Primary activity day
We donated materials and assembled hundreds of school kits.
Timothy is good lookin’!
Good Night, Sweet Prince (Hamlet, 5.2)
This was our last meeting of the Sonoran Shakespeare Players yesterday. We finished our reading of Hamlet. We had fun!
Celebration ensued when it was over. We posed for lots of dramatic shots. Here is King Claudius and Queen Gertrude.
Oh, the drama of it all. Kids dying all over the floor. Yes, only the queen was poisoned by goblet, but Daniel thought he’d try the drink, too.
Hamlet and Laertes battle it out with one sword-a-poisoned.
King Claudius is killed by Hamlet.
Well done, kids. I think you’ll remember this day.
We read from the Shakespeare Can Be Fun series, Hamlet for Kids by Lois Burdett.
You can see our other Hamlet days here and here, and read about Hamlet for Kids here.
Remember these?
I hope we made enough for Pack Meeting.
For Ms. Fascination/Repulsion
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VM6uqj0_jQc
This video is hilarious because it’s true about the reactions people have to us and the mythology about our lifestyle.
A friend told me she has a fascination-repulsion complex about homeschooling. Is it a compliment to my ego strength that someone would be so honest with me? She asked me to share what a day of homeschooling life looks like. Before I go on, I need to say that socially, I feel fascination/repulsion from people almost every day. I am aware that homeschooling makes most people feel uncomfortable. Perhaps through this honest post, you will see that while my life is not ideal, I LOVE what I do each day. So, sorry for a tedious post, but I’m doing this for a friend (or two):
Here is a day in the life of a homeschooling family
Paige (8th grade), Daniel (5th grade), Timothy (1st grade), Mark, age 3
6:30-7:45: We wake up and try to get ready. Paige has a first-day-after-braces hangover and we take longer at breakfast than usual. Paige and I make waffles and we wait for Paige to gingerly chew them. I throw some laundry in the machine.
7:50-8:10: Family scripture study. We read aloud, then we say the pledge. No time for singing this morning. We’re late!
8:15-9:15: I have a planning conference with Daniel to plan out his day. I made lists of assignments in their planners last night. Daniel chooses to do history first. He tries to read the chapter to Timothy, who is also studying ancient history, but Timothy is uncooperative. Tim wants history with me. I can’t do it now, so I set him to work with his calendar and then copywork. Meanwhile, Paige starts on algebra. Once Daniel finishes reading his chapter, I give him some oral review questions on history and then narrate a summary of the chapter for him to write in his history notebook. I teach Paige a 10 minute math lesson about absolute value and then she continues her lesson. I finally coax Mark to get dressed and I change his messy diaper. Daniel writes a journal entry. Timothy goes to his room for a Lego break.
9:15-10:00: Daniel practices piano. I fold some laundry (just a little… I try not to do housework during school). I help Paige review her chapter about the lymphatic system. Timothy and Mark play together. Daniel is very upset by his new piano piece so I take a break from science and play along with him on the piano. Pretty soon I won’t be able to help him at all in piano because he’s getting so good.
10:00-10:30: Paige and I finish our science review. Mark joins us and plays with stickers while Timothy finishes his copywork and Daniel reads the scriptures and takes a recess. Paige and Mark watch science videos on a CD rom. They watch lymphocytes in action and blood flow and I’m amazed at the technology that allows us to see inside the human body. Meanwhile, Timothy plays a math game on the Leapster. (I cringe a little over this. It’s still just a computer game, no matter how many numbers and things they throw in.)
10:30-11:30: Paige practices piano. Mark talks to me in the school room. That boy likes to talk. Daniel reads for an hour. I haven’t assigned him a book yet, so he gets to choose the book today. It’s a Hardy Boys morning. Timothy reads to me from a Curious George book on the couch. I never get tired of Curious George. I teach Timothy a math lesson. Mark wants a math lesson, so Paige takes him out of the school room and counts with him in his own math book. Paige begins her history chapter and summary on her own. Mark plays with tangrams while Timothy finishes his math assignmnent. We pull out the gummy candies to keep the little guys happy. Daniel tells me he can’t read the clock from far away. Well, that’s good to know. There’s another appointment we need to make.
11:30-12:00: Daniel works on math in the school room while Paige works on a history essay in her quiet bedroom about the unfortunate rise of Hitler in Germany. Timothy and Mark head outside. I indulge and look at the computer. More friends bragging announcing on Facebook about all the canning/food preservation they have accomplished. Guilt. Denial. Ok, I’m fine now, and acknowledge that I, too enjoy the affirmation that comes from writing about one’s day on the internet. We didn’t finish school by noon as planned, but that’s ok. There are 5 more hours after lunch before we have to be anywhere.
12:00-1:00: Lunch. We always take an hour for lunch. It’s essential to my happiness. While waiting for pasta to cook, the kids watch a DVD and sort through coins from my bank. If you have coins from a foreign country, Daniel is a collector. We eat, then do the breakfast and lunch dishes.
1:00-2:00: Daniel finishes math and spelling. Paige works on Writing Strands. I read to Timothy from history, his final (and favorite) subject. Mark watches Curious George. I update the homeschool club list.
2:00-3:00: I put Mark down for a nap. Paige finishes writing, does a German lesson on the computer and studies her spelling words. Daniel is finished with school, so Timothy and Daniel begin their free time. 4-5 hours of free time is what I try to give my children each day. It’s not possible for Paige to have this much, though.
3:00-4:00: Paige reads. Timothy uses his 15 minutes of computer time on Lego.com. Daniel and Timothy keep playing together. Mark sleeps. I correct math problems and read.
4:00-5:30: Paige and I paint with oils. Mark and Timothy join us for a little while. Daniel works on his animated computer programming. Dad comes home.
It’s 5:45 now and I’m going to post this. Basically, this is what we have planned tonight:
6:00-7:30: Paige goes to ballet. We have a friend come over. Our other friends were sick or too busy to play today. I make dinner.
7:30-8:30: We get the kids ready for bed.
9:00-10:00: I make lists for tomorrow and read.
Things to remember:
1. I worked into this schedule gradually, one child at a time. I built my curriculum and goals over time. I’m always trying to improve.
2. I believe in providing a religious education, teaching many subjects, working together, providing opportunities to pursue interests and talents, and allowing lots of unstructured play time.
3. I limit t.v. and computer time.
4. To me, parenting and teaching and family life are hard to distinguish from one another. They all blend together in my days.
So, we started school
I don’t share everything on this blog. It’s just what comes to mind when I sit down at the computer. I realized I didn’t mention a pretty major development in our lives. We started school last Monday. Yes, Mr/Ms. Reader, we did. I teach 8th grade, 5th grade, and 1st grade. I like all these grades and love all of my students. Here’s a list of some of the things we did during this school week:
- Studied archaeology, made pictures and diagrams and wrote summaries.
- Studied the Great Depression using The Story of the World and Learning Through History Magazine. Wrote essays about the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Sat up late at night talking about stock market and the Great Depression. If you ever need a good source for the Great Depression, check out the book, When the Banks Closed, We Opened Our Hearts, published by Readers Digest. It’s full of personal accounts of people’s lives as they lived through these years. It’s an uplifting book, reminding us that hard times can bring out the best in people.
- Worked problems in Algebra 1, Math 65 (Saxon), and Singapore Math grade 1.
- Worked on Vocabulary studies with Wordly Wise and Spelling studies through Spelling Workout books. No grammar this week; we can look forward to that next week :).
- Attended piano lessons. Paige had 3, Daniel had 2.
Attended an art lesson about Picasso. Learned about his life and styles from a guest artist.- Read for hours and hours.
- Opened up Rosetta Stone German lessons and moved through the first section of lessons at lightning speed.
- Studied astronomy and the endocrine system, each a marvel. We use Apologia science textbooks, but skip some parts in them.
- Had to postpone our Hamlet reading, but we will finish next week.
- Wrote the classic essays, “What I did on my summer vacation” because I wish even ONE of my teachers had asked me to do this when I was young.
Created Picasso-style paintings and drawings in art class and at home.- Painted with oils at home. I painted, too. Someday we’ll share our paintings. Paige painted the Mesa Temple; I painted a robin near a nest. I still need to paint in the babies. Paige has some more work, too.
Played with playdough. We made igloos, cookies, cinnamon rolls, and other amazing things.- Played with friends in the afternoons after school. I don’t like to mix friends with most school subjects…too much social pressure when you’re trying to think.
- Attended ballet lessons (3).
- Copied lots of things for handwriting practice.
# of teachers: 5
# of students: 3
Now, this is a great student-to-teacher ratio.
Mourning and Peace
My heart aches for my neighbor. Her mother passed away this morning. Richard and I visited the hospice facility last night. What a very peaceful place. We were grateful and honored to be included at this very sacred family time. I sat up late last night, thinking. I wrote a poem. I won’t share it here, but in the writing of it, I felt peace, thinking about eternal things like family, faith, and life…not the mortal life we all struggle through, but the life that defines who we are, whose parent is our Creator. The something within us that never dies, but continues on after our bodies fail. I also felt more gratitude for the Savior’s victory over death so all of us can be whole again. And dear neighbor, I know we can be together with our loved ones again.
Our Father in Heaven is a personal God, who attends to the needs of each of us. In ways deep and also minute, he comprehends our pain and knows how to make it all better. He sends us family and friends in whom we can find comfort. He sends his Spirit to be with us, to comfort, guide, protect, and teach us. He sent his Son to eliminate the finality of death and the chains that sin would bring.
I love these words, spoken about those who dwell with God. Notice who personally comforts them.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” – Revelation 21:4
Teenage Paige
We love celebrations around here. Today we celebrated Paige. If you asked me if I’d like something sentimental and even a little unnecessary, my answer would be, “Yes, and make it a double.” I made a fabric garland with an embroidered “Happy B-Day” for the annual birthday decorating-of-the-door. This hour-long project fulfilled a temporary whim to have a magazine life. You know, the kind of life with handmade fabric garlands and children dressed in white? My children don’t own much white, so that just left the fabric garland to make all my dreams and hopefully Paige’s dreams come true. (Check!)
The boys and I treated Paige to a day of pampering: new nail polish, her own make-up kit, a trip to the hair salon and a trip to the mall for some new clothes. The boys entertained themselves on the escalators and with the really high number of rubber bands on the floor of Old Navy. We came, she tried things on, we conquered. Paige looks great.
After dinner, we ate raspberry filled birthday cake with fresh raspberries atop.
Most of all, we were together and happy and glad to have our Paige. Are you ready to see the Teenage Paige?
Ta da!
Prima Ballerina
This is Paige at age 5 posing with the ballerinas from the Nutcracker Ballet in 2001.
Paige danced around the house from the time she could walk. We took Paige at age 5 to the Nutcracker wearing a dress as close to a tutu as we could create. She sat quietly through the show, enchanted by the beautiful dancing. At one point she leaned over to me and said, “I love the ballet so much, I just want to go up on stage and dance with them!”
Paige didn’t like to leave my side when she was young. I worried about that a little when I decided to sign her up for ballet lessons, beginning on her 6th birthday. She still talks about that first day of ballet like it was the day her life began.
Anyone who has seen her dance knows that she has a special gift.
Tonight Paige learned that she has been chosen for the second year in a row to dance the lead role in Oh Holy Night. What I thought was a once in a lifetime experience for her (and for me, too) will be repeated. This time I’ll bring my tissues. I’m sure I’ll need them.
Sparks
Grandpa had lots of hugs and smiles.
Grandma made us lunch and told us all the news from Susan, who is now able to have chemotherapy and has been moved to a care facility.
Grandma took us to Scheels and we rode their indoor Ferris wheel. I’m clinging to Timothy for dear life in the yellow seat at the top. Daniel and Paige are in the red seat.
Jeanne entertained us with ping pong, croquet, and blackberry picking.
We waved our dish towels and said good-bye to two of the greatest grandparents ever. We would have taken Grandpa with us, but Mark was worried that Grandma would be lonely.
Grandma Ruth
We visited Grandma Ruth on the next stop on our trip. She made us a strawberry pie and served us rainbow sherbet. We sorted out 6 boxes of history during the day spent together. I came home with a journal from my Great-grandmother Cerie and many priceless pictures. Grandma Ruth is a cancer survivor! She looks great and has a beautiful new wardrobe in a smaller size.
The classic Fisher Price Toys, books, puzzles, and back yard entertained the boys. Paige sat with Grandma and me all day. Richard buried his head in some of Grandma Ruth’s books while watching Mark.
And of course we ate out. Uncle Jay and Aunt Nora and Christine joined us.
It’s been 5 years since the kids and Richard visited Grandma’s home (and a year and a half since I was there). I was so happy we were able to visit.