The Movie that Beats Even Chocolate Chip Pancakes

As you may know from my previous posts, on Friday Family Fun Nights we always sit in our den and eat dinner at our coffee table while watching a video... Sometimes we watch a short children's video, sometimes we attempt a fun Disney movie, we've even watched episodes of Andy Griffith. No matter what we watch, if we're eating chocolate chip pancakes, our kids are more focused on their pancakes than what is on television. Bill and I are always amazed by how many fairly large pancakes such young children can stuff into their small tummies. Tonight, however, we chose a movie that had them so mesmerized, it literally took the entire movie for Alex and Nathan to finish 2 pancakes (Amy did manage her 4 pancakes quite easily, though). For the first time with our kids, we watched The Wizard of Oz. What a classic! I love this movie and have been anxious to watch it with my kids. I've always been afraid that it would scare them, especially the scenes with the wicked witch and the flying monkeys. We took a chance tonight and let them watch it and they so enjoyed it! Nathan was a little afraid at times and would sit close to me or Bill, but his eyes did not leave the screen. Alex was especially excited by the talking scarecrow, tinman and lion; it was so cute to see him get into the movie. I have a feeling this is going to be a requested movie from now on!

Homeschooling Update

We've almost made it through our first week of homeschool. We've had a few challenges... Today, I woke up with a slight fever and was not feeling well. Alex was still coughing and sniffling a tad, so I gave him some Benodryl, as I had done yesterday... This is not a good combination for schooling. On both days I noticed the medicine had left Alex somewhat out of it, tired, and uninterested when we'd try to do our lessons. And of course, I too felt tired and not very enthusiastic. But we still managed to get through all of our book work and still did our "math" lesson yesterday after reading our book for Five in a Row. Bill made a Geo-Board so the kids could make shapes using colorful rubberbands. They have had so much fun with this! And they did actually make shapes with it, even though in the following pictures Alex was just having fun making lines (or a guitar, as I was later told)...





I'm feeling better tonight and overall we had a good day. Alex went to his speech therapy this morning, and I think it went well. However, I do worry that he was a tad confused when he saw the familiar faces of some of his former preschool classmates. I could tell he was glad to see them, but at the same time he was a little disoriented by the encounter. Hopefully it will get better with future appointments. Then this afternoon Alex had his first art lesson, taught in the home of a very sweet woman who is teaching them about various artists and their use of color. And despite my van being side-swiped by the mom of a fellow "artist", it was a wonderful experience!

The only thing I was disappointed in today was that we did not get to do the "science" lesson for our Five in a Row book. Since the book we are reading takes place during a big thunderstorm, we were going to put together an emergency survival kit should we ever be hit with a terrible storm. We were also going to read some great educational books that discuss thunder and lightning and clouds and have a discussion about what happens in a thunderstorm. But by the time we did our book work, went to his speech appointment, had lunch, and then went to his art class, we were all a little worn out and I could tell no more "work" was going to get accomplished. For those who are unfamiliar with how Five in a Row works, you read the same book 5 days in a row (though we are actually doing it only 4 days) and each day you study a different aspect of the book. They really encourage you to read the book each day. I was worried, however, that my boys were getting tired of hearing this particular story, what with it being almost entirely a conversation between two characters and somewhat lengthy. And so today, since everyone was pretty exhausted (especially me), I thought we'd simply read some fun books on clouds (de Paola's The Cloud Book and Troiano's It's Your Cloud), no discussion. Well, to my surprise as we sat down to read the other books, I was greeted with disappointment. Both boys informed me that they wanted to read Storm in the Night. I was so excited by their enthusiasm to hear it for the fourth time in a row. And even Nathan can remember the name of the book AND the author of the book. I'm amazed by what they remember from reading it each day and the things they've learned by the repetition of reading the same book everyday. They've even shown a big interest in the other Five in a Row books we'll be reading. I had been worried how my kids would do with Five in a Row because they've never been big on books... Obviously I had nothing to worry about. What a great program!

Day 2 In the Works

Today - day 2 of our kindergarten homeschool - has been much easier; It's been a little more chaotic, but more enjoyable for all. We started out slowly because we had initially planned to go up to the church for a few hours this morning so I could help in preparations for Fall Mission Friends, our preschool program that teaches children about missionaries. But the cold that we have all shared since Amy came down with it at the homeschool conference made me rethink our plans. Amy and Nathan are mostly coughing at this point, but this morning Alex was runny-nosed and complaining of a sore throat. I decided not to share that with all the other kids in the church childcare. So we had a leisure morning watching Scooby Doo and playing until about 10:30, at which time we did only 4 total pages of workbook exercises and then followed up with some flash cards. We took another play break and had lunch. Then a little while ago I set up the counting bears into groups ranging from 1 to 10 bears. Then I gave Alex numbered index cards and he went around and matched the index cards to the correct number of bears (thanks for the idea, Celeste!). He had a great time doing this and only got two swapped - and it was only a counting error, not a number identification error. And then I had him group them by size, and he had fun with that, too. I was so proud of him! Nathan and Amy had fun playing with the bears, as well, and now they are all in the other room pretending and making bear families. In just a few minutes, we will read our FIAR story again and do our languauge arts lesson. Then I promised to play a game.

I think today is a better representation of how I want our homeschool day to go. I don't want it to be rigidly structured and packed with workbook exercises. Yesterday, Alex told me he thought homeschooling was going to be fun, but it wasn't. And when his daddy came home and asked him what he learned, he said, "Nothing." He did remember that we read a story about a storm... It was disappointing to see that kind of response after our first day of homeschooling. But it was also a sign to me that I needed to make some changes. Today, though not a typical day with it starting out in illness, still focused more on having fun while learning. Alex amazed me as we went through the number flash cards and he identified all of them correctly.

Thank you, Celeste. Our evening of coffee and homeschool discussion was inspiring and so uplifting. You are a dear friend and I am forever grateful for your friendship and support. Let's keep those encouraging coffee nights coming! :)

Another First

Not only is this the first official day of homeschool, but it also marks the first time Amy used the potty!!! Yes, this morning she woke up with her diaper dry, the norm now for quite some time, actually. So I asked her if she'd like to go use the potty. She said yes, and after only a minute of sitting there, she successfully went. I was so proud of her! I guess I need to go buy her some pull ups so she can use it when she wants to (she does ask from time to time). Good job, Amy!!!

One Down, Many More to Go!

But that just means all the more fun! I do have to say that today was a learning experience... mostly for me! I thought we would focus on a couple of workbooks for review: Step Ahead's Numbers 1 to 10 and Alphabet Skills. I planned out the numbers book for only a week, thinking we could easily get through the 32 page book since it was mostly review. Then we'd spend 2 weeks on the alphabet book because it was a bit longer, though we'd still do about 6 to 8 pages a day as review. But I realized today that it takes WAY too long to do that many pages because it really isn't just review. It's been awhile since preschool, and I don't think Alex really ever had his numbers and letters completely down pat. In fact, I'd say we still have quite a bit of work to do.

Since it took so long to get through the workbook exercises, Alex was already tired (we struggled through those last couple of workbook pages!) and as a result, our Five in a Row lesson didn't go as well as it should have. I think the kids enjoyed the book. We read Storm in the Night by Mary Stolz. It was the attempt at discussing the book that we had difficulty with. Alex kept asking if we were going to do a project (which is what, thanks to a misunderstanding back when we did a little at-home preschool lessons, he thinks homeschool is all about). We did finally move on to drawing storm pictures with chalk onto black construction paper. Everyone had fun doing this - and making quite the chalky mess in the kitchen!

Of course, even though we are done with our lessons, Alex is back at drawing and cutting out, his favorite thing to do. We'll have lunch here in a little bit and then we'll play a game. And I might try to do some flash cards later on to help Alex with his numbers and letters. I would also like to read them a story from the Bible, something I had originally thought we would do as part of our Five in a Row lesson, but again, I've learned that too much is too much. We may need to break after we finish the lesson using our FIAR book and then have a related Bible lesson later in the day.

I'm thankful that homeschooling is so forgiving. I feel like with each day, it will get better and better and once we get our schedule to work for us, then we'll really be able to enjoy the whole experience. It's just hammering out the structure of our daily lessons that might take a little time. But we'll get there!





On a side note, I am proud of our nifty map for our FIAR geography lessons. There are numbered labels for each of the stories we will be reading. The kids then attach them to the map to show where the story takes place. The book recommends you attach the provided story disks, but our map is not large enough, so I just used the story disks as a key for our number labels. We have a "Land of Make Believe" spot on the map for stories taking place in made up places. I think the kids will have fun with this little introduction to geography... Just as long as I can keep Amy from running off with all our number labels!

Today's The Day!

Here we are! The kids are not up yet and all is quiet except for the sound of my typing and the dryer working hard in the background. But soon things will get hopping. There will be children to be dressed and fed and finally - schooled!!! I can't believe we start today. I've been planning for it all summer and now that it's here - I'm not so sure I'm ready! But our lesson is planned and our workbooks are at the ready. I think there will always be that feeling that I should have prepared more. But I do think we're ready. I think Alex will be excited to start this morning and I can't wait to see how it all goes. I pray to God for patience above all things, but also for the ability to keep on track while still keeping it FUN for everybody! I've had many doubts about my ability to teach Alex this year - today I'm ready to prove that I can do it! Wish me luck (and a prayer or two wouldn't hurt :) )!

THSC Conference

Celeste asked me to post my experience with the THSC homeschool conference. I could keep it short and sweet and just say incredible! But I can't ever keep anything short, so here are all the details. Yes, my crazy family followed those nutty people from across the street all the way to the conference. :) And it was a good thing we were following because my family is notorious for getting lost - at least when I'm navigating. And after dropping us off, poor Bill had to rely on Brian's leadership because I left him with no information whatsoever; I hadn't printed off maps, information on the hotel, or even anything about the conference to leave him with. Talk about unprepared! But the guys found where to park our vans and then did a superb job entertaining the kids while Celeste and I heard a wonderful talk and enjoyed shopping the many vendors at the conference. The whole day was so much fun and the kids, who I think were really worn out, gave me no trouble whatsoever when bedtime came. I will say that there was a bit of disappointment that Celeste did not mention in her post. Amy woke up sick on Saturday morning and our two families had to go their separate ways without getting to enjoy another day together at the conference. The kids were a little confused when we told them that we would have to leave the door to our adjoining hotel rooms closed and even more disappointed when we told them we would not be spending the day with our friends. But Bill and I were still able to salvage more shopping (each going separately while the other stayed in the room with the kiddos) before leaving the conference all-together. I also got to run into that before mentioned bookstore and we had a nice lunch before heading back home. Even with Amy getting sick, it was still such a fun trip and I cannot wait to do it again next year!!!

Here are some of the great items we purchased at the conference: I completed my collection of the Little House books, found Madeline for our Five in a Row work this year, bought several Look Inside Machine and science factory books, picked up a fun Usborne puzzle book and a new game and I bought a few miscellaneous items from the Miller Pads and Paper vendor. There may even be a few more items but I can't recall right now! Homeschool shopping is so much fun!!!

What Music Energizes You?

We will be starting our kindergarten lessons next week. I'm both excited and scared out of my mind. But I think it will go well and after a summer of dreading this moment, I think I'm actually looking forward to it. One of the things I'm considering doing to get us started in the morning is a quick little exercise session. You know... simple little exercises like jumping jacks and toe touches - that stuff we did when we were young. Did I just say that? I meant younger. :) I only want to do about 10 minutes or so of it, just to wake us up and get us going. So... Here's where I need your help. We need some fun music to motivate us. We have the Hi-5 CD that no doubt will be fun to use. But since we'll be doing this daily for the duration of our homeschooling (unless none of us like it or we tire of it), I want a little variation. Any suggestions?!?

More on Greyfriars Bobby - An Unlikely Discovery

Okay - I promise to post on more interesting topics soon, but...

Having never even heard of the story of Greyfriars Bobby, I thought it too funny that after finding the Walt Disney video about it and following up with a post (see below) to share with others about the wonderful movie, I happen upon this book by British author Richard Brassey last weekend. What's especially interesting is that I found it on the other side of town at a small used bookstore that Bill and I mistook for a Half-Price Books. We were looking for a place to eat lunch after attending a homeschool conference when we thought we spotted our favorite chain of bookstores across the highway. We had quite the difficult time getting to it - lots of turning around after missing the exit or ending up in the wrong shopping strip. But we finally made it there only to find it was not a Half-Price afterall. Bill almost drove away and I insisted that we check it out anyway. Not minutes into my searching of the Children's Picture Book section did I spot that Greyfriars Bobby book, and the sticker on the back tells me that it was originally bought at a souvenir shop in Scotland. What a coincidence that I should come across it. It's not really what I would call a great children's book... I wouldn't even call it a good children's book, though perhaps a fun read. It actually mentions the book written by American author Eleanor Atkinson and the Disney movie that was based on it - very negatively. But even so, it does shed some light on the true story and I'm still proud to have found it as an interesting addition to our collection.

What a Gem!

Growing up, my family would often rent Disney movies for us to all watch together. I loved everything I ever saw and was somewhat disappointed when it seemed we'd finally viewed all of the Disney movies from our local video store. Of course, over time I've realized they only carried a small portion of the many Disney movies made. And here I thought I'd seen them all!

Today I found one at our local library that I'd never seen. I checked it out thinking it would be good for the whole family to watch together on our family fun night. Well, shortly into the film Bill and I both noticed that it was not holding our children's attention, possibly because the strong Scottish accents were hard to decipher, and the seriousness of the movie wasn't enough to keep them captivated. So we opted for the Winnie-the-Pooh DVD I'd checked out instead, and it received a much better response. But once all were in bed, Bill and I popped that little Disney classic back in the player and were mesmerized by this truly lovely, make-you-cry story. It's based on a true story and if ever I get to Edinburgh, Scotland (hey, it could happen), I will absolutely have to check out this beautiful monument to this amazing dog. If you haven't seen Disney's Greyfriars Bobby, you really need to!

Maybe He Should Do It

I think most parents can agree that one of the things we look least forward to in raising our children is the potty-training. I'm referring to the challenge of it, not the actual fruits of our labors - certainly no longer changing diapers is a blessing.

This morning, Nathan and Alex were creating with paper and crayons. Alex was making more books, and Nathan... Nathan made a potty for Amy. Yes, that is not a typo. Using scissors and paper, he made her a potty seat. And this afternoon, he was explaining to her how to use it. I did have to step in and stop him from actually helping her pull her pants down so she could try it out. But hey - maybe I should just let him teach her. Is 21 months old too young to learn? When it comes to Amy, I'm starting to think it's not. But maybe a 3-1/2 year old who still has the occasional accident isn't the right person to do the teaching...

Enjoyment is...

experiencing hugs and squeals of delight when you answer yes to your children's after dinner request for dessert (popsicles or ice cream, their choice).

listening to your oldest son's animated description of the "book" he made all about Batman.

swapping baby girl's bedtime routine for boys' routine with husband and getting to hear the Batman story one more time before kissing those sweet, energetic boys good night.

almost suffocating from the close, tight hugs delivered by one very awake little girl, who is up way past her bedtime.

taking a quiet, hot shower while dear husband continues in his attempt to get baby girl to fall asleep.

having damp head of hair caressed after rejoining husband and one very awake little girl in bed(note to self: baby girl gives a great head massage).

relaxing in a finally quiet house at almost 11pm and thinking about my day with those precious little blessings, each dreaming happily upstairs.

Enjoyment is what I receive everyday when I take the time to experience God's love through Alex, Nathan and Amy.