Aug. 28, 2009 - Our Picture Study

We began our artist study today on

Raphael Sanzio

b. April 6, 1483 in Urbino, Italy

This work is 'The Vision of a Knight'

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Aug. 28, 2009 - Our First Full Week -- We made it!

This last week was our first full week back to 'formal learning.'  As summer vacation creeped closer and closer to an end I found myself feeling less than enthusiastic as I thought of all the preparations I still needed to make for our 'upcoming learning year.'  Our garden, thankfully, kept us busy and exhausted with all the canning and preserving we were able to do.  And to be honest - I was tired! How was I to find the energy to get our ducks in a row?  Well, as usually happens - I have to baby step a little and then the momentum picks up and I begin to get closer to the 'groove' that I desire.  So, it is with great joy and relief that I can say we've complete our first week and we all survived!  There were some rough spots... you know the times when you ask yourself... what am I doing????  (or is that just me?)  All in all, it was a success!  There are so many things to learn and so little time!!

Here are some of our highlights:

PE in the front yard - playing soccer and running races

Finding our monstrous Puffball of a mushroom

My 11 y/o saying with surprise "Mom, I actually read more than I was suppose to.  I just got sucked in." (the book he is referring to is "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry")

My 10 y/o saying w/ enlightenment as he added Benjamin Franklin to his timeline book... "Mom, he lived at the same time as James Watt.  I wonder if they knew each other."

Some of the favorite books so far are:

Understood Betsy

Little House on the Prairie

Watership Down

The Hobbit

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry

Robinson Crusoe

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Aug. 27, 2009 - The Puffball

We had a cool and unusual find yesterday....

(the pics were taken with my phone - not my first choice - but as for now it is my only choice - better than nothing, right?)

It is a mushroom!  I couldn't believe my eyes.  This is the grandest mushroom I've ever seen.  My husband went out to start up the grill before dinner and as he opened up the grill lid - lo and behold - there were two of these babies in there.  Apparently, the kids who found and picked them thought that that was the best place to store them. 

Perfect opportunity for a little 'shroom learning.  In the Handbook of Nature Study we learned that these type of fungi are called Puffballs due to the 'puff of smoke' that you see when you press a part of this mushroom between your fingers.  I think that was the favorite discovery by my children!  This cloud contained the spores. 

Mushrooms lack chlorophyl and are, therefore, unable to make their own food.  Mushrooms that feed on living cells from living plants are parasites.  Saprophytes are mushrooms that get their food from dead plants.  Our puffball is a saprophyte. 

The most interesting fact, to me, was that the pioneers use to use the 'smoke' from puffballs to stop bleeding - especially nose bleeds.

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Aug. 22, 2009 - Oven Roasted Sweet Corn Recipe

This is a DELICIOUS recipe that I received from a friend a couple of years ago.  There is nothing so wonderful as having fresh, freezer corn in the winter - and this recipe makes it even better!

10 c fresh corn (cut off the cob)

2 c water

1/2 c butter

1/2 c sugar

1 TBS salt

Mix all the ingredients in roaster oven.  Cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Stir every 15 minutes.  Let cool and put into quart freezer bags.  Freeze.

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Aug. 11, 2009 - Long time, No blog

Wow, it has been a long time since I've blogged!  Thank you Kimalita for checking in on me and inspiring me to get back into the blogging groove!  It is hard after being gone for so long!  I've missed all my friends here and hope that you are all doing well.

I'm taking a moment to rest my exhausted body from a full day (or should I say 7 days) of canning.  We got our garden in late this year due to all the rain in the spring.  Our green beans just came in last week and they came in with a vengence.  We were picking 1-2 hours every day and getting 10-20 gallons of beans. My goal this year was to can 120 qts.  Last year I canned around 80 qts. and we ran out in April.  So far, I've canned 113 qts - in one week.  I'm amazed!  God has sure blessed us!  I've also canned several qts. of salsa, 30 qts of pickles, 30 pts of peach strawberry jam, 15 pts of peach blueberry jam, and 27 qts of peaches.   Our corn isn't ready yet.  We had a late planting because our first planting didn't go well.  I attempted to plant some summer squash last week.  I hope to freeze that and use it in spaghetti sauce, soups, and maybe just saute it if my family will eat it...... we'll see.

We did have a lot of seeds and plants that just didn't grow because of all the rain we got - none of our potatoes, cantelope, watermelon, slicing cucumbers or dill came up.  Our pepper plants never had any blossoms......that was unusual. 

It does feel so satisfying to fill up those shelves with yummy home canned food!  It is exhausting work but well worth all the effort.  It is a great opportunity for my children to work together!

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Feb. 20, 2009 - Symphony Surprise

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Feb. 9, 2009 - The Magic House

With my sisters in town we had a big family outing to the Magic House in St. Louis.  The kids had a ball.  My older two are getting to the ages where they don't enjoy that too much, or at least they can't admit that they do - that would be breaking somekind of pre-teen code.....

This was a giant beanstalk that went from the first floor up to the second.  It was very cool!

...This was a story book area where kids could dress up as characters from fairy tales

...This was a very fun place where they could dig in the rocks and do man-work.  We could hardly get them away from here.

This is my brother David and my nephew David at the static ball.

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Feb. 9, 2009 - Eagles

We live close to the area on the Mississippi River where the bald eagles come to nest during the winter months.  Last Friday my 2 sisters that live out of state were in town and we had a girls day out.  When we drove over the Mississippi into Missouri - there was a beautiful eagle perched up in a tree.  How magestic they are!!  My sister was able to catch a couple of pics before he flew away.  I'm going to take the kids down one day this week to see if we can spot some more. 

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Feb. 3, 2009 - More Kitchen Science

We experimented with yeast.  We learned that it is a fungus that feeds off of sugars.  As it ferments, it produces carbon dioxide which creates bubbles.  We also learned that yeast like warm, moist environments.  We had two bowls - one with lukewarm water, yeast and sugar. In the second bowl we added very hot tap water instead of lukewarm water.  Here is what we observed after 15 min.

We determined that the hot water killed the yeast.  The bowl with the lukewarm water bubbled and became very spongy.  The yeast was 'blooming.'  We also experimented with different sweeteners.  We had 3 bowls in which we added yeast and lukewarm water but added to one - corn syrup, to another - brown sugar, and to the last - white sugar.  They each bubbled at the same rate.  We later made some homemade bread.

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Feb. 3, 2009 - Science in the Kitchen

We had some science in the kitchen yesterday.  I found a cool website that had some experiments that I wanted to do with the kids.  The first one we did was called 'Great Balls of Gluten.'  We experimented with different kinds of flour to determine which kinds contained more gluten.  We learned that gluten is like a balloon that holds the gases in the bread as it rises.  Different types of flours contain different amounts of gluten.  Flours used for pastries have very little gluten.  Whole wheat flour contains much more.  We only had two types of flour on hand so we experimented with whole wheat flour (freshly milled) and white flour.  We put 1 c of each flour in a separate bowl.  We then added 3/4 c water and kneaded to make a soft, rubbery ball.  We let the dough rest for 10 min. and then held the ball of dough under cold tap water.  The starch in the dough began to wash away and we were left with a dough that was stringy and web-like. This was the gluten.  The kids all hypothesized that the whole wheat dough would have more gluten than the white flour and their experiments supported their hypotheses.  We baked the balls of gluten at 450 degrees for 10 min.  The balls hardened and expanded slightly.  This is exactly what the gluten does in bread.

They had fun getting their hands messy!

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Jan. 21, 2009 - Too Long......

I've really been out of the blogging groove! I've missed you all!! I hope you are all doing well! We had a very nice break over the holidays and are now in the groove with our schooling.  We are in our school room and that has been such a blessing! It isn't completely finished.  We still have doors to be hung and some table tops to be bolted to the wall for desks.  We just put down carpet remnants on the floor.  It is wonderful to have my maps and whiteboard up on the wall and to have a space for all of our books and stuff!!

It was a really nice day yesterday.  We took advantage of it and went on a nature walk.  It has been a long time since we've done that together.  The kids were thrilled that I was out with them.  I hadn't been out with them because it's been so cold.  However, the cold doesn't deter them!  They were out playing the other day when the wind chills were well below zero.  We had such a nice walk.  We went to the frozen pond and walked down by the partially frozen creek.  We saw raccoon and deer tracks down by the creek.  It was so refreshing to be out!

I hope you are all doing well and having a joyful January!

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Dec. 4, 2008 - The Handbook of Nature Study

I put off ordering this book for a few months.  It finally came today in the mail.  It is quite a book.  Has anyone used this book before?  There is so much in it that I'm not sure where to even start.

I skimmed over the section "The Teaching of Nature-Study".  Here is one quote: 

 "Nature-study cultivates the child's imagination, since there are so many wonderful and true stories that he may read with his own eyes, which affect his imagination as much as does fairy lore; at the same time nature-study cultivates in him a perception and a regard for what is true, and the power to express it.  All things seem possible in nature; yet this seeming is always guarded by the eager quest of what is true.  Perhaps half the falsehood in the world is due to lack of power to detect the truth and to express it.  Nature-study aids both in discernment and in expression of things as they are."

That is powerful!

Since we've tried to do things the Charlotte Mason way, I think that the nature study has been one of my favorites.  There is power in being in and learning about nature.  We are learning and observing God's marvelous creations in nature.  Now that it is getting colder - I'm missing that part because I hate being out in the cold!  What do you do for nature study in the cold months?? 

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Dec. 4, 2008 - Artist Study

We are almost finished with our artist study of Sandro Botticelli.   Wow, have I been inspired by this study!!  This painting was one we did last month.  It is called

"Calumny of Apelles"

There is so much in this painting!!  I went to Amblesideonline's resources for this one and read what Charlotte Mason had written about it in one of her volumes.  Here is some of what she explained:

"There is a picture... painted by Botticelli - in a passion of grief and righteous anger at he martyrdom of his friend and teacher, Savonarola, - wherein you see the clamorous crew who drown the words of Truth.  But the figures are surprising.  You expect the painter to depict these Demons as wrinkled hags, ugly and forbidding.  We should none of us offend if sin came to us looking hateful; and Botticelli, painting from an account of a picture by the old gReek painter, Apelles, puts in the foreground a lady young and fair, with a mantle of heavenly blue over a white robe of innocence, but which reveals through slashes the black garment below.  She looks composed and drops her eyes as if in regret, whilst with her right hand she drags forward, by the hair of his head, the naked and prostrate fizure of Innocence.  This is Calumny."

"On either hand are two other beautiful maidens, clothed in fair robes, apparently dressing the hair of Calumny, in reality whispering in her ears.  The one is Insidiousness, who by soft, persuasive words makes the lies of calumny look like the Truth; and the other is Envy,  fair also, for Envy of others always takes the guise of Fairness and justice to ourselves."

"Holding the left wrist of Calumny is the dark, cowled figure of Treachery, who stretcheds out his hand to King Midas upon hi throne in order to demand a hearing.  His long ears show the character of this king, for Falsehood and all her crew, Calumny, Envy, and the rest, are in the end, but Folly.  Suspicion whispers into the one and Prejudice in the other of the long ears of Midas, and he leans his ear now to the one and not to the rother, so that their words are the only sound sthat can reach him.  The action of the picture takes place in a beautiful loggia, richly decorated with sculpture, for it is not in places where men work hard and live simply the Calumny and her ministers prosper."

I'll stop there.... I could go on and on! ( OK, one more-  the figure at the far left is the naked truth - which no one is paying any attention to.) The word 'Calumny' was a new one for me.  It is defined as injurious words spoken against another. 

There is so much truth in this painting!  I love the symbolism!

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Dec. 3, 2008 - Rough Day

Today was a 'rough' day!  We got a late start and everyone seemed to be going in every other direction.  I was already having a PMS day (Psycho Mama Syndrome) and trying desparately to salvage what I could.  What I really wanted to do, though, was to lock myself in my bedroom and pretend I never heard them scream 'Mooooom.'  There was too much contention between siblings today - one, who has a temper he has yet learned how to control,  another who loves to provoke, and yet another who loves to mock! What a combustible group!  Oh, I do love them though they can drive me crazy!

How do you hold it together on days like this?  Lately, I've noticed how much exercise helps me 'clear' the 'cobwebs' from my mind and body.  Though, I must mention, screaming at my kids doesn't count as a cardiovascular workout! haha  With the holiday last week, I got out of the routine (that I had just barely gotten into) of exercising in the mornings.  Oh, what 20 min on the elypitcal will do for my sanity!  Another miracle worker:  Chocolate!  Never stay home without it!  And my personal favorite - Peace and Quiet!  Ahhhhh!

Do you ever 'resent' the influence you have on your home and family?  That may sound terrible.  But sometimes I wish someone could take my place - just for a little while - so that I can regroup and recoop.  There are times that the weight of the responsibility that is upon our shoulders as mothers is very heavy.  If we are in a bad mood or having a bad day - it shows in everyone else.  We set the tone in our home.  If that tone is a negative one - look out!  Somedays - I'd like to be able to have a bad day and not have everyone else follow suit.  But, I guess that is not how God designed it to be!  I have to be selfless and do what is good for my family - which may mean getting over myself, sucking it up and letting it go! Not such an easy task on those PMS days!  Homeschooling my children is as much about God schooling me as it is me schooling my children!  Just make sure you have enough chocolate in the house!

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Dec. 1, 2008 - Our Shoes

For Art last week I had the kids draw their shoes....

They were very into it and did a great job!

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Dec. 1, 2008 - Math U See

Math has never been a fabulous favorite at our house.  My husband is an engineer - you'd think some of those genes would have been strong enough to be passed on..... 

My middle son - in 4th grade - has expecially struggled.  We've been doing Horizons math for K-3 for the past several years.  We switch to Saxon math at 4th grade.  My middle son has just hated it!  He would dawdle, cry, whine, pout.... you name it.... when it came time to do math.  It was soooo hard for us!  Every night he'd be at the table with that worksheet in front of him - having to sit there until he finished it.  He didn't struggle so much with the concepts.  He struggled more with the way they were presented and the many problems he had to do.  He would be overwhelmed at the seemingly daunting task before him and he just wouldn't get over it without much anguish.  Once he did - he had no problem doing the work.  But it was like this day after day after day!

After our summer, I hoped things would get better after he had a break from it.  Since he hadn't finished his workbook from the previous semester - I had him continue in that one when we started up again in Sept.  Big mistake!  Day one - same routine as before!   Charlotte Mason to the rescue.  I decided to chuck the workbook and have him work for 15-20 min a day on his math - as recommended by Miss Mason.  I told him that I would set the timer for a certain amount of time and as long as he didn't dawdle during that time and worked diligently then when the timer went off he was done.  He really liked that idea!  It worked beautifully!  So, I began doing some research into different curriculums.  I was intrigued by Math-U-See and sent for their demonstration DVD.  I tried not to jump in too soon - as I have a habit of doing - and took time to think and pray about this.  Well, I finally decided to purchase it for my 4th grader as well as my 7th grader who hasn't done as well with Saxon as I expected.  Today the package arrived - and we did our first lessons.  Granted - it is only day one - but so far so good!  They love the manipulative sets and I really like the DVD lessons.  I like the way it is set up with practice sheets that are done only as needed.  They aren't overwhelming - either!  I have high hopes for this one!  I'll have to keep you posted on our progress!  I love when we discover what works!! 

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Nov. 30, 2008 - Thanksgiving and Field Trips

I'm feeling quite out of it lately with the blogging!  I've missed keeping up with everyone - I just can't devote the time to it lately!  Once in a while is better than nothing, though, right?

We had a whole week off for Thanksgiving.  We took a couple of field trips and had fun with my sister's family that was visiting from Utah for the week.  We went to the St. Louis Science Center.  My kids always enjoy that.  We saw the Omni Max movie 'Sharks.'  It was OK.  My favorite field trip, though, was the St. Louis Symphony.  Oh, I LOVE the symphony!!  They have educational concerts twice a year and we've been going for years.  This concert was 'Pictures at an Exibition' by Mussorgsky/Ravel.  Mussorgsky went to an art exibition and afterwards went home and put the pictures into music on the piano.  Ravel later orchestrated Mussorgsky's work.  It was beautiful!  We were able to listen first to the piano piece and then to how Ravel changed it for the whole orchestra.  I think there were about 4-5 pictures that they 'played.'  The St. Louis Symphony is amazing!

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Oct. 28, 2008 - It's been too long

I have had so little spare time in the past 2-3 weeks that I just haven't been able to keep up on blogging.  I hope you are all doing well! 

We are getting into a groove with our lessons. We also are taking a break from outside extra curricular activites (basketball, football, tumbling etc.) and I feel like I have so much more time already.  My husband is working on our school room in our basement.  I will feel as if I died and went to heaven when that is completed!  No more lugging books from our bedroom to the kitchen or having a kitchen table covered in books and papers that has to be cleared each time we eat. 

It's getting colder and I'm enjoying the days getting shorter because I feel like I have more time - maybe because after we have dinner there's more time in the evening to get stuff done.

One of my sons found 2 fuzzy caterpillars the other day.  We discovered that one was the larva of a Giant Leopard Moth. The other was a Wooly Bear.  The kids made make-shift homes for them in jars and we set them out on the deck.  We'll see if they will make it until spring.    Very cool!

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Sep. 29, 2008 - Teaching Children Self-Control

In a world that focuses on immediate self-gratification how do you teach your children self-control?  In a world that is bursting with selfishness - how do you teach your children to discipline themselves to do what is right instead of what is easy and pleasurable?  In a world where the majority of people are out of control - how do you teach your children be self-controlled?

This is something that we must constantly work on in our home!  I'm not a naturally disciplined person and have had to really work on myself so that I can set a good example for my children - an imperfect example at best.  Self-discipline is so crucial to our happiness and success.  I desire for my children to be able to control their tongues, their bodies, their passions and their minds.  It is no easy task; and yet nothing worthwhile is ever easy, is it?  We have reinstituted a practice that we did on a daily basis a couple of years ago.  It began out of the desire to teach my children how to be reverant and be still.  We practiced at home hoping it would help them 'be still' when we were at church.  We called it 'self-control practice.'  The children each had a cushion on the couch to sit on.  They guidelines were that during the set time we were 'practicing' they were to use their minds to control their bodies and tongues.  There was to be no talking, no getting up and leaving, no bothering/touching the person next to them.  The goal was to sit and be still.  If by chance the person next to them was bothering them - they were to control himself/herself and not react.  We started out practicing for only 5 minutes each day and added 5 minutes every week. The little ones struggled - but made improvements each week.  It's been a long while since doing this but this week it became apparent that we needed to get back to our practicing.  Last Friday was our first practice.  We set the timer for 10 minutes.  It was hard for them - the boys really struggled with keeping their bodies still.  My 12 y/o daughter had no difficulty - now if we can just carry that over into real life when her brothers aggravate her - I'll be thrilled!:)

What a challenge it can be even as an adult!  I don't think I'll ever reach a point of being able to check disciplined off of my list of things to work on!  I'll admit, though, that I love the few minutes during our practices that it is so peaceful and quiet!!

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Sep. 25, 2008 - Fortitude

We spent some more time on this painting this morning. The more I read and learn of this - the more I am inspired!

Here is what Charlotte Mason wrote:

"As St Paul would image the fulness of Christ in the characters of Charity, so Isaiah gives us an image of Fortitude in setting forth the humiliation and sufferings of Christ. Fortitude grows up within us, a tender plant, is without form or comeliness, bears griefs and carries sorrows, endures chastisement, suffers and is dumb, does no violence, nor speaks deceit, is put to grief, yet––divides the spoil with the strong. There is only one true Fortitude among men, the fortitude of Christ; and every little bit of cheerful bearing that we are able for, without self-pity or self-complacency, comes of that divine fortitude.

Moses was the meekest man that ever lived, and his meekness was Fortitude. For forty years in the wilderness he bore with the waywardness of Israel; and, when the offences of the people had, so he thought, exceeded the patience of God, he prayed, "Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me also, I pray Thee, out of the Book of Life."

St Paul, too, after much bearing,––"in journeyings often; in perils of waters; in perils of robbers; in perils by mine own countrymen; in perils by the heathen; in perils in the city; in perils in the wilderness; in perils in the sea; in perils among false brethren; in weariness and painfulness; in watchings often; in hunger and thirst; in fastings often; in cold and nakedness:"––could wish that he, too, were accurst for his brethren.

Perhaps Fortitude has always an element of tenderness, and always means bearing for love's sake; if it be only the fortitude of a child who bears toothache cheerfully that he may not distress his mother. "  Vol 4, bk 2, pg 43

Maybe you are a great example of fortitude.  In our family there is far to much of impatience, uncontrolled tongues, complaining and whining about distresses etc.  I love the great literature that has been written to inspire us to great ideals and virtues.  Most of all I'm grateful for a Savior who is perfectly strong, perfectly patience and perfectly merciful.

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