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 6/12/09 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!

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…….

Following Foundations 5/15/09 May 16, 2009

It was a dark and stormy night….. Well, actually it wasn’t dark yet, but it sure was stormy when our power went out last Saturday. After the power company gave an estimation for the power to be back on the following morning, we decided to jump ship and head to a hotel. The kids were ecstatic.  EG and AZ had to share a sofa bed (actually it was a ‘loveseat” bed that wasn’t much wider than a twin-sized bed). They thought it was fun at first, but by 3 AM the complaining started. Let’s just say I didn’t get much sleep. My Mother’s Day breakfast consisted of a bagel and various other things from our “free” continental breakfast. Towards the end of breakfast, the lights went out. After a couple seconds of wondering why the flat screen TV was still going and the juice machine was still lit, I hear behind me “ME TURN LIGHT OFF!” There was the Z-man at the light switch. Oh my. We apologized and made a hasty departure. Exit, stage right.

The real highlight of this week was a trip to the North Carolina Zoo. The weather was in the 70’s and absolutely beautiful! It couldn’t be beat! Many of the animals were active and the polar bear put on a good show.

EG (4 yrs old):

We completed week 35 of Sonlights p4/5. One week left!! We finished A Reason for Handwriting K this week. She read A Big Ball of String and finished Little Bear’s Friend. She has only one book left of Sonlight’s Readers 1. I can’t believe we’re almost done! In Why Do Tigers Have Stripes? we read about how spotted skunks show off their pattern to warn enemies. And then at the zoo, we saw a spotted skunk (and a very active one at that)! I just loved how we had read about it the day before! Of course, she wasn’t nearly as giddy about it as I was, but I thought it was great all the same.

She completed memorizing 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, which says “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We also worked briefly on Proverbs 17:22 which says “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” It turned out she already knew this verse from listening to Steve Green’s Hide ‘Em in Your Heart CD’s. She also memorized question 61 of the Baptist Catechism which asks “What is forbidden in the third commandment?”

She’s still moving along slowly on the piano. I have a little video below of her playing “Marching Song”. By the way, please ignore all of the stuff piled up on my bar in the background. The bar only stays clean about 2 and a half minutes per week.

AZ (2 yrs old):

The Z-man worked on the letter F this week and made an F page for his alphabet notebook. Also, for the first time I was able to give him a few letter sounds and he would give me the letters. Woohoo! Thank you Starfall!! He’s working on memorizing Psalm 119:105, which says “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

Potty training hasn’t progressed as much as I would have hoped. I found poop on the bottom of my shoe today, if that tells you anything.  This boy is going to be the death of me.

I included a video of the Z-man singing a medley of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Jesus Loves Me” with a little heresy thrown in. He obviously hasn’t been paying attention during our devotion time. Enjoy!

SA (12 months):

The little man had some firsts this week. He ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,  he played with trucks (as in pushing them around instead of just chewing on them), and he signed “more” (as in sign language) for the first time at breakfast today. For the rest of the day his siblings had him performing his “sign” like a trained seal. He also tried his hand at a little Jerry Lee Lewis. Goodness Gracious! Great balls of fire!

Me:

I got a new camera this week! Our old digital camera was a 3MP Casio that was top of the line back in the day. Although it still takes great pictures, it has gone the the way of the dinosaurs and is much too clunky to carry around with me all the time. My new camera is a Canon PowerShot A1000IS. I love it! All of the above pictures and videos were taken with my new camera, with the exception of the soccer pictures. The image stabilization is awesome. I wasn’t sure how the picture of the lion at the zoo would turn out because it was heavily zoomed and shaky, but I think it turned out great! I reduced the recording pixels down from 10 MP to 6MP. That’s still probably more than I need. I’m not planning on printing poster-sized prints anytime soon.  Happy Mother’s Day to me!

Following Foundations 5/08/09 May 9, 2009

I’ve been accused of rambling. So this is going to be short and sweet. Well, actually I don’t have tons to talk about this week, so it’s just a convenient opportunity to not ramble. I do have pictures this week. I swiped some batteries for my camera from the My First LeapPad. They’ll have to live without Leap’s Big Day for a while. By the way, does anybody else get a kick out of “I’m a BIG piece of pie!”? Oh drats, I’m doing it…..

EG (4 yrs):

We completed week 34 of Sonlight’s P4/5. We talked about anvils, caterpillars that look like bird poop, and how Uncle Wiggily always saves the day. In her reading this week she read A Fly Went By and half of Little Bear’s Friend. She didn’t quite complete a new memory verse this week, although she is working on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, which says ^“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We’re learning this verse in the context of being thankful for what God has given us, rather than complaining. She memorized question 60 of the Baptist Catechism, which asks “What is required in the third commandment?”

She’s been doing great on the keyboard. I’m hoping things are going to move very slowly. One, I don’t want to rush her. And two, I need our little 49-key keyboard to be sufficient for a while! We started on rhythm this week. We clapped out quarter notes and half notes. Once, when I was telling my husband that I wouldn’t be having another guitar lesson for four weeks, she chimed in “well, I guess I’m gonna be doing ‘quarter quarter half note’ for the next four weeks!”

AZ (2 yrs):

The Z-man worked on the letter E this week.  We completed an E page for his alphabet notebook. The E page from homeschoolshare was too advanced for him, so I had to improvise with other things I found on the web. He finished his Easy Mazes book this week! We filled out the certificate in the back of the book and stuck it on the fridge. I highly recommend Kumon workbooks for preschoolers. When he first started the maze book a few months ago, I wasn’t sure if he would be able to do it. Eventually, the only help he needed was to make sure he was holding his pencil correctly before he started. This week he finished memorizing Isaiah 30:15 and then quickly learned Isaiah 43:5 which says “Fear not, for I am with you”. He recognized this as one of his sister’s verses, and he got very excited about that. He’s all about keeping up with the Jone’s his sister.

I know many kids will ask for a million things to stall going to bed. Well, either this boy is addicted to cough medicine or he’s unable to think of more creative ways to get out of the bed at night. The conversation goes like this:

AZ: “me need meh-cine.”

Me: “why do you need medicine?”

AZ: “to ‘top my toffin.”

Me: “but you aren’t coughing.”

AZ: (coughing fit) “See!”

Me: “Go to bed.”

Repeat the next night.

SA (12 months):

I think he’s full of himself. What do you think? BTW, I’ve had that Mickey Mouse stool since I was three. I can tell my kids with confidence: “If you stand on that stool, you will fall on your noggin. Trust me. I know.”

Me:

I had a guitar lesson this week. My teacher had been talking about recording us playing this duet at the end of my Mel Bay book. Well he showed up yesterday with the camera, so I guess he wasn’t bluffing like I had hoped. And of course, you can guess what happened. After practicing “Rondo” ad nauseam for the last several weeks, I completely fell apart once the camera came on. “Studio jitters”, he called it. Or maybe it was one too many falls off the Mickey Mouse stool. I don’t know. Let’s just say that we’re going to try it again in four weeks. I know how to play that stinkin’ song. Really, I do.

Following Foundations 5/01/09 May 2, 2009

Well, it’s been two weeks since our last report, so I’m feeling a little rusty in the writing department.  So here goes…. Last week we visited family in Mississippi and had a great time. After putzing around on Tuesday, we headed to the Jackson Zoo on Wednesday (gotta make use of our zoo membership, you know). The elephants got very close, the flamingos were friendly, and the lemonade was expensive. A good time was had by all.

On Thursday we headed to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (gotta make use of our science museum membership, you know). AZ got to pet a snake. The museum lady had given the “two-finger” petting rule, so he had his two fingers ready while he waited in line. He kept losing his “two-finger” position while he waited, so Daddy had to keep helping him get it back. EG didn’t even hesitate to pass on the snake-petting. (One night on the way home she had a meltdown over a mosquito in the van, if that tells you anything. It took her a half hour to recover). The museum was very nice. Most of it was “taxidermified” (maybe that’s typical of natural science museums), but it was very well done. Although there was this one shelf that I guess was just the “dead animal” shelf. I didn’t quite get the point of that one. Everything was belly-up and not gussied up. Hmmm. The fossil/dinosaur room was quite nice. They also had a nice outdoor trail.

That night we headed to a catfish house for supper. This is always a non-negotiable event for me when we go to MS. I’m a catfish snob. (I’m also a sweet tea snob. Whenever we travel north of West Virginia, if I’m fortunate enough to find a place that has iced tea, I always ask if it is brewed. When you’re not in “iced tea” country anymore, you never know when they’re just gonna mix a powder in some water and call it a “refreshing summer-time beverage”. They just don’t know any better, so you really have to be careful about things like that. I’ve had some of my husband’s family ask me about sun tea. Sun tea? Not one person I’ve ever known in the South has the patience to wait hours for a pitcher of tea. I mean, who wants to drink water?) That was a rabbit trail. Back to the catfish. Catfish are raised in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana. Along with not drinking mixed tea, I make it a rule to not eat catfish unless I’m in one of those three states. In MS we have “catfish houses” that specialize in fried catfish. The one we went to that night only serves catfish and chicken. Sides include pickled onions, hush puppies, cole slaw, some sort of greens (turnips, I think), french fries, corn bread, and last, but certainly not least, fried dill pickles. And sweet tea.

On Friday, we spent the day with my grandmother. She doesn’t get out much, so a trip to Cracker Barrel and Walgreens was a real treat for her. Later that day I went and bought a new guitar. More about this later in the “me” section. (Big smile ) We went out to eat that night with my dad (I wonder why I always gain 5 pounds when I go home to MS? Hmmm?), and then finished out the night tinkering with my new guitar (another big smile ).

On saturday we went to a crawfish boil (they also had fried catfish for people (like me) who have an aversion to eating anything that has an alias that includes the word “bug”.) My hubby got a crawfish-eating lesson from my dad. There was also plenty of good banana pudding. I’m also a banana pudding snob.  But I digress…..

Saturday afternoon was party time!! SA is now one year old, so we had his first birthday party with our family! We had it at the city park, which is my old stomping ground. At first he was traumatized by his own little birthday cake. Daddy had to hold him while he ate his cake. We all left the park a little sticky.

We finished out our visit on Sunday by going to church, putzing around some more, and more eating out. I wonder why I gain….oh, wait a minute….I’ve already asked that.

So that was our trip to Mississippi. Beautiful weather, low drama, great trip.

We traveled back on Monday of this week. Thursday was a play day with some friends. So, this week we crammed five days of school into three. I think we got something accomplished. I think. Oh, and just so you know, all of the pictures below are still from our trip. I used up all of my batteries last week.

EG (4 yrs old):

We completed week 33 of Sonlight’s p4/5. Lots of fun stories. We’re still loving Uncle Wiggily, and Milly Molly Mandy just gives her this giddy smile. We’re winding down in Explode the Code book 3 and A Reason for Handwriting K. I think she’s ready for a workbook break. We didn’t do any crafty stuff this week, although she told me she wants to do a lapbook on birds.

She memorized two catechism questions this week, “What are the reasons added to the second commandment?” and “Which is the third commandment?”. She already knew half of the second one starting out, and they both had short answers. She also finished memorizing Proverbs 21:2, which says “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart.” and Proverbs 27:2, which says “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” I think she has memorization in the bag.

I have this little keyboard that she is always asking to play. She wants me to sing while she “plays”. She wants to do her “piano lesson” like I have my guitar lesson. Well, I went to the music store last night and bought her Bastien’s Piano for the Young Beginner Primer A and the theory workbook that goes with it. I’m not really sure which piano series I’d like for her to use, but I thought I could swing 11 bucks for these two books regardless. I gave her her first piano lesson today at her insistence. The first page in the book is about sitting correctly at the piano. We stacked up some phone books, but she still need another few inches to be at just the right height. Daddy’s Systematic Theology book gave her the extra boost to make it just right! Now I just hope the keyboard doesn’t go on the blink. I just bought a new guitar, you know (big smile ).

AZ (2 yrs old):

Well, even the Z-man did some school this week. We completed a D page for his alphabet notebook. No pictures. Sorry. I cut out a little strip of D’s that he was supposed to  trace over to glue on his D page. He got so excited because it looked like his sister’s handwriting stuff. He played with dominoes (one of his D words) this week. He has one page left in his “walla” book (Kumon Easy Maze book with the Koala on the cover). He’s still working on memorizing Isaiah 30:15 which says “In quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

We really need to put the potty training thing in high gear. I think he needs some sort of external motivation.  At the same time, I need an alarm that goes off every hour to remind me to take him to the bathroom. Pullups are expensive. Really, having him just wear underwear would probably be the best thing for his motivation. He does get upset when he wets the living room floor. Of course, I get upset, too. The only time he doesn’t care is when he’s playing starfall. Once, I found him standing in a puddle while he was playing starfall. He was oblivious.

And here is an AZ freebie for the week:

“Daddy, does that taste like crawberries or verms?” (that’s “worms” for those who need a translation)

SA (1 yr old):

Happy Birthday!! Wow. Where has this year gone? They grow up way too fast. He went for his checkup on thursday and weighed in at a mere 19 lbs 2 oz. This is my first kid where I couldn’t legally turn the car seat around on their 1st birthday. The doctor said he’s very healthy and easy to tote around. I usually take all three kids to doctor appointments. It’s usually not that big of deal and they usually behave well. So, the nurse comes in and I strip the baby down to his diaper so he can be weighed. We’re walking down the hall and she stops at the scale. The kind that you stand on. She says, “Can he stand on the scale?”. Uhhh. The first thing out of my mouth before I even thought about it was “This appointment is for the baby”, and I had this look on my face that my friends know all too well.  And then a split second later, I thought “the baby is the one with no clothes on. She has to know the appointment is for him.” I don’t know if she thought I was rude or if I was an idiot. It just seemed like a completely absurd question to me. I mean, I know many 12 month olds can walk, but do they actually stand still on a scale? Anyways, she then said something about some 1 year old’s being able to stand on a scale. The kid just started pulling up (easily) 2 days before!! (Ten minutes after we arrived home from our trip, I turn around and he’s pulled up on his feet. I guess he was tired of sitting in the car for 13 hours.) As I was filling out the questionnaire about my child’s development, I contemplated writing “My child can’t stand on a scale at 12 months. Should I be concerned?” Our doctor explained that the nurses had a meeting a few weeks ago because some parents complained about their 1 yr olds being put on the “baby” scale. So now they’re giving parents the option. Good grief. (It reminded me of the time I went to a restaurant with my daughter when she was 3 months old and the hostess gave her a pack of crayons.) Outside the lab, there was a woman there with her 12 month old son. He looked huge next to SA. I heard her talking about some of the words that her son says. SA just babbles and sniffs at me (kinda like a puppy….it’s quite funny). I told SA he’d better get his act together. Then I thought better of it….they just grow up too fast. I’ll happily tote my babbling, sniffing, 19 lb 1 yr old around while I still have the opportunity. It won’t be long and he’ll be peeing on my living room floor.

Me:

Woohoo! I bought a new guitar! I got a Martin DCX1E. My dad helped me pick it out. Well, actually I had already been looking before and it was the guitar that I really liked. My dad just checked it out for me and confirmed my choice. It has a nice, warm sound and it’s simple and beautiful and most importantly, I could afford it. We had Guitar Center do a price check at Mississippi Music and, as a result, we got $70 off the price. I bought the most 2-yr old resistant case they had and I got a strap for it. Not that I can play with a strap yet. But anyways…. My plan is to have some 10’s put on it tomorrow. It came with 11’s, and they’re a little tough on my fingers. I was all ready to show it off to my guitar teacher yesterday, but he was sick and had to cancel my lesson. He mentioned that he wants to videotape us playing one of the duets at the end of my Mel Bay book. Hmmm. I hope he has an “edit” feature. I’d probably do best with a hidden camera!! I bought the 2nd Mel Bay book last week (when you’re spending several hundred on a guitar, what’s another $20?) This book comes with a CD of the songs in the book. I popped that puppy in the CD player and about had a coronary. And that was just the review lessons. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

I read a couple books while on vacation. Well, I finished one I had already started and then read another one. I finished Parenting in the Pew by Robbie Castleman and read I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Frank Turek and Norman Geisler. I really enjoyed reading the latter book, except for Norman Geisler’s soteriology (branch of theology that deals with salvation). Let’s just say that I won’t be reading any systematic theology from Geisler.

And just to kinda round out the edges on this report….. I scrubbed some of those hidden places in my kitchen today. I need to work off that extra five pounds I mysteriously gained last week.