Hopefully, next Wednesday, my computer woes will be fixed!
In the meantime, please pray for me. I'm feeling so very overwhelmed by changes, mostly, my 19 year old son going off to college. We will miss him dearly and I'm very sad about it, though it is something he's been working for and dreaming about for 3 years now. And I know it is time for him to go off and be on his own. Still, it is hard, hard, hard! And his younger siblings will miss him. Especially Sean, his 12 yo brother who is highly emotional anyway. This is gonna be tough!
That mixed in with starting up our Aquinas Learning Center (which is an overwhelming task even if all other things were perfect!) as well as transitioning to our academic year schedule. . .
I'm overwhelmed.
So please pray for me.
Thank you.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Strewsday Tuesday - The Intentional Strewing of Poetry
I just finished the book Poetic Knowledge. It is about a lot more than just poetry, but it did inspire me to want to read and expose the kids to more poetry. They get some in a very informal way, but I would like to get more intentional, at least on my end of things, this coming academic year. So I thought I'd focus on a poet a month (more or less) and also focus on American poets since Becky will be doing American history in her Aquinas Learning Center on Thursdays. Someone on the Well Trained Mind board suggested putting the poems up on a bulletin board along with a photo. I think that is a great idea. Here's what I'm planning so far:
September - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (resource: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath)
Week 1 - The Song of Hiawatha (excerpts)
Week 2 - The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Week 3 - The Village Blacksmith and The Children's Hour
Week 4 - Translations from Dante's Divine Comedy
October - Edgar Allen Poe (various resources)
Week 1 - Elderado plus another poem?
Week 2 - The Bells
Week 3 - Annabelle Lee
Week 4 - The Raven
November - James Whitcomb Riley? (He seems to be considered out of style these days. I found a great site for him though and I'm eager to learn more about him. I wanted to get something folksy and fallish. Also I'm kind of fascinated by the depiction of accents and dialect in poetry ever since I watched that linguistics course from the Teaching Co.)
Week 1 - When the Frost is on the Punkin
Week 2 - ???
Week 3 - ???
Week 4 - ???
December - Robert Frost
Week 1 - The Hired Man
Week 2 - The Birches
Week 3 - Two Roads Diverged
Week 4 - Stopping by the Woods
January - Humorous/African American
Week 1 - The Cremation of Sam McGee
Week 2 - Casey at the Bat
Week 3 - Phyllis Wheatley
Week 4 - Phyllis Wheatley
February - Langston Hughes/Walt Whitman
Week 1 - Langston Hughes
Week 2 - Langston Hughes
Week 3 - O Captain, My Captain
Week 4 - When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
March - Emily Dickinson
April - T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (He was born an American!)
May - Stephen Vincent Benet
Week 1 - John Brown's Body
Week 2 - ???
Week 3 - ???
Week 4 - ???
Okay, so it isn't all planned out, but it doesn't need to be. And I'm sure it will change as the year goes along and even be abandoned because other things come along or life gets too busy or what have you. But it is good for me to have some kind of a plan, otherwise everything, except the most immediate (too often fires that need to be put out!) grabs my attention and everything else just slips off the old radar screen (mixed metaphor!).
Are you doing any intentional strewing this week?
September - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (resource: The Harp and the Laurel Wreath)
Week 1 - The Song of Hiawatha (excerpts)
Week 2 - The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Week 3 - The Village Blacksmith and The Children's Hour
Week 4 - Translations from Dante's Divine Comedy
October - Edgar Allen Poe (various resources)
Week 1 - Elderado plus another poem?
Week 2 - The Bells
Week 3 - Annabelle Lee
Week 4 - The Raven
November - James Whitcomb Riley? (He seems to be considered out of style these days. I found a great site for him though and I'm eager to learn more about him. I wanted to get something folksy and fallish. Also I'm kind of fascinated by the depiction of accents and dialect in poetry ever since I watched that linguistics course from the Teaching Co.)
Week 1 - When the Frost is on the Punkin
Week 2 - ???
Week 3 - ???
Week 4 - ???
December - Robert Frost
Week 1 - The Hired Man
Week 2 - The Birches
Week 3 - Two Roads Diverged
Week 4 - Stopping by the Woods
January - Humorous/African American
Week 1 - The Cremation of Sam McGee
Week 2 - Casey at the Bat
Week 3 - Phyllis Wheatley
Week 4 - Phyllis Wheatley
February - Langston Hughes/Walt Whitman
Week 1 - Langston Hughes
Week 2 - Langston Hughes
Week 3 - O Captain, My Captain
Week 4 - When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd
March - Emily Dickinson
April - T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (He was born an American!)
May - Stephen Vincent Benet
Week 1 - John Brown's Body
Week 2 - ???
Week 3 - ???
Week 4 - ???
Okay, so it isn't all planned out, but it doesn't need to be. And I'm sure it will change as the year goes along and even be abandoned because other things come along or life gets too busy or what have you. But it is good for me to have some kind of a plan, otherwise everything, except the most immediate (too often fires that need to be put out!) grabs my attention and everything else just slips off the old radar screen (mixed metaphor!).
Are you doing any intentional strewing this week?
Monday, August 29, 2011
Math Monday - Teen Review Plan
My 16 year old has always enjoyed math. I remember when he was six years old, he noticed that there was a difference of 6 minutes on two different clocks in our house. He spent the day (and maybe the day after), adding six to the clock that was slow and subtracting six from the clock that was fast (or maybe on time). He did this without prompting at all. Simply because it was fun for him. He did stuff like that all the time.
He thought memorizing his times tables was fun (unlike my other 4 children!). He did it so well, that the next year in 3rd grade when he attended school for a year (life was complicated that year!) he always won a holy card for being first in the times table bee! He was unbeatable!
In 5th grade he got mad at me for unschooling math. He wanted a textbook. "How am I going to learn math if I don't have a book that tells me!" He demanded. So I got him Saxon. Somehow he tested into their 6/5 book even though we hadn't done much formal math at all since his 3rd grade school adventure. How do you know about percents? I demanded to know. Daddy told me, he said. No lessons, just conversations with Daddy were enough for him. His brain just picked up the math. Now I don't think he's a genius or anything. But he's quick and math comes easily.
Anyway, he's getting ready to take PreCalculus this year in his Junior year of high school. He wanted to review math for a couple weeks before his on line class started. At first he thought he'd go to Khan Academy and review that way, but that is massive amounts of information to push through for a two week review period. So I thought his solution was pretty clever. He's working his way through a SAT Math I exam. This is a test for those who have studied Algebra I, II and Geometry.
Dear reader, why don't you check it out yourself, to see what you remember?
For more Math Monday posts please go here.
He thought memorizing his times tables was fun (unlike my other 4 children!). He did it so well, that the next year in 3rd grade when he attended school for a year (life was complicated that year!) he always won a holy card for being first in the times table bee! He was unbeatable!
In 5th grade he got mad at me for unschooling math. He wanted a textbook. "How am I going to learn math if I don't have a book that tells me!" He demanded. So I got him Saxon. Somehow he tested into their 6/5 book even though we hadn't done much formal math at all since his 3rd grade school adventure. How do you know about percents? I demanded to know. Daddy told me, he said. No lessons, just conversations with Daddy were enough for him. His brain just picked up the math. Now I don't think he's a genius or anything. But he's quick and math comes easily.
Anyway, he's getting ready to take PreCalculus this year in his Junior year of high school. He wanted to review math for a couple weeks before his on line class started. At first he thought he'd go to Khan Academy and review that way, but that is massive amounts of information to push through for a two week review period. So I thought his solution was pretty clever. He's working his way through a SAT Math I exam. This is a test for those who have studied Algebra I, II and Geometry.
Dear reader, why don't you check it out yourself, to see what you remember?
For more Math Monday posts please go here.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Poetic Knowledge - Book 39
I finally finished Poetic Knowledge; The Recovery of Education by James S. Taylor. I started this book back in the spring with a group read of several bloggers. I read the first three chapters and posted about them (Here's the link to the blog discussion of the whole book) but then life got to be too much and I dropped out. But I kept meaning to finish it and have been picking at it ever since.
This is a very profound book about a currently obscure and de-emphasized kind of knowledge. Our post-enlightenment society emphasizes scientific knowledge as the highest form, but Ancient philosophers saw poetic knowledge as a very real way of knowing based in wonder and a participatory or 'connatural' understanding of experience. Dr. Taylor traces the philosophy of knowing from the Ancient Greeks through Aquinas, into Descartes' faulty "I think, therefore I am' which leads to subjectivism and relativism. These lead in turn to an over reliance on empiricism as the highest form of knowing reality. But Taylor explores those philosophers and educators who have kept the idea of poetic knowledge alive, namely, the Romantics (who because they were in reaction to the enlightenment don't really do poetic knowledge justice), Jacques Maritain, the great French Catholic philosopher of the twentieth century as well as the French educator Andre Charlier, and the staff of the Integrated Humanities Program at the University of Kansas, John Senior, Frank Nelick and Dennis B. Quinn.
This is a denser, more philosophical book than I am used to reading, but my heart rejoiced whenever I picked it up and read from it! Here, truly, is the intersection between unschooling and classical education! I loved reading about the Integrated Humanities Program and I think I'll post another time about how that compares with what goes on in our own home.
There is much, much more I could try to say, but really it is best to go read the many thoughtful posts in the book club linked above. I'll just end with something Taylor said about the time he taught 5th grade boys, which reminded me so much of unschooling:
This is a very profound book about a currently obscure and de-emphasized kind of knowledge. Our post-enlightenment society emphasizes scientific knowledge as the highest form, but Ancient philosophers saw poetic knowledge as a very real way of knowing based in wonder and a participatory or 'connatural' understanding of experience. Dr. Taylor traces the philosophy of knowing from the Ancient Greeks through Aquinas, into Descartes' faulty "I think, therefore I am' which leads to subjectivism and relativism. These lead in turn to an over reliance on empiricism as the highest form of knowing reality. But Taylor explores those philosophers and educators who have kept the idea of poetic knowledge alive, namely, the Romantics (who because they were in reaction to the enlightenment don't really do poetic knowledge justice), Jacques Maritain, the great French Catholic philosopher of the twentieth century as well as the French educator Andre Charlier, and the staff of the Integrated Humanities Program at the University of Kansas, John Senior, Frank Nelick and Dennis B. Quinn.
This is a denser, more philosophical book than I am used to reading, but my heart rejoiced whenever I picked it up and read from it! Here, truly, is the intersection between unschooling and classical education! I loved reading about the Integrated Humanities Program and I think I'll post another time about how that compares with what goes on in our own home.
There is much, much more I could try to say, but really it is best to go read the many thoughtful posts in the book club linked above. I'll just end with something Taylor said about the time he taught 5th grade boys, which reminded me so much of unschooling:
Furthermore, to teach in an integrated way, so that students see that knowledge is not a set of discrete subjects to be mastered but rather a whole that instructs by delight, one book could suffice for an entire curriculum. For example at the fifth-grade level one of the books I once taught was Jack London's Call of the Wild, another was Dana's Two Years Before the Mast. I discovered that each book at certain points introduced situations of arithmetic, geography, history, and science that raised questions about each subject that the class did not know the answer to - and in several areas, neither did I. Because the students were first of all already engrossed in the story of the book, it became quite easy to pause and make a digression into these other subjects. Poetry, drawing and even music were also subjects that presented themselves throughout the reading. Likewise, in a religious education setting or in a school that desired to draw out any universal moral principles, it was quite clear that the natural sympathies aroused by the occasions of injustice and cruelty, as well as the events of courage and success, taught the children in the mode of vicarious experience, rather than by the abstracted principles of catechisms and by deliberate reduction of stories to moralism.Please go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks for more book reviews.
Friday, August 26, 2011
What We've Been Up To - 8/26/11
It has been quite a week!
We got back from the Outer Banks Saturday.
Spent Sunday and Monday recuperating and packing Hannah up to go back to the University of Dallas.
6:30 a.m. Hannah and her friend left to start the long drive. They drove for 19 hours straight and got to UD at 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time, They packed food to eat along the way and only stopped for bathroom breaks. I so admire Hannah's drive and determination!
Tuesday we had an EARTHQUAKE! I was actually talking to Hannah on the phone. She was in Tennessee by then. I was lying on my bed because I'd had a terribly violent migraine in the morning and still wasn't feeling normal. I thought the dog was leaning against the bed scratching at first, but then it kept up and got stronger. I remarked to Hannah: Wow, either the dog is really scratching hard or . . . and at this point I saw that my bedroom mirror was shaking like crazy. . . we are having an earthquake! I jumped up and said quickly, I gotta get off. We are having an earthquake. The sound of the earthquake/house rattling got really loud then and the floor felt like plane turbulence. I could hear the kids shrieking downstairs: What is it? Is it an earthquake? But by the time I got to my bedroom door, it had stopped. It only lasted about 30 or 35 seconds. Maybe 40. But man, my legs felt like water afterwards! We didn't have any damage except my water cup by my bed fell over. But there was some damage at other places in our area. Thanks be to God, that no deaths or injuries occurred. We've been feeling the occasional aftershock.
Now we are bracing for Hurricane Irene! The weather is very strange outside. It is extremely foggy right now. I can barely see into my backyard. We've stocked up on pop tarts, water, batteries, flashlights and books. We don't need anything else right?
Josh started up his Psychology course of study this week. At the beginning of the week we sat down and planned out the year. He's hoping to take the SAT in March, the AP Pyschology exam in May and the Math SAT II on June 2. He decided not to take the Chemistry SAT II. And we decided not to do the PSAT again. He took it last year and did pretty well. The only reason he'd take it this fall is to qualify for a Merit Scholarship and frankly I don't think I know of anyone personally who has gotten a merit scholarship that way, so it isn't a big incentive for us. And you can only take so many of these stupid tests in a year! It seems every year the College Board (evil organization that it is) heaps more tests and more hoops to jump through if you want a college education! I really hate it.
Josh also did some math review and we both did a bit of Latin review, though not as much as I'd have liked to do!
I sat down with Sean and talked with him about this coming academic year. He wasn't too happy about things. But I think he at least saw my reasoning. He is really going through a valley right now. I must be firm and patient. God help me to be the best mom I can be for him!
Becky has been her usually lively self. Listening to her audiobooks, reading and rereading all her favorite books (Harry Potter, Penderwicks, Percy Jackson). Last night, I really wished my laptop wasn't broken and I could take pictures. She had got out the little bottles of food dye and was creating different colors and experimenting with what green and red make (brownish-black), etc. Then she got into the the recycling and started building things. She took 4 paper towel rolls and a little cardboard berry box that blueberries had come in. She put the berry box like a lid on top of the 4 paper towel rolls (like legs to a table) the structure proved to be really strong. She had me punching it to show me just how strong it was. I commented to her that she was going to be an architect or engineer when she grows up, but she said that she was going to be a professional trumpet player. She loved music camp and learning the trumpet this summer and is all excited to be in a band this coming fall.
Will got to chat with his roommates he'll have at Berklee. He leaves 9/4. Rick is going up with him. Will got really interested in Malcolm X this week and watched the movie and was busy educating himself on the difference between MLK's approach and Malcolm X's. And this tied in with the new memorial downtown (whose unveiling is cancelled due to Irene). Will mowed the lawn for me too. I think that will be his last time for a long time. Josh will be taking over that job!
Movies featured this week, serendipitously: The Music Man (my favorite) and the new Phineas and Ferb movie which has now been watched at least 3 times.
Other sundry stuff. Josh has been jogging! In fact, Josh has really come out of his shell, you know, the one he went into when he was 13! I think going away to work camp and engineering camp as well as our week vacation really matured him. In fact, it is symbolic that Josh's hat, the one he's been hiding under the last couple of years, got so filthy that even Josh noticed just how gross it was. He tried to wash it in the washing machine and it pretty much killed it. So he's stopped wearing hats! And he's become more outgoing, more connected to us, more engaged. He's been a lovely person to be around! Hurrah for growing up!
Yesterday I spent many hours cleaning at the church where we'll hold our Aquinas Learning Center. Things are really gearing up for that. Might go back today and finish up. If the weather allows.
This was long and with no photos! Sorry!
We got back from the Outer Banks Saturday.
Spent Sunday and Monday recuperating and packing Hannah up to go back to the University of Dallas.
6:30 a.m. Hannah and her friend left to start the long drive. They drove for 19 hours straight and got to UD at 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time, They packed food to eat along the way and only stopped for bathroom breaks. I so admire Hannah's drive and determination!
Tuesday we had an EARTHQUAKE! I was actually talking to Hannah on the phone. She was in Tennessee by then. I was lying on my bed because I'd had a terribly violent migraine in the morning and still wasn't feeling normal. I thought the dog was leaning against the bed scratching at first, but then it kept up and got stronger. I remarked to Hannah: Wow, either the dog is really scratching hard or . . . and at this point I saw that my bedroom mirror was shaking like crazy. . . we are having an earthquake! I jumped up and said quickly, I gotta get off. We are having an earthquake. The sound of the earthquake/house rattling got really loud then and the floor felt like plane turbulence. I could hear the kids shrieking downstairs: What is it? Is it an earthquake? But by the time I got to my bedroom door, it had stopped. It only lasted about 30 or 35 seconds. Maybe 40. But man, my legs felt like water afterwards! We didn't have any damage except my water cup by my bed fell over. But there was some damage at other places in our area. Thanks be to God, that no deaths or injuries occurred. We've been feeling the occasional aftershock.
Now we are bracing for Hurricane Irene! The weather is very strange outside. It is extremely foggy right now. I can barely see into my backyard. We've stocked up on pop tarts, water, batteries, flashlights and books. We don't need anything else right?
Josh started up his Psychology course of study this week. At the beginning of the week we sat down and planned out the year. He's hoping to take the SAT in March, the AP Pyschology exam in May and the Math SAT II on June 2. He decided not to take the Chemistry SAT II. And we decided not to do the PSAT again. He took it last year and did pretty well. The only reason he'd take it this fall is to qualify for a Merit Scholarship and frankly I don't think I know of anyone personally who has gotten a merit scholarship that way, so it isn't a big incentive for us. And you can only take so many of these stupid tests in a year! It seems every year the College Board (evil organization that it is) heaps more tests and more hoops to jump through if you want a college education! I really hate it.
Josh also did some math review and we both did a bit of Latin review, though not as much as I'd have liked to do!
I sat down with Sean and talked with him about this coming academic year. He wasn't too happy about things. But I think he at least saw my reasoning. He is really going through a valley right now. I must be firm and patient. God help me to be the best mom I can be for him!
Becky has been her usually lively self. Listening to her audiobooks, reading and rereading all her favorite books (Harry Potter, Penderwicks, Percy Jackson). Last night, I really wished my laptop wasn't broken and I could take pictures. She had got out the little bottles of food dye and was creating different colors and experimenting with what green and red make (brownish-black), etc. Then she got into the the recycling and started building things. She took 4 paper towel rolls and a little cardboard berry box that blueberries had come in. She put the berry box like a lid on top of the 4 paper towel rolls (like legs to a table) the structure proved to be really strong. She had me punching it to show me just how strong it was. I commented to her that she was going to be an architect or engineer when she grows up, but she said that she was going to be a professional trumpet player. She loved music camp and learning the trumpet this summer and is all excited to be in a band this coming fall.
Will got to chat with his roommates he'll have at Berklee. He leaves 9/4. Rick is going up with him. Will got really interested in Malcolm X this week and watched the movie and was busy educating himself on the difference between MLK's approach and Malcolm X's. And this tied in with the new memorial downtown (whose unveiling is cancelled due to Irene). Will mowed the lawn for me too. I think that will be his last time for a long time. Josh will be taking over that job!
Movies featured this week, serendipitously: The Music Man (my favorite) and the new Phineas and Ferb movie which has now been watched at least 3 times.
Other sundry stuff. Josh has been jogging! In fact, Josh has really come out of his shell, you know, the one he went into when he was 13! I think going away to work camp and engineering camp as well as our week vacation really matured him. In fact, it is symbolic that Josh's hat, the one he's been hiding under the last couple of years, got so filthy that even Josh noticed just how gross it was. He tried to wash it in the washing machine and it pretty much killed it. So he's stopped wearing hats! And he's become more outgoing, more connected to us, more engaged. He's been a lovely person to be around! Hurrah for growing up!
Yesterday I spent many hours cleaning at the church where we'll hold our Aquinas Learning Center. Things are really gearing up for that. Might go back today and finish up. If the weather allows.
This was long and with no photos! Sorry!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Thankful Thursday - 8/25/11
This week I'm thankful for:
The fact that the earthquake didn't cause any deaths or injuries and minimal damage! That's a big thank you!
The fact that my 20 year old daughter made it safely to Dallas and is back at college there.
That my husband's big project at work that has been so time consuming and anxiety producing this whole summer comes to a conclusion (of sorts) today. Maybe he'll be less tense after this!
The fact that we got back from the North Carolina coast last week and didn't go on vacation this week, cuz we'd have wound up having to evacuate. (Prayers for the folks who do have to evacuate and those who are bracing for Irene.)
The fact that when my elderly aunt Jackie fell earlier this week, she only got a little bruise. That was her first fall since moving in, something I'd been fearing in the back of my mind, but no harm. Thank you, Jesus!
What are you thankful for?
The fact that the earthquake didn't cause any deaths or injuries and minimal damage! That's a big thank you!
The fact that my 20 year old daughter made it safely to Dallas and is back at college there.
That my husband's big project at work that has been so time consuming and anxiety producing this whole summer comes to a conclusion (of sorts) today. Maybe he'll be less tense after this!
The fact that we got back from the North Carolina coast last week and didn't go on vacation this week, cuz we'd have wound up having to evacuate. (Prayers for the folks who do have to evacuate and those who are bracing for Irene.)
The fact that when my elderly aunt Jackie fell earlier this week, she only got a little bruise. That was her first fall since moving in, something I'd been fearing in the back of my mind, but no harm. Thank you, Jesus!
What are you thankful for?
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
No Wordless Wednesday Today
Until I get a new laptop. Because I have no idea how to get pictures on my blog any other way.
Sob.
Sob.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Strewsday Tuesday - 8/23/11
Well, I was all set to post a photo of my son's cartooning efforts, but my laptop refuses to cooperate. It has been dying for months and I fear is now approaching the end. So I'm using my iPad to post this. Hopefully, I am going to get my son's Mac laptop. He gets a new one at Berklee. Anyway, I'm looking forward to that!
So instead I decided to just repost something I wrote back in 2010. Advice I often have to reiterate to myself!
http://strewing.blogspot.com/2010/12/valleys.html
This mentions strewing but really is about the realities of unschooling.
Please post any strewsday Tuesday entry from your own blog in the comments.
So instead I decided to just repost something I wrote back in 2010. Advice I often have to reiterate to myself!
http://strewing.blogspot.com/2010/12/valleys.html
This mentions strewing but really is about the realities of unschooling.
Please post any strewsday Tuesday entry from your own blog in the comments.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Math Monday - Relaxed Retrospectives
I enjoyed reading these posts from a couple of Australian Catholic Unschoolers. They are midway in their homeschooling journey, with kids who are grown and kids still growing up.
Here's a post from Sue (which includes a link to another post about 'maths.' I just think it is so cute how the British and Australians pluralized the word 'math.' It makes me hear their accents in my head. LOL!)
And here's one from Leanne.
Enjoy!
(Oops! Forgot to link to the Math Monday Blog Hop: http://love2learn2day.blogspot.com/2011/08/math-monday-blog-hop-20.html )
Here's a post from Sue (which includes a link to another post about 'maths.' I just think it is so cute how the British and Australians pluralized the word 'math.' It makes me hear their accents in my head. LOL!)
And here's one from Leanne.
Enjoy!
(Oops! Forgot to link to the Math Monday Blog Hop: http://love2learn2day.blogspot.com/2011/08/math-monday-blog-hop-20.html )
Sunday, August 21, 2011
The Secret of Pooduck Island - Book 38
The Secret of Pooduck Island is a curious and charming children's book written by Alfred Noyes. Noyes was a popular poet, most famous for his narrative poem, The Highwayman.
I had heard of this book for years, but this past spring I bought it from my favorite used book sellers, Keller Books. The book was first published in 1943.
Even though Noyes was British this story is set in the woods and coast of Maine and it involves tales about the Indians who once lived there. The story is about a boy named Solo who can talk to squirrels and the squirrel family he is friends with. The characters in the squirrel family are lively types, especially Grandfather Grizzle who is comical in his pretensions but lovable in his good-hearted decency. Noyes skewers human politicians in his portrayal of the Porcupine, Skunk and especially the evil weasels. He also has fun poking at human hypocrisy. This is a lovely story with an underlying spiritual wisdom and a very satisfying conclusion.
Two thumbs up!
For more reviews go to Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Thankful Thursday - Island Farm
I am very thankful to this beautiful area of land that we enjoy visiting so much - the Outer Banks. This must be our 6th time vacationing here.
Yesterday, we went to a site we hadn't yet visited. We've done the Wright Brothers museum, Dolphin Watches, the Wild Horses of Corolla, the two lighthouses, Jockey Ridge, the Aquarium, the Elizabethan Gardens, etc. But we had never visited Island Farm before. Most of the kids weren't too enthusiastic about going. Tempers were a little grumpy due to sunburns and kids staying up way too late. But Rick insisted everybody go. So we went and we had a wonderful and very interesting visit.
Yesterday, we went to a site we hadn't yet visited. We've done the Wright Brothers museum, Dolphin Watches, the Wild Horses of Corolla, the two lighthouses, Jockey Ridge, the Aquarium, the Elizabethan Gardens, etc. But we had never visited Island Farm before. Most of the kids weren't too enthusiastic about going. Tempers were a little grumpy due to sunburns and kids staying up way too late. But Rick insisted everybody go. So we went and we had a wonderful and very interesting visit.
 |
| This is Peggy, Granddad's lady friend. She's sweet. |
Here are Josh and John Michael
Here a reenactor is doing some some carpentry. He turned out to be the manager as well and was a treasure trove of information about the history of the farm and the whole region.
Hannah and Will talking to the reenactor
A shelf in the barn.
Homegrown food. The Etheridges ate well. All this food was grown on their farm.
Another reenactor. The real cook at the farm was an African American slave. She lived to be 98 years old.
This is the cook's bedroom. She had luxury living quarters compared to other slaves. However, the folks at the farm said that the Etheridges treated their slaves very well and the fishing culture of the area led to a less harsh treatment of the slaves. Records show that both black and white folks lived right alongside each other in gentler than the norm relationships, compared to plantation living.
Sean tried out the feather beds and declared them very comfortable.
Josh and Uncle Mike with an interpreter. The Etheridge family was fairly wealthy and lived very comfortably.
All the furniture is authentic to its time (1847)
 |
| We were surprised to see a picture of the Virgin Mary on the wall. The guide said that the Etheridge family was Baptist and probably wouldn't have had this up. But it is a picture circa that time period and they believe the house servant was Irish and probably Catholic so the museum put it up in honor of her. |
Here's Becky feeding a chicken.
Here's Sean trying out another bed.
There's a little Etheridge family graveyard. We were surprised to see a Jewish star on this monument!
Being a not very good photographer, most of my pictures didn't turn out well. They don't convey the charm of this little historical park. I highly recommend you visit it, if you are ever in the Outer Banks area. The kids had a great time and the reenactors were friendly and informative.
 |
| Hannah had just given Becky a push on the 'swing' which was really a stuffed burlap bag. |
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Wordless Wednesday - 8/17/11
Random vacation shots!
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| View from our porch |
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| The kids love the pool |
It is wonderful to see how much fun the kids are having.
My adorable nephew. I might have to keep him!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Strewsday Tuesday - 8/16/11
This is short and sweet, since I'm not too focused on this right now! I'm sitting at the kitchen table in our beach house rental. To my left is the Albermarle Sound and to my right is the Atlantic Ocean!
Last week, one evening, I found Becky working her way through a Brain Quest set of quiz cards. The age given on the cards was 12 years old, so she felt pretty proud of herself that she could answer a lot of the questions. She was also quizzing her dad as well. She had dug this set of cards up from the depths of our toy chest for some reason. I think I bought this when her older sister was about 12 and it has been floating around the house ever since.
One thing about strewing is that it requires patience. I remember when I first tried it, I would practically plant something in a very obvious place and then hide behind a piece of furniture (not really!) watching to see when the kids would respond to it. I'd get so disappointed when they ignored it. I swear they sensed me trying to manipulate them! I'd get so upset that 'strewing' wasn't working. I had to learn to detach myself from it; to just focus on making things available but then letting the kids discover things on their own time. Once I learned to let go, things got much better! Strewing for me is a combination of conscious strewing that has more immediate effect, long term strewing, serendipitous strewing and then strewing that I had no part in!
If you want to participate in Strewsday Tuesday, please either comment about strewing in your home in the comment section or post a link to your blog there. I'm going to get Mr. Linky soon!
Last week, one evening, I found Becky working her way through a Brain Quest set of quiz cards. The age given on the cards was 12 years old, so she felt pretty proud of herself that she could answer a lot of the questions. She was also quizzing her dad as well. She had dug this set of cards up from the depths of our toy chest for some reason. I think I bought this when her older sister was about 12 and it has been floating around the house ever since.
One thing about strewing is that it requires patience. I remember when I first tried it, I would practically plant something in a very obvious place and then hide behind a piece of furniture (not really!) watching to see when the kids would respond to it. I'd get so disappointed when they ignored it. I swear they sensed me trying to manipulate them! I'd get so upset that 'strewing' wasn't working. I had to learn to detach myself from it; to just focus on making things available but then letting the kids discover things on their own time. Once I learned to let go, things got much better! Strewing for me is a combination of conscious strewing that has more immediate effect, long term strewing, serendipitous strewing and then strewing that I had no part in!
If you want to participate in Strewsday Tuesday, please either comment about strewing in your home in the comment section or post a link to your blog there. I'm going to get Mr. Linky soon!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Math Monday - Our Family's Classic Math Lit.
Since we are on vacation at the beach, we haven't gotten very mathy. In fact playing Rummikub is about as mathy as we've gotten, so far.
So I thought I'd just share the top three books my kids all enjoyed when it came to learning about numbers and math.
How Much is a Million?
G is for Google
The I Hate Mathematics Book
These are books my kids all have picked up on their own, time and again and enjoyed thoroughly. They are old (in that they were around when I was teaching my oldest kids, so 12 or so years ago) but they are classics!
We never got into as many 'math literature' books as others. I know some folks really specialize in discovering all sorts of books on math topics. Not us! But these three did a wonderful job at making reading and exploring math great fun for my kids.
Edit: Oops! I forgot to include the link for the Math Monday Blog Hop! I was posting in a hurry! Here's the link!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Interview with Suzie Andres
No Read 52 Books in In 52 Weeks review today. We are at the Outer Banks this week. I hope to get a lot of reading done here, but haven't had time to focus on it this previous week.
However, there is a wonderful interview with Suzie Andres, author and editor of the book A Little Way of Homeschooling. I contributed a chapter to this book, so it is kind of thrilling whenever there's any attention paid to it.
So here's the link to the interview. Isn't Suzie wonderful?
However, there is a wonderful interview with Suzie Andres, author and editor of the book A Little Way of Homeschooling. I contributed a chapter to this book, so it is kind of thrilling whenever there's any attention paid to it.
So here's the link to the interview. Isn't Suzie wonderful?
Friday, August 12, 2011
What We've Been Up To - 8/12/11
- Well, what was supposed to be a weekend type project was stretched out to two weeks, but we finally got the boys room all painted and put back together. I even spent a day cleaning their carpet!
- I dejunked my side of our master bedroom. This took me a day and a half because: I am really slow at that sort of thing and well, we just had so much junk. But notice I said my side of the bedroom. Still have towering piles of junk belonging to my husband.
- Said husband has hardly been seen this week because he was desperately trying to finish up stuff at work so he could take a real vacation. Alas, he'll still have to do work some on vacation but hopefully will still be able to relax somewhat.
- I think I nagged my children all week. Mow the lawn, go run this errand, move this stuff, clean up that stuff, etc, etc. For the most part they were pretty helpful. Mostly everybody was in wait mode because they knew vacation was coming.
- Did a mammoth recycling run. Woo-hoo!
- I had to orient my sister on the house and how to take care of my aunt Jackie (and also our cat) while we are away. Sisters are wonderful! But I keep remembering little things I should have mentioned....
- We found out that we might have two more classes of kids at our Aquinas Learning Center. It is really expanding! Had to run over to the church and survey it to see if we really could accommodate more kids. I think we can! But there is soooo much to do before we are up and running September 15th. It boggles my mind and makes me hyperventilate (but in a good way LOL!).
- Cleaned out my fridge so my sister wouldn't gag every time she opened the fridge door. 9 jars of salsa!
- Took my aunt into the Rehabilitation hospital to try out her new prosthetic leg. Pretty darn cool, but she is really uncomfortable with it. It tired her out just trying to take three steps. They have to do some modifications and then it should be ready at the end of August. Then she gets PT to learn to really walk with it. She said: well, this isn't really something I"m looking forward to, but what else is there to do? I feel bad for her, for I think she's really bored. She reads the paper every day and she's reading several books. She watches movies and Teaching Co. lectures, but all that stuff gets old. Yet she doesn't really have the energy to do anything. So she's kind of trapped. Before this, her whole focus was on getting to Maine, but now that she's back she really doesn't have anything fun to look forward to.
- Tried to read David Copperfield to the family but it was pretty much an exercise in frustration. I'm too tired at night to read for long and most evenings I couldn't because Rick was working late.
- Hannah had her last day at the National Right to Life Committee. She got a ton of bumperstickers which has stuck all over our cars (but she put them on magnets first, because Rick hates trying to get bumperstickers off cars!). That internship was an incredible experience for her. I think she learned tons and tons of stuff.
- STILL CAN'T FIND MY CAMERA! I WANT MY CAMERA!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Thankful Thursday - 8/11/12
I am so thankful for so many things:
- Most immediate - my 19 yo son is finally mowing the lawn. I can see him outside my window and hear the mowing roaring.
- I'm grateful for the beautiful summer day we are having - mid 80's, dry and breezy with puffy white clouds and blue, blue skies.
- I'm grateful to Suzie Andres and all my other internet angels, who probably don't realize how much I appreciate them.
- I'm thankful for my supportive homeschool group who doesn't really care whether folks are traditional homeschoolers or unschoolers. I've heard a lot about people feeling shut out of their groups because they don't see eye to eye with them on educational philosophy, but my little group here has never been like that.
- I'm grateful for the beautiful gifts God has for some unfathomable reason decided to shower up me. A wonderful, loving husband, 5 beautiful children, the gift of homeschooling.
- I'm glad that we are able to take my aunt in to live with us. How much better things are instead of having to deal with nursing homes!
- And finally (for this Thankful Thursday at least) I am very grateful that we are all going off to the Outer Banks for a week. I can't wait to relax by the ocean and have some time with my sister Lisa. I was always closest to her growing up but we've hardly seen each other lately. I miss her!
(and I would be really thankful if I could find my camera!)
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Wordless Wednesday - Not!
Well, I would have done this as I am trying to get into my new blogging groove, however, my camera has gone missing. I've spent all day cleaning, hoping I'd uncover it, but to no avail! Wah!
So maybe next week.
That is all.
So maybe next week.
That is all.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Introducing Strewsday Tuesday! - 8/9/11
The name of this blog is Strewing: Unschooling Resources. The reason I named it such is that initially I really wanted to focus on the serendipitous art of strewing! It has become more of a general homeschooling blog for me because I can't ever keep to the topic at hand! But I do want it to be a resource for others; a way to share what works so well for us in this educational approach called Unschooling. Really, strewing happens anytime human beings are around interacting with their world! It isn't something just confined to unschoolers. It just tends to get its proper recognition in unschooling circles.
But in the name of trying to stick to my primary focus, I decided to start my own blog meme. Eventually, I want to get one of those meme buttons and have the capability for others to link together, like Read 52 Books or 7 Quick Takes does. That's me dreaming big! I am woefully ignorant, intimidated and slooowww when it comes to anything computer related. So for now I'll just make Tuesdays the day I focus on strewing.
Strewing is often something you don't recognize until after the fact! You look back at something your children got some exposure too and you can trace how that first spark blossomed into something deeper. This is a subtle, meandering kind of strewing.
For instance, a couple years ago I was very worried about my middle son. He was 14 and he didn't talk. He had always been my quietest child but as adolescence hit he became very, very quiet. Being his mother I worried about his lack of 'socialization.' His avoidance of anything that required socialization made me anxious. I guess at one point my worry reached a peak and inspired by some on line conversations I was having with other homeschooling moms, I went to the library and got some books out on introverts. When I brought the books home, the son I was so worried about surprised me by emerging from his cave, long enough to actually notice the stack of books I'd brought home.
What's this, he asked? Holding up what I think was this book (my memory is hazy):
I equivocated a bit because I didn't really want to show my excessive worry about him.
Oh it is a book about introverts. I think I might be introverted so I got interested in the subject.
But then I had to come clean.
And I think you might be an introvert too, so I got it to find out more about that type of person.
What's an introvert? he wants to know.
So I explain the way I learned it from the Myers-Briggs test.
"An introvert is a person who gets energy from being alone. An extrovert draws energy from other people."
He was really intrigued by the whole idea.
Can I read it? He asked.
Sure, I said, rather surprised.
So he read it.
And some months later, I think he also read this book on Myers-Briggs. We have an old copy from the 1980s floating around the house.
But again he surprises me by suddenly opening up the door and saying: I don't want to study geography, I want to study psychology.This completely flummoxes me. Do high schoolers even study psychology? I'm not sure. They didn't when I was in high school!
So I look into it and find a couple of resources. Months go by and not another mention of it. Then I sit down and formally sketch out just what will be going on for his 11th grade studies. I ask him again, do you really want to study psychology? Yes, he answers firmly. So I wind up going onto Amazon and ordering a textbook, a study guide and couple of other books that look interesting.
The order arrives. One of the books I've bought is called 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology. He spies it sitting on the kitchen table. He grabs it up.
What's this? he asks.
Oh I got that for you and your psychology studies.
Cool! he says.
He opens it up and reads the title of the first myth.
And then without reading any further, proceeds to tell me all about why it is a myth and how things really work. I am really surprised.
How do you know all this? I ask.
Oh, I read about it.
He goes onto the next myth and does the same thing. And the one after that. And the one after that. . . .
I try hard to keep my jaw off the the ground.
Later I asked his big brother: Did you know that Josh really knows a lot about psychology?
Oh yeah, he said. That's what he does all the time. He's always reading articles on the computer about it. Didn't you know that?
Nope. I sure didn't! I thought he was reading web comics and playing games. I guess I am pretty clueless mom!
I think my son is going to breeze through our little psychology course. I know I'm looking forward to learning from him!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Math Conversations - 8/8/11
Midday in the kitchen, 16 yo son walks into the room. He says: I wonder how much 16 to the 16th power is?
Me: rather startled, 16 to the 16th power? What made you think of that?
Him: I dunno. I just wondered.
(perhaps his age?)
Me, spotting a little calculator on the lazy susan (where it most certainly shouldn't be): There's a calculator. Why don't you use it and figure it out?
Him, trying not to be too condescending: Mom, there isn't enough space on that calculator to write out that big of a number.
Me: oh.
Him: I'll use the computer.
Son goes to the computer, does something, announces that 16 to the 16th power is 1.84467441 × 1019 (I just copied this from the internet)
Me: Well, you probably have to measure your step and then calibrate the pedometer so that it can calculate how many feet, yards or miles you've walked. But, I have no idea how to do that!
Her: Hmm. But what if I'm just walking around the coffee table. I'm not really traveling miles, am I? I'm just staying in one place.
Me: Well, it would measure how far you would have gone if you had been covering ground instead of walking in circles.
Her: Oh.
Pause. Then: Okay!
Then she's back to marching through the house.
To see other Math Monday entries, please go to this link
Me: rather startled, 16 to the 16th power? What made you think of that?
Him: I dunno. I just wondered.
(perhaps his age?)
Me, spotting a little calculator on the lazy susan (where it most certainly shouldn't be): There's a calculator. Why don't you use it and figure it out?
Him, trying not to be too condescending: Mom, there isn't enough space on that calculator to write out that big of a number.
Me: oh.
Him: I'll use the computer.
Son goes to the computer, does something, announces that 16 to the 16th power is 1.84467441 × 1019 (I just copied this from the internet)
12 yo son who's been playing on his gameboywhachamacallit on the couch, looks up idly. Hey, what comes after a trillion?
Quadrillion, 16 yo answers.
After that? asks 12 yo. Quintillion? I guessed. We agree that sounds right.
After that? 12 yo wants to see how far we can go.
Sextillion, Septillion, Octillion. . .
We get stuck at nine. Nontillion? Maybe?
16 yo says - isn't it funny that we used to say billions of stars to mean some amount we could hardly imagine? Now we should just say "as big as our national debt. That's in the trillions!" ( He might have read that somewhere. He tends to quote cartoons a lot.)
*********************************************************************************************************
19 yo son gave his old ipod to 10 yo sister. 10 yo sister is thrilled. He downloaded lots of music he deemed suitable for her (he's a good big brother that way, very careful of protecting her innocence).
10 yo comes marching into the room. She marches around the coffee table and then around the kitchen table.
Look mom, I'm measuring my steps. I just figured out the pedometer function on Will's old ipod!
Me: Really? I had no idea ipods had pedometers in them.
Her: Well, this one does and I'm measuring my steps.
She continues to march around. Then she stops and inspects the ipod.
142! She announces. I've taken 142 steps!
Then she gets a puzzled expression her face.
Her: How can a pedometer tell you how far you've gone. It can only tell you the number of steps. What if you want to know miles?
Look mom, I'm measuring my steps. I just figured out the pedometer function on Will's old ipod!
Me: Really? I had no idea ipods had pedometers in them.
Her: Well, this one does and I'm measuring my steps.
She continues to march around. Then she stops and inspects the ipod.
142! She announces. I've taken 142 steps!
Then she gets a puzzled expression her face.
Her: How can a pedometer tell you how far you've gone. It can only tell you the number of steps. What if you want to know miles?
Me: Well, you probably have to measure your step and then calibrate the pedometer so that it can calculate how many feet, yards or miles you've walked. But, I have no idea how to do that!
Her: Hmm. But what if I'm just walking around the coffee table. I'm not really traveling miles, am I? I'm just staying in one place.
Me: Well, it would measure how far you would have gone if you had been covering ground instead of walking in circles.
Her: Oh.
Pause. Then: Okay!
Then she's back to marching through the house.
To see other Math Monday entries, please go to this link
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Book 37
After reading three non-fiction books, I decided to try a novel. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson tells the story of retired and widowed Major Pettigrew, who lives in a small seaside village in England and who finds himself falling for Mrs. Ali, the lovely, intelligent and free spirited Pakistani widow who runs the local village shop.
There are all kinds of complications; Major Pettigrew's family, his little circle of friends at the golf club and the cultural differences between Major Pettigrew's very British outlook on life and Mrs. Ali's traditional Muslim family.
I saw in a review that Simonson's writing was compared to Jane Austen's. This is a bit of a stretch. I guess people think that any quiet romantic novel set in England is Austenesque? This book reminded me a bit of Barbara Pym, though I haven't read any of her novels for at least a couple of decades. But anyway, I enjoyed this book greatly. I liked the Major very much. He is a throw back to a genteel, noble, principled worldview and he's at odds with his materialistic, socially grasping son, his narrow-minded compatriots at the golf club and even his own selfish, less than noble character flaws. He is wonderfully drawn. Unfortunately, the other characters are not so well crafted. Unlike Austen, who was pretty good at defining characters, I never really got a good hold on a lot of the other characters and what made them tick. I was especially frustrated with Mrs. Ali, who just didn't quite work for me. I found the character of the son frustrating as well. I kept waiting for something cathartic to happen to make him more likable and less wimpy, or at least give me a clue into why he turned out so badly, but even though things kept happening, you never get the sense that he ever grew up in any way.
I read most of the novel really quickly, highly enjoying the Major's character and wit. There are some very funny lines in the book. But at the very end, just when the climax of the book should be so satisfying, I found it too contrived. It rankled me and I wound up putting it aside for a couple of days before I finished it out of a sense of duty.
For more book reviews see Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Win a free book!
It happens to be the book to which I contributed a chapter!
Go here to find out more! http://benmakesten.blogspot.com/2011/08/win-free-book.html
Friday, August 5, 2011
Blogging Plans
I love blogging but I am very inconsistent about it, I find. So in order to be more consistent, I think it would help me if I had a blogging plan for each day. So here's what I've been thinking:
Sunday - Book review for the 52 Books in 52 Weeks. I love doing this!
Monday - for a very short time I was doing Math Mondays where they linked up at someone's blog. I'd love to get back to that and remember the dear person who was hosting that particular meme (or whatever you call it!). The good thing about Math Mondays is that it makes me think about math. Something I don't particularly care to think about much. Most of the Math Monday folks (or is it Monday Math??) have very little children and they post about fun little games or activities they do. It is wonderful, but my youngest child is 10 now so a lot of it just doesn't work for us. So I'll be blogging about anything mathy: lessons we've done during the week, stuff the kids have said, any math strewing going on, interesting math ideas or books, etc.
Tuesday - I think I'll start my own Tuesday meme. Tuesday is Strewsday. Nah, that's really awful! LOL! But then maybe it is so awful, it's memorable! Anyway, on that day I'll really focus on any strewing, successful or not, and conscious or not, that is going on around here.
Wednesday - I'll stick with Wordless Wednesday. That's quick and fun.
Thursday - I know I've seen a Thankful Thursday theme on other blogs. I like that. It puts me in a thoughtful frame of mind and makes me appreciate my blessings.
Friday - I like doing the week in review thing. I keep changing what I call it though. I think I will stick with the latest title for it, What We've Been Up To.
Saturday - is blogging free day! Though I'll probably spend some time reading other people's blogs!
So that's the plan. Let's see how well I stick to it!
Sunday - Book review for the 52 Books in 52 Weeks. I love doing this!
Monday - for a very short time I was doing Math Mondays where they linked up at someone's blog. I'd love to get back to that and remember the dear person who was hosting that particular meme (or whatever you call it!). The good thing about Math Mondays is that it makes me think about math. Something I don't particularly care to think about much. Most of the Math Monday folks (or is it Monday Math??) have very little children and they post about fun little games or activities they do. It is wonderful, but my youngest child is 10 now so a lot of it just doesn't work for us. So I'll be blogging about anything mathy: lessons we've done during the week, stuff the kids have said, any math strewing going on, interesting math ideas or books, etc.
Tuesday - I think I'll start my own Tuesday meme. Tuesday is Strewsday. Nah, that's really awful! LOL! But then maybe it is so awful, it's memorable! Anyway, on that day I'll really focus on any strewing, successful or not, and conscious or not, that is going on around here.
Wednesday - I'll stick with Wordless Wednesday. That's quick and fun.
Thursday - I know I've seen a Thankful Thursday theme on other blogs. I like that. It puts me in a thoughtful frame of mind and makes me appreciate my blessings.
Friday - I like doing the week in review thing. I keep changing what I call it though. I think I will stick with the latest title for it, What We've Been Up To.
Saturday - is blogging free day! Though I'll probably spend some time reading other people's blogs!
So that's the plan. Let's see how well I stick to it!
What We've Been Up To - 8/5/11
 |
| I'm scared! |
- The kids (mostly Josh and Will) are STILL painting Josh and Sean's bedroom. The walls are done, the color is beautiful. However, we are trying to paint the trim too. I think we are possibly the slowest family on earth. We just can't focus on a job like this for more than a couple of hours a day! LOL! So Josh painted the trim of 1 window yesterday. Two more windows, closet doors, bedroom door and the baseboard that runs around the bottom of the walls. We can't figure out how to paint that because of the carpeting. The carpeting that I want so, so much to be rid of!
- One day, Becky painted her face like The Joker which was really terrifying. She has a future as a make up artist, I think!
- We saw a rainbow out our front door.
- I forced, er, encouraged Sean to read a book. He hasn't picked one up in two months. After a bit of trouble choosing, he finally settled on Beorn the Proud. We read a chapter a day for three days but of course there's that attention span issue again. Mine I mean. Because I completely forgot about it yesterday.
- Sean's brain is busy bubbling with script ideas, which made me second guess my idea of having him do a full Language Arts program. I mean he already likes to write and think about writing. I think if I do the time but not content thing, where he'll have a specific time to write anything he wants, that should serve him. I might do the grammar book, Magic Lens, with him too. We'll see. I'm waffling again!
- Will and Sean, enamored with all the famous voice actors in the new Winnie the Pooh movie, went to see it. They couldn't persuade Becky to go with them, to make them look legitimate, but they are so into animation and voice acting that they braved any possible jeers aimed at 19 and 12 yo boys and went to see it.
- I read David Copperfield out loud for a hour on Sunday (or was it Monday?) about 20 minutes on Tuesday. Thursday night I got in another ten minutes. We are about 3/4's of the way through, maybe slightly more. It is a race to the finish. HA!
- Becky finishes her music camp today. She said this has been her favorite year. That is saying something since she has loved it every year, but she loves playing the trumpet. The music school is starting up a beginning concert band and I've enrolled her in that. She's very excited! It'll mean more driving next year. But then, I'll already be living in my car anyway..........
- On Wednesday night we invited friends over to watch Hamlet with us. Josh had read Hamlet together with one of the kids and we had planned to watch it together a couple months ago. Better late than never! We only got through half of it though. We stopped when Hamlet (Derek Jacobi who is INCREDIBLE!) was telling Ophelia to get herself to a nunnery. Long play! So they are coming back over again tonight to finish it.
- Will has been doing his regular stuff: mowing the lawn, helping to drive Becky and other kids places, practicing lots of music, hanging out with Sean, finishing up stuff for Berklee. He's also dealing with the car. The one that Hannah is going to drive to TX in a couple of weeks. The one we just spent so much money on getting it a new engine! Seems Will ran over something that somehow damage the oil pan (???) and that made the oil leak. So it is back in the shop!!!
- Hannah is really talking about plans for law school. She wants to work at NRLC next summer because it'll be election year stuff. She's also getting ready to back to school. She's going to be an orientation leader and she got her assignments, etc. She's also in charge of the Faculty Talent Show which is something they do during. . . can't remember the name of what they call the week that everybody does crazy stuff to raise money for charity. Hmm, might be called Charity Week!
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| The rainbow came out very faint in this picture, but you can still sort of see it. |
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Painting
I am forcing the boys to repaint Josh and Sean's room. We've actually been talking about doing this for a couple years, but somehow this summer I had the energy to focus on it. I decided that it was a very good experience for them all.
One day I'll learn to take pictures and account for lighting or lack thereof!
Sean's friend was over and helped some too.
Gee, I'm a terrible photographer!
Hannah wasn't in on the bedroom painting. She experimented with newspaper print painted nails instead. Actually, she painted her own bedroom last summer and Becky's the summer before, so she gets this summer off!
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