Our Homeschool Journey

Our blog has moved!

2010-06-05T00:03:00.001-05:00

While Cindie is on hiatus, I've created a new web page for her blog. Please come see us at:

The new ~ Our Homeschool Journey

Gary

Small Hiatus

2010-05-29T11:33:00.002-05:00

I generally blog about home schooling and our journey through it, mostly for a scrapbook and also, hopefully, to help others along the way. I will post again when we start back up in August. I think I have my curriculum completely nailed down, but that is always subject to change at the last minute. :o)

Until then, I hope everyone has a wonderful summer. For those of you with severe allergies at this time, like me, I sincerely hope you feel normal soon! See you in a couple of months.

Swim Class is done!

2010-05-29T11:25:00.000-05:00

Swimming is over for a while. We will still get in the pool in July, hopefully. Rella and Mater truly enjoy each other. That's what sisters are all about. :o) I am so proud of how they encouraged each other and praised each other throughout the week! I love seeing their relationship develop.

The dentist went better yesterday!

2010-05-29T11:20:00.001-05:00

It's amazing what a little sedative will do for an anxious child at the dentist's office. Rella was nestled in her blanket, sugar-free sucker in hand watching Brother Bear just waiting to relax before seeing the dentist. It was an amazing experience to just chill. I asked her what she thought, and she said she was able to just lay down instead of being scared. I know a lot of people don't agree with even a very mild sedation of children, but when you see sheer panic in their eyes one day, then complete calm the next; I choose the latter.

Swimming Lessons!

2010-05-26T17:09:00.002-05:00

Rella was trying to help having her sister swim to her today, but she wouldn't let go when Mater got her arms around her neck. It was really sweet. Rella is learning her strokes and doing a great job. She's doing freestyle here and she practiced diving also. Nanny got in the pool with Mater to try to help ease her into swimming, not sure how much it will help. She just needs to get her comfort level back.

It was fun to watch. Especially the two sisters praising each other and encouraging each other. :o) It warms a mom's heart!

Well, we went to the dentist today...

2010-05-25T20:14:00.001-05:00

As you can see from the pictures, there is a vast different from the way Rella reacted and Mater. Rella was only there for a cleaning and checkup; it went downhill from there. Rella had a vice grip on the chair, then yanked out the water and suction from her mouth when they were trying to rinse out her mouth. Our girls couldn't have reacted more differently. We had to abandon the rest of her appointment and left with the polish grit in her mouth. We are going to return on Thursday with her under very mild sedation to ease her nerves.

Mater is all smiles, crawled up in the chair and put her sunglasses on. She laid down before the doctor could even get her gloves on! She opened up her mouth wide and was actually happy to have someone look in her mouth and count her teeth, probably because we have been looking in Rella's mouth a lot with her loose teeth.

The doctor looked at me and said, "You have completely different children." Um, yeah, hear that a lot! I do think that helps each other with patience, kindness, understanding when your sister thinks about things completely differently than you do. I have no clue. I was an only child until I was an adult, so the sibling thing is new to me and my husband.

I was too worn out to take pictures at swim class today. I sat in the sun and tried to unwind a little. Tomorrow is another day. ;o)

School Time

2010-05-24T22:37:00.002-05:00

Since we've "finished" for the year, we don't really have anything scheduled to do. What we did today was reading (continued Pathway Readers), Queen's Language Lessons (beautiful books), math, and handwriting. This is what our school mornings will look like until our complete break for the month of July. Daddy still reads to them at night for at least 30 minutes. Unless there something different or we do an interesting project, I won't be posting about school much until we start back up in August.

Tip: Keep their water play away from curricula.....

Swimming Lessons!

2010-05-24T22:26:00.003-05:00

Today was the first day of swimming lessons for the season. With the "Spring" weather in the lower 90s, it's perfect swimming weather. This is our fourth year taking swimming lessons with Ms. Sandy (baseball cap). She is an amazingly loving, warm, gentle, precious lady. You might recognize her in our Story Time pictures at the zoo; same Ms. Sandy. In fact, a couple of years ago when Rella saw her at the zoo during story time, she put two and two together, then she said, "Ms. Sandy, you have clothes on!" Oh, I love what comes out of their mouths.

Please pray for Ms. Sandy's husband, Andy. He is currently fighting infections, but he needs an unrelated major surgery which cannot be performed with his health. They are a precious Christian family and are in need of our prayers!

Rella has progressed to be a very good swimmer. This year she is going to work solely on her strokes. She worked on the "froggy kick" and the freestyle. I have always been a fish and loved the water, so I am thrilled she is out there getting comfortable. It wasn't that way two years ago, she was so scared she wouldn't let go of Ms. Sandy. She tried to talk her out of swimming.

Mater was my fish for the last two years at Ms. Sandy's pool. This year, she realized things can happen. The fear of being hurt has become a realization for my Mater. She used to float on the surface for as long as we asked her to, go under water and come up giggling, swim at least five feet under the water. Now, she has a vice grip on both of them if she can. My Mater monkey even curled those toes around any body part she could get a hold of. I'm hoping they can gently coax her into enjoying the water again. If anyone can, it's Ms. Sandy!

I had to take so many allergy pills just to be outside for the 30 minute class to watch them that I almost fell asleep on my way home. I will be so glad when spring allergy season is over here! Ugh. Between that and my back, I've felt 80 for the past couple of weeks. Oops, complaining, that's not me... sorry! :o)

Our a/c is fixed and my Dad comes to see me :o)

2010-05-21T21:30:00.000-05:00

Our a/c was finally fixed on Wednesday afternoon. We went to the grocery store and tried to get ready for my dad to come and visit. It's been such a while since I've seen him and I've missed him. Mom took the girls to their last Thursday play school day so dad and I could spend time together. He got me a lovely solar powered atomic watch for my birthday. I needed a new watch and this was a great surprise! We talked, did some errands, when to lunch at a Thai restaurant, then went to pick up the girls at school. Mater sat on him most of the time he was here. She didn't want him to leave! She was feeding him tomatoes and spinach. :o). We watched Ponyo (a present for the girls) and just enjoyed each other. It's been way too long. Love you, Dad!

School Time

2010-05-21T21:24:00.000-05:00

We have just been letting Rella read out loud, do math, draw and play with her sister for the last couple of days since we've had a visitor. :o) She's doing so well now and working so hard that I think we are going to wrap up the rest of the year quickly so we can have the summer off.....

School Time

2010-05-18T21:28:00.000-05:00

Today was another lite day for school. The girls actually played very well together. They played pretend for a very long time. Rella tried to play teacher with Mater. The good thing is she practiced her math, although her student wasn't really a willing participant. Rella and Mater played a very long time with their pattern blocks. There were so many things they created today from a pizza to a cake. I took a picture of the tree because Rella made that one for me! My back was still hurting today, but I think it's on the mend. My mom came by with donuts for the girls and helped me to clean my house. She knew it was bothering me, but I couldn't do it by myself.

We also started a new read aloud today, A Bear Called Paddington. One of many Half-Priced Books finds. Whenever we visit my dad in Houston, we go there. I am in there with my iPhone looking at all my different book lists to see if I can find something there. I found an excellent copy of A Bear Called Paddington and I thought it was on one of my lists, but when I went to check this afternoon, I couldn't find it on any of my usual sites. I don't know if it just popped into my head or if I actually found it on a book list somewhere. Anyway, I've never read it or heard it before, so it's a good book to finish school with. We are also finishing up Outdoor Secrets and Kindergarten Gems. Once we complete them and our last couple of weeks of OM, we will probably move on to OM 1 and AO Year 1 in August. That's the plan anyway.

Hopefully our a/c gets up and running tomorrow. The kids are wondering about the heat. They usually don't care how hot it is, but Rella asked if our cool air was fixed yet. I told her that it's going to be another day or so, she and her sister were very sweaty today. I think it's the fact that it's over 70% humidity and upper 80s, it's muggy. They don't like it. I think I'm the only one who doesn't mind the muggy part. :o)

It's almost recital time....

2010-05-17T22:18:00.000-05:00

Rella only had her ballet costume in, but she was so excited. It was blue, her favorite color. You can tell by the smile! Her teacher is behind her and she couldn't be better for Rella. She is very sweet, silly and has taught them a lot. All of the girls in her class work hard, but have a grin from ear to ear all during the class. I really hope Ms. Amanda will be back for the fall.

Mater's ballet costume is also blue. This picture doesn't do it justice. Her costume has a crown and a ribbon choker necklace also. The one I really like is Mater's tap dance costume with the rain coat and hat, lined in blue sequins. She has her mischievous little grin on under that hat. She loves it.

My mom came with me to ballet to get the girls dressed since I couldn't physically put their tights on. Those poor girls are so used to me tossing them up in the air, swinging them around, carrying them upside down, that to have mom not be able to dress them for ballet is a hard thing for them.

Anyway, they are so excited to perform!

School Time

2010-05-17T22:04:00.000-05:00

We started Lesson 30 this morning. It was hot and my back isn't up for anything, so we read! Rella picked two books off the shelf, an Aurthur reader book and a reader book from OM 1. She just couldn't help herself. I told her it was for next year, but she begged. She told me if she couldn't read the first page without help, she would put it back on the shelf. She read the entire thing, the only word she had to sound out was "decided." The book was A Kiss For Little Bear.

We also read a lovely story out of the Kindergarten Fairy Tales called The Fisherman and His Wife. Rella and I really enjoyed this one. It was about how to be content with what you have. It's a great lesson to learn as a young child, the sooner you learn it, the happier you will be in life. There are so many wonderful, character building stories in Oak Meadow. I am so grateful we have found them. After the story, she drew in her MLB and made the waves the colors in the story. I am letting her draw in her MLB without any guidance from me other than I want her to use most of the page. When we start OM 1, we will implement the techniques I've learned from the Coloring With Block Crayons DVD.

Our a/c is still out! Ugh.

2010-05-17T21:43:00.000-05:00

Wow, this has been one hard weekend. Our a/c is still out. The girls went to spend the night with their Nana and Papa on Saturday night so they wouldn't roast. Gary and I went to get something to eat, mainly to sit in a building with a/c. It was 93 today. The a/c repairman came by and, well, it's broken. Big surprise. He's going to have to replace the evaporator coil in the attic, not cheap and they won't be able to start until Wednesday.

Yesterday morning I woke up with my back hurting. The pain got so bad by last night that in between my shoulders I knew there was something sharp stuck in there. I had the girls walk on my back and I've tried not to lift anything, but it's hard getting older, isn't it? ;o)

Enough complaining, that's not me. Here's some pictures of the girls at their grandparent's house painting ceramic piggy banks.

Supposed to be on the road again....

2010-05-14T22:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I missed out on a wonderful trip. I had traded this trip with another Flight Attendant. It's the Austin/San Antonio 3-day that we have done the last two months. My commuter flights canceled as did the last flight to St. Louis because of severe weather between here and DFW. Big bummer. It was a great trip. I hope whoever gets it has a good time.

Our a/c stopped working some time in the middle of the night last night and the repairman won't be able to come until Monday afternoon. I was actually looking forward to spending the next few nights in an air conditioned hotel room, but we'll just sweat it out here.

School Time

2010-05-14T22:28:00.000-05:00

This was an interesting project. It was supposed to be a simple create a picture with a bell pepper dipped in paint. It started off just like that and then Mater turned on her artistic creativity. She dumped the pepper, mixed the colors and created her own little masterpiece. Rella decided to try her "hand" at it also, but she made a rooster then washed her hands off immediatly. Notice she did not mix colors or get her pepper dirty. Mater, on the other hand, had paint from stem to stern. While I was cleaning up the excess paint, I heard something in the kitchen. My Mater monkey climbed on the island and had peeled two clementines for a snack. I cannot believe how completely different my girls are. LOL!

Rella also read three stories to her sister as part of her reading practice today.

We tried out MEP again. It is such a great compliment to Miquon and Oak Meadow math games as well. Very challenging and extremely mental. Gary was impressed, which is saying quite a bit from someone who took several Calculus classes for his Engineering degree. I can't wait to see how this math progresses and how we like it in the future.

Coloring with Block Crayons

2010-05-12T16:27:00.000-05:00

One of the great things about the home school community online, there is a wealth of used material out there in new condition that just didn't interest the buyer as much as they thought it would. This is one of those finds. :o).

Coloring With Block Crayons is a very practical how-to DVD on block crayon drawing using primary colors. The techniques incorporated in this DVD are easily adaptable to the standard 8 or even 16 tin block crayons. It's just like the primary water colors included in the craft kit with OM, you can truly create any color with these three; it's just a matter of blending and practice. If you have young kids, please watch the second DVD. She gives a lovely description of how to illustrate a Main Lesson Book, which can be used for any grade, but especially helpful for OM K and OM 1. I wish I had this DVD last fall when we began so I would know how to teach Rella, but at least we have it for OM 1 and Mater will reap the rewards!

This picture are two of my creations while I was watching the DVD this afternoon during rest time. I have to say, for a non-artsy person, I was pretty impressed with the results. It's no Monet, I realize that, but with practice I think I can show my children how to use these fun media. She goes through the basic strokes and pressure, how to make a pad to rest your paper on, how to clean the crayons and how to draw landscapes, animals, people and plants. I stopped with the blending circles and rainbows because my hands were tired. It is very, very easy to follow and I think well worth the money. Would I get the book, probably not; since I am a truly visual/spatial learner, this is the way to learn.

Rella came by after I had done the color circle and asked to join me on the rainbow. I gave her her own primary colors and she went to town also. She and I had no idea how to use the blocks when they came in our craft kit from Oak Meadow, so I am very glad I know feel comfortable and can help her with her strokes in the fall. Now, if only I could find a good knitting DVD......

School Time

2010-05-12T16:15:00.000-05:00

Today for school we continued Lesson 29. There are so many wonderful options we could spend two weeks on this Lesson; we won't, though. Rella finished the "V" watercolor painting by adding her vibrant red "V" on top of the beautiful valley she painted yesterday. It was so hard for her to wait until it was dry, but she understands now that she saw the beautiful red. The girls continued to paint several more free-style watercolor paintings. We read Daniel Grows Up, which was the life of a dandelion seed from soil to summer bloom. It was very descriptive and kept Rella at the edge of her bed while I read it to her. She was so excited to associate this story with the dandelions we have outside. We then moved on to math and pattern repeats. She first showed me with her c-rods what a pattern was, made a correct pattern, then an incorrect one for me to find the error. Oak Meadow provides a set of three patterns to look at, copy and complete. I covered the ones she wasn't looking at so she wouldn't get distracted. The last pattern took more concentration, but she eventually recognized it and its incompleteness!

We read a few stories and poems out of Kindergarten Gems. It is a lovely book published by Yesterday's Classics where I purchase most of the books on the Ambleside list. There are wonderful stories that are very similar in tone to the archetypal stories Oak Meadow uses; however, these are kept in their original flowery language of the 19th Century. I am hoping to train their ears to listen intently to different types of narration and conversation to build their vocabulary and understanding, and, most importantly, their character development.

School Time

2010-05-11T20:22:00.000-05:00

Today was great! We started off on Lesson 29. We read The Water Of Life which talked about a beautiful green valley. Both Rella and Mater were so excited about water colors. Of course Mater does her own thing, but her blending is really good for a three year old. She tells you exactly what color she is going to make and off she goes at the speed of light. She has a hard time keeping the paint on the art desk. While I was watching Rella make her valley, I heard Mater and went to investigate. I found her in the sink watching her toes. I'm not sure how she got paint in between her toes, but at least she knew how to clean up. :o)

We moved on to math. I am really starting to enjoy Oak Meadow math. The instructions it gives you throughout the week give me so many ideas to make it more advanced for Rella. She still has problems getting her numbers backwards, so I had her form her numbers 1-5 in her jewels so she could "see" and "feel" the number. We then traced her hands and feet, labeled each of the digits, and she got each number perfect; none backwards. She was so proud of herself! We played games with greater than/less than, equal sets, etc.

While she was busy with her jewels, Mater went and got some costume bangles and began counting. She counted all the way to fifteen. The best part about it was that Rella was bragging on her. "Did you hear that, Mommy? Daddy, come here! Mater counted to 15!" That right there is the reason I home school! I adore hearing them praise each other for their efforts, no matter how small.

School Time

2010-05-10T20:33:00.000-05:00

Today we started discussing calendars. When we do Oak Meadow 1, we will be making our own, so I thought it would be a good idea for her to get a familiarity with the days of the week in relationship to weeks, months, a year. They put all the special days on there, including swimming lessons, and then put felt pieces that represents the season we are in. Rella selected a ladybug and flowers; Mater, the Sun.

After we completed the calendar, we were going to start on our next Lesson, 29; which is a very full week. However, we got stuck on a lovely project. I'm trying to incorporate our Faith more in school through circle time and an additional craft, either related to the season or just something they are interested in. Today each girl made their Guardian Angel. Rella spent two hours cutting, designing her dress, coloring it and putting it together. Mater added glitter to hers. They took them to bed with them tonight. We read the corresponding verse in the Bible about our Guardian Angels; Psalm 91:11.

Our plan tomorrow is to start Lesson 29. :o)

On the Road again.....

2010-05-06T11:25:00.000-05:00

Even though I have to work this weekend, we are heading to Austin and San Antonio again. My mom is going to be in San Antonio for a wedding, so we will actually get to see each other!

School Time

2010-05-06T11:23:00.000-05:00

We decided to get outside and do school before it got too hot. By 11:00 am, we are already sweating and ready to come inside. We read about the Magical Seed, which was perfect timing since we have to go water our garden and the seedling tomatoes, melons, cucumbers and pumpkins we recently planted. We then went to practice writing numbers and her recent letters in chalk on the driveway, which turned into a hopscotch! She wanted to number it from 0 to 10 and we talked about writing from left to right. Then we played math games with the hopscotch!

We came inside to do some water color painting and bean bag toss. Rella painted herself in the garden with the clear, blue, sunny day. Mater painted a beautiful purple picture of a rainy day with her catching a ball while rain fell on her; at least, that's what she said the picture was all about. :o)

All in all today was a great, fun day. We are going to make "S, T and Us" for lunch out of crescent rolls and call it a day. I have to admit this is the best Kindergarten experience I could have imagined!

Story time at the zoo

2010-05-05T17:06:00.000-05:00

Today was a field trip day. Even though Oak Meadow regularly recommends us to take field trips, we don't necessarily take off to do it. We were able to meet our friends again. Sandy read Rainbow Fish then we made sparkle, rainbow fish with glitter, dots and aluminum foil. It was fun. We don't usually do paper crafts since that is not my specialty, so it's great to go to story time and let the girls have some silly fun.

We then made a trek to watch the paddlefish feed. This was fascinating, too bad I don't take very good pictures. The one on this page is the best of about 2o I tried to take! On the way to the Paddlefish, we saw the baby jaguar with her mommy; so precious! Then we went to the outdoor stage next to the treehouse playground to watch the girls put on a performance. The zoo here is absolutely beautifully landscaped with trees, hiking paths, hidden places to sit and enjoy nature. Mater is holding one of the treasures she found. She found about 20 different sizes and shapes of shells as well as a collection of doodlebugs and caterpillars with one of her friends. Even though it was hot today, it was a fun day at the zoo. :o) Back to school tomorrow.

School Time

2010-05-04T17:35:00.000-05:00

We were finishing up Lesson 27 today with the craft of the "Orange Pomander Ball." I had really been looking forward to this one when I saw it last fall. I kept waiting for it thinking we would do it for Christmastime, but it's actually for the Spring quarter. We had the cloves on hand from a Middle-Eastern market Gary and I visited in Austin over our anniversary. Spices are so much cheaper at ethnic markets. Anyway, I am so glad we chose clementines instead of regular oranges. It still took us over an hour to do this, but it was so worth it. We put them in the bathroom (her suggestion) and it really smells nice. I am partial to spicy/earthy smells, though. Another home run in the craft department for OM! We also read the story of The Maple Tree. After we finished the orange ball, we tasted Maple syrup and talked about the fun times we had when we went to Canada and when we lived there. She told Gary how maple syrup is made; Daddy even learned a few things. :o)
We read the story for "U" out of the Fairy Tales book on Sunday, and today Rella recalled it, then drew her "U." It was huge, but she was going to make a unicorn inside of it instead of it being part of the letter. She even tried to blend red and white block crayons to make pink. While it really didn't make pink, she still was happy with her work. Mater got her crayons out like normal and went to town in her MLB. I love the fact that they do school together. It is truly a family time.

My creative little girl!

2010-05-04T17:28:00.000-05:00

Rella got these "Bendaroos" for her birthday this year. Other than them sticking to the floor or anything else that might get warm, they are a great source of creativity for her. She's made a turtle, sea horse, and her current favorite animal; a mouse. We went outside to find a rock for its belly, her brilliant idea to give it some substance so she could play with it and not break it. I told her how proud I was of her, but if the mouse was left out where I might step on it in the middle of the night, she would have some explaining to do! Of all of God's creatures, a mouse! Ugh. Since we live on a farm, there are plenty of those horrible little things. She is not like her mom, however, she adores them.

Home school from a graduate's perspective

2010-05-03T21:14:00.001-05:00

Today we went to listen to a home school graduate speak about his experience. I am so glad we went. He spoke so eloquently on why he is glad his parents home schooled him through high school and he also candidly spoke about not dating (intentionally), his relationship with his parents and siblings. The timing of this young man couldn't be better. I was feeling a little overwhelmed today, like I couldn't do it all and feeling sorry for myself. Having this young man speak about how we are enough for our children and that we just happen to be living life as a family and education is a small part of that made me realize that it will get done, they will be okay, I can do this; and, most importantly, I want us to grow together as a family, not apart.

I wish I had a tape recorder, or had taken more notes, but the impression is etched on my heart. I walked away knowing without a shadow of a doubt that I want to spend those 20,000 hours with my children and not give those precious moments to someone else.

Date night with Rella!

2010-05-03T21:14:00.000-05:00

Rella and I had a date night on Saturday. That doesn't happen very often. In fact, I can't remember the last time it was just the two of us. We went to Pei Wei's (her choice). We sat up at the bar and watched them cook. She was absolutely fascinated by it. She wanted to go ride something like at Disney, but there's nothing here like that, so we went to Peter Piper's and rode the bumper cars and played video games. Since I was sick with allergies most of the weekend, it was fun to get out for a while. :o)

School Time

2010-04-30T15:25:00.001-05:00

This lesson today was so wonderful for Rella. She has struggled with perfectionism, especially in artistic expression. This particular craft from Oak Meadow had her tear colored paper to make a picture from the stories we read this week. I told her what she was supposed to do, then she replied, "How am I supposed to make a picture out of torn paper?" :o) This was great! She she tore very carefully at first, then after a while, she was able to get into it and really let her creative juices flow. Then we had to get over the stinky glue. They didn't like the glue I gave them. It's much easier to manage out of a jar with a paint brush, but I have to admit; it's stinky!

The next project we did today was wonderful! It was a math project from Oak Meadow. We got various sizes of containers and let the girls fill them with water and asked their observations. OM was right. Rella picked the taller, thinner glass first as being able to hold the most water; it didn't. In fact, I made sure to pick two other shapes that were completely different, but equal in volume to each other but held twice the volume as the first tall, thin container. After she guessed wrong, she was amazed at the actual results. We then went into the kitchen to look for others and talked about volume, fractions, etc.

Rainbow Raindrop (in the K Syllabus) helped us talk about evaporation and the "life cycle" of raindrops. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so we are going to do the experiments OM suggests for this lesson tomorrow after the rain.

Lunch with a friend!

2010-04-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

A very dear friend of mine asked me to go to lunch today for my belated Birthday. We haven't seen hardly any of each other in the last year. The two of us have been preoccupied with life getting in the way and haven't made time for each other. I have missed her terribly and am very grateful for her. We had a good time talking about her business and vacation plans, my homeschooling and flying. She will be 39 this year too. I actually think she's been married a year or so longer than I have. Anyway, it was so lovely to just sit and talk to an adult without my precious angels. It doesn't happen often, but it was much appreciated.

Love you, Monica!

School Time

2010-04-28T17:05:00.000-05:00

Math. This is my favorite subject. It's so much fun to see her mind unfold and understand the concepts. We added jewels and gnomes to Miquon today. While she loved the gnomes, she actually prefers the rods right now. When we get to larger numbers of multiplication and division, I think the jewels will be used more. Right now, the rods are still king!

We are on Lesson 26 of OM K right now. Today we did a lot of fun things, but really didn't get very far in the week. We read Magic In The Garden from the Kindergarten Book of Fairy Tales which led us on a rabbit trail :o). The story is about two plum trees that can't produce fruit and ask the wise owl why. They don't have bees in their garden, so the children plant flowers to attract bees; voila! Anyway, we happen to have a couple of plum trees in the garden. During the beginning of Spring when it was in full bloom, we went to visit them and they were full of bees. The girls were scared of the bees and I tried to explain that the bees were too busy to be bothered with them. Anyway this story was a perfect transition to discussing pollination. We went outside to observe the plum trees and their fruit, then discussed the process of pollination and why bees are wonderful! Have I said how much we are enjoying Oak Meadow?!

Rella drew her "T" tree. I love the colors she used to make the bark and the "T" in silver. She drew this picture with her colored pencils from Lyra. We absolutely adore these pencils! There is a difference! Mater is going to get a set of her own for her birthday.

School Time

2010-04-27T19:42:00.000-05:00

We finished Mr. Popper's Penguins and Rella read two more stories from Pathway Readers. They girls did a lot of coloring, cutting and imaginary play. We spent a lot of time outside watering the garden and pulling weeds. Today we tried to get used to a routine again. It seems like we've been gone a month!

Mater in her silk princess gown with her rainbow streamer!

Cooking lunch in our solar oven!

2010-04-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

This is a side view of the solar oven catching the sun's rays. I am so excited to cook this way. This was my birthday present and I couldn't be more please. Now all Gary has to do is build me a countertop outside to put it on, so I can really cook outside. We make iced tea all the time outside, but this is the first time I've cooked in an oven outside!

The nice thing about living in Central Texas is the abundance of sun. Right now the temperature is about 275 F, but it's only in the mid 70s. Once the summer comes, the solar oven should reach about 400 F, plenty hot to cook anything in. I'm going to try bread in it tomorrow.

Out in the yard past the patio you can see black squares. There are three of them. They measure 9 feet by 9 feet and contain our garden. Papa Larry brought them up for us from Temple at a salvage yard. They are untreated, irregular railroad ties (the new ones, like these, are made of heavy plastic, no longer wood) so we are recyling them to use for our garden. Hopefully we can build some more, but right now, three is all I can keep up with. As soon as our plants grow more, I'll take pictures to show what we are growing in there. Right now there are herbs, cucumbers, melons, squash, pumpkin, broccoli and soon there will be a couple of varieties of tomatoes.

The family in San Antonio!

2010-04-26T23:45:00.000-05:00

Mater and Rella with Ben & Jerry's on the River Walk. They were so excited to have ice cream after we saw Alice In Wonderland at the IMAX. It was a great movie, very imaginative and extremely beautiful in 3-D. I highly recommend it!

A rare picture of the four of us together! We were fortunate to have a couple offer to take a picture of us.

On the road again...

2010-04-25T11:04:00.000-05:00

I'm in San Antonio waiting for Gary and the girls to come down. We were in Austin last night, but they didn't sleep much; neither did I, quite frankly. I'm hoping to go to the River Walk, walk around, maybe go see a movie at the IMAX here, not sure. It is an absolutely beautiful day, and as soon as my family gets here, I will be so happy.

I am hoping to be able to fly some of these trips next month. I absolutely love San Antonio and the hotel we stay in treats us so well.

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-22T20:47:00.000-05:00

Jordan's picture is first. Her arms form the tree branches, then she made apples to put on it. She tried to write her name at the bottom of the page. Juliette's says, "If I were a butterfly, I would fly around the world." Ah, a girl after her mother's heart! :o)

We actually did a great thing for Earth Day. Gary got me a solar oven for my birthday; it arrived today. This is going to make a huge difference in our energy bills this summer if we don't have to use the oven at all to cook inside. I am really looking forward to using it.

We planted three gardens today. The girls love digging in the dirt. I found a lot of earthworms when I was working the soil. Great sign! I'll post pictures of both tomorrow when it's light outside.

Wow, 39!

2010-04-22T19:57:00.000-05:00

I was actually a great day. I got some great dirt delivered this morning and was able to get a lot of my vegetable and herb garden planted.

My friend took me out to lunch today. My parents and Gary's parents took us all out to dinner. I can't believe I will be 39 tomorrow. I feel like I just graduated from high school. What happened? Oh, well, it's better than the alternative, right?

At least they didn't try to put 39 candles on the cakes. :o) I laughed out loud when they brought the cakes out. My girls loved them, though.

The one time I didn't have my camera....

2010-04-21T22:15:00.001-05:00

Tonight on the way home from lifegroup, there was a big, beautiful spotted owl perched on our bridge. He was just sitting there looking out on the creek, probably wanting to catch something to eat. We stopped at the beginning of the bridge in hopes he wouldn't move. He turned to look at us and we all go to see him before he flew off. I have never seen a wild owl up close like that. It was such an amazing experience. We do have the creatures here! Since building our house on the creek seven years ago, I've seen -- up close and personal -- a raccoon, skunk, opossum, bob cat, coyote in our garage, armadillo, rabbits, hawks and now an owl. Not bad for a city girl. :o)

Hoping to find some swans....

2010-04-21T21:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Papa Larry called to tell us there were two white swans on the lake at the back of the farm. We read the The Six Swans from Oak Meadow yesterday and the girls were so excited to go see some real ones. We trekked out there in the Jeep, but since it was mid-afternoon, I think they were napping. Anyway, this is the small "lake" on the back of our place. You can't see it from our house since there are a couple of pastures and fields in between, but it's large enough for the cows to drink out of, to fish in, and to paddle boat around.

Here's a picture of our cows, fat and happy on fresh, Spring grass. :o)

Since we didn't find the swans, the girls were very anxious to go see "their" horses. Actually, these are some of Mimi's horses. Our house and creek is just on the other side of the trees. The horses come to drink out of our creek quite often.

School Time

2010-04-21T21:46:00.000-05:00

We gathered rose petals and mint leaves from our garden for the potpourri craft this week. We also cut up some lemon peel to add once everything is dried. Rella couldn't believe we were doing school when we were outside today! I can't wait to make the sachets!

We also read a beautiful story about a little cloud. We went outside to find cloud shapes, what type of clouds they were, and what color. Then Rella came back inside to draw what she saw in her MLB without me even guiding her to do so. My child who thought this was babyish only a couple of months ago is now in full bloom with her wonder. I can't say how much I have enjoyed this time with my girls! Mater doesn't even realize we are doing Rella's lessons, or that she will get to do this again in a year and a half.

Art with Erin

2010-04-21T21:38:00.001-05:00

Erin had them draw inside today, then they made cards for the kids in Haiti. They went outside to find some object to draw. Rella chose a pot. Erin is heading to Haiti for a month to volunteer with our church. We are going to miss her terribly. They have gotten a lovely instruction on nature drawing, something that I would have a very hard time knowing what to do before her! I'm so glad she didn't do watercolors, even though it's her specialty, since we have a few things to do in watercolors from Oak Meadow. Although, I think Mater could paint all day long and be happy. She's starting to feel like herself a little more today. Her belly is still tender, but she's doing much better!

Our trip this weekend ~

2010-04-20T17:39:00.001-05:00

We were all tired from just being gone a week to Florida, so we were pretty much couch potatoes. The weather was horrible in Austin Saturday, so we couldn't have gone anywhere, even if we wanted to. Sunday was absolutely beautiful in San Antonio. We walked around for a little bit, ate lunch, then walked back to the hotel and stayed there the rest of the evening. We were worn out.

The next morning while I went to work, Gary took the girls to the lobby of the hotel for breakfast. It's free, amazing and overlooks the River Walk from glass walls. Mater threw up. I guess we've worn our immune systems down from traveling so much. He took her back upstairs, cleaned her up, then drove back to Waco. She did eat later on that afternoon (Daddy fed her pizza -- LOL!) and kept everything down, so I think we just need to stay at home for the next few days, catch up on school and rest.

If they feel up to it, I would like to take a boat cruise on the River Walk this weekend when we go back, they are inexpensive and very educational.

I met Annie Potts!

2010-04-20T17:32:00.000-05:00

On our way to Austin, a lovely pixie of a lady came up front of the airplane to ask if she could move seats to sit next to her kids. As soon as she started talking, I yelled, "You can't be Annie Potts, could you?" She answered, "What's left of her." We talked for only a little bit, since she was traveling on sad, sad news. Her dear friend, Dixie Carter, had just passed away. I have always been a HUGE fan of Designing Women, and the two of them especially. I wished it had been under better circumstances, but I was thrilled to have met one of my all time favorite actresses! She was also simply amazing in Pretty In Pink.

Thank you for being so gracious during a difficult time, Ms. Potts, you are a gem!

School Time

2010-04-20T17:31:00.000-05:00

We started off the morning with me reading to the girls in bed from some of their night time books. I have missed them. We are currently working on Lesson 25 from OM K. We read a story of the Six Swans, then she read the tongue twister as fast as she could! She also read another story from More Days Go By. We took school outside then and worked on our "S." She drew "Ss" in the sand, shaped rocks into an "S," then we threw them in the creek. We also used her streamer as a measuring stick, trying to find objects that were longer and shorter than it. We guessed how many sticks it would take to make a fence post, swing, bridge railing, then we measured it. Have I said we are enjoying OM? :o)

Rella measuring a flower she found against the stick on her streamer. She guessed it would take eight of the same sized flowers, she was right.

Rella showing off her "S"

Off to work!

2010-04-16T14:33:00.000-05:00

Oh, wow. I've only been home for two days and I have to go. I am heading to St. Louis tonight. I'm actually going to be laying over in Austin tomorrow, then San Antonio, so the Gary and the girls will come with me. Even though it's supposed to rain, I am really looking forward to them being with me. :o)

School Time

2010-04-16T14:28:00.000-05:00

Today was mostly math day for school. After Rella finished her reading, we moved on to some games in OM K. We played sorting of cards, then began using red for minus, black for plus and made up our own equations. She was using her rods from Miquon to solve the problems. :o) Then we played bean bag toss with skip counting; first by 2s, then 5s, then 10s. She would shout out "odd" or "even" after every number! I had no idea math could be so much fun!

Art with Erin

2010-04-16T14:22:00.000-05:00

The girls did watercolor painting with Erin for most of the class time. They chose silks for their still life. :o) Then it was off to the outside where they drew the rose bush on top and the Iris on bottom. Rella did a beautiful drawing of the Iris. I am so proud of her. Mater's water color was great. Erin said her understanding of the blending of colors was terrific!

Our very own heirloom plants

2010-04-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

The girls are just playing outside this morning, getting their energy out! It's a beautiful cloudy morning, the perfect type to be outside watering plants and playing in dirt. This is a picture of my great-grandmother's Iris. I brought back a very small cutting from Oklahoma 6 years ago, and now I have five plants. It's taken this long to bloom, but so worth it. It's so lovely to tell my girls that this flower was in their great-great grandmother's garden.

More Disney Pictures.......

2010-04-16T10:09:00.001-05:00

The first two pictures were from our trip in December. The ones on Splash Mountain and Expedition Everest are from this week. :o)

My baby Rella and Gary are in the front. She held her hands up the entire time, even through the upside-down and backwards parts! Notice her Minnie Mouse ears are on the entire time, too. She tried to talk me into riding with her, but I think it will have to wait until we go next time. I'm a chicken. :o)

School Time

2010-04-15T20:08:00.000-05:00

It seemed like we did school all day long today. It was very fun and we thoroughly enjoyed it, but it took us a little bit to get back into the swing of things. Circle time has been a favorite again. I am so glad Rella decided she liked this. Mater runs in to do the closing verse and blow out the candles since Rella's asthma can't handle it. This week (24) is full of fun things. We did change things up a little bit, although it didn't feel like we were tweaking. We were supposed to play with the beeswax letters, put them in order, sound them out, etc. The problem is the girls can't stand to leave anything for much time in beeswax. While we've made the letters, they are now butterflies or snakes or just blobs. Rella gets her "Rs" and "Ns" backwards sometimes, so she used her silks to make the letters on the floor from "A to R" then wrote it in the MLB. She didn't get one wrong!

Finger knitting, not happening yet. Wow, I am not a knitter, nor am I really good at any handicraft or art. I have never had the exposure, even in high school. I wasn't allowed to take Home Ec.; strange, huh? Anyway, we are going to be much, much slower learning things like this and arts & crafts. We are still on fork knitting and are going to try to do this more frequently before we move on to knitting. Rella worked on this fork for a long time, redoing it until she was pleased with her work. I was so proud of her patience and diligence.

She also read quite a bit from More Days Go By. This is one of the best finds I have made to date. She is so excited to see what happens to the children that she wants to read. We only have two more chapters left in Mr. Popper's Penguins. I'm not sure about them, but I have truly enjoyed this book. I've laughed mid-sentence several time, a pleasant surprise.

Some memories of our trip....

2010-04-14T20:45:00.000-05:00

Dinosaur dig.... wow, in the shade and a lot of fun!

Aladdin and Jasmine, Mater's favorites.

This picture of Rella and Mater is inside the Pixie Hollow Butterfly House. Rella found a caterpillar in the garden. I told her she couldn't pick it up, but if it chose to crawl on her, she could hold it. It crawled around in her hand for about 15 minutes.

Daddy helping Rella and Mater buckle up for Soarin'. Notice Mater's huge sneakers. These were the only shoes I could find to make sure she reached that all-important 40 inch mark!

Mater and Rella playing at one of the many, many hidden parks all around Epcot. This is an amazing park for adults and children alike. It is by far my favorite.

Mater wanted to draw all the time. I am so glad I brought our crayons and art paper. This is an example of how art has really been a part of their lives. We love OM!

Above, the girls are releasing ladybugs during the behind the scenes tour of the EPCOT greenhouse. Posing with Nemo and his friends.

This picture is of me and my Mater waiting for Daddy and Rella to finish Expedition Everest!

The one before it is of the girls exploring the beautiful Animal Kingdom. This park is exactly the type of flora I adore, although the hot, dry summers of Central Texas cannot support it.

This was a beautiful time to visit central Florida. Although we caught the tail end of America's spring break, we also were in the middle of Great Britain's spring break. Lovely, sweet people. We talked and talked to so many people from all over the world. The weather was so nice that people just sat down at tables and enjoyed each other's company, much like before technology and air conditioning changed us. We sat on the world's front porch and had a blast!

We're back!!!

2010-04-14T18:13:00.001-05:00

We are so happy to be back home. DisneyWorld was fun, but being gone a week is too much. When you fly standby, you have to go on the days that are the lightest or you run the risk of getting stuck. My parents came with us and wanted to go back on Monday, but they ended up spending the night in Orlando and coming home on Tuesday. Tuesday and Wednesday are the best time for us to fly since the passenger loads are much lighter, so we either have to stay a week voluntarily or involuntarily ;o).

Good to be home. I'll post some pictures later. I'm actually glad to get back to a routine, so are my munchkins!

Off to Disney World!

2010-04-06T12:51:00.000-05:00

We are packing to head off to Disney World early in the morning. I am so excited to see EPCOT mostly and tour the greenhouse! Rella wants to ride the Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest as many times as she can; with Daddy, of course. We are hoping to get on the plane tomorrow. It's filling up, like all popular destinations do; but I think we'll be able to get on the first flight of the morning. Rella is now old enough to sit in First Class, so that will help. Oh, the joys of non-revving. It is a true blessing to be able to fly anywhere we want, but it takes quite a bit of patience since it's purely standby. :o)

Miquon musings

2010-04-05T22:17:00.000-05:00

I realized I haven't really posted about Miquon. I can't believe it, especially considering it's revolutionized our approach to math. Rella's handwriting is lagging behind her reading and math skills, so the mental math approach with Miquon has been amazing. We get through math quickly and with no fuss, so I really don't post about it. Status quo, so to speak. Although we are going to be on vacation for a week, I'll try and post some things about Miquon and how we use it in everyday math, not just the lab sheets.

School Time

2010-04-05T21:32:00.000-05:00

We worked on geometric shapes and creating whole pictures from them. Rella created a house with stars and a moon from the shapes we've learned. She read aloud to me from More Days Go By. Oh, I tried so hard not to cry. The story was about an animal they found, a donkey that said "hee-haw." To hear her say this made me laugh out loud, but to hear her say "aminal" not "animal" over a dozen times was almost more than my mama heart could bear.

We are almost finished with Mr. Popper's Penguins. This is not a book I would have picked out on my own, but it was recommended from two sites I go to for extra literature; Ambleside Online and Simply Charlotte Mason. If both of these sites recommend it, it's a either a must-read or at the very least a must-consider. We have really enjoyed it. Mater even comes in and out to listen, which is unusual for her to do during Rella's reading time. She will listen to some of the fairy tales from the Syllabus, but most of her reading time is done by Daddy at nighttime from the list on the left. Tonight they read from Eloise Wilkins Stories. I'll admit it, I'm a big sap. I cannot read this book without crying. It is so dear to me. I have to send out a big thank you to Sonlight for putting together Core P3/4. All of the books in this one will stay on my shelf!

Such tender moments for us to read treasured books again to Mater after reading them to Rella. I look forward to doing OM K again with Mater. Oh, the wonderful gift of home schooling!

Art with Erin!

2010-04-05T21:14:00.001-05:00

Erin likes to do art inside first and let them explore with a "free drawing" time. This way they can calm down from the excitement of seeing her and also she can observe what medium and direction would be most receptive for the day. Rella and Mater absolutely love drawing the wild flowers of Spring. I am so grateful for her gentle instruction. I try to observe in stealth (as much as a mom can) so that I can just listen to her and learn as much as I can. These lessons are laying the foundation for nature journaling later in our home school. This is the part that attracted me to Charlotte Mason and Oak Meadow in particular. The study of the natural world through observation, especially in the younger years, is an ideal learning environment, in my very humble opinion. I hope my girls gain a love for the creation God has given us and never lose the wonder!

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T21:56:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful day it turned out to be. We went to church to celebrate the Resurrection, the most Holy day of the year, with Nanny and our "four family." We went to her house for lunch along with Mimi and Papa. The girls played while we had a wonderful family visit. Then we came back home, played and went for an hour bike ride on this beautiful night. It was a little windy, so I used the electric motor a little more than I wanted to. I like to try to get as much exercise with the bikes as possible, but sometimes one needs a little help. ;o)

My Electric Bike is up and running!

2010-04-03T20:26:00.001-05:00

This is the motor. You can't really even tell that it's different from a regular bike. We chose this "hub" motor for that reason. It's lighter and much more streamlined.

Here is the motor controller. There are black wires running from the wheel and the thumb throttle (you can see them against the yellow spoke in the picture above) down the frame of the bike up to the controller which is attached underneath my seat. There are connections from it leading to the battery. We have the battery in a crate so we can easily take it in and out to charge it. The thumb throttle is very easy to use. The red button is the on/off switch and my thumb is actually resting on the throttle lever. We have a very long range battery (48 volts).

This is me coming back after my test run! It is like a recliner. The hardest part for me to get used to is the extra weight in the front because of the motor on the wheel. I've never been very graceful, and this is the only thing that makes me nervous, not the electric power itself.

School Time

2010-04-03T14:37:00.001-05:00

The Roly-Poly Pudding by Beatrix Potter is much, much better. We thoroughly enjoyed this story. Rella read two stories from More Days Go By and completed Lesson 22 including creating sentences of opposites. We moved on to Lesson 23 and she used her Lyra pencils to draw a rat from the story and practice her "R." Mater of course came running in when we got ready to draw. This is her favorite part of school. We'll probably do watercolors later on today.

Going to get my bike today!

2010-04-03T12:52:00.000-05:00

We are going to pick up my bike this afternoon. I'll post pictures of the motor, battery, etc., after we get back. Gary told me this morning we've gone more like 18 miles round trip with the girls in tow. He's gone much, much more by himself.

This morning we've been outside enjoying the beautiful day. We have tiny peaches, plums, pears and loquats so far. I'm hoping we'll have some pomegranates, blackberries and figs too. :o) This picture is of a loquat tree with fruit on it. It's a beautiful looking tropical tree with fruit similar to peaches.

School Time and play time

2010-04-02T21:52:00.000-05:00

After we got back from playing with our friends, we came home and read Mr. Popper's Penguins, The Princess and the Pea, and The Little Mermaid from our read alouds (not the Disney version). Rella also read out of her Pathway readers. She's halfway through More Days Go By. I am really surprised by these. Rella actually picks these up to read on her own because she wants to know what is going to happen to the kids.

The girls walked all around the house with their silks trying to find a bed for their babies. They finally convinced me to clean off a shelf of books in the living room for their babies' bed. I love watching their minds unfold and explore. They have an antique cradle and pull stroller we got from Germany in the play room, but they needed a new and different bed. Imaginative play time is so much fun to watch. I try to sit back and just watch them without speaking. I never know what direction they are going to go. Rella had me tie a silk to her waist, then she asked me to put her baby in the silk fold on her back. She carried it around like it was in a papoose, even though she's never seen one. Wow, the minds of children. :o)

We are going to do school tomorrow like it's just a regular school day since we wanted to take time to play outside with our friends today.

Park Day.... sort of

2010-04-02T21:49:00.001-05:00

There's a lovely little park about a 5 minute drive from our house. We went with our friends and some sand buckets. The girls ran and played, but as you can tell by their hair, there was a storm moving in. We had to take the nice party inside after a while. It was so good to get fresh air even if it was only for an hour and a half.

It's almost time....

2010-04-01T18:57:00.000-05:00

For Disney World! The girls were distracted from their anticipation today because they had an Easter Egg hunt with some friends, and I got a very small amount of time with Gary by myself. We ate lunch together, which is actually a rare occasion lately. He has been working through lunch and supper, I've just taken his plate to his desk. He's trying so hard to finish things up, or at least get to a decent stopping point, before we leave for DisneyWorld on Wednesday. I can't believe I'm going to spend a whole week with him! I am so excited!

Felt Beeswax Crayon holders

2010-04-01T18:41:00.000-05:00

The first picture is the one with them rolled up and tied with their ribbons. The burgundy one is for colored pencils. They are much prettier in person than in the pictures.
We got these beautifully, handmade felt crayon holders to hold their school crayons. Rella and Mater have really enjoyed the beeswax crayons by Stockmar that originally came with OM K. These crayons smell amazing, are smooth on the paper, blend beautifully and fit their hands well. The only problem with them is they fleck off on to each other in their tins they came in, especially the block crayons. This drives Rella crazy because she doesn't want, say, flecks of green on her yellow crayon. I can't say I blame her. We found these cases that keep the crayons neat and separate. I cleaned off all the crayons and put them in our new holders. Rella was very pleased. Mater could care less! :o)

This is another wonderful find from A Toy Garden (link at the bottom of the blog.)

My Electric Bicycle

2010-03-31T23:10:00.000-05:00

My husband bought me a beautiful bicycle two years ago and last summer he transformed it into an electric bike. I have to say I was very hesitant, but we have been able to ride it (along with his) to the grocery store, kids in tow, and back. We've ridden it about 10 miles round trip up and down hills, down access roads, you name it. Anyway, my back rack needed to be replaced (small crash) so it's in the shop. As soon as I get it back, I will post detailed pictures of it, the electric motor and our battery system he ordered from China. These bicycles serve as our second mode of transportation after our much beloved Prius! :o)

These are the bicycles pre-transformation. As you can see, the wooden crate in the back is for storage, but it now houses the battery. Gary has the same crate on the back of his bike. The bikes don't actually look much different from this picture. The front wheel has been replaced since it is a hub motor, we added an extra kickstand for the weight of the front wheel, and another basket up front. To the average person, you would never know it was an electric bike. It's just when we take off and pass a car from a stop sign that we get double takes. :o) There is a very small thumb throttle with an on/off switch on the right handle bar. The only thing we need to do now is figure out how to change the headlight from human power to strictly battery power.

School Time

2010-03-31T19:25:00.001-05:00

Today was art class with Erin. They started inside and Erin broke down the structure of a face into sections for them to see and draw on their own. They also used soft pastels. After the portrait lesson, they went outside to find something to draw. Spring in Texas gives one plenty to choose from and the girls picked the Banks Rose bush bursting with tiny, yellow roses. I think they weren't as afraid of the Banks Rose bush because the bees prefer the wisteria. It's so fun for the girls to explore their front yard to find something beautiful to draw.

Circle time was a big success again today. We lit candles, picked several songs, rhymes, dances and fingerplays then closed with the closing verse. Mater ran to get her main lesson book and just sat and drew in it while I read The Lazy Girl and the Spinners for the letter "Q" in Lesson 22. After the story, Rella narrated the story back, talked about the lessons learned by all and got out her main lesson book to draw what she heard. She drew a big, beautiful picture of Quintet the quail and the queen. We then talked about what history is starting with our history. I got out some handmade turquoise jewelry my Great Aunt Helene had made by an Indian friend in New Mexico. We talked about our Cherokee and European heritage, how the farm came to our family and how we found our antique bridge we put in to be able to come across the creek. I love that we incorporate our history, since they can relate to and are excited about their own history more so than something abstract.

We also discussed the true meaning of Easter and how it is the most important day of the year to Christians. Rella understood and even asked a lot of questions about the Resurrection. Mater didn't grasp it, yet.

We started Oak Meadow later than we should have (the end of last October), so we are only on Lesson 22. We would have started around September 1 if we had known about it then. We just found out about Oak Meadow after I was forced to look around when I had a major curriculum flop. The nice thing is we will have plenty to do through the summer so we don't get out of a routine. Since I work odd days, it's nice to have a schedule when I'm at home. Basically, if momma's home, we do school; if momma's flying, we don't.

Spring Blooms

2010-03-31T18:53:00.001-05:00

Our wisteria bush is a weed, literally. We have hacked it down to a stump every year and it still comes back. They are so invasive, yet so amazingly fragrant and stunning for the couple of weeks they bloom. I have had a picture of the girls every year with it, so I had to try today since it was in bloom and the weather was gorgeous. Of course, being amazingly stunning and fragrant also attracts bees. I took 50 pictures today trying to get the girls to look a little relaxed and like they enjoyed the flowers. I had about two of each girl that looked pretty good. The picture with both girls in it here is a captured conversation of the location and amount of bees.

School Time

2010-03-30T15:53:00.000-05:00

Rella and I went to visit her special tree on this very warm day in Texas. While we were looking at the new, green spring leaves, Rella noticed some that were still red, brand new spring leaves. I think we are going to take the experiment of a special tree further for OM 1 and measure the growth of the actual tree with the width of the trunk and the height of the special branch we are following. The interesting thing about this tree is Gary and I planted two Red Oaks when each girl was born. They were only twigs themselves and after a few years, they've just shot up, much like the girls they were planted for. Following these trees and the girls having a connection with them is much, much more special than Oak Meadow could have ever known.

All three girls did circle time today. We probably did about 10 songs/verses before the closing one. I was so glad both girls wanted to participate today. It's usually just Rella. Mater got excited about "school time." Today we finished up Pigling Bland. Okay, I didn't tell the girls, but I did not like this story at all. It was hard to follow, and b-o-r-i-n-g. I tried very hard to be as animated as I could, more so for my own sake than theirs. Miss Potter had a dud with this one, in my very humble opinion. It was very long and took us two days to get through.

Now on to "P." Even though this is the first dud out of many, many amazing stories, we still loved the beautiful illustrations in Miss Potter's book and both girls wanted to draw from it. Rella decided to write out all the "P" words she could remember from the tongue twister this week, Peter Piper in purple. She really ran with the idea of the letter of the week and since we completed number ten, there needed to be ten words that began with "P." It was a great school day today.

Curriculum peace

2010-03-29T21:49:00.000-05:00

Below are a collection of thoughts as to why I chose the particular curriculum listed on the left.

This is the first time in the last three years that I haven't felt a pull to do additional research. I might look for a book on a specific topic; but as far as changing curriculum completely, I don't even have the desire to look anymore. It's the most marvelous feeling to have peace and a direction you can see for the future.

We plan to use Oak Meadow as our foundation, period. In my opinion, we can use it without wondering if there are major gaps anywhere. They are rock solid in writing, history, science, math and art. It is a great, all around, complete program. If we only do OM, we will have done amazing handicrafts, arts, music, science, geography, literature, creative writing, as well as numerous other electives. When we need to supplement, we will pull from Ambleside and Simply Charlotte Mason's book lists. There have been weeks where we have added from these wonderful resources and weeks where we struggle to complete what OM gives us. I really love the freedom and flexibility and also knowing they are getting the best education we can possibly give them.

Children learn so much from imaginative play, spending time in nature and artistic expression during the early years. I don't want to squash that curiosity with full-on academics too early; however, once they are ready, full on rigorous academics, with some fun mixed in, is exactly what we are going to be doing. This is where I believe that OM and CM actually blend quite well. Short lessons, time outside, handicrafts, art in the early years. Both OM and CM might seem very loosey-goosey in the early years, but I truly believe I am laying down a foundation for a love of all types of learning. The rigor starts during the independent reader phase, as it does with CM. Ambleside's Year 4 is also a big jump with what is required of the child, yet another reason I think these two will compliment each other well. I am already using the Fairy Tales from Ambleside for the additional read alouds recommended in OM K. The stories in the OM K Syllabus and the Kindergarten Fairy Tales are far from easy twaddle, and are along the very same reading comprehension level as Ambleside's suggestion for the same year. Beatrix Potter is what mostly comprises the KFT book, and this language is challenging for an average adult, let alone a Kindergarten student.

Around grade 4 where the child develops more of an independence, this is where OM truly starts to shine, in my opinion. The amount of thinking, translating that into writing, experiments, research, not just the acquiring of knowledge is wonderful. Questioning the why, how, upside-down and inside-out is what I want my kids to strive for and be excited about.

Audrey described OM upper levels much more eloquently than I could....

Once you get to the middle grades, it is very easy to use OM as a spine and still school "classically." You will have to supplement somewhat, depending on how crunch-n-grind classical you are.

OM requires considerable independent thinking skills on the part of the child. If you haven't used OM for the lower grades, this will be a stretch for most kids, especially classically schooled grammar stagers, as that stage is mainly a "fill-the-tank" approach, not necessarily requiring the child to extrapolate. However, it does dovetail nicely with classical logic stage where the child does begin to extrapolate more and more. (OM just starts that a bit earlier).

In grades 5-8 the history sequence is this: American, Ancient/Medieval, Renaissance/Modern, American Civics. That's not too far off the WTM guidelines of chronological history. I have heard that some will only use the grade 6 and 7, but stretch each out for two years, and supplement with extra reading and by doing all the activities (as opposed to just selecting one of several choices for a topic) and by doing all the optional activities as well.

Grade 5-8 science sequence follows thusly: Environmental Science, Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science. This does not correspond as well to the WTM guidelines, but it still provides thorough coverage of the main sciences in the middle grades (logic stage) period.

Where you might find it more challenging is with OM's language arts. It looks very light in grades 5 and 6, but you must remember that many LA assignments are closely tied to the history and even the science program. There is a LOT of writing required in OM middles grades. There is no direct instruction in writing. Instead, OM includes an "English manual" to which you are referred periodically in lessons. Grammar is instructed very organically. There is no sentence diagramming.

By grade 7 (and 8), LA is separate from the history curriculum, and becomes much more rigourous, requiring the child to begin to think critically about literature. IMO, the grades 7 and 8 English curriculum are fantastic. They really ask the child to dig into the literature critically and they prepare him for serious literary inquiry by the high school (rhetoric stage) level.

In short, it's going to be a fun ride!

School Time

2010-03-29T21:05:00.001-05:00

Daddy saw we were outside and came to investigate. He was pretty much at his desk all day until this evening, even through lunch, but he came outside for a few minutes to see what we were doing. The girls and I went around the farm to find two completely different trees to do a bark rubbing (craft from Oak Meadow). We decided to do the craft right after circle time so we could enjoy the outside for a while before our main lesson time. Next time we try the bark rubbing, I think we will use a heavier paper like cardstock. It would be more of a project to keep. Although we could easily see the difference in the types of trees, the paper showed its wear. ;o) The two trees we chose were on either side of the bridge when you come down the road to cross it to our house. It's very interesting when you look closely that completely different trees flank the bridge. Yet another small discovery I never would have stopped to look at without Oak Meadow. Thank you!

Rella has been branching out and reading from other books that aren't her "readers." Over the last couple of years, I've collected some level 1 readers of various kinds from Fancy Nancy to Science to Clifford. She has started pulling these and other books off the shelf to read. I find her sitting in a chair with a book more often than not now. It's just amazing to see how far she's come in a year. She read two level 1 books before we even began school today. :o)

Play Time

2010-03-29T20:58:00.000-05:00

Today was a packed-full day of fun. It was absolutely beautiful outside. Mater gave Rella a ride on her electric four-wheeler. Mater goes everywhere on it. She even rode it next to Daddy on his electric bicycle. :o)

On the flip side, Mater loves playing tea party. She goes from mud-dogging in her four-wheeler to playing tea party with my "married cups" and her ball gown. Gotta love the tomboy in her! Later Rella joined in on the fun and decided she would put down her books for a minute, get dressed in her ball gown and come to the tea party.

Recipes for Granola and Hummus

2010-03-29T08:22:00.001-05:00

Two more of my favorite recipes for a good friend:

Granola~

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, molasses (any of these or a combo of them will do)
1/2 cup oil
2 cups dried various dried fruit and nuts (your choice)
1 tbl cinnamon
1 tbl vanilla extract
1 cup wheat germ

Combine the dry ingredients. Heat up the oil and honey (or other sweet liquid) until they are thin and blended. Then in a very big bowl, mix together, spread out on a greased jelly roll pan and bake at 300 for 20 minutes stir and spread out again once during baking. Cool and store in airtight container for one month. (Packs a lot of calories, so eat sparingly. Also, if you aren't used to this much fiber, let's just say you have been forewarned.)

Hummus ~

This recipe is a true art that you have to experiment with for texture, taste and over all appeal.

2 cans chick peas, drained and reserve the fluid
4-8 cloves garlic (depending on size and love of garlic)
4 tbl olive oil
4tbl tahini (you can substitute peanut or another nut butter)
1 tsp lime juice
1tbl sumac (can use paprika)
salt to taste after blending

additional yummies you can add in the blender:
sundried tomatoes
greek olives
roasted red peppers

Throw everything in a food processor or blender then slowly add the reserved chick pea fluid and blend until the desired consistency, then add salt to taste. If you throw in olives, you might not need any salt. If you don't add any yummies, you might need up to a tablespoon. Traditionally people add oil for the right consistency, but that would mean about a cup for me, way too much fat and expensive since you use high quality extra virgin olive oil.

We serve it either with pita bread and veggies (spinach, cucumbers, olives and tomatoes) or pita chips like a bean dip.

Vegan Cookbooks

2010-03-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

It's been a hard, but great transition for us to go vegan. On rare occasions we will have something that has a drizzle of dairy or have to pick out the meat from dishes; but at home, I cook vegan for dh and me. Mater's favorite food is black beans out of a can. Rella likes milk and still drinks it for breakfast, although she loves almond milk on her cereal.

Anyway, for those of you who want to try to eat a few more meals vegan or, at the very least, less meat and dairy, I have a couple of my favorite cookbooks I wanted to share with you.

The Indian Vegan Kitchen by Madhu Gadia ~ I wasn't really a fan of Indian food in general, but when you decide to go vegan, it's much easier to look for a culture that is primarily vegetarian to learn from. This book is amazing. I have cooked a lot from it, and all the recipes have been very good or terrific. I am no longer intimidated by the spices used in Indian cooking.

On a trip to Austin to gather some obscure spices, we met an Indian lady in the ethnic grocery store. She happily showed us around, told us what to buy and suggested many different variations for us. It was an amazing learning experience for us. Indian cooking has now become a weekly staple for us. This cookbook is a great place to start for beginners and great cooks alike, highly recommended.

Vegan Fire & Spice by Robin Robertson ~ My husband and I both love Asian and Latin food. This book covers them both very well. Robin has several vegan cookbooks, so if you have any food that interests you in particular, getting one of her books is an easy, tried and true place to start.

The Urban Vegan by Dynise Balcavage ~ Dynise also has a blog with amazing recipes. This is originally why I bought her book. I tried several recipes off her blog and knew they were doable. Now, some of them are a little scary for me to attempt, but eventually I will. This is a great all around vegan cookbook to have from simple breakfasts to a very fancy special occasion. If you only want to buy one vegan cookbook, this is it.

My favorite salad: serves 4

1 can chick peas, drained
1 bag spinach (or your favorite greens mix)
1 jar quartered, marinated artichoke hearts
cherry tomatoes
greek olives
green onions
sliced and toasted almonds
baby carrots
broccoli

Make it pretty and enjoy.
Any Raspberry/Vinegar dressing or olive oil/balsamic dressing. Yum!

Mom and me

2010-03-28T20:28:00.000-05:00

This weekend was great. When I found out I didn't have to work, mom and I left Saturday to go to Austin to spend some time together. Just the two of us! We ate outside since it was almost 80, but windy. We went to a huge restaurant over looking Lake Travis. We mostly just talked and caught up. It's been quite a while since we've had more than a hour here or there without the girls. It's hard to tell from the pictures, but the view is spectacular!

By the way, the restaurant we ate at was the Oasis. They have the most amazing veggie fajitas! My mom loved them and didn't miss the meat at all. They do a mix of asparagus, mushrooms, onions, peppers, and different squashes on the grill. It came with black beans, rice and amazing guacamole. Okay, I am going to have to make these here!

Mater's new hair cut!

2010-03-26T21:12:00.000-05:00

Mater was getting very shaggy, as was her mommy; so we went in this morning to get our hair cut. We got a haircut cute and sassy, just like her. She was so patient, which is very hard for my wiggly, little girl. She really likes it. Jenny is very patient and sweet to her while she cut her hair. It's not a scary time, she makes it really fun. The girls got to use the hair dryer and then the "hair eater" to clean up. Then Nanny took the girls to McDonald's to play while I got my hair cut.

School Time

2010-03-26T21:00:00.000-05:00

Rella read a lot today, her choice. We went with it! She finished her second Pathway Readers book (Days Go By) and started the last 1st grade reader (More Days Go By). Although Oak Meadow doesn't introduce reading until 1st grade or later, she loves to read. After her PR book, she picked books off our shelf to read. She picked a few from Dr. Seuss, Green Eggs and Ham and Horton Hears A Who! (stopped after a few pages). She also picked a couple out of the 20th Century Children's Book Treasury and A Treasury of Mother Goose (a favorite of hers from SL P4/5). Then she asked me to read out of the 20th Century for her and Mater.

When we visited our "special tree" this afternoon, Rella noticed the new leaves were green now. Two weeks ago, the Red Oak's new budding leaves were red like they are in the fall. I love that we follow the tree throughout the year with our science section. I had no idea the new spring leaves would be red as well. It's delightful to see new things with my 6 year old. We also practiced her letters, then we went outside to pull weeds out of the garden and water our seedlings. Next week will be a more normal school week, which we all are looking forward to!

On a side note, I finally found out that I'm not going to have to work tomorrow last night. I won't intentionally do AVBL again. I don't like playing a guessing game with my schedule. I missed out on several things I wanted to do because of it. Live and learn!

School Time

2010-03-25T21:19:00.000-05:00

The girls found a great spot to make foot prints out of mud. There is nothing better than squishing mud in between piggies, unless it's wet sand at a beach!

Daddy holding Mater up to see the tiny peaches already forming from the spring flowers. We planted these trees a few years ago, and they were no bigger than a straw. I hope we finally get enough for our summer fruit and some left over for canning since we love our preserves!

The majority of our afternoon was spent outside. Other than our allergies, it was a glorious day. Antihistamines and pseudoephedrine work wonders during the spring. ;o)

We moved all of our seedlings from the egg cartons we started them in to little pots until they are ready for the gardens. The girls got to see the roots of the tiny seedlings and how they have developed over the last few weeks. We washed the seedlings roots off with water before we planted them in individual pots so the girls could see the different root lengths, maturity, etc. It was a science day!

School Time

2010-03-24T14:32:00.000-05:00

Mater doing her favorite thing, painting with water colors! This is so much fun to see her develop over the last year. Mater went from a free spirit that roamed in and out of the room to a little girl who loved to see what Miss Erin had in store for them next.

We met Erin at our church a year ago on Easter Sunday. She came to our house for lunch and started drawing with the kids in the playroom. She was so good and I was completely clueless with regards to art, so she graciously agreed to come to our house once a week to teach the girls art. She has given me a familiarity with different types of medium that I would previously have been completely intimidated by. They've done clay, water colors, oil pastels, nature drawings in colored pencils all before I ever discovered Oak Meadow or Charlotte Mason. She has been such a blessing in our lives!

Rella truly enjoying her art. She added a beautiful blue sky later on. Rella has improved so much with letting go and letting colors blend together. It's really hard for a child who likes everything to be perfect. At first, she would "X" out any little mistake she made in art. Erin would gently remind her that there were no mistakes in art. Erin would direct her to change what she didn't like or just start over, but it was all a creative discovery. :o) She has mellowed and become more free in her artistic expression.

Art Class with Erin! Usually Erin uses the primary colors that came with Oak Meadow's craft kit, but today, she wanted the girls to see the secondary colors that come out of the primary colors side by side. She also did complimentary color pictures made out of mosaics (they cut very small pieces of specific colors out of catalogs). Erin is an extremely talented artist and we are very grateful to have her as long as we do. She feels called to do missionary work for God in the fall. We will truly miss her!

Flying ups and downs

2010-03-24T13:39:00.000-05:00

I tried an experiment this month with my schedule. I tried to do what's called AVBL, which means you have specific days off and specific days you might have to work if there is a trip someone has called off sick for or gotten a vacation day for. It's not truly "on call" which we call Reserve, because you know by 2 pm the day before if you will work or not. The problem is, I needed specific days off and I messed up there. I was going to go to a Simply Charlotte Mason conference this weekend in Jacksonville, FL, but I have two more AVBL days on the 26 & 27 that I haven't been able to plot or get rid of. Well, not doing that again!

Next month is great, though. I have a Texas line! Gary and the girls are going to come with me next month. I have 3-day trips which layover in Austin and San Antonio. It's actually perfect since Downtown Austin is an hour and a half south, then the next day it's another hour and a half south to San Antonio. They don't have to try to get on the airplane to come with me, and we will have our car with us. I am also flying with my roomie in St. Louis, Basia! A wonderful, funny lady.

Thank you, Samone!

Happy Birthday, Nanny!

2010-03-24T13:20:00.001-05:00

Today is my mom's birthday! Rella, Mater Moo and I took her out to lunch at Olive Garden and sang "Happy Birthday" to her. They absolutely love celebrating birthdays, so it was a fun time. Mater, the amazing bottomless pit, ate her pizza, breadsticks, some of Rella's chicken strips and my spaghetti! She grazed everyone's plate after she finished her own. It's amazing how much that 3 year old can put away.

Happy Birthday to an amazing Mom and Grandma! We love you!

Off to Calgary again....

2010-03-21T14:55:00.000-05:00

I am so fortunate to get another trip to Calgary! There's something about Canada that makes me smile when I go. I think it's because my husband and I lived there for almost three years when we were first married! I get to eat Timbits again!! Our girls are going over to Tressa's house Monday and Tuesday. We are truly very blessed to have her love on our girls while I work. Their family is very special to us.

Off to Calgary I go, eh?

Saturday at home :o)

2010-03-20T20:02:00.000-05:00

This is their simplified play room. Only the high quality toys that they love and actually play with are in here now.

They're using the art table for school work here; but they often bring their wooden food, puzzles and sandbox here to play with. Of course there is always some sort of paint or crayons out at all times! We are getting two new wooden sand trays because the box we had was too little for them to share. They absolutely love sand, especially Mater!

It was cold, rainy and wet today. We stayed inside and played. The girls played most of the day with their sandbox in the play room. They share a bedroom so the other room can be a play room. We just finished purging the toys that weren't played with. There is a basket of little plastic toys on the top shelf they weren't ready to get rid of. They haven't mentioned them in the last week. I'm going to give it another month, then it will be tossed too.

They mostly play with the puppets, castle, bird houses (fairy houses) and food blocks anyway. They like their "babies" too.

School Time

2010-03-19T18:55:00.000-05:00

Today we were working on the number 10 and there was a lovely little story in the Syllabus about a caterpillar earning his 10 stripes. She spent a lot of time on her drawing, I was really glad. We also did a lot with the modeling beeswax. I love this stuff! It smells like honey in your hands and the texture is wonderful to work with. We are so glad that Oak Meadow includes such high quality craft materials in there craft kit. Mater only ran into the room when she heard our closing verse of circle time, blowing out the candles is her favorite part. She happily went back to the playroom. Now that it's be rearranged and simplified with high-quality but fewer toys, they spend a LOT of time in there playing. I was going to start OM K with her in the fall, but she's not ready to sit and listen that much. I think I'll let her come in and out like she has been doing while her sister and I do her lessons. Sometimes Mater will draw with us, she always paints. She did play a little bit with the beeswax today, she's just a bundle of energy. I think we need a trampoline!

Dinner time

2010-03-19T18:52:00.001-05:00

I handed Mater a pot and told her to help me cook supper. I needed water in the pot. I turned around and she had her cup with water from the bathroom and the pot on the floor. Very resourceful 3 year old! She went back and forth to the bathroom 10 times before the pot was full enough. It was going to be boiled anyway..... :o). It's the same water as the kitchen, but I had a hard time putting the thought out of my mind where it came from.

New babies

2010-03-19T18:46:00.000-05:00

We are slowly replacing our plastic toys with more natural and open-ended toys. These little acorn babies were just beautiful. My girls are at an age that they love little tiny toys. It used to be the small Disney princess, now these tiny babies and their other handmade little dolls are taking center stage. We also got scented bean bags. They smell amazing and provide the perfect bed or magic carpet. These came from a lovely place called A Toy Garden. They have completely different things from Bella Luna, but just as fun!

Night play

2010-03-18T21:11:00.000-05:00

We had another pretty toy arrive from Bella Luna Toys today. Their silk streamers. Rella got a pink silk streamer with a heart and Mater got a rainbow silk streamer with a purple ball on top. Her favorite color is purple. It was really hard to get them to put them down. It's also hard to take a picture of the fast moving hands! You can't even see Rella's hand. Mater was wrapped in her night time silk (it's actually a playscape, but she says it's her night silk, it wraps the night around her to go to sleep.) It is so amazing what children imagine with just a basket full of play silks. I highly recommend them to any one with young children!

Rella was sick

2010-03-18T20:03:00.000-05:00

Rella woke up this morning with a really bad ear ache. I took her to the doctor and she had an ear infection. She was tired and mostly wanted me to hold her. She played with Mater some, then she got to feeling better this evening and made this turtle out of a waxed wick. She tried to follow the directions, then she put them away and made her own! :o)

School Time

2010-03-17T17:56:00.000-05:00

Our friends! Have I said I'm grateful for them? Especially their mommy. :o)
Me and my girls at the zoo. This was our school today, and it was a gentle reminder that we need to get out and do this a couple of times a month! It was such a beautiful day today. The high was 70 F. We got to the zoo around 9:45 this morning and stayed outside until about 3 pm! This is one of those rare days in Texas where the sun is out and it isn't blistering hot. I love Spring, or at least the teaser of spring to come.

Story time at the zoo

2010-03-17T17:49:00.000-05:00

Sandy is amazing, she's a retired school teacher. She actually happens to be our girls' swimming teacher in the summer also. She hosts an amazing story time at our local zoo. She picks an animal, gets a book, props (she had foot casts and hair today), a craft and snack, then we go visit the animal in the zoo. Today it was about giraffes. After we finished story time, we left to go to a local park for the rest of the afternoon. When you home school, spring break is really hard to handle.

The other 4 girls in green are our best friends. They also home school! It's so wonderful to have another family to do things with.

Christopherus and Waldorf

2010-03-16T21:01:00.001-05:00

I found a used copy of Christopherus' Kindergarten for your 3 to 6 year old and Joyful Movement. Although I like Oak Meadow's layout for curriculum, these two books are a wonderful addition. I really need to steer Rella away from the TV/computer as much as possible. Mater isn't as concerned with it since she hasn't been around it as much as her older sister was. I wish I had found out about Waldorf much, much earlier. Anyway these two books are not as colorful or exciting as OM, and would be very overwhelming as my first experience with Waldorf; but since I started out with OM, these two are terrific. There are a lot of practical how-tos, and what not to do also. It has confirmed my instincts as to the directions we are heading with our house, school and daily lives. Anyone even remotely interested in Waldorf should check these out.

FYI: I will never be a Waldorf purist because some of the beliefs do not mesh with my Faith, but I will take what I believe to be the best and forget the rest. Isn't that what home schooling is about? On that note, off to purge the rest of the plastic.......

Mater

2010-03-16T20:52:00.000-05:00

This is her favorite thing to do; make bread. She could sit here for a long time being completely entertained with bread dough. She even likes to grind the wheat berries. Eva had to watch her knead the dough. Her pan was the one on the left. She is making the head for her snowman bread dough, even though snow is long gone.

It was raining outside, so we didn't get to go to the zoo. She needed to be outside, so out she went bare feet, wet grass and all.

School Time

2010-03-16T20:49:00.001-05:00

Rella thought we were doing babyish things today. Although she made up her own math problems. I think she's so used to me being an "academic mom" that when we switched to Oak Meadow, it's been a little bit of a transition. She really is enjoying herself, it's just different. I do see joy on her face so much more now instead of dreading school. As long as I keep my joy, I know hers will follow.

Spring time on the farm!

2010-03-15T19:14:00.001-05:00

These fruit trees' blossoms are so beautiful in Springtime. I wish they were closer to the house so we could smell them when the windows are open, but it's so nice to have space to put these beautiful trees. It's peaceful to smell them at twilight because the bees aren't buzzing around our heads!

School Time

2010-03-15T19:11:00.000-05:00

This was "O" day. Rella was supposed to draw a picture of an owl, but she likes butterflies better. :o) We are going to visit owls at the zoo tomorrow if the weather holds out, maybe it will inspire her to draw an owl then. She did at least put an "O" around her butterfly.

Kay's Photography

2010-03-15T11:38:00.001-05:00

Kay is so very talented. Here is a sneak preview of the pictures she took on Saturday. I am so excited to find a talented photographer. Believe it or not, it's not that easy to find where we live. A dear friend gave me her name and we drove 40 minutes to get their pictures taken. I think it was well worth it!

Nighttime with Daddy

2010-03-14T20:23:00.000-05:00

I am so glad the girls have alone time with their Daddy. It is such a special time when mom is out of the room and they have him all to themselves. It's a long ritual, but one we truly enjoy. We've been a little more deliberate with the bedtime stories we read to the girls. My favorite books for them is A Treasury of Children's Literature and Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales. These are the true versions, not the "movie" versions. It's amazing to hear these since they were so different from what I grew up on. :o)

Magic Wands

2010-03-14T17:42:00.001-05:00

Making our magic wands for school. I don't know how long they'll last, but they love them!

Princess Mater Moo

2010-03-14T17:04:00.001-05:00

Princess Mater in her silk. Her absolute favorite fabric to wear anywhere all day! It is washable, anything to do with Mater has to be. :o)

School time

2010-03-14T15:44:00.001-05:00

We got these chalkboards and chalk from Bella Luna Toys. A favorite place to buy things for my girls. Rella is practicing her "N" forms more since she has a tendency to write them backwards. They chalkboard really helps her practice because she loves to use it.

We are on the number nine and "N." She grouped her hearts with six in one (since she is 6, it is special) and then nine on the other side. Rella grouped three sets of three to equal nine. She also made up her own equations to equal nine. Of course Mater joined in during drawing time. Rella finished her first Main Lesson book today. She is working on a science one too, but this one included her numbers, letters and pictures. What a keepsake these notebooks will be.

Easter Pictures!

2010-03-13T21:53:00.000-06:00

We went to Kay's house to get the girls' pictures taken with a real bunny. Kay is a true artist. She knows how to capture a person's personality on film! I can't wait to post the pictures.

Flitter fairies

2010-03-13T21:48:00.000-06:00

Mater's first thing she wanted to do when she woke up this morning? Play with "Eva" her fairy. :o)