MyFairLadies

May. 29, 2007 - May in Review

Bible/Character:  FAITH training covered John 7-13, with memorization of John 8:58, 10:11 and 12:46.  The verse which has "stuck with us" all the most was the final one of the school year, which reminds us:  "I have come into the world as a light, so that noone who believes in me will stay in darkness."  We see so much darkness all around (and even within), but we are not doomed to STAY in it!  Praise God for His mercies to us.  Chad was away for one of our FAITH training times this month; in his absence we chose to review all the verses memorized since August.  These girls have amazing recall!  I bet they got over 90% of the 34 verses word-for-word.  The motions and the copywork have helped cement God's Word in their hearts and minds.  What a blessing!  The "big girls" agreed that their favorite verse of the year was "If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."  Matthew 15:14      FSK lessons have kept CTD busy in her trek through the Old Testament, and CED continues to learn about God's character through her time in "Paradise Pond."    This month, we also completed our slow reading of Elizabeth George's book God's Widsom for Little Girls.  Community Bible Study ended abruptly as the girls' music program was cancelled due to a funeral at Immanuel.  They ended up performing an abbreviated version on the next (final) week, and said their good-byes for the summer to their much-loved teachers. . . with "monster cookies" and devotional journals for each.  What amazing women to volunteer so much of their time and themselves teaching our girls from God's Word.

 

Dictation/Copywork:  Scriptures from FAITH training and other selections as assigned.

 

Grammar/Phonics:  CTD continues her weekly grammar lessons (both worksheet and online instruction) and CED is continuing to show progress (albeit slow) in her phonics mastery.  In reviewing the school year this month, we have noted that she now has learned over 100 sight words and 54 beginning/ending sounds.  We are very proud of her hard work in overcoming obstacles and learning to read!  To give us greater insight into her difficulties, we did choose to have her privately evaluated - our initial time with the Christian NeuroPsychiatrist was actually encouraging, and the full testing date is in a couple of days. . . . we'll see what that reveals (likely nothing we don't already know as her parents, but perhaps reassuring?).  CED has also continued to enjoy her Explode the Code series and occasional onlline phonics games.

 

Handwriting:  Daily practice ongoing.  CED has improved tremendously in this area over the course of her first grade year, and can sit down to do very neat and consistent writing when she chooses to (always the key with her!).  CAR has also joined us at the table for writing many days lately, enjoying forming "thin men," "tables," and "slides" (all pre-writing exercises).  She thinks it's wonderful fun to write "your name" over and over again (scribbling, but all within the confines of one line on ruled paper - pretty impressive for a 2 year-old!).

 

Math:  CED has moved pretty quickly through her introduction to subtraction.  She began with "-2" and moved on to "-9" and "-8" (which are really just a matter of adding one and adding two, respectively).  Doubles have been the easiest concept for her thus far.  CTD studied prime and composite numbers, along with conversions (feet:miles, pounds:tons, etc).  The greatest highlight of our month was somewhat of a math moment as well.  One of the speakers at this year's homeschool conference was Math-U-See founder Steve Demme.  We had marked the dates on our calendar last year when we heard he would be a presenter since our girls love Math-U-See and it's an Arkansas company (or so I thought).  Interestingly, he wasn't scheduled to speak about math at all.  Finding that intriguing, I went to his session on "Personal Devotions."  It was clear this man is godly and real.  A great combination!  The following day, with Chad and I together at the conference, we attended "The Family that Stays Together, Stays Together," expecting it to be about lasting marriage/avoiding divorce.  Instead, Steve gave a biblical defense of homeschooling along with a passionate call for husbands and wives to properly relate to one another.  I was greatly encouraged about the benefits of homeschooling, but also challenged to reevaluate how we view the role of the church and more in our children's education.  Steve mentioned he was hoping to play frisbee golf after the conference, so we introduced ourselves afterwards and shared about our ministry with FamilyLife, then offered him a frisbee golf partner in Chad.  It all came together - Chad ran to WalMart and picked up a couple packs of discs - and I had a lovely devotional time while the guys chatted on the "course" near Harding University.

We hustled back just a few minutes late for the "Jonah" symphony, and were grateful for the opportunity to meet such a great man in Steve Demme.  Fast forward to Sunday morning, when Chad's cell phone rang, and it was Steve.  He was stuck in Little Rock and had our card. . .so joined us for second service and then came over for lunch.  What fun the girls had visiting with their "math teacher."  He was truly interested in each of them, and even good-naturedly signed their Math-U-See books for them (CTD had just completed the Gamma book on that Friday).  We even called friends from around the corner over to have him sign their homeschooled kids' books, too!  Neat that Chad's mom was in town for several days, and she was a junior high math teacher for years. . . so they were able to "talk shop" together in that way.

The conversation surrounding those couple of days made it clear that our hearts "resonated" with Steve and his message about families.  We desperately desire to help him share it for an even broader audience.  Chad was able to show him around at the FamilyLife offices a bit that Sunday afternoon, and we had the privilege of praying for him aloud as a family before he took off for the airport hotel.  (Wish he could have taken our offer to stay with us as we later headed to the river for a memorable evening walk!)  A brother in Christ. . . and a new friend.  (p.s.  Math-U-See is based in PA - they just happen to have reps in Siloam Springs, AR)  Praising God for the opportunity to know Steve.  (Learn more about the Demmes and Math-U-See at www.stevedemme.com . . . he even mentioned our visit on his blog - big fun!)

Science:   Continuing to learn about seeds, and moving on to a study of flowers.  The herbs we worked so hard to prepare and grow. . . didn't.  However, when we scrapped that and moved on with smiles to plant bean seeds, the girls used the same little terracotta pots and just a few short days later. . . herbs!  They grew rather quickly in the sunlight with minimal water, though they'd refused to over the past 5 weeks in UV light with plenty of water.  Go figure!  One fun project the girls undertook this month was "planting" bean seeds in ziploc bags with wet paper towels, and then placing them in 3 different locations:  a sunny window, a dark closet and the refrigerator.  CTD's hypothesis proved right after 12 days, as the seed in the closet became the longest of the plants ("looking for the sun"). Good job, girls!

PhysEd:      Lots of backyard play this month, with the pool opening Memorial Day weekend to officially kick-off our summer outdoors!  An All-Staff meeting with gym time, attending a UofA Baseball game together in Fayetteville, moving over to the track stadium instead in order to catch a bit of pole vaulting; swimming, swimming and more swimming, 7 or 8 trips to various local parks with Mommy, Grandma or Grandy and immersing ourselves in the life of an athlete as we studied Eric Liddell and watched Chariots of Fire.  (Mommy and Daddy also watched Rocky Balboa!)

Latin:  CTD has completed the entire Prima Latina course - How do you say "kudos" in Latin?!!  A job well done.

Reading/Literature:   CED continues 20 minutes per day of reading instruction with mom.  This month we relied largely on Phonics Pathways materials, but also included easy readers about Eric Liddell and the Jazz Age.  CTD's reading for the month included several titles on jazz and the life of Louis Armstrong, a diary of World War I (historical fiction), Balto and the Great Race (about a sled dog who aids a remote Alaskan village), and Risking the Forbidden Game (a Trailblazer series book set in 1920's Morocco - Maude Cary).  In reading about the life of Eric Liddell, the girls both completed several comprehension worksheets.  Two new read-alouds have been enjoyed during May - All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor and Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace (we anticipate enjoying this entire series over the summer).

History/Geography:  History topics for the month were all focused on the 1920s - "The Roaring '20s," "The Jazz Age" and more.  We looked in-depth at the changes in men's and women's fashion from the turn of the century through 1930; studied Presidents Wilson, Harding, Coolidge and Hoover (and their First Ladies); talked about the importance of radio and its rise as a common news and entertainment source; investigated the life and faith of Olympic gold-medalist Eric Liddell; enjoyed a look at America's favorite pastime of baseball (and a sad commentary on the racial divisions within sports during the early 20th Century); discussed scientific advances such as Hubble's telescope and Goddard's rockets; and found out why America loved Charles Lindbergh so much as the decade came to a close and he flew solo across the Atlantic in The Spirit of St. Louis.  After catching up on some timeline entries, our year came to a close with a brief discussion of the prosperity "balloon" which was the 1920s, and how that all deflated with the crash of our stock market in October 1929 on "Black Thursday."

One really awesome lesson in history came as we pored over my Great Great Aunt's "Girl Graduate" book, compiled as a scrapbook during or shortly after her high school years in Wilmar, Arkansas in the early '20s.  Our youngest daughter is named after this school teacher and beloved aunt, and her book provided a fascinating glimpse into the era.  The girls were simply spell-bound.  That's what I call "living history!"  Not sure exactly how I ended up with such a treasure, but we'll definitely hold it in safekeeping.  After touring the Old Statehouse Museum last week and seeing their vast collection of Arkansas artifacts, CTD's wanting to donate it to their holdings! 

(Our end-of-year family celebration will be two days in/around Hot Springs enjoying "bathhouse row" and getting a glimpse of what it was like to live during the "Gangster Era.")

 

Creative Writing and Typing:  CTD completed her index card fact sheets on the US Presidents through Coolidge.  She reviewed the components of a good essay, and tried her hand by writing one about jazz.  She also wrote a book report on Billy Sunday and a pretty insightful summary piece on "The Roaring '20s." 

Fine Arts:  Our favorite Children's Theatre production of the year came with Arkansas Arts Center's The Secret Garden performance.  Very memorable!  The girls listened to radio "theater" via their relatively new MP3 players as we traveled to Fayetteville in early May - a taste of the 1920s using 21st Century technology.  CTD has enjoyed giving her younger sister(s) a few art lessons this month.  They were thrilled to learn we had signed them up for official ones again starting in September!  We all enjoyed a perusal of the Young Arkansas Artists exhibit (including a work by their cousin Sarah) at the Arts Center - some really talented kids in this state!  And only God could orchestrate their to be a traveling exhibit of the History of the "Arts and Crafts Movement," which was in its prime from 1890-1930) going on while we were touring the center. . . and just following our discussion of how art moved into furnishings and furnishings into art during that time period.  Cool!

Music Appreciation:   CTD completed this year's piano lessons, with a recital at Colaianni Piano in the Heights attended by Daddy, Granddad and BB (Mommy was home with fussy, feverish little ones that night).  She also used her talent to encourage the elderly by joining the DeLon and Shelton families in playing for the residents of Outlooke Pointe nursing home in Maumelle.  CTD and CED were both elated to attend a performance by the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra with their Grandma Beth as our Mother's Day gift to her during her time here.  They saw the Pulitzer Prize-nominated original score "Jonah" by David Itkin.  Our gift to the girls on their final day of "school" was a new CD called "Kingdom Kidz," which comes with a lanyard and trading-type pins which they earn as they memorize each song.  They are actually a Scripture memory aid, but will also expose the girls to various genres of music along the way.  A perfect gift for our times in the van this summer. 

Pre-PreSchool:  CAR is more and more aware of the words to songs from church and CDs we have at home.  Her current favorite is "Jumping Up and Down" - especially the jumping part and the shouting part ("Hosanna!").  We are looking forward to watching her do a whole lot of swimming in the next few months.  Right now it's just fun hearing all of her words ("That hurt my peelings!") and watching the way her mind works through things. . .and realizing she's "just two."

 

Other Activities: 

 

"After the Boxes are Unpacked" Bible study group in our home

Helped the Tillmans by keeping their 3 youngest girls several times during the month - a very stressful time at their church

Chad continuing to meet with his mentor Mike H. early Wed. mornings

A trip to Fayetteville for 48 hours to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Christ on Campus. . . so influential in Chad's Christian walk - seeing old college friends of his and touring the campus where he walked and studied was a fun time.  We also unexpectedly got to join supporters/friends for their church service at FellowshipNWA and then in their home for a Cinco de Mayo feast. 

Final Community Group of the school year - a family cook-out at the Englishes

Wendy's brunch with Barbara Rainey:  an encouraging morning

Chad spent a full week in the Boston area speaking at churches and meeting with current and potential supporters; also attending a training seminar on "Effective Negotiating"  (meanwhile, becoming more and more intrigued with his Peacemaker www.hispeace.org training at the ministry. . . more on that to come, I'm sure)

CTD's End of the Year party for Fellowship's first-service 4th grade girls.  She really seemed to enjoy the evening, and was able to thank and honor her leaders.

A trip to Center Ridge to spend a few days with Grandy while Chad was away.

Wendy's HomeLinc orientation dinner; also, Ideation forum for women. . . what a fabulous idea!

Dentist appointments for the big girls

Chad and his mom arrived within a couple of hours of one another from separate cities as he returned from his time away.  So glad to see them both!

"Big girls" helped Daddy as part of the Marlowe Manor pool and park clean up day (a great service project for them)

Family fun at Murray Park and on a long walk with everyone (including Grandma) across the Millenium Trail footbridge (aka "Big Dam Bridge") - we skipped rocks on the North Little Rock side.  Glad we got to be there at dusk.

Our official introduction (about time?!) as Senior Staff at an All Staff meeting 5/22 - Beth was able to be present, though our oversight in double-checking the schedule caused her to miss our video presentation and time of prayer

Chad's diligent Tuesday call nights

Our 11th anniversary - a night out for dinner and ice cream. . . interrupted by a babysitter who was throwing up (That's never happened before - poor McKenna!)

A Memorial Day weekend cook-out at Granddad and BB's

Renovation time!  The girls helped Chad pull out all the old crossties in our backyard landscaping to make way for new retaining wall stones (unfortunately, Mom wasn't much help as CAR was inside for 24 hours+ with a 103-104 degree fever)

Summer Reading Club sign-ups  (The girls are well on their way to their own individual goals.  CTD plans to read "99 books" - all long ones; while CED is shooting for "12" (wish I knew how to type that two backwards for full effect).

Christy Nockels concert tomorrow  night

And we leave Thursday for our mini-vacation to Murfreesboro and Hot Springs!

 

Happy Summer -

wendy

 

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May. 2, 2007 - April in Review

Bible/Character:  We moved from Luke into the Gospel of John during our Wednesday night FAITH training times.  Verses we worked on memorizing together this month included:  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  John 1:1 and "No one can come to me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him."  John 6:44  We also had good discussions about character surrounding our read-aloud of the life of Billy Sunday (who was a stellar Christian man, but a pretty absent father). 
In Community Bible Study, we have transitioned from our study of 1 and 2 Peter to a look at Colossians.  CTD has really meditated on Colossians 2:8 "See to it that noone takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human traditions and the basic priniciples of this world rather than on Christ."
Dictation/Copywork:  Scriptures from FAITH training and poetry including "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (Robert Frost) and "In Flanders' Fields" (a moving World War I tribute).
 
Grammar/Phonics:  CTD continues her weekly grammar lessons (both worksheet and online instruction - largely concentrated on contractions this month) and CED is making headway in adding new blends and endings such as -ing, -ang, -ung, -ong and more to her repertoire. 
 
Handwriting:  Daily practice ongoing.  CED looks forward to Fridays, when she chooses a special border sheet to write the week's selection on and color for display.  She also enjoyed practicing the days of the week this month as taken from our reading (to CAR) of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
Math:  CED worked on a bit of "family addition" to begin April, learning all the facts that "make ten" and all those that "make nine."  After a review of all the addition facts learned throughout the year, we made a big leap into subtraction!  CTD moved on to double digit multiplication with regrouping, which she is excellent at, though math lessons are definitely taking more time each day!  She also reviewed place value through millions this month.
 
Science:   Continuing our study of plants and seeds using Jeanne Fulbright's book Exploring Creation with Botany.  Early in April, Chad took an evening to help the girls build a neat light hut (out of an old pampers box and a flourescent light bulb).  The following week we planted our own little herb garden (with a view toward making soaps in the near future):  lemon balm, viola, chervil, lavendar and spearmint were the herbs of choice on our afternoon outing to choose seeds and purchase other needed supplies.  While those grow (I'm getting a little worried now since none of them have sprouted as of today!), we have begun our study of seeds.  The girls enjoyed soaking some and studying the seed parts enough to tell you more than you thought you needed to know about them now.
 
PhysEd:  On rainy days the girls have enjoyed a "YogaKids" video CED chose at a recent Goodwill trip - fun and fitness combined.  (Though we try to skip the "ommmmmm" portion!)  When the sun was shining we took advantage of much more outside time in April, including two trips to Pinnacle Park and two weekend visits to Lake Maumelle for bike riding, bocce ball and otherwise all-around fun.  Miss McKenna took the girls to the creek a few times during babysitting sessions, and we also had FAITH training at the neighborhood park one pretty evening.  Walks are becoming more frequent again, and we're all excited about the prospect of long summer days!
 
Latin:  For CTD only - Memorization of The Lord's Prayer in Latin and a first explanation of conjugations and declensions.
Reading/Literature:   CED continues to have a good attitude about her reading lessons, and they often go longer than 20 minutes per day with ease (and no complaining) now.  Book selections for the month included First Flight, a book about the Wright brothers, and several about submarines and Russia (as part of our mini-unit on World War I).  CTD's reading for the month included Robert Frost poetry selections, Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt, Mr. Popper's Penguin (a repeat of this beloved book from first grade), an in-depth photo-journal of the Titanic, Mask of the Wolf Boy (Christian fiction about the Boxer Rebellion in China at the turn of the century), The Wright Brothers, and a fascinating book about Russia.
 
History/Geography: "A Man A Plan A Canal:  Panama"  What an amazing palindrome for the incredible feat of engineering that linked two vast oceans under the Roosevelt administration.  We truly enjoyed our study of the Panamal Canal in the first days of April.  Afterwards, we hit the ground running with a three week study of World War I ("The Great War") including its causes, its participants and its outcome.  We also used the importance of the Russian Revolutions (Bolsheviks, 1917) as reason enough to investigate that vast country a bit.  European geography came more alive than ever before as we discussed alliances and the effects of trench warfare on men from throughout that continent.  The role of the United States in The Great War was discussed as we wrapped up the mini-unit.  Concurrently, we have continued our readings in A Child's History of the Twentieth Century, which gives a year-by-year newspaper-style account of happenings around the world.
 
Creative Writing and Typing:  CTD wrote letters to a "friend" as if she were a passenger upon one of the great ocean liners of the early 20th Century.  She also completed a nice summary of World War I.  Typing is one of her favorite weekly assignments, and she is beoming much more proficient at it all the time.  Both of the girls completed SAPs on Robert Frost's poetry, and CED amazed her daddy and several of his friends when she recited "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" for them around the campfire at their father-daughter camp-out.  (Who knew she had listened so closely?!) 
 
Fine Arts:  Only a brief look at the life and work of Cezanne this month.
Music Appreciation:   CTD continues her love of piano  (had a good report at parent conference this month) and has even begun to give her younger sister "lessons" about once a week.  To see her re-creating theory pages for CED to fill in has been precious.  They both take it to be very serious work!
Pre-PreSchool:  CAR still enjoys her daily baskets, though they are beginning to lose a bit of their newness. . . that's OK, since we've only got a few more weeks of the school year ahead.  I'll just have to come up with other fun stuff to put in them over the summer!  She has taken to wanting her own special notebook and particular pens/pencils during the morning hours while her older sisters do their writing assignments.  We've begun working with her on making "thin men" ( l ), "Tables" ( -- ) and now "slides" ( / \ ), which she does amazingly well.  All aimed at getting her ready to write down the road.  For now she still insists that everything we write for her says, "LUB!"  (translation: love)
Other Activities: 
 
Marlowe Manor's annual Easter Egg hunt at the park (where the girls had the unfortunate privilege of watching their dad defend them all against a couple of punks who pulled into the parking lot drunk and wielded pipes in their anger at being asked to leave the property)
Sunday evenings with "Miss McKenna" while Mom and Dad attend Community Group meetings
Lots of playtime with the 3 youngest Tillman girls
Grandy spent the night a couple of times in April as she worked for a local CPA during tax season.
Good Friday services at Fellowship (only CTD attended as the message was a graphic portrayal of Christ's "Five Wounds")
Easter Egg Hunt and family meal at Papaw and Grandy's home in Center Ridge
Easter meal with the Beadles and Fosters at Granddad and BB's home
Supper with the Porters while their girls were in town from Idaho
A fun Family "Camp-In" (delayed due to cold and rainy weather) - this annual tradition has officially moved to the backyard, which is loads of fun, but also means the heaviest members of the family (mom and dad) don't sleep much!  Amazing how much harder the ground feels as the night wears on.  This year's time in the great outdoors included jumprope, "catch," the parachute, footballs and frisbees, s'mores over an open fire (a sterno counts, right?), many long games of UNO, two crying little ones who finally gave in to the idea of sleep, our continuing read-aloud about Billy Sunday, and an afternoon of yardwork after a relaxing morning together!
A picnic with several combined community groups at Lake Maumelle - how fun to get to know other familiar faces by name.
Day of Prayer at the Bible Church with all their FL friends
A fast and furious shopping outing to find matching denim capris and white tops for our family photo shoot (for "the wall" at FL) - a fun evening with a great photographer in "Mr. Dan," followed by supper out at Olive Garden (where the youngest ones, of course, promptly stained their new clothes).
CED's Daddy-Daughter camp-out for YPrincess - at Camp Yorktown Bay once again - with skits, canoeing and more.
Preparing our home to host Community Group and mom's New Staff Wives' group as we brought the month to a close.
CTD's "end of the year" (a bit early?) piano recital at Colaianni Piano's studio - Granddad and BB were able to attend with Chad as she was given awards and applauded for her performance after a year of hard work and learning.
Now April's "a wrap,"
wendy
p.s.  One "TEACHER'S NOTE" to add:  I have picked up a book again that I began reading in the summer of 2003.  Having only gotten a few chapters into it before, I decided to start again at the beginning and it has already been blessing me tremendously.  I am anxious to see how the timing of reading Romancing Your Child's Heart by Monte Swan will impact our summer and my schooling decisions for next year. 

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Mar. 28, 2007 - March in Review

Bible/Character:  FamilyFusion is a great tool for reviewing with the girls what they are learning in their FSK classes each week.  This month we had a great discussion about the "Keys to the Kingdom," and CED illustrated them quite nicely.  CTD often enjoys directing scavenger hunts with Q/A as review for her sister.  With FAITH training, we continued on in Luke this month.  God has orchestrated it such that we will be reading the Easter story during Easter week. . . interesting, as it worked out that we were reading about Jesus' birth during the week of Christmas.  A wonderful reward for Chad's faithfulness in leading us in these regular times of family worship!  (We have also greatly enjoyed the first five chapters of the biography of Billy Sunday, with the girls alternately in tears and in stitches with laughter over our lunches these past few days!)
 
Dictation/Copywork:  Verses from our Luke readings, quotations from within our read-alouds (currently enjoying a biography of the life of Billy Sunday).
 
Grammar/Phonics:  CTD has now completely mastered prepositions, objects of the prepositions, subjects and verbs, and is thus moving on to the finer points of grammar.  This month, she covered reflexive, possessive and intensive pronouns.  Whooo!  That made for a good "Daddy-stumper" at the supper table.  CED is doing well as she continues with her Explode the Code lessons and one-on-one time with Mommy in our ongoing phonics lessons.  She especially loves "online games" now, and is allowed computer time about 2-3 times per month.
 
Handwriting: CED's Reason for Handwriting lessons have provided the added benefit of giving us additional Scripture verses to meditate on throughout each week and to discuss "as we walk along the way."  Just today, we had a great time of chatting over lunch about what being "wise" actually looks like and who in her life she might like to "be with" and "become like."  (Proverbs 13:20)  p.s.  She chose her Daddy!!
 
Math:  CED has been working on "doubles" this month - she now knows 1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4,. . . . by heart, and this will serve her well in continuing on with her mastery of addition.  CTD has begun double digit by double digit multiplication, and encountered a few bumps in assimilating it the way Steve Demme recommends in the MathUSee curriculum.  We have had to step back and simply ask, "How would you go about finding the answer?" - In doing so, we found that she already understands the concepts and the operations, it was simply a lack of connecting with HOW her current worksheets instruct her to show the work (e.g., 13x12 written as 10+3 x 10+2; a "long-hand" version).  Her frustration with this difficulty led to an opportunity to really talk through the many ways we can choose to respond when things don't go our way.  CTD masters about 99% of everything she attempts almost immediately.  NOT "getting this" right away brought her to tears (quite unexpectedly), and demonstrated for us all one of the negative ways we can choose to respond.  After discussing how one might react (anger/yelling, silence, throwing things and more) and considering examples from real-life (my brother's disconnection from our family, Teddy Roosevelt's embracing every challenge as "fun", etc.), we realized together that the very first thing we should be doing is PRAYING.  Asking for help is also a great second step.  This seemed like one of those real "breakthrough" moments of growth in her character, and I was thankful I was here to witness it.  Another confirmation that home is a great place for learning to take place!  (And now she's moved on to double digit multiplication with regrouping with ease.)
 
Science:   What to do once SEEK was no more?  What to do?  My typical response would have been to think about the best, most logical next step for several weeks and then implement it over a few more.  However, the weather was great the week immediately following the SEEK graduation, and I just grabbed Jeanne Fulbright's Botany book (Exploring Creation with Botany) and called the girls out to the backyard.  Now Botany is one of the most-requested subjects around here, and instead of "making time" for it once or twice/week, we are longing to get to it several afternoons each week!!  Thus far, the girls have made their own special botany binders, learned about classification and been "sock taxonomists" (for a full afternoon - quite a memorable little experiment!!), collected leaves and studied the vascular tubes of each, learned about moss (a nonvascular plant variety) and repeated the words "binomial nomenclature" and "xylem and phloem" about 1,000 times in a row!!  I think we've got a winner, and spring didn't even start until last week.  We're definitely going to enjoy this subject together.
 
PhysEd:  Upward basketball and cheerleading ended with a bang on March 9th as the girls joined about 600 other participants and many, many parents, siblings and more for an awards night, complete with an illusionist who wowed all the kids.  The cheer CED's squad learned meant five nights in a row of additional practices; a bit much for a 1st grader in my opinion, but fun for her nonetheless.  The warmer days March has brought have given ample opportunity to be outside riding their bikes (new-found freedom at the foot of our hill in front, which still makes me a bit nervous), working in their "garden" (they absolutely never tire of moving those bricks around or of sweeping the dirt away!), or just playing on the playground.  Sisters are definitely a blessing!  (They've already been asking for popsicles most every afternoon.)
 
Latin:  ongoing
 
Reading:   CED is gradually improving in her letter/sound recognition and we have enjoyed adding more easy readers to our daily routine.  She has mastered the -sh and -th endings this week.  I am quite proud of her and would say her attitude is good more often than not of late.  Whew!!  CTD reads, reads, reads and often tells us the meaning of obscure words we run across because she can recall reading it in another context.  Amazing!
 
History/Geography:  We began March with a belated Unit Celebration which ended up being very appropriately timed - on March 5th we hosted our "19th Century party," complete with Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper from the 1890's, molasses cake from an 1884 cookbook, homemade cheese straws and Cracker Jacks!  The girls displayed their work from the past several months, especially highlighting immigration and the Statue of Liberty.  Thereafter, we looked at the life of Helen Keller (still awaiting the video version of her life - on hold at the library) and marveled at her tenacity and courage in the face of many obstacles.  Theodore Roosevelt has become our new "favorite president," providing great fodder for conversation as we studied each of the stages of his life.  What a fascinating childhood "Teedie" had, and what heartbreak as a young adult.  He rose to each challenge with dignity and strength; a great role model for us even today.  (Though I'm not sure he'll really supplant Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln as our final "favorite.")  The girls had fun learning about the history of teddy bears in conjunction with our look at TR.  We spent two days reviewing the recent history and the geography of Hawaii.  A Child's History of the Twentieth Century has provided the backdrop for all of our "tangent' studies, giving a great kid-friendly timeline view of each year within the century.  (Did you know ping-pong was originally marketed as Gossima??)  During CTD's week of state testing, we used Five in a Row for a lighter week of lessons, enjoying the origins of man-powered flight in France with a look at the life of Louis Bleriot and his inventions during the first decade of the 20th Century.  The Glorious Flight chronicles the events leading up to his flight across the English Channel.  Fun!
 
Creative Writing and Typing  Luka's Quilt (a Hawaiian children's story) gave the girls opportunity to create their own versions of the quilt; CTD also read Seabird and The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge this month and completed student activity pages for each.  Both of the girls continue to impress me with their incredible recall after returning home from theatre productions, and their written summaries this month were no exception. 
 
Fine Arts:  ArkansasArtsCenter Children's Theatre:  The Little Dutch Boy was a neat story of a boy who saves his town in the Netherlands by staying awake all night holding back a break in the dike.  The props were great and the story flowed well, but we were accustomed to 90 minute plays, and this one lasted all of 42 minutes.  The fairies used to portray the ocean water and its fury were also a bit disturbing.  Since we had friends Evie and Jack with us, we headed to Community Bakery to let everyone choose a treat from behind the glass and called it a great morning of fun anyway!!
 
Music Appreciation:   Ongoing piano lessons for CTD.  Saturday, March 10th was spent on the campus of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for a juried piano competition.  This was our first real introduction to such an event, and we were overwhelmed by the sheer talent of kids CTD's age and younger!  There were multiple "original compositions" within her age group alone.  Wow!  ("That was all I could say, 'Wow!'.")  After a full four hours of playing and waiting, playing and waiting (plus some great conversation between mother and daughter as we strolled the UALR campus on a lovely afternoon) we chose to stick around for the medal concert, where each of the top finishers would play their selection.  They were magnificent and beautiful.  I was so proud of CTD for just "showing up" and playing her best among these truly God-gifted musicians.  What a thrill and an unexpected treat when she was awarded a second place and a third place medal in her respective categories!!!!!  As it turns out, the two boys who had been on stage as "the best" in her age bracket all day truly were just that, "the best."  From among all the "gifted" (though maybe not "exceptionally gifted") piano students participating, our nine year-old placed as the TOP finisher.  Those were the sweetest, most rewarding 2nd and 3rd place medals ever presented.  What an honor for her, and what a reward for being so content to enjoy the performances of the others with gladness in her heart for each of them.  A proud moment!!
 
Pre-PreSchool:  CAR had a challenging stretch during the month of March, refusing to say "yes" to either of her parents for some unknown reason.  Out of sheer frustration, I resorted to a "naughty chair" one morning, and it worked like a charm.  Two minutes facing a wall and she was quick to both respond and obey.  Wow!  Why didn't I think of that about 10 days sooner??   
 
Other Activities: 
 
An overnight birthday party at a local hotel for CTD, complete with swimming and Krispy Kreme donuts.
 
Final Saturday games for our basketball star (she ended up missing hers - see below) and our cheerleading queen.
 
Saturday, March 3rd. . . . Text from an email sent to Beth: 
After an overnight bday party at a hotel (swimming, etc), we picked CTD up around 9:30 this morning.  She came home and slept for a couple of hours and when it was time to get ready for basketball, I couldn't wake her up.  Chad came up to wake her, and had trouble, too.  Together we tried to motivate her to get up and get ready (you have to know she's usually dressed and begging to go to basketball in plenty of time).  She just kind of stared at us.  Chad was perplexed at how she didn't respond to anything we were saying.  Just sat there.  We helped her getting ready and she very slowly made it downstairs. . .now running late for Upward.  I stood her in front of the mirror to put her hair in pigtails and tried to talk to her. . .she was still unresponsive.  The next question I asked her she attempted to respond to, but her words were very slurred and the right side of her mouth was quivering.  I stepped away to tell Chad I didn't like how she was acting AT ALL. . . thought we should consider going to the ER instead of to basketball.  About that time she sat right down on the floor and started crying, saying "I'm having a brainstorm or something."  (she knows the meaning of that word, and would never use it incorrectly - strange)  She was clearly very confused -bewildered even - her words weren't making any sense.  All very unusual for her.  Chad laid her on the sofa to check her eyes with a flashlight and I said, forget all that just get her to the ER.  I was thinking that if she was having an aneurysm or something strange like that, us standing around talking about it was wasted time.  He remembered that our pediatrician's office is open until noon on Saturdays and thought about driving there.  I called there as they left (so thankful he can drive now!).  They put me through to the nurse who agreed we should head to the ER instead. . . .
 
Not knowing what else to do, I fed and moved along the rest of the girls to make it to CED's game (cheerleading) by 12:30.  Unfortunately, Chad's cell didn't work at the ER, so information was sketchy and it just seemed surreal to watch one daughter cheering (with two trying to crawl and eat off the gym floor!) while I knew another was at the hospital.  After about 3 1/2 hours, a CT scan and bloodwork/urine sample, the MD determined there was no underlying brain trouble. . .it was labeled as a transitory migraine, causing confusion (worsened by lack of sleep).  We're not ones to run to the ER - only 3 other visits ever, and all 3 related to seizures - but I just had a really bad feeling about how CTD was acting, and would send her to the ER again if I had it to do over.  Beverly does Neurology for "old people," and wasn't at the hospital today when I called her, but she did say later that migraines in children can give really odd symptoms that might mimick a stroke. 
 
Once home, we called to say she couldn't make her piano exhibition this evening, and now everyone's resting in CTDs room watching a movie on the laptop. . . and I hope she never looks at me like that again!!!!  (The blank stare and confusion lasted for about 45 minutes total - now she's content again, just tired.)
 
Another interesting weekend in the Donley household!  That makes 4 in a row - Chad's surgery, two weekends of stomach flu and now this.  Hopefully next weekend will be much less eventful!!!
 
A good 7 year-old checkup for CED with Dr. Martin; in discussing several reading/focus issues with her, she recommended evaluation with a neuropsychiatrist she trusts.  Haven't followed up on that as of yet.
 
March 5 Unit Celebration - A 19th Century Gala event
 
Wendy's first FamilyLife "After the Boxes are Unpacked" study night in Chenal
 
March 7-9 at Grandy's house in Center Ridge so we could attend some FL training locally.
 
Chad and Wendy out to dinner and to see the newly released movie "Amazing Grace" during our unexpected night without the kids!  What a great movie  =)
 
Upward Awards Night on 3/9
 
Piano Festival 3/10 and a visit from Ryan and Emily Roach afterwards
(missed first track meet - trying to get CTD involved, but they happen to practice at the exact time of her weekly piano lessons. . . we'll at least try to observe one or two meets to get a feel for it all in hopes of having her participate next year)
 
Y Princess meeting at our house - all things GREEN for St. Patrick's Day.  The girls each decorated their own bandanas with paints.  CED also carefully chose all of the tableware and decorations, along with St. Paddy's Day necklace/bracelet ensembles for each of her friends.
 
Hosted dessert for a missionary raising support to minister to the local Latino population through her involvement at MosaicChurch - interesting and encouraging to hear from her heart.
 
3/19 - LCD's vision f/u appt. with ACH's Dr. Phillips (rest of the girls went to the Englishes AFTER a very scary burning episode.  LCD is fine now, but she managed to crawl INTO the bathroom sink - at 14 months, that's saying alot!!  - and sit cross-legged, then turn on the hot water. . . a very scary and intense hour or more as we were trying to get out the door to head downtown.  We headed instead to the pediatrician's office and she checked out OK.  It only looked like it was going to be 2nd degree burns due to her very fair skin!)
 
State-mandated benchmark testing for CTD during the week of 3/19, followed by a fun playdate at Maumelle's LakeWillastein.  I never knew a long jumprope could be such a tool for outreach.  Angie brought one along, and within 20 minutes there were over a dozen kids lined up  to join the fun!
 
Wendy's first "HomeLinc" meeting on 3/20 - a true encouragement to me personally
 
Several afternoons with the Carswell kids during their Spring Break stay with Janna in LR
 
Two mornings of helping clean out "stuff" at Nana's house leading up to the Catholic High "Junktique"  sale - we also took turns paying Nana visits at Presbyterian Village, her new "home" (after 55 years on N. Cleveland)
 
Chad's surgery f/u brought good news that at 6 weeks "post-op" things are looking great with his shoulder!
 
Grandy offered once more to take the girls for a night or two while Ken was away, and a last minute decision to keep Callie home due to a poor attitude and a lack of focus during school on Tuesday became perhaps the best decision of late. . . .
 
Tillman girls (3 of them) overnight on 3/30
 
Wendy's "Welcome Tea" hosted by Elizabeth Girouard 3/31
 
Still to come. . . .our annual "Camp-In"
 
Until then,
wendy

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Mar. 26, 2007 - Jan/Feb in Review

Back again, this time to give an overview of our studies thus far in 2007:

Bible/Character:  In the first couple of months of 2007, morning devotionals included a look at the lives of Mary Slessor, Charles H. Spurgeon and George Washington Carver.   I think the girls both liked "the peanut man" most of the three.  We also continue to read from Scripture many mornings, along with our FAITH training each Wednesday evening.  We camped out in Luke for the beginning of the year - how amazing the retention level of the girls is from this 1-2 hours of time "in the Word" each week as a family!  Fellowship Bible Church's "FamilyFusion" materials have also been a great resource as we are able to review what the girls have discussed and learned in their classes at FSK on Sundays (usually a Monday morning activity).    Our family's trip to Gibson City Bible Church's annual Missions Conference provided a great opportunity for the girls to have their faith strengthened by others during the children's program led by the King family.  (Though CED was sick for half of the time.)

 

Dictation/Copywork:  These selections continue to be taken from current Scripture memory (for FAITH, Fellowship classes, etc) or from our current reading (poetry, history/literature, Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer). 

 

Grammar/Phonics:  CTD added a weekly grammar exercise online starting in early February - it provides good review and has been nice to have the things she's learning from Easy Grammar be reinforced in another way.  She also continues to do great with each week's spelling and vocabulary words.  On January 27th, she took part in the Pulaski County Homeschool Spelling Bee held at the Bible Church of Little Rock.  What a fun and growing experience for her!  We were entirely proud when she placed 6th as the youngest participant there!  CED definitely prefers the days when I provide some type of phonics "game" or activity in place of the regular worksheets (or in addition to them).  She loves the challenge of filling in missing vowel sounds or playing guessing games.  We've allowed her to add online phonics games about 1-2 times/month of late.  Both of the big girls enjoyed the addition of "Grammar Songs" to our classroom in February.  (Much like the AudioMemory Geography Songs we've used for the past 3-4 years.)

 

Handwriting:  CED moved into her regular weekly lessons with Reason for Handwriting (it has taken all year just to get through the practice lessons).  Now each lesson has five distinct parts, all leading toward mastery of the letters and words within a given Bible verse, which she writes on a special border sheet at the end of the week.  A positive step! 

 

Math:  We began the year with an in-depth look at money.  My focus was primarily to get CED fluent in the various denominations and adding coins/making change.  It was a fun and "profitable" (pun intended) two week diversion.  Continuing with MathUSee, both girls are also doing well with the daily lessons and weekly tests.  CED -  addition plus 8 and plus 9, circles and triangles;  CTD - multiplication by 7, 8, 10 and 100, rounding and estimation.

 

Science:   SEEK continued from 9-2:30 each Friday through March 2nd.  Chad went with me on that day to watch them "graduate" from the 12 week program.  The girls certainly loved SEEK, and just as much the new friends they made because of it (especially Hope, Anna Claire, Rachel, Robert, Michael and others).  CED learned about insects, butterflies/moths, tarantulas, snakes, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and animal classification these past couple of months, while CTD studied bats, caves and other habitats, insects and more.  

 

PhysEd:  CTD's basketball ("Lady Spartans") and CED's cheerleading ("The Bluebirds") took up a large portion of our winter weekends!  Each had a one-hour weekly practice, in addition to the one hour games on Saturdays - quite a well-organized program with over 600 kids participating!    Out back, we enjoyed a little frisbee golf and an introduction to the Chinese jump rope.  CTD also had two sleepover birthday parties within Jan/Feb, both of them at the ice/roller skating rink.  =)  Both girls also enjoyed a bowling outing with their Daddy!

 

Latin:  CTD continues to do well in her independent study of Latin - she wows us all with her knowledge of the constellations now.

 

Reading:   Continuing 20 minute per day reading lessons with CED.  On January 31, she was introduced to the -sk sound, and we were reviewing words within the Phonics Pathways book.  We came to the word "tusk" and she read it aloud clearly.  I asked her if she knew what it meant.  CED said (quite confidently), "Yes! Like what Daddy wore when you were married!"  (Cute!)  CTD has begun choosing one of Dave and Neta Jackson's historical biographies every few weeks at the library as an overview of the lives of great missionary heroes.  The Trailblazer series was one I would loved to have purchased in its entirety, but to my great pleasure and surprise, when I emailed the main library to request they consider adding the series over time, they added the whole thing to their holdings.  We LOVE our local library!!!!

Other titles CTD has read lately inlcude Black Beauty, More Perfect than the Moon and A Coal Miner's Bride.

 

History/Geography:  A review of the history of money (through the ages and with a special emphasis on US currency) started our 2007 studies together.  We moved onto a brief look at architectural styles of the late 1800s, and then took a turn toward the sciences in studying the lives of Marie Curie and Louis Pasteur.  A week-long review of the Spanish American War (and President McKinley's and future president Theodore Roosevelt's influence on our involvement as a nation, along with its impact on Cuba) led the girls to several fun afternoons of playing the game Battleship.  Who knew playing on the sofa for 2 hours could count as "school"!!?  We took two days to review all of the United States Presidents through McKinley, and tested our memory by having timed quizzes to see who could remember the most.  CTD and CED both did a great job; we were all aided by the use of a mnemonic device touted in the book The Buck Stops Here.  The remaining weeks of Jan/Feb were spent drawing the 19th Century to a close in the girls' minds (and mine!) by a thorough reading of If You Lived 100 Years Ago (another great Ann McGovern title) and lots of review and wrap-up activities. 

 

Creative Writing and Typing  CTD's "mind-map" is probably my favorite outgrowth of her creative writing assignments of late.  She began with the title "Spanish American War" and came up with quite a great overview of the many-faceted skirmish, which she also typed as an outline and summary.  She also typed a piece titled "How Money Got Started" which amused the grandparents.

 

Fine Arts:  Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre:  This Little Piggy went to Market was a fun play!  Two weeks after we attended the show, CAR ran into the kitchen with the Razorback snout on her nose and said, "See me?  See me?  I'm going to market!" - They really DO listen!!!!

Draw-Write-Now provides good instruction in drawing techniques - the girls both pull it out from time-to-time, and it came in handy while studying money.

 

Music Appreciation:   Ongoing piano lessons for CTD - her love of piano continues, as evidenced by the lack of prodding required to get her to practice each day.

 

Pre-PreSchool:  CAR has become more willing to sit at the table with us as we begin each homeschool day - she will color or draw while the big girls do their handwriting and other "table work."  Once she seems to be bored with the sitting, I'll go grab her daily basket and lay out a towel or blanket wherever she chooses (always at our feet in the dining room!) so she can play there while we tackle another subject.  She truly loves to do whatever her big sisters are doing.  About 3 days a week, she watches a video while we finish up in the dining room, then we all move to snack time and a little outside play if the weather cooperates.  She has been our best napper of all the girls, and so we were shocked when she simpy gave up her 2 - 2 1/2 hour afternoon nap the SAME WEEK Chad started full-time at the FamilyLife offices.  Oh well!!!  It makes things pretty miserable from about 3:00 or 3:30 onward 'til suppertime, but I am confident that "this too shall pass."

 

 

Other Activities: 

 

Wendy's Nana fell on New Year's Day and has not been able to return to her home of 55 years since.  She was at SVI for awhile and has now been moved to a nursing home long-term. 

 

Chad and Wendy - an overnight away at The Empress of Little Rock (including a visit to see Nana at the hospital since we didn't have the kids for a change).  This was my Christmas present to Chad, and a belated celebration of our 10th anniversary.  Not much had changed at the Victorian era home since our wedding night there, but we found that we were much changed. . . and for the better.  It was our first night away since LCD was born, and only our 2nd night away since CAR was born.  Two and a half years!  We're looking forward to the next "chapter" in our married life!!

 

Watching "Newsies" as a family - we definitely love the older musicals.  This one was a perfect fit as we discussed big city life at the turn of the century.

 

Playing Monopoly for about 3 hours during our study of the history of money - a fun night with the girls!

 

Books, books, books at the FOCAL sale!  I was showing off all my great bargain finds to CTD and CED when we heard an awful crash and realized Chad had fallen in the attic above us.  He didn't answer my repeated shouts, which sent the girls into a bit of a panic.  After several attempts, he finally responded, "I'm fine."  (But he didn't sound fine!)  Little did we know we'd be dealing with the effects of that Friday afternoon wiring project for months to come!

 

Community Group for us grown-ups every Sunday evening means time with the girls' favorite babysitter/friend, McKenna!!  SuperBowl party spent at the Englishes WITH the kids this time.

 

A day at the Arkansas State Capital.  It was "Homeschool Day" planned to make the homeschool community known to the new class of legislators.  The homeschool community put on a very good face, and the hundreds of home-made treats certainly put a very positive spin as each member was given a plate full of "love".  The girls also took a historical tour of the Capital and finished the day attending an actual session of both the house and senate. 

 

Supper at the Porters' in North Little Rock.

 

Chad's first day at the FamilyLife headquarters.  After THREE years of raising support, we "reported" on Monday, January 29th.  A very GOOD day! 

 

Daddy-daughter Valentine's Day dance at the Arkansas Arts Center for Chad and CED.

 

Y Princess meeting for Chad and CED at the Beaches' house - they made Valentine flower pots!

 

Chad presented the gospel as the devotional at one of CTD's Thursday night basketball practices.

 

After evaluations, x-rays and an MRI, Chad had reconstructive shoulder surgery early on Friday, February 9th.  Thankfully, my mom was able to spend Thursday through Saturday with us to help me get through and allow Chad the rest he needed.  It would be 3 full weeks before he could drive again - work, therapy, MD followups, etc. meant we did alot of our history readings  in the van (thankfully "If You Lived 100 Years Ago" is a lightweight book!). 

 

All Staff Meeting at Parkway Place Church 2/13 - the girls enjoy the "kid camp" at those meeting (at least that's what we call it!).

 

A special Valentine's party in Maumelle, orchestrated by friend Angie Shelton- who also has four beautiful daughters.  What a great homeschool group they have going out there.  After our fun-filled afternoon (lots of games, contests, candy, cookies, etc), we headed to a local nursing home to tell jokes for the residents (CTD also had the opportunity to play piano for them).

 

CED turned SEVEN!!!!!  Our little girl is definitely growing up!  We had a sleepover for 2 of her friends, though about  6 or 7 came for the evening leading up to it.  The pinata Grandy had just brought the girls from Mexico was the highlight of the night.  =)

 

The stomach flu hit our household - everyone except Chad and CTD got it for a weekend. . . . then CAR got a second go-round of it on our way to IL.  Yes, IN the van.  It was horrible, horrible, horrible. . . and it lasted through the entire missions conference and all the way back to AR again.  Don't know how we made it, really!  Thankfully, Chad's mom was able to watch whoever happened to be feeling bad at her house so that one of us didn't have to miss the entire event.

 

A SouthernLiving at Home party hosted by us at my dad's house - billed as a FamilyLife fundraiser.  It was a fun evening; about 11 or 12 ladies came. . . but I'm glad that one's over!

 

LCD's first haircut!!

 

Signing off for January and February. . .

wendy

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Mar. 24, 2007 - Nov/Dec in Review

Better late than never?  Oh, how I had hoped to update this blog about once a week when the idea first struck me!  I've never been short on good intentions, and am seldom short on overly ambitious expectations (of myself).  But the days run together and we're so busy LIVING that it's hard to make time to REFLECT it seems!

So. . . . about three months belated, here's what I can come up with in the way of review for the months of November and December 2006!

Bible/Character:  Both of the big girls continue to love CBS (Community Bible Study) - CTD studying         I Peter and Daniel like her mommy, and CED and CAR working through the CBS preschool curriculum (complete with memorable songs and crafts they each love to display).  We also read devotionals at the breakfast table at least 3-4 mornings per week, covering the lives of William & Catherine Booth and David Livingstone among other topics of late.  The favorite verse from FAITH training in Nov/Dec would have to be Luke 2:16-19 "And there was the baby lying in the manger.  The shepherds told everyone what had happened.  All who heard it were astonished; except for Mary, she quietly treasured these things in her heart."  CED quoted this about a thousand times leading up to their Christmas concert for Sonshine Kids.  It was even our outgoing (voicemail) message for the month of Dec.  I wish I could have figured out how to save a copy of that precious, precious voice.  (Also, be sure to ask CTD and CED about the "pig waterfall!")

 

Dictation/Copywork:  These selections continue to be taken from current Scripture memory (for FAITH, Fellowship classes, etc) or from our current reading (poetry, history/literature regarding immigration, Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days).  CED's copywork is definitely improving!!

 

Grammar/Phonics:  CTD has moved to the silver book of Easy Grammar now.  She rarely encounters a concept which is beyond her grasp.  CED has used Explode the Code 3-4 times/week as we move toward mastery of blends and confidence in each of the letters' (short and long) sounds.  She is currently in Book 1.   We also intersperse reading lessons with phonics activities to keep CED's interest level up (sight words, online phonics games, playdough).

 

Handwriting:  Each of the girls use Reason for Handwriting for ongoing practice in print (CED) and manuscript (CTD).  CED practices daily; CTD about 1-2 x/week.

 

Math:  Continuing with MathUSee, both girls are doing well with the daily lessons and weekly tests.  CED -  skip counting by 10, place value, solving for the unknown;  CTD - feet/yards, teaspoons/tablespoons, equivalent fractions, quarters/dollars.

 

Science:   SEEK!!!!!  Science Enrichment Education for Kids at the Arkansas 4-H Center started on December 1st.  The girls attend the program from 9-2:30 each Friday, and they LOVE it!  What a great program the Cooperative Extension has put together for these homeschoolers.  CED is learning (so far) about plants and plant parts, while CTD has investigated geology and Arkansas geography.  Chad also helped the girls to press flowers, a late activity to go along with our previous study of the Victorian Era (but fun nonetheless).  Other science-related studies included a look at structural engineering related to the Statue of Liberty.

 

PhysEd:  Enjoying time outdoors as fall quickly becomes winter. . . raking and working on their "garden" are still favorites.  Initial evaluations for Upward were held in mid-November.  CTD is anticipating basketball in January, while CED has chosen to participate in cheerleading instead.

 

Latin:  CTD continues to do well in her independent study of Latin (now moving on to numbers and such).

 

Reading:   Continuing 20 minute per day reading lessons with CED, and incorporating more and more "easy readers" now.   CTD is an eager reader, often covering "pleasure" books in addition to her weekly assigned readers (on key figures and events surrounding immigration for these months).  Mrs. Katz and Tush was a fun choice for a "light" week of schooling Five in a Row style over the Thanksgiving holiday in Illinois.  We all enjoyed it immensely!  (it is late March and I just asked the girls what they think of when I say Mrs. Katz and Tush. . . immediate responses:  CED "Such a person!"  CTD "My little Bubelah"  and Chad chimed in from the other room, too "Such a person!")

 

History/Geography:  A two week mini-unit on Impressionism gave us an overview of great painters such as Monet, Degas and Renoir.  Then we moved on to studying immigration at the end of the 19th Century in-depth.  Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, conditions in Europe and elsewhere leading to mass "exodus." . . . it was "all things immigration" in our household for quite awhile.  

We also enjoyed a brief look at the history of pizza, taking in some real "Chicago style" deep dish as a family at downtown Little Rock's Gusano's, along with a brief overview of mail-order catalogs and their impact on how people shopped in the late 1800s. 

 

Creative Writing and Typing  CTD looks forward to typing lessons, and often requests to type her hand-written reports from week to week.  She has also continued regular "student activity pages" related to the history and literature assignments within Tapestry of Grace - the past couple of months have included immigration journals (as if she were a traveler about to depart) and a cut-out history of pizza project.

 

Fine Arts:  CTD finished strong in another semester of Kids Love Art, completing a pop art version of Andy Warhol's soup can among other new favorites (several of which we have framed following an enjoyable exhibit out at Camp Aldersgate).  We also chose to frame the results of our fun afternoon trying our hands at Monet-style painting - three very different looks from the same view of his "Sunflowers."  How fun - I don't know why I don't drag out the paints more often!  (On second thought, it must be the clean up!)

Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre:  Frog and Toad all Year was a fun play!  Glad we made time for it.  We also took another morning there to stroll the collections looking for Impressionist or Post-Impressionist works (I gave the girls a bit of a scavenger hunt to follow, but they really just enjoyed walking and looking for themselves)

The Nutcracker ballet was a special treat for which my birthday money was well-spent!  We all got dressed up and enjoyed the morning performance followed by a sit-down lunch at Ciao! Italian restaurant downtown (who cares if it's raining?!!).

One of the best projects assigned of late was the life-size (OK, kid-size) Statue of Liberty drawings each of the girls made.  We used them to make trivia games for the next Unit Celebration.

 

Music Appreciation:   Sonshine Kids Choir at Fellowship on Wednesday afternoons continues to be a highlight of the big girls' week.  They had their Christmas concert at church on 12/10 (lots of rehearsing for that one).  We all attended CTD's piano exhibition at the Easter Seals Rehab center in mid-December as well.  She also had a "ConBrio" meeting - piano club at her instructor Sherry Mashburn's home.  I was proud to hear CTD volunteer to take on a role as an officer within that club.

 

Pre-PreSchool:  CAR remains very "into" her daily baskets, and this mom is very grateful for the 20-30 minutes those buy us for completing at least one subject each morning.  CAR's favorite words now are "Thank you so MUCH!"  What a delight!  She repeats everything now.  Funny quotes from Nov/Dec - Anytime she hears of sees anything  drop, she immediately shouts, "Did it break?"  She talks about my mom non-stop, saying "Handy lub me!"  And when I mention that Grandy is coming, she always wants to know, "My Emmy Rine comin' too?"  (Ryan and Emily Roach)   My personal favorite was after Christmas celebrations with the Meyers on 12/23, the Beadles on 12/24, the Fosters on 12/25 and our own family on Christmas night, CAR came down the stairs very slowly on 12/27.  Thinking her to be groggy, I walked toward the stairs to greet her and heard these excited words of anticipation, "Open pesents??!"    (The mind of a child!)  (That same morning, CED came down late saying, "I heard a spoon, so I knew it was breakfast!")

 

 

 

LCD is becoming more verbal as well.  She played with a box lid on 12/21 and with a pretend cell phone the next day, both times putting them to her ear and saying, "LOW?"  How quickly they learn!  She claps on cue now, and is also trying to put her fingers together to get them to snap. 

 

Other Activities: 

 

Hosting our new friends the Porters for supper in early November - funny, we prepared for the 7 of them (that's alot of food!!) and learned after they arrived that the 4 girls actually live in Idaho with their dad. . . a misunderstanding, but one that provided plenty of food to share with our brand new neighbors (who just moved in that week).

 

Hosting Chad's soon-to-be manager Mike Hefner and his wife Diane for supper on 11/30 - what a privilege to get to know them, and what a delightful evening of introducing our families.

 

Chad and CED's 3rd Daddy-Daughter camp-out November 4-5. 

 

CED lost her second tooth on 11/5/06.

 

Explore class at Fellowship each Sunday night - all 4 girls enjoyed the fun during childcare there.

 

Providing canned goods and other items for families in need as part of the girls' contribution to our church's annual Sharefest. 

 

Chad took CTD with him to work on a project downtown as part of Sharefest.  They were assigned a home that needed a lot of exterior work, and they worked together on the landscaping part of the deal.  Someone had said (basically), "Chad, you be in charge of the landscaping."  CTD quickly surveyed the situation and decided, "So, that makes me sorta like the 'vice president'?!"  [ CTD and I planted a dozen boxwoods and bushes along the front of this home in addition to laying out the landscape bed and lining it with wooden edging.  CTD also had the idea of taking the last two plants and utilizing the discarded curved concrete edging that was removed from the front of the home and make small landscaping beds at the front of the sidewalk near the street.  They looked great and gave the home some real depth.  All who saw it said "Who's idea was this?  It looks great!"  It really filled her "cup" to overflowing. 

After we finished the landscaping work, we filled in the rest of our day helping with some of the exterior painting that still needed to be finished.  It was a good experience for both of us. ]

 

Having a blast as we joined friends at a Maumelle homeschool group's first-ever Thanksgiving feast (held at New Life Church).  What a great bunch of families, and what a fun event!

 

Thanksgiving meal with the Meyers a week ahead of the actual holiday (think we're destined to have at least two of every holiday from here on out!!)  Grandy surprised everyone by having sweatshirts screen-printed with each family's last name for a family picture.  =)

 

Charlotte's Web movie and an afternoon at the Peabody (seeing the ducks) for Grandy and the kids.

 

As is our "tradition", we drove around town looking at Christmas lights.  Each year we serach for a good neighborhood, and have yet to locate a great one.  Hit and Miss for the most part.  Maybe next year?

 

 "Grandy camp" moved SE a bit - she came here as our schedules wouldn't allow the whole weekend to be spent in Center Ridge.  The kids (including cousins) all enjoyed making gingerbread houses and more, then the downtown Christmas parade (which Chad and CED participated in with the YPrincess group) before heading to Center Ridge for night #2 and a Christmas bazaar at St. Joseph's Catholic Church there. 

 

A benefit concert for the Davidsons as they prepare to leave for a mission assignment in Uganda.  Christmas songs and an evening of dress-up. 

 

12/21 - Dixie Cafe for lunch with McDaniels, Fosters and NANA - her last meal "out," though we didn't know it at the time. 

 

Baking and delivering about 18 full-sized loaves of pumpkin chocolate chip bread to neighbors and friends.  A worthwhile family tradition that we plan to continue (even if it kills us. . . just kidding!)

 

Saying "good-bye" to Wendy's Aunt Geneva at her memorial service, and learning a hard lesson about going forward with what your heart says to do even when well-meaning family members try to tell you otherwise (a very long story. . .)  It was good to be a part of that funeral on 12/23 - so glad my mom could keep things going as it was DURING the time we were hosting the Meyer family Christmas gathering at our house.

 

LCD's first birthday!!!!  A very special birthday celebration attended by Grandma Beth, Granddad and BB, Uncle Don and Aunt Libby and friends and neighbors the Adcocks.  We spent the afternoon at The Wonder Place and then enjoyed cake and ice cream and gifts galore.  I truly feel like a major bridge has been crossed.   We have indeed survived the most sleep-deprived years of our lives - our oldest will be 10 in 2007 and our youngest has crossed into her toddler years.  What a milestone!

 

Until next time. . . .

wendy

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Nov. 2, 2006 - Sept/Oct in Review

 

Bible/Character:  We completed Wisdom with the Millers as one of our morning devotionals, with the girls regularly writing or drawing in special journals to reflect what they have learned.  We also inserted character studies from Hero Tales - including a look at the life of Dwight L. Moody (then following a rabbit trail to learn alot more about the "Great Chicago Fire" of 1871).  Weekly FAITH Training has become even more of a joy as the girls have recalled verses learned in previous weeks of reading through Matthew; we are now into the book of Mark.  The favorite verse thus far has been, "If a blind man leads a blind man both will fall into a pit!"  Matthew 15:14 

 

Dictation/Copywork:  These selections continue to be taken from current Scripture memory (for FAITH, Fellowship classes, etc) or from our current read-alouds. Right now we are trudging through Little House on the Prairie.  The girls love it and I am thinking it's a bit ill-placed in our look at world history these past few weeks.

 

Grammar/Phonics:  CTD has used Easy Grammar 2-3 times/week in continuing her review of grammar rules, and is now 1-2 weeks away from completing the "pink" book.  CED has used Explode the Code 3-4 times/week as we move toward mastery of blends and confidence in each of the letter's (short and long) sounds.  She completed the "Go" book in the Ready-Set-Go series today! 

 

Handwriting:  Each of the girls use Reason for Handwriting for ongoing practice in print (CED) and manuscript (CTD).  CED practices daily; CTD about 2x/week.

The girls also take every opportunity to write out their Scripture verses for friends and family, and to write to Emma back in Ohio (CED)!

 

Math:  CED continues to use MathUSee's Alpha series, now concentrating on addition facts.  CTD uses MathUSee Gamma, prefering to get to Friday so she can show her stuff on the weekly test.  She is doing much better in her mastery of multiplication facts than at the end of 3rd grade.

 

Science:   Science lessons are currently taken as springboard investigations from other readings.  For example, we dove into a study of color this week after reading about the Impressionists mastery of complementary colors and their use to show intricate changes in light/shadow.  Chad also helped the girls' understanding of "modern" inventions when they made their own rudimentary phone out of plastic cups and kite string during our study of A.G. Bell (whom we lost respect for in learning a great deal about how he acquired some of his ideas for that invention).  He also cut open 3 types of golf balls to give them a little lesson in "golf technology" (his words!).

 

PhysEd:  Outdoor activities during "recess" are quite a favorite now.  "Helicopter," frisbee, beanbag horseshoes (seemed more like outdoor "skeeball" to us), skipping races and more have been enjoyed of late. The girls also got a few "hikes" in during our time in Tennessee to see Chad's family for the annual golf outing.

 

Latin:  CTD has continued her independent study of Latin, and amazes us with her sheer recall.

 

Reading:   CED is reaching a turning point in her reading skills - I can sense that for sure.  She has a good attitude more days than not now, and can pick out words from signs and such when she wants to.  We presented her with a simple box for storing her "sight words," and she has run to get it many times since.  This week, I printed 10 animal name words on flash cards and we got CTD and CAR involved for playing charades as she learned the words.  I'm sure she'll have no trouble remembering those.  Definitely a "kinesthetic" learner! 

 

CTD has stepped up to the plate in reading to CAR more than a few times, and continues to improve her own reading fluency as well.  (Biographies about Emily Dickinson and Bell, along with other history-related readings)  She also continues to ace each week's vocabulary quizzes.

 

History/Geography:  Over the past two months, we have studied the Transcontinental Railroad and its beginnings; the Great Chicago Fire; Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell's lives and inventions; Queen Victoria's life and Victorian times, along with some English geography; Impressionism and its rise to prominence in France; and a unit study using Five in a Row's material for Peter Rabbit (now the girls love Beatrix Potter!). 

 

We also took in a bit of current events study as we participated in a Freedom Walk to Arkansas' State Capitol in observance of the 5th anniversary of September 11, 2001's terrorist attacks.  Hard to believe it's been so long.        The girls and I toured the Capitol building that morning as well - a nice summation of our look at Arkansas state history.

 

Creative Writing and Typing CTD has written a few reports, and CED has dictated several summaries to me for writing.  Typing lessons have become a more regular part of each week.

 

Fine Arts:  Using Discovering Great Artists, the girls tackled an art project which Edgar Degas might have enjoyed (showing motion).  Later this week, we plan to do an impressionist work similar to Monet's landscape portraits.  CTD also restarted her beloved Kids Love Art classes - 2 hours every Monday to paint, draw, sculpt and create to her heart's content. 

 

Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre:  Miss Nelson is Missing and The Reluctant Dragon  (We are the coordinators for this in '06-'07, and CTD has taken ownership of making a checklist and confirming each family as they arrive at the theater - right up her alley!)   Everyone also enjoyed Fellowship Bible Church's production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.

 

Music Appreciation:   Both of the "big girls" began Sonshine Kids Choir at Fellowship on Wednesday afternoons.  Terry Jones and others are doing a fabulous job of introducing the kids to a new instrument each week, along with instilling a deeper understanding of worship through song and Scripture memory.  They are singin' all week around here now!  CTD has also had two recitals of note:  one at her piano instructor's home in early October, and one before a group at Colaianni's Piano Store in Little Rock just before Halloween.  We're so proud of her!

 

Pre-PreSchool:  CAR has been more of a challenge to our studies than a part of them in recent weeks.  "This too shall pass."  She has had a cold and perhaps a growth spurt?  Often crying much of the morning.  Again, "this too shall pass."  Meanwhile, her vocabulary has increased by leaps and bounds.  Her first full sentence came early in October when LCD stood near her one evening (against the coffee table).  She shouted with enthusiasm, "Ood dob, Hate!  Sees 'tanding!"  (What a precious first sentence.  She's quite the encourager.)  On a side note, LCD had her first word this month as well.  She must be mimicking her sister's cheers, because on 10/24, she clapped and said, "Yeaaahhh!".  Awwwww........

 

Other Activities: 

 

Chores remain a challenge to integrate, but late in October. . . an idea that might work!  Now we set a timer for 10 minutes three times a day and everyone is expected to work.  "Morning choring" - look at your tasks for the day and get to it (this usually means clearing the stairs, wiping down a bathroom counter or gathering library books); "Noontime is roomtime" - those tasks range from straightening their closet to vacuuming their floor: and "Night Flight" - each person is assigned a room for the week to pick up for those 10 minutes.  So far, the girls are much more agreeable to this plan.  Actually, they were never too complaining about the chores themselves, it was just a lack of consistency on my part having them actually refer to their cards and DO the work.  These all hinge on them actually making their beds and being dressed and ready when they "appear" at the breakfast table each morning. 

I could still use some mentoring in this area for sure!

 

Other highlights:

 

Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball team's final night game at Ray Winder Field 9/1/06 - They won!

 

CTD's 9th birthday party at Marlowe Manor pool

 

A visit from California cousins Ronda and Kylee

 

New babysitters:  Ms. Valerie Gall and Mrs. Karen Rambin (usually for FL needs)

 

Four days' worth of travel/away time as we joined Chad's family at Fall Creek Falls state park in Tennessee for Trent's church golf outing.  This was a fun time of playing with cousins Erika and Egan, taking trail walks with Grandma and more.  (Though I must say very taxing from the standpoint of time in the car and long, late nights)

 

Lots of prep work for a surprise 60th birthday party for Granddad

 

The start-up of CED and Chad's Y-Princess year. . . a fun October activity as the daddy-daughter duo of lifeguard and swimmer dressed up (also present were a bride and groom, Shaggy and Thelma, a football player and cheerleader and a 50's guy and poodle girl).

 

Wonderful time with Aunt Holly!  She paid a visit to see her new niece Ryan and came by a few times to see us, too.  =)

 

CTD's unexpected boy-girl overnight birthday party - a camp-out in Logan's backyard.  Such a milestone!

 

Grandma and Grandpa's quickly planned 3 day visit, during which we enjoyed the new movie Facing the Giants and also sent CTD out for an afternoon with her dad and BOTH grandfathers at the driving range. 

 

Flu shots all around when LCD developed a case of it unexpectedly during my first time away since her birth.  Wouldn't you know Chad had to call me to come home at 3:30 am??!!  CED hated the shot prospect after a 3 day series of injections for her own "black hole" ear infections in September (Rocephin?).

 

Trick or Treating was a blast with our own little "Rella" - now CAR walks around all day everyday reminding us "My pincess" (translation, "I'm a princess!")  When she's not saying that, she's begging for her "pumkin" (translation, "Give me some more of that candy").  Chad took the 3 big girls around the Marlowe Manor neighborhood for treats as Florence Nightingale (one of the men handing out candy said, "Wasn't she famous during the Vietnam war?," and CTD told him, "She was actually from the Crimean War."), a beautiful (and cold) ballerina, and, of course, Cinderella.  LCD and I stayed home to pass out candy for our 9 or 10 takers during that hour and a half.  Afterwards, we took the kids with us for a fun grown-up party at the Beasleys. 

 

Now we're all tired (hostessed a group of friends tonight), and signing off for another month or more. . . .

wendy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sep. 6, 2006 - FAITH Training

Our answer to instilling scripture memory and life application of faith in our children...

 

This has been a great move from the beginning.  I decided to start with the beginning of the New Testament.  My hope is that we will eventually cover the entire bible as a family!  (cool, huh?) 

 

8/23 Memory verse 1:  Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

 

8/30 Memory verse 2:  Matthew 12:25 "Every family divided against itself will not stand."

 

9/6  Memory verse 3:  Matthew 15:14 "If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

 

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Sep. 6, 2006 - August pictures

 

 



 

Arkansas State History/Geography Fun!  8.25.06

 



 

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus  8.24.06


 

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Sep. 6, 2006 - August in Review

This is the first of what I hope will be regular monthly reviews:

 

Bible/Character:  We have spent the first few weeks of school reading daily from Wisdom and the Millers, which has provided opportunities to reflect on the Proverbs and how they might apply to our daily lives.  CED has been quite the listener, and I feel more than ever that we are getting to her heart.  The girls have each kept journals with pictures and/or summaries of the verses read at breakfast.  August saw the introduction of FAITH Training (in place of AWANA) every Wednesday night - a hard, but already rewarding, decision. 

 

Dictation/Copywork:  CED's copywork has been from the verses read at breakfast or those Scriptures currently being memorized for FSK or FAITH (Four Ambassadors in Training at Home?  Future Ambassadors in the House?  Family's All in the House?  We're still working on an acronym for our regular Wednesday night worship time).  CTD's dictation has been taken from Scripture as well, with additional selections from current literature or history readings.

 

Grammar/Phonics:  CTD has used Easy Grammar 2-3 times/week in continuing her review of grammar rules.  CED has used Explode the Code 3-4 times/week as we move toward mastery of blends and confidence in each of the letter's (short and long) sounds.

 

Handwriting:  Each of the girls use Reason for Handwriting for ongoing practice in print (CED) and manuscript (CTD).  CED practices daily; CTD about 2x/week.

There are also frequent thank-you notes and love letters floating around the table and house!

 

Math:  CED began with MathUSee Alpha for our first week "back in school."  We then realized there were 2-3 weeks' worth of Primer material left-over from last year.  She has now successfully completed that work, including a thorough review of telling time and an introduction to subtraction.  CTD started MathUSee Gamma enthusiastically, and has consistently finished each week's work early.  She has aced all 4 of her tests to-date. 

 

Science:   We are covering science twice a week, and have begun with a look at matter (atoms, elements and more).  They always love a Bill Nye video to spark the imagination as well!

 

PhysEd:  Lots of beanbag activities (hand-to-hand/clap patterns/etc), despite CED's frequent bad attitude.  (Funny, since days later she will recount how much fun she had with mommy or daddy learning how to clap before catching the beanbag.)  Also several relays and an introduction to golf for CTD.  (Chad often takes them out back to "have a catch," too.)

 

Latin:  CTD has loved getting to tackle something new this year, and has done well with the added time commitment Latin brings.  She is doing remarkably well at memorizing the Latin prayers and figuring out derivatives and more.

 

Reading:   CED has a good attitude for her 20-30 minute reading lesson about 3 out of 5 days now, which I count as a HUGE accomplishment!  She knows I won't bore her day in and day out with the same old material.  We are reading from Phonics Pathways and the accompanying Pyramid book, easy readers from the library, and more.  She has done especially well with the pyramid exercises, and I am now adding reading games to the mix.  (Fast - Slow)  She basically bucks anything and everything the first 2-3 times you expect it of her (reading, games, new foods, taking antibiotics, folding her socks, you name it), and then misses it when you don't do it for awhile!

 

History/Geography:  Thus far, a one week re-introduction to the Nineteenth Century (including a look at the rise in popularity of the circus), a two-week mini-unit on Arkansas State History (still waiting to enjoy the Diamond Mine as part of that one), and a one week look at Reconstruction.  Now we're on to explore the Transcontinental Railroad!  The girls have also spent a day or two working on memorizing the locations of all 50 states using Geography Songs, which they continue to love no matter how cheesy they sound!  The highlight for geography was the creation of cookie dough state maps (see above).

 

Creative Writing and Typing have yet to become part of our daily routine, but will definitely be added for the coming months.

 

Fine Arts:  Using Discovering Great Artists, we have enjoyed a glimpse into the art of Manet and Picasso.  Each was followed by an art project (melted crayon still-lifes; cubist portratits), and the Picasso review was followed by a trip to see the Pursuing Picasso exhibit at the Arkansas Arts Center just before it closed its doors forever!  (The only museum to display the collection in the US)

 

Music Appreciation:   CTD started piano lessons on 8/28 for the first time in Arkansas!

 

Pre-PreSchool:  The greatest thing that's happened so far this school year has been weaving CAR into our daily routine.  She no longer takes morning naps, and thus I was required to figure out what she'd be doing or allow her to sabotage each subject throughout the day.  So far, it's going great!  She listens in for breakfast devos, writes/draws/colors while we do language arts tablework, goes outside with us for PE and snack, then plays with blocks while we tackle math.  After that she can listen to history or play on her own for a few minutes before having an early lunch and heading to a noon-time nap.  The big girls and I made up 4 baskets for her for the days we're home in the morning hours.  They go a long way toward keeping her focused during the mid-morning.  One has stacking toys and lacing toys; one has puzzles, Mr. PotatoHead and shape-sorters; one has number games and counting bears; and one has a huge box of pinto beans with cups, jars and measuring spoons.  CTD has also begun reading books to her 2 mornings a week from the Before Five in a Row curriculum.  It is a double joy in that CTD has taken on responsibility and takes it seriously, CAR loves, loves, loves the time together, and (OK, a triple blessing) I am freed up to read uninterrupted with CED for that time!

 

Other Activities: 

 

We have added a category to our studies this year called "Life Skills," where they shadow me in whatever I'm working on rather than just reading or playing while I work.  This has worked about once or twice/week, with our most significant accomplishment being the laundering and vacuuming of every sleeping surface and linen in the house.  That's alot of sheets and beds!  (this after our neighbor came over for a two hour Kirby vacuum cleaner demonstration and tried to show us how many microscopic "bed bugs" can fit on one black filter - which Chad calls a trick)

 

We all greatly enjoyed our evening at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus on 8/24, and were thankful it rolled through our town in such a timely manner!  The hour(s) we spent reading about the circus' history online were almost as fun as the event itself.  (On a side note, CED continues to be incredibly sensitive to all bright ligths and loud sounds)  

 

The month started with a very enjoyable journey to "Narnia" as the girls participated in The Bible Church's late-summer VBS.  CTD also completed her summer of "Book Club" meetings in early August.  Books read and reviewed over the course of the summer were:  The Courage of Sarah Noble; The Hundred Dresses; The Cabin Faced West; Sarah, Plain and Tall; and Ruthie's Gift.  CTD also enjoyed a long weekend with friend Jessie over (2 nights and 3 days) while her parents attended a wedding out of state.  Both of the "big girls" were a huge help in preparing for and manning the display table for the Children's Theater plays at our local HomeEd kickoff meeting mid-month. 

 

We hosted several times in August - one full day of planning and cleaning for an old college friend.  He never showed up, much to our dismay, but the meal was great.  Another time for neighbors up the street, who turned out to be Mormons seeking to convert us rather than just nice neighbors wanting to get to know us.  We had invited 2 "elders" in for several hours the day before.  They must have passed our name on to someone who could defend their faith more clearly.  (We did lovingly invite the young men back for a meal and more conversation)  And our final hostessing was for my ladies Bible Study on the last Monday night of the month.

 

Two full days were spent at FamilyLife's Fall Staff Conference, which gave them time to run and play and study God's Word together with other "staff kids."  They even got special t-shirts.  CED missed the first day with what turned out to be a double ear infection, and I'm sorry to report that we're still struggling with them!  Now all FIVE of the females in the house are on antibiotics for "terribly infected" ears.  Such a bummer!  We have got to get well before the real cold season hits!

 

Sigining off for August,

wendy

 

 

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Aug. 26, 2006 - Sometimes the most beautiful flower in the garden. . . .

 

. . . takes the longest to bloom!

 

That simple little statement brought a smile to my face this afternoon and gave me confidence in pushing forward with CED after these first two weeks of school.  What a daily struggle reading lessons have been.  It seems to be just as much about her attitude as about the difficulty of overcoming signs of dyslexia.  We are pressing on, and I love the days when a hug follows a great lesson.  Those make up for the countless days when my only reward is her furrowed brow. 

 

You can do it, sweetheart.  Mommy believes in you.  And, remember, "I'm gonna out-love you," no matter what!!

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Aug. 16, 2006 - Family Church?!!! it starts tonight.

Tonight, I have accepted the challenge to lead my family in spiritual growth.  We will begin tonight, what I hope to be a weekly (if not more frequent) practice of reading God's word together, talking about what it says, what it means to us, and how we can apply it to our lives and live it out as a family.  It is a little scary to realize that this responsibility falls on my shoulders, but I will carry it.

 

We are going to read through the new testament and each week between our get-togethers, we will (individually) read the same section of scripture so that as a family we can learn together.  It is not going to be me barking out a lecture.  My prayer is that each week the girls will introduce questions that will expand our understanding and deepen our love for God and one-another.  Tonight will be the intro, but next week we will get together to discuss what we have read over the previous week, starting with the book of Matthew.

 

Buckle up!  This could be a bumpy ride!

 

CJD

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Jul. 24, 2006 - Family Activity Night - FAN is FUN!

 

On FAN, it's really important to warm up!  Here are our modified "push ups."

 


 

No FAN would be complete without ICE CREAM!!  (That's part of the "i" in our family identity!)

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Jul. 24, 2006 - We want to be a "stand-out family"

Most every month we get together as a family and have a time of teaching, learning, and fun.  Last night we got together for an enjoyable time.  We talked about what it means to be a "Donley".

 

Based on a message that we heard from that morning, we talked about what it means to be a successful family.  A few comments made by the speaker where,  "I would visit a church (on business) and ask if I could speak to the 2-3 best families in the congregation.  Without exception, there was a short list that would be easy to come up with."  Noone asked for clarification - do you mean good parents?  ones that have fun together?  involved in the church?  They just offered names readily.  In other words, strong families stand out (and unfortunately, they are few).  The speaker quoted Dave Thomas (of Wendy's restaurant fame).  When Dave was asked how to make a successful franchise, he responded:   "Simple, make sure the first one works!"

 

Well, we are looking to franchise our family through our kids (someday).

 

What qualities are consistent in "stand-out families"?

F  Forgiveness

A  Assignments - we all have important roles and responsibilities.  When we fulfill our roles - our family is better for it.

M  Mission - successful families have a mission (a vision or goal) that they are striving for. 

I  Identity - Successful families have traditions and other things that are unique to them, sort of like a secret knock, saying, or memory.

L  Loving - we must love unconditionally and much

Y Yielding - yielded to God's leading in their lives.  Not passive, but ready to go.  the definition was given in nautical terms:  Sail (availability) with the Wind (Holy Spirit) rather than Drift (rudderless) with the Current (culture).

 

As a way of wrapping up our time, we came up with a slogan to remember what we talked about:

 

  We will honor God,

You and I

  Spell it: F-A-M-I-L-Y

 

We desire to be a stand-out family.  We appreciate your prayers for us to that end.

 

Be one too!!!

CJD

 

 

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Jun. 21, 2006 - CTD's First Swim Meet

"We practiced for a couple of weeks, then we had our first real meet.  I'm glad I was there to be a part of it.  Marlowe Manor won with 182 points.  It was salty water!  They don't use chlorine.  I think their pool is a little smaller than ours.  I was nervous at first until I actually did it.  I swam four times.  Freestyle, backstroke, relay medley backstroke for my age group and then butterfly as a substitute for the oldest girls.  My favorite is backstroke.  I feel great swimming, and it's not like it's over yet. 

 

We got shaved ice after as a treat.  Mine was creme soda, and it did not look like creme soda.  It was red."

 

 

 

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Jun. 21, 2006 - CED's First Swim Meet 6.20

In her own words, the next morning:

 

"I was afraid, and a little nervous at first.  Like I thought the turtle. . . well, I didn't know what one was and I thought it would just make me sink right down, and it didn't.  He helped me and I just floated right up.  I was afraid at first, but then I wasn't afraid and I did freestyle and butterfly.  I did butterfly underwater.  The best part was when CTD did the backstroke.  And then I went in the baby pool and splashed, splashed, splashed, splashed.  Their water tastes really salty and our pool's doesn't.  After, you get awards.  Mommy and Daddy let us get slushies, or icies, I forget what they're called.  Icies, I think {shaved ice} - I got rainbow and it was the best.  I like swim team."

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Jun. 9, 2006 - School's Out for the Summer!

 

 

          Unit Celebration 5.31.06

 

 

 


 

Bocce Ball with Daddy and Granddad

 

 


 

              Reading at bedtime

 

 


 

             What a great smile!

 

 



 



 

Summer fun at the Marlowe Manor pool

 

 


 

        LCD -  Just hangin' out 

 

 


 

   Enjoying the zoo with Uncle Chris

 

 


 

        Making (or eating?) cookies

 

What a wonderful way to spend our days.  The girls have loved every minute of our first week of "summer!"  As the pictures show, we ended the year with a unit celebration, and since then have been swimming, swimming, going to the zoo, swimming, making cookies, swimming, watching movies, playing in the backyard, swimming and more swimming.  CAR is a true little fish, and even little LCD loves (maybe I should say "tolerates"?) the water.

 

Funny thing - the girls have spent at least part of every day working on reading, math and more.  Without prompting.  Go figure!


 

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Jun. 1, 2006 - Whew!

What a week!  Since Chad's return, we've hit the ground running with the girls' final gymnastics classes, AWANA Awards Night and reception, shopping for swimsuits, our last day of "school," an overnight away for a few friends and myself at our homeschool convention (with the baby and lots of new books in tow), Memorial Day fun, cleaning out tons of clothes from closets, and preparing for and hosting an end of the year celebration for the girls to show their hard work from the semester.  What fun to serve "apple water," plum cobbler, hardtack and johnnycakes to each of our guests ("soldiers") as they arrived.  But I bet those Civil War heroes wouldn't have had vanilla ice cream with theirs!  We also served iced tea, though we've learned that wasn't popularized until the 1904 World's Fair.  Surely the Confederates would have at least heard of iced tea in the 1860s.

 

It's been a fun, but exhausting week.  And I forgot to mention 3 afternoons spent at our now-open neighborhood pool (it would have been more except for the rain) in addition to a huge milestone.  Chad and I celebrated 10 years on Thursday, and he totally shocked me with a beautiful anniversary band to mark the occasion.  We slipped away without any of the girls just for breakfast, but plan to get away to Hot Springs for a few days in early June (with baby, of course).

 

Now we're looking ahead to a summer filled with pool time, library trips, Little Women as our read-aloud, swim meets, book clubs, science camp and a long-awaited trip back to Illinois and Ohio.  Everyone's looking forward to that!  For today, CTD and I will volunteer for the opening day of our church's annual art exhibit (fancy!) and then Chad and I have a babysitter lined up so we can make it to the preview party for the "Pursuing Picasso" event at our local Arts Center.  

 

CED is begging to make "that same iced tea again" (right now!) - more later . . . .

 

 

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May. 23, 2006 - The Remains of the Day

 

personal reflections on a day all but lost

 

 

 

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May. 21, 2006 - Who's Teaching Who? Lessons from our 6 year-old

 

Our CED is an amazing little girl.  Today at lunch, she offered to say the prayer (again).  She truly enjoys praying.  I mentioned how great it was to hear her talking to God and how much I've noticed her prayers changing recently (since she "became a Christian" 4.5.06!)  She quickly started talking about how she prayed in church out loud this morning "and some of the boys wouldn't take a turn, but I did and I prayed for Emma that we would grow up and get to go to the same college so we can be friends again. . . and for Daddy in Iowa."  CTD replied that she doesn't always like to pray out loud.  I told CED, "I want to be like YOU!  You are a special girl, and you understand about talking to God just because you want to and not because you feel like you have to.  We can learn alot from you."  (CTD agreed.)

 

Well, tonight she was telling Chad goodnight over the phone, and told him (for the 3rd time) that the tooth fairy brought her a silver dollar.  (She lost her very first tooth late last night, and was beyond excited about it.  A true mark of every kindergarten year - she barely made it with just 4 days of school left!)  She had talked about that silver dollar for most of the morning.  As she mentioned it again to Chad tonight, she said one more thing, very nonchalantly:  "And you know what, Daddy?  I gave it as my offering at church"  (Interruption from Mommy, "You did?") "Uh-huh.  I thought it would be a good idea so I gave it as my offering."  And on she went to the next subject, swimming at Granddad's, I think.

 

Gulp.  It was all she had.  All she had looked forward to ever since her tooth first felt even the slightest bit loose several weeks ago.  All she had thought about since that tooth fell out last night.  All she had.  And she gave it as "an offering" without one moment of hesitation  

 

Who's teaching who?  I know I've learned alot from my kids today.  "God loves a cheerful giver."  I'm so glad He brought one into our family.  It makes us both so very proud, and makes us realize all over again how it must make God feel to watch us return to Him some small portion of all the gifts He's given us.

 

Thank you, precious girl.

 



 

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May. 20, 2006 - What a great dad!

 

A new favorite -  Pinnacle Mountain State Park 5.6.06

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