Tyrell, Back to School

I realize that at age 3 Tyrell isn't really "back to school", but I've done posts on each of the other kids, so I thought he needed one as well. 

For this little boy, learning is constantly in session.  All of my kids have pestered me with the ubiquitous "why", but I'm pretty sure he has questioned me more than all the other kids did combined!  He is curious about every single thing, from the names of every person we meet to the details of pictures in a book to what we're going to have for supper to what we're doing tomorrow to who made each dish on the table to the correct terminology for farming implements to. . .well, you get the idea.  We get such a kick out of him and he is always good for a smile, especially when he turns those sparkling, mischievous eyes on you.

He has had a busy summer running around with friends, playing outside, helping mommy and daddy work in the garden, and swimming.  He has no fear in the pool (which is a little bit scary to mama!) and loves to jump off the ladder into the water then emerge with his face soaking wet, droplets of water hanging from his eyelashes, and grinning from ear to ear. 

The one thing he does NOT like about swimming is when the water is a little too cool, or if there is a breeze that makes him cold in his wet clothes.  It's at these times that he gets out of the pool to lie on the hot sidewalk to warm up.  What a funny boy!

As a preschooler, he is fascinated with cutting and gluing, reading books, and getting into whatever anyone else is doing.   He is markedly better at getting things out than he is at putting things away, and he prefers to play with others rather than by himself.  At the same time, when he plays with others, I constantly have to monitor the situation to teach him not to take things away and for everyone to use their kind words rather than screaming at one another or hitting.  His primary "curriculum" for this year will be reading character books with mommy and learning Bible verses and Bible stories with daddy.

Other than that, his work is his play--the world is his classroom.  I'm sure it will be a fun but busy year because he is a fun but busy boy!

Sparkly Green Earrings

I had heard about the book Sparkly Green Earrings:  Catching the Light at Every Turn by Melanie Shankle but it wasn't high on my list of books I wanted to read.  When I saw it available for free on the Kindle, however, I snatched it right up.  I've been reading a couple chapters here and there over the last month while kids play at the park or Briana or Destry drive me somewhere or while waiting on a child's music lesson, etc. 

This  book is just a fun,  light read.  She is sharing humorous little anecdotes about her life as a mother. She is pretty funny and doesn't take herself too seriously.  Our lives aren't exactly alike, yet she's relatable.  I laughed so hard a couple of times that I nearly cried.  I can say with 99.9% certainty that I would never don a bikini while nine months pregnant and accidentally lock myself outside, but I sure giggled at her account of just such an experience!

While most of the book consists of the author poking a little fun at herself and inviting the reader to laugh along with her, she still sprinkles a few serious gems as she attempts to bring her innate selfishness and shallowness under subjection to the Word of God or she reflects on not having enjoyed the baby season enough as "the sweetest things are often the hardest things" (63).  In another season she realized "there are times in life when (God) takes away all those earthly things we look to for comfort and security so we can feel him better and love him more" (42).  And through it all, she began to understand that rather than the wisdom and discernment she thought would just automatically come to her as an adult and a mother, she just had to do the best she could with prayer and friendships.  I thought that was an interesting lesson as I think we all are just doing the best we can and no one really has all the answers in this life.

Her summary of motherhood?
"Because raising a child is a fleeting moment in time that sometimes gets swallowed up in the daily routine of car pools and soccer practice and Can I get away with serving tacos for dinner again tonight?  And yet it's quite possibly the most important thing we'll ever do.  It's the daily balance of treasuring the moments even as we wish some of them away.  It's treading water in a sea of imperfections.  It's a delicate dance of guilt and joy" (212).

Briana, Back to School

It's time for Installment Number Four of my back-to-school student posts and today we will be featuring my firstborn, Briana, who is a 17-year-old senior.  I just realized that one of my daughters is beginning her LAST year of home education while my other daughter is beginning her FIRST year. (insert wide-eyed face)

I'm not sure how I feel about Briana being a senior.  I think I might be in denial.  I asked her if I could flunk her last year and she just grinned at me.  Briana is an outstanding big sister with a servant's heart and an even-tempered personality.  

 She has enjoyed her free time this summer to work on handicrafts like finishing her full-size quilt, figuring out a different technique to knit scarves, making baby-carrying slings to sell, and sewing pillowcase dresses to send with a friend who is headed to Africa.

She is getting excited about her senior year as she hopes to work as a page in the legislature of the state capitol next Spring.  She has a rigorous course of studies planned for the Fall so she can have her bookwork completed and focus on learning more about government during the second semester.  She has been working on her application and asking for reference letters from her 4H leader and ladies she cleans for or babysits for while I have been very grateful that I kept her transcript updated and don't have to scramble to pull that together right now.

In addition to the work she accomplished this summer, Briana also had a lot of fun going to the TeenPact alumni event, spending time with friends, enjoying the fair, and swimming in our pool.  This is such an interesting season encouraging her to move toward independence while still getting to daily enjoy the delightful young lady the Lord is developing her to be.  I'm hoping and praying she will have a great year stretching her wings while gaining security from her roots in the Lord and her family who love her so very much.

Back-to-school student installment 5 hopefully yet to come. . .see installment number three here,  two here and number one here

Bookish Fun

Very fun!  Carrie played along with this book meme, so I'm taking a break from my "regularly scheduled programming"  (seriously, whatever possessed me to turn the idea of ONE post featuring back-to-school student pictures into FIVE?!) in order to play as well.  Want to join us?

1. Favorite childhood book?  Little Women, hands down.  I'm guessing I've read it about 20 times and I'm not exaggerating.  Many of those times I was reading it at my Grandma's house.  Oh wait, a close second is Where the Red Fern Grows--I probably have read it 10-12 times.

2. What are you reading right now?   A Tale of Two Cities,  7 Men Who Rule the World from the Grave, Silas Marner and The Child Catchers  (I know, I know--focus Shonya!)

3. What books do you have on request at the library?  Wild Grows the Heather in Devon by Michael Phillips (September selection for my local book discussion group)

4. Bad book habit?   reading too many books at once, ignoring real life when I get into a really great book, compulsive buying

5. Do you have an e-reader? Yes, a Kindle which I received as a thank you gift from my public speaking class.  (fun!)

6. Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?  I prefer to read one at a time, but I also have a really bad habit of reading several books at once.  Most of the time it's because I get moody and am not in "the mood" for a particular book.  Other times it's because I get distracted by something that looks really good.  And other times I'm reading multiple books because of multiple things going on in my life at once.

7. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? Yes, somewhat, I suppose.  I read less fiction than I used to.

8. Least favorite book you read this year (so far)?   Woman Thou Art Loosed by T.D. Jakes  Ugh

9. Favorite book you’ve read this year?   The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

10. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?  Frequently--I love a good challenge, I like to think, I like to learn, I'm trying to read some of those great books I missed during my formal education

11. What is your reading comfort zone?   Hmmm. . .great thought-provoking fiction, escapist fiction, and how-to (be a better mom, wife, christian, home educator)

12. Can you read on the bus?   Absolutely.   I can read in a house, on a boat, in the rain, on a train, here or there, or anywhere!

13. Favorite place to read?   in my recliner.  Actually, on an airplane because there is nothing else to do--I'm just stuck in a little spot with nothing else I possibly could do.  Sadly, I don't fly much so I have to just ignore dishes/laundry/dirty floors for a little while and hide in my recliner.

14. What is your policy on book lending?   I do it, but I write it down.  If I ask you how you're liking it and you just haven't gotten around to it (in a month or so) I'll ask for it back and tell you that when you're ready to read it, let me know and I'll loan it to you then.  I know, I get a little possessive when it comes to my books.  But I've lost many of them over the years by loaning them out to people.

15. Do you ever dog-ear books?  Yes.  I prefer bookmarks, but I sometimes dog-ear.

16. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?   Definitely.  I talk back to the author, draw smiley faces when I encounter fun humor (particularly British or sarcasm), and sometimes write out my heart when they touch on my personal issues.  There are some books I would loan only to a precious few. . .

17. Not even with text books?   It's been years since I read or wrote in a textbook

18. What is your favorite language to read in?   English please--I have never mastered another language well enough to read in it.

19. What makes you love a book?   Oooh, good question!  If it makes me think, that's a great start.  I also love a book that is masterfully crafted--wordsmiths have my highest admiration.  A great fiction book will have characters that I *know* by the end of the book.

20. What will inspire you to recommend a book?   When it makes me think and I want others to read it so I can talk to them about it!! :)

21. Favorite Biography?   Bonhoeffer:  Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

22. Have you ever read a self help book?   Oh yes, many, many.

23. Favorite cookbook?   I turn to my Taste of Home cookbooks again and again.  I also love my 101 Slow Cooker Recipes.  Ultimately, however, I would have to say MY cookbook that I've compiled over the last 20 years.  (Should we ever have a house fire, Alan's job after getting the kiddos out is to save this cookbook and my scrapbooks and photo albums, grin).

24. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?   True Community:  The Biblical Practice of Koinonia by Jerry Bridges

25. Favorite reading snack?  pretzels and M&M's

26. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.   ??

27. How often do you agree with critics on a book?  I don't know--I don't really follow "critics". 

28. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?   I don't really like to, but I will if it's necessary.  I have a hard time staying off a soapbox once I get going on a bad review.

29. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?  Atlas Shrugged, but I ended up loving it!  (You should absolutely read it!  Yes, Kristy and Carrie, I'm talking to you!)  Or actually I should say The Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer.  I finished it, but I'm quite certain I didn't mine its depths!

30. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?  Will Durant's history books.  When will I ever have time??

31. Favorite poet?   Ha!  I don't read much poetry I'm afraid.  AA Milne or Shel Silverstein?? :)

32. Favorite fictional character?   Oooh, that's a tough one!  Hadassah from The Mark of the Lion trilogy?  Or Jo from Little Women?  Or Tom Sawyer, he's such a BOY--I'm sure this could become a very long list!

33. Favorite fictional villain?   Beatty from Fahrenheit 451 (he just makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up!) or The White Witch from Narnia 

34. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?  Something easy and escapist.  Dare I admit I once took the Harry Potter series to the beach?  A good murder mystery.

35. The longest I’ve gone without reading.   Seasons, my friend, seasons. . .I've probably gone a week at some point.

36. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?  Well, my children are about it.

37. Favorite film adaptation of a novel.   Bleh, not usually a fan.  But The Help was pretty true to the book and characterization I thought.

38. Most disappointing film adaptation?   Where the Red Fern Grows--SUCH a wonderful book, such a lame movie!  But I don't watch many film adaptations.

39. The most money I’ve spent in the bookstore at one time?   Are you trying to get me in trouble or what?!

40. How often do you skim a book before reading it? Frequently, but I DO NOT read the last few pages (like my dad does).

41. Do you like to keep your books organized?   I aspire to keep them organized. . .They are mostly organized.

42. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?   blush.  Keep them.

43. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?   50 Shades of Grey.  And I'll continue to.  I've read many books I didn't agree with simply to form my own opinion apart from "the hype".  But I don't think I need to read that one.

44. Name a book that made you angry.   A Child Called It.  The Shack.  The Child Catchers.  Oh sorry, only one?  I'll stop then.

45. A book you didn’t expect to like but did? Crime and Punishment

Easton, Back to School

Installment Number Three of my back-to-school students will feature my third child, Easton, who is seven years old and in first grade.

I was very pleased when we resumed our schoolwork to see how well he has retained his reading abilities.  I had intended to keep listening to him read over the summer so he could exercise his new skills, but the summer just got away from me.  I was afraid we would have to backtrack.  Imagine my pleased surprise when he picked up right where we left off and read just as well (if not a little better!) than he had when we started our break back in May.  I just loved seeing his grin when I enthusiastically expressed my surprise at how well he read me the story.

Easton has a mechanical mind so he loves to build with Legos and will disappear to the Lego station in the basement for an hour or two at a time to create things.  Above he is checking a couple creations into the "open class" building at the county fair.

Another county fair activity he enjoyed this summer was showing his pet hamster at the pet show.  He created a maze out of toilet paper tubes and let his hamster run through it.  Sadly, after receiving a blue ribbon and small trophy, his hamster died in the van on the way home.  We think he must have had a heat stroke or something.  Easton stoically proclaimed "Well, at least he died happy after winning a blue ribbon."

Easton really enjoys math and frequently asks me if he can "do another page."  While I haven't let him work ahead in the past, I am considering answering that question in the affirmative this year.  I just don't want him to get burnt out on it, but I also don't want to hold him back.  We'll see if he even asks this year! He isn't nearly as fond of penmanship (I'm chuckling to myself at that understatement--I thought he would never master holding a pencil correctly!), but he likes science and listening to read-alouds.  He is also especially quick to memorize Bible verses.  He prefers to get his schoolwork done early in the day so he is free to pursue his own interests the rest of the day.

While Easton really enjoys social time with friends, especially his friend Trey pictured above, we are working on developing more patience with his younger siblings, such as when they get into his things he had all organized in a certain way.  Tyrell especially gets into his things and Easton reacts with frustration, so we are working both on training Tyrell to be respectful of others' property and helping Easton realize that people, especially siblings, are more important than things.  Oh the joys of being an older brother!

Home education is not just about the academics of the 3R's and company.  I find the academics the easier part of educating my children at home, actually.  More difficult than academics is teaching them to get along with one another, to extend mercy and grace to one another, and to train their characters toward righteousness.  But I wouldn't miss this time they have to nurture their lifelong relationships and establish memories together.

Back-to-school student installments 4 and 5 hopefully yet to come. . .see installment number two here and number one here

Kiana, Back to School

 Installment Number Two of my homeschool students features Kiana, who will be six years old the end of September.  She is thrilled to start Kindergarten, and is my fourth child in birth order.

This little girl loves music.  She has her own case of cds and the rest of us have learned to relegate her constant playing of cds to background noise.  Her favorite activity is to don dress-up clothes and prance around the living room kicking and twirling to the rhythm and mood of the music.

 

This summer we once again allowed her to participate in a four-day Princess Ballet Camp where she practiced both gymnastics and ballet in the company of a "Disney princess".   She loved it even more this year and got herself ready each morning and then waited impatiently for it to be time to go.

 A pursuit of ballet wouldn't necessarily have ever been on my radar and if you had asked me 10 years ago, I would probably have said I wouldn't let my daughter take any kind of dance lesson.  I don't know how long she'll get to participate in ballet as I think it could lead to problems with self-esteem and body image or modesty issues, but I am quite impressed with this particular studio and its vision of grace and modesty for this season.

She is also so interested in ballet and has such a natural aptitude for it that we decided to let her try it.  I have to admit it's also fun to see her get to do her "special thing".  Her eyes just sparkle and her smile lights her face as she shares the steps she's learned and tells us all about the princess of the day.

She is a particularly kinesthetic learner, probably the most of any of my children, and I think I would be wise to keep that in mind throughout her academic career.  I was blessed by one of the sessions at the homeschool conference in Omaha this year as the speaker perfectly described Kiana and then highlighted ways to teach to her strengths.

We have already started reading lessons and she is progressing splendidly.  Just as she anticipated ballet, she runs to me each morning, eager to start her day with a reading lesson.  Teaching my children to read is one of my favorite things about homeschooling.  It's not always easy--in fact it's frequently rather frustrating--but I'm so grateful not to miss a minute.  When they really get it, when they learn to decode those squiggles on the page not only into sounds but into WORDS and then STORIES--oh, how I love to see the delight in their eyes!  I'm looking forward to seeing those sparkling eyes and receiving the spontaneous hugs of excitement from this especially expressive daughter of mine.

Back-to-school student installments 3, 4, and 5 hopefully yet to come. . .see installment number one here

Destry, Back to School

So, some bloggers are posting "back-to-school" photos of their home-educated children, but I simply can't bring myself to line the children up for nicely-posed pictures this week in the midst of school starting, working up apples and green beans, celebrating my birthday, etc., etc.  Instead, I'm going to try to do a picture post of each of my "students" as we start our school year.

Instead of doing these posts in any particular birth order, I am going to do them in order of the pictures most readily available.  The first pictures I came across were of Destry, my almost-16-year-old sophomore and second child.

Destry is a fun big brother who is always entertaining his younger siblings, giving them rides on his shoulders, making up stories to entertain them in the vehicle, and truly has the heart of a teacher.  He patiently instructs his brothers and younger sister how to make paper airplanes and build with Legos or explains how pieces of machinery work or all about atoms (which I realized when my five-year-old gave my hairdresser a mini lecture about atoms and I asked her how she knew all that).

Destry has learned a great deal this summer through working.  He replaced the intake manifold plenum cover and gaskets in the pickup all on his own.  He has been working for a couple farmers doing anything from baling hay to moving hogs to readying equipment for the field.  He also worked a few days tearing the siding off a house and salvaging copper and I'm not sure what else they were doing.  It was a really great experience for him, however, in more ways than just working and learning a new skill.  He also had bold spiritual conversations with his employer who expressed an interest in joining us for church services sometime and gained some valuable experience in giving someone a "second chance" when his employer hired a man to work with them.  The other employee, a random guy who walked by and asked if he could help out for some cash, had made many mistakes in his life including drug abuse.  Destry was suspicious of the man at first, even wondering if he might steal tools or something, but the man proved to be a hard worker, was very impressed with Destry's work ethic, and encouraged him not to make similar mistakes with his life.  Such a great lesson of compassion and grace for my son.

He has also had the opportunity to do some landscaping work around our place with a skid loader (which was more fun than work judging by the expression on his face) and did an excellent job pruning some of our apple trees.  (Perhaps he did it too well--I am drowning in apples, applesauce, apple butter, apple pie slices. . .)

 He is currently working on the roof of our old garage.  We considered just tearing the garage down because the roof is quite bad, but it's nice to have it to shelter the car (our conversion van, pickup, motorcycle and lawn mower are all housed in the large garage) and to pile/hide a bunch of kids' outside toys, so Alan decided it would be a great project for Destry to learn how to strip down and re-roof a building.

He still has a couple of fun life skills projects ahead for the Fall, including a minor engine overhaul in the 4-wheeler and putting new gaskets in the engine of our old F12 tractor.  As he turns 16 next week, I asked if he wanted to do any special party or other celebratory plans.  He decided he wants to have a good friend over, another 16-year-old young man, and they could work on the tractor together.  I don't know that I'll ever understand boys--I would certainly never choose to have a friend come over and work with me as a special birthday treat--but I think it's great that he wants to do it.

 

Destry also had great fun playing the trumpet in a homeschool jazz combo this summer (Briana has been playing the flute) and we are all looking forward to their performance in September.  He won't continue with the jazz combo through the school year as he is too busy with the violin and piano and other academics, but it was a fun summer activity that is coming to an end.

While he's frequently dirty in holey jeans, gum boots, and his ubiquitous hat, he does clean up pretty well!  Above I had to include a couple pictures of him and Briana all spiffed up for their TeenPact alumni event they attended a few weeks ago.  (I'm saving the other two for Briana's post).  He's an interesting young man of varied interests and talents ranging from physical labor to intense Bible study to music to an appreciation for a well-written book (he's currently reading Crime and Punishment "for fun").  I am very grateful for the opportunity to experience these learning opportunities with him as he is growing up faster than I ever could have imagined.

Back-to-school student installments 2, 3, 4, and 5 hopefully yet to come. . .