Rhode Island Road Trip

As many of you already know my beloved cousin, Julie, and her family recently moved from Colorado to Rhode Island. While some of you are lamenting their loss, I am overjoyed at their change of address. As opposed to being 4 plane tickets or a two day drive away from us, they are now only a paltry two hours away. So, this past weekend we drove out to spend the day with them for the first time since they have gotten settled in. The day turned out to be beautiful and we were able to enjoy a nice walk around Newport watching people, boats, and lobsters. We also played at the park and enjoyed lunch and dinner together in their apartment. It was so good to just be together again!

I had missed them so much. I hadn't seen Elijah since he was a few months old and now he is a walking, talking, brilliant almost 2 year old. I am excited to be around when their new baby girl is born and hope to be able to help out when she comes.



And now that we have visited, I can show you my latest knitting project: a hat and sweater set for Baby Girl Tanner:


And in completely unrelated news...I am saddened to report that the tadpoles are no more. I have been relatively successful so far with the raising of two children but somehow baby toads are beyond me. I researched how to raise them and thought I was following the right course but apparently not. Thank goodness there were a million (at least) other eggs in that pond and we have not harmed the species at all in our attempt to watch a complete metamorphosis. I think from now on we will just let nature take its course where it should--in nature and not in my house. Oh, and that reminds me, the caterpillar didn't make it either. I finally found a picture of the actual coccoon of the Tiger Moth and it didn't look like Fuzzy's cocoon. I think maybe he died in the process of forming the cocoon. I think I am not cut out for the hands on method of teaching science. That's what we have the internet for, right?

Update

Yes, I know, it has been a while. I fear I have lost the blogging bug. Part of it is the loss of my camera--I don't feel like taking many pictures since they all come out poorly and part of it is a lack of any interesting anecdotes or happenings that seem worth sharing. Then again, I think it might just be that I have the winter blues. There is also the fact that any free time I have is spent reading. I am a Jane Austen fan, right? Well, my sister, Jen, told me of a website, the Derbyshire Writer's Guild, on which is a plethora of Jane Austen FanFiction. There are so many fun stories to read some that are complete and others that I wait ever-so-patiently for their weekly updates. I can't seem to get enough of Darcy and Elizabeth and all their fellow characters, some new some old, in whatever form the story of Pride and Prejudice can be told. It's fabulous! My very thoughtful father has enabled me in this new addiction by gifting me (and my sisters) with books on Jane Austen for Valentine's Day. What goes better together than Valentine's and Jane Austen, I ask. It was very sweet of him don't you think?

But I do manage to get other things done during the day too. As little as I mention it, I should make it known that we are still homeschooling. Noah is doing so well too. He is now able to read out of level 2 readers and his favorite are the Henry and Mudge books. A couple of days last week he actually brought them to me to read instead of waiting for me to tell him it was time and instead of just reading one chapter like he normally does he read the whole book through. I think he is starting to see how much fun reading can be and that is the most exciting thing to me! We have been working a lot on telling time too. I remembered an old clock that I had put away in a drawer so I got that out and took the plastic cover off and wrote the minutes around the outside and we use that to practice. Now, when he wants to know what time it is he can figure it out for himself and he doesn't even run to the digital clock in the kitchen any more to do it. The living room clock, which seemed so daunting at first because the numbers are Roman Numerals, is a piece of cake to figure out.

For the past couple of weeks we have spent our Thursday afternoons at the Children's Museum because someone organized a series of homeschool science classes. The first was "Bugs and Botany" the second, "Edison's Attic", this week's is the third session and is on inventing and the fourth is "CSI 101" in which the kids will get to solve a crime. Noah has really enjoyed them and Lily has been well entertained exploring in the museum. We will soon start a new session of Monday Homeschool classes as well and this time Lily will have her own pre-school class to participate in and Noah will be playing soccer. If he enjoys it, I will probably sign him up for town soccer in the spring.

This past weekend was a bit out of the ordinary for us. Noah went to his cousin, Alex's, birthday party on Saturday and then spent the night as well and Grammy and Grampy were nice enough to take Ariel and Lily overnight so Luke and I were left childless for most of a day and night. We went and spent the afternoon with U2 at the theatre and finally used a gift card for the Macaroni Grill that we had received for Christmas. It was rather enjoyable and was especially nice to be able to sleep in the next morning and wake up at our own leisure not have to worry about feeding the kids and getting them ready for church and what-not. It of course went by too fast in my opinion but it was also nice to see the kids and know that we had been missed.

Since the last pictures were taken, Noah has lost another tooth. We asked him if he wanted to put them under his pillow for the tooth fairy but he said very matter-of-factly that she isn't real so why would he do that. This of course made his father very proud. He did suggest that maybe we could send them to Grandma because, wouldn't she really like to see his teeth? While I found this very 'endearing' I guess, I thought maybe we shouldn't. He has since forgotten about them and they still sit somewhere in an envelope awaiting the addition of yet more baby teeth. Apparently this marks some sort of rite of passage for him because he announced that he was quite ready to give up his Batman toothbrush for an adult one.

I regret the lack of information on our dear Liliana but she seems to be in a bit of a lull developmentally. Not much is changing for her. Actually she seems to be attempting to remain a baby for as long as she possibly can. She has completely stopped any and all potty-training business and absolutely refuses to give up her pacifier. And all may say, just put your foot down and get it done. Well, I have tried that. I have tried it all. I have gone to my wits-end and back trying to get it done. I have decided that the strain on our relationship is just not worth it and I would much rather that my daughter like me and I like her at this point in her young life. So, those battles have been abandoned for the time being. Please, don't tell the pediatrician, ok?

She does have a new favorite past time and that is playing computer games. In one sense this is a good thing because it does mean that she has mastered the hand-eye coordination necessary to work the track-ball. However, from the moment she wakes up til the time she goes to bed she asks me if she can play games. As I am unwilling for her to spend the entire day staring at the computer screen, the words "Not right Now", "No" and "Maybe Later" are heard more often than normal around here. I will say at least that the games she plays are mostly educational. So, they aren't a complete waste of time. Hopefully soon the out of doors will be more appealing than they are right now and will provide a better distraction from said games and other sedentary pursuits. I cannot wait for spring.

So, that is our life in a nutshell. Sorry for the absence of posts recently. You'll have to wait and see if the lull has indeed lifted...

Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!

Translation: "John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

A Memory Verse

Sorry, this one is a bit shaky...I couldn't help laughing a bit.

Noah reads a Bob Book

I found some beginning readers at the library so Noah can practice his reading skills. He's doing really well with all the short vowel sound rules like double consonants and adding the y suffix and he just got through the consonant digraphs (sh, th, ch, and tch). I thought you might enjoy hearing him read. Sorry for the shaky nature of this video...I was trying to keep Lily quiet while Noah was reading.

the Maxwells

Monday night, I had the opportunity to go to a conference at a local church given by the Maxwells. About a year ago a friend of mine gave me the book Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit written by Teri Maxwell who is a homeschooling mother of 8 children. I read it a couple of times because, though it is a rather small book, there was just so much in it that I could apply to my life to help not just in homeschooling but in motherhood in general. She struggled with anger and depression for a long time and the book told how she overcame them and gave tips about how we can be proactive in our lives to prevent anger inducing situations and and how we can dispel our anger and respond in a more meek and quiet way. This book was probably the final deciding factor in our decision to go ahead and homeschool. While I have not conquered my anger, I am learning to gain control over it because of this book and with God's help.

Having been so positively influenced by this book I thought the conference would be just as beneficial. It certainly did give me much to think on and discuss with Luke. The most 'enlightening' part was their talk on keeping your child's heart. The principle is one that I certainly aspire to in raising my children: I want a close relationship with my children. One in which they are open with me about their lives, they like me and respect me and what I have to say about their lives and how I want them to live, and they hold the same values as I do and, above all, share my love for God and have a relationship with Him. But I hope and pray that I can do that while at the same time allowing them to become their own person and have their own experiences and their own very personal relationship with God. The Maxwell's techniques seem to me to me a bit extreme: not allowing friendships outside the familyor participation in youth groups or sports teams and taking them with you wherever you may go even into adult hood when they are ready to marry the one person God has ready for them (which opens up a whole other can or worms). I think that I may get the book in which they go into more detail about this so that Luke and I can look at the principles behind their techniques and determine how we might accomplish the same ideals while maintaining some freedom for the kids. Of course, not sheltering your kids as much as the Maxwells suggest does mean you are risking 'losing' their hearts but I'm thinking that maybe that risk is a necessary one.

Memory Work

For our first effort at memorization we did Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth". We only did 'circle time' 3 days last week and Noah had it down pat pretty quickly. Lily would repeat it after me every day but I didn't even bother seeing if she could do it on her own. Well, this morning she walks into the living room as I am sitting down with the Bible and starts talking and it's not 'til she gets to the 'heavens and the earth' part that I realized she had just quoted the whole verse for me. I was shocked and asked her to do it again and she did. She even said it again for Luke tonight along with our new memory work, which is a short prayer from a devotional, and she only needed a tiny bit of help from me. We only started working on that yesterday! Now, I know that most parents are biased towards their kids when it comes to cuteness and brilliance and what not...but come on...she is only 2 and a half...she is one smart cookie!

Just some stuff

I went to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) today for the first and probably last time. My father-in-law came to watch the kids for me so I could go and sign them up for the kids program but, sadly, there is no more room in the class for them or me actually. So we are on a waiting list in case they find more volunteers to teach the kids and lead discussion groups. Oh well. I'm not that upset about it becuase I have a Tuesday evening Bible Study that I've been involved in for a long while and we are doing enough outside activities that the kids are not starved for interraction with other children. And it's one less activity that takes us away from home and routine, which, being a homebody, is totally all right with me.

I have started doing a 'circle time' in the morning before starting school work. I got the idea from a website that my sister recommended to me called "Preschoolers and Peace", which has all kinds of suggestions for what to do with your preshooler while the older kids are doing their work. Lily can participate in circle time unlike most of the other school stuff so maybe she won't feel left out. Today was only the second day so I'm not sure it will always look the same but we read Scripture (started in Genesis) together and work on memorization (Genesis 1:1, which Noah already has memorized) and pray together. I'll probably add in some singing too. Hopefully it will help get our day off to a good start.

Noah is doing really well with his work. The most important task this year is of course teaching him how to read. He is off to a great start with a phonics book: Phonics Pathways. He's already reading three letter words! I made up some flashcards for him of two-letter blends for review and threw in some consonant cards that I add onto the end of a blend and he whipped through them. I had him go through them the other evening for Luke, who was duly impressed and gave Noah a huge confidence boost with his praise. We have to be careful how we praise him because he tends to get embarassed and shut down but he took it well and seemed very proud of himself. I am very proud of him too!

We also do some copy work and a math workbook and tomorrow we will do our second science unit. I also have some fun workbooks that help stimulate his brain as well as train him to think critically. He enjoys those but says that math is his favorite subject--I guess he's taking after his father already...

Here he is doing some copy work:

Three Days Down...

...and so far so good. Thank you for your prayers. Noah has not yet started begging to 'go' to school, I have not yet thrown in the proverbial towel and Lily is really interested in everything we are doing and is even picking some things up. Good signs.

On our first day, Noah said he was glad that he got to stay home for school. And, after talking with friends whose kids started kindergarten in the public schools, I am even more glad for it. I didn't have to watch him get on a bus with a bunch of strangers or know he'd be on that bus for over an hour with junior high students on the way home. I don't have to deal with teachers who do not want me to show my face in the classroom--not even to bring in cupcakes to celebrate a birthday. I don't have to hear about the little boys who tell my son they are going to kill him. No amount of frustration that might be experienced by either me or Noah could outweigh my desire to keep him home with me in my care providing one on one instruction in a way that even the best, most dedicated and caring teacher could not do.

Of course I know that Noah wouldn't necessarily experience any of those things if I sent him off to school and many children don't and never will and are getting a fine education as well. Hearing those stories this past week just solidified it for me that, right now, this is what is right for us.

Next week we start a weekly program at the library and BSF, which is a women's Bible study that also provides classes for 2-6 year olds, and then the following week we start Monday Homeschool Classes at a nearby children's museum. Noah will take a geography class and have time to explore the museum and have a jokes, riddles, and games period while Lily will get to hang out with other pre-school aged kids whose siblings are taking classes. It should be fun and I'm sure we will meet all kinds of interesting families. My friend, Jill, and her kids will also be attending the MHC's, which will just make it that much more enjoyable. So, we will not be completely homebound.

I'll keep you posted...

Tomorrow...

...is our first day of school. I think I'm ready. I am nervous but hopeful and excited. If you think about us this week, please pray that it will be a good one. I am going to need extra measures of patience and sweetness that can only come from the Lord...