Following Foundations 8/14/09 August 14, 2009

As the sun sets on our second week of school, I’m left pondering a statement made by my daughter: “If Walmart goes away, mommy will be a widow.” Selah. Pause and meditate.

EG (5 yrs old):

Here’s a short summary of this week’s work: We were in week 2 of Sonlight’s Core K. We read about ancient Egyptians and how they lived and what they wore. In science, we talked about the causes of weather and the water cycle. Our read-aloud was still The Boxcar Children, which we will finish next week. In her reading, she’s working on two-syllable words. In math, she worked on how to determine “how many more or less” of something. Her handwriting was just a review of letter formation and a few small words. I couldn’t find her handwriting sheet today, so I had to make her one myself.

This week EG memorized 2 Corinthians 12:9, which says “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” She also memorized question 68 which asks “What are the reasons attached to the fourth commandment?”

Swim lessons went okay this week. On Tuesday she put her whole face in the water. Of course, she was motivated by the fact that her little brother showed her up. See below for more info on that. I don’t think she has made much progress so far during this session of swim lessons. Part of the problem is due to the fact that they’ve had three different teachers for the past four lessons. Each new instructor has no idea what each child has already accomplished, so they don’t know how to push them to a new level. I talked to one of the “higher ups” at the Y about it. We’re hoping next month will be more consistent. Many of their instructors are part-time workers that are either in high school or college.

EG also started soccer practice this week. I think her coach has stepped things up a notch since she’s now in U6. He had them juggling the ball with their knees and trying to hit it with their heads. I’m glad she didn’t walk away with a bloody nose.

AZ (3 yrs old):

The Z-man worked on an L page for his alphabet notebook this week. His two L pictures on his poster were ‘lava’ and ‘lightning’. He didn’t do so well in Explode the Code. I don’t think he’s ready. He can’t really hear the sounds at the beginning of words. I think I’m just going to continue with his poster and his alphabet notebook for a while. This will help him learn his letter sounds really well. I may let him try ETC every once in a while to see if there’s been any improvement.

This week the Z-man was suppose to memorize Psalm 56:3, which says “When I am afraid I will trust in you”. It turns out he already knew it from the Steve Green CD’s. So then we started on Psalm 121. Well, he already knew the first two verses of Psalm 121 because he’s heard his sister recite it so many times. So I guess we’ll start on verse 3 next week. This is why I have them do verses and catechisms at the table together during breakfast. It cuts the workload on down the line!

Tuesday was a great day at swim lessons for the Z-man. He put his whole head under water and came up smiling! He put his sister to shame! I had told them before swim lessons that we would wait until Thursday to have slushies for being brave. (The slushie fund is going to go the way of  ‘cash for clunkers’ if we don’t scale back!) But after he dunked his head, I caved and we went to Sonic.

The Z-man got a little bug house and a butterfly net a couple of months ago for his birthday. We have had the most fun catching bugs. This week we caught a grasshopper on the front porch. This was our first bug that pooped in the bug house. (I tried to use it as an object lesson for Operation Potty Training. Didn’t work. Can you see how desperate I am in this area?) Anyways, I’m telling about the grasshopper for this reason: The next day I hear the Z-man say “I found grasshopper!” I found him sitting in the living room with Anna Comstock’s 900 page Handbook of Nature Study pointing at a black and white drawing of a grasshopper.

SA (15 months):

Can you believe that his sister just called him the ‘evil rat’?! Apparently he’s always “ruining” their things. Ahhh, the joys of having a little brother. The Z-man just passed him in the hallway and said ” ‘cuse me, evil rat!” A little bit of manners mixed with some name calling. I told them not to call him that. They asked if they could call him “evil mouse” instead. Sigh.

Me:

I feel as though I’ve crossed a hurdle this week in my guitar playing. I guess the drudgery of playing through the diatonic chords of six different keys as a daily exercise finally paid off.  Something just clicked this week, and now, all of sudden, in addition to the keys of G and D, I can now play reasonably well in the keys of A and C. This has opened many doors to me in way of songs that I can play. I’m ecstatic to say the least! I’m thankful that the Lord has helped me perservere during the difficult times and has brought me to this point. I still have a ways to go….just one step at a time!

Following Foundations 8/7/09 August 8, 2009

Well, this was our first week of school! We celebrated our first day by taking pictures on the front porch and by going out for lunch. The week went really well, and I was pleased with how well everything flowed. Although, I did discover on the first day that Little Man needs to be napping while I read to the other two. Fortunately, he’s still taking two naps a day!

EG and AZ both started swim lessons this week. They both did well and jumped off the side of the pool. The instructor finally had to dunk EG all the way under the water. She was only getting her chin wet.  Her brother was doing the same thing but never got dunked. Maybe they go easy on the three year olds.

We attempted a nature walk this week, and I think it went okay. My biggest difficulty is trying to find an appropriate and safe place to go. I finally decided on an area in our neighborhood near a ditch with some flowing water. The kids had a good time looking around, but I was having a hard time finding something for their bug house. Eventually, I spied some cicada skins hanging on some trees. We collected three of them and saw many more higher in the trees. After we got back home, I found a neat video online about the life cycle of the cicada. They thought it was really neat to watch the cicadas molt and were very excited to tell Daddy all about it when he got home.

EG (5 yrs old):

The big kindergartener! She was very excited. She kept asking me if she was big enough for science. She said “Maybe just a little science?!” Well, Sonlight’s Science K has been her favorite this week. We sat in the laundry room with a flashlight and a globe and talked about night and day. We talked about the seasons and solar eclipses. The experiments this week were about air, and she and the Z-man had a great time doing them together. I included a picture of them doing an “air race”.

In Sonlight’s Core K, we started The Boxcar Children as our read-aloud, and we read about dinosaurs and the first people in history. I had to do a good bit of filtering of this information due to the fact that the Usborne Internet-Linked Children’s Encyclopedia is a secular book. The internet links in the encyclopedia were very good, however, and we particularly enjoyed looking at the pictures of cave paintings at Lascaux, France.

For reading and phonics, EG officially started on compound words in The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading and Explode the Code Book 4.  I say “officially” because she has been reading these words for a while now, but this is the first time we’ve looked at them as part of a lesson. She started Sonlight’s Readers 2, which begin with The Beginner’s Bible. She read five days worth in The Beginner’s Bible in two days, so we had to supplement with other stuff the rest of the week. This week she also began Singapore’s Earlybird Math B and A Reason for Handwriting Book A. The “seatwork”, which consists of math, handwriting and Explode the Code, went very quickly this week. I learned last year that if her brother is doing preschool at the table at the same time, she is more interested in what he is doing. Something that should take 15 minutes would take 45 minutes. So, this week I made the Z-man wait until she finished her seatwork before he started his preschool. This arrangement worked quite well. Of course, sometimes he was just sitting at the end of the table because he wanted to “wait his turn”.

This week she memorized Luke 12:15 which says “And he said to them ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness. For one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’” Also, she has made it through question 67 of the Baptist Catechism, which asks “What is forbidden in the fourth commandment?”

AZ (3 yrs old):

The Z-man was so excited about starting Explode the Code this week. He did well this week, but it’s still too early to tell if it will be too difficult for him. He finished his Kumon Tracing book this week and started some preschool workbooks by Rod & Staff. He also started Sonlight’s p3/4 program this week. We read Eloise Wilkin Stories,  Hans Christian Anderson’s Fairy Tales, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom…..repeatedly. His sister enjoyed the books as much as he did. AZ has gotten so much better at sitting still and listening to books. He even sat through a couple chapters of The Boxcar Children this week.

AZ also has been working on his memory verses. This week he completed Proverbs 1:7, which says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.” He has also started working on the Baptist Catechism. He knows the first question, “Who is the first and best of beings?”, and he almost has the second question, “What is the chief end of man?”

I should have mentioned this last week, but the Z-man has made a great improvement in another area in his life. He has always been my picky eater. He eats only a handful of different things, and vegetables don’t happen to be one of them. A while back I expressed my concern to his doctor about his horrible eating habits. The doc said to just keep offering and then hopefully (and that is the keyword here) one day he would decide he liked his food. I can’t tell you how many countless times I have served green beans to this child. He has never eaten a green bean in his life.  And then….one day…….he says “Oh, I like green beans. I do” It was like the ending of the Dr. Seuss classic. And he ate his green beans, and he has eaten them two or three times since then. There is hope!!

SA (15 months):

The Little Man is still toddling along. He can take a few more steps before wiping out. He has really taken to books this week. Curious George and the Bunny has been a big hit. I taught him how to cover his eyes when he sees the picture of George covering his eyes. He can almost do the sign for ‘book’.

Me:

Well, I think it’s pretty obvious that I’ve had a busy week. I’m looped, stooped, and twisted alley-oop, and I’d really like to just pass out under a coconut tree. Chicka chicka boom boom. Nevertheless, life goes on and I have to keep moving. I had a good guitar lesson this week. I do okay playing songs in the key of D or G, but I need some major work in the other keys. So, one of my assignments for next time is to practice “Amazing Grace” in different keys. It will also be beneficial for me to practice transposing in my head.

Following Foundations July 2009 August 2, 2009

I’m starting to get some heat about not having a report up for over a month. So, I guess I’d better get the lead out and start writing! At my last update, bleach was clinging to my nostrils, and I was preparing for a trip up north. Well, the bleach is still there, but the trip was a success. We went to Michigan the first week in July with some dear friends and had a blast! We celebrated the 4th of July with a small 30 minute parade (those are the best kind) and some great fireworks over the Grand River. We flew kites at the Grand Haven beach and the kids rolled in the sand…then splashed in the 55 degree water, then rolled in the sand….. (Let’s just say that after I removed the Z-man’s sand-caked clothes, he was just as sandy without them!) The beach really was great, even though the water was a tad chilly and I had to wear a jacket over my swimsuit. Below are a few pictures of our time in Michigan.

After we left Michigan we drove to Kentucky to visit the Creation Museum. On the way, I was trying to finish the book Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. As I finished up reading about how we are to abstain from every form of evil, we pull into the Triple XXX Family Restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana. I was assured repeatedly that it was featured on the Food Network and that I wasn’t succumbing to the seduction of a fallen world by eating a burger there. Turns out that it’s named after Triple XXX Root Beer. The burgers were good, the root beer was good, and the kids thought they were pretty cool sitting on the bar stools.

The Creation Museum was awesome! The exhibits were very well done, and the content was great! God is truly a magnificent creator! We definitely plan to go back if we are able. Answers in Genesis is doing a great work for the Lord!

The third week of July was soccer camp for EG and the Z-man. Between the two of them, it lasted three hours each morning of that week. The first day was just short of disaster. Well, it was disaster for the Z-man. He screamed and clung to my leg the entire time. At the end of the day, his sister was deemed “slushie-worthy” and he was not. Let’s just say he made a big turnaround on the second day and for the rest of the week. The Little Man was just perfect the whole week. I set him up in the Radio Flyer and filled his bib with goldfish. When he wasn’t eating fishies, he played in the dirt. By the end of the week I was sick of sunscreen. I was constantly spraying a kid or rubbing sunscreen on a face. I couldn’t ever remember which kid I lathered up last, so sometimes I think they got two doses quite close together! Overall, I would say the week was a success.

The last week of July EG had vacation bible school every evening. She started crying when I dropped her off the first night. I decided to make a hasty departure because I knew it wouldn’t improve as long as I was there. Well, I did the right thing. She quickly made a new friend and she had a blast the rest of the week.

On Thursday of this week we checked out the new dinosaur exhibit at the NC Museum of Life and Science. It was really cool, and the kids were particularly excited because they’ve been on a dinosaur high ever since the Creation Museum. They also had a fossil dig where they could dig for real fossils.

So that sums up the month of July. Before I move on to the individual updates, I’ll insert a freebie here:

AZ: “What’s that?”

Daddy: “It’s a hoe. I’m using it to break up this dirt.”

AZ: “When I get big, I can use that thing!”

EG: “And when I get big, I can walk outside and say ‘So, how’s it going?”

EG (5 yrs old):

All three kids had checkups with the doctor this week, and EG did outstanding. She had to get those dreaded kindergarten shots. I just knew we would have to pull her out of a corner. Well, we talked about it a good bit beforehand. I reminded her that her friend gets four allergy shots every week and she doesn’t even cry. That it is okay to cry after the shots if she needs to, but there was no need for wiggin’ out before they even start. Well, she was the poster child for “slushie-brave”! She smiled through the first two shots. After the third shot, I could tell she was trying hard not to cry, but then the wails came. The nurse then informed us that the last shot burned. I was so proud of her!

AZ (3 yrs old):

Operation Potty Training is still in progress with the Z-man. Great improvements were made this week with the introduction of the Potty Watch. He now gets to the potty on time 90 percent of the time. Although I had to explain to him that the potty watch doesn’t handle the poopies. We’re having a little….ok, a LOT of trouble in that area.

The Z-man made much progress in the pool during our vacation. The last time he was in a pool he was afraid to let go. By the end of our vacation he was going all over the pool with his floaties and he was jumping off the side faster than you could catch him. I decided to sign him up for swimming lessons with his sister. They both start next week.

He also did great at his 3-yr old checkup this week. He went by himself with the nurse to have his vision tested. He didn’t cry when he got his finger pricked and he was proud of it!

SA ( 15 months old):

Little Man is starting to walk. He can go about 5 feet before he wipes out. He still prefers crawling at lightning speed, and for those times when he feels the need to look a little more grown up, he walks on his knees and grins. I think he’ll make fast progress now. He wants to keep up with his siblings. I took the picture below tonight. It amazes me that they can all three play together so well.

At his checkup, Little Man finally made it back in the double digits on the weight charts. He was in the 20th percentile weighing in at a mere 22 pounds. He got two shots and cried like…..well…a baby! You can’t blame the little guy. He can’t manage a slushie yet!

Me:

See all of the above!  In the middle of all this, I’m still plugging away on the guitar and making slow steady progress. We officially start school next week, so I’ve spent some time making some last minute preparations. I still don’t feel like all my ducks are in a row, but they probably never will be! Quack, Quack!

Following Foundations 6/26/09 June 27, 2009

This has been a long, tiring week, and I’m glad it’s just about over. It’s vacation time again. We leave towards the end of next week and will be gone the following week. We’re heading up to Michigan to visit Grandma, and we’re taking some dear friends with us. On the way back we’re stopping by the Creation Museum. Yea!!! I’m so excited about this trip. I’m looking forward to the beach (Lake Michigan), some cooler weather, and the world’s largest musical fountain.  I’ll post the highlights of our trip in 2 or 3 weeks.

EG (5 yrs):
EG finished her first session of swimming lessons this week with a splash! She was very brave this week—slushy brave, as we call it. I’m sure Sonic appreciated our business twice this week. She’s skipping lessons in July and will resume in August. We’re hoping to get some pool time on our vacation so she can get some extra practice. We’re hoping maybe her brother picked up something from the sidelines as well. He says he’s ready to jump in.

We finished reading Uncle Wiggly this week and reread all the Peter Rabbit tales by Beatrix Potter. She completed “Goldilocks & the Three Bears” from Literature Pockets: Folk Tales and Fairy Tales. In reading, she’s still going through the Abeka readers. Her current book is Pinocchio. She only has a few pages left, so we’ll probably finish it tomorrow.

She completed memorizing question 65 of the Baptist Catechism which says “Which day of the seven has God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?”, and began working on question 66, which says “How is the Sabbath to be sanctified?” She completed memorizing Psalm 32:5 and is now working on James 5:16 which says “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

AZ (3 yrs):

Operation Potty Training: Sigh.

The Z-man completed a J page for his alphabet notebook. His two J words on his poster were Jupiter and jockey (pretty good, huh?!) He completed memorizing 1 Chronicles 16:34 which says “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” He spent the rest of the week peeing on the floor and on the couch–twice.

SA (14 months):

Little man woke up on the wrong side of the crib a couple days this week. He even cried through breakfast. Oh, he ate well….he’s all about some breakfast…..but he managed to cry at the same time. He likes to walk while holding a hand. It won’t be long now. He’s so ready to keep up with his siblings.

Me:

I cleaned this week. And then I cleaned some more…..and some more. I moved the couch. Ewww. I moved my big chair. Ewww some more. I vaccuumed–3 times. I would have steam cleaned, but I did that last week. Correction. The dog got sick on Tuesday. I did steam clean part of the living room. I dusted. I mopped. I bleached and then I bleached some more.  I cut loose with some baking powder on part of the kitchen floor. I spilled an entire cup of coffee on the bathroom floor during Operation Potty Training. I mopped the bathroom floor. I did a load of laundry every day. I cleaned out the laundry room (note: at some point, “dust” can rightly be called “dirt”–and this was the case in the laundry room.) I moved the dryer. Major ewww. I cleaned one cushion of the couch. Three hours later I cleaned another cushion of the couch (see AZ section above). I swished toilets, cleaned sinks and scrubbed the tub. I was up by 7 AM or earlier every morning and went to bed at midnight or later. I prayed….a lot. I went to the grocery store…with all three kids. Not such a good idea. I bought Sonic slushies–twice. I got my driver’s license renewed. My friend and I helped our kids make fireworks shirts for our upcoming trip. I fixed supper every night. I played the Uncle Wiggly Game and Sum Swamp with the kids. I lost every game…the Z-man won every game. I practiced the guitar–four times. That is not good, but I couldn’t manage to peel myself off the floor to do it anymore than that.I am exhausted and all I smell is bleach. It’s stuck in my nostrils.

Following Foundations 6/19/09 June 20, 2009

We started our week with a birthday party for EG and AZ at the NC Museum of Life and Science.  I don’t think the Z-man quite understood that the party was for him too until he started opening the gifts. We had it in the Lepidoptera Lab above the Butterfly House. However, there weren’t any lepidopterans in our party room,  but only some walking sticks, tadpoles and hissing cockroaches. One walking stick wanted to join the party and escaped from his cage. He was ordered back in his tank by museum staff before the festivities began. EG thought he just wanted some cake.

The cake was a big 12×18  box of crayons made by my friend Susan. It was so cute! The Z-man was so ready to blow his candles out. He was VERY serious about it! After gifts and cake, we all piled into the butterfly house. The butterflies were very active  that day. The star attraction was a beautiful birdwing butterfly (second butterfly picture below). It wouldn’t be still long enough for a good picture. We all had a great time and our guests were able to enjoy the museum.

EG (5 yrs old):

EG received many fun gifts at her party: Shrinky Dinks, Sum Swamp, dress for her and her baby doll, butterfly crafts & My Little Pony. It was Daddy’s idea to give her an old-fashioned nightgown. (She’s very prissy and she loves nightgowns.) I searched around online until I found exactly what I was looking for–a Little House on the Prairie nightgown and night cap with a matching outfit for her baby doll. I emailed the lady her measurements, and she hemmed it with a double hem so it will fit her now and later. It is so cute. She has slept in it every night. She even wears the night cap that came with it. It just cracks me up!

Her brother received a bug house and a butterfly net. They managed to catch a firefly one night this week. The firefly spent the night in the bug house on the night stand in their room. The next morning she prances into our room in her prairie nightgown and night cap, carrying the bug house. She then proceeds to climb in our bed and observe the prisoner. Sigh. “Do you really have to do that in MY bed?!”

Swimming lessons were a little better this week than last. She didn’t get a slushie until after her Thursday lesson. She wasn’t brave enough on Tuesday. The Z-man was sure to point that out to her: “You not get slushie. You not brave. You not jump. You said ‘No’. You not get slushie.” If they hadn’t been strapped in their car seats, she probably would have smacked him. Oh well, it almost served her right after what she said to him at breakfast that day. More about that in the AZ section.

She completed a pocket for “The Gingerbread Man” in her Literature Pockets: Folktales and Fairy Tales.  She worked on memorizing question 65 of the Baptist Catechism which says “Which day of the seven has God appointed to be the weekly Sabbath?” She also worked on memorizing Psalm 32:5 which says “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

A friend loaned us the Uncle Wiggily Game to go along with the Uncle Wiggily book we are reading. We were able to play once this week, and the kids loved it. We were excited to finally see a picture of a skeezick and a pipsisewah on the game board! Those “bad chaps” are mentioned every once in a while in the stories, but the only thing we know about them is that they want to nibble Uncle Wiggily’s ears.

AZ (3 yrs old):

Happy Birthday to the Z-man this week! He thinks he can conquer the world now that he’s 3 years old. When I told him this week that he was still too little to open the van door, he said “I not little. I bigger! I three!” I thought some punches were going to be thrown at breakfast on his birthday. For some reason, his sister thought he was supposed to grow a foot overnight and sprout a new head or something. She told him in a very sassy, hands-on-the-hips tone “You can’t be three. You don’t look three. If you’re gonna be three, you better look three!” Oh, that fired him up! “You stop saying that!!! I are three!! Monny, (aka Mommy) she say I not three! WAAAAHHHH!!”

AZ also received some fun gifts at his party: tools, puzzles, a sticker book (his sister is upset that I won’t make him share his sticker book with her), a Playmobil racecar, a Tonka truck, and the already mentioned butterfly net and bug house. We gave him the Busy Bible activity book. Now that he’s three, he will be sitting with us through our church worship service. We started last Sunday. He didn’t do too bad, but he’s much more high maintenance than his sister was at that age.

There is still nothing new to report on Operation Potty Training. Absolutely nothing. Actually I’m thinking that I should be the one eating the M&M’s. Afterall, I’m the one who is solely responsible for getting him to the potty.

The picture below is curtesy of my friend Audrey. It’s nice, isn’t it?

SA (13 months):

Little man is starting to do some cruising. It won’t be much longer and he’ll be walking. I’m sorry to report that the only picture I took of Little Man all week was of him passed out in his car seat on the way home from the party. He was wore out. The other picture I had to swipe from my friend Tony’s facebook page. (Hope you don’t mind, Tony!)

Me:

Last friday I went to the Mom’s Coffee Connection at a nearby church. The topic was meal planning. Oh, how I needed this! I could probably stand a few sessions of meal planning instruction. Well, I did very well this week. The lady had made a suggestion that she found in a cookbook of using themes to plan a menu. The themes were Comfort Food, Italian, Mexican, Seafood/Meatless, Pizza Night, Grill Night and Family Traditions. I still have the last two themes left for this weekend. Also, my husband had just bought 10 pounds of ground beef from Sam’s Club. I made an extra meatloaf for the freezer. I prepared patties for 3 meals + leftovers of Salisbury steak and froze them. I made at least 3 meals worth + leftovers of spaghetti sauce. And I still have two pounds left in the freezer that I haven’t touched. I also cleaned out the pantry today and took stock of what I have.  Go me!

Following Foundations 6/12/09 June 13, 2009

Well, summer has arrived! A walk with the wagon….at noon….about did me in one day this week. What was I thinking?! And, of course, with the snazzy new canopy on the wagon, all three wanted to ride. You can’t much blame Little Man since he can’t walk, but his sister would have booted him to the curb for a chance to ride! In the end, she just booted the Z-man after she finally understood the fact that I couldn’t pull the wagon AND carry the baby at the same time. I had left my third arm back at the house.

EG (5 yrs old):

EG regressed somewhat at swimming lessons this week.  I think it was because last week when she jumped in, she went all the way under. It took a good bit of coaxing by the instructor to get her to jump again this week, and on Thursday, she actually broke down and cried. We had a good long talk afterward. I’m not sure how much good it will do, but I have a bribe of a Sonic slushie in place for next week as an incentive for being brave.

We’re still reading through Uncle Wiggily and other selections from our bookcase. She’s been reading through some Abeka readers and learning about silent letters in her reading lessons. She continued to work on Literature Pockets: Folktales and Fairy Tales. This week the story was “The Three Little Pigs”.

She memorized question 64 of the Baptist Catechism which asks “What is required in the fourth commandment?”, and she memorized Ephesians 4:32 which says “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you”. We’ve been working especially on the “tenderhearted” part. As in “Your brother just whacked his head on the wall….again….and he’s in the floor crying, and you’re on the other side of the room looking the other way and saying ‘I didn’t do it. I don’t know what happened’. Now, do you think you’re being tenderhearted in this situation?” Sigh.

AZ (2 yrs old):

I still have nothing new to report on Operation Potty Training. It’s kinda like the government stimulus. I keep dishing out the M&M’s, and yet there’s nothing to show for it. Well, I guess it is somewhat different. The M&M’s actually belong to me.

The Z-man completed an I page for his alphabet notebook. He worked on memorizing 1 Chronicles 16:34 which says “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever.”

This week he received his free soccer jersey for signing up for the soccer camp at the end of July. It will probably fit in about three years. Of course, he doesn’t care. He found his shin guards and got all dressed up. He’s concerned that he doesn’t have any “soccer” shoes. He doesn’t actually need cleats for the camp, but he has it in his head that he needs them.

Last Saturday was half-price day at our local Sonic. The Z-man got this bug holder/viewer thingy in his kid’s meal. We’ve had an ant, two earwigs and a firefly in that thing this week. Half-price kid’s meal with bug holder at Sonic: $1.50 Laughing hysterically when an ant pokes its antenna through the air hole: Priceless.

SA (13 months):

Little Man had his first haircut this week! It was desperately needed. He was getting the shaggy head. At first he was quite upset about the fishy cape they put on him.  Then a dum-dum entered the scene, and he managed to pull himself together. He really does look like a little man now! He also has a couple molars coming in this week. Anyone wanna babysit?

Me:

My biggest accomplishment this week was sorting through the kids’ clothes. You gotta love Space Saver bags!

We also signed up on Skype this week and did a free video call with Grandma. The kids didn’t seem to understand the whole experience, but they did enjoy making faces in the camera.

And finally, my husband introduced me to the geekiest website on the world wide web: Instructables.com Enjoy. Be sure to check out the throwies for those times when you have absolutely nothing else to do with your time.

Following Foundations 6/5/09 June 6, 2009

I’m going to start with our freaky friday….well, “freaky” is not quite the right word……it was…well…different….

I had two people ask for a glass of water at my front door today. The first was a college kid selling home security systems for APX Home Security. I do not like door-to-door salesmen. I especially don’t like it when they try to chat with me about me in the middle of giving their sales pitch. It’s almost like they just got out of their communication orientation seminar and I’m their first victim. However, this kid about cracked me up. He asked “So how many kids do you have? Do you know?” Uhhhhh… I couldn’t let this pass by, so I said “I do know how many children I have. I have three. I counted them today.” He tried to laugh at himself. Later he was asking about my husband (it was obvious he wasn’t going to sell a security system to me), and he asked “So does your husband live here with you?” Sigh. I said, “Yes, he lives here with me and our three children, and he also knows we have three children. (smile)” I guess all he could do after all of that was ask for a glass of water. I was nice. Really, I was. I”m sure our talk improved his sales pitch to the people across the street.

Ten minutes after the APX guy left, there was another knock at the door. This time it was a middle-aged black woman standing there. She said she had been walking for a while and asked if she could use my phone to call someone to pick her up. I told her I could call someone for her. So, that’s what  I did. She talked to whoever on the phone and apparently they refused to come get her. She started crying and asked me to call 911 so she could get some help. I couldn’t quite understand what was wrong, but one thing was that she had a fight with her roommate (which was her sister) and when she came home, all of her stuff was in the yard. She also said something about a mental health facility and a diabetic coma. She asked for a glass of water. I got her a chair to sit in on the porch, a glass of water, and a bag of goldfish crackers, and then I called the police. I was sure to mention the “mental health facility” part to the police so they wouldn’t tarry. They were there in just a couple of minutes and she left with them. I felt sorry for her. I’ve had people come to my door asking for money for this and that or a ride here or there. I don’t trust anybody like that. But this woman didn’t ask for money. When she asked me to call 911 after she couldn’t get someone to come pick her up, I knew she really was beside herself. Anyways, I’m not sure where the police took her, and I do hope she is able to get her life straightened out.

EG (5 yrs old):

Happy Birthday to my baby girl! She turned 5 this week! Lunch at McDonalds with some of her friends made her day. We will be officially celebrating on the 13th with her brother (who will be 3 this month) with a party at the science museum.

EG started swim lessons this week. She did great! On the first day she jumped into the pool without holding a hand, and on the second day she jumped in with “nothing but her swimsuit” (as she described it). She doesn’t get in a pool very often–maybe 4-5 times a year–so I wasn’t quite sure how she would do. But she was excited and fearless!

This week we continued to read Uncle Wiggily and we started rereading the Berenstain Bears’ Big Book of Science and Nature. She also read through one of the Abeka grade 2 readers and she did great! The phonics we’re doing in the Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading is a bit tricky at the moment. We’re doing words like thought, though, brought, bough, etc. She’s pushing through.

She finished memorizing question 63 of the Baptist Catechism which asks “Which is the fourth commandment?” She also finished 1 Peter 3:9, and has almost finished Proverbs 19:11, which says “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”

She started this week working on Literature Pockets: Folktales and Fairy Tales. Her first story was The Little Red Hen. I included a picture below. She enjoyed doing all the little projects and was proud of her “pocket”. Next week we’ll be on The Three Little Pigs.

I’ve also included a video of her singing “Jesus Came to Earth” by Sovereign Grace Music. This is what happens when I leave my music stand out. She’s inspired to sing!

AZ (2 yrs old):

Unfortunately, I have nothing new to report on our potty training endeavor. I take hope in the fact that I know he will not be in diapers when he goes to college.

The Z-man worked on an H page for his alphabet notebook this week. He painted this week with his sister and used his new Colorix crayons he got from Sonlight. Those things are really cool. They go on smooth like markers, but they don’t fade out like markers. Very nice!

I signed him up for a soccer camp at the end of July. He is totally pumped. He looked at his sister and said “I play soccer like YOU!!!” I just hope he understands that when someone else gets the ball he can’t fall apart.

He’s still working on his memory verses. For the last few weeks he’s been working on Proverbs 30:5 which says “Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”

SA (13 months):

The little man was somewhat cranky this week.  The pictures below don’t speak the whole truth. Wednesday night he had a fever of 101. Thursday the fever was close to 102, and this morning it was close to 103. By the time we made it to the doctor this morning, it was 104. Turns out he has some viral throat infection. His throat is all red with pustules on it. Doesn’t that just sound awful?! Poor baby. He’s on a super ibuprofen dose to help with the fever. We just have to let it run its course. Viruses are a pain.

Me:

I’m not completely over the crud, but I’m doing much better. Don’t you just hate those sinus headaches? Ughh. BTW, the picture at the left comes courtesy of the Z-man. Not bad! I was just happy he got my whole head in the picture!

Well, thursday was the day. At my guitar lesson, we recorded the “Rondo” duet. I did keep the train on the tracks; however, it was far from perfect. I just received the video tonight. I know that my friends will laugh when they read this, but…..I didn’t know I made so many facial expressions when I play guitar! I totally crack myself up! I’ve been told that I have a very expressive face at times. Most times I am completely unaware of it, and I definitely don’t ever see video of it! There’s no telling what expressions were on my face when I was talking to the APX salesman! Anyways, I’ve included the video below for your viewing pleasure. One thing is for sure, I refuse to play “Rondo” one more time. I refuse. I’m done. On to book 2.

Following Foundations 5/29/09 May 30, 2009

Me oh my! Crawfish pie! A completely irrelevant opener to a great week! We finished up at the NC homeschool conference on saturday, took a nature walk on Monday, and ended our week with a Sonlight Box Day!

On Memorial Day we took a hike at Eno River State Park. Off we went with the baby in a sling, a magnifying glass in hand, a camera, and a lot of curiosity.I’ve included some pictures of some things we saw, namely a queen snake, a little wood satyr (I think), a Fowler’s toad, and an unidentified fly (I would say it was a horse fly if it was black. I’m hoping someone may know what it is.) My husband says I’m much braver with a camera.

Today was our box day from Sonlight! We received Core K and p3/4. The kids were so excited. I think they were a little overwhelmed (as was I…the instructor guides make p4/5 look like a pamphlet). They were particularly excited about two things: the map and the packing material. They wanted to watch the science DVD right then (request denied). She wanted to hang the calendar in her room even though it doesn’t have any dates on it yet (request denied). They wanted to color with the snazzy Colorix crayons (request granted).

EG (4 yrs):

Since our school year officially ended last week, EG did no workbooks this week. None. Zilch. We continued reading Uncle Wiggily and a few other things she chose to repeat from the p4/5 core we just completed. I picked a few things off of our bookshelf for her to read to me. She read some Bob Books and a reader about Stuart Little, and, at the moment, she’s working through a book called My Favorite Book that I bought at a used book sale. I have a series of Abeka grade 2 readers that I think she’ll start next week. We’ll just see how it goes.

She’s working on memorizing 1 Peter 3:9 which says “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.” This is one in a series of verses from Wise Words for Moms about conflict resolution from the side of the offended. She’s constantly being “offended” by her brother. At least, she thinks she is. One verse I had her learn a while back was “Be angry and do not sin.” (Eph. 4:26) In other words, “Yes, honey. I know you want to clobber him, but be angry and sin not.” She also worked this week on question 63 of the Baptist Catechism which asks “Which is the fourth commandment?” We were only able to work on this three days this week, so she’s not quite done yet.




AZ (2 yrs):

Sigh. We’re still in the same place in the potty training with the Z-man.  Although, he’s much more interested in the M&M’s this week than last week. I think there’s hope.

AZ didn’t really do any preschool this week. Today, he asked me about it and said he wanted to do preschool. So, I let him finish a page in his Kumon Tracing book and do one maze in his new Kumon maze book. We read Green Eggs and Ham (aka Sam I Am) twice this week at his insistence. Fortunately, I was able to distract him with Put Me in the Zoo yesterday. I need a little variety to keep me sane.

At the homeschool conference, I bought him the Explode the Code primers for the upcoming school year. He was ecstatic. He has no idea what Explode the Code actually is, but he knows that it’s something that his sister does and that’s enough reason for him to be excited. Periodically through the week, regardless of context, he would say “I got ‘plode da code”. I’m not even sure if he’s going to be ready for these books come August. His sister did them at age 3 1/2, and by that time they were too easy for her (except for the writing part). But he’s not his sister. So, we’ll see.





SA (13 months):

The little man appears to have moved out of his ornery/cantankerous stage. He’s probably just between teeth, but I’m enjoying it while it lasts. He’s all about keeping up with his siblings, chewing on the remote, pulling all the magnetic letters off the fridge, drinking out of a “big boy” sippy cup, being curious about his brother’s potty training, pointing at his mother, smacking his lips to give kisses, and signing ‘more’ and ‘eat’. I can’t help but smother him with kisses!

Me:

I have the crud at the moment. Yes, I know it’s almost June and 80+ degrees outside. Sigh.

I have six days until my next guitar lesson. I know the video camera is coming for us to record the “Rondo” duet at the end of the book. This will be ‘take 2′. Actually, it’s more like ‘take 47′ considering how many times we attempted it a month ago. Before my last lesson, I could play this song. Since then, I have yet to play it without mistakes even one time. Not even once. I have perpetual stage fright, I guess. Regardless of what happens though, I’m starting book 2 after my next lesson. Go me!

Wordless Wednesday May 27, 2009

Following Foundations 5/22/2009 May 23, 2009

“Daddy, I need to tell you a secret. I think AZ needs a visit from Special Agent Oso.” And so began our last official week of school. Throw in an end-of-season soccer party and a trip to the park, and it all made for a nice week in spite of the fact that Oso never showed up.

EG(4 yrs):

We completed Sonlight’s p4/5 and Explode the Code book3. Woohoo! We combined some last week and this week so we could finish on Wednesday due to the homeschool conference starting on Thursday. Our last new books were The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit and New Toes for Tia. She really enjoyed the Beatrix Potter stories and did not find them at all soporific, and she responded with alacrity when it came time to read them. I, on the other hand, felt like I needed a dictionary for a few words. New Toes for Tia was another missionary story from Thailand by the same publishers as The Gods Must Be Angry. I love Sonlight for including missionary stories in their cores!

In her reading this week, she read The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto, which is a level 3 reader. It was difficult for her, but she was able to read most of it without help. I guess Sonlight just wanted to throw in a hard reader for the last one just to see how it goes. Well, it went okay, but she’s not ready for level 3 readers as a general rule.

This week she memorized Matthew 18:15 which says “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” We’re going to try to put this into practice between her and her brother. (Although, when he does things like throwing a soccer ball at her head at close range, she will probably need reinforcements from the powers that be.) She also memorized question 62 of the Baptist Catechism which asks “What is the reason annexed to the third commandment?”

AZ (2 yrs):

The Z-man did a G page for his alphabet notebook. He will continue his alphabet notebook through the summer. It would break his heart if I told him we weren’t doing preschool. His two G words on his poster were grasshopper and goalie. He’s had fun pointing out the goalie this week in the hockey playoffs. My hubby is torn about which team he should give his loyalty. He went all through school with the coach of the Pittsburg Penguins. At the same time, the Hurricanes are the in-state team. Oh, what to do….. In the meantime, the Z-man gets extra G practice with guh-guh-goalie.

Is my child the only one who feels the need to wear protective gear while they do school? I mean, all I really do is peer at him over the top of my spectacles and whack him on the head with my ruler when he gives the wrong answer. So, I guess that could justify the helmet. But knee pads?? His sister is probably the one who needs the helmet to protect herself from soccer balls flying through the living room. BTW, he is not allowed to play with the soccer ball in the house until next week.

I started a little M&M incentive program on tuesday to encourage him to use the potty. The problem is not that he won’t use the potty, it’s just that he’ll only go if I take him. He takes no intiative whatsoever on getting to the potty on time. He gets an M&M in his “I went potty in the potty” jar when he uses the potty AND he is dry. Anytime he does not “put the potty in the potty”, he loses an M&M. I thought it would be best not to go negative so he wouldn’t, as Anne Shirley would say, fall into the “depths of despair”. He can have any M&M’s that he has accumulated in his jar for a bedtime snack. Tuesday night he had no M&M’s. Wednesday night he had one M&M. So far there hasn’t been any improvement. The only thing that has changed is  “Monny, I wet floor!” has been replaced by “Monny, I lost M&M!”

SA ( 12 months):

He’s a goofball! I usually say that AZ is going to be the death of me, but something tells me the little man is going to outdo his brother. It’s just this look he has in his eyes…..

Me:

I am currently at the NC Homeschool Conference. Fun, fun! I’m blessed to have church family keeping our children for us. While we’ve been away, they’ve been having great fun driving tractors, looking at cows, shopping at the dollar store, feeding a horse, eating popsicles on the porch, and who knows what else. And me? I just went to dinner and didn’t have to cut up anybody’s food! I miss my babies, though…….