

What caught my attention the most, though, was the input.

J: Wow, why didn't we do these things when I was little?

Me: Um. Yeah, wow. :pause to see if he's joking: You really don't pay attention, do you?

J: What? We DID?

Me: Regularly.

J: When? Was I four?

Me: Noooo... we still did them when we moved here. You were probably eight before I gave up and started drinking.

J: Oh? Huh. Did I start drinking, too? Maybe that would explain it.

He makes me laugh. That helps. (And for the record, no, my son has not taken up drinking. He's just naturally not aware of his surroundings. But he knows this, and I'm not telling tales out of turn, here. He also fixes all my electronic problems and makes a magnificent omelet. We all have our strengths.)

So, anyway, I blew all our grocery money on books. Had to pick up the usual suspects - biographies and Omnibus titles, some more history and a little literature. Plus a few goodies "just because" -- another Andrew Lang Fairy Book (red, this time), an interesting Shakespeare book (the two we've had haven't been big hits, and the older kids dig Shakespeare, but the littles shuffle off to watch My Little Pony in James' room whenever we start discussing it). I'd like to bring Em and Jake into the book-fold a bit more. Jase still gets to run his barefooted little backwoods heart out. And if we do this right, we'll all get a little more barefooted outdoors time, too.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Week 1, We Owned It. Or rented it...

The feedback from the kids has been good. Both the older boys enjoy knowing their work is getting done, and they appreciate having free time to apply as they choose. Actually, they like the free time, and they appreciate that I'm not stressed out over unfinished work. But at these ages, I'll take it. John's been hunting daily, and he's in heaven. James has started learning Python - also in heaven. Different ends of heaven, I guess.

Jacob, for whom I blocked in huge swaths of intentional free time throughout the day, seems happier and more able to focus than I can remember him being since... ah, since he mastered speaking English, really. This is kind of exciting. Since he's not spending all his energy trying to slip past before I can give him something to do, he's got a lot of time and energy to build/find/exhume things. And, again, since he's not trying to slip past me, he's eager and excited to share them with me.

That's what I was after. That's good stuff.

The staggered reading times are working out, and since each boy has at least something on the Kindle, they can pass it around without a backlog.

The early morning quiet time for work and preparation is paying off in the quality of my own function. The house is tidy. We've had dinner regularly and fairly well-planned. Bills paid, grocery made, laundry caught up... it nearly looks like one of us knows what we're doing.

The weak link in the plan is me. I'm flipping exhausted. If I can't force myself to bed earlier, there is no way in the world I'll be able to pull this off past Easter. *yawn*

But it's good. We're all learning something new this Winter.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Back to School Day

The pencils are sharpened, the planners are filled in, the kids are asleep. For now, that'll do. I got up early this morning so I could have a little peace and maybe tackle the day head-on instead of letting it clothesline me.

So what are we doing this next block? It looks like we're reading. A lot. James is reading the Orestia and the Theogony, as well as The Last Days of Socrates. He'll read some histories (Early History of Rome, History of the Peloponnesian War). And then some fun reading. Right now, he's enjoying Piers Anthony's books, and some of the Jasper Fforde titles.

Before he dives into Physics (doing a non-Calc based Physics this time around), he'll read a translation of Euclid's Elements of Geometry and Archimedes' On the Sphere and the Cylinder.

He's going to finish up Memoria Press' Traditional Logic (yes, it's taken us way too long to do that, but we will finish), wrap up pre-Calc with MUS, bebop through some Henle, and get some good, solid writing under his belt with MCT's writing course. He asked for some of the Art of Problem Solving books before we move into Calculus. I can't say that sounds 'fun' to me, but he thinks it sounds a lot more interesting than the next level of Logic. Perspective matters.

John's set to wrap up Zeta, finish First Form, push his way through the end of Essay Voyage, and follow us through the rest of the Ancients. History isn't as hands-on-fun in the Logic stage, but it is more interesting once you have those pegs tacked into the wall. There aren't a lot of fascinating titles for that stage, though, so we're cobbling, mostly. He's reading through the Yesterday's Classics collections, and some of the Memoria Press titles. He's got the outlining down, which is far ahead of where I was at his age. I'd forgotten how much of a skill it is to be able to pull the main idea out of a collection of thoughts. Good skill to have, though. He may not appreciate it much, now, but he will when he's trying to make sense of the world.

He's nearly done with the Thinking Toolbox and we'll play with The Fallacy Detective for the rest of the year. I think that's one of his favorites. He's been reading poetry and short stories this year, in his free time. Haven't had to add much assigned reading to it. He's found a few new-to-us authors, and we hope to hit the Booklegger sometime this week to pick up some more titles. He's also hoping to get the forge fired up a bit this block, and get some projects done with it.

JakeRabbit is flying through anything I give him, which I don't understand because every time I turn around, he's outside doing his Peter the Goatherd impression. Kid's happiest when he's out there with his satchel, walking stick, and hat. The chickens and dogs follow him everywhere. He's always out there, and he'll come in when I call, but the second he can feasibly excuse himself, *poof*, he's gone again, collecting insects, finding birds, identifying plants, tending the critters. But... his work is done, he knows more now than he did in the Fall... :shrug: I guess that works. When I put together his schedule for this block, I tacked in large chunks of blank time. Why fight it? If he starts to slip, we'll reconsider, but the out-of-doors seems an appropriate place for a 9yo boy to spend his time.

EmBaby is reading, writing, doing sums. She's loving Granny Fox tales and stories from The Blue Fairy Book. So much drawing. Drawing, sketching, painting. More drawing. Such a content little learner. Then she goes out to follow Jake around the property. This level feels downright magical.

Jase is feeling the pressure of not being able to read. So he's asking, now, "What does this say?" and "What's that?" It won't be long before they'll all be readers. Wow.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Learning in the New Year

I've been quiet about our plan since the Big Epiphany. Sorry about that. We were thinking, and working, and wondering how to pull this off. I still don't have a taker for the Committee Chair position, but I'm hopeful. Beyond that, though, I think we have eliminated much of the extraneous mess and have a good, solid plan in place.

Starting in January, we have three strong, traditional, academic days a week carved out. These days will carry the brunt of the hard labor - the math, languages (both foreign and domestic), and the science and history. We still have to go through the lesson plans and make sure this will work, but it looks good.

Wednesdays will be our heavy literature day. I'm considering making some Ozzy or Metallica book covers to go with it, and of course I've got a soundtrack in my head. This will be a day of reading, music, reading, and literature discussion. We will probably re-institute afternoon tea for wrapping things up. History is still tied to literature, so there's a thread of continuity, there. And we already have memory cards in a travel case that we've been using for foreign language and poetry, which we'll use on Wednesdays, as well.

Fridays - and this is where we went off the rails a bit, but I think it could work - Fridays will be our Independent Learning Days. This is the day the boys take charge and lead us on adventures they want to explore. We have Cubs in the mornings, and one Friday a month we have Skate Day, which is only slightly less inviolable than, say, Easter. So we needed to find a way to work with Fridays that wouldn't make the entire day a wash. The boys are old enough, and engaged enough, that I decided to give this day to them. This is the day we'll hit museums, do volunteer work, visit artisans and shops. This will be the day for projects - to make movies or write games, to build models or develop interpretive dance routines based on the Abyssinian military model. Whatever. And I've given the boys a heads up that there are plenty of things *I* want to learn about, so if they don't step up and make suggestions, well, then we're going to have an entire semester of architectural history and more literature!

We've discussed how often people complain that learning this or that is dumb, yet when you give them leave to study things that aren't "dumb", they don't know what they want to learn. They cannot fathom that learning is fun, or that you can sometimes wield your own carrot and stick. There's a disconnect between the mere idea of learning and the joy that it brings. Mine don't, and I appreciate that -- although they've been known to express skepticism about the validity of a lesson or two, they acknowledge that there's probably shizzle they aren't privy to, and they trust me -- that good faith goes a long way. Still, I want to make certain we keep those two ideas connected, without sacrificing the rigor of a quality education, or sucking the joy of a delightful journey from them. We lost some of that this past year, and we aim to get it back. (Way to set the bar at just the right height for a good clotheslining, huh? I hope it doesn't take us down. We'll see.)

And there we are. Now to get to the lesson plans and shuffling of the shelves. Zorak has agreed to build a coat rack for the new dining room similar to the one in the foyer, but with a shelf below it where we can stage our things for each day's adventures. (Now that we use the balcony to come and go, the foyer is less relevant and ends up being more of an open-sided storage cubby than a functional staging platform, so this will be great!) Theoretically, we are set for a fantastic year ahead!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

:whispers: I'm not here...

I should be in bed, but I'm not sleepy yet.

So, things are shaping up nicely. I showed the kids the Big Epiphany. The relief that emanated from James' very pores was impressive. John gets it, too, and both of them look forward to the changes we'll be making. Jacob seemed un-phased, but he spends most of his time thinking of ways to get more Lego time in, anyway, so there's not going to be a huge Delta for him in this regard.

James had a fantastic suggestion -- that we get back to using more literature-based materials. I don't know how or when we got away from that, but we did. We spent a good portion of today pouring over book lists, digging up copies we own, and making a list of the books we know we want to add. It's been a while since the kids have been that engaged, but that's what we're after!

Then I started looking for ways to pare down the overall obligations without sacrificing the things that really are beneficial. I gave notice that I won't be doing the Awards Coordinator position for the Pack for 2013. I've served two years in that position, and it's pretty much turnkey at this point. I'll still be on the committee, will continue to lead Jacob's Den, and will help out with things as needed, but the cuts have to come from somewhere, and I'm comfortable with that one. I've also approached someone about stepping in as the Troop Committee Chair for the coming year. I'd still stay on the committee, but perhaps as Secretary. (I'm already doing the monthly parent newsletter and round-ups, and I do enjoy those.) And a friend offered last month to take over the Fundraising Coordinator job for me, too. (Bless her!) So that's a good start.

If we can free up one more day, and make some alterations to our errand running plans, I think we'll be in good shape. Or at least we'll have bought ourselves a little breathing room, which I desperately need at the moment.

On the project front, Zorak got the second coat of mud on the drywall tonight. We'll sand it and check it tomorrow - maybe texture, maybe do one more thin coat. Either way, we'll be painting the wall and putting the rest of the cabinets and the refrigerator back this weekend. He hooked up the sink for me last night. I haven't been that glad to do dishes by hand in a long, long time, but after washing them in the tiny bathroom sinks for a week, this was luxurious. Tomorrow, we'll eat normally again!

We bought a camera at Target on Wednesday. I thought it would be similar to the old silver one that died, and I was so excited. But it's not. It's chintzy and flimsy and doesn't take very good pictures. Also, we got 12 shots, no video, and it drained the batteries to the point that it couldn't use the flash. It could be the batteries, but there are enough drawbacks without that concern that I'm thinking it needs to go back to the store, anyway, and we'll try another one. Anyone have a decent, everyday camera you like? (Don't need love - it's too close to Christmas to think about love - I just need something other than my gimpy phone for taking Christmas and activity pictures.)

And now, to bed, for tomorrow, we smile!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

A Week Without Normal

We're mostly off school this week. The boys are finishing up a few things and I'm staring at the booklist, wishing I had a significantly larger budget. I doubt any of us is making much headway. The weather has been in the low-to-mid-60's and, once again, it's a good thing we don't own a hammock or we'd be getting nothing done, at all.

Our plan to do the kitchen window (replacing the light sucking hole above the dishwasher with a larger, properly centered window, allowing people to stand at the sink at stare at something other than my steep learning curve on texture techniques) is moving forward, though not the way we'd hoped. We're going to have to order a window, and that's fine. There is a ten-day lead time on it (again, not bad, considering - think for a moment how magnificent it is that we can order a framed glass window to our own specifications, and have it delivered in under two weeks - that's mind-boggling, and wonderful). But that means we'll have to juggle the steps a little to make them fit the time we have available and the weather conditions. Much like trying to get a large pillow into a pillowcase. It can be done, but you're probably not going to want anyone watch you do it.

Also, if you come by the house and see a blue tarp hanging above the sink for more than a month, don't ask questions. Don't even make eye contact if you can help it. Just bring a chocolate orange and a Black Cherry Mike's, please.

The pickup rehabilitation project is... well, Z put in a transmission gasket this week. It's dark and cold when he gets home. He doesn't particularly *enjoy* automotive work, and we all miss him and are somewhat demanding of his time when he walks in the door. It's hard to work with children stuck to your ankles, talking non-stop. It's better this way - the truck doesn't really care when you get around to it, but the kids do.

This week, we hope to find James' math disc, make headway on some projects, get squared away and organized. I'm also eyeballing the school room. It desperately needs to be Something Else. What, though, I've no idea. What do you do with a 10x10 room that has no uninterrupted walls? (Or, more accurately, what can you do with two two-foot corners, a two-by-four corner, and a sliver of space behind a door? I'm just not that creative! And if I find money, I'm spending it on books. So.)

Hope your week is shaping up beautifully, too.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

On Catching Up

So the kids had their plan in place:
Get up early
Hit the books hard
Spend more time reading between the writing-intensive studies to provide for stimulation and avoid death by pencil.

This was their recommendation for getting caught up to where the lesson plans said we should be. I thought it was pretty responsible (and beats what I'd have done when I was 12!)

We hit it hard on Monday. John had allergies, and he struggled, but we pushed through.

We hit it hard on Tuesday. James had allergies, too, that day, but we pushed through.

Wednesday, they mostly sat around, looking stunned, wondering that allergies could be so harsh...

Thursday, Jacob developed allergies. Or, as we began to suspect, "allergies". :groan:

Thursday evening, EmBaby and I both fell prey to what we'd been calling "allergies". I don't know what this is, but it's nassy! Since it's knocking us all down like dominoes, we're guessing it's viral. So our new plan is in place:

Water
Vit. D
Water
Pray this runs its course before it mutates and does another lap through the house.
Water
Water
Netflix

It's been a documentary-heavy couple of days, here. So far, we haven't had to try out the "Sanitize" option on the washer, though. I'm counting my blessings!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Not Like Any August, Ever

I hesitate to say anything, but this August has *rocked* in Northern Alabama. Temps have remained in the nearly-reasonable 90's, the humidity hasn't gone over 100% more than maybe twice*, and so far nothing has landed on the house or the car! Someone's been Very Good, I suspect. Wow.

So we've been braving the out-of-doors more this year -- going to the river, on hikes, to the park, canoeing. We didn't spend nearly as much time at the water park this Summer as I'd hoped to, but some of that was because we weren't sweltering and desperate for relief the whole time. (June. June was awful. But after that, Mother Nature backed off the ire and we recovered.) We did get some good use out of it, though. I only lost one child, one time (which is pretty darned good, all things considered), and nobody got burnt at all this summer! No, I take that back. Zorak and the boys all got sunburned shins on a canoe trip with the Scouts a couple of weeks back. But that wasn't on my watch, so I don't have to claim it. BOOYAH! First time, ever!

We're in Week 5 at school, and so far, we're... pretty darned slow. Wow. We seem busy. We feel busy. But we're not laying tracks like we'd thought. So today, the kids brainstormed a new schedule, to be implemented tomorrow morning. No clue how it's going to go, but finding out is half the adventure, right? (That face you just made? Same one they made when I used that phrase this morning.) In all, though, it's going really well. EmBaby's reading more fluidly - her accent is killing us in the phonics, but she's starting to clear those hurdles. (I've never had one with an accent before. This is a whole new ballgame!) Jacob's just rolling through it to get to the books. I can't keep him in books. (Yeah, I know. Third child this age, you'd think he'd be inundated. I guess not.) John finally got a good callous from playing guitar. He feels legit, now, and it's given him a renewed vigor in many areas. And James is kicking into high gear is so many areas. Mostly after 11:30 or so in the morning, but once he's caught a gear, he can *go*.

For me, the big excitement so far was hearing John announce that he *likes* Latin. One day, Dwane Thomas at Visual Latin, and the good folks at Memoria Press (thank you for First Form!) will receive cookies, or brownies, or a copy of someone's NLE results with a thank you note. That's some crazy joy, there.

And the rest of Summer? Well, things don't always go as planned. We did get the sand - uh, this past Saturday. The windows we'd been putting in, one at a time, all went on clearance (not to be re-stocked  - ACK!) so we snagged all we needed in one size, and we now have new windows along the whole front of the house. We'll be eating beans and rice for the next three months, but the marked improvement in insulation is worth it already.

Oh, and okra! Our mad gardening skills have once again yielded insane amounts of okra. Not much else - maybe one cucumber, a handful of squash, two and a half tomatoes... we'll spend the Autumn pickling okra and giving thanks that we do not have to rely solely on what we grew for Winter sustenance. Again. Amen.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

* Tongue in cheek. Mostly.

The Push Continues

We're still pushing hard to get our affairs in order. The house-cleaning project will probably continue for another couple of months, as we freshen paint and finish the details on projects that stagnated once they hit "functional". (Our Family Motto seems to be: It Doesn't Have to Be Pretty to Be Functional ~or, more accurately, If It's Functional, That's As Good As It's Gonna Get. I need to see about getting that changed before we get to the point of ordering engraved items.)

After James' last physical, his doctor had suggested some strength training to help combat the growing pains he's experiencing. So he and I have been working out regularly, using You Are Your Own Gym. He is an absolutely hilarious workout partner, with a very positive attitude and a willingness to slog through new things with flair. Although I can't say this is "fun", it's getting done. And we laugh. A lot. Mostly at me. But it's good stuff.

This is our last week of break before heading into the next term of the year. We didn't intend to take off all of June (instead of just the first two weeks, for camps), but the weather was too beautiful to spend indoors. It's... not, now. And I have a suspicion that we'll more than make up for it when the heat that's now moved in stays through September, so it's all good. We need something to do in the afternoons other than watching Eureka, right?

The kids were invited to VBS with some friends this week. Jacob was reluctant to go, but agreed to an extension of our "One Honest Bite" approach to life (that started with food, but anything that applies to food can be applied to any element of life, so it gets wide use around here). EmBaby got wind that there would be crafts, and she was IN. Oh, yeah! Jase wanted to want to go, but he wasn't so sure. It was loud. And... well, loud. (We don't go to a loud church, and this was all very new to him.) He said it was scary, so I told him he didn't have to stay and we headed out. The ladies at registration were gracious and kind, and utterly accomodating, but you know, he's four. There's not a single thing he would get from a few hours at VBS that he won't pick up elsewhere in his life over the next umpteen years. (And if there is, then we're doing something wrong. Which we may be, but not with this.) We got back to pick up Jacob and Em a bit early, so we sat in the back to listen to the closing announcements and songs. That's when I realized he was not convinced this was a Good Place To Be, and that he viewed the whole retrieval less as a routine pick up, and more as a SpecOps extraction. We navigated the fine line of Awkward Situations for a bit (thankfully, it was loud, so I don't think anybody overheard our exchange), and escaped without causing a scene.

(Jacob and Em both had a blast, and were thrilled to learn they could go back each evening this week. After hearing that, Jase decided he'd give it One Honest Bite, too, and he stayed tonight, tentative and anxious, holding Em's hand. He says he loved it. Zorak said he was dancing and singing when Z arrived to pick them up. I'm proud of him for giving it a shot, but was also proud of him for knowing it's safe to say, "no, thank you", as well.)

Now, to reconfigure the menu for being in and out all week! :-s


Kiss those babies!
~Dy

You May Be Right

I've got Billy Joel songs stuck in my head. It's been a crazy day. But Good Crazy - anything that conjures up songs from the 80's can't be all bad.

Kids got a lot of school work done. If they did this every day, we could have school three days a week and still be ahead. Then James got to enjoy some Skype time with his buddies. John and Jacob took to the woods (while I stayed inside and tried not to twitch).

We started the Atelier Art program today. It seems good, but I think I may have underestimated the kids' knowledge and abilities. So we modified. This lesson was on lines - specifically, they were asked to draw a turtle and decorate its shell with various line patterns. (This is Level 2, the 5-8yo level - I'd grabbed it for Em, who loves to draw, and Jase, who needs an outlet - but all the kids joined in, because they're cool like that.) So we covered lines, then I turned the kids loose with the guideline that they aren't tied to the turtle, but to draw something and be aware of how they use lines for various features of the art (shading, contour, texture, flow, etc.). When they finished, we put their pieces in the 8x10 frames we'd hung in the hallway last week. The finished product is quite fun, and it's nice to have art in the hall. Plus, they enjoy being able to display their work in a meaningful way. The goal is to have them complete one piece a week for display in the rotating hall gallery.

We slipped out this afternoon to see about getting some nicely fitting t-shirts for Scouts. The 50/50 blend, unisex, chokingly-high crew neck style is not only uncomfortable, but unattractive. As much time as I spend at Scout functions, I'd love to have a shirt I don't hate wearing. Hopefully, we can score some from our regular guy. He's a good printer, and does a beautiful job - plus he's all set up with the approved Troop/Pack graphics. He just needs to narrow down an available style for us. Yay!

Jacob goes to be shorn in the morning. He's bummed about losing his hair after he's upheld his end of the bargain (gotta keep it clean and well-kept if you want it long), but he's on board with his usual sunny attitude. I appreciate that kid more than words can say.

And so, to bed!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Lost the cord again!

I saw a camera the other day that has the USB bit attached to the camera. Santa needs to see about getting me one of those for Christmas. In the meantime, we've cleaned the house, and there's no sign of the camera cord.

The camera is full, though, as the kids have been making videos. Oh, I need to buy each of them a camera with a boatload of storage (and an integrated USB dongle). The videos are sweet and funny. Or, they are once I stop hyperventilating over the fact that children don't tend to pick up before they film. Heh.

School is going beautifully. The first two weeks have been great. The kids' new math books arrived last week, and they dove right in. James moved over to Wheelock's for Latin. I hate Wheelock's, but he's happy. He'll wrap that one up this term, and then... I dunno. Orberg? Wing it? No clue. But that's not now, so we'll enjoy the rest of this term. We're hoping to have a few good adventures along the way!

John's ankle is healing well. He's off the crutches, and winging about with the boot. I've put a total moratorium on Paper On The Floor. Normally, I try not to be too uptight about it. It's hard not to have paper on the floor when someone is always sketching or drawing or making diagrams - between the five kids, there's... there's a lot of paper. Aesthetically, meh. But if you step on it with a boot? You're goin' DOWN, folks. And I can't... we can't have two broken bones on one child all at once. *shudder* For the time being, paper is now a Controlled Substance.

Jacob brought me the first Daffodil of the year, yesterday! We don't normally get them until February, but here they are. It's been a wet and balmy winter. I hope we haven't missed our pruning window for the trees! We'll check this week and see what we can do. In the meantime, we have a beautiful bit of sunshine in the kitchen window. Hopefully, it's the first of many to parade through the house this year!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Back to School Week

We started back to school this week, which has gone nicely. Mostly. The days have been long (seriously. long.) I'm going to give it a couple of weeks before deciding if I've given them too much. It could be that, or the weather. It could just be inertia that's kicking our butts. It could be a little of each. Time is an excellent sorter, though, so we're going to muscle onward and wait it out.

 

The boys also start back to music lessons this week. They've not had them in three months, and although they didn't touch their instruments for two and a half months, they've both picked up practice again willingly and enthusiastically. They were ready. So was I. It's nice to have music in the house, but it's not spontaneous for us. We need to be intentional about it. The bedroom with only one child inherited the instruments and practice space.

  

We're settling in nicely with the new arrangement. We all love that we have more room in the bedrooms, but there's still an entire toy shelf loitering in the hallway. I'm, um, I have nowhere to put it. We've simply outgrown this house. I've culled and culled and, for having five children, there truly aren't a lot of toys. It's just a lot of toys for a house this size. We need to repaint and add a little decorating in some rooms, but for now, I'm happy with the progress. The Littles feel like their space is downright palatial, too.  :-)

 

 The boys like having a safe spot for the Legos and other creations, and with the Littles in the bigger of the bedrooms, a full-scale invasion is less likely. I like roaming up and down the hall, glancing in to see fairly tidy rooms. (They don't notice the lack of artwork or curtains, but I've got to fix that soon.)

 And that's pretty well taken up all our days lately. Music. School. Tripping over things in the hall. Zorak has sketches all over the place for stairs from the balcony. I guess that's the next big project. Blessedly, he's designing it to use as little concrete as possible (but still be wholly over-engineered). I love that about him. Meanwhile, we're hanging out on the couch, fighting that inertia...

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Back to School - 3rd Grade

HOW is he in third grade? Sheesh, that happened quickly. Ah, well, that seems to be what they do.

So, Jacob's 3rd Grade year is shaping up thusly:

Math - MUS Gamma. I kind of hate this one, but it won't last forever. (Seriously, it's good. It's thorough, but it also seems to be the only one that causes stress and angst in my children. I don't get it, but I suspect it's a housekeeping issue with respect to multiple digit work. So far, though, we're three for three on that point. :sigh:)

Greek - Year One, Elementary Greek. He's rocking this.

Reading - (this list develops as we go)
Huckleberry Finn, The Doll People, Twenty-One Balloons, Calendar Quest. He reads a lot on his own - he's read a good many of the Boxcar Children, is re-reading the Harry Potter books, and informed me the other day the he really prefers mystery, fantasy, and action genres. Funny kiddo.

Writing - Imitations in Writing, Aesop.

History - Story of the World, Vol. 4 (Modern History)

Science - nature jourals, taking things apart, building things, setting things on fire - general curiosity, coupled with plenty of discussion and engagement, goes so far at this age.

Music - he'll start piano in January

Typing - Typing Instructor Deluxe

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Back to School - 6th Grade

John's sixth grade year is shaping up like this...

Math - Math-U-See Epsilon. He went a little slowly through Delta, in order to master it. We'll all be glad he did when he hits the higher level math!

Latin - Latin Prep 2, from Galore Park. He still doesn't *love* Latin, but he learned so much more with Latin Prep than he did with anything else, so when he completed the first level, it seemed a no-brainer to stick with what works. While we've been waiting for his books to arrive, he's been working through Visual Latin. I think we'll keep using both throughout the year. Although I come down fairly strongly on the side of grammar-based approaches to learning foreign languages, we are enjoying the synthesis and multi-sensory approach of Visual Latin.

Language Arts - Michael Clay Thompson's Voyage series. The material is about dead-on for a rigorous language arts program for an 11yo boy. Truly great material, presented in an engaging manner, at a level that expects you will strive to do well. *Love it!* This series covers Grammar, Poetics, and Writing.

Greek - he's also halfway through Year One in Elementary Greek.

Science - normally, I leave them be to do nature studies, build and break things, and read biographies for science. That's worked well. This year, however, I thought I'd try something new. He's using Galore Park's So You Really Want To Learn Science. He said the book looks lame, and he's not terribly thrilled about it. Honestly, from perusing the table of contents, it does seem he knows most of the material. (Score one for biographies and hands-on learning, at least!) But we have the book - we'll use it to filter out any gaps, and go on. I'll know more about the program after we've used it a bit.

Typing - Typing Instructor Deluxe. He's already doubled his typing speed. Yay!

History - finishing up Modern History (I try to keep everyone somewhat together with history, adding in additional material for the older children). He'll begin Ancients with us, though not with Omnibus, this time around.

Music - piano and guitar. He just started a new book for guitar - it's pretty amazing to Zorak and I, to sit and listen to them play. Wow.

I think that's it. That sounds about right. But he has a question... so I'm going to sign off!

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Back to School - 8th Grade

We've been back to school for a while. Sometimes, the school year blends together. Sometimes we have a delineated break. We tried a longer break this summer, but it just about killed us. So, we started back and worked through the hotter part of the year. Today's high is 58, and we're finding it hard to stay motivated when all we really want to do is play in the rain, then curl up in bed with hot tea and good stories.

James' material this year is pretty exciting (he says that's fairly subjective, but he smiles when he says that, so I don't think he's complaining too loudly).

Math - MUS Geometry, which he's finishing up this month. I'm torn on moving him into Algebra II/Trig right away, or giving him some other material to play with for a while so he will go deeper with it. It's hard to tell with him, sometimes.

Language Arts - we've picked up Michael Clay Thompson's language arts program. It includes Grammar, Poetics, and Writing. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. James and John are both working through the Voyage series. James could probably move into Magic Lens, but I don't honestly think he's missing out on anything by working through this series in the fall. His writing is fantastic, and this program is helping him organize his thoughts and develop some structure.

Science - Physical Science with Derek Owens. Wow. James is so happy. I am so happy. This is a great program. I'm thankful to the friend who recommended Mr. Owens' courses.

Greek - we're about halfway through Year One of Elementary Greek. It's coming along nicely. James said the hard part was mastering the characters, which are so different from English and Latin. The grammar, however, is fairly similar, so now we're into familiar territory and making good time.

Latin - he's very nearly done with Latin Book One. It's taken SO long to finish, but he's learned so very much that I cannot complain. We'll start with Henle after the Christmas break. I'm not sure where we'll pick up in Henle, though. I need to find a placement test of sorts, or go through the tables of contents to find a good transition point.

History - we're mid-year-ish on History. We are wrapping up our study of Modern History, preparing to go back into Ancients. I'm planning to use Omnibus I, starting this fall. This is exciting for me, and a bit overwhelming for James. But he's promised to do his best, and I've promised not to be a total slave-driver. I think we'll make a good go of it, between the two of us.

Reading - He's reading The Last of the Mohicans this month, as well as some collections of Poe, and beginning the Hornblower series. He spent the summer on a Gothic Horror and Michael Crichton kick. It's been a good year for reading.

Music - still playing piano and guitar. The house is filled with music.

Typing - I finally bought Typing Instructor Deluxe. The kids love it, and their typing has improved. Goal met! Chocolate chip cookies, all around! James' goal with this is to complete the program so that he can take some online coding courses. He's working on designing a web page for his Boy Scout Troop as part of a project. Good stuff.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Getting Ready

I'd told the kids we would do a few things "once the temperatures got below 90": build the tree house, start work on the bike trail around the property, go hiking.

Well, here we are. It's not below 90 consistently enough that I'm ready to take on anything that involves hoisting lumber over my head, and I'd really rather wait for the brambles to die back a bit before we go in and start clearing a path (it just seems to make so much more sense to let Mother Nature get a head start).

So that leaves us with... hiking. (I know. I really should have thought that list through before I said anything. But it was 113 degrees out, and I honestly thought it would never end, okay?)

I figure if I set the bar realistically (ie - "low"), and set us up to succeed (see the bar setting...), and remember to take plenty of water (and my sense of humor), it should be OK. So, for this, our first big hike of the school year, I have three goals:

1. Be respectful (this one's a constant, but I figure if I don't throw anything new at them, it'll build confidence).

2. Have fun (we're hiking with seven kids... it could go either way, really)

3. Learn one new thing (ah-ha! educational goals - see how we'll slip that in quietly at the bottom?)

If I can manage to do this and not actually lose Jase at any point, I'm going to declare it a Smashing Success and we'll all come home to collapse and eat ice cream. If he gets away from us, then I'm going to claim sanctuary and we'll all come home to collapse and start working on that tree house. I'll let you know how it goes.

Kiss those babies!
~Dy