Random Adventuring

In our years BC, Mark and I on the weekends used to get in the car and just drive. We explored much of North Georgia, Tennessee, and some of the Carolinas. We would stop at any antique stores that piqued our interest; beautiful state parks often beckoned to us; other unique and interesting attractions generally caught our eyes as well. Today we decided to do a little family adventuring.

Our first and only planned stop was to drop in on Dana and Papa to say hello. Then we decided to head to Helen. The last time we visited Helen was one spontaneous day back in May. On the way into the charming, European-style town, the kids spied a miniature-golf course. I promised them we would play next time we visited. They didn't miss a beat in reminding me of my promise, so we stopped and enjoyed a friendly mini-golf game. After the game, we started toward downtown Helen; however, the early Oktoberfest traffic had collected in the masses during the short time we were playing, so we made a U-turn and headed away in search of a different adventure.

Taking a very circuitous route back towards home, we happened upon Dahlonega and were able to scope out a perfect site for a future field trip. I had no idea that Dahlonega's big Gold Rush preceded California's. This town has a fascinating history and quite a few choices for an outstanding homeschool outing! (Now to put my US History plans on the racetrack so we can get to the 1800s sooner.)

There's nothing more enjoyable than hanging out with your family, drinking up the beauty of God's creation, and finding joy in a game or two...all in a day with no agenda whatsoever. As for our day of random adventures? Well, it finally culminated at our favorite pizza hang-out...of course!

A Remedy for the Big S

Everyone knows that Socialization is the question of the day when it comes to homeschooling. I for one have never been the least bit worried about this issue because I know my children are adequately--if not overly--socialized. Today we did a little socialization...just in case I'm wrong--we had a playdate with the kids' very special friends Grace and Jack. And I must say that I enjoy the comraderie between Grace and Jack's mom and me as much as the kids enjoy each other.

So it was with much regret that we watched the family begin to get ready to go. There was much begging and much cajoling: "PLEASE let them stay forever." "Could they at least spend the night?" Caught up in the moment of sadness, Michael devised the perfect plan: Pointing at our large front yard, he said to his friends' mom, "You should have your builder knock down your house and build it again over there."

I'm not sure I would want my friend's house...um, in my front yard, but you know what? It sure would be nice to have a loved family so close. And with two best friends right in...your front yard...what better way to address the Socialization issue?

The World Wide Webkinz

It seems wherever we go, the kids can find someone with whom they can share a conversation about Webkinz. Apparently, we have indulged in a craze, a craze which generates perpetual enthusiasm and excitement: There is always a new game to play, a new gift, a new item to "buy", a new Webkinz friend to visit...or a new Webkinz plush toy to buy. Of course buying a new plush toy is most exciting of all because the secret code that comes with the toy is the key to unlocking the World of Webkinz.

As mentioned earlier, the kids have been saving for new Webkinz. Well, Grandmas are for spoiling, and these children's Dana didn't waste any time. A check came in the mail today, enough for each of them to get a new Webkinz. And we didn't waste any time heading to the Hallmark store to make our very important purchase.

The Webkinz craze in this house all began in July when the kids' cousins came to visit. To provide a common link, we got the kids their first Webkinz so they could spend some computer time with their cousins. Since then, the requests for computer time have not diminished, nor has the children's delight in playing with their little critters. Michael's Webkinz, Sparkly, is especially well-loved and has, in fact, had a haircut (one that subsequently resulted in a little love-wound on his back--we try to keep his stuffing in as best we can). Sparkly is carried everywhere, including to Show and Tell at Co-op, and has been known to sport clothespins on his ears, fanciful yarn around his neck and waist, and many a Lego or penny taped to an appendage. Hopefully, Sparkly will in no way feel threatened by the arrival of Sonic, Michael's new Webkinz.

I have mixed opinions about the benefits of the Webkinz. On the one hand, the kids learn a little about money and responsibility as they must complete certain tasks--like play a game--to earn money to feed, clothe, and house the virtual version of their pet. On the other hand, they are sometimes of the notion that when you want something, you just buy it. Of course, this notion is typical with kids and not necessarily a by-product of their time in Webkinz World. I suppose it doesn't help at all that Mom often spends evenings playing her favorite Webkinz games, thus earning "free" money for them to spend at will.

At any rate, the Webkinz do serve as a source of imagination. In addition, with the craze comes the almost-guarantee that the kids will have something to talk about with just about every child they encounter. It does trump conversations about the very-often, very-strange video games of the present age--don't you miss the good ol' days of "Frogger," "Pac-Man," "Pitfall," and "Donkey Kong?" Maybe the Wide World of Webkinz will one day enter the halls of fame to reside alongside those wonderful ol' quality games!

Dear Dana, Thank you for giving us enough for a Webkinz. My Webkinz is a Google - half platypus, half duck. I think he's cute. I also have another Webkinz. I love you, Michael

Dear Dana, Thank you for giving us enough money to buy a Webkinz. My Webkinz is a tiger, and my other Webkinz is a chihuahua. I love you, Jacob

Dear Dana, Thank you for the money for us to buy a Webkinz. I got a unicorn, and I named her Eunice. She has sparkles in her hair and on her tail, and her hooves are shiny pink. I love you, Alex

BB&T (Boys Bank & Trust)

Well, it happened. On Friday, my Baby Boy lost his first tooth. I have to face it--he's growing up. Jacob was indeed quite proud of the big gap in his mouth and eagerly anticipated the Tooth Fairy's visit. His big financial goal of the moment is to save enough to buy another Webkin, a goal which he was, on Friday, still $7 short of attaining. He was thus convinced that his loss of a tooth must be some sort of divine event and that the Tooth Fairy would leave enough for him to reach his lofty goal. I tried to explain to him before bed that most kids only get a quarter for a lost tooth, so he should not be disappointed in the morning if the Tooth Fairy did not leave $7.

Inevitably, the morning came. And as I greeted him, I asked him if the Tooth Fairy paid a visit. "Yes," he said, "but she only left me $2." I once again reminded him how lucky he was to have received $2 when most kids only get a quarter. But he was convinced that there still must be a lost dollar or two hiding somewhere in his bed or in the mess beneath his bed. When his search turned up nothing, he added his $2 to his bank and asked us to count it up to see how much more he needed to save.

This morning the boys are back to counting their money and getting some wheeling and dealing going. They actually have come up with a pretty good and generous plan: This Saturday, Jacob will give Michael his allowance so that Michael will then have enough to purchase another Webkin. Then Michael will give Jacob his allowance for the next two weeks so that Jacob will have enough within that time.

The Bible says money is the root of all evil. Not that Webkinz are evil. Or allowances. Or even counting money. Or wheeling and dealing. But this constant discourse over money: "Do I have enough yet, Mommy?" "Do we get allowance today?" (Since you just got it yesterday, what do you think the answer to that question is??)? At least they're saving for something, right?!

The Big Log

(Alex stole authorship, which I don't mind...although I did point it out to her!)

The Big Log

Soon it will be time to go on the big boat. The rules say if a baby is not potty trained, she cannot go in the pool on the big boat.

Mommy said, "It is time to potty train the baby." So Mommy took the baby's pants off and showed her the potty.

Illustration by Michael

Mommy forgot about Baby. Mommy went to take a shower. Soon Michael yelled, "Mommy, will you come? She smells!"

Mommy said, "In a moment." Mommy did not come fast. Mommy began to dry her hair. Then Mommy stopped. Hmmm. Baby had no pants on. Uh oh!

Mommy found Baby in the boys' room. On the rug, Baby had left a big log of poop.

Illustration by Alex

Mommy had to smile. It was funny. The boys smiled. Alex smiled. Daddy smiled. It was funny. Mommy cleaned up the mess.

Illustration by Jacob

Then Mommy had class in the room with tile. The baby sat on the potty then got up and peed on the tile. Jacob said, "Baby, you must not pee on the tile. You must stay here. If you are not here, you can hold it until you get to your pot."

It was not yet lunchtime. Baby had peed on the tile six times. Mommy did not like to mop the tile. It was not funny now.

Mommy put Baby's pants back on. Mommy said maybe Baby will not swim on the big boat.

Special Sounds (Clue Words): oo (tooth), e (me), o (go), y (baby), -ed (played), ow (bowl), er (verse), th (this), sh (ship), ow (owl), sm (smile), st (stop), dr (drum) air (hair), -ed (looked), ou (out), oy (boy), cl (clock), th (thick), ay (pray), ch (church), u (push), ck (duck)

Sight Words: to, the, a, is, said, you, come, uh oh, was, here, are, your

Destination: The Final Frontier

When we picked Audrey up after Awana last night, she had a fever (my sincere apologies to anyone who had children in the nursery with the Princess), so even last night I had pretty much written off today as far as academics go. However, yesterday I re-discovered www.learningpage.com, a treasure I had forgotten about until I began my quest to find cursive practice for Alex. Learning Pages offers thematic units...and some wonderful resources on Space. Since we have been studying the Solar System, I made an executive decision this morning to have a day without the 3R's and just participate in whatever academics the Princess would allow us to do.

One of the resources LP offers are murals to go along with each unit. I decided that would be our project this morning, so I put up a black wall using construction paper. I did sneak in a little 'Rithmetic with Alex when I challenged her to figure out how many pieces of paper we'd need if we had 4 rows of 10 across. As I was putting up the black paper, I explained to the kids that I was putting Space on the wall. After it was done, Michael said, "We have the coolest house ever!"

After creating Space on the wall, I began to get the cut-outs prepared for coloring. During my prep time, my little teacher gathered a hallway classroom with the boys, Audrey, and several stuffed animals. I caught the beginning of her lecture: "There is more in space than just the earth and the sun..." She went on to explain all about other heavenly bodies, the planets (and how they got their names from gods and goddesses). Finally, when I told them it was time to color Alex declared, "Workshop!"

The Solar System mural turned out well, and the kids have asked if we can keep it forever. And seeing as how we've only studied Mercury and Venus yet Alex taught the kids and their stuffed animals so much, I may just put her in charge of homeschooling from here on out!

Classical Music of the Middle Ages?

I'm itching to get to some composer study, but I'm also incredibly obsessed with keeping my electives tied to our History studies. Obviously, there weren't too many Beethovens or Mozarts tromping through the lands of the Byzantine Empire or across the deserts of Muhammed's neck of the woods. So I have settled...for an armenian composer from the 700s named Stepanos Sunetsy.

Sunetsy's hits include Psalm No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, which I downloaded from www.classicalarchives.com (someday I'll take the time to learn how to put an actual link on here!). Here are the kids comments:

Michael: I liked it because it sounded like pretty music.

Jacob: I thought it was sweet music and pretty music.

(I think "pretty" may have been prompted because I let them watch the swirly things on Windows Media Player as they listened.)

Alex: I felt like I was in sort of a big, dark room with that music playing. And it was really warm in the room and smelled good too. I thought it was from either India or Russia. Then I felt there were people dancing around in white clothes with little cloths wrapped around their head, and they wanted me to join them.

(As a side note, I have to say that she actually said, "...smelled good too, like wine." I omittted "wine" because I don't want to offend anyone, but then that's a funny part of her description I want to archive!)

I have a feeling I may stray from my timeline in order to get some good music in the mix, especially since I have some free gifts and two composer CDs and books in the mail. Yes, I'm one of those suckers that sends in the tear off sheet that says, "Yes! Please rush my two books for only $1.99 (+ S & H) along with my free gifts..." And, yes, I'm always excited that I get the gold sticker that allows me to claim the maximum number of gifts...even though I'm completely aware that there really aren't any silver stickers out there (and pity the poor person who would get a silver sticker!). Until we get my CDs, composer books, and all of my free gold sticker gifts, however, we'll continue studying some very obscure composers from the Middle Ages!

Just a Day

Even ordinary days have extraordinary moments. Yesterday's moment came on the way home from church when Michael got a hold of some large googly eyes we used to teach Sunday School. He placed the googly eyes behind his glasses and had the whole van giggling. Jacob tried his on as well.

Tonight was Jacob's "Special Night" again, and he wanted to Jenga. We built a masterpiece block tower, and he wanted to capture it on film:

History Rhymin'

Last year I didn't push the boys to be involved in history, but this year I insist on it. However, I do understand that their minds are apt to wander during a chapter of Story of the World. So I've done a couple of things to combat this. First, instead of having them do the mapwork or color the picture provided by Bauer AFTER the reading, I put the map and picture in front of them during our reading. That way, we can reference the map and mark it up as we read, and my kinesthetic learner has the freedom to keep his hands in motion as he colors while I read. A second thing I've done is to create a couple of rhyming lines for each chapter we read. While I don't think my rhymes will win any poetry contests, it is helping all three of the kids retain some facts. We just covered Chapter 9 today and therefore added a couple new lines to our developing poem:

The Middle Ages

Rome was so big they didn’t know what to do.

So in 395 the Empire split in two.

The West fell out of Rome’s hands.

The Celts lived in British lands.

In 449, the Anglo-Saxons settled there.

Then Augustine brought Christianity to share.

The East became known as the Byzantine Empire

with the Hagia Sophia and its tall spire.

The capital was Constantinople,

And Justinian was the Emperor hopeful.

He always worked very hard in his life,

and he ruled in 527 with Theodora, his wife.

In India, the Gupta Dynasty—peace it gave

While Buddhist Monks lived in Ajanta caves.

In Mecca, Muhammed began to preach

and in Medina from the Koran began to teach.

All over, Islam began to spread

with Muhammed as the religion’s head.

The Tang Dynasty ruled 300 years.

It was China’s Golden Age of no fears

Japan broke from China and Korea to go their own way

and followed the Yamato Dynasty which still rules today.

So I guess you could say those lines are our World History in a nutshell. I wish I had done this last year with "Ancient Times" so that the material would be more cemented in not only the kids' minds, but mine as well, but I guess we'll catch it when it cycles back around in 2 years.

Chickens!

Chickens, chickens, chickens! Not that my friend doesn't have enough on her plate what with 3 kids, a fourth one almost done cookin', a huge new house to maintain, a farm to run, kids' brains to fill with amazing academics (how does she do it all?!)...today she was kind enough to accommodate us when we invited ourselves to her farm for a chicken field trip. The new farm owners just acquired 12 chickens, and I thought it would be a blast for the kids to observe the birds...and of course play with their two best buddies Grace and Jack. In earnest preparation for our field trip, we did a little KWL yesterday (actually, we haven't done the L yet): K meaning what you already Know about chickens, W for what you Want to learn about chickens, and tomorrow we'll get to the L which is what you Learned about chickens. You won't be surprised to know that Michael's request was to find out "what chicken poop looks like." (What is it with boys' obsession with poop anyway?!)

Michael quickly forgot his main objective when the lively birds were freed from their coop to free-range on the farm. The kids were delighted to chase them around and watch them eat their fill of bugs or whatever else they were pecking at on the ground! It's funny--I grew up with chickens but never realized they had so much personality! Shows what can happen when you actually study something like my dear friend has done. The cutest/funniest chickens were the silkies which our host explained are from Japan. They are such peculiar looking critters from the tufts of white feathers on their heads down to the ankle cuff of feathers above their toes!

Helping feed the chickens

When we were done playing with the chickens, we enjoyed playing together and gobbling up a pizza lunch. Thank you so much for a fun field trip and wonderful fellowship, Amo!

What's In a Name?

I love to hear toddlers talk using their own toddler-ese. And one of the cutest things to note are the names that toddlers assign to various family members. When we brought Michael home, Alex dubbed him "Mi-Mal." In turn, as Michael reached toddlerhood, Alex became "Ashy." And Jacob still calls Alex "Awex." Now it's Audrey's turn, and she has the most creative names of all.

Last night during devotions, I asked, "Who would like to pray?" Audrey gave an enthusiastic, "Mee-ee!" So she prayed in her normal fashion, repeating words from my phrases:

Mommy: Lord, please help Alex.

Audrey: Da-da

Mommy: And Michael.

Audrey: Bize

Mommy: And Jacob.

Audrey: Bize

Mommy: And Audrey.

Audrey: Baby

Mommy: And Mommy and Daddy.

Audrey: Mommy, Daddy

We aren't sure where "Da-da" came from for Alex, unless it caught on when I've occasionally called Alex "Alexandra" (usually followed by her middle and last name as well as a reprimand!). And, until she began calling Daddy "Daddy" rather than "Dada", it got confusing around here. As for "Bize," the last time Audrey prayed, she called Michael "Ba-pal" (I can hear that), and she called Jacob "Deese" (don't ask). It is my theory that "Bize" comes from us always referring to the pair as the "boys." At any rate, Audrey-ese is truly creative and unique!

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet; however, I think 'tis much sweeter coming from the mouth of a Princess requesting a brother or sister's attention!

My Compassionate One

I still remember the Christmas season when Alex was two, and I was reading Colleen Monroe's A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree to her. As the details were being painted of a lonely tree who never gets picked to be a Christmas tree in someone's living room, I glanced at my little girl. She was listening with rapt attention...and a huge tear rolling down her cheek. She had the same reaction when we read about Charlotte's death in Charlotte's Web.

This evening, Alex's tender heart took over once again. A few weeks ago, we studied New York, and I gave some brief details to Alex about what happened to the Twin Towers. Now Alex has taken to blaring her stereo during her shower, so The Fish tunes were once again wafting throughout the house this evening. After her shower, she came to join the rest of us upstairs and immediately prefaced her presence with, "I'm not crying; I just got soap in my eyes." I empathized with her for a few moments and left it at that.

About 10 minutes later, Alex shared with me that she had heard a man on the radio talking about a family member he lost on 9/11. I asked, "Is that why you were crying?" She didn't answer, so I offered, "It's OK to cry. I still cry even 6 years later when I hear the stories." She then admitted that her tears were real. She also seemed to want to talk about it, so we had a conversation about more of the details of the day. She was interested to hear that on 9/11/01, she and I were in my room packing to head to Florida the next day.

Alex shed a couple more tears when we prayed for any families affected by 9/11. Her compassion touches my heart, and her wisdom in understanding difficult events always amazes me. She has said many times before that she wants to one day work for Samaritan's Purse. I know her tender heart will have much to offer should those dreams be realized.

Jacob's Night

Jacob has had such a rough time lately with all the transitions at church. He's getting better because we aren't forcing him to go to Sunday School if he doesn't want to (he sits very quietly in church with us). I think the next thing he really needs, though, is more alone time with Mom and Dad. I don't know why we've let "Special Nights" fall by the wayside, but I decided to start them again tonight. Each child has a "Special Night," and on that night the other three kids have Roomtime beginning at 7:30. During Roomtime, the child of honor gets to spend 1/2 hour of uninterrupted (at least "no interruptions" are the rules anyway) time with us doing whatever he wants to do, with the exception of TV and video games. When I told Jacob tonight would be his night, his eyes sparkled and he shared one of those adorable, timid smiles with me.

Jacob has had an all-around good day today anyway. He started the day by requesting that he be first to have one-on-one school time. Usually Jacob goes last because he doesn't yet do independent work and therefore doesn't require the extra time in the day that Alex and sometimes Michael require. So he got to go before the other two, and his first request was that he wanted to read 8 of his Bob books. I wondered why 8, and he quickly explained that 8 was all he had left on his reading chart. Clearly the boy wanted some ice cream! I actually wasn't able to accommodate his request right away to read 8 books because we got a late start today, and we had to eat lunch so his reading was interrupted. We also had a trip to the store. But he didn't forget, and he finished his 8 books late this afternoon, resulting in a yummy ice cream dessert.

A Completed Reading Chart!

My boy also earned a dollar for the "Disney World Bank." I must digress to explain what this is since, in an earlier post, I mentioned that our cruise was to take the place of a Disney trip. Saturday was really not a good day in the Pierce household. If there was misbehavior to occur, it took place on Saturday--poor manners, attitude, fighting. Then there was the whole pee and poop in a cup incident. Yes, the boys peed in one cup and used another cup to scoop some other "stuff" out of the commode. Long story short, there was a long shower, a scrubbing of the bathroom, and then a lengthy lecture on Common Sense. As Mark was delivering said lecture, I could see his mind working to come up with some sort of incentive program to whip these kids in shape. And as he began to explain to the kids that good behavior could earn "dollars" and once $100 was accumulated, we'd go to Disney, I shot him an Are you forgetting about the cruise? look but then thought to myself, Why would I turn down another vacation? So the Disney "bank" is on the fridge with its lonely $2--Alex earned one today for behaving so well on our shopping trip.

The Disney Bank

And back to how Jacob earned his: We studied China today in history--the Tang Dynasty and how China flourished during the 300 years that were this dynasty and that became known as the Golden Age of China. We learned about how the Chinese invented stamps (the ink kind, not the postage kind) so they could mass produce books...as opposed to the Monks we studied a few weeks ago who would meticulously copy books page by page by hand. So naturally after history, we got out the many stamps I have so the kids could create whatever kind of book they wanted to make. After they were done playing, Jacob cleaned up all the stamps--by himself! He certainly deserved to contribute to the Disney Bank!

Stamp Explosion!

Jacob's Stampin' Hands (the red ones!)

Jacob's a sweet little guy, sometimes misunderstood with his timid ways. We're trying to make a concerted effort to pay him special attention which hopefully will build his confidence. Hopefully soon we can get some days out with Daddy for both of the boys. In the meantime, Jacob will, I'm sure, be asking tomorrow how many days it is until his next "Special Night."

First Co-op: Success

Jacob was very apprehensive about going to our homeschool group's first co-op yesterday. I have to admit: I was too. I joined this group a year and a half ago. Then last year, after I had already committed to helping them out on several dates throughout the year, I realized I was totally over-committed in every area of my life, and I backed out on my commitment to them. So yesterday I felt like a loser showing my face again. However, I was welcomed warmly and even talked to a couple of other mothers who found themselves in similar situations last year, so I didn't feel so bad.

Co-op itself was a great hit with the kids. Every first Friday of the month, we are working from "Keepers of the Faith" for the girls and "Contenders for the Faith" for the boys (the third Friday--our second meeting of the month--will alternate art and debate/presentation). Yesterday the girls learned stenciling, while the boys took up painting. The world once again proved itself small--despite its grandeur--when the hired art teacher turned out to be my former cake decorating instructor! It was fun catching up with her.

I was so proud of Jacob. He didn't want to go to co-op at all, but once we got there, he got totally into the project and listened well to instruction. I was surprised that all of the boys paid such close attention to the instructor and stuck with the duck painting project for an hour and a half! Jacob even continued to work while I left the room for 5 minutes to change a stinky princess.

Alex had a great time too, although I think the socializing aspect of co-op captured her attention more than the stenciling project. As we were leaving, she begged me to let her run back in to say good-bye to one of her friends. Michael, too, quickly became buddies with the boys sitting on either side of him. We stopped for ice cream on the way home to reward Jacob for doing so well in a new situation, and there the kids couldn't stop talking about co-op and asking when we would get to go back. And just this morning Michael claimed that, "Next time we go to co-op, I want to stay forever!"

Just Gettin' By

It really has just been one of those weeks. This yuckie bug is taking its time leaving the premises, so each day one or more of us has been less than up to par. Most of this week it's been me, so everything has pretty much been neglected: laundry, cleaning, quality academics, family fun, fitness...

And I guess blogging can be added to that list because all I've got left to say is: Do I get a do-over next week?!

Go Fish

Broken Bridges on Lake Hartwell

The Bridge to Nowhere from SC on the left; the Bridge to Nowhere from GA on the right.

In preparation for our first Labor Day fishing expedition, the kids got fishing poles, which were--of course!--first tested in the pool. As soon as we got home from Wal-Mart, Michael with his Spider-Man pole, Jacob with his Cars rod, and Alex with her Barbie fishing pole headed out to the backyard. Only the Princess--with her Princess fishing pole of course--stood to the side as she was still feeling so rotten. As soon as the kids caught on to casting, their time poolside quickly turned into a competition to see who could cast the farthest up into the yard. From there, the competition took them to the playhouse to see who could cast closest to the pool from the fort.

Today the competition was officially moved to Lake Hartwell where we found a nice, peaceful picnic area right on the lake. The kids got right down to business, first exploring the lakeside while Daddy got their rods prepared and then to the business of fishing. It's difficult to explain to a child who thinks he possesses Total Fisherman Power through the rod he holds in his hands that one does not always catch fish the minute one casts his line; in fact, one can not necessarily expect to catch anything at all. Surprisingly, despite the fact that each of the children expected fish to be lining up to get a bite of their hook, they were rather patient and diligent during their task.

Unfortunately, the only fish we saw were a big, dead fish on shore and several tiny little fish feeding on the bread we sprinkled on the water. However, it was a fun family outing all the same!

My Three Boys