Nov. 9, 2009 -
we did 30 loads of leafs.
Nov. 8, 2009 - FIAR Field Trip
Our Five in a Row group studied Madeline this month. To go along with our study, I decided to coordinate a field trip to our local kids' science museum. They have an exhibit right now called Grossology~The Impolite Science of the Human Body. I wasn't sure what to expect. It was a little boy's dream come true and my girls loved it, too.
Did you ever want to know the science behind a sneeze? Well, this exhibit not only explained the process but then the giant nose you stand inside of sneezes on you!!!
This lovely fellow explained all about allergies, sniffles, colds and anything else that can cause you to have a runny nose. Yes, his nose ran frequently! See what I mean about a little boy's dream....
The kids spent lots of time at the life-size Operation game. Remember that game? What a concrete way to learn where all the body parts go. It didn't hurt their eye-hand coordination either.
The girls could have stayed in the digestive system playground all day. Yes, they crawled through the whole digestive system. The joke of where they came out of the digestive tract was not lost on them either. Yucky!!
The skin climbing wall was loads of fun too. While they climbed along, they were supposed to guess if they were climbing over a pimple or mole or hair follicle.
I did not take pictures of all the things to smell. Really gross things to smell. Aren't you glad this is not a scratch and sniff blog? LOL! Somehow I missed pictures of the statue that you crank up and make burp or the tooting machine. We will have to go back when it is less crowded. The exhibit just overwhelmed us and lots of the school groups were there, so we finally had to leave. All in all, it was a really cool and gross exhibit. Hey, IT"S GROSSOLOGY!
Blessings,
Dawn
Nov. 7, 2009 - I love the Fall
Here are a few of my favorite things.
This is me in front of my grandmother's sideboard that I inheired as a young bride. I like to change the nick-nacks on it seasonally. I'm wearing my favorite apron I made from an Edwardian pattern by Sense and Sensiblity Patterns. The crocheted afgan was an antique store find on my yearly shopping trip with my husband for our aniversary.
This is the huge maple tree that shades our home. See how it dwarfs our house in comparison.
These are my favorite little boys. We've had a lot of fun raking and playing in the leaves this Fall.
Nov. 7, 2009 - Another ER Visit--ALMOST
More drama in our family. I have a genetic defect called medullary sponge kidney disease. It's not as ominous as it sounds, although some people do seem to have a terrible time with it. People with MSK have deformed kidneys. The drainage tubes in the kidneys have small pockets where urine collects and turns to stones. I have hundreds of these pockets in both my kidneys and hundreds of stones. I know; it sounds like I'm exaggerating. But my doctor said there were too many stones to count. I used to joke that my x-rays looked like I had been hunting with Dick Cheney. (An x-ray of my kidneys shows tw oval areas of what looks like buckshot!) Some people have chronic kidney infections, constant pain, and other problems. I am truly blessed with sporatic pain, and so far only one kidney infection when I was 11 years old. (I wasn't diagnosed until I was 38 y.o. Most people aren't diagnosed until their first kidney stone. I probably had my first stone when I was 18, but they didn't do any x-rays or extensive testing, just sent me home with an "I don't know what's wrong with her, probably in her head" look.)
Thursday I had another kidney stone, large enough to cause severe pain. The only reason I even want to write about it, though, is that I have to tell you about my sweet children. Around 8 p.m. that night after about 3 hours of unrelenting pain, I lay down on our bed. Before that I had a heating pad and rice sock (tube sock full of dry rice heated in the microwave) and sat in a chair or paced the house. By this time, I had reached the point of wanting to go to the ER. I made calls to arrange that, knowing I would probably be there HOURS if not days. Then I just lay there. Praying. Oh, how I prayed.
Then my sweet children came in to ask if I needed anything. They re-heated my rice sock, brought me water, and then began to sing the most beautiful songs. Noah sang "Good night, sweet Mommy, flush that stone right down the drain." Jonah sat on the bed and held my hand, and Gracie sang "Silent Night". What an amazing prayer meeting we had. They got ready for bed, and we had our evening prayers. Again, they prayed for my healing, and as they prayed the pain subsided GREATLY. Within an hour, I passed the stone!
I love my children and my dear husband. You're probably wondering what he was doing?! He so hates to see me in pain and feels completely helpless. He's really good, though. He makes sure I have what I need, reheats the rice sock, brings me water, stays close enough that I can tell him if I need anything, but doesn't hover. He prays for me, and reaches out to our friends and family to ask for prayer. I had prayers going up all over this country. (Just before Mark's heart attack, we joined Facebook at the urging of one of his brothers. We thought it would be a good way to stay in touch with family and share pictures. It has turned into a blessed prayer ministry. When we need prayer, we share our requests--our "friends" are limited to family and friends, no strangers--and friends post their prayer requests. So many people we have been able to pray with, so many old friends we've found, and so many relationships built with family that we saw only at reunions and so briefly, then.)
So today I am just resting. We will be celebrating Jonah's 11th birthday with my parents this afternoon. His birthday isn't until the 16th Nov., but my parents will be out of town. He's kind of excited. He gets an early birthday and then we will celebrate his birthday at home on the day.
And I'm counting my blessings!!
Nov. 6, 2009 - Weekly Wrapup
From the Heart:
We had a great week. School went very well. We are all past our sicknesses. No drama. I'm so grateful.
The Lord is speaking to me about being a better friend, about really listening and being there for people. I need to hear this, and so much want to do this. I am convicted of keeping my friends at armslength. I know it stems from being insecure in childhood and feeling like I didn't have any friends, so I stopped trying. There have been times when the Lord has brought me friends, and still I did not work hard at keeping them. I want to go beyond that in my life, and work harder at being there for my friends. If you want to be included in those who want my deeper friendship, just leave a comment, or email me. I'm going to try.
This is Snow Crystal working on a Christmas present.
On the Homefront:
We worked on keeping the house cleaner throughout the week, and found that to work well. I do laundry twice a week (Sundays or Mondays and Thursdays or Fridays). If the laundry isn't finished, I finish it the next day without adding more from the new day. This way I know all the laundry gets done twice a week and it isn't as much of a burden. The older girls are helping me a lot more too. For example, Snow Crystal is downstairs making cookies right now as I type. The weather was nice, and got nicer all week. Feels like summer except for all the snow still on the ground.
This is Snow Crystal following her "directions" of how to make her favorite cookies that she had to do for language arts yesteday.
In the School Room:
Bible: We continue to read Egermeier's Bible Story Book with Bubbies and the older girls listening in. We didn't do anything with our Biblical Holidays book. We also read a few stories from "I Heard Good News", which is a book full of short stories about how different countries and peoples received the gospel. I am thinking that for the older girls we might try to do some of the articles and activities that go with The Voice of the Martyrs magazine. You can find it at http://www.kidsofcourage.com. It looks like it would be a good thing for them to do.
History: We are now in the post-civil war era. In Landmark's History of America we learned how Montgomery Ward changed the way business was done for the rural American, and about Richard Sears' imput to this.
Science: We moved on to start learning about Alexander Graham Bell and his inventions.
Read-Aloud: We are ahead with the older girls, so took a break from read-alouds. I read The Light on Tern Rock with Bubbies.
Reader: Mountain Princess and Snow Crystal are reading Shades of Gray, by Carolyn Reeder. It is a good book about a boy who was orphaned during the civil war, and having to live with his mother's sister and family after the war.
Language Arts: The older girls worked on similies, topic sentences, writing a formal letter, and grammar. Bubbies reviewed the letter "S" and made a "P" and an "S" letter sheet (I get these from homeschoolshare.com). She read her first "reader" that comes with her curriculum. It is a cute little book called "Pam"). It was a proud moment for her to read it to her daddy one evening this week too.
Math: We had a great week again this week, and the girls continue to make progress in becoming independent.
Spanish: MP is using Rosetta Stone and seems to be learning and retaining a lot. SC is using The Complete Book of Spanish (workbook from Wal Mart). She'll get back to Rosetta next year.
On the Mission Field:
The school had Chris Stanton here. He suffered from acute mountain sickness for the first day, but finally recovered. I think they've been having a great time.
In the Literary Scene:
I am reading Brock and Bodie Thoene's second book in the Galway Series Of Men and of Angels, and I finished the first book too. Very good reading!
Feeding on His Faithfulness,
Carol
If you would like to join me in this theme, just write up your own weekly summary, using mine or your own categories. Then sign the Mr. Linky below. I'd love to read your weekly summaries too! I hope to post mine on each Friday or Saturday. At the latest it will be on Sunday. If you get yours done before I do, just leave your link in my cbox or comments from the week before. Be sure and check last week's Mr. Linky for any new ones who posted before I did! It is a great way to meet new people.
Nov. 6, 2009 - Time To Paint!
We are at the point in construction where it is time for us to start contributing to the process (more than just financially) to keep costs down. I have three rooms to paint, numerous doors to paint, furniture to move, 5 or so pieces of furniture to refinish, shades/curtains to buy and hang, closets to build, oh and so much more! Then there is Thanksgivng and, dare I say, CHRISTMAS on the horizon! This is my favorite season, and I want to savor it somehow in the mist of all of this change. I want my children to remember Christmas season 2009 as a great year, not the year mom went crazy. LOL!
So to create balance, this is officially our last day of highly structured and planned school for this season in our lives. We will still school, but in a lighter, less structured way. The plan is to do reading, math, and tea time each day and have two goals for the week. Notice ~ I can't help but have to have a plan. I really lack the unschooling bone, even though I wish I had it .... The rest of the time, the kids will be learning skills in painting, weeding out toys, cleaning, playing peacefully and independently (still a challenge around here for some), and continuing to practice flexibility.
On top of the basics mentioned earlier, the two goals for next week are to make an Arctic mural and do another outdoor challenge. We will be studying the arctic and arctic life for the month of November.
I leave you with this picture of the kiddos! Our outdoor challenge last week was to find squirrels and study them. We could not find a single squirrel, but we did have fun climbing trees.
Blessings,
Dawn
Nov. 5, 2009 - Praying for our Soldiers
Praying for our soldiers, especially those stationed at Fort Hood near Austin, TX. There has been a deadly, mass shooting. 7 reported dead, 20 wounded. 2 or 3 shooters with one in custody. Story here. First thing I did was call my parents to see if they had heard. My dad is retired military. Of course, as I dialed the phone my next thought was, "Surely, they didn't go to Fort Hood today." They frequently travel the 45 minutes to the base to fill prescriptions and do their grocery shopping. They were home and hadn't heard the news. This is so terribly sad. There are also several elementary schools and middle schools on base. I pray for the children, although not in harms way, they are all the children of military personnel and have so much to deal with. What a terrible tragedy!
Nov. 5, 2009 - Thanksgiving Unit Study
Next week we will begin a unit study around the founding of America. We will read several books by the d'Aulaires including: Leif the Lucky, Columbus, and Pocohontas. We will also read: The Light and the Glory for Children by Peter Marshall and David Manuel, selections from History Stories for Children by Dr. John Wayland, The Christian Foundation of America by Gary DeMar, and finish with the book ...If You Sailed on The Mayflower in 1620 by Ann McGovern. I would really like to end by making either placemats or dioramas. The children are very creative, so I rarely need to assign an art project. They would probably spend their days making art if given the choice. There are several good Thanksgiving movies to include: a Charlie Brown special, the Waltons' Thanksgiving show, a more recent Thanksgiving special that I've seen at Red Box (I haven't looked into it, so I'm not sure how appropriate it is.), First Landing (Again, not sure if appropriate). I haven't really looked for movies at our library, mostly because those are so easy to find and usually available. Besides getting ready for the holiday, these books, movies, and activities should keep us very busy, be lots of fun, and educational!!
Nov. 5, 2009 - CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
We are taking an extended break from our History of the World unit study. We have worked our way to Noah and will take up the history of Noah and his sons, the Tower of Babel, and Sumer when we resume our studies in January. In the meantime, we will NOT be idle. (Aren't idle hands the devil's workshop?) This week we have been doing a fun unit study around the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
I found a unit study using this book here. We will be using some of these ideas as well as our own. We added a Bible study reading the story of Moses and the children of Israel who were fed manna and quail from the heavens by the Lord. Egermeier's Story Book Bible is a great resource. We have two weather books to use: The Magic School Bus: Kicks up a Storm and How It Works: The World's Weather. We continue to discuss healthy eating. And, of course, we will be eating spaghetti and meatballs.
Nov. 5, 2009 - Happy Birthday!
Our little preemie, Sarah, turns two today!
Happy birthday, Sarah Jane!!!
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