Day One Hundred and Twenty

Today we learned a bit about the Pop Art movement and Aidan did a Andy Warhol-esque project. We also took this photo. Love the Macintosh.

Dominic painted me a sunset.

Simeon used his three favorite colors and glitter to create a masterpiece (the colors are pink, purple, and yellow).

The mess of painting is worth it when I see them all around the table, brushes dipping into the colors that they choose and hear them chattering and laughing.

Art, we love you.

Cheers to Friday!

Day One Hundred and Nineteen

Today was one of those days in which I find it nearly impossible to choose just one photo. But, that's part of the point in this blog for me. I can only have one. I have to make a choice. So, this is it.

It was a good day. In fact, a great day. It started out cold and foggy, but the afternoon was filled with this glorious sunshine that spoke comfort to my soul. Dominic was grouchy and dragging his feet about going on our planned geology field trip in the afternoon. I even decided to add a little stop on the way at our favorite Corvallis candy store, Burst's Candies. Even that didn't soothe him...until we got there. The boys each got one dollar to spend...which ended up to be way more candy than I had anticipated. Then, on our drive, Dominic started complaining again about how he wanted to go home. I took away his candy and tried to keep my cheery attitude.

After the sugar stop, we headed out to Coffin Butte near Adair Village. We had some learning and investigating to do there. And what a day to do it! Most people think of the landfill when they think about Coffin Butte, but if you're a geologist (or if you know one who guides you in the right direction), you know about a rock face that's just to the north of the landfill. Here, you can see layers of pillow basalt and turbidites (a sandstone/mudstone mixture), and you can (if you have a geologist who has guided you and told you a bit of the story), tell your kids about how this rock came from the sea floor. Say what? Yes...that's right.

I'll go back. I run usually twice a week with a man named Roy Haggerty. He's a great guy (and very, very smart) and offered to guide me and the boys through some more in-depth studies about rocks. His specialty is water, but he knows a little bit about rocks and minerals. Okay, compared to me, he's a walking encyclopedia of science. But I digress. He told me the story of this particular rock face, pointed out some things to look for, and helped me help my boys understand a bit more about it.

We spent almost three hours there. Three hours of rocks, dirt, grass, bark, mud, wildlife and sunshine. Aidan deemed it our "new spot" and is planning our next family outing there. They climbed up the rocks, threw them, pounded them into powder, scraped them, created landslides, slid down them, got a few bruises, licked them (Simeon), and overall we just had a rockin' time. Oh yes, I did.

It was a success and the hesitant Dominic who never wants to admit defeat said, "Thank you for bringing us here. I didn't think it was going to be fun, but it WAS fun!" We ended the time with a little game of shadow tag.

But it gets better! After the said field/rock face trip, we got to meet Dr. Haggerty on the OSU campus and he led us through the Geology building, let the boys in the lab, showed them lots of cool rocks and minerals, gave them very, very old rock salt (more things to lick) and taught them about the movement of the earth's plates, mountains, earthquakes, Oregon history, the ice age, volcanoes....we touched on a lot. The Yoders joined us, which was very fun.

Cheers to getting out and learning!

Day One Hundred and Eighteen

Dominic decided that he wanted to write numbers today. Just...did it.

That's how it goes with this kid.

Day One Hundred and Seventeen

Today everyone woke up early. SO...we started school early and were done around 1:00. The sun was glorious (again) and we took full advantage of it by playing, cleaning up the garden, finding ladybugs and other crawly things, turning the compost, marveling at the greenness of the moss, raking leaves that should have been raked last fall, cleaning out the bird bath, riding bikes, and finding tender shoots of new plants and weeds breaking their way through the ground...it was great.

It's moments like these, or rather the strings of moments in one beautiful afternoon that make me glad that I'm homeschooling. We have the freedom to play outside for the entire afternoon...and though I keep an eye on the state standards, we do, in fact, have our own.

Cheers to freedom and sunshine!

And here's poem by the inimitable Robert Bruce. Thanks again, friend. You may not be rich and famous, but your work means a lot to me.

TOMORROW

You can talk all you want
about what you'll do tomorrow
next week
next year but it matters very little

because tomorrow
and next week
and next year
are not yours
to have

You can talk all you want
about where you'll be tomorrow
next week
next year
but you'd be an arrogant liar

because tomorrow
and next week
and next year
are not yours
to plan

You do not see your life
as the vapor that it is
how it curls up
and away from the
black coffee
on your table
dissipating
faster than it
appeared

Today
is all you've been given
to do
what you must do

Tomorrow
and next week
and next year
are all dressed up
with
nowhere
to
go

Day One Hundred and Sixteen

It was a glorious Saturday. I went for a run in the morning, JJ went for a run in the morning, and then we all took a walk together in the sunshine. It was much needed since the sun had been hiding for so long.

A side note...my husband is now training for the inaugural Corvallis half-marathon and he ran over 8 miles today. I'm very proud of him.

Cheers to sunshine and new goals!

Day One Hundred and Fifteen

Today we took a trip to OMSI in Portland. We spent four hours there exploring, learning, and enjoying time together. Aidan is getting to the age where he's more interested in the "whys" of the exhibits, which is fun. They always love the ball room and the current exhibit is about genetics and personalities. Very cool.

The point of the game above is to land the airplane on the strip. The wire that the plane slides down leads back about 15 feet to a post. The plane attaches to the top of the post with a magnet. SO...you release the magnet by pulling on the plane controller. You have to move it up or down at the right speed and time to get the plane to land on the designated strip. Dominic decided it would be more of a challenge if you also had to avoid hitting the stuffed dog before you landed. This was the source of much laughter and excitement and we spent a lot of time here. Thus, it wins the favorite photo award.

Day One Hundred and Fourteen

Ever have one of these days? I asked Simeon to put on his pajamas (tonight that meant a "Papa shirt") and he came out saying, "I can't get in OR out of this shirt!"

Day One Hundred and Thirteen

This is some of what Dominic was up to while I was working with Aidan on his math lesson. He loves, absolutely loves the Kumon skills books. These paper animals are from the "Cutting" book. And of course, the substance that many parents have a love/hate relationship with...Play-Doh. He stayed at the table for over an hour working on making food for his animals, snow men, trees, and other things.

Day One Hundred and Twelve

Today we finally started our study of rocks and minerals. Aidan was beyond excited. I bought a rock and mineral study kit with specimens from Home Science Tools. I recommend this website for some affordable additions to your science curriculum. We learned about density and saw it in action as I placed my pumice stone in a bowl of water and amazed the boys. "A rock floats?!" We handled and studied small pieces of obsidian, granite, sandstone, and others and learned words that are fun to hear a three year-old say.

Aidan: "Simeon, say 'igneus'."
Simeon: "Igmeus."
Older boys: "Bwa ha ha ha!"
Aidan: "Simeon, say 'sedimentary'."
Simeon: "Spedime...shu..we?"

Laughter and learning really do go hand in hand.

A friend of mine who is a professor at OSU is going to give us a tour of the Geosciences building next week and take us into their labs. He probably knows just about everything there is to know about rocks and rock formation, so it should be fun! Plus, he likes kids.

Day One Hundred and Eleven

‎"You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Today we all put on the "one size fits all" medical exam gloves and spent a few hours walking the river path downtown. Well, we weren't only walking...we were also filling up a garbage sack with trash. It was pouring down rain when we left home, but we came prepared. However, as we pulled into our parking spot, the sun came out in glorious fashion and shone down on us the entire time.

I'm thankful for everyday graces such as that.

Doing something like this is such a sweet time with the kids. I don't take it for granted and pray for many more opportunities to serve alongside them.

Day One Hundred and Ten

The only day we wear white collars is on Sunday. And even then, they end up brown.

Day One Hundred and Nine

The end of a school week. Some weeks are longer and harder than others. This was all in all...pretty good. I feel the need for a bit tighter schedule, so I've been working on tweaking the schedule we have. And as is always the case with homeschooling (and perhaps teaching in a classroom with thirty students as well), just when you have it all figured out, something forces you to change it up again.

The picture above is Aidan working on his penmanship. If he proves to me that he can continue to write neatly with printing, we get to start cursive handwriting next month!

Cheers to change!

Day One Hundred and Eight

The preschooler-wizard.

He loves this hat, which actually belongs to Dominic. Today he wore it for almost the entire day.

Now, it's time for a little Simeon update. I believe I am actually the mother to one of those mythical creatures who potty-train themselves. I haven't changed a poopy diaper for over a week. And I haven't washed one either! The freedom I'm feeling right now...it's great.

He is really enjoying wearing his "big boy underwear" and loves to hear his older brothers praise him for it.

On another note, he's been enjoying listening along with Aidan and Dominic while we read our way through the Little House Series. His favorite part is when Pa calls Laura "flutterbudget". Every time he hears this, he giggles and says, "Fwutterbudget!"

Honestly, though I feel a sense of newfound freedom, I also have a tinge of sadness as my baby is no longer a baby.

Time for a little sister?

Day One Hundred and Seven

Dominic is really enjoying his new math work. We decided to start him with the Singapore Kindergarten Math after the new year. He's really enjoying it and I'm smiling as he learns. And of course, he surprises me daily with what he already knows.

I'm learning how this child sees things.

Why would we always want to count with the same math manipulatives? Oranges, apples, spinach and eggs are way more appealing. He gets bored with the same routine, so I'm trying to find ways to keep him engaged. Aidan loved this too, but he didn't need it as much. Dominic seems to thrive when I throw him curveballs...often.

Day One Hundred and Six

Enough said.

Day One Hundred and Five

See the OTHER BLOG.

Happy Birthday to me.

Day One Hundred and Four

What a lovely day. It started with a 15-mile run in the woods with friends, followed by a lunch date with my sisters and mom to celebrate my birthday (a day early). The Yoders came for dinner and afterwards we put the kids to bed and had a rousing conversation.

The day ended with ice cream and then a nice warm bed.

Life is good.

Day one Hundred and Three

Today was our homeschool play day with our group. We try to meet the first Friday of every month.

There are lots of boys.

While the boys did a lot of this (while I cringed), the moms had a chance to talk. I'm so thankful for this group.

Cheers to Friday!

Day One Hundred and Two

This is just something that Aidan does with his legs when he's at his desk.

I love it because I used to do the same thing (and still do.)

Day One Hundred and One

This week we started a chicken-sitting job for some friends while they travelled back east. The boys are floored and it makes me so anxious to get chickens of our own (hopefully this spring!) Aidan is in charge of scooping out the poop and dirty straw from the laying boxes. He's a champ at it already and feels so responsible. He listened very carefully to the directions. Dominic and Simeon both got into the chicken run and fed them their snacks of oats and lettuce and helped fill the chicken feeders. A perk of the job is that we get to keep all the eggs! Yesterday we brought home eleven and today we had six. It's a fun project and we're learning a lot.

I feel some quiche will be written into the meal plan in the near future.

Day One Hundred

Today didn't go quite as smoothly as Monday, but it was still a good day. We got a new bird-feeder. The boys spent their lunch time sitting just like this.

Day Ninety-Nine

School started with a bang today. The kids were eager after a long break. Over the Christmas vacation, I worked a bit on finding some new things for Dominic to work on. We ordered a few Kumon Skills Books so he can work on some of the following things:

1. Sitting still.
2. Staying focused on a task for more than 2 minutes
3. Fine motor skills.
4. Patience.

I can't say enough good things about these books. We got a book of mazes (pencil control), tracing (he works on making lines as he would when writing), and a book of cutting (he loves this as some of them involve creations that he can keep. The picture is of a set of combs. Not exciting to me. VERY exciting to Dominic. He also cut out a train. All of the books are colorful and exciting and we can do one page or a few pages (if he wants to). The pictures are very nice and he giggles at some of them.

In addition, we started doing math together. Day one was a success.

The other thing I'm focusing on more is spending alone time with each of the boys every day. I started out well at the beginning of the year, but I let things slide.

Oh, and one more thing. If you happen to have a jealous older brother who wants his own mazes (or just a kid who needs something new to do), this is a GREAT site for free printable mazes of varying difficulty. I'll probably just use this site in the future, rather than buying a book of mazes.

MAZES HERE!

Cheers to switching it up!

Day Ninety-Eight

I stayed home from church with the two younger boys. We ate lots of popsicles. Popsicles make sick kids feel better...at least temporarily.

The rest of the day flew by.

And tomorrow...it's back to school! We've had a long break and I'm hoping that's a good thing.

Day Ninety-Seven

New Year's Day.

Ugh.

I spent the night in my bed with a feverish five-year old. I cared for him in any way that I could. I didn't sleep much, but I was glad to be the one who was there for Dominic, the one who was caring for his every need, putting cold rags on his burning forehead, making tea at 3:00 in the morning, and rubbing Vapo-rub on his chest at 4:15. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

The whole family slept in a bit after a long night. JJ spent his night on the couch...by the fire...without interruption. I'm not jealous. Nope. Okay...a little bit.

Morning came and the sun to wake us up. I rose and remembered that it was New Year's Day and Aidan and I had a little race to run. We both ate a piece of toast, had a bit to drink, and drove to Avery Park in Corvallis to join a rather large group of runners to run a 5K.

Aidan and I ran with another family. We walked when we need to. We finished together in 34:43. He said he had a great time running his longest race yet.

Cheers to a new year and a big pot of coffee!