{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
Outside my window…the boys are having a crazy good time with the bubble solution we made! Seriously, this stuff is amazing! Hop on over to Happy Hooligans to get the recipe and the instructions to make the giant bubble wands. Totally worth the time and effort.
I am remembering…Joseph’s traumatic entry into this world (7 years ago!) and am giving thanks again for such a miracle!
I am wondering…if you need an excuse to shop. I’m hosting an online Usborne book show and I’d love to have you participate! It’s a great way to build your home library and fill the imaginations of all the children in your lives. You can place your order online anytime between now and July 24th. Just follow this link: https://j3131.myubam.com/52766
I am thankful…for air conditioning…these days are loooong and hot.
In the refrigerator…fresh fig and strawberry jam. 
I am wearing…a blue t-shirt and olive green shorts…doesn’t sound like it matches, but surprisingly, it does.
We are creating…works of art for Stephanie and Juan’s new apartment.
We are celebrating…summer!
I am reading…Holiness for Housewives, slowly digesting each pearl of wisdom. If you don’t have a copy, hop on over to get one…totally worth it…this is one you’ll revisit again and again.
In our learning room…oddly enough, we’re spending some time studying chemistry right now (which explains the pictures for Juan and Stephanie, right?). Joseph and William are fascinated by the elements and all their properties. I think we’ll be here for awhile. And of course, we’re still trekking along in our summer studies.
One of my favorite things…little girls in dresses!
A peek into my day…
Please visit The Simple Woman’s Daybook for more daybook entries.
We don’t stop schooling during the summer, but we do school a little differently. a little lighter, and a little more learner led. We always keep up with math and reading, but the rest of our “school day” is led by the children’s interests. This summer we’ll be spending our days studying plants and we’re shaking up our math and grammar quite a bit with some fun living book studies. We’re also continuing along with American and World History and for the little ones, we’re adding Wee Folk Art’s summer plans into our days.
**I have to apologize that I don’t have all the links for the books done…maybe I’ll eventually get around to it, but I wanted to at least post the plans.
Wee Folk Art
We’re using Wee Folk Art’s summer plans which include studying ponds and weather. We switched the weeks around, so we started by studying ponds (for four weeks) and for the remaining 5 weeks, we’ll be studying weather. Our Wee Folk Art plans basically consist of read-alouds, a poem to memorize, art and music appreciation, and a science experiment. Plus 2 quilt blocks! In the plans are a few pond visits (including the one by Granny’s when we go to visit!) to see pond life (the pictures below are a recent trip out to Pollywog Pond). Here are the books we used for ponds: Frogs; It’s Mine; Box Turtle at Long Creek; Look out for Turtles; Little Wood Duck; Make Way for Ducklings; Have You Seen my Duckling?; Were You a Wild Duck; Ducks Don’t Get Wet; Pond Circle; Eliza and the Dragonfly; In the Small, Small Pond; Turtle Splash: Countdown at the Pond; Near One Cattail. For the quilt blocks, we’re going to be doing handprint blocks, based on the ideas from Marcia Layton’s book Handprint Quilts. Our pond quilt block will be ducks.
Beginning next week, we’ll be studying weather. Our book list includes: Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain; Oh Say Can You Say What’s the Weather Today; Alfie Weather; Come on Rain; Little Cloud; The Cloud Book; Rabbits and Raindrops; Down Comes the Rain; Thunder Cake; Flash, Crash, Rumble and Roar; Rainbow of My Own; All the Colors of the Rainbow. Our quilt block will be rainy days.
Plants
I gave the kids a choice for science this summer…plants or oceans. Surprisingly (or not, since what boy doesn’t love dirt?), they chose plants.
The main topics we’re covering are flowers, seeds, leaves, stems and roots. We’re using AIMS Primarily Plants for hands-on experiments and tending our own garden. And, of course, we’re armed with an exciting book list.
Here are our plant books for the summer: The Reason for a Flower; How Flowers Grow; Pick, Pull, Snap; How a Seed Grows; Planting a Rainbow; Sunflower House; From Seed to Plant; The Complete Book of Flower Fairies; Fairy Houses…Everywhere; How to Find Fairy Houses; Fairy Houses of the Maine Coast; In a Nutshell; One Bean; A Tiny Seed; The Dandelion Seed; A Seed is a Suitcase; A Seed is a Promise; DK Eye Know Plants; Peter in Blueberry Land; Growing Vegetable Soup; Going on a Leaf Hunt; Weeds and Wildflowers; Jack’s Garden; To Be Like the Sun; Up, Down, Around; What Do Roots Do.
Before we started our plant unit, I was reading a series of books by GJ Walker Smith. In her books, she tells these fascinating stories about fairies (some of which she made up and some based on legend). I got really excited about fairies, but figured the boys would totally not be interested. I should have realized that at the mere mention of building (fairy houses, of course!) they would be on-board. Joseph, especially, got very excited, taking on the role of the Leaf Fairy (we all get sprinkled by leaves when he passes by us!). The boys spent this past week building fairy houses (and they followed all of the rules, as outlined in the Fairy House books. Our Fairy Houses of the Maine Coast book is missing in the picture above because it spent much of its time outdoors this week, providing inspiration and guidelines.
Our plant unit also happened to correspond with my book club book The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Fascinated by the idea that flowers speak a language and mystified by the process of buying flowers, I enlisted the help of the kids to tackle the world of flowers. First we visited a local florist who was kind enough to teach us everything we wanted to know about what it’s like to be a florist. The kids loved standing in the walk-in refrigerator and each one brought home a flower of their choosing. Our friendly florist explained that by putting flowers in a vase beside your bed you are guaranteed to have sweet dreams. Both William and Joseph were pleased to include this new idea as part of their bedtime routine. I showed Joseph the guide at the back of The Language of the Flowers and just like me, he fell in love with the idea that flowers can speak. He looked up each of our flowers from the florist shop and gasped when he realized the flower of his choosing, the red carnation, meant “my heart breaks.” Before I knew it, he had drawn a bouquet for me based on the meaning of the flowers (apparently, when you are 7 or younger, a flower is a flower is a flower because they simply drew whatever flower they imagined in their drawings and then simply labeled them…it never occurred to them that each flower looks different). My bouquet included flowers that meant beloved daughter, love and sweet and lovely.
Then William and Joseph appeared with another hand-drawn bouquet…this one filled with flowers that did not carry such a loving message. The flowers in this bouquet meant things like I cannot be with you, I do not trust you and, even, I declare war on you. A little shocked at the message, I said, “Oh wow, this bouquet seems a little angry.” “Well, of course! We drew this bouquet for the devil!” A bouquet for the devil…who could have imagined such a thing!
When our initial fresh flowers began to wither, the boys each chose a flower to press and then they kindly requested another trip to the florist. We visited a different florist (the one who did mine and Daxson’s wedding flowers 11 years ago!) and armed with the guide, each child was able to pick out a flower that had a particular meaning. (William insisted on a red carnation. I reminded him, “William a red carnation means ‘my heart breaks'” “Yes, Mommy,” he solemnly replied, “I know.” Hmm, not quite sure what to make of that.) Andrew chose a lily, which means “message” and Joseph ended up with a Chrysanthemum, which means “truth”. All the boys were quite pleased with their choices and the flowers are still sitting beside their beds, bringing them sweet dreams.
History
We are continuing our study of World History, mostly covering the beginning of Christianity. We’re finishing up Story of the World Volume 1 alongside our RC History lesson plans (the beginning of Volume 2). For American History, we are following Serendipity’s Native American plans, making an ABC Native American book based on D is for Drum and we’re learning quite a bit with the If You Lived With…books. After our Native American study, we’ll review the early colonists.
Grammar
We are using Ruth Heller’s books and Word Fun for our grammar lessons this summer. One day each week we’re reading a different Ruth Heller book (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, interjections and conjunctions, pronouns) and then later in the week, we’re reading the corresponding section from Word Fun. The Ruth Heller books are awesome…packed full of tons of information and so fun to read. After reading the stories, the boys are making a page of that part of speech to add to their lesson book. Toward the end we’ll be using Punctuation Celebration and Eats, Shoots,& Leaves for a quick review of punctuation.
Math
For our math lessons this summer, we ‘re reading lots of math stories (especially Stuart J. Murphy’s books), playing games (using Family Math) and reviewing math facts (with flashcards and Xtra Math).
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
Outside my window…the sun is shining and a breeze is blowing. Life is good.
I am remembering…
I am wondering…if you need an excuse to shop. I’m hosting an online Usborne book show and I’d love to have you participate! It’s a great way to build your home library and fill the imaginations of all the children in your lives. You can place your order online anytime between now and the end of July. Just follow this link: https://j3131.myubam.com/52766
I am thankful…when these sweet little people are actually getting along.
In the refrigerator…fried okra. Grandpa Larry has been giving us okra from his garden and now Joseph’s okra is ready, too. After it’s been fried, we stick the leftovers in the fridge and then we just snack on it…often. Yum.
I am wearing…blue gym shorts and a blue tank top.
I am creating…a quick chemistry unit study. Joseph and William are absolutely fascinated by the elements and I remember nothing from high school chemistry.
We are celebrating…birthdays! Andrew just turned 3.
I am reading…Killing Kennedy for book club. More accurately, I am listening to it as an audio book. I’m also reading The Wednesday Sisters on my Kindle.
In our learning room…such fun summer plans…plants, Native Americans, the beginning of Christianity, ponds.
One of my favorite things…Sundays.
A peek into my day…
Please visit The Simple Woman’s Daybook for more daybook entries.
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
Outside my window…it is still light out, despite the fact that we’ve eaten, bathed, and three of four children are already tucked in. These long days make me lose track of time so easily.
I am blessed…with amazing friends.
I am remembering…how much fun we had today. We are going to miss these friends so much, come the end of summer, when they leave our sparkling city by the sea.
I am thankful…to have finally uploaded my pictures to Walgreens…now to just get organized enough to place an order.
In the refrigerator…lentil soup. What is it about lentil soup that everyone goes ga-ga over? Every.single.bowl. is always devoured in record time and I don’t ever find myself saying, “take a bite.” Seriously, if I could get away with serving lentil soup every night, I think I would. Just for the peace.
I am wearing…blue gym shorts and a purple tank top.
I am creating…our plans for next year. I finally made some choices, ordered books, and now it’s all just sitting there. Waiting for me to do something with it.
I am going…to get back into planning next week. My brain has kind of turned to mush these last few weeks, but I know if I don’t get back into the swing of planning, then there will be no plans in place when fall comes.
We are celebrating…birthdays! Joseph just turned 7 on the 11th and Andrew’s birthday is coming up.
I am inspired…by Sarah Mackenzie’s book Teaching from a State of Rest. I cannot recommend her book and the accompanying podcasts enough. Brilliant. Inspirational. Food for the homeschooling mama’s soul.
I am reading…Little Shop of Homicide by Denise Swanson…a new series by one of my favorite mystery writers. So far, so good. Just finished Thirty One and a Half Regrets by Denise Grover Swank on my Kindle and am anxiously awaiting the next book. That one had me on the edge of my seat! Also just finished The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh for book club and am completely mystified by the whole idea of flowers. Identifying them. Buying them. Learning the language. Seriously, I had no idea how overwhelming the world of flowers could be.
In our learning room…such fun summer plans…plants, Native Americans, the beginning of Christianity and so much more…hoping to share our plans in detail soon.
One of my favorite things…visits with Granny.
A peek into my day…
Please visit The Simple Woman’s Daybook for more daybook entries.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom, to a mom who is
Amazing
Brave
Creative
Daring
Energetic
Friendly
Generous
Happy, oh so happy!
Independent
Jovial
a Kindred spirit
Loving
Marvelous
Nurturing
Patient
Originial
Quotable
Reliable
Sweet
Talented
Understanding
Vivacious
Wonderous
eXtraordinary
Young at heart
Zesty
I love you!
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
Outside my window…a strange spring storm just blew in and three little boys are running wild enjoying the cool, crisp air.
I am thinking…Katie doesn’t have much hair, but the little she has is incredibly cute…look closely…no, I mean really closely and you’ll get a glimpse of the tiniest mohawk ever.
I am blessed…with a husband who is willing to cut up little earthworms to feed the frog since I forgot to order frog food.
I am remembering…our day trip to Rockport and the ferry ride home (don’t worry…we’re not climbing THE big tree and yes, mosquitoes were already out but so were the beautiful wildflowers!).
I am thankful…for my little helpers. Joseph and William have helped keep laundry going today and Joseph even loaded a few dishes in the dishwasher. It’s the little things that ease this mama’s burden.
In the refrigerator…Bill Miller’s BBQ.
I am wearing…shorts and a t-shirt and everything is on correctly. Last week, I went to take a shower at the end of the day and discovered my shirt was on backwards…yep, you read that right, ladies and gentlemen, I wore my shirt backwards…ALL DAY…yep, even to church and wherever else we went that day. And there were 5 other people with me who never once told me something looked odd (I guess maybe the kids just didn’t notice, but really Dax, what were you thinking?!)
I am creating…plans for next year. Please leave a comment and share some of your favorite curriculum choices.
I am laughing…about Joseph’s comment this morning at Target. We were walking through the store and William (who always feels that he MUST buy something with his allowance at EVERY store we go to) was whining about how he needed to buy something and Joseph said to him, “I’m going to report to the birthday fairy that you are still whining and she may take away your new age…you’ll have to go back to being 4 if you don’t stop that whining.” Surprisingly, he did stop whining…at that moment about spending money. He didn’t start whining again until the next store about how since he’s 5, his boots are too small for him.
I am loving…Leap Year…I can’t help it! I’m a total sucker for romantic comedies!
I am inspired…by Andrew Pudewa. Really inspired by this guy. I was going to recommend his talk about Teaching Boys and Other Children Who Would Rather Make Forts All Day but really, any of his talks are awesome!
I am reading…A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith for book club and The Living Page by Laurie Bestvater.
In our learning room…the Persians, growth and development, and division.
One of my favorite things…big boxes.
A peek into my day…
Please visit The Simple Woman’s Daybook for more daybook entries.
With Every Intention 