Graduation

Wasn't that funny?

That one time?

When I said I'd post pictures of Nathaniel's graduation?

Hahahaha!

Back in JUNE?

I'm the only one laughing?

And it's the fake "heh, heh" kind of laugh?

And I should quit ending all these sentences with question marks?

Done.

So our oldest son graduated from our homeschool

this spring.

We hosted an open house at our church in June to celebrate.

My super amazing friend Monica made the cakes.

One "silly" 

(Nathaniel loves Batman movies.)

And one "serious".

I was busy with food and hostessing

so I asked Linnea to "take a bunch of pictures throughout the afternoon."

She said, "Of what?"

I told her, "Of people, of Nathaniel, of the grandparents, the guests,

just...random pictures of the day."

We decorated the tables with pictures of Nathaniel

The pictures I asked Linnea to take?

These are it.

I have no picture of our oldest son with us, his parents.

No photo of our whole family.

No grandparents.

I shouldn't say these are it.

I also have about four selfies of Linnea and Abram.

note to self:  you get what you pay for.

"Real" School

Can someone tell me why people refer to public school as "real school" when talking to/about homeschoolers? You know I'm not "pretend" schooling my kids, right?

Wordless Wednesday--They Found a Bird's Nest

(checking to see if it's empty)

 (when she smiles for the camera, she does this)

Thinking Out Loud

I keep this blog as a scrapbook of sorts, so forgive me if you seen this little nugget on facebook already...

Elijah was working through sentences in his phonics reader. "Deb can yell" was one of the sentences. 

"Hmm," says my child. "Deb must be a mom."

Books We Love

I've been mothering little folks for a lot of years now...seventeen in fact.
Since our kids average about 20 months apart (closest space is 14 months, longest space is two months shy of three years), there hasn't been a time when I haven't had little people.
Life with littles can be a challenge; it's definitely an adventure and it can often seem draining.
Little people make big messes, chatter incessantly, seem hungry at every time other than meal time, and are nearly always on the move.
They are finding and asserting their independence, vacillating between wanting to do everything by themselves (even the things you wish they wouldn't try on their own, like pouring from a full pitcher of milk) to feigning helplessness on things you know they can do independently (like using a stool to reach a cup from the cupboard).

What I am thinking about today, though, is how much little people LOVE to be read to.  Nothing draws a crowd of littles faster than reading a story.  I believe it's so important to have and read good books.  I thought I'd list here some of our favorites--feel free to comment and tell me some of yours!

This list is in no way exhaustive, just a sampling of my favorites for younger ones.

The Little House 

Virginia Lee Burton won the Caldecott Medal in 1943 for her memorable picture book The Little House, a poignant story of a cute country cottage that becomes engulfed by the city that grows up around it. The house has an expressive face of windows and doors, and even the feelings of a person, so she’s sad when she’s surrounded by the dirty, noisy city’s hustle and bustle: “She missed the field of daisies / and the apple trees dancing in the moonlight.” Fortunately, there’s a happy ending, as the house is taken back to the country where she belongs. A classic!

Farmer Dillo Paints His Barn

Farmer Dillo (an armadillo) loves to work.  He built a brand new barn, but can't decide what color to paint it.  He finally gets it just right.  This is a fun one for little ones because they can easily participate by guessing what comes next.  We are on our second copy because our first one fell apart from so much lovin'.

Katy and the Big Snow

Katy is a brave and untiring tractor who pushes a bulldozer in the summer and a snowplow in the winter, making it possible for the townspeople to do their jobs.  There is a lot of information about heavy equipment in this book made easily memorable for little folks (and mommies).

The Story about Ping

Since 1933, The Story About Ping has captivated generations of readers. Ping is a spirited little duck who lives on a boat on the Yangtze River. Ping's misadventures one night while exploring the world around his home form the basis of this timeless classic, which is brought to life by Kurt Wiese's warm and poignant illustrations.

Little Mommy

The “Little Mommy” in this story is an adorable little girl. We spend the day in her charming company as she cares for her dolls, treats their ills, gives them a tea party, feeds them dinner, and puts them to bed. Beautifully illustrated, this book has a timeless feel.  Definitely a story loved by our little girls! Ruby and Ivy have it memorized.

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

A modern classic that no child should miss. Since it was first published in 1939, Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel has delighted generations of children. Mike and his trusty steam shovel, Mary Anne, dig deep canals for boats to travel through, cut mountain passes for trains, and hollow out cellars for city skyscrapers -- the very symbol of industrial America. But with progress come new machines, and soon the inseparable duo are out of work. Mike believes that Mary Anne can dig as much in a day as one hundred men can dig in a week, and the two have one last chance to prove it and save Mary Anne from the scrap heap. What happens next in the small town of Popperville is a testament to their friendship, and to old-fashioned hard work and ingenuity.

Blueberries for Sal

A little girl and a bear wander away from their blueberry-picking mothers and each mistakes the other's mother for their own.  This story and it's illustrations are so, so cute!  

The Bunny Book

A daddy bunny plays with his baby bunny and says, “What will our baby be when he grows up?” Everyone, from the baby’s mother to big sister to Great Aunt Bunny, seems to know: a clown, a policeman, a candy store owner. But the baby only nibbles on his carrot and looks wise . . . for he knows he will grow up to be a nice daddy bunny!

I'd love if you'd tell me about YOUR favorites for little people!

She's Always Learning

I Recommend

For this week's I Recommend, I've listed three links.  One is a good reminder for moms, the other is a humorous read with good information particularly for home educators and the last is a yummy recipe.
Enjoy!

1.  The Mom Stays in the Picture     I never like being in pictures.  I wish I did.  I try hard.  I think, "smile...not too wide....careful not to do that thing with your lip...open your eyes a bit more, but not bug-like...turn so they can't see your big upper arms...put the baby in front of your belly..." etc. etc.  And when I actually see the picture?  Yuck.  That's what I look like???  Oh man...
BUT--whenever I've attended a funeral and watched the video photo collage and looked at the neat displays of pictures I think, "if I died, my family wouldn't have any pictures to even make one of these!"
The post above gave me much food for thought.  What I think I look like and what the camera captures are two different things.  However, what the camera captures IS what everyone else sees--so why do I hide?  It doesn't change what really is.  My friend Dawn posted the article on facebook and mentioned that years from now we will look back and think how great we looked--which is the very same thing I do when looking back at pictures of myself as a teen.  I thought I was so fat...so not pretty...so....yuck.
I look at my senior pictures now and wish I could weigh what I did then!  So, I'm deciding to get in the picture---and stay there.

2.  10 Lessons I've Learned from Thirty Years of Homeschooling     Though I haven't been at this homeschooling gig for 30 years, this year marks our eighth year of home-based Christian discipleship.  (That's what homeschooling is for me--it's not about the "school-ing".)  I read Vicky Farris' book, "A Mom Just Like You", I was intimidated.  At first.  About two paragraphs in, I was tearing up because she is SO real.  This article was written by her husband and is real, as well.  And funny--two of my favorite things!

3.  Crockpot Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe     Fall has me wishing for the tastes of anything apple or pumpkin.  I tried this recipe last week. YUM.
I opened a can of pumpkin, used the 2 T. and portioned out the rest in small little containers to freeze.  I also brewed more coffee than I needed and froze that, too, so now I have a stash of pumpkin lattes waiting!  I live very rurally, so "treat coffee" is rare, indeed.  Now, I make it at home (usually in the afternoon, during my "break" time) and it really tastes the same!  And costs SIGNIFICANTLY less!  Try it and see!
P.S.  I wouldn't set the crockpot on high like she suggests.  I tried that once and the milk curdled.  I actually just whisk it up on the stovetop.

Homeschool Friday

 Y'know, sometimes I try to make homeschooling little ones too hard.

But really, it isn't.

I had a "duh" moment this week,

or maybe I should call it a "good idea."

I made my younger ones a book to draw in.

I printed several words on plain printer paper,

stapled them into a book

and let 'em have at it.

Some of the words I chose were

swingset, car, tractor, baby, a page for them to write their name,

banana, apple, table, etc.

They LOVED it.

Bipper said,

"Mom--look at my arms--I'm STRONG!!!!"

They were so proud of their "books"

and were excited to show Daddy what they had done.

Homeschooling littles doesn't have to be so hard, now, does it!

To see other ideas for keeping younger ones busy

click here and here.

Hands and Feet

I do the same science lesson with both Andrew and Christopher, together.

We have been talking recently about how different muscles and bones have different jobs 

and how God created them each to do their own job just right.

The "object lesson" was to try to write your name using your feet instead of your hands

and to walk on your hands instead of your feet--boy, did they ever laugh while trying!!

We talked about how some people have to learn to do things without

their hands or feet; 

we decided we are very thankful that all of our hands and feet can do their jobs well!

Elijah's Workbook

Like nearly all "preschoolers",
Elijah really wants to "do school" when the rest of the kids are.

Since I don't believe that formal schooling is necessary in the early years,
I don't buy curriculum for my younger-than-five-crowd.

That said, however, there are countless workbooks and worksheets available
that little ones like to do some work in--to "do some school" like the big kids.

One problem, though, is that nearly all of these are consumable.
I have bought some books with mazes or dot-to-dots
only to have them do all 25 pages in one sitting.

Yay for them,
but not yay for $$$$.

Another veteran homeschool mom suggested
 that after buying a book, I tear out all the pages
and place them in page protectors in a 3-ring binder.
GENIUS!!!

I bought a zipper pouch to keep some
wet-erase markers in.
(you may remember these as what your teacher would use on an overhead projector)

When he is done with "school" for the day,
we can just wipe off the pages with a damp paper towel
and they are ready to go again for another day!!

What does Elijah think??

He likes it.
A lot!!

"Preschool" Activities

Disclaimer:  I cringe at the term "preschoolers" and all that it implies.

However, as it's become such a part of our culture's vocabulary,

I''ll get over myself for today...

This year, I bought

Preschool Activities in a Bag

and I couldn't be happier with it!!!

It had been on my wish list for several years now

and when I visited Heppner's Legacy this month,

I saw it and knew this was my chance.

Ruby and Elijah have loved the ones I've put together for them.

In the pictures below,

Ruby has some beads on a half of a pipe cleaner.

I glued one bead on the end and then about 6 or 7 more that are removable.

(I raided Linnea's over-flowing bead box--didn't need to spend a dime!)

She takes off the beads (that aren't glued),

puts them in a bowl and then matches them back up with the correct pipe cleaner.

It keeps her busy and happy for a loooooooong time.

Yay for constructively busy little hands!

Why Having One Child is Harder than Eight

People often say something like this to me,

"Wow--I only have ONE child.  I can't imagine how hard it is to have as many as YOU!"

I tell them every time:

One is harder than eight. (or whatever number we're on. :-) )

Here is one reason why that is:

there's always someone to read you a story

(or at least look at the pictures with you)!

In a single-child family, Mom or Dad is pretty much it for a day-to-day playmate.

In our house, I have lots of hands to help keep each other occupied!

An open book is like a magnet in our house, by the way...

Exploring the Prairie

I'm not much of a field trip person.

Getting my crew out the door and to any destination is much like a circus attraction, and I get a ringside seat.

Lately, however, I've been reminded to say "yes" more and "no" less--

especially since after the baby comes it will be harder to make commitments like these.

Our homeschool group went to what is commonly called The Prairie on Monday.

I am SO GLAD I made the effort and said yes.

We had THE BEST time!  

It was a positively gorgeous day, albeit a bit chilly, but I had dug out all the winter gear the weekend before so the kids were prepared.  Me, notsomuch.  But I'm a big girl and I made it through.

(Ok, confession:  one child forgot his hat, but thankfully another mom had extras.  Thanks, Trudy!)

Since I am only one person, I couldn't tag along with each of my children's groups

so I had to pick one.  It's probably no surprise I went with the "little" group.

We started out on the trail and came first to a little bridge.

Our leader laid right down on her tummy and told the kids to do so, too, to get a good look at what was in the water.  They LOVED it!

They saw different insects, bubbles, the leaves that had settled to the bottom...

Then one little girl exclaimed, "I see ME!"

That made us all chuckle.

Ruby began the morning stuck pretty close to me,

but soon was brave enough to venture ahead.  

She walked over to the rail all by herself.

My friend, and lifesaver, Sally.

Sally's older kids are grown and her youngest is a teenager

and she remembers well what it is like to be busy with little ones.

She came along with the younger group and offered to push Ivy's stroller

and basically took care of her for me so that I could hold Ruby's hand and

waddle up and down the trails. :)

Here, Ivy and Sally are watching the ducks and geese

and Ivy is making some really great quacking sounds.

 Our guide's name is Teresa--

she told the kids how birds utilize cattail and then let them pull the fluff off it

and then they all got to 

BLOW it into the wind!

As we were standing on the bridge, some geese flew in 

right over our heads to land in the water next to us.

They flew in so close we could hear their wings flapping.

Teresa would pick things from the prairie

for the kids to touch and smell.

For this age group,

the prairie experience was very sensory.

Teresa said, "Kids, go wrap your arms around that tree--does it feel smooth or rough?"

(the second before I snapped this picture, all of them were wrapped around the tree.  I missed the shot.)

My own little tree-hugger.

The kids rummaged through the oak leaves to find a "pink fuzzy"--an insect who makes it's home for the winter on the underside of an oak leaf.

Next came the tall grass.

(Which, incidentally, is the name of my very favorite musical.)  

She encouraged the kids to run into the grass, lay down and hide.

Christopher and Elijah thought this was SO GREAT!

Sally carried Ivy in to explore, too.

Ruby's bravery increased as the morning progressed

Elijah tunneled through the grass to "sneak up" on Teresa.

This is the last picture I took that morning, 

though I could (and should) have taken a bajillion more.

(I'm hoping to go back and take a more leisurely stroll

with just my crew, so we don't feel like we're holding up the group if I make them all stop to smile at mom's camera.)  

We talked about everything you can see on the prairie--even the moon during the day.