Presidential Breakfast!

Whew.  I'm coming up for air.  It has been a crazy couple of weeks as we've been settling into a new routine.  Our math books finally arrived and everything is in place to get back going 100%.

July and early August are usually more carefree days - full of free play, reading good books and birthday celebrating.  So I think we all tend to buck the need to return to routine.  I can't really fault the kids since I made the unwise decision to start a novel midway through last week.  The boys were overjoyed when I fell apart on Friday. {I'm really bad when a book gets too exciting.} I discovered that during this season of my life novels are best suited for vacation time or at least for once our routine is better established.  The final two books in The Hunger Games trilogy will just have to wait a few weeks.  Rich is betting that I don't hold out that long...  Hopefully his lack of faith in my {admittedly} paltry willpower will serve to get my competitive side going and hold out until Labor Day weekend.  He's amazing at helping me in that area! :)

Despite all of this, we are persevering in pursuing routine and getting back in the swing of having an order to our days...

This summer, we've been delving deep into the founding of our country and naturally, the boys were drawn to this book, because for young boys that is such a compelling question.  I love books like this that have an engaging story, but also impart important content.  Not only did we learn things about George Washington's life, but we also learned about the process and delight in researching the fascinating answers to our questions.

Books and breakfast!  What more could one ask for?  After discovering that George Washington typically ate Hoe Cakes and hot tea for breakfast, we decided to make some of our own!  I'm not sure if they had applesauce, but that is our pancake topping of choice and with all of the great deals on cherries, we threw in some of those too. 

Because what is George Washington without the legend of his honesty in confessing to cutting down the cherry tree...

Since we read this book, we've discovered several other presidents who ate hoecakes too - making this a truly presidential breakfast! The boys were thrilled to make this connection.

For those that find the idea of a presidential breakfast intriguing, here's our recipe:

Hoecakes
Ingredients
1 cup of cornmeal
1 cup of boiling water
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons of coconut oil (Ok, lard would be more historically accurate.  But I just can't do it.)

Directions:
1. Mix boiling water in with cornmeal and salt until thick batter is formed.
2. Allow it to cool for ten minutes, and then form patties.
3. Heat fat in skillet, and cook patties for a few minutes on each side.
Makes 8

How to Weather a Storm...

Boys gather at the front window, eager for that first glimpse of friends. Excited shrieks announce their arrival as I pour our summer batch of sand into the sandbox in the backyard. Not one but TWO grandma's approach the front door with my friend Amanda's children. {Remember Amanda? I asked you all to be praying for her.} Nearly 3 weeks following her massive stroke, we continue on with plans to co-op for the summer and look forward to when she will soon be able to join us on these learning adventures.

We embark on a journey into learning about WISDOM. What does it mean to be wise? How can one become wise? On this day, children's voices sing out the parable of the Wise Man and the Foolish Man.  They sing of the importance of building on the rock.  Adult voices join in. We all sing.

Then we build...

Will rock really prove stronger than sand?  The kids are skeptical. The sand seemed to be working so well.  I  must admit, the wet plaster of paris (our 'rock' material) had us all a bit worried.  I remember back to my failed object lesson two years ago at Easter with the Resurrection Rolls when our marshmellow {Jesus} was still soggy and very present inside our little biscuit tomb...

When we returned an hour later bringing the 'storms of life,' the results were dramatic.

Houses built on sand quickly crumble.  Those embedded in rock stand firm.

As I stand back, surveying kids - eyes wide with wonder, my attention couldn't help but turn to these two grandmothers who've built their lives on THE Rock.  They raised their families with a determined focus to direct them and surrender them to Jesus.  In turn, Amanda and her husband have built their family upon the Rock.  Love for Jesus permeates and influences everything they do.  And now, as this latest 'storm' has hit, they've been battered, but not beaten down.  They have stood strong because they have built into an ever strong foundation that holds them up and supports them no matter what life throws their way...

Isn't life like that?  Sometimes it seems easier to build our lives on sand - a good job, our health, financial security, even family.  Maybe we're used to it, sometimes we may witness quick results as the buildings of our life quickly spring up and look so good.  Building upon the rock looks different, can appear to take more effort and may not seem strong at first glance.  But when the storms of life hit, that is when we quickly see the value in steadily and faithfully building our lives with Jesus and His Word as our foundation.

The legacy of these two grandmothers has left a lasting mark in the lives of their children and grandchildren.  I'm reminded to dig deep in to the Word, seeking God daily.  No matter what life throws our way, with God's help we can not only continue to grow, but also have an impact on those around us.  If I had any doubts about this, watching Amanda and her family confirmed God's loving care and miraculous work in not only holding us steady, but in healing the body and ultimately healing hearts of those we know and love!

Amanda was released to go home the day after we built these 'houses'.  She's been home for a week.  While she still has a long road to recovery, God has been performing a mighty work.  The doctors are amazed at her progress.  One hadn't seen a recovery like this in the 5 years that he had worked in that stroke trauma center...  And every time Amanda feels weak, the Holy Spirit reminds her that her strength doesn't come from within herself, but from God on whom she stands -rooted and built up.  You can read her own words on this storm and God's provision in her life!

So we dig deep and continue to hide God's Word in our hearts.  We remember, as this parable instructs (Matt 7:24-27) to not only be hearers of the Word, but doers as well.  As the Holy Spirit opens our eyes, we continue each day to look to Jesus and live our lives to bring Him glory and reflect His work in our hearts.  And so we continue our quest as wisdom seekers! 

Seek Him.

Do as He directs.

And so, weather the storm...

Of Pediatricians and Patriots

We are knee deep in the middle of our nations fight for independence and the boys couldn't be happier.  Last fall I picked up two pirate costumes at our PE groups clothing swap.  The red velvet jackets with gold braid are a favorite item being worn these days despite the temperatures approaching 100.  Our only two patriot 'coats' are a blue police jacket and my grandmother's cardigan that has really cool engraved pewter buttons.  Buttons aside, the boys think it is a pretty boring stand-in.  But it has provided an opportunity for the them to realize the benefits of being a soldier of the king verses a patriot in a poor fledgling nation.

As we read about these men that made so many valiant sacrifices, they have also been drawn to the beautiful rhetoric.  Their ability to memorize, when motivated, never ceases to amaze me.

Recently, I took Treyton in for his 4 year old well-check.  This new pediatrician is especially thorough and started asking me all kinds of questions about his development.  As she started to ask about his knowledge of the 1,2,3's and A,B,C's I realized that I had come to the point, where I hadn't really thought about it.  I nodded, indicating that he knew most of what she was asking about, but than explained a bit of my philosophy.

Skills like this come surprisingly easily in a home where there is a lot of interaction.  As I dole out a snack, he learned pretty quick how important it was to count.  Counting wasn't merely something he memorized to please someone.  There was a lot riding on his understanding of 1-to-1 correspondence.  He could immediately spot that he only received 10 blueberries while his brothers had each snagged 20.

And don't get me started on the ABC's.  I mean really, what academic advantage does a child have if he can sing the ABC song?  Until he is ready to start alphabetizing, not much.  Now phonemic SOUNDS...  That is a whole different story.

As I sat there in my pediatricians office, I started to share with her the value in learning ABOUT things instead of merely memorizing and acquiring skills.  One of my goals in the early years is to nurture that natural curiosity and insatiable desire to explore the world around them.  Stoking the fire of inborn curiosity and protecting that natural love of learning is so crucial at this age.

For some reason our culture seems fixated on skill acquisition as if memorizing numbers from 1 to 20 (or 50 or 100) somehow indicates 'giftedness'.  So much time is spent on trying to get kids reading or counting that could be utilized in far more effective and enjoyable ways.

I'm not sure how convinced she was, until I mentioned our current study of the Revolutionary War and how fascinated he is by it all.  He may or may not be able to recite his ABC's in the correct order {I've never communicated that learning that was important}, but this kid of mine is soaking up so much. 

I relayed how I was dialoging with my bigger boys, asking them which famous statesman from Virginia spoke these famous words,

"Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?

Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take,

but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!"  

Treyton was trotting by {in costume, of course} and before the boys had a chance to respond, he glibly responded, "Patrick Henwy".

The pediatrician just sat staring.

Then I told her that he was currently really into the life of Paul Revere and the events surrounding the battle of Lexington/Concord.  At this point, Treyton piped up and told her about Captain John Parker and his courageous words to the militia on the Lexington Green that day.

Rest assured, while she might think us a bit odd {and I'm totally ok with that}, I don't think she is worried about his academic development.

Skills will come.  In fact, he's acquiring them without even realizing it.  More important is that his love of learning -that God has placed in each young child, is alive and well.

After re-enacting the battle at Lexington and the 'shot heard round the world,' Treyton wanted me to record the battle for his cousins and grandparents. He is incredibly proud of his make-shift bayonet (a bamboo skewer) and the boys are loving their 'gun smoke' that they've created by filling their popguns with dirt. After reviewing this clip however, I've realized that we need to work on explaining the reality of guns that fire only one shot before needing to be carefully reloaded...

Learn to Play --> Play to Learn!

Any guesses as to what we've been reading about lately???

I just love how they bring it into their everyday play!

Boston Tea Party Time!

The Apple and the Arrow

Does this disturb any of you????  In our quest to learn about courage, we took a dive into Switzerland's quest for independence and the story of William Tell.  And yes, the kids became William Tell while taking aim at the baby doll.  Thankfully, they agreed to let the doll stand in for Tell's son instead of a brother as originally desired.  Their aim -even at point blank, was pretty lacking.  (Isn't the felt crown-turned belt amusing?)

Good books that delight the imagination are true gems.  In this instance, we found a keeper. The Apple and the Arrow captivated my three boys from the get-go.  The fact the I looked forward to the next chapter as eagerly as my boys did made them quite happy as we sped our way through this book.  I love books that are rich in vocabulary and descriptive.  In an age where many newer books have stunted beginners vocabulary, it is a delight to find an older book like this one. 

We talked about the feelings evoked from Rossini's William Tell Overture, looked up pictures of Switzerland and daydreamed about going there someday (well, at least I did anyways).

Afterwards, we went outside and had one boy put an apple on his head, while the rest of us counted out 60 paces to get a feel for how scary it was for William Tell to take the stand against the tyrant leader and risk his son's life. 

It was a beautiful opportunity to discuss our working definition of courage.

COURAGE

Doing what is right, even if it is dangerous and even if I am afraid.

We marveled at William Tell's courage.  We marvelled at his son's courage.  And the boys eagerly practiced manifesting such courage for the rest of the day.  {Imagine 3 boys carefully taking aim at apples, tied up and being rowed across the lake in the lazy boy and hightailing it high up the stairs, I mean the Alps.  Greta is turning out to be quite the napper...}

As a mother of 3 future men, I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity to explore this area of character with them over the last month.

And of course, with apples on the mind, we made some yummy apple/granola sandwiches!  My boys are obsessed with making lunch ALL-BY-THEMSELVES and this lunch was a huge hit.  Aside from me having to core and slice the apples, they were able to assemble their own sandwiches.  We ended up preferring our apple sandwiches open-faced.

It's days like this when I just give a contented sigh and thank God for the opportunity to explore, discover, play and learn alongside my children!

Hatching Chicks - Lessons in Patience

We had a huge lesson in patience when friends gave us eggs to incubate.  We counted out the days and proceeded to turn our eggs and watch the temperature and attempt to increase the humidity in our little incubators for the 21 days that we had read it would take to hatch our chicks.

It helped to count out the days on our calender so the boys could grasp how far we had come and how many days we still had to wait, wait, wait...

Reading about the wait was one thing, but having to live it out proved to be a great lesson for the boys.  We've been talking about having patience as we wait for our little girl to grow and develop, so this was actually a lot easier on them since the gestation period for a chick is far shorter!

Day 21 came and went.

I decided to wait another day or two.  Just as it appeared that all hope was lost we heard some strong peeping coming from one of our eggs!

We took a peak and found this:

 A little chick struggling to get out.

When the chick still hadn't managed to break out almost 24 hours later, I called our friend for advice.  We ended up helping this little guy out since the chick got stuck to the membrane inside the shell due to our low humidity.

We were thrilled with our new little friend whom we fondly called "Pipsqueak" since he was such a loud chick. 

And then much to our surprise and delight the next day two more chicks quickly hatched out of their shells. 

Meet Fluffy, Thomas and Pipsqueak, each named by their quasi-owner.

Our friends were kind enough to let us keep them for several more weeks where they were affectionately and {somewhat vigorously} loved before we took them back.  Someday, someday maybe we'll get some chicks of our own to keep as long-term pets. 

:Sigh: This pregnant momma is ever hopeful that fresh eggs are on our horizon!

...and I'm ever thankful that we can tie together lessons in character and real life experiences into our learning adventures!  It was a truly magical experience!

Homeschooling --> Family Learning

~ ~ Blogger had some issues over the last few days and erased any changes or posts uploaded during that time.  I apologize for those of you who have subscribed to this blog for the repeat post... ~ ~

One of my favorite perks of homeschooling is that learning becomes a family adventure!

I remember as a girl my mom getting giddy about understanding something we were studying in a fresh way. She would always tell people that she loved homeschooling because of the great education she was getting.

As an adult, who received a fabulous education growing up, I can still vouch for that. While there is certainly a lot of me imparting instruction and training to them, much of it is a joint learning venture. And as I've learned with even the giving instruction and discipling process, there are still lessons for me.

Nothing quite brought this home recently like our study of the military a few months ago. I grew up in a home of three little girls. When it came time to study the military, we had no interest. I'm kicking myself now, especially since my Opa and his father were both career Army and my dad's father served briefly in the Navy. But no, that didn't appeal to little girls...

Times have changed and with three little boys, there were great whoops of excitement when this topic was introduced. We did boot camp, drills, awoke to reveille. They marched, learned how to make their beds military style, thanks to my hubby, an expert bedmaker.  I'd probably be discharged for poor bed-making skills alone...  One of their favorite parts was learning to properly salute from my Opa.

We learned details about how the military is structured and its various branches. I finally have a fairly good understanding of ranking now. Although the boys were too young for some of the information, I still found myself reading some of the 'older' kids books and gleaning information that I could then pass on to them. This was most definitely a JOINT venture.

The end of our unit perfectly coincided with an airshow that happens only every two years at Luke Air Force Base. {providence} We were all primed and ready...

The boys sat in the cockpit of a helicopter...

...and I genuinely marvelled at the controls!

The boys and I were all giddy and could tell the difference between an Apache and a Black Hawk helicopter. My husband has an amazing knowledge of military aircraft. He was able to fill us in on even more during this particular adventure!

Little guys practiced their salutes!

We talked to air force pilots...

And of course watched the show...

Oh the joys of homeschooling!!!

It provides the time, opportunity and adventure of on-going learning - as a family!

So what have YOU discovered lately in your learning adventures?

Becoming Butterflies...

We've been quite busy over here working on 'becoming butterflies'.  As we learn about patience, our explorations have led us to explore the phenomena of metamorphosis.  In addition to reading some great books like, It's a Butterfly's Life, Houdini the Amazing Caterpillar and The Prince of Butterflies, we had some friends over for some hands-on fun! 

I'm a big fan of making things hands-on and interactive.  This is just ever so much more fun than simply printing off a life cycle printable and gluing pre-designed pictures in order on a piece of paper or labeling some worksheet.  Not only is hands-on learning more fun, it is also a better way to boost long-term retention rates!  They simply learn better this way!

We started out by putting together the stages of a butterflies life to show the dad's later that day and anyone else who would listen to them share over the following week! 

 Nothing quite like the thrill of paint and googly eyes!  The kids enjoyed designing their own caterpillars!

After reviewing how caterpillars simple eyes (hence the googly eyes) then change to compound eyes during metamorphosis, the boys had fun adding left over jewels from our medieval celebrations onto their butterflies!

 But the highlight of the morning was when the boys dramatized the life-cycle of a butterfly.

First, there were five little eggs...

 That hatched and ate everything in sight.  They ate and molted and ate and molted. 

Before forming a chrysalis (or sliding feet first into a sleeping bag).

 
Wriggling, shaking, changing...

Before finally emerging with wings...

Discovering that this whole metamorphosis stuff is exhausting!!!

But worth it for these wriggly little boys! :)

I hope you enjoy a bit of hands-on adventures this week!

Related Posts:
What Comes First: Activity or Content?
Goal: Lovers of Learning
Of Kangaroos and Icing...