After a year of attempted moves...

http://fivejewels.wordpress.com/

I hope to see you there! 

"do" Halloween, but had a great time dressing up, introducing Beret to our neighbors, scooping out pumpkins, and eating candy. 

Here ya go, Mom.   (The size 3 clown costume fit Abby like knickers - cute!) 

Beret Anna's torture was short lived - and she didn't seem to mind. 

reminded of pictures taken by a Mrs. Goshnick some 35 years ago? 

Smiles and a half giggle for Mama! 

My new nickname for Beret Anna during school. 

One with her coverall loving Dad

Yes, the girls are having way too much fun dressing this baby.  I've never (ever!) done jeans on an infant. 

At the pumpkin patch on a very hot day!  Beret Anna was in the sun for 20 seconds. 

Ah, indoors is better.

Now, it's freezing.  Beret Anna was out for another 20 seconds. 

Big Girls

Three Girls

you need to start capturing!"

Ugh.  I woke up and did MUCH better on the second round. 

These two are following in the footsteps of their capable-in-the-kitchen sisters.  Maybe I should write a curriculum called From Peanut Butter Balls to Meatballs.  Or... maybe not. 

They had fun and they were yummy.  Next time, we'll be sure we have all of the ingredients before we start!

We have them and enjoy the curriculum too.  The fact that we're getting art done with a 4, 5, and 6 week old baby ought to speak for itself. 

Sarah working on a close range still life 

Holly and Abby working on filling the space on their paper

Holly's effort

Abby's work - love how she understood the concept of sky peeking through between the leaves

Hannah was working on shadows and shading in the woods. 

Abby, while walking hand in hand through the science center at the local college...  "I'm giving her hand a headache."  I questioned her a few times about the location of her hand's head, but it was to no avail.  Her hand did indeed have a headache. 

Editing here because no one was kind enough to point out that my brain has ceased functioning!  So now you know the truth.  The language portion of my brain is greatly impacted by pregnancy.  It's great fun for the rest of the family.  Abby said, "You're giving my hand a headache."  Okay?  Okay.  (Thud!). 

Holly, during her second game of chess with Sarah... "I suppose that once you understand the strategy, playing chess could be quite pleasant."  She wasn't impressed on her first try last week, but has been talking about the "characters" on the board all day today. 

Abby, while helping me change laundry...  "You sure are strong now that Beret is here, Mom."  :)

She can see better with her new glasses.  We're hoping this helps with her frequent headaches too.

A quilt from one and a Steiff bear from another.  It's a tradition!

When Dan and I learned that we were expecting Sarah, we purchased a duckie outfit.  It was well worn by four girls and is a much cherished item in our drawer of special things. 

When Sarah learned that we were expecting Beret Anna, she chose this duckie outfit.  I think it's ready for the drawer of special things too.  Beret is growing well!

Yes, I'm aware that my feet are in every picture and yes, we put her down - every now and then.

What a wonderful way to be settled for a morning nap during school. 

There aren't many things I love more than a baby peeking over Dan's shoulder!

Beret Anna and her Mama

Many helpful, loving arms for our Beret

It's time for apple cider and pumpkin donuts.  Yum!  (I could taste them this year). 

Mom's recovering - our first hike as a famiy of seven! 

Enjoying patches of good color

By their favorite pump

Getting enough to eat...

Coming home to a favorite fall dinner.  Acorn squash with sausage for the meal and with brown sugar or maple syrup for dessert. 

Apple pie made by girls

This is as official as we get.  We were at a nature trail, the girls were taking turns climbing a tree, and we had a camera. 

Beret Anna was born early in the morning on a misty, foggy day.  She was brought home in rain which continued for two full days.  The frogs were plentiful and the older four had a blast with them!

We went fishing before Beret Anna was born. 

Abby learned to ride her bike!!!!! 

Beret Anna, six days old

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In Daddy's arms...

Meeting big sisters with wide open eyes...

Ready to go home...

Mom and Dad are wowed by the improvements in car seats! 

In Abby's arms, one day old

Hannah's arms, one day old

In Holly's arms, two days old

In an outfit from her Alabama cousins

Welcome to our family, Beret Anna!!!

For non-St. Olaf grads., Beret is the Norwegian form of Bridget and is pronounced like the last name Barrett.  It means glorious and Anna means grace, so her name means Glorious Grace.  Now, go read Giants in the Earth.  :) 

Born 5:20 am Sept. 12th.

7 lbs. 13 oz.  (yay!!!)

20 inches long

She's not here.

I'm not in labor.

I'm less listless than last week.

The girls are more listless than last week.

Dan hasn't been, isn't, and won't become listless.

We'll decide on her name when we see her. 

School is going well.  We're loving our new routine.  Starting with time together followed by Tapestry has been a wonderful change.  We've found that Latin and Science are a better fit for us after lunch.  The pace is full, but has plenty of buffer for meeting baby's needs as well.   We'll see if I can keep up with Week By Week posts a bit better this year. 

Bible/Together time -  We've moved to two new hymns for September and are working through Abby's Kindy. study on wisdom.  We've completed the introduction to our character study where we learned the fruits of the Spirit and investigated Biblical motivation for living out the character of Christ in our actions.  We memorized our first poem and have been singing the Star Spangled Banner - an awful task before eight am, but they kept mixing it up with America the Beautiful so it couldn't be helped.  Next week, we'll work a bit harder on our first memory task of the year - states and capitols. 

Tapestry Year Three - We're following a routine similar to last year, but are accomplishing more as the girls are older and we're having less interruptions so far.  Doing our introduction, timeline, and handing out reading assignments on Fridays works very well.  I introduced Week Four (Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase) yesterday and the girls' dressers are full of Lewis and Clark narratives and journals as well as a variety of books about Sacajawea and Thomas Jefferson.  We've found that if they finish what I call their "level one reading" (textbooks and overviews) and make a dent on "level two reading" (information books) over the weekend, that they are ready to dig in on Monday when we've been doing mapwork, Tapestry's geography tasks, and research and response from encyclopedias.  On Tuesdays, I rotate the girls through discussion while they do worksheets, coloring, and state or president cards.  Wednesday and Thursday are for pre-writing and polishing writing. 

Basic Work - Math and Language Arts are going well.  Chalkdust Pre-Algebra is working well for Sarah, which is a relief!  Everyone is enjoying Latin this year.  It's something that needs hit daily to be enjoyed.  Lively Latin continues to be an excellent choice for Hannah and Holly while Sarah continues with her Latin in the Christian Trivium course.  Science is going well too.  Sarah has another week or so of Rainbow to finish before she begins Apologia General. 

Kindy. - Abby is doing well, but struggles with the change in routine.  She'll settle in once her music class and piano lesssons start this week. 

Music - Sarah's lessons with her new violin teacher have been a wonderful boost and we're all enjoying the fruit of her labors.  Hannah is working on Witches Dance on cello and is ready for the middle section next week.   Holly is working through Volume One of the Barber violin repertoire series and Essential Elements Bk. 2 while waiting her Suzuki lessons to begin after baby's arrival.  She learned the National Anthem and the Olympic Fanfare this week and has started work on vibrato.  Piano is going well for the older girls.  Abby has started May Song on cello and is desperate for a new piano assignment which she'll receive on Wednesday. 

Activities - Ballet has begun for Sarah and orchestra starts on Monday.  Hannah and Holly are going to take a lego/engineering class instead of ballet this fall.  That starts in a few weeks and we'll enjoy the increased structure. 

Peek!

Getting wet...

and wetter!

SIlly!

Under DaVinci's Horse

After the Garden, we went to the zoo.  The Swan Boats beckoned first.  The girls were thrilled that Dan found a turtle!

It was a hot afternoon and many of the animals were sleeping during our visit, but we enjoyed this bear.  He seemed to be enjoying his stretch!

Abby loves to play Sorry!

She's not so sure about being Sorry'd, however!

Just kidding!

We use the four year science cycle as outlined in The Well Trained Mind.  Materials and books are chosen for their level of interest.  When Sarah was in this level, I made Montessori style task cards.  My physics ones, admittedly, are not the most interesting.  I suspect this is because the text I chose for the spine, David MacAuley's How Things Work, is more than engaging and I had less to pull together.  Because that book is more than what I want for Holly at this age, she is using the materials I purchased for Hannah when Sarah was in fifth grade. 

The materials - An ecyclopedia set, a science encyclopedia, a science dictionary, detailed and simple information books, a few things to explore.  I have some models of simple machines somewhere, but I haven't found them yet. 

The cards - numbered by the week, name the topic and give them tasks to do. 

Hannah's card for the week.  These task cards aren't very specific because my girls know what to do by this age.  The cards for year one and two might ask them to define a specific term.  This year, they are directed to read the spine, define the main term using the science dictionary, research the topic further with other sources, and respond somehow.  Right now, we're simply doing a notebook sized poster format.  Sometimes they make information booklets.  Lapbooks or other notebooking type pages would work as well. 

Here's Holly's work from last week. 

Holly has also been working on a list of all of the pulleys she kind find this week.  It's simple, self directed, engaging, enjoyable, and builds confidence. 

After lunch, I take care of the kitchen so the girls can get some fresh air.  They prefer not to have extended play because they like finishing school early, so we usually pick one activity that they can do for ten or fifteen minutes.  Today, they were playing a game they've made up with the basketball.  The swing set, jumping rope, kicking balls, or riding bikes are all fair game. 

They are laughing here because Sarah threw the ball at me when she saw the camera (reality). 

Another bit of reality is that Abby was being a grump and didn't want to play.  I'd hate for you to think they were being perfect angels.  Thankfully, the camera chased the grumpies away this day and they did get a few minutes of fun.

Back inside for Latin and Science...  Hannah and Holly have found that they can accomplish science before lunch most days.  I'll share how they do that in another post.  If they have science left to do, they will do it after Latin so that I can be done.  Sarah works on her Latin and Science independently. 

Here's the board.  Yes, I caught my mistake after I took the picture.  Hannah and Holly are reviewing what they learned last year for now.  Abby listens to some Latin books on CD during this time.  She can look at the books or choose something else to do nearby. 

Here they are working through their flashcards.

When we're done, this is what awaits me on Monday and Friday afternoons.  Again, the reality...

Hannah's ready to help with the underclothes (left out of the picture!).

Done!

Put Away!

The one who helps switch the loads does not fold.  She's already enjoying rest time (as in, history reading)!

So, it's 1:00 and we're free!  I was expecting a day to get us on track, but it was a day of accomplishing assignments thanks to the blessing of eager girls.  After a bit of reading, Sarah will do her violin.  While the girls play outside I'll rotate Hannah and Holly through their cello and violin practice.  We might tackle a project, go to the pool, ride bikes, or play with the cats - or maybe toads.  For now, the reality is that I'll be resting in the recliner! 

After Tapestry, our basic studies await.  Sarah is on a weekly (or daily as needed) oversight schedule.  We've already gone over the pace for each of her subjects for the year.  I meet with the others by turn, starting with Hannah as she has the most independent work to do as a 5th grader. 

Here are Hannah's texts ready for her time with Mom.  Holly's are similar. 

Sarah works in Dad's nearby office.  She's using a video course for pre-algebra this year.

Abby has time to play before doing her school.

Once Holly's meeting is done, Abby has her turn.  These three work well with distractions!

While the older three finish their assignments independently, Abby does her piano and music.

Soon, everyone is ready for lunch.  We work together to make a simple and hopefully nutritious lunch.  Today we had peanut butter and honey or turkey, cheese, and veggies on cracked wheat with fresh peaches from the market.  We'll be back to baking our own bread once baby is born. 

Like I said, "reality."

The fun of June has been replaced by the fatigue of August.  Summer spontaneity has done the work of preparing us for the structure of the school year.  Two weeks ago, Hannah, Holly, and Abby started math and language arts.  Last week, Hannah and Holly added science.  This week, Sarah is home from Dance Intensives and we're doing our full routine.  Staggering their start has given us the opportunity to work on the good habits and eager attitudes we desire throughout our learning.  Starting early should give us three or four weeks under our belts before baby arrives and a couple of weeks before easing into fall activities. 

So, here was our first day in pictures.  You're getting the raw, real deal here - a glimpse of our reality. 

A new school year requires coffee for Mom and fun flowers for the girls.  Dan has great ideas!

After last school year's crazy dance around construction, we are enjoying a bit of together time at the start of our school day.  During this time, we're singing two hymns from the Lutheran Book of Worship (piano accompaniment found on-line), doing a bit of Bible study and application, learning one poem a month, and singing a few children's songs each month for Abby's benefit.  We might add a bit of rote math or english to the routine later.

Here they are ready to begin.  In case you're curious, it was about 7:35 when this was taken.  I use the times on our schedule as a benchmark for keeping on track, but rarely refer to them.  The recliner is for their very pregnant Mama! 

These are some of our Together Time resources for the year.  We are, once again, starting our studies with A Study In Wisdom by Dale Simpson.  This study applies to everyone and never gets old.  After that, we'll be using a Voyages workbook minus the individual workbooks.  We'll be doing the readings and exercises as discussion.  Holly and Abby have  Bible timeline pictures to color.  Sarah, Hannah, and Holly will be copying our verses for the week onto index cards.  Hannah and Holly will be making a chart showing the Law and Gospel for each lesson as well as writing down how they can apply their reading to life and the choices they make.  Bible will take the bulk of this time as our poetry and song selection only take a couple of minutes. 

Tapestry Time...  We started Year Three this morning.  Today was our Introduction Day.  I also gave them their reading assignments and started a few read alouds.  During this time, Abby is busy with items in our school room.  I think she did puzzles and looked at books this morning.  The others  took notes from the board while I figured out whose book was whose!

Sarah with her books

Hannah with her books

Holly with her books

Our read aloud

A resource for reviewing geography

I'm not cut of the to-the-penny cloth when it comes to budgeting, but seeing our weekly grocery bill move from the $130 range to the $150 range and beyond (eek!) brought out a new facet of my personality.  We made a few changes last spring and the savings have been encouraging.  I've found that sticking with a standard menu throughout a season works well for us.  For breakfast, we've been eating oatmeal or bran muffins daily.  Oatmeal can be made into muesli overnight and the addition of yogurt and almonds and fruit make it a more complete meal.  The bran muffins are from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American and are baked fresh in the morning from a batter that lasts several weeks in the fridge.  We have a serving of plain yogurt (flavored with a bit of honey) or a slice of cheese with our muffin for protein.  The girls usually have nuts or almonds for a mid morning snack if one is needed.  At lunch, we've been having a particular sandwich (turkey club, blt, turkey and avocado, pbj, etc...) every weekday.  Dinners are based on our favorite summer recipes.  By following this plan, my bills have gone down along with those odd times of meal crisis. 

Since it worked well over the spring and summer, the girls and I sat down and figured out what we'd like to do for fall.  Hopefully, this plan will last through November! 

Breakfasts - sticking with bran muffins and a variety of oatmeal preparations for weekdays. 

Snacks - nuts, almonds, raw milk cheese slices

Lunch - pbj or "sandwich of the week" with whatever fruit is on sale at the grocery OR bowl of reheated honmeade soup with fruit and maybe a grilled cheese

Monday Dinner - bone in chicken done as bbq, traditional baked, or marinated

Dan has a late night on Mondays and leftover chicken works well for him as a sandwich.  We buy our bone in chicken from a local hobby farm a couple of times a year.  

Tuesday Dinner - stew meat as goulash, stroganoff, stew, soup, etc... 

This is a meal that might end up a bit staggered depending on Hannah and Holly's schedule.  I chose stew meat because it's a great day for a crock pot mea. 

Wednesday  Dinner - ground meat as burgers, meatloaves, meatballs, italian dishes, etc...

I go to the meat market after picking Abby up from her piano lesson, so this is the perfect day for fresh-not-frozen ground beef.  It's much easier on the hands when making meatballs! 

Thursday Dinner - boneless chicken breasts with lemon butter wine, lemon artichokes, sate with chinese veggies, paprikash, cacciatore, etc...

The boneless breasts from the meat market will still be fresh-not-frozen, which is easier for sauteeing or cutting into tenders. 

Friday Dinner - finish anything in the freezer first.  Then, rotate pork tenderloin, ham, chicken sausage, homemade pizza or calzones

Saturday - soup or something seasonal

Sunday - steak, brisket, roast or something seasonal

Starting school (more on that next week) hasn't meant the end of full summer days.  Here's a sampling of what we've been doing over the last few weeks - in pictures and video!  (Mom, you might want to send links of Sarah's dancing to Ellie). 

Sewing curtains for a new bedroom...

Singing in the Harbor Choral Festival...

Enjoying the fruits of the season thanks to Dan's patients...

Blueberry cobbler thanks to the efforts of Hannah and Holly...

Savoring german brats thanks to our Farmer's Market...

Playing with a  yard full of toads...

Singing at home (Hannah)...

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v218/fourjewels/polishing%20gems/?action=view&current=MVI_0574.flv

Playing duets with Great Uncle Mike (Abby and Holly)...

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Learning a before-baby piece (double stops and fussing babies don't go together - Holly)...

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Coreographing ballet (Sarah)...

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Dancing on Pointe...

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Visiting with (and hugging) Uncle Brad...

Ahem, getting big...

The girls enjoyed camping with Dan in our woods.  I learned that I can still sleep until 8:00 if undisturbed!

Later, we went to nearby trails to bike and kayak. 

The older girls had choir rehearsal in the afternoon, so Abby and I had some fun time alone together.  We caught this huge moth.  Actually, I caught it even though I was initially afraid it was a bat!

She also played with her water toy.

BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, spinach casserole, and no bake chocolate cake (thanks to Famous Chocolate Wafer Cookies) made up our dinner.  Everything tasted good, but the corn is gets top prize for being photogenic. 

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend. 

Anyone else laughing?

So, here are the choices for this school year. 

Sarah 7th Grade:

Math - Chalk Dust Pre-Algebra

L. Arts - Spelling Workout (finish), Rod and Staff English 7, Classical Roots A, B

Humanities - Tapestry of Grace Year 3, Dialectic

Logic - Games

Science - Apologia General

Foreign Language - Latin for the Christian Trivium I (finish) and II

Bible - Voyages (Concordia Publishing House) with family rather than workbook style along with a few other character based studies we'll be using

Art - Artistic Pursuits - the first Jr. High level

Music - Theory Time, Faber Piano 3B, Violin

Activity - Level IV Ballet, Jr. Ensemble, String Orchestra

Hannah 5th Grade:

Math - Calvert 5

L. Arts - Spelling Workout, Zaner Bloser Handwriting, Cursive Copy Work, Rod and Staff English 5

Humanities - Tapestry of Grace Year 3 Upper Grammar/Dialectic straddle

Logic - Games

Science - Physics (Well Trained Mind grammar level style with a Montessori twist)

Lively Latin and Minimus for fun

Bible - same as Sarah

Artistic Pursuits - 1st of the 4th - 6th grade books

Music - Theory Time, Faber Piano 2B, Cello

Activity - Ballet

Holly 2nd Grade:

Calvert Math 3

L. Arts - Zaner Bloser handwriting 2M and 2C, Copy work, Rod and Staff English 2

Humanities - Tapestry of Grace Year 3, Lower Grammar

Logic - Games

Science - like Hannah

Latin - like/with Hannah

Bible - same as the others

Artistic Pursuits 3rd book of K - 3

Theory Time, Faber Piano 2B, Violin

Ballet

Abby - 5 year Kindy.:

Saxon 1 Math worksheets

Zaner Bloser K Handwriting

Copy work related to phonics

Phonics seatwork book A and B from Veritas Press

Phonics Pathways, Various Readers

Sonlight K literature

Tag along with others on Bible and anything that interests her from Tapestry

Artistic Pursuits with Holly

Latin CDs and books on tape

Piano Lessons, Cello

Early Childhood Music Class

Baby:

Learn to take naps during Tapestry and school meetings.

Learn to nurse during music practice. 

My school preparation was done in June - true to form for me as I enjoy having a completely clean plate during the summer.  With a baby due in September, we'll be starting school a bit early.  The younger three will start basic work Aug. 4.  Sarah will join us and we'll add in the rest of our subjects Aug. 18.  That should give us a 3-5 week head start before things get really exciting. 

Here's our "schedule" for the year.  This is a four day routine outside of the first month in the fall and the month of January when we do five days a week.  Otherwise, Fridays are for other things - art, music history, music theory, cleaning, organizing, errands, extra computer time, and my sanity.   

Morning Routines 6:00 - 7:30

Get Ready

Rotate Piano Practice for Older Three

Set Kitchen for Day and Check Meals

Take Care of Cats

Breakfast and Kitchen Jobs

Morning School 7:30 - 11:00

Together Time (Bible, Hymn, Memorization, Children's Songs, Rote Math)

Tapestry of Grace

School Meetings/Independent Work in L. Arts and Math for Older Three

Kindy., Cello, Piano with Abby

Lunch, Kitchen/Outside 11:00 - 11:30

Afternoon School 11:30 - 1:00

Latin

Science

Early Afternoon

Rest Time - Independent Reading, Quiet Play, Recordings

Sarah's Violin

Rotate Hannah's cello and Holly's violin with active/outdoor/creative play

Late Afternoon (choose from...)

Scheduled activities/lessons, piano lesson with Mom, cooking, project, games, cats, computer or science video

At the beach...

Playing with fun toys from Grandma and Grandpa

Swimming, grilling, swinging, jam making, reading...  We've been doing it all! 

My parents drove my Grandma from Ohio for a visit last weekend.  The girls enjoyed visiting with her.

Abby enjoying "Holly's bike." 

Playing in the sand while waiting for fireworks. 

Someone will need to thank me for posting this!

Oh, the pain of new fangled maternity wear!!!!! 

Dan's contribution to my emotional needs.  Apparently, baby girl needs a rocking lamb. 

Hannah and Abby attended Suzuki cello camp last week.  Our violinists came along to help. 

Here's a link to Abby playing Twinkle (gospel/camp style if you notice the accompaniment!) at the final concert.  http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v218/fourjewels/polishing%20gems/?action=view&current=MVI_0352.flv

Holly's class had a change of teacher, several new to ballet students, and seven snow days this term.   They were not prepared at parent observation night, but an alert to the head of school took care of that.  She ran their last class for them and helped clean up their piece.  Phew! 

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v218/fourjewels/?action=view&current=MVI_0258.flv

While the others are busy at tennis - and ballet school is on break - Sarah has been enjoying a local string camp.  It was the perfect opportunity to transition to her new teacher and enjoy some summer instruction as a baby in September keeps us home from Steven's Point in August!

During a group ensemble piece...

Links to her performance of La Folia.  She did pretty well, though having an accompanist is still challenging for her!  I loved how she wasn't afraid to use some power in her playing. 

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The other girls sat very nicely during the recital and since all of the violinists received Ben and Jerry's, they got one too.  I declared it lunch since Daddy is off biking in Minnesotat! 

daily tennis lessons in June that makes me thrill at the thought of getting to *do this* again?

This link will take you to the end of Sarah's performance last night. 

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Here's a link of a bit of Martini Gavotte and...

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Humoresque.  http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v218/fourjewels/polishing%20gems/?action=view&current=MVI_0251.flv

I think they would have smiled if they'd had a chance to adjust to summer weather! 

Our end of the school year celebration - banana splits for all after a trip to the pool.   

There's a secret to getting smiles like these.  Make it family policy to share treats on all but the happiest of days.  In the last few years our girls have experienced their first whole donut and their first whole sundae.  Last week afforded them this first whole banana split.  We initially did this because serving sizes were out of control, but we've discovered it teaches contentment and joy too! 

If you are nauseously pregnant and have asthma be sure your children warn you before starting to dissect in the kitchen.  Ahem...

Holly and Abby, otherwise known as Colonial Ladies, thought it was fascinating.  "Open it wider, Sarah!"  I, however, decreed that all further dissection take place outdoors. 

Wrapping up math for the year.  Yeah for long division!!!

Muffin maker extraordinaire!

Otherwise known as my last chance to travel before baby...

At Greenfield Village with my parents

Eating dinner at Buca's (thaks Dad!)

The girls had a lot of sharing to do!

On the steps of the church where we were married just shy of our thirteenth anniversary with four (five!) girls of our own.  (We had four flower girls in our wedding).  :)

Holly's our thoughtful girl! 

Somehow, sleeping in curlers makes everyone happy! 

Abby is learning to read! 

that my lab results came back and show a clear previous infection regarding Fifth's Disease.  In other words, baby girl is doing well. 

We have lots of creatures about as our backyard is adjacent to 10-20 acres of woods that include large gulleys and a creek.  This woodpecker favors our property.  It's huge! 

These two received lots of attention from the local media.

This one did not! 

We've tried not to *baby* our baby-of-five-years, but it's a challenge at times.  Unfortunately, this time it turned out she was a bit sick.  A rash developed on her cheeks by the end of worship on Sunday and a visit to the Dr. confirmed Fifth's Disease yesterday.  I've begun testing to determine if baby might be affected.  Holly has it as well. 

For now, at least... 

Abby LOVES her cello!

He can teach Sarah algebra with ease. 

and life is grand!

Everyone (read Abby) has settled into a routine and I've sufficiently decompressed.  That only took six days of staring at blank walls and accomplishing nothing. 

I had eight inches cut off of my hair this morning.  It was longer than it's ever been and though I liked it I'm happy to say that all of the damage done by straightening my hair last fall is gone.  Poor Sarah is grieving the loss of her beautiful Mama, but she'll recover. 

Um, yes, that is a baby in my mid section - and yes, those are leaves outside my window.  Happy sigh... 

The girls came to my ultrasound this morning and baby's cooperation gave us opportunity to do some shopping.  We gave Dan a *shower* over his lunch. 

White Socks

Oh, the suspense...

A healthy baby...

A gift from Sarah for...

her newest little sister!

The rest of us had fun too. 

I've been waiting to see if I should keep this blog name and, from what we could tell, Polishing Gems still fits!

We're also rejoicing because Builder Dan is done with every last detail on the inside.  I won't put it past My Dan to find one or two more things, but as of this moment the inside of the house is MINE.  The girls are celebrating with permission to dress up and have free reign of the house.  I'm a happy, blessed Mama! 

Decompression has begun in earnest.  We've had a peaceful, quiet afternoon working on projects. 

I bought a bobbin maker a few weeks ago and found that it is a huge help.  I made this skirt for Sarah with way less than my usual trouble.  I'm happy to report that it's not been relegated to the dress up pile! 

Hannah put her new sewing kit to good use making doll clothes with her sisters. 

Flowers from an adoring *fan.*

Hannah excels in having fun and bringing joy.  She celebrated her April 28th birthday a few days early. 

Always ready to laugh and bring others along for the ride, Hannah was hardly able to contain herself while opening this *gift.*  It turns out that she wrapped a bar of soap for herself as a joke on the rest of us - good girl! 

Now this is my kind of game.

If you can't make it out, they're shooting arrows and catching them with a pond net. 

When your children are young, you never hear that twelve year olds are delightful.  You should!  They're positively wonderful!!! 

Sarah's been a trooper this week - getting ready for tech. rehearsals in the van several days in a row.  She made a somewhat stressful situation fun!

Abby has graduated from her Twinkles and has been giving a "Twinkle Tour" over the past few weeks.  She played for Mrs. R., Sarah and Holly's violin teacher, last week and received several neat stickers for her foot chart.  She played for Grandma and PopPop today and has several more stops planned on her tour over the next few weeks.  It's fun and motivating for her.  I love watching her concentration. 

is almost stressful!  Ah, I'm going to be okay now.  Abby should recover by next week. 

where we are making it, but it feels like we aren't.  I don't do messy house well and Abby doesn't do lack of routines well.  The combo. is quite crazy and I'm not sure it's worth it at the moment, but that's why it's called Remodel Madness...

Amazingly, the tool mess and waiting living room/kitchen/foyer should be DONE by Wednesday.  The other picture at the bottom is to show that we are free from subfloor in our main floor bathroom.  Tile reigns. 

In happier news, the weather has changed and we've been outdoors most of the day all week.  Dan worked on grading areas of the lawn that were ruined last summer this morning and spent the rest of the day mulching.  Everyone breathes easier when outdoors and away from home.  Very soon, we will be able to relax and enjoy each other in this space. 

Hannah and Holly made Poor Richard Almanacks for their copywork last week.   

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

"A penny saved is a penny earned." 

"Great talkers, little doers." 

"Eat to live, not live to eat." 

"He that 's content hath enough.  He that complains hath too much."

They also did these from George Washington's copywork as a child.   

"In the presence of others sing not to yourself, nor drum with your fingers nor feet."

"Give not your advice without being asked." 

Baby was hungry...

Speaking of baby, I'm 16 + weeks now and starting to feel sweet movements.  The icks are still having their fun with me, but hopefully, they'll make an exit before the 26 week time frame I experienced with Sarah and Abby.  (I'm trying not to think of the possibility of this lasting through week 40!)  In between, I feel pretty well and we're making progress toward finishing up the school year. 

Swinging time, mud cakes, and crocuses - a wonderful way to welcome spring! 

I teach a couple of lessons on Thursdays and the girls have lessons, so we don't usually do history outside of reading or possibly finishing some independent work (Sarah). 

On Friday, before we begin our next week's introduction, I erase the items on the markerboard one at a time as the girls take turns sharing what they know about each topic, person, or place.  I accept anything they have to share and use it as a general guage of their learning. 

Abby has music class and piano lesson on Wednesday afternoons, so we take the opportunity to work on writing while the house is relatively quiet - relative due to construction...

The focus of the day is working individually with Sarah on her writing.  When we're done with that I leave her to research, write, or rewrite while I check in with the other two.  They're usually putting together a written assignment or rewriting something from earlier in the week.  Holly is usually done quickly, so it's a nice day for her to snuggle up in a bean bag with a book or two. 

Here are some examples of recent work done by Holly, first grade.  I'm not looking for anything stellar here.  If she can pull out a couple main ideas I'm happy. 

So cute!

Here's some of Hannah's work - fourth grade.

Sarah's recent Sixth Grade work...

Ooops, those were from earlier in the year.  She took those pictures for me. 

Tuesday is our mapwork and worksheet day.  Since Sarah has ballet in the early afternoon, I spend the bulk of our time working on writing individually with Hannah and Holly.  They complete any pre-writing exercises for the week.  I must add that though I use and appreciate Writing Aids, we have been unable to follow the weekly plan.  We skip some assignments and spend more time on others.  It's been more of a spring board for us this year. 

We start mapwork by reviewing the places we've *been* over the last few weeks.  We play "Howfastcanyoufindit?" with a globe or a map.  I usually have them take turns so that they feel encouraged since we have a mix of ages and Sarah is fast.  Then, we discuss the geography of the area we're studying.  We might look at an atlas to see landforms and note the topography.   Then, the girls work on their maps for the week.  At the end of a unit, we spend a week doing daily maps in preparation for a test of sorts. 

A Lower Grammar and Dialectic Worksheet

Monday is our research day.  The girls start by researching in their own history encyclopedia.  After that, I  have them search for information in another resource.  Sarah usually chooses something on-line.  We're at the age/stage where I help with that.  Hannah and Holly tend to rely on another encyclopedia set that we own.  They may research anything that interests them from our marker board or their own history encyclopedia reading.  When done, they respond by writing.  Sarah outlines her encyclopedia article.

Hannah writes a summary of one section (or more).

Holly did narrations with my help until recently when she started taking down summaries on her own.  I wouldn't normally ask for that until the middle of second grade, but she keeps up with her sisters. 

We are rarely out on Mondays and I frequently read aloud in the afternoon.  The older two read in bed for an hour or so every night - and whenever else they can find a moment. 

For all of you visual people out there... 

Day One - Usually Friday:  I introduce the topic, hand out reading assignments, and read aloud from a spine while Sarah posts on our timeline and the other girls color or look at pictures. 

Here's our Marker Board this week.  (See, it is neater when I'm not on the floor!).

This is taken directly from my TOG manual.  I write and the girls copy onto notebooking pages like this while I hand out reading assignments.  The marker board is displayed all week for ease of spelling throughout the week. 

I hand out Reading Assignments with post it notes attached.  I assign each book a number 1, 2, or 3.  1s are textbook type reading that needs to be done first and  2s are supplemental or topical books that are done second.  Literature and biographies are usually 3s.  I write notes on the post it notes telling them whether they need to deliver the book to a sister, write a summary, come to me to narrate, or find a corresponding literature worksheet. 

Sometimes, books are just "for fun." 

I list the Lower Grammar books together and read them aloud or assign them for independent reading in whatever way works best throughout the week. 

The girls read independently over the weekend. 

I've fallen in love with our library.  These are some of the books we put on hold for the next three weeks of school.  This doesn't even include what I already have on our own shelves.  I've finally fulfilled their need to read - with very little inconvenience or hassle.  Interlibrary loan is wonderful!

Nevermind the bruised toe.  She's a ballerina, you know...

My girls have the best friends.  Sarah's friend gave her knitting lessons at a downtown shop for her birthday.  Both girls knew how to knit, but didn't know how to follow a pattern.  Sarah had four needles going at once for awhile with this project! 

Abby does calendar and a weather sticker followed by a bit of math.  I love the Common Sense Math for Kindy. at age four, but I'm not sure that it's still available.  It's comprised of hands on games that help them begin their journey in mathematical thinking without requiring them to write.  It's a fun prep. for first grade math.  The other workbook is for fun and practice writing. 

Read Aloud time is a big part of preschool time.  I keep a fun book going (Milly Molly Mandy is a favorite), read from a Classic Children's Treasury, and rotate interesting history and science books.  Here's what's in the book basket at the moment.

This pregnancy is playing out like a few of my others  -  my bowl is my friend  - so I've had to delegate Bible to the care of older sisters.  Hannah has taken hold of the task and I'm thrilled with what she's sharing with her younger sisters.  Holly and Hannah take turns reading through a Bible story book and Hannah makes coloring pages or paper doll figures for the younger girls to color or cut.  It's been great fun for them and is the highlight of Abby's days at the moment. 

Their Easter project was a scroll.  All of them were different.  This was the one Abby made with a bit of help from Hannah.

Abby is coming along well with her reading.  We start by learning our sounds with a fun program called Jolly Phonics.  She learns the sound with a story and an action, traces it on a coloring page, makes her own sound book, and does some tracing (early copywork)  in her composition book.  She's finishing Book 6 now. 

Once the Jolly Phonics sounds are easy, we start sounding out words.  I usually group them by vowel at this point.  These words are from a program I used when Sarah learned to read.  I have other lists from Jolly Phonics that match up with pictures that are fun to use as well. 

While working on sounding out words, we play the fast vowel game a lot!  The vowel sounds are obvious.  The music notes are for a quick singing of the beginning of Twinkle and the stick figure is for fast jumping jacks. 

From there, we start Phonics Pathways at the page with the vowels in a box and enjoy our many early reader books one day at a time. 

This book has become precious to me - so many memories of learning to read with three big girls and now Abby has joined the fun! 

The fridge and dishwasher will be delivered after the flooring is installed.

Wood floors waiting to be used

I should say, "Yum - for one!" as no one else cares for my St. Patrick's Day feast.

We had a big day with piano Achievement Testing and a birthday celebration, but it was a good day.  Here's our birthday girl with flowers from Abby and Dad. 

The requested meal with special sub sauce.

Excited to be celebrating sisters

Pineapple Pudding Cake - a favorite of Sarah's for years!

almost!

Abby squinting in the *desert.*

Sweltering Sarah

Needing our shades!

We're trying to smile, Mom, really!

A miniature orange tree

Oh, look what we found!

Beautiful!!!

Misty waterfall

A slightly better picture of the girls. 

Proof of how foolish a person looks when they smell flowers for the first time in a long while.  Dan insisted Sarah take a picture of me smelling the flowers.  Of course, I quickly got out of range of the camera!  I gather the humidity of the greenhouse made my smeller work temporarily.  I think I'm in the market for a personal humidifier.  Okay, posting this isn't my idea.

Just for fun - sharing Abby's joy over "someone littler than her."

The house is coming along well.  The mud room is complete and the kitchen is done except for electrical and installation of our new fridge and dishwasher.  Those items have to wait until after our flooring is installed. 

Here are the new mud room lockers. 

and it's going well! 

We've passed through the Age of Exploration and have been enjoying the Colonial Period.  We've read too many books to share, have written several essays and summaries, and are enjoying some Colonial play as well. 

There's nothing like the sound of wee baby's heart and I was blessed with that joy this morning.  To our great surprise and delight we are expecting a baby in mid-September.  After, five years of waiting, wondering, and loss this is wonderful news for our family!  That is especially so now that we have a functioning kitchen!  I don't recommend experiencing the first trimester of pregnancy during a kitchen remodel.  Our Builder did find a way to get our counter three weeks early though, so that was a blessing.  I don't know if he was motivated by compassion or fear.  LOL! 

I'll be less scarce as I continue feeling better. 

We can cook.  We can clean.  Let the fun begin!

Three of our girls graduated from Suzuki books last Friday evening.  Here is Hannah playing her graduation piece from Book One.

Holly graduated from Book Three.  I didn't get her picture playing alone as I was seated directly in front of her, but here she is playing with one of my former students.

Sarah graduated from Book Five.

Symphony bars for all and no roses for me as they were all gone due to Valentine's Day! 

it's hard to believe this isn't fiction.  Beyond that, what an incredible distraction to have in the classroom! 

http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=85989

This will be our backsplash.

Looking into the kitchen at the new peninsula and window.

To the left of the peninsula is the new, wide pantry with a space for the oven/micro. next to it.

Produce bins are inside the peninsula area.

The bottom half of the hutch.

The hood designed by AK.  Can you tell? 

Lack-of-Kitchen

 It's easy for me to say, now, that I regret not having this done when we purchased this house.  The kitchen remodel was budgeted into our purchase price as the previous owners didn't wipe their cabinets, cooked bacon every day (so greasy), and had the dryer venting into the house.  I can assure you that the combination creates an interesting gunky effect on cabinetry.  All attemps at cleaning created more gunk.  At the time of purchase, our girls were newly seven down to six months - and I had chronic mastitis.  We let it go and kept saying we'd do it in four more years...  One thing that's making this easier is the discovery that our old oven was within moments of fire - long story having to do with faulty wiring.  The cabinet that housed it was black from the sparks from the melted wires.  So, this is not fun, but it will be over *soon.*

A picture of Abby with her scarf!

She wants yarn for her birthday, by the way!