It is bedtime. Our family no longer all fits together in the family bed…little boys are growing big, so Joseph and William now sleep together in their own room. We have read our stories and said sweet prayers, so I tuck both big boys in, turn off the lamp, and then…I climb in, too. Andrew, already sleeping, lies between his two brothers. I’ll take him into our bed after Joseph and William fall asleep, but for now, we are all together. I lie on my side, nursing Andrew. Joseph lies on the other side of Andrew. His hand reaches over Andrew and finds mine. He wraps his little hand in mine and squeezes tight. William is on the other side of me, snuggled close to my back, his leg thrown over my side carelessly. It is quiet. Completely and totally quiet. The quiet is a rarity for me; me who lives in a world surrounded by three boisturous little boys. I revel in the stillness. I breathe deeply, inhaling the scent of just bathed little boys and I listen to the rhythmic sound of each one’s breathing, slowing and steadying, preparing to drift off. This time is so brief. Soon these little boys will be big boys. Soon these little boys won’t compete with one another for snuggling space with me. Soon these little boys won’t need me close by to help them drift off into dreamland. Daxson can’t understand why I continue to lay with them until they are asleep. How can I not? These might just be a few of the best moments of my day.
Daybook
Outside my window…it’s cloudy and threatening rain.
I am thankful…for air conditioning. Whew, it’s hot out there, but quite nice in here.
I am thinking…this is the 3rd time I’ve tried to write a daybook. Not quite sure why I can’t seem to keep up with my blog these days. Could it be that these three little boys keep me so busy that it’s hard to dash off even one sentence?
From the learning rooms…we ditched our WinterPromise preschool curriculum and we’re back to Five in a Row (just for the summer). I promise to share our fall plans soon. This week we’re working on Lentil by Robert McCloskey. Today Joseph built the town of Alto with his blocks and acted out the story using his Little People.
In the kitchen…lentil soup…what could possibly be more appropriate for our story this week?
I am wearing…khaki shorts and a seafoam green tank top. There was much discussion about the color of my shirt. After much debate, I win. It is exactly this color.
I am creating…a Charlotte Mason education plan. I’m doing lots of reading, lots of planning, lots of dreaming.
I am reading…Home Education by Charlotte Mason…finally I’ve gone to the original source for inspiration.
I am listening…to Uncle Tom’s Cabin on my Ipod.
I am pondering…quite a few things. The one that weighs most heavily is the loss of a dear friend’s son. I want to reflect on it for you, but right now I’m still pondering it in my heart.
One of my favorite things…art.
Here is a picture for thought I am sharing…
U and V
Since there is no U flower fairy, U and V were combined.
U and V are for…Vetch fairy, St. Ursula, and St. Vincent de Paul. After reading Serendipity’s Flower Fairy story, Joseph and William colored pictures of the fairy. Joseph also did some copywork from the poem that is in the Flower Fairy book (which he did while listening to the Flower Fairy CD). Then we looked up the actual wildflower in our field guide. We read about the saints in our Alphabet of Catholic Saints. Joseph did some copywork. We also used the picture from the book to practice the letter formation.
U and V are for…the letters U and V. We practiced letter formation using the Cuisenaire Rods Alphabet Book, Do A Dot, Gray Block paper, and Pin Punch letters.
V is for…vegetables. Joseph decided first thing Monday morning that he wanted to make vegetable bread. We’d already been to the grocery store for the week, so I suggested maybe he could make some vegetable bread in his kitchen. “Yes, that’s a great idea! I’m going to make a list and pretend to go shopping,” he replied. Well…that led to setting up our own grocery store complete with price signs and our cash register. Joseph did make his list and then, together with William, grabbed his shopping cart and loaded up on supplies. Once he had everything on his list, he brought it to the cashier and we added up his purchases. He did some math and figured out how much change I needed to give him. We put his purchases in a bag and he was off to make vegetable soup. He used the book Growing Vegetable Soup to guide him. It was delicious soup…he made it dairy, soy and egg free so even Roo got to “try” some!
V is for…volcano. After reading about volcanoes in Usborne’s Volcanoes book, we made our own volcano. First we did it with “lava” (red food coloring) and then we did it with “dust and ash” (blue food coloring). We also watched some volcano videos on Youtube.
U and V are for Understanding and Virtuous. We’re still using these great coloring pages and we’re including one each week along with a virtue story. We made up our own story about the Understanding coloring page, which I then wrote out. I included some thoughtful errors and Joseph edited the story for us.
In our book baskets this week (I’m choosing one book from each basket to have Joseph do a narration and illustration of):
Science (volcanoes, universe): Usborne Volcanoes; Planets: A Solar System Stickerbook; Individual Planet books from Pebble Plus: Exploring the Galaxy
Favorite U and V Books: St. Valentine; The Very First Easter; The Velveteen Rabbit; The Very Hungry Caterpillar; The Very Quiet Cricket; The Very Lonely Firefly; Growing Vegetable Soup; Very First Last Time; Violet’s House
{this moment}
{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.
Daybook
Outside my window…Joseph and William are playing with the umbrella on their picnic table, discussing the purpose of such an activity. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining. Life is good.
I am thankful…for friends like Cariann Galloway. She took time out of her day on Sunday to show us a glimpse of what it’s like to be a vet. She introduced us to many of her animal friends out at Glenoak Rehabilitation Center. Joseph and William learned quite a bit about how to take care of a horse. Our visit inspired lots of good reading including Vicky the Vet, Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm, Mrs. Wishy Washy’s Farm, The Little Pony, Horses and Ponies, Things People Do, Scholastic Discover More Farm, The Big Red Barn and much more. Cariann’s introduction to horses was a perfect prelude for our Winterpromise curriculum since our work this week focuses on horses and who lives at the farm.
From the learning rooms…we’re on week 4 of our WinterPromise curriculum. We’re currently doing I’m Ready to Learn and Journeys of Imagination. We’ll begin Animals and their Worlds in the fall. We also started doing Sandi Queen’s Language Lessons for Little Ones. It’s perfect for William (he does the copywork with my help). It’s too easy for Joseph, but it makes for a nice phonics review and a gentle introduction to narration and the study of fine art. Here are Joseph and William’s farm murals that they recently made. We’ve since added all the words in Spanish since Grandma Nury has been covering farms:
WinterPromise’s curriculum has lots (and lots) of crafts to make. Here are Joseph and William making roosters one Sunday afternoon:
Here’s little Andrew joining the big brothers at the school table.
In the kitchen…fresh apple pie. It’s Daxson’s favorite and since it’s our anniversary today, it just seems appropriate.
I am wearing…jean capris and a brown shirt. I finally got to ditch my glasses because I made it in to see the optometrist and am now wearing my new contact prescription.
I am creating…a mental list of things to do. Laundry is on there, of course.
I am reading…Stupid Things Parents Do To Mess Up Their Kids by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I can never get enough Dr. Laura.
I am listening…to Joseph and William, chatting away as they play outside.
I am pondering…A Legacy of Grace. Have you visited MomHeart yet? Please, please go visit. You’ll find so much inspiration there for your mothering journey.
One of my favorite things…spontaneous learning opportunities.
I am wondering…if you know that Signing Times is offering a free video on demand (and the opportunity to win an iPad 3). Please go visit now and take advantage of the free video…if your kids haven’t seen Signing Times yet, they are sure to fall in love with Rachel, Alex, and Leah. We’ve used Signing Times with all of our little ones and the benefits are enormous. Andrew is just starting to use a few signs and it’s exciting to see that he’s already able to communicate with us! Here’s Andrew at the Aquarium signing milk:
Here is a picture for thought I am sharing…
{this moment}
{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.
Daybook
Outside my window…it’s incredibly windy.
I am thankful…that our calendar for May is delightfully empty. No big commitments. No parties to plan or attend. A nice lull.
From the learning rooms…we are working on our new curriculum from WinterPromise. I know I haven’t blogged about U through Z yet for the Alphabet Path. I have so many wonderful pictures and memories to share, but I just don’t know if I’ll ever get around to it. We did finish the Alphabet Path, though, and we loved our adventure! Joseph keeps asking when it will be A week again.
In the kitchen…aside from a pitcher of sweet tea, I made nothing today. Alcapulco and Bill Miller’s BBQ did my job for me.
I am wearing…workout shorts (although I am obviously not working out right this moment) and a pink v-neck t-shirt.
I am creating…a calendar for the next school year, planning and re-planning and trying to fit in all my grand plans.
I am reading…Stupid Things Parents Do To Mess Up Their Kids by Dr. Laura Schlessinger. I can never get enough Dr. Laura.
I am listening…to the constant hum of the air conditioner. Seems like it never gets a break down here in the south.
I am pondering…Why the Kids Really Need a Little Red Hen Mama and all the wisdom within Ann’s thoughts. (If you haven’t visited Mom Heart yet, it’s totally worth your time to stop by and read some of the heartfelt, encouraging words you’ll find.)
One of my favorite things…Grandpa Gary and his buddies.
Here is a picture for thought I am sharing…
St. Patrick’s Day
Joseph reminded me, first thing this morning, that it was St. Patrick’s Day. Out came the green shirts and green socks (and the boys even found their green underwear!). I pinned on their St. Patrick’s Day patches that Grandma Cindy made and their outfits were complete. We made St. Patrick’s Day cinnamon rolls (cinnamon rolls with green shamrock sprinkles), read Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland (which served as a great reminder that “nothing is impossible with God”), and made shamrocks out of play-doh. What did you do to celebrate?
{this moment}
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from our 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.
T is for…
T is for…Thrift fairy and St. Therese. After reading Serendipity’s Flower Fairy story, Joseph and William colored pictures of the fairy. Joseph also did some copywork from the poem that is in the Flower Fairy book (which he did while listening to the Flower Fairy CD). Then we looked up the actual wildflower in our field guide. We read about Saint Therese in our Alphabet of Catholic Saints. Joseph did some copywork. We also used the picture from the book to practice the letter formation.
T is for…the letter T. We practiced letter formation using the Cuisenaire Rods Alphabet Book, Do A Dot, Gray Block paper, and Pin Punch letters. We listed as many words as we could that started with the beginning sound /t/ and then the boys got a little adventureous and decided to list words ending in /t/…excellent letter-sound practice for William.
T is for…tessellations. It just so happened that one of our RightStart lessons this week was about tessellations. So we made tessellations using squares and then rectangles. Joseph tried using octagons and found out that he couldn’t do it.
T is for…tracing. Joseph loves the Rod and Staff preschool workbooks. There are quite a few coloring pages in there, so he traced around the outside edge of the pictures and then colored them in.
T is for…trees. For art apprecation, we studied paintings of trees and then using their pastels, each child replicated a painting (William’s are the first two drawings; Joseph’s is clearly labeled as his). We also studied trees for science using Tell Me Tree and A Tree is a Plant. We then taped paper to the trees in our backyard and did bark rubbings.
T is for…Tell the Truth. We’re still using these great coloring pages and we’re including one each week along with a virtue story.
T is for….tye dye. We didn’t actually get to tye dye our shirts yet because Joseph and William want to wait for Grandma Cindy to arrive, but we did make it to Hobby Lobby to pick up the t-shirts (and a onesie for Roo!). While we were out, we also went to Target…just because it started with T.
T is for…trains and treehouse. Joseph is big into Thomas the Train right now, so this was a great week for him…such a great excuse to play with Thomas and all his trains. We also dug out the old Playmobil treehouse and played with it.
T is for…tangrams.
T is for…telling time. We practiced telling time again and again and again. And, of course, we could not practice time without Usborne’s Telling the Time book.
T is for…Tikki Tikki Tembo. This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid, so I introduced it to Joseph and William at the beginning of our week. It sparked their imaginations. They spent the rest of the week taking turns being Tikki Tikki Tembo and Chang and falling in the well (a pile of cushions on the couch). Then one of them would put a hat on and pretend to be the old man with the ladder. Lots of imagination!
T is for…tea! We made southern sweet tea to enjoy with lunch this week.
In our book baskets this week (I’m choosing one book from each basket to have Joseph do a narration and illustration of):
Science (trees): Tell Me Tree; A Tree is a Plant
History (Trail of Tears): The Trail of Tears
Favorite T Books: Tikki Tikki Tembo; There is a Bird on Your Head!; There Was a Crooked Man; Ten, Nine, Eight; Thy Friend, Obadiah; The Tiny Seed; There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly; Ten Apples Up On Top!; The Three Questions; The Tushy Book; Take Me Out to the Ball Game; Teammates; The True Story of the Three Little Pigs; Today is Monday; Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes; Time of Wonder; To Market, To Market; Twelve Hats for Lena
With Every Intention 