Tea for Two

I have been blessed to have my children come in pairs by gender twice.  It has been lovely.  They don't always get along, but they are truly each others best friends. 

I hope it will be the same for Simon and Sarajoy.  I know if I reach back into the depths of my memory, I can remember a time when Nathan and Brandon fought quite a bit.  And Ruby and Daisy used to constantly fight over me, which is incredibly exhausting. 

So it is probably more related to age than gender, but either way it is a difficult phase. 

Simon is an intense person.  He takes offense VERY easily.  He doesn't like to share.  He needs a lot of personal space.  (He is also incredibly adorable, loving, and fun.) He loves to tease his older sister, but he certainly can't take it from his younger sister. 

Sarajoy is silent, but smart.  She knows exactly what is going on around her.  I don't know her exact motivation for tormenting Simon.  She is, after all, only 15 months old.  But she knows his buttons.  They too like to fight over me, but it doesn't stop at that. 

One day, she was toddling around when she noticed Simon's sippy cup on the table.  She walked over, reached up, grabbed it, and walked over to the stairs to sit down for a drink.  Simon was busy with fridge magnets, so he didn't see any of it.  After a moment Sarajoy walked over to Simon, got his attention, "eh....eh...eh...", and held up his cup.  Then she ran away. 

Really?  Did my baby just do that?

This one is even better:
Simon has been enjoying a fairy book of Ruby's that has little things to find on each page.  One of them is a cute little teapot.  One day, Simon "took" this little teapot from the page, and was carrying it around.  It was imaginary.  Invisible.  He brought it over to show me, and I pretended along with him.  He set it down on a bucket in the kitchen.  Sarajoy walked over and grabbed it.  There was quite a ruckus in the kitchen for several minutes until Ruby saved the day by taking the teapot from Sarajoy and giving it back to Simon. 

Maybe I was the only one who couldn't see the teapot. 

I'm pretty sure this is the first time this mom has had to break up a fight over an imaginary toy. 

I'm getting some great ideas for inexpensive Christmas Presents...

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School week September 20-25

History:  Picked grapes and made grape jam.  Grapes are mentioned in Leif the Lucky and Columbus.  We also canned and froze peaches.  We read some more chapters of History of Us discussing different nations and cultures of American Indians.   Also making our way through Courage of Sarah Noble, Sign of the Beaver, and Guests with Ruby, Nathan, and Brandon respectively.
We had a wonderful time making Indian clothing from paper bags.  We made leather-like vests and decorated them.  We made up Indian names for ourselves and put them on headbands.  Brandon went the extra mile and made his vest with sleeves and also made himself a loin cloth!  Each of the kids (Including Sarajoy :) ) Made little teepees.
Mom went to a Mom's night out to learn all about washing, carding, and spinning fleece.  Very fun!

Science: We had a really great time talking about friction.  We put a hook screw into a large block of wood.  We used our spring scales to drag it across different surfaces to measure the friction.  We tested our strength on a Mason Jar.  I could never fasten it tight enough that Brandon needed the jar gripper.  We tried pushing the stroller around with the wheels locked.  We had a wonderful time finding out what life would be without friction by trying to walk on a floor covered with shaving cream!

Math:  Nathan and Brandon got through lesson 10 and each took a test.  Brandon got 100%.  Nathan is trying very hard to get an A.  He got a 75%, but was frustrated that two of the questions on the test were things not covered in his lesson.  We worked through all of the problems he missed.  This is a good experience for him!

It's That Time of Year

When harvest time comes bearing down upon my neat little schedule that I've worked so hard to implement. 

It happens every year. 

Why do I think I can pick and preserve fruit AND do our regular routine that already takes up more time than we have?

Maybe we should start school in August so we can just plan on taking a harvest break. 

Or maybe I should remember that harvest time provides lots of learning opportunities and lots of memories.

We picked grapes at dusk for Family Home evening on Monday.  It must have been the right time of day because it is the first time we've picked grapes and nobody has complained.

Today, I read aloud to my older 3 kids while they skinned grapes for jam.  We'd take turns reading and skinning and straining and changing diapers.

And eating Fruit Loops. 
I seldom buy them, but they were on a great sale, and I knew the kids would enjoy them as a treat.  They made a lovely emergency lunch in my steamy, sticky, complete disaster of a kitchen.

The kids stuck it out through the first batch, and helped a little with batches 2 and 3, but they were tired of the kitchen.  They were playing so nicely together and keeping the little ones out of my way.  Lots of love and learning going on there, so I let them be. 

Then I was alone.  And something was missing.  The house was quiet.  Too quiet. I looked for what I needed, but couldn't find it.  So I just kept working until I could stand on my feet no longer. 
I took a break when Dallin got home to put my feet up for awhile and read. 

Dinner was over, scripture time through, kids in bed.  I still had a batch of fruit leather to make and a HUGE mess to clean up.  I was so happy to find what I needed before I had to start the next phase of my project. 

There is something about this time of year that makes me NEED Little Women.
I don't remember when I first chose to listen to this book while I processed fruit, but it was a perfect match.  Now, I discovered that I really long for it.  Working alone this afternoon, I could almost hear the lovely story in my mind.  The library copy was out.  I found a free download, but it was the wrong voice.  I listened to several samples, and realized that I not only need the story, I need Barbara Caruso's voice. 

Then I found it!  For $10 I could download it from Amazon.  I figure that if I'm going to listen to it every fall, it will be a good investment.  In minutes, I had it downloaded and playing on my computer.

Ahhhhhh, that's better.
I quietly set to work, welcoming the old friends and stories for our yearly reunion.  I laughed out loud at Jo's antics.  I warmed at Marmee's tenderness and wisdom.  I marveled at the lovely strength of the March family, and hoped again that this year we could become a little more like them. 

And I didn't even get that far into the book. 

I better go find some more fruit!
...

Sorry, Dad

You might have to grow your beard out this month.

Because.......

We needed your shaving cream for a science experiment!

We learned all about friction today, and what would happen to us if we didn't have friction.

Yes, Mom finally couldn't resist, so she joined in as well.

We didn't finish our workboxes today because everybody had to take a bath during school.

But it was worth it!

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Friends

I have a friend who is becoming less and less social.  She feels happy and content at home, and dreams about having a backwoods-type lifestyle.  I love her.  She is inspiring and fun to be around.  We have a lot of the same interests.  I feel thankful that though she doesn't feel like she needs a lot of friends, she chooses to spend time with me.  That makes me feel really special!

I need friends.  It is something that I feel like I lacked growing up.  I always dreamed of having a "best friend".  I was too far apart in age and interest from my closest siblings to be really close to them growing up.  We have a lot of fun memories, but not the emotional connection that I craved.  Same with the friends in my neighborhood.  I had some interesting friends during my teen years.  Some wonderful, others not so.  I tried on a lot of different images, trying to fit in, etc.  My senior year, I found some really excellent friends that are of the lifelong caliber.  People I didn't have to pretend with.  When Nathan was a baby, and I was so lonely, I got invited to a playgroup.  It was the highlight of my week!  It provided something so essential to my well being.  Since then, I have tried very hard to seek out friends and be a friend to those who seem to need one.  I have developed deep relationships with people I never expected to.  It is thrilling for me to meet new people and spend time with them.

I was reminded again this week of how much I need the support of friends. 

I had a lovely conversation about home birth with a friend in my new ward.  It was enthralling.  I can't wait to get to know her better.  I came home feeling so full and happy.

I spent an afternoon picking and drying peaches with my friend while our children played together like cousins.  I felt special because I knew she was concerned that I was getting good pickin's.

I have a friend way over in Missouri, whom I have never met.  Her sister introduced me to her blog, and it is a highlight of my days.  She had a bad day this week.  So did I .  The very same kind of bad day that only a home schooling mother of 6 could fully understand.  I understood because I had that very same kind of bad day this week.  I felt comfort knowing that she understood.

On Friday, I dropped my kids off at the charter school for their home school Options day.  Then I took my two little ones to the home school park day.  I got to visit with friends I haven't seen for awhile.  We talked about home schooling, and I needed that support oh, so very much!  I felt like I was at a feast!

On Saturday, I spent the morning and afternoon working with my best friend on our house.  I felt so much joy to have him by my side.  I felt so loved when he stopped what he was working on to hammer tacks into the frilly curtain I was trying to attach to a stool in my girls' room.

That night was a big event.  It was the grand unveiling of our house to some friends in our ward.  They have been our family since we moved to Utah.  They were there when we moved in and there were not many young families in the ward.  Through serving in Primary together, we discovered how well our 4 families get along.  We've had couples-only dates, an annual progressive dinner, family hikes and camping trips, and late-nights where the adults play games and the kids just play.  We wanted the house to be just-right for them!  The night could not have been better.  We all fell asleep feeling exhausted, but completely grateful and satisfied.

I spent some time tonight talking with Dallin about our recent Stake Conference.  Elder Holland talked about filling our reservoirs so we have something to keep us going when things get tough.  I was feeling a little frustrated about not having time to fill my reservoirs.  I was thinking about how little time I have to study, go to the temple, or even ponder.  I was a little mad that my reservoirs seem pretty dry, and I don't know how to fill them.  How silly I was, to not recognize what fills my reservoirs.

It is friends. 

Thank you for filling me up! 

Home School Week 9/11-9/17

Saturday: Learned about American Bison.  Compared Bison to buffalo.  Made pemmican and beef jerkey.
Hiked in nearby hills.
Monday: Listened to Story of Stephen Foster.  Read about force and gravity.  Played with balls and parachute people.  Talked about what kinds of things Indian children would have played with.
Tuesday-Friday: Made corn husk dolls.  Made plaster figurines (art-Remington).  Finished Leif the Lucky.  History of US 4-6 (Eskimos and Cliff Dwellers).  Read some Indian Legends.  Picked and dried fruit. Roasted corn in the husk. Science experiments involving force, gravity, and weight.  Figured our weight on the moon. Used swingset to talk about pendulums. 

Nathan and Brandon: completed 4 lessons in math.  (5-8)

We are really loving the workbox system.  I gave the kids the option to only do math one day so we could have more time for projects.  They complained and said they wanted to do their drawers! 

We actually completed the planned items for the day by 1pm on Wednesday!

Sarajoy was sick this week, so there were a few items we didn't get to.  I wasn't able to get as early a start as I would have liked. 

The Secret Life of Nectarines

I almost missed it.

I almost sent them to bed at 8:30, even though my daughter was hinting ever-so-discreetly that she would love to stay up and help me.

Sometimes I worry that if I let them stay up, I won't have the self control to be nice. I get to a point where I  need a little space before I go to bed.

But I really needed the help.  Exhausted after a busy, fun-filled day of charter school and park day and a soccer game, I was wishing I could go to bed at 8:30.

But four buckets of overripe nectarines were sitting on my counter, and they were not going to make it through the night.  Something had to be done.

And they WANTED to help.
Its Friday night.

So, I set them up with knives and cutting boards and ziplock bags.

I set myself up on another counter with knife and cutting board and blender.

And I treated myself to over 2 hours of delightful prattle.

First, Daisy was Ruby's horse.  They had some kind of game that Ruby would give Daisy signals, and Daisy would set off racing around the kitchen island.  Ruby would cut up the nectarines, and Daisy would put them in the bag.

Then we got down into the buckets a ways, and the nectarines were not so pretty.  There were lots of parts that needed to be cut off, and a few were so moldy and rotten that they had to be completely discarded.

To them, it was like I was not in the room.  I tried not to listen too closely to their imaginary world.  I didn't want to interfere or break the spell, but I caught delicious little morsels here and there:

"Let's pretend this is the adopting-place where the kids go that they don't want."  (I'm sure she was referring to the ever-growing pile of pits and rotten pieces.)
 "When they come here, we cut off their diseases and stuff."

I tuned in awhile later:
"It was so sad, but I got to go to the dying thing."
     "Oh, you mean the funeral?"
"Yeah, and I got to put the flowers on the grave.  But everyone else only got to put cards on."

As far as I could tell, these were the nectarines talking. 

Several other stories followed, that I was only partially listening to.  Many involved sickness or death.  I remember hearing about a cobra, and one guy was actually dead for 20 years but came back to life. They were sort of one-upping each other, but very courteously saying, "Oh, how sad" after each story. 

    "Well, my sister got married last week, and I got to carry the flowers."
"Well, my cousin got married but she missed it, cause she died."  ( I could not help but exclaim out loud at this one.  Ruby quickly put me to rights by reminding me that there's nothing gross about death.  Even little babies die sometimes, and that's WAY younger than someone getting married. I learned my lesson and kept quiet, but listened more closely.)
The story continued as if I had not interrupted:
"The good thing was that the man was there (at the wedding, I presume), and there was someone else there who wanted to marry him"  (How nice)

      "Once my cousin was fishing, and he caught a shark, but it jumped up and ate him."

     "The other morning our dog woke up really old and sick.  He came into our room and then went outside in our back yard over by the flowers--
"Oh yes, I know where your flowers are--"
              "--and died.  He was trying to tell us goodbye.  It was so sad.  Now we have a new dog that is kind of jumpy and happy, but we don't like it as well."
"Does it bite you?"
             "Well, Sometimes, but our other dog only bit me a few times right when we got it and then he NEVER bit.  This dog only bit me a few times, too."
"But does it bite your husband?"
            "Yeah, it mostly just likes me so it bites my husband."

I remember reading in Little Women and Anne of Green Gables about the girls going through a phase of reading and writing tragic stories.  I guess it is a phase.  I am glad that to them it is still drama and romance.  I know it won't always be.

But their voices were sweet and giggly, and I loved being a part of their magical nectarine world.

And

They were genuinely helpful.
We will have lots of frozen nectarines, nectarine syrup, and dried nectarines preserved for the winter.
A couple of hours of precious memories preserved as well.

...

Closure

July 31, 2010

She was the most excited when we originally talked about moving.

She was the least excited when the time drew close for us to move. 

She was sad.

and angry

and would not be talked out of it.

But I did try to talk to her as much as I could.  I would try to ignore her occasional acting out behaviors and get down and listen to her concerns. 

Big Concern #1: I am going to miss my Primary Teachers

Big Concern #2: I don't want to be baptized in a new ward

Big Concern #3: I will miss my room

Big Concern #4: I HATE the Woodland Hills Log Cabin (We didn't end up buying it)

We assured Ruby that we would make her new room special.  We made sure she knew she could be baptized in the 15th ward.  We made sure she got to go to that ward the next Sunday and sit on the stand and wear her pretty dress and tell her teachers goodbye.

It was a lovely day for everyone.  I think it provided closure for the whole family, not just for Ruby.  What a special occasion to share with our ward as a farewell. 
She looked stunning in her baptism dress. 
She looked radiant in her white baptism suit with Dad.
She looked relieved that her nervousness about going under water in front of people was unfounded.
She looked delighted to see her Primary teacher with a little gift for her.
She looked angelic as her daddy laid his hands on her for confirmation.
She looked satisfied as we gathered with friends and family afterward for refreshments and visiting.
She looked tired, but happy after the ward swim party that night.

We love our Ruby Doll and we are so proud of her for making this decision!

Her special day was the perfect note on which to end our happy years in Spanish Fork 15th ward.

Home School This Week

I'll just warn you right now that this might be boring.  My kids are taking a few public school courses at home this year, so I want to keep a record of what we're doing.


The first week of home school every year is always exciting!
It is fun to think and plan of all the neat things we can learn and do together.
It is nice to try to create a schedule that will make the household work and get school done too.
I was reminded this week of how much I truly enjoy spending time learning with my kids.

The first week of home school is usually overwhelming!
I usually think of and plan a lot more to do than we have hours to do it in.
I discover by about Thursday that I become a zombie when I get up so early to make the schedule work.
I was reminded this week of how demanding and frustrating toddlers can be when I'm trying to do stuff with my older kids.

I'm sure that within the next couple of weeks, we'll iron things out and settle into a nice balance.

What's new this year:

I was inspired by my friend Mindy Henry to do a workboxes system.  I pretty much copied Mindy's system, but there are lots of ways to do it.  I googled it and got lots of ideas.  Each of my school-aged children has a set of 9 plastic 12x12 drawers.  Each drawer is filled with an activity or assignment for that child to do.  They do the drawers in order, and I stagger the drawers for each child that will need my help.  This solves the problem that I have had when we all do math together, etc.  When all of the kids need my help at once, it gets pretty intense.  I have also made up some little assignment cards for things like: break, snack, outside, play with Simon, play with Sarajoy, etc.  My kids really enjoy having things mixed up.  It is fun to see what activities I'll pull out or what I'll think of for them to play with Simon, etc.
The main things I love about it are:
1.It staggers the times they need my help
2.It makes our school days more interesting while still being consistent with the skills practice
3.It gives us a chance to use fun home schooling materials that we own but never seem to have time to use.

So far, so good.  But I have to admit that I fully planned to have them do drawers today, and I forgot to load them last night.  It was okay, though, because we had our open-house at the school and I ended up needing the day to do other things.  They will normally be in school all day on Fridays anyway.

So here's what we accomplished this week:
Math:
Nathan started Algebra 1/2.  He is using the Saxon DIVE CD.  He finished 4 lessons.  He appears to be understanding the material as he only missed one problem in the set.
Funny that for both of my boys who have always used consumable math workbooks, the biggest challenge is teaching them to write neatly on the lines of a notebook!
Brandon is doing Saxon 6/5 He finished 4 lessons.
Ruby is still in Abeka 2.  I normally don't keep my kids back in math even if they didn't finish the book because it has been pretty easy to catch up.  Ruby is finishing her book because she needs to solidify her math facts and carrying/borrowing before she starts multiplication.  The carrying/borrowing thing has been interesting.  Using beans and popsicle sticks has helped.  Ruby inherited my distaste for coming across things I don't already know.  She has a really hard time when she can't just pick up on a concept effortlessly like she usually does. ( I actually remember learning about borrowing in 2nd grade.  I was so mad that Trevor Satterfield already knew how to do it before the teacher taught us the lesson. It made me not even want to learn it.)
Daisy is having a wonderful time starting the Horizons book that Ruby did.  We're also doing Funtastic Frog Math, which I just love.  We use the colorful counting frogs and a scale.

Writing:
The kids are working on journals once again.  The years that we have been consistent with this have produced priceless treasures for my kids to look back on.
The boys are doing scripture dictation.
The 3 older kids are reading novels that support our US history study and writing a summary of what they read.  The book I chose for Brandon is too advanced.  He either needs an easier book or we need to read it together.
I just purchased a writing program for Nathan that we will start next week.
Ruby and Daisy are practicing writing their names with good handwriting.  Ruby is doing cursive.
I am considering doing Teri Ebert's writing suggestions at least for Nathan.

History:
I'm really excited for studying US history this year!  Over the Summer I read Island of the Blue Dolphins.  I've started David McCullough's 1776, and I wish I had more time to read it!  I'm also reading Calico Captive to myself.
We read the first few chapters of A History of US.
We started Leif the Lucky.
We made Sculpey Totem Poles.
We are in the process of pemmican and home made beef jerkey
I started reading Margaret Murphy's Pilgrim Stories to the family.

Science:
I am really disappointed that we did not get to Science this week.  We are studying physics this year.

Arts:
We read about Frederic Remington and his painting "A Dash for the Timber".
We introduced John Philip Sousa and Stephen Foster as our composers for the month.
We introduced Walt Whitman for our Poet of the month.

Our Daily Schedule:

6:00 I get up to read scriptures and go for a walk
6:30 I wake the children so they can begin their chores
       Bed, Room, Clothes, Hair, Unload a portion of dishwasher, Clean their assigned area of the house, and then they each have a more long-term responsibility like garbages, breakfast, or laundry. Practice piano, personal prayers and scriptures, and I think that's all.
7:15 (been more like 7:45 this week) Eat breakfast and pray and send Dallin to work.
Then we do a quick devotional where we do the date, weather, pledge, prayer, song, scriptures
Then the kids do their drawers.
Then we do our together studies of History or Science, Art or Music, and read alouds.
We eat lunch about 1pm.  Our goal is to be done with school so the kids have the afternoons to create and play.  That hasn't quite happened yet, but we're figuring things out.  We're having lots of fun anyway!




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