Making mountains out of molehills

I like to make a big deal out of small things.

Now, I'm not talking about all the times I've imagined some hidden meaning in people's words and actions.  That's something I'm working on, I promise.

All summer long, I've been watching my friends post pictures of their vacations.  I've listened to their tales of warm sun, sand in between their toes, and relaxation.  I am happy for them.

We've never gone on a vacation like that.  Well, once we went to Washington, D.C. for 4 days.  But otherwise, our family has never gone a vacation where we slept in hotels and just rested.  I'm not entirely sure I know how to rest, now that I think about it.

An old pic of us in front of the Capitol building

Instead, we are champions of the day-trip, and exploring our hometown.  In the past few years, someone coined this the "staycation," which is a stupid word.  I've always just considered it living life.  Why sit at home day in and day out, especially as homeschoolers, when there's a world to explore?

As a result, I tend to celebrate the small things.

We're going to spend the day at the local state park swimming in the lake?  Yay, we're going to the beach and we'll build a giant sandcastle!

We've decided to go hiking in the woods?  Yay, let's be explorers and search for rare wildflowers!

I suppose this might sound silly, but if I can't find the pleasure and joy in the things I do every day, then I'm pretty sure I'm living life wrong.

Chew on this! Homemade Gum

Funny made her own chewing gum today.  Chemistry is fun!

Stirring the gum base and corn syrup.

Kneading the gum.

More kneading.  She's working some powdered sugar into the gum.

Rolling out the gum after adding the food coloring.

The finished product!  A giant gum ball, rolled in sugar.  Tasty.

I'm not crazy!

I recently admitted my history of self-hatred to you.  I was full of terror when I put that out there, and I still want to take down this post because it's just a little too honest.  I'm fairly certain that's the self-hatred creeping back in, telling me that people think I'm crazy or worse--that they feel sorry for me.

I struggle with accepting myself.  I'm emotional.  I actually think of myself as a bit of an emotional freak, as I feel everything intensely.  It can be exhausting.  I have wished my emotions away, often thinking life would be so much easier if I were a robot.  I said that to my husband once, and he told me he admired my ability to express emotions.  I had never once thought of it as something that could be a good trait, until he said that.

In the past year, I've come to realize that emotions, in themselves, are fine.  Healthy, even.  It's letting my emotions run my life that is the problem. I've learned that I can't base my actions on my emotions.  When my emotions are in charge, my head is full of lies, and that is when I am most likely to hate myself.  I am working to learn how to feel things in a healthy way.  I generally stuff every feeling I have until I'm so overwhelmed that I release a flood of crazy.  Kind of like this:

The fact is, I'm sensitive, emotional, introverted, and quirky.  I used to look at those traits and think they made me a freak.  And, well, maybe I am not like everyone else. But I do know I am who God wants me to be today.

In the end, I have to rest in the knowledge that self-acceptance is going to be a journey.  I can't just decide overnight to completely change, and actually change.  Only God can do that for me, and so far, he hasn't.  I'm okay with that, because I know that he knows far better what he's doing than I.  He sees a big picture for my life that I do not see.  I trust it's a good one.

Valentine's Day Challenge

I've been doing the Women Living Well Valentine's Day Challenge.  I was afraid that I'd see how I need to do better in this area, and that has been the case.

If you buy into the love languages, I can tell you that Hub's languages are touch and quality time.  I don't mean the quality time that I like.  Instead, he likes for me to sit on the couch with him while he plays a video game, or go with him to play disc golf.  He just wants me to be near by.  My love language is words of affirmation.  We really couldn't be more opposite.

This challenge is out of my comfort zone.  Hub doesn't especially respond to words (that I have ever seen), but that's not a good reason not to do it.  I want to remember the little things he does for us.   This challenge has become more about what I focus on. It's easy in the busyness of life to forget just how perfect he is for me.

He works hard, even when he doesn't want to, or he's sick.  He plays Monopoly with the kids.  He does the dishes and sweeps the floor when I need a little help.  He reminds me that I am a good teacher when homeschooling is hard.  He is faithful.  He loves the Lord.  He balances me out when I'm about to go off the deep end.  He listens to me think out loud.  He holds me when I cry.

He's pretty awesome.

Multi-Grain Batter Bread

I love bread.  For real.  It's fun to make, and kneading bread sometimes keeps me from killing people!  (Kidding.  Mostly.)  It smells good and there is nothing quite as good to eat as fresh bread with butter.

This is a great bread since there's only an hour between that time you're thinking, I could eat some bread, and that time when you pull the bread out of the oven.

Bread in one hour!

Multi-Grain Batter Bread
adapted from Betty Crocker

cornmeal for dusting
4 1/2 to 5 c. all-purpose or bread flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
2 c milk
1/2 c water
1/2 c whole wheat graham flour (or regular whole wheat flour)
1/2 c wheat germ
1/2 c regular rolled oats (or quick oats)

Grease and dust 2 cookie sheets w cornmeal.  Preheat oven to 400.

Mix 3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, soda, and yeast in a bowl.  On the stove, heat the milk and water until it is very warm.  Do not boil!  If it gets too hot, it will kill your yeast.  Add the milk mixture to the dry mixture.  Beat on low until everything is moistened.  Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape the bowl now and again.  Stir in the wheat flour, wheat germ, oats, and remaining all-purpose flour to make a stiff batter.  (You're not making a stiff dough, which would be very dry, but you want it to still be a batter.)  Divide the dough between the two pans.  Grease and flour your hands, and then shape them into a ball.  Sprinkle a little more cornmeal on top.

Cover and let them rise for a half hour.  Bake for 25 minutes.

Lessons from Grandma

When I was very, very pregnant with our oldest son, my grandma came and stayed with us.  Hub and I were both 25.  I can't speak for him, but I had no clue what it was going to be like.  None.  I had read all the books, but you just can't begin to grasp parenthood at all until it happens to you.

Thank God my grandma was there.  She was there when my water broke in the middle of the night.  Hub and I had been up so late, watching one of those crazy double-overtime hockey games.  We were exhausted.  Hub took me to the hospital, and my grandma stayed home and prepared for Scrappy's arrival.  When we got home, she held him, and rocked him, and convinced me I had to sleep.  Just like me, my grandma has never been a great sleeper at night, and she was up anyway, so I thought I might as well let her snuggle a little baby.  So I did, and she was so good to me.  She made me food, and made me drink water, and just loved my new little family.

A year later, I was pregnant with Funny, and my grandma was there, again.  She kept Scrappy and took care of him while Hub ran back and forth to the hospital.  She stayed for a few weeks afterward and helped us all adjust.  I remember sitting with her during one of Scrappy's nap times watching Bridget Jones' Diary, and she just was laughing and laughing.

My grandma has a great sense of humor.  She isn't easy offended, and appreciates an inappropriate joke.  One of the times I remember seeing her laugh the hardest was at an SNL skit starring Justin Timberlake.  (I'm a lady, so I'm not posting it.)  She loves to laugh.

My grandma taught my mom how to cook.  My mom and grandma taught me to cook.  We are connected through food, and I think that's the main reason why I love cooking so much.  I feel connected to my family and to my past.  Grandma taught me to make an awesome southern breakfast.  I can't make a biscuit without thinking about her hands, showing me how to be gentle with the dough so the bread would turn out right.

I remember when my grandfather was sick with cancer, and how my grandma took care of him.  My mom told me that it wasn't the first time my grandma had nursed the dying.  My grandma always took care of everyone.  She has taken in members of my family who needed a place to live.  I've moved around a lot, and wherever she was, was home.  I still look at her house in West Virginia as the place where I'm from and where I can always go.

In her younger days, she worked at the library.  She used to know mobsters when she lived in Chicago.  She grew up in a coal town in West Virginia, and my grandfather used to follow her around trying to get her attention.  They had 6 kids, including a set of twins and a special needs son.

I have never seen my grandma cry. But I have seen her laugh, and put others first.  I've seen her take care of things just because they needed doing, without complaint.  I have seen her love her family.

My grandma has been very sick and in the hospital for a few weeks.  I'm going down to see her next week, and I can't wait to tell her how much I adore her.  Thanks for letting me share it with you, and for letting me "think out loud" about her influence in my life.  I'd love to hear a stories about your grandparents.

Mini-bagel Pizzas

What is it about lunch that drives me batty?  It's hard enough to plan dinners and shop for those, but then these kids want to eat lunch, too!?  The nerve.  After about five years of rotating through pb&j, chicken nuggets, and mac & cheese out of a box, I just couldn't take it anymore.

Here's an easy lunch that doesn't make me sad, unlike having to eat goldfish crackers.  Again.

Yes, I'm a bad photographer.  That's why this isn't a photography blog.

Mini-bagel Pizzas

1 bag of mini-bagels (I used whole-wheat ones from Trader Joes)
1 can of pizza sauce
sliced salami/pepperoni (or veg, whatever you like)
sliced or shredded cheese (I used provolone, because that's what I had)

Slice the mini-bagels and put on a cookie sheet that you've sprayed w non-stick spray.  Top the bagels w a spoonful of sauce, meat, and cheese.  Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes until the cheese starts to brown.

So easy, the kids can make it.

I know; this isn't really much of a recipe.  It's really meant to remind me, and maybe you, that lunch can still be easy, and tasty.  This is also good with English muffins.

What are your go-to kid-friendly lunches?  Share in the comments!

Cinnamon Muffins

Really, a cinnamon muffin and a cup of coffee is one of the small pleasures in life.  I just want you to be happy, so do me a favor and give it a try.

Cinnamon Muffins
adapted from Whole Foods for the Whole Family

3 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1 c. milk

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix well the eggs, butter, oil, and milk.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Stir just until combined.  Over-mixing is bad for muffins; it makes them sad.  Fill the wells about 2/3 full in a greased muffin tin (or use paper liners).  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. This recipe makes about 2 dozen.  Obviously you could divide it in half, or you could just freeze the extras, which sounds better to me.

The Me I Am Becoming

The person I am today barely recognizes the person I was at the
beginning of this year. It's rare that I get the occasion to see
myself with enough clarity, casting off the lens of self-criticism I
typical view myself through, in order to see how much I have changed.
One of my recurring prayers is that God will make me want to be
obedient, and that he'll make me better. I tell myself at least once a
day, "I want to be a better person."  My false reality--the one in
which I am composed entirely of negative characteristics and cannot
find one good thing about myself--has ruled my life for over 30 years.
 This occasionally alternates with another lie, in which I am so
awesome that I cannot comprehend why someone wouldn't love me, or take
my advice and just do what I said, or want to be like me.

In both instances, where I puff myself up, and where I beat myself
down, I am drowning in pride.  My self-centeredness scares me.

As this year has progressed, it's become evident that it's time I stop
believing lies. I'm not actually worthless, horrid, and hideous.
Neither am I the person with all the answers that everyone should be
listening to. I have spent more time this year in intense Bible study
than ever before.  For example, I've read and reread and outlined and
discussed Philippians, because I want to choose joy. I want to know
what to do and then act on it. I cannot tell you how often I've read
Proverbs 31, looking for a glimpse of myself.  I've spent the better
part of 2012 filling my head with the truth in order to recognize and
combat lies. It was no accident I ended up in a small group studying
The Truth Project.

I need to hear and believe the truth.

At one time, I thought the me of 12 months ago was crazy, weak,
pathetic, sad, and heartbroken.  That was my identity and I lived that
out.  I could not comprehend why I could not control my thoughts, be
different, be better.

Early in 2012, I prayed often for God to make things different. I
wanted him to just take away my problems. I yelled at God a lot.  I
questioned his wisdom and didn't trust him.

Finally, finally, God got me to settle down and be quiet long enough
for me to hear the truth. I was trying to change things. I would do
this or that and things would be different. Everything in my own
power. No wonder it didn't work.  Rather than cling to the truth of
God, I clung to my fear.

I still fall so short of who I am going to become.  No, I don't like
that God has placed a spotlight on my pride.  But I know it's what I
need.  I need to see that by believing I was unimportant and unloved,
it was, in essence, my way of telling God I knew more than he did.
I thought, he says all these good things about his children, but he means
everyone BUT me.  I was calling God a liar.  That's pretty arrogant.

While I don't like seeing how critical and bossy I can be, I have hope
that I won't always be this way. No longer am I crippled by my
negative thoughts.  I'm beginning to learn to be humble and obedient.
I am not always excited to change, because I know it's going to hurt.
That anxiety is something I keep giving to God.  I pray he will make
me want to obey him.

I can't change, but God can change me.

And now, I wait.

Week(s) in Review - In which we cry over our book

Overall, the past two weeks have been going smoothly.  I'm really working on choosing patience, and I can tell.  Well, mostly!  That being said, watch them try said patience to no end later today.  It's okay.  I'm bigger than they are, and I can control myself.

We wrapped up our study of Renaissance Spain.  We read I, Juan de Pareja, which made us cry.  You can read my thoughts on that book here.  We're studying primates in Science, at least for another week.  The kids hate their copywork.  I am not really sympathetic to their plight.  The more they practice, the easier it'll get.  I had someone tell me I should just let Scrappy type everything.  Maybe I should.  But I won't.  He's the biggest complainer out of all of them, as far as writing goes.  I see that he's improving though, and that he's able to write for longer periods of time.  You can tell me how writing is archaic and how in ten years everything will be computerized, but I just won't believe you.

I've been reviewing adjectives with the kids.  Why is it I have to keep teaching parts of speech over and over and over again?  Well, anyway, I found this idea on Pinterest.  Did you know Pinterest is not just for wasting time?  True story.  The one I saw on there was the Grinch.  We've described Batman and the Hulk so far.  They love doing this.  They want to describe Ang from Avatar next time.  Why not?

Don't make him angry.

We still haven't gone on a field trip yet this year, which is weird for us.  It's been three weeks already!  I'm getting twitchy to go do something out in the world.  I think I can at least work a nature walk into our week next week.

Books read:  I, Juan de Pareja, Diego Velazquez, Dr. Seuss, Kids During the Age of Exploration, Rain Player, Look What Came from the Netherlands

Of course, they read more than these, but I haven't gotten them to give me a list yet.  My record keeping needs some work!

See how other people are homeschooling this week on Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Book review - I, Juan de Pareja

I had heard of I, Juan de Pareja, by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino, but had no idea what it was about.  When I was younger, I went through a phase where I wanted to read all of the Newbery winners, so surely I had held that book in my hands time and time again.  We decided to read it because it was recommended by our History book, Story of the World.  My own knowledge of the Renaissance is sketchy at best, so I thought it would be helpful to spend a little more time studying it.  Already, I know more than I ever learned in school.  I love that about homeschooling.

Juan is a slave in 17th C Spain.  He is owned by the court painter, Diego Velazquez, who painted Pope Innocent X, as well as many portraits of King Phillip IV.  This is historical fiction, so there is a thread of truth to it, and embellishments as well.  There is a fine afterword about which elements are factual, and why the author wrote the story as she did.  The language is beautiful, and challenging.  I recognized many words from my SATs!  It's rare now, I think, to find a children's book with language like this.  The kids were challenged to determine word meanings based on context, but it wasn't so difficult that they couldn't follow the story.  This book is rich with material for language/vocab study.

The themes of this story are racism, slavery, friendship, loyalty, family, truth, and art.  That's just what I can think of offhand!  Catholicism underlies the entire book.  Juan is a faithful man, who understands that his sin separates him from God.  He faces his own moral dilemma--he wants to paint, but as a slave, is not allowed to create art.  I cannot fathom a culture that would prohibit free expression (yes, that's so American).  I find it heartbreaking.  I'm not sure if he couldn't paint because if he sold his works, he would take profits from free men, or if people generally believed that he, as a slave, had nothing to express.  Or worse...that he DID have something to express, and that thing would cause a disturbance in the status quo.  Was a law like that just a means of keeping control?

I, Juan de Pareja is rich with topics that you can study and discuss with your children.  In a book world full of fluff, it's gratifying to read something that encourages children to think.

You can find a free study guide here.

There are a number of books on Velazquez.  I like this one.

Week in Review--In which we get started

I am pleased to announce that not only have we all survived yet another first week of school, I daresay that this year, we are thriving.  No one has been complaining, or whiny, or even too hard to find when I announce, "It's time to start school."  I do not want to curl up in a ball and pray for gypsies.  Hooray!  I am going to chalk it all up to God (props!) as He's really been at work in my heart the last couple weeks.  I mean, He always is, but I guess I'm not in the way.  For once.  I'm sure I'll return to my role as a temper tantrum-throwing toddler (in His eyes) again soon enough, but I'm just going to enjoy where I am.  Tomorrow....well, it'll be there when I get there.

We have finally finished Story of the World book 2.  It took 2 years.  Two years, people.  In my defense, it's no fault of the book or accompanying materials workbook that we got a little obsessive over knights, castles, Vikings, Aztecs, and more.  This means that next week, we are starting book 3, and we're entering into colonization.  In college, I majored in History, with a concentration in Colonial/Early American History.  You can say I am slightly geeked out to finally get to talk about it with a captive audience!

We picked back up with marsupials in our Apologia book, and finished that.  We all love the Notgrass Art book!  I have posted a few samples below.  The kids have been continuing in their math books, and so far we like Queen's Language Arts book.  We started spelling, and next week we'll add Easy Grammar Plus and *gulp* IEW.  I tried IEW last year and found it so time-consuming that it made me batty.  It'll go better this time.  I'm not the same girl, and these are not the same kids.  See?  I have hope.

One of the best things about homeschooling is how I get to relearn, or learn for the first time, all sorts of things.  I was very excited to learn more about Queen Elizabeth I.  This week at the library, I checked out two books about her.

Books read:  Leonardo and the Flying Boy, Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed the World, Katie and the Mona Lisa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Francis the Poor Man of Assissi, Good Queen Bess

Little dudes that Funny made out of modeling beeswax.

8yo Goofy's drawing of the earth from space.

36yo Hub's drawing of the earth from space.

9yo Funny's drawing of the angel appearing to Michael.
The assignment was to draw Mary with a look of wonder on her face.

Check out Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers to see how other people are homeschooling this week.

Music is my friend

I like music.  Okay, I lied.  I actually love music.  It's more of a violent passion, really.

I've been known to say ridiculous things like, "I'd like to curl up inside that song."  I am positive that someone else out there can relate to this.  Music helps me feel feelings that I ordinarily would lock away and ignore. I can feel sadness, anger, frustration, joy, happiness, and hope.  "On the Surface" by Rosanne Cash fills me with grief, "Monster" by Skillet tells me I'm not the only one struggling with anger and sin, "Eagle When She Flies" by Dolly Parton reminds me that I'm strong, "When Mercy Found Me" by Rhett Walker Band makes me feel loved.  Music is my friend, holding my hand, singing to me, "Let it out, baby.  Let it out."

I struggle with what people think about me.  (Everyone does, right?  RIGHT!?)  I want to be liked.  I'm not sure I'm quite likable, but I'm charming.  Once I love you, I develop a great concern about your opinion about me.  So much so, that when it looks like I might be making a genuine friendship, I throw up a wall and start to panic.  I start to push away, because while I love Florence + the Machine's "Breaking Down," I imagine that people do not want to hear that I relate to it.

Clearly, this is my issue, and I admit it.  Trust is not my forte.  I like my friends to think they know me, and then they just stay there where I put them.  At the same time, someone who will take the time to nudge me into a real relationship is priceless.  I do know that.  It's just so scary to me.  In the end, I just don't want my heart broken.

I have been blessed with some true friendships in my life.  Believe me, whether they realize it or not, I tried to run away from every single one of them.  My head is full of whispers that they don't really like me, they will betray my trust, they feel sorry for me, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.  But I think that a friend is much like a song, if I would let it be.  Sometimes I just want someone to wrap their arms around me and tell me I'm loved, and maybe whisper, "Let it out, baby.  Let it out."

Letting go of dreams

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a rock star, a teacher, and a writer.

Let's face it.  I had no chance of ever becoming a rock star.  I can't sing.  I quit the clarinet, and really, what rock band is looking for a woodwind player anyway?  Plus, I really don't want the rock star life.  I can sing in my car at the top of my lungs, and that makes me happy enough.  I let go of the rock star dream a long, long time ago.

I did end up becoming a teacher, though not at all in the way I had envisioned.  I was going to be a Social Studies teacher, and then I was going to be a school librarian, and then, well, it seems I became a homeschooler.  Trust me, that was not really on my radar until a few months before we decided to take the plunge.  So here we have a dream come true.

The third one, however, is a tough one.  I have an abundance of thoughts swirling in my head at all times.  Sometimes they are stories about made up lands and made up people, and sometimes I am really afraid that I am supposed to tell my own story.  I cannot even begin to tell you how terrifying that is to me.

I've always expressed myself best through writing.  I have a hard time being really open and real face-to-face.  Some of you are going to psychoanalyze that.  Anyway, it's so much easier for me to make sense out of all the noise in my head when I can take the time to write.  I'm not quick enough for most arguments.  I say the wrong thing ALL THE TIME.  Not just something that offends someone, or hurts someone's feelings, but I literally say things I don't mean, and then chastise myself for doing so.  I have to think out loud, and if someone isn't willing to listen to me go through that process, then there's a communication breakdown.  And believe me, it's not a trait that I am especially pleased to possess, but it's how I am wired.  My point is, writing helps me think out loud, but I can backspace and erase half of it and start over.  Verbal communication doesn't work like that.  I prefer writing.

When I was younger, I wrote constantly.  I wrote short stories.  I wrote (terrible) poetry.  I started writing a novel in junior high.  I journaled, a lot.  Really, this blog is my journal every now and then (like today), but I rarely journal anymore.  I did NaNoWriMo last year, and felt like a massive failure.  I wrote.  And wrote.  And it was just garbage.  Horrid.  I never let anyone read it, and I deleted it.

I have been thinking about becoming a writer, and maybe it's time for me to just let it go.  I mean, I got the teacher thing.  I feel like a rock star when I play Rock Band.  I don't need to hang on to being a writer.  I tell myself it's okay; I don't really have anything to say.  No one would want to hear it anyway.

On the one hand, I think I should just give up, and grow up, and let go of childish dreams.  On the other hand, I think dreams are one of the best things about life.  Writing has been that thing that I'll do one day.  I think this dream is part of who I am.

The other day I saw one of those cheesy quote things on Pinterest:

I realized something when I read this.  I am afraid of letting go and putting myself out there for critique and criticism.  I do not take criticism well at all.  I'm hard enough on myself that I can barely stand anything extra.  Fear is a terrible reason for me to stop dreaming about becoming a writer.  Quite honestly, I realized that I am already a writer.  No, I'm not a great writer, and that's okay.  But I do have something to say.  I have worlds to create, people to tell you about, and stories to share.  Maybe even my own.

I'm keeping this dream.

2012-2013 School Year

We have had a fantastic summer.  I have felt a calling for a few years now to be less busy, and focus more on home.  You might be wondering how this can be possible when I'm home with these kids almost all the time.  For me, it's been about attitude.  I am trying to judge the impact of activities or even events on our family life.  I ask myself, "Is [insert name of activity here] good for all of us?"  Yes, I can sign my kids up for many different things.  Scrappy could play fall baseball, but it would mean traveling, and that would mean less meals at home, and rarely seeing Hub as he gets home from work a little late.  And so, fall ball is definitely out.  It's like that.  The alleged benefit isn't that great.

I purposed this summer to say no to most things, and make the most out of the few outings we did have.  No, we didn't go on a vacation this year.  We went camping a few times, we've gone to the pool, and we've read and been lazy.  I can't remember the last time I actually felt refreshed by our summer break.  I admit that saying no has been harder than I thought.  I'm continuing to say no into the fall, and we'll see how the burnout goes.

We spent a day at Raccoon Creek State Park.

Jumping into Deep Creek Lake.

We're starting school on August 27 this year.  Here's the break down, for those of you who like to know these things:

Scrappy, age 10

Math: Math-U-See Gamma (for a couple weeks to finish up) and Delta
Health:  Queen book on puberty for boys

Funny, age 9

Math:  MUS Beta/Gamma
Health:  Queen book on puberty for girls

Goofy, age 8

Math:  MUS Beta/Gamma

Silly, age 6

Math:  MUS Alpha/Beta
LA:  Explode the Code


Everything else is the same for everyone, except Silly who has her own LA:

LA:  Queen Language Lessons for the Elementary Child
IEW
Cursive/Copywork (That's from Queen also)
Queen spelling
a random workbook of vocab word of the day fun
Easy Grammar Plus

Bible:  Humility study (more Queen)
Okay, so really, I need to do this study more than anyone.  We're going to be doing it as a family--even Hub is going to participate.

Science: Apologia Land Animals (hoping to finish in December) and Astronomy

SS:  Story of the World vol 3 (finally we're done with vol 2!)
assorted readers about American history
Maps & Geography workbook (just parts of it)
some yet-to-be-determined project on PA inventors or history (I'm organizing something with other homeschoolers.  I probably need to think about that.)

Health:  Abeka

Music:  orchestra unit study

Art:  Notgrass Draw to Learn--The Life of Jesus (has anyone used this?)

2011-2012 Year in Review

I knew I hadn't blogged for a while, but I had no idea it was so long.  I can't say I'm surprised, as it was a rough winter around here, and I was absolutely not in the mood for, well, anything.  On a positive note, things are much better, spring has sprung, and we're winding up the school year.

I'm not very good at giving myself a break, especially where my children are concerned, and I fully admit that this was not our best homeschooling year.  I'm having a hard time forgiving myself (because, of course, being me, I'm to blame).  I started to put together portfolios for Scrappy and Funny and then burst into tears.  This is what real homeschooling is like, people!  There are lots of tears, and regret, and fear.  At the same time, I am making a real effort to find the good things.  I adore these kids, and they get along so well (mostly).  Today we were discussing the word "drip" and how one of the meanings is "a person who doesn't like to have any fun."  Funny immediately announced that I was not a drip.  That really warmed my heart.  It's the simple things, really.

And with that in mind, here are some of the good things from this year.  Please know that there were lots of not-so-good things, and I don't want anyone to think that I have it together and that things are always rosy at my house.  Homeschooling is hard, but I know that God has called us to it, and that He will continue to equip me, if I would just get out of His way and let Him.

Flour Children petting a ray.  Always fun!

Monopoly.  For about 2 months here, this is what my table looked like.  Every.  Day.

Goofy and Scrappy played basketball.

Making Valentines for friends.

We learned how they make the doughnuts at Dunkin' Donuts. 

Silly and Funny are BFFs, and always breaking into dance.

The kids are really interested in photography.  Scrappy took this.

Funny learned to use chopsticks.

We went to the museum to check out some dinosaurs.

Scrappy likes fossils.

These kids love to draw!

Goofy's work.

The Flour Children played soccer for the first time.

Running out of the Steelers tunnel at Heinz Field.

Candyland

I almost never bother to make candy.  My kids get way too much of it from AWANA, and I'm pretty happy with the occasional bit of dark chocolate.  Every time I've made fudge, it hasn't turned out.  And so, maybe I'm a little afraid of candy.  But that never stops me from trying again.  It's handy to be stubborn.

This is from one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, by Nigella Lawson.  I adore the way she writes about food.  She likes food.  A lot.  Plus, the book is very pretty to look at.

Cinder Toffee (aka honeycomb)
from How to Be a Domestic Goddess

3/4 c. sugar
4 tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tbsp. baking soda
8 inch square pan, well-greased

Grease that pan.  Seriously.  With some butter, in fact.

Mix the sugar and syrup in a heavy-bottomed pot.  THEN turn the burner on, to medium heat.  Let it heat up and you can stir it a bit to make sure it doesn't burn and that the sugar is dissolving.  It will begin to bubble and just start to change to a yellowish-brown.  (Mine took about 5-6 minutes, Nigella says 3-4)  You are not looking to caramelize this to a dark color.

Remove from the heat and quickly whisk in the baking soda.  This part is exciting, and next time I am going to let the kids do this.  It fills the candy with air and the whole thing puffs up.  Fun!  Quickly pour into the dish and let it harden for a few hours.

I used my meat mallet to break this right in the middle and the whole thing split into 4 big pieces that I could then pull out of the dish.  Then I broke them further (with the mallet) into bite-sized pieces.

Our friend Nigella suggests we dip them in chocolate, if we feel so inclined.  I like the way she thinks.  I'm going to do that next time too.  All the little bits you can save for an ice cream topping.

Home is where the school is

I haven't posted too much about school this year.  We are still homeschooling, and we've been having a bit of a difficult year.  This is largely due to personality conflicts, which exist in families.  No amount of sending them away to school will change that.  I don't need "a break" from my kids, as if they are some horrible burden in my life.  They are my life (along with the ever-supportive Hub).

This year Scrappy is in 4th grade, Funny is in 3rd, Goofy is in 2nd, and Silly is in K, but mostly doing 1st grade work.  Here's the summary up to this point:

We tried Wordly Wise with Scrappy, and it turned out to be the thing we fought about most often.  It was pure misery.  I would become exasperated, he would become frustrated, and we always ended up screaming.  So we chucked it.  I'm back to my old methods of teaching vocabulary, which pretty much means I stop and ask if they understand a word, or I define as we go.  Who wants to do vocab flash cards?  Well, I do, but I'm not like other people.

We have lots of traditional homeschooling materials again this year.  The kids have an assortment of workbooks for language arts and math.  Scrappy is about done with MUS Gamma, we're almost finished with Apologia's Swimming Creatures book (we can't ever seem to get to this).  Story of the World is still the favorite for history.

The kids are still using games to learn a lot of different things.  We've started playing Bananagrams, and we use that for spelling and vocab practice.  The kids love to play Scrabble, Settlers of Catan, chess, Uno, Stratego, and even some math games on the iPad.  I think if all their practice/drill can be done through game playing, then that's good.  And even better, a lot of the games they like require strategy and critical thinking.  Yeah, I am okay with that.

We've already gone on 15 field trips this year!  My goal is 20, and I think we should manage to make that.  We have one or two more scheduled for this month, and I know come February, it's all I will want to do.  Gosh, I hate February for homeschooling.  Only you other homeschoolers understand that.  Alas, no worrying about it now!  Here are some highlights from our most recent trip to the Heinz History Center:

Flour Children and friends.  The museum is currently hosting an exhibit on the history of the flag.

Goofy makes pickles.

Funny preps her tent.

Silly and her friend taking a turn at packing pickles.

Flour Children and friends with statue of Franco Harris.

So, in the end, I suppose we had a rocky start.  Each year I find it easier to embrace our less traditional version of education, but every year I still fight myself on it.  We do a lot of reading, playing, and exploring.  We even do worksheets and book work.  Everyone here would rather read a book about homophones (which we did, Dear Deer) versus filling in a worksheet on homophones.  That's just how we roll.  It might not be your way, but it's our way, and it works for us.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

I own very few cookbooks.  I mean, for someone obsessed with cooking, anyway.  Less than 10, I think.  Instead, I keep a giant binder full of recipes.  This is one of them.  I have no idea where the original came from. But I am oh-so-glad I have it.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

4 c. flour
2 c. sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 c. melted butter
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. chocolate chips (I used combination of chocolate chips and a giant semi-sweet chocolate baking bar)
1/2 c. chopped nuts (I used pecan chips)

Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl.  Combine pumpkin, butter, oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla in another bowl.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.  Stir in chocolate and nuts.

Drop dough by tablespoonful onto cookie sheet.  Space about 2 inches apart.

Bake at 375 degrees for 13-14 minutes.  Let cool a couple minutes on pan, then move to rack to finish cooling.

Quitters Never Win

Every now and again, I have one of those homeschooling days when I remember why we're all doing this.  Last week, I wanted to send my kids to school, wholly convinced that I was ill-qualified to teach them anything.  This week, I can't imagine not being with them.  Funny how that works.

It was field trip day today.  We went on a free (thank you, taxes) tour of PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  It was a thorough tour, and we got to see the press box, batting cages/pitchers tunnel, dugout, and even walk out onto the field.  The tour guide was excellent, and obviously loved the Pirates.  He also knew a lot of history of the team, which the kids found especially interesting.

The rest of school looked rather untraditional, I suppose, but it works for us.  The kids watched an episode of MythBusters.  We read about echinoderms.  We talked about the purpose of the nose, and how to stop germs from spreading (cover your sneeze, please).  Scrappy read to us about taking care of our teeth, while Goofy begged for his turn to read to us.  The five of us snuggled under a blanket and read a book about maps, another about nouns, and a third about the military alphabet.

Right now they are all upstairs measuring their rooms so they can map them out.  FOR FUN.

See?  This is what I call a good day.  I'm so glad I didn't throw in the towel.