It Warms This Mama's Heart

 Do you get tired of seeing pictures of children reading?

 'Cuz I just never do.

Butterflies and More, Weekly Wrap Up

This week we finished our study of butterflies with the little ones.  They have thoroughly enjoyed this study as they got to read lots of books and do fun crafts like painting butterflies while learning about symmetry.

We ordered some caterpillars and got to watch them build their chrysalises and then see the butterflies emerge.   They found moments throughout the day to watch the butterflies flit around and also witnessed them unrolling their proboscis to drink their food.

One of their favorite crafts was using various forms of pasta to illustrate the life cycle of the butterfly.  We divided a paper plate into four sections.  They collected leaves and twigs on a nature walk to use for their craft.  The first quarter housed a leaf with a small bean to represent the egg; the second quarter had another leaf with a piece of rotini pasta to represent the caterpillar; the third quarter housed a pasta shell (dyed a dark blue) hanging from a twig; the fourth quarter featured a dyed piece of bowtie pasta as the butterfly.

It was so much fun, even Tyrell had to get in on the project.  He listened to all the books about butterflies too.  He is too cute for words--I have to include this picture of him, so proud of his craft.  "Me too!" he proclaims on a regular basis. We have been potty training this week and he caught right on to the idea.  Smart little guy.  We don't use a lot of bribery in parenting, but we have always used treats for dry underwear.  I've been so proud of him as he almost always offers to share his five M&M's with his siblings when he earns them.

 We also acted out the life cycle and discussed the spiritual comparison between the caterpillar becoming a butterfly and us becoming a new creation in Christ.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; 

the old has gone, the new has come!  II Corinthians 5:17

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, 

which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 
to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 

and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.  

Ephesians 4:22-24

Briana and Destry gained some valuable life skills this week as Alan has been teaching them some basic vehicle maintenance.  This week they each changed a tire, Destry changed the oil in the van, and Briana changed the oil in the car.

 Chemistry is proving to be quite challenging for them, especially the mathematical calculations.  They are persevering, however, and are mastering it so far.

Easton and Kiana had the idea of packing some cookies in case they got hungry on their nature walk.  I'm guessing that was Easton's idea--my little sweet-lover!  They were fascinated by the ant hill they discovered near the chicken house and watched the ants work for quite some time before they got around to drawing their representations.

 Of course, there's always lots of "informal learning" going on around here and I happened to catch a few shots of these moments this week.  Easton gathered his younger siblings to "play church" and here he is telling them the story of Daniel and the lions' den.  Tyrell found the extra toilet paper rolls and created a tower when I was distracted.  I think he expected to get in trouble and was surprised when I just had him smile for the camera.  I thought it was pretty clever!

 Kiana, my little music-lover, frequently explores great composers on our old Leap Pad.

 And Easton is always coming up with new designs for his train tracks.

 It has been a productive week around here--busy and fun!  Check out what other homeschoolers have accomplished this week as well.

Truth Tuesday--What Gets Your Goat?

Okay, so I know it's Wednesday.  But this happened last night (which was Tuesday) so it counts.

It's confession time.  What part of your personality gets you into trouble--that pesky character trait that surfaces every once in a while no matter how hard you try to keep it tamped down, and then you feel shamed and embarrassed after you realize Mr. Hyde has taken control yet again?

I'll go first.  You are safe here with me (cuz it doesn't get any worse than this!).  insert clearing of throat

Hello.  My name is Shonya.  I am always right.  A-hem.  Let me rephrase that.  When I know I am right, it drives me crazy for someone else to think they are right. (really, really crazy)

We went out for supper last night.  I'm sorry for those of you who don't enjoy math, but this post involves a story problem.  Stick with me here.

Seven people go out to eat.  There are four people in the adult-price-buffet bracket at $9.09 each.  The other three are children ages 6, 4, and 2 and their buffets cost $4.50, $3.00 and $1.50 respectively.  It is "Kids Eat Free Night", but there is a catch.  Patrons must purchase one full-price adult buffet for each child eating free.  The family also has two coupons for "buy one adult buffet at full price, get second at half price".  What combination of full price, reduced, and/or free buffets will result in the lowest bill for this frugal family?

(Isn't this fun?!  I'm one of those weird people who enjoyed both English and math in school.  In fact, I started my college career as a math major, then did a 180 and graduated with a degree in communication with an emphasis in journalism.  That's how torn I am between these two subjects.)

The man behind the counter (who just happened to be the manager) told us our best deal would be to purchase four full-price adult buffets, save the coupons for another time, and get the three kids' meals for free.  He was smug and arrogant and rang it up as though that was the way it was going to be.  My immediate mental computation disagreed, but I might have kept my mouth shut if he hadn't been so. . .priggish about it.  And then when I casually said I thought it would be a better deal to pay for the two-year-old's buffet and get one of the adult buffets at half-price, he smugly disagreed.

Sigh.  Can I say I just paid the man and went on, or do I have to tell the truth?  Ok, ok, full disclosure.  I was starting to get frustrated that he wouldn't listen at all, so I said I would prefer he "please ring it up with one coupon and I will pay for the kid's buffet because it would be the best deal--it's just simple math."

"Yes, it is just simple math," he rebutted as he refused to adjust the cash register.  "And math is my thing."  I was polite, but I reached for his little pad of coupons he had beside the register and wrote out the math as I said "yes, math is my thing too".

He acquiesced and rang it up as I requested, even as he mumbled that I would only be saving a dollar.

I paid without saying another word about it.

Even though I was actually saving three.

A Boy and His Hamster

 Introducing Fluffy, aka Chum.  Easton has been wanting his own pet for some time, and his new little friend, Justin, was ready to pass his dwarf hamster along.  Justin had him named Fluffy, and Easton wanted to honor that name, but also wanted to name him Chum (after the hamster in Ralph the Mouse).  He decided Chum would be Fluffy's "nickname".

Even though I'm not a fan of rodents in general (or mice in particular!) Destry and Briana had dwarf hamsters when they were younger and I developed a fondness for them.  (I thought about digging up old pictures to post of Briana and Destry with their hamsters--oh those were fun days!--but it seems a daunting task as those were pre-digital days).

In preparation for the proper care of this new pet we have been studying about hamsters.  Easton is taking his responsibility very seriously and drinks in every word of our Usborne hamster book (highly recommended, by the way).

 He has Fluffy eating out of his hand and constantly bombards me with requests on Fluffy's behalf.  "He needs a carrot to chew on, Mom, so his front teeth won't grow too long!"

 He's very kind to share Fluffy with his younger sister and brother, but he always supervises watchfully, cautioning them to be careful and gentle or to "let him sleep during the day because he likes to be awake at night".

 I'm pretty sure the hamster book didn't address Fluffy's spiritual condition, but I sure got a kick out of Easton propping a small Bible up to the cage so Fluffy could "read about Jesus".

 What a fun way to experience God's marvelous creation while learning some responsibility at the same time!

Fall Reading Challenge

“You will be the same person each year

except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

  I don't remember where I saw the above quote, but I've been thinking about it for a couple weeks.  It's so fascinating to reflect on the influences people and books have had on my life.  As Alan and I recently celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary, I've been considering who we are now, who *I* am now, compared to who I was when we married.  As I continue on this path of growth, I wonder who I'll be in another 20 years! 

I'm joining Katrina's Fall Reading Challenge so we'll see how these books may affect me, and as we're making new friends in Iowa. . .well, I'm curious to see how these changes grow me in the months ahead.  For now, here are some books I hope to read in the next three months (remembering, of course, that I have a tendency to get distracted by other interesting books that pop up in the midst of a challenge).

I'm studying this time period with Briana and Destry, so it seemed an appropriate book (especially since I picked it up at a thrift store).  I've read three chapters so far and am pleasantly surprised at how readable it is.

I've been reading this book aloud with Briana and Destry and we are really enjoying it.  It has prompted lots of great discussions and a final conclusion for each of them:  "I am not ready to get married yet.  I have a lot of growing up to do!"

Ironically, I am also pre-reading Preparing to Be a Helpmeet for Briana.  She has four friends who have read it and suggested it to her, and a couple of her friends are beginning a "book study" based around it.  I'm just three or four chapters in, so can't say much yet. . .but I will say that I'm not sure 16 is the age at which I would hand it to her.

The Age of Opportunity has been on my list to read for quite some time and has been highly recommended.  I just purchased it this summer and need to get it read as my teens are 16 and 15 and I am sure I will benefit from "a biblical guide to parenting teens."

This book has also been highly recommended to me by a new friend I'm making in the homeschooling community since we moved here.  She just keeps talking about it and how eye-opening it has been to analyze her personality and her children's personalities.  When she started "diagnosing" me and calling me color names, I knew I had to order this book just to see who she thinks I am! ha!

In reading the summary of Gone Girl, I'm wondering who recommended this book to me, but the description of the writing has me intrigued.  I'm ready for a great fiction novel to just take me away for a few hours. 

My big kids are reading Don Quixote right now and I opted out of this one.  I've never read it and had a hard time getting into the first few chapters so I quit.  There are so many other books I'd rather read and time is limited and all that.  It is lauded as the forerunner to comedic books and was written in the early 1600s which is why it made our literature list.  I'm not sure if I'll require them to complete it or not. . .(just don't tell them that!)

But the next lit book we'll be exploring is The Scarlet Letter and I'm looking forward to that one.  I read it about 25 years ago, but can't tell you much about it.  Reading the classics is so much more enjoyable as an adult with some life experience behind a person.

A friend from church picked a copy of this book up at a thrift store and gave it to me with the postscript "everyone needs to read this book."  I was rather taken aback at the suggestion--is that a hint that I'm not able to make friends or what?! ha!  A dear friend in Missouri recently finished it as well, so I'm intrigued.

I started the Faithful, Abundant, True Bible study guide last week and really enjoyed the first convicting week of homework and am looking forward to this time in the Word this Fall.

For Carrie's Book Club, I'm supposed to read Uncle Tom's Cabin in October, but I think I will skip it as I just re-read it a couple years ago.  In November our assignment is Jewel of Persia by Roseanna White and I am planning to read this fictionalized account of the story of Esther.  I'm a little intrigued at the idea of the author combining the biblical account with information from Josephus and then taking creative license with the whole idea.  I'm not always a fan of novels based on biblical stories, however, so we'll see. . .

And then the December assignment is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, which sounds like a relaxing read. Dare I admit I've never read it--I've only watched the classic movie!

Finally, if I have time (and if my local library has them!), I hope to explore a couple recommendations from Kristy just for fun.

What are you hoping to read this fall?  Would you think it fun to mess up my goals by distracting me with some intriguing titles?