Did you ever wonder why there's such a huge emphasis in our country for "SHOPPING!"? Or why stuff is made so cheaply that it has us throwing it away and running right back to the store to buy another one to keep us happy which just upsets us again as soon as the fads change or it breaks? Or why there's such a huge emphasis on "disposable" stuff now and we're throwing away items that are perfectly good for more than one use? For instance, look at all of the baby manufaction companies (including Gerber and The First Years) that make disposable sippies, bottles and other eating utensils. I too was sucked into this loop and bought these when Deedee was a baby. With one difference. I didn't throw them away after one use as I saw complete strangers and even close friends and family doing. I used them and you know what? They lasted me until just recently when my last sippy finally broke. Which means that although they were only made for one use, they lasted for countless. Which makes one wonder. If that stuff lasted this long through the use of four rambuctious children for three years, how long is this stuff going to last in a landfill? And why are they making disposable stuff like this in the first place? There are even disposable dvds that are made to be thrown away after 48 hours just for our convenience! The whole premise is that we'll no longer incur late fees if we borrow a movie on this type of platform but all that's doing is telling us we don't have to be responsible enough to make sure we return our movies on time. The only good thing about this is that there are special recycling centers for these to be sent to, but how many people will actually do so instead of simply chucking in the trash?
So why am I on this kick? Because this morning, I finally got around to opening one of my newsletters, Ideal Bite, that's been floating around in my inbox for the last week or so. It was entitled Trashy Poe(m). I was a little leery opening it, but let out a sigh of relief when I realized the title was exactly what it looked like, a play on words. It was centered around Poe's great work, The Raven, and it was talking about, you guessed it, trash. But it seemed like any other newsletter I've gotten from them with a bunch of quick facts, trivia, a few cute (or horrible) puns and some links. Today however, there was a link for a movie entitled "The Story of Stuff" and it was described as a good primer for what happens to our stuff. So I and the kids watched it. Wow. I've known for some time that we have too much stuff (as a family and as a nation) but I never really knew any of the figures. And I never really thought about how the system works and atlhough I've been working hard moving towards a more sustainable way of life, I still find myself slipping at times such as using plastic bags at the store because I forgot my cloth ones or maybe useing something that's disposable because it's quick and convenient (which happens sometimes when one has four children) but I never really thought about it. I mean, come one. How much damage can just one person do? Well, not much. Until you multiply that a billion times and realize just how much damage is actually done every day.
So what exactly is the Story of Stuff? Well, according to them it's "a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever". All very true. It even got my littles thinking. After we watched it, I asked them what they'd learned and how we might change things. They really didn't say much and all I got from Charles was a blank stare. However, this is what Deedee said: "We don't want too much garbage" and "Buying stuff is bad". Both of those statements are really generalized, but what can one expect from a 3 yo? But it's a start and that's what counts. And she's already aware of trash and the fact that it's bad. For over a month now my "Little Litter Bug" picks up trash wherever she sees it and throws it away, sometimes holding onto it for blocks until we find the proper receptacle. How awesome is that? (I just wish she could do it at home so well. LOL) So check it out. You'll be amazed how much you learn and how many questions it sparks.
Every year, a large two day music festival is held in our city park and the two days leading up to it herald a large arts & crafts festival for the younguns. It's certainly interesting and there are two ways to experience this. One, you can preregister your little darlin' for access to group activities (yellow tents), a tshirt and a nice lunch as well as the assorted craft booths (blue tents) or you can be a "walk-on" and register for just that day or even both days with the difference that you get none of the above except the "blue tents". If you are signed up for group activities you go either with the older children who are then seperated into several groups that rotate through the yellow tents every 45 minutes with time to spend in the blue tents as well, or the little ones go to the preschool group.
Hrmmm.........Where to begin? Last year, only my boys were old enough, both went to the preschool group and we registered for only one day. I was vaguely dissastified last year although I wasn't really sure why until this year. In some ways it was better last year. The provide lunch was awesome (donated by Applebee's) and they also took into account vegetarians, which seem to abound in my local progressive University town. This year was a huge let down on the lunch, but I get ahead of myself. Last year I was upset because although we preregistered months in advance (and Carey's parent's winery also helped sponsor, which they do every year) there was no room for us. Literally. There were no seats at the tables for the boys to do their crafts at all so we were actually released early for the craft tents. That always happenes. We scrap the money together to take our kids to a fun event, register when we're supposed to to reserve a spot, arrive on time and "walk-ons" have been given preferance and taken our spots. :( Which is why we have stopped doing a lot of this type of stuff. That's sad because there's a ton of really cool activities done every year that we don't bother with anymore. But, I feel myself getting on a soapbox so I'd better put it away.
So, this year with the three children, well... this year was certainly busy. The older children (which James was a part of this year) start a whole hour earlier than the littles so I had to have him there before 9 to make sure he was signed in. So, after leaving Kitty with a neighbors daughter, I left the other two with a friend that literally lives right beside the park that planned on joining me latter with her two preschoolers. So I thought, perfect, I'll get to spend at least 45 minutes with James making sure he was settled and comfortable with his group before having to leave him to escort his brother and sister around with their group. Unfortunately, that's where things started going wrong. Deedee, who had returned only the day before from an extended visit with the grandparents was frantic that I wasn't there so they had to come and get me to console her while my friends husband stayed with James. I was unable to console her so back to the park she came and then amused herself taking pictures of everything in sight while I spent time with James. Sigh...... For those that have read this off and on for the past year or so, you'll know that James just doesn't do well with a lot of people. Sometimes he settles right in and I was happy to learn that the son of another homeschooling mother was in the same group as James and hoped it would help. James can follow orders well enough and in fact he's become quite the little helper around the house lately, especially when it comes to little Kitty. He's becoming more comfortable with crowds and even greets people properly now! But when it comes to arts and crafts, a child needs to have artistic liscence. However, in his very first group activity, this is exactly what he didn't get.
He wound up in the worst possible place for his group's first project. They were making bday cards and I thought, awesome, Carey's big day is coming up in just a few weeks and what could be more special than to give Dad a card you made yourself? Well, it started out ok but the instructor was too rigid. She actually expected the kids to make it exactly like hers (five candles of varying widths and heigth on the outside on the card; no more, no less and certainly none on the inside) and I actually heard her correcting children! James saw this, and got upset that he was going to have to change his card which got him asking could he go play bubbles and when at first I stalled because I didn't know what to do (we had paid for him to do the group activities after all) he got upset and started yelling he wanted to go home which froze me in the dilema even more. On the one hand, we had paid for him to go with the group. On the other hand, what was the point of paying if he didn't want to stay and have fun? While one must learn how to take orders (that is the way of the world) there is still a place and a time and in the end I decided this really wasn't a battle that I needed to fight. So, instead, I let his group leader know he was going to be with me and we met his siblings at the preschool area. And you know, that was the best decision that I ever made.
For the most part anyway. Both my friend and I were annoyed that the preschool group was planned to read three books with corresponding crafts before being released to do the blue tents (at least an hour but probably more; you know how slow preschoolers move). I was lucky I got them to sit through one story and craft when all they wanted to do was bubbles! (as always, there was a big bubble station set up) In the end, we left that group early as well and wandered around wherever the kids wanted to go which suited them a lot better although, they still had to work on patience since there were lines at some booths.
We spent the first 20 minutes or so of both mornings at the bubbles and they had an absolute blast making big ones and little ones and getting absolutely drenched in the solution. There were also little buble cups that could be made. Small plastic cups with wide mouths had a hole punched in the side for a straw to go through, and a bit of washcloth secured with a rubber band. Then, a bit of dish soap is squirted on top and water is sprayed on until you could blow through the straw and make bubbles come out of the top. It was all great fun for them and I'm sure those cups will float around at home for quite some time.
From there, we were everywhere. The snack art booth (that I didn't like because it was a huge waste of food since most children threw their sculptures away instead of eating them), tie dye, face painting, flag making, more bubbles, string art, meeting the Avista dog (local utilities company), etc. My kids had a great time and never once did they ask to rejoin their groups even though I gave James plenty of options to do so if he wanted. I'm very proud of my little ones. They were very creative in their artistic endevours and they made an impression at most booths they went to. I was also thankful that the booths were relatively small and placed close together which allowed me to park one or two at the bubble station so I could spend one-on-one time with the third child (and still keep an eye on the others). I really enjoyed that time and I hope they did as well. The one-on-one time was spent with them the second day since the first day we stayed with some friends (who only registered for one day).
The kids did great at the flag making booth. Most children chose a piece of fabric from a huge mound and made a basic flag shape to decorate. Many children scribbled something on them real quick and called it good; not my children! Both Deedee and James chose the same basic orange polyester but they were radically different. Deedee had tons of little streamers fashioned from scraps of bright, vibrant (and clashing) fabrics and lace while James' actually coordinated. He had a main streamer of navy blue with bright swathes of gold, burnt orange and cream but then he choose a pretty gold fabric for his smaller streamers. And Charles... well Charles' was a lot more simple with a wild paisley print for the main fabric and fruit print for the one streamer he chose.
They did well at the tie-dye booth although Deedee went way overboard with the dye on her bandanna. You can see a pattern but it's quite dark. In fact, it was so dark that at first it was completely black and I thought that she'd get no design at all! When it had been washed a couple of times, it actually didn't look too bad. Charles wound up making two. Another homeschooled child couldn't make it (her mother was sick) so we got her little bag with her tshirt and then each child contributed a craft kit (Deedee an Ojo de Dios, Charles the tie-dye bandanna that she can wash out herself, and James threw in a bubble cup kit). They were very thoughtful about that.
They had a blast having their faces painted. Deedee asked for a green dino, James a dragon and the girl was quite relieved when Charles wanted a simple apple. :D However, they were a little dissapointed at the last booth we hit at the end on Friday. It's one they'd been wanting to do but everytime we went it was too full. So, of course, just as we got there they ran out of supplies. They were supposed to make alien gloves (latex surgery gloves stuffed and decorated, pretty cool looking) but there weren't any more gloves. So they were actually given the displays to use and they had fun decorating them instead.
At the string booth, they were supposed to be making an Ojo de Dios (God's Eyes) but that quickly turned into luanching airplanes. From there they wandered over to the snack booth and proceeded to load up on goodies, made themselves comfy under a tree and stuffed themselves. One woman complained that the children had more than their fair share. I asked her if her children would be eating their sculptures and she said no, of course not and looked at me as if I had two heads. She complained that my children weren't actually making things with their food so I gave them pretzel sticks to stick in their fruit to eat it with. While on the one hand, she was certainly right, in some aspects my littles did have more than their fair share but on the other hand they were hungry and how do you explain to a preschooler that they're not allowed to eat the yummy melon or olives, crackers with strawberry cream cheese or cheese sticks with cranberry eyes simply because it's supposed to be "art"? You can't. And when I thought of the children who didn't have this bounty, I certainly wasn't going to make them put it back, which they couldn't anyway because they'd "contaminated" it. Bleh... So they had a nice midmorning snack, which was good considering the miniscule lunches they got!
Based on last years spread, I was expecting something really yummy and I was looking forward to the lunch time entertainment (a play on Thursday and a magician on Friday) and you couldn't imagine my shock when the kids came back with a bag lunch and a milk. Still, I shrugged thinking that there was probably a sandwich in there, with perhaps a bag of chips, or a cookie or maybe even a piece of fruit. Wrong! All that was there was a teeny tiny sandwich with a piece of meat and a slice of American cheese slapped between it; ketchup and mustard were provided at a nearby table. That was it. And this angered a lot of people. Not because the sponsor had been so stingy and cheap this year but because no allowances were made for vegetarians. The family I stayed with the first day are vegetarian and when thee inquired about a vegetarian meal the woman in charge of the lunches was quite rude when she said there werent' any. Now, my friend was lucky (remember I mentioned she lived right there) she she ran home real quick and grabbed something for her family to munch on while watching the show. But imagine how many children went hungry that day because they didn't have that option? Most children were dropped off by their parents and picked up again at about a quarter to one and lunch was technically paid for and expected but not received.
It wasn't all fun and games for me. Deedee really got my goat twice. Once, she disappeared only to be found happily stuffing her face after making herself comfortable under a tree and the second time she told me she'd buried her sandals in the sand only to remark that she'd actually left them across the street at my friends house after I dug for over 10 minutes! Grrr...LOL
The thing that made me the proudest of my children: We wound up sticking around a little longer because I was talking to another homeschool mom I hadn't seen in about 8 months. We heard an adult thanking someone for their help, turned around and here were my four (yes, four, Kitty rejoined us for lunch) little monsters that had volunteered their help to the lady cleaning up the stage area. Tarps had been laid out over the dirt and large cases of water had been set out, not all of which were empty or even opened in the first place. And my kids were the only ones there helping! Even my tiny itty bitty little Kitty got in on it by grabbing the biggest thing she could get her little hands on which turned out to be an unopened case of water bottles that had to weigh at least half as much as she did but she hauled it about two feet before the woman took it from her. Now, why can't these guys be this cooperative at home?
Next year, I'm going to make some changes. I'm not going to bother preregistering and will just go as walk-ons. I also plan on taking each child only one day, instead of both. So I'll take the boys one day, and the girls the other. I figure it will be much easier to heard only two little ones around and have fun with them vs. all four. It was a lot of work with just the three of them this year. I also see no point in an extra tshirt (theirs are trashed already; they're covered in dirt, chocolate milk, smears of paint and dye and smell strongly of bubbles) and with the extremely crappy and unhealthy lunch this year I certainly wouldn't rely on that next year and would be bringing my own anyway. And, since my children refuse to "conform" to the normal state of things and join a group, theres no point in paying for that either. There were too many children I saw that were technically part of a group that weren't able to enjoy the smaller blue tents. Inparticular there were two girls I kept seeing in line at the face painting booth only to get up there and be rounded up by their group leader for a "group project". Eventually, I saw the painters heard them to the front of the line, which was really nice of them. So while the group activities really did look like fun, they also seemed to take some of the spontaneity and joy out of the process. I also saw a few mothers inhibiting their children. One woman really amazed me when she pretty much told her daughter that what she was making didn't work and wound up doing the whole thing herself! And another woman stopped her daughter at the tye dye tent. Not because she was drenching it (like Deeder's did) but because she wasn't making it "perfect" as in each little wedge have one color, etc. What's the point in tye dying something to be "perfect"? That's just such a huge misnomer!
The whole organized group aspect of it really bugged me. It really reminded me of school, or even a factory when a certain amount of time is spent on something and then you move onto the next station regardless of whether if was finished to your satisfaction or not. Does anyone else have thoughts on this? Was I being really silly about all of these, and should I have made my kids "behave" and stay with their groups? Or was this the right decision? My FIL especially came down on me about it on the whole aspect of "being in a group" that James has to work on if James will be sucsessfull in school this fall. (For those that don't know, James' father has decided to enroll him in kindergarten this year, so we'll see how it goes.) Things will go on as usuall for my other kids with the FIAR curriculum this fall. Deedee especially is excited about this and keeps calling it her "schoouh (she drops the L's on all words like this and I have no idea why).
China is becoming more dominant in the news as the Olympics approach so a Michigan State University professor has created an online video game that teaches Chinese culture and language.
Called Zon/New Chengo, the multiplayer Web-based role-playing game was created by Yong Zhao, MSU distinguished professor of educational psychology and technology. A native of a poor, remote area of the Sichuan Province, he has become a highly influential researcher in Chinese education, bringing in more than $20 million in research to the university.
"Games are supposed to be fun and educational," said Zhao."This game offers a vicarious, virtual experience of China."
This looked really interesting so I decided to sign up. Once you have entered your new account information, you get to choose your character. There's not a ton of choices. You can choose between male/female and the female at least has four more choices for features & clothing (I don't know about male because I didn't think to look). Unfortunately, you can't personalize much further such as color of hair or style of hair. All you can do from there is choose the colors of your clothing. Once you have activated your free account, you're shown your passport that's been stamped by Zon. There, you're ready to play!
The scene opens in the airport and you can imediately start exploring. As you click on things you can hear the name of that item spoken in Chinese. There's also a background music you can choose not to hear. There are lots of people to talk to, including the other players. Once you're done in the airport yo're able to get a cab to talke you to your hotel.
For those not familiar with MMORPG's, you're in for a real treat. There are a ton of these games out there, taking place in whatever type of world you're interested in. While most of these do cost money to play, not all of them do and you just have to poke around to find them. I've always enjoyed thse because it gave me a chance to talk to real people in real time. That was a big thing for a young mother stuck at home in the middle of the country with a small baby and no one to talk to. And of course, the world that I played in was fantasy, my favorite genre.
So check this out. While it's not for smaller children since you need to be able to read to do most of this stuff, you can still sit a child on your lap and expose them to the language even if they can't take an active part. What a really fun way to learn about another culture and language.
Every morning, rain or shine, Carey drops in at Break.com before class/work. It's like Youtube with tons of vids posted. While not all are appropriate for children, I just had to share these. The first one is of an excellent contact juggler (For anyone that's seen Labyrinth, you've seen this type of juggling before and you can see a vid for that here.) and the second one is an awesome dancer (Charles really liked this one and wanted to keep watching it).
Today was crazy. It had started out to be a nice, peaceful, lazy day. James & Deedee were both outside playing and Kitty was still asleep. I had meandered over to a neighbor to swap some zippers and a few other notions for some outifts I'm working on for the girls and ask how she's doing (she's 8 months pregnant and counting the days :D ). Carey had dropped in real quick for a bit to eat before heading to class. So I was surprised to see Carey running over, yelling about Deedee and hospitals. Oh, no. I start to rush off, with visions of blood gushing everywhere and then he says bug bight. Huh?
So I slow down and start to tell him that he needs to find a better way of saying things than scaring me like that when I get a look at her arm. Sometime between kicking her out and the hour and a half later that we discover it, her arm had puffed up twice it's size just below the elbow. That really does freak me out since although we've been bitten by various bugs before, none of us have ever had this reaction before. So the doc gets called, Kitty gets woken up and everyone is dropped of with Grandma so Deedee could could see the doctor. Sigh... after a 40 minute wait in the lobby, it only takes Dr. A 10 minutes to take a look, give a prognosis of a spider bite and give me instructions of how to care for it. I was a little surprised that I was told not to bother giving her benadryl or cortisone cream, but then again, that's why I like this pediatric office and am willing to drive 16 miles round trip, even with these gas horrible gas prices. They're untraditional in the fact that they don't push a ton of synthetic meds on you and will even tell you when they don't think something will work. I was told just to pust some aloe vera on it to help sooth any itching, and to keep it clean in case of infection in the punture wounds.
Of course, my MIL wasn't happy about that and insisted that I use benadryl but I think I'll just keep an eye on it and see how it does. I was told that the swelling would go down in a day or two so we'll see.
And then this afternoon we celebrated Kitty's birthday by taking the kids out for ice cream. It's a local little shoppe where I get most of my produce as well as local eggs & sometimes milk. They also sell sandwiches, smoothies, etc at really reasonable prices. I love the proprietor. He goes out of his way to work with you and is very welcoming to the kids. That is to say, he doesn't glare at one when he sees the horde coming and he even asks after them when I happen to pop in by myself. The kids had a blast picking out their flavors. Everyone got little child size waffle coans for only $1 apiece wich is much better than if we'd gone to Baskin Robbins (whose stuff always makes me sick).
Today, we celebrated both James' and Kathrynn's birthdays. We saw no point in throwing two big parties with them so close together. So, instead, we invited a bunch of friends and family and celebrated the children's accomplishments together.
James chose a dino theme and was excited to pull out the box of decorations I'd snagged from freecycle last year to put up at the park. There were even a few balloons that I got although, his wound up getting popped by a jelous three year old sister. Sigh... Even Kitty was happy to see her huge balloon (it's bigger than she is, literally) and her little banner.
Today was one crazy day. I got up before 5 (completely by accident and if I'd realized what time it was I would have marched right back to bed) and was actually ahead for once. Until disaster struck; we had two, yes, two, cake fiascos. The first one was Kitty's. I'd gotten a really cute silicon pan to make a pullapart butterfly for her. I have used silicon before but this is the first time it all stuck so I wound up with a huge mound of cake not in the shape of a butterfly. :( It was easily fixed by turning it into a trifle. It was layered with vanilla pudding, peaches and blueberries. It came out really cute.
Now, as for James'.... well, it wasn't that easily fixed. James wanted this dino cake and I thought, sure, no problem. Wrong although, not in the way you think. The body came out beautifully and even the cake meant to fashion the rest of the head & tail. That is, until it got eaten. Yep, my wonderful husband whom was supposed to be watching kidlets managed to let them sneak into the kitchen and they ate half of an 8" round cake. Grrr.... So I got to make another one at the last minute (it also overflowed and set my oven on fire) and it was cooling when I went to the party, sans cake!
I got to turn around an hour and a half later, go home, spend 15 minutes assembling the darn thing, frosting it, and then hauling it and the other two cakes (oh, we were also celebrating my nephew Jordan's bday) back to the park during which time my MIL & SIL had taken over, children had gotten the idea of cake and were now demanding it and somehow presents were getting opened without me. :( Still, in the end, it was worth it and everyone had a lot of fun. The potluck idea was also a stroke of genius because not only did I spend much less money than I would have providing a full lunch, but there was a much bigger variety. Lots of bean salads (all different types) and fruit salads showed up. And the kids made out like fat rats, both recieving far more than I would have likes. Still, I was happy to see lots of books, outside toys and a few games vs. a lot of plastic junk requiring batteries. There are two presents received that need batteries (one hasn't come in yet, and I don't know what it is) and there other is a little glow worm. I don't mind a glow worm and I'm wondering what the other item is and if I'm going to be strangling a SIL. Actually, there was a third toy that takes batteries, a big plastic dino, but James doesn't know that it can make noises since there aren't any batteries in it and so far he's ecstatic with it.
I was pleased that several members of my homeschool group also came. I wish there had been more, but planning this on Father's Day was the smartest thing to do although, we didn't know that it was Father's Day when we picked the date. Ah, well, there's always next year. I was happy to be able to spend some time with them, and one of the women even had the idea of having an ethnic potluck later this summer. The idea is for each family to choose one or two dishes from their ethnic background and then bring them, introducing the children to all kinds of different foods while giving a bit geography as well. It sounds really neat and I hope it works out.
So, here's the huge slideshow (sorry if it takes a long time to load) of all the pics. Slide your mouse over the pics to pause it and to see any captions.
I'm serious. We had an honest to God snowstorm this morning! And it had not been forecast. It was supposed to be rain all day. It was quite a shock (and an annoyance) to get woken up at 7:30 this morning by a call from my husband saying guess what. Sigh... Late nights and early mornings just don't go together.
We have had quick little flurries before. I remember one little snow shower on July 4th one year. However, the one's I can remember never lasted more than a few moments and were quickly gone. The snow never stuck and was was pretty much melted before it hit the ground. Today, however it not only stuck, but accumulated well enough that the whole ground was white. It lasted around three hours and while at the end it was a very fine snow, more sleet than anything else, at the beginning there were huge fat flakes. WOW
Now, as to my long and unfortunate absence. :( It had not been planned at all. Things have been super busy around here and while I've continued composing posts in my head, somewhere along the way they were never set to paper (or to keyboard as the case may be). I've missed doing this. So, here's just a quick update about what's been going on. I'll post a slideshow of pics withing the next couple of days.
Today is James' 6th bday!
James has lost two teeth within the last week.
Charles inists that Deedee is no longer his sister. She's now a magic pig.
Kitty is potty training very well. She's almost exclusively in undies now and she sleeps dry 4 nights out of 5.
Kitty is speaking very well, even starting to string words together into sentences. One of her favorites is "I go play".
I have been sewing up a storm. Carey put his foot down and said I had to use my enormous stash of fabrics and patterns or get rid of them. So I've started making Kitty her summer wardrobe. We have extensively downsized clothing anyway and we settled on 10 outfits for her. I need only make 4 more (but I have more planned :D). Even Deedee has gotten in on it and I've managed to make her two outfits with a third cut and ready.
Not only have I have been sewing clothing, but children's aprons. The first two I did as a last minute bday present. I had two batik fat quarters but couldn't think what to do with them. As I was digging in my stash I found a large length of canvas, I happened to see Deedee's little apron hanging from the easel and an idea was born. The fat quarters are big enough for the apron as well as a pocket so I made a reversible apron (batik one side, canvas the other) with pockets, rick rack and little buttons for decor. The party was a bug theme for fraternal twins so the boy got a caterpillar button and the girl a butterfly. They were such a big hit that two more were asked for as bday presents and a few others ordered by guests! I will eventually get a pic posted of them, and I hope to start selling them on Etsy.
James is having sewing lessons! And he's having a blast. More on that in a few days (such as the manual he's using, etc.). I have a big potluck bday bbq to plan for this weekend.
Carey finished this semester with a 3.0 and has an A in his summer class so far. (It ends next week).
James is oficially enrolled for kindergarten this fall. I'm not happy about this one but his father wants him to try. He decided because of some of James' problems, that this is the only way to get some services that he feels are needed. So, we shall see how it goes. So far, James seems excited. So, according to the professionals, other than his speech delay, he has a fine motor delay, seperation anxiety, maybe a low level autism, and Oppositional Defiance Disorder. Fun, huh? Why his father thinks he'll be treated better in school is beyond me. I'm especially frustrated because I believe in a philosphy that children aren't really ready to learn this way until they're around 7 or 8 and that this early is just pushing them too much. At least he's in K and in the afternoon so I can still control some of it. The district actually wanted to put him in 1st! Grrr... He's not ready developmentally, emotionally or academically and it was unprofessional of them to want to do this only for their convenience and not because of what's best for James. The K is in a seperate building entirley from the rest of the school, and a couple blocks away so the idea was that it would be easier for them to provide the services they promised (and sold Carey on) if he was in the main building. GRRRR..... Although he's been making breakthroughs, he's still not at a 1st grade level academic wise, and barely K. They're already insisting on putting him in special ed and if they had succeeded in sticking him in 1st, he would have needed it extensively and they would have pretty much set him up to fail. Sigh... Sorry, didn't mean to get on my soap box here.
I'm now oficially a Barefoot Books stall holder and am authorized to sell their books! HOORAY
My garden is doing very well. I have leaf lettuce, strawberries and onions right now. There's also garlic, assorted tomatoes, acorn squash, potatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, bell peppers, radishes, spinach, and a few other things I can't remember. :D
It's hard to believe that only two days ago it was almost 80 outside. We actually had snow today! :( Today was also very busy. We had Deedee's Well Child checkup (which I was almost late too because I mixed up times). She did very well and cooperated for the most part with her doctor. She's now 36 inches tall and 28 pounds. She even cooperated with the little eye test and she has 20/20 vision.
We stopped on the way home (siblings were with their grandparents) to do some quick shopping. Since she did so well with her doctor (especially with it being a new doctor) she got to choose a treat. So she came home the proud new owner of a fruit leather and a box crackers. :D We got to her grandparents just in time to haul everyone over to Deedee's preschool only to find out that no other students would be there today. :( So it wound up just being free time while the kids ran around and played and I chatted with the teacher whom also happens to be a good friend of mine. We went straight from there to our movement class, which was a complete bust today. :(
There were a ton of kids so James didn't want to participate at all and he was being disruptive. And, unfortunately, the others were taking his lead. Sigh.... I did notice that at one point when I'd had to take the boys out into the hall, I came back in and Deedee was right in the thick of it but as soon as James was back,, she was on the sidelines being a pill again. So I'm going to try just sending Charles or Deedee there with a friend and see how that works out. Because, although it's very inexpensive, it just not cost effective to keep taking the kids if they're not going to participate and have fun. Sigh...
After the dance class, most of us descended upon the new Salvation Army that had their grand opening today. We all found some treasures and I'm so thankful that this has moved in. Not only is it much closer to us than Good Will, it's prices are also much better. It's sad to say that Good Will is certainly not for the poor people anymore. :( I found several books, including a 1957 copy of Cat in the Hat, a unit about bears, and a unit introducing several of our greatest presidents to children. Oh, and addition bars that I'm not sure of or even how they work but hopefully I'll figure them out sometime.
Oh, and one of my friends also had the great idea of our homeschool group setting up Library Thing accounts and having an intraloan library which, of course, is just awesome. We all know that we as homeschooling moms have all have a ton of books (and that we probably don't even know half of what we have, which for me is very very true :D ) and that also we often loan out books to one another and then promptly forget where they are or that we even had hem in the first place (once again, this is so me). This is an awesome resource and I highly recommend that you check it out, if only to set up a personal account for yourself. Even if we hadn't talked about doing this for the group, I had been thinking about setting up an account to help me keep track of our huge library that's growing more and more almost weekly. If you'd like to check out my library sometime, look up briarwren.
My husband found this today (he's always in Metacafe, speaking of which it's not a good idea to kids wander around in this site unsupervised) and thought it was interesting. The kids enjoyed watching it and then we looked at some books about birds, how the eggs are formed, cracked open some local chicken eggs, etc. An interestind day.
This semester. James' RE (religious education) class at Church has been focusing on the environment. Each week, the've been learning about a different animal that Heifer International gives to impoverished families. These might include water buffalo, silk worms, bees, chickens, snails, etc.
Today's animal was the water buffalo. I was interested to find out that their horns are made out of the same material as our finger nails. The kids made water buffalo tracks using sponges and paint and James is very proud of his effort. Today, it was also announced the fund raiser that we'll be doing for Heifer International. Two different ideas were chosen, one being a bit more secular than the other.
The first one, Read to Feed, looks like a lot of fun. Basically, this one is an agreement between you and someone else that they will pay you so much per book that you read. James' grandmother has agreed to pay 0.25 per book he reads. His goal is $25 because he'd like to pay for a bee hive.
This second one, Fill the Ark, looks like a lot of fun too. This one is a little more Bible based since it's based on the concept of Noah and his ark. This one comes with a calendar and a little box that looks like an ark. Every day, a different animal that Heiffer Interational deals with is showcased (such as a yak, bees, horses, sheep, etc.). It gives you a bit of trivia for the animal and then it asks you a question. If your answer is yes, you put so much change in your little box. If your answer is no, you still put so much change in the box, but the amount is often a little more. It's not very much, the one I can remember off the top of my head was 0.15 and 0.25 respectively.
So, we've decided to do both of these. I figured Fill the Ark can be done by just us (Carey always has change in his pockets) and we'll ask assorted family members and friends to help us with Read to Feed. This will run until May 18 when all money packets will be collected. This also coincides with our Churches First Annual Animal Blessing so that's very appropriate I thought. The next Sunday after that, the children will count their money and then decide what they want to buy and earmark it for that animal before sending it off to the organization. James is really excited about this and he's already put change in his little ark.
After Church, Carey insisted on taking us for a drive although he refused to tell us where we're going. The nice peacefull drive ended at a store and we're now the proud new owners of a 32 inch HDTV. Bleh. I can't believe how light the things is! Carey's plan is to hook this up as our computer monitor (this is his answer to my "no" to two new flat screens coming into the house) so my posting will be a bit off over the next week as I get used to the new screen. My parents came down to get our old tv for my brother. I had a nice visit with them and I wish that they could have stayed longer. It was really nice again today too. It was almost 80! It was a bit overcast and muggy though since it's supposed to rain tomorrow. :( The kids' new hats came in handy though. However, Miss Deedee has to be watched because her proclivity for nudity keeps getting her into trouble. She had ditched her underwear somewhere and then decided to climb up the play structure. Sigh... three year olds.
Today was absolutely gorgeous. It actually got up close to seventy and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. We spent most of the day out of doors. I ignored a few chores but it was just too nice of a day to pass up. Then again, I did get lots of gardening done so that was an acceptable trad off.
The kids had me pull a lot of their outdoor toys out of the shed such as their teepee and a couple of chairs. They had a blast playing with the stuff as well as other children. Deedee and Charles even hauled some sheets and few toys out to set up house. We just got them a new play kitchen (that's staying outside) and its heavy enough that neighbor kids won't be hauling it off anymore like the other one we had. Oh, and James has an admirer. A young lady brought over a picture of a frog that she made for him. :D
I had planned on taking the kids to a concert that's held every year. Lots of great classical music and then a walk through to get a look at the instruments at the end. I've been looking forward to it, but a mix up in our schedules had Carey doing something else today and no way was I taking all four of my little hooligans to that and expect them to sit still for at least an hour. :( A friend of mine whom was also going was going to take James for me but the decided he would rather ride his bike instead. So then Charles was going to go, but he was getting whiney and I didn't think he'd behave. So he stayed home, and instead after the concert, my friend came back with her son so he could play with the kids. They wound up staying for a couple of hours and everyone enjoyed the ice cream she brought. I enjoyed talking with her as well as swapping books. It's her TJ Ed book that I"ve borrowed and several of my books went home with her as well as a few titles that she's going to find for herself.
The gardening went very well. I weeded out some old pots to give to a neighbor who did't have any, got the last of the old growth pulled up, etc. I snagged some daffodils off of Free Cycle and finally got around to dividing them up and getting them planted. I wound up with so many that several friends also got some. I bought a bag of worm castings to mix in with the dirt this year. I would like to have been able to use my own. There are plans for a foray into vermiculture and the building of a worm bin so hopefully you'll hear more of that soon. So, today I and James planted assorted leaf lettuce, onions, potatoes, strawberries, spinach, radishes, and sunflowers. Soon, the tomatoe plants, squash and other assorted seedlings will be ready to transplant. There are also plans for a few other assorted plants, but that will have to wait until our annual Church plant sale to see what treasures will be found and hauled home. Last year I got some great garlic and tomatoes.
Poor Deedee got sunburned today and I felt horrible. I didn't even think of putting sunscreen on her. She was in a sleeveless dress so her arms, shoulders, nose and cheeks got it. I forget that her fair skin needs more care vs. my darker complexion. How I wound up with a red haired daughter with super pale skin with my coloring is heaven's guess. :D Charles' fair coloring also got a bit pink but he had put on a sweater so only his face got it. Kitty was very slightly pink but she got my darker coloring so she's ok, as well as James. Deedee liked the aloe I put on her arms and doesn't understand why we can't just use all of the plant. :D
I first learned about this great resource about a year and a half ago when I first decided to homeschool my young son. I was looking for stuff about lap books, stumbled upon Jaminacema's awesome blog and from there it was easy to find me way to the Schoolhouse. Right away I saw so many awesome books and stuff that I wanted to order, and I really liked the idea of free shipping. For a family of very limited income that's a huge plus and it's kept me coming back. As for the magazine, I remember really really wanting it and not having the funds. I was so excited this winter when I finally got a chance to not only actually look at a digital copy (a must for this household so I know what I'm getting) and my husband saying that yes, I could use the last of our Christmas money to get a digital subscription. While I've only had the chance to look at a couple of issues now, I've been provided with much food for thought and I've learned of some wonderful resources. One thing I especially love about the digital issues is that I can print only what particularly interested me and what I want to archive for future referance. When space is at a premium, one can't always justify having huge stacks of magazines everywhere. So if you haven't subscribed yet, now's your chance and I highly recommend that you check it out!
Place an order today and as a thank you, receive a free Whole World Mini Edition ($9.99 value) — featured on Oprah's O List!
"A wide-ranging poetry collection covers sea, sun, sky, and earth illuminated by stunning illustrations. Nicholls has ranged far in her choice of poets, too, choosing John Updike and Charlotte Zolotow along with Issa and Buson. There's a traditional Albanian riddle and a handful of translations. Most of the poems are quite short and none are longer than a page. The illustrations are gorgeous -Krommes sketches her images on scratchboard, photocopies the result, then fills in the copies with watercolor. The result is a brilliant use of pattern and placement in space along with color that leaps from the page. The pictures are full of the flora and fauna of the natural world, but almost every scene also has a person, so readers and listeners can see their place in the sun. [T]hese poems speak for themselves and their message is clear: we are indeed of the earth." - Kirkus Reviews
I understand this so much better now, but I still have a long way to go. I guess we're lucky in the fact that my little ones are still young (in the Core Phase according to this philosophy) so I have a couple of years to get settled in, find good curriculum, and just study as much as I can For Myself. If the kids see me trying to learn, and even that it can be hard at times, they'll have a better appreciation for it and understand that it's ok if you don't always understand it at first.
This is a whole huge load off of my chest. I've been stressing about James for so long. I know he's learning and there are area's where he's awesome, mainly with his hands and especially with puzzles (and not just jigsaw's either, hidden pictures are a favorite as well). But it's hard to know that he's learning when there isn't phyiscal proof (mainly for the fire-breathing dissaproving inlaws) that he's doing anything. He can't count, he doesn't even know the alphabet song. But he hasn't been interested in learning it and I'm against the whole idea of sitting him down and force feeding the information down his throat.
I got a chance today to spend several hours with someone who has implemented this into her household and it really helped me understand a lot. She has two boys, one in the Core Phase and one that just entered the next phase (not sure about this one, Love of Learning?). Both boys are really smart, and her older one is just phenomally ahead of other children his age but that's because it's just who he is. He's very gifted and his mom says that it's rather spoiled her because it has been so easy with him. Her younger son is just your average kid that's interested in learning but it's not that big of a deal to him.
So, I got to spend the afternoon asking questions and slowly losing a lot of the excess anxiety I've had about James lately, and the kids got to have tons of fun. The family we visited lives way out in the country on a small farm. They have chickens and horses and there's also a pond with ducks and geese. The kids got along pretty well with only minor mishaps. They discovered the toy cash register and James actually made a break through on his change. For some time he's not really understood the differance between the coins besides the size so perhaps that will help him a later better now. He was so frustrated last week because he wanted to play on one of those mechanical toys that takes a couple of quarters. He only had a nickle, but he'd already put it in by the time I found out what he was doing. He was pretty dissapointed when he discovered that a nickle wouldn't work. Charles and James were excited because they got to help gather eggs. And Deedee was happy later because she got to help feed some chickens (and Charles was being his usual demonic self and having a high old time chasing the poor things). They also got to climb on an old combine (all kids should have an old piece of equipment to climb on). So, the kids came home exhausted last night. We'd been having such a great time, that no one even knew what time it was (the sun going down later doesn't help any either when you're still used to it going down around five and here it's almost six and sitll light out :D).
So, I was sent home with a lot of info to mull over as well as come reading to do. I really want to figure this out and make it work. From what little I've been able to read so far, it really resonated with me. Just as much as when I discovered Charlotte Mason last year and I will happily combine these two great philosophies into an excellent education for my little ones.
In celebration of "the white cloud's intricate maze, And the blue sky's beautiful sheen," I am hereby announcing SmallWorld's In Just-spring Mudluscious Poetry Contest. It's really quite simple. Just copy and paste this orange-lettered spring green lettered section onto your own blog along with a poem that in some way celebrates spring. (Copy the contest photo above if you want, as well!) Leave me a comment with a link to your contest entry. The poem doesn't have to overtly use the word "spring," but it should in some way evoke the feeling of spring. If you don't have a blog, just leave a poem in the comments.
I'll be running this particular contest until April 10, so you've got plenty of time to find just the perfect poem. I will randomly choose a winner, who will receive a box in the mail filled with some of my favorite spring things (think gardens, good smells, and prettiness, unless the winner is male, in which case, scratch the good smells and pretty things)
This sounds like fun. Now, I'm unable to find my little book of sundry poems I've written over the years and I'm not great at writing any off of the top of my head. However, this immediately made me think of a post I did last month. I had put together a slideshow of pictures I'd been taking around town of spring blossoms. I also included a poem by Robert Frost that had just shouted the joy of spring and the heart glad in it's return. As well, a small quote by Algernon Charles Swinburne that seemed quite appropriate for a slideshow of spring blossoms. Instead of reposting all of that here, or totally messing with a post that I did before this contest even started, I am linking to that post so that you may see it in all of it's original glory. :D You still have a couple of days before this ends, so grab a couple of interesting spring poems that speak to you, and head on over to Small World to post about them!
Root of the Tree is a set of toolbars that offers instant access to the best sites on the web, are age appropriate and with no spyware, adware, etc. There are four different toolbars, easy to switch between, and all packed with educational and entertaining online games. It works for both IE & Firefox, it downloads quickly, and best of all, it's Free!
The categories are:
Roots: Parents, full of activities, coupons, tools, etc.
I found this site this morning through a site that I found last night. I as wactually trying to find an online audio of The Owl and the P*u*s*s*y Cat. I found said audio at Story Nory. As I was exploring, I stumbled upon this in Story Nory's blog. (There's a Story Nory tab on the Roots bar.)
Starting in November of 2005, Story Nory has published a free audio story every week! There are now over 100 collected stories, poems, myths, legends and fairy tales; even the complete text of Alice in Wonderland! Typically, each one is 10-15 minutes in length although, some may be shorter (or even longer, witnes Beauty and the Beast at 36 minutes). These stories are all being read to Prince Bertie the Frog by a young woman named Natasha. So, have fun exploring and don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you won't miss out on any new stories!
I stumbled upon this quite by accident tonight, and I'm in love. The kids and I had been reading those wonderful nonsense poems by Edward Lear. I wanted to expose them to other people saying the poems so I did a quick search for audio. This was the top of the list and I (actually, James) spent almost the next hour at the site after we had finished the section about Edward Lear and the other little ones had gone to bed. He explored around, listened to The Ugly Duckling and then we discussed it. He liked the story so much that I'm planning next weeks curriculum around it.
Well, today was very interesting and elightening. As I wrote about a week ago, opportunies best present themselves when the time has come to take advantage of them. Or, as the old adage goes, a teacher will present themselves when you're ready to learn (even if you did't realized said teacher had actually arrived).
This semester, James' Religious Education classes are focusing on the environment. One aspect is Heiffer International, a non profit organization that helps provide animals to impoverished families. Depending on the animal, it will provide a much needed source of income and sustenance. For instance, a sheep provides wool, milk (excess can be sold), and even meat if you're so inclined. Anway, the teacher had chosen an animal that Heiffer International can provide. Well, in this case I can't really classify it as an animal. Today, the children learned about the silk worm. They learned the life stages, how a butterfly is different from a moth (and the differances), etc. She had even gotten some cacoons for them to handle and she brought in a few articles of silk for them to handle. I even learned a bit about silk that I hadn't known. For instance, you get the nobby raw silk from strands of silk that had been broken vs. the one long strand being unwound intact and then entwined with other strands to spin a thread that is then woven into a silk fabric. Like I said, rather interesting. It really makes one appreciate why silk is so darn expensive. This was the perfect opportunity for her to introduce a couple of fund raising opportunities for Heiffer International that the kids will have an opportunity to participate in starting next Sunday. At the end of the period, any money the child has raised will go to fund an animal through Heiffer International and James is really excited about it, but more on that later. In turn, the day the funds are collected is also the day of our animal blessing at Church, so I'm really looking forward to that.
So, James got to handle several cacoons, even see a dead pupa (I think that's the right term), and his little activity was to make cards of the moths life stages. So little beads represented the eggs, a cotton ball the cacoon, etc. and he quite enjoyed putting that together. His snack today was rice and tea (silk is a major industry in China) that was quite a special treat. Milk, sugar, and cinnamon was provided to put in their rice. Something else found in the rice? A gummi worm! LOL
Today a load has lifted from my shoulders and things have happened as they should which in turn opened some new paths. I haven't felt this happy, and well, optomistic in a long time. First, I had an opportunity to talk to a dear friend who also happens to be very wise. He set aside two hours of his busy time just for me and I had a chance to talk about all of my frustrations, etc. He in turn helped me step back and see the wider picture. I felt quite silly to realize that some of my problems I've been causing because of my complete inability to actually trust myself. I have almost no self confidence. I'm now well on my way to stop being a doormat and letting people push me around. I for one have gotten quite tired of the negative attitude from my husbands parents about most of my decisions for my childrens' welfare but I can feel myself getting worked up again so enough of that. So, that was one instance where a new path opened up today. And that time ended with me meeting a small squirrel (not the furry little chap of last week whom invaded my stroller) that actually posed for me as I wandered home. Yay. So I was actually quite bubbly and happy when I arrived home. I finished watching a movie with Carey (one of his slow foreign films from the 1940's) and then I was off to a monthly group meeting with some friends. I'm so glad I went. I discovered that I wasn't quite alone as I had thought in a lot of instances and I quite enjoyed myself.
So how does classical education come into this? For those of you that know me well, or that have perused my links with a fine toothed comb, you would have noticed that I'm especially attracted to living books curriculum and the classics. About a year ago, I met a woman whom was also homeschooling her children and she mentioned something she called TJ Ed. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about but I looked it up when I got home. However, at that time I really didn't know her well at all so although I really liked what I was reading the subject wound up getting dropped. Well, the more I've gotten to know her and the more we've talked about (and the more I've interacted with her extremely bright 8 yo) the more I've wanted to know about this philosophy and how it was applied in the home. The only thing I knew about it was that it was based on the classics, and that the teacher also had to be the student in the fact that they had always be learning themselves to stay one step a head of the said student. Well, I finally got around to borrowing a book (A Thomas Jefferson Education Home Companion) from her to learn a bit more. She pointed out a few chapters that she thought would be especially beneficial in learning a bit more about it and how she felt some I should just ignore because they would completely confuse me at this time. :D So, I came home and read those chapters and they resonated with me so much that I can't wait to learn more. There was one quote that I wanted to share, but for the life of me I've been unable to locate it within the pages once more. However, suffice it to say that for those especially interested in a living books philosophy and learning from the classics that this is definitely an avenue to pursue.
Yep, once again I am undertaking a rather extensive overhaul of all graphics and links in the sidebar! For those of you that put up with this last fall as well, please be patient. Hopefully, this will take me only a few days. Please bear with me if there are any broken links or graphics not displaying properly; I will fix them as soon as possible. Please feel free to leave a comment just in case I may have missed them. In the meantime, settle in with a nice cup of your favorite beverage in a comfy chair, and check out my archives!
Sections being added:
Homeschooling Children with Special Needs (James chose the graphic)
James' Cooking Lessons
Our World Studies
The Broom Closet (groups that I belong to)
And lots and lots of links that I have set aside with no time to add them. Oh, and news headlines as well fixing my Word of the Day. This is something I used to have, but lost when we couldn't do JAVA for a while.
The musings of my childrens journey in the wonders of love, life, and spirituality. Love, Live, Laugh, and Learn. That's what it's all about. Welcome and blessed be.
* Carey ~ Beloved husband that puts up with everything.
He's majoring in history, loves to read, play D&D and Mech Warriors.
* Ami ~ Me. Busy teacher and housewife. I love to spend
time with the kids, read, garden, cook, knit, sew, make my own soaps
and salves.
* James ~ Our oldest at five. He loves to build with blocks, enjoys the guitar, adores robots and believes he
can't live without his trucks (and skateboard).
* Charles ~ My little monkey! Our youngest son at four, he
is the most precious gift ever recieved on a birthday.
He's a wonderful, sunny little guy that's very inquisitive and artistic.
* Meradydd ~ Our oldest daughter at three.
An opinionated and exceedingly bossy little girl with a temper to match her copper hair.
My little fashion diva that loves shoes, furlies, & hair pretties.
* Kathrynn ~ Kitty is my 1 year old little angel. She's a beautiful, mellow little girl that's extremely patient but is also starting to show her claws.
Today a load has lifted from my shoulders and things have happened as they should which in turn opened some new paths. I haven't felt this happy, and well, optomistic in a long time. First, I had an opportunity to talk to a dear friend who also happens to be very wise. He set aside two hours of his busy time just for me and I had a chance to talk about all of my frustrations, etc. He in turn helped me step back and see the wider picture. I felt quite silly to realize that some of my problems I've been causing because of my complete inability to actually trust myself. I have almost no self confidence. I'm now well on my way to stop being a doormat and letting people push me around. I for one have gotten quite tired of the negative attitude from my husbands parents about most of my decisions for my childrens' welfare but I can feel myself getting worked up again so enough of that. So, that was one instance where a new path opened up today. And that time ended with me meeting a small squirrel (not the furry little chap of last week whom invaded my stroller) that actually posed for me as I wandered home. Yay. So I was actually quite bubbly and happy when I arrived home. I finished watching a movie with Carey (one of his slow foreign films from the 1940's) and then I was off to a monthly group meeting with some friends. I'm so glad I went. I discovered that I wasn't quite alone as I had thought in a lot of instances and I quite enjoyed myself. 
