She was just too tired…

September 9, 2013 | Stacy

After a feeding she dozed through her burps and stayed put.
School continued, albeit much less aggressively for a few minutes.

Yeah – that’s a cupcake on her bottom. Stewart noted, “Mom, I thought you didn’t like it when people had writing on their bottoms.” I decided that for the under 12 months crowd it is ok.

Experiment–6th grader

September 6, 2013 | Stacy

Question: How does a polar bear’s black skin help to keep it warm?
Hypothesis: “It soaks up the hotness from the sun.”

Ice in plastic bag inside socks – one white, one black.
On cookie sheet in the sun.
Young scientist predicts the ice in the black sock will melt quicker.

Yeah… just barely.
😉 But we got a lab report out of it.

Art for a homeschool

September 3, 2013 | Stacy

We’ve usually found ways for our homeschool art classes to be covered within activities we do. However, a friend of ours uses artprojectsforkids.org and I really liked some of the projects on that site. We’ve managed to do three, as of this posting (9/3). These pictures are from 8/27. Marie wasn’t happy with having to stop playing to do art. I must say. It’s not really her thing. She’s good at it, but she doesn’t ♥LOVE♥ it. But I’m okay with that. So many other things ARE her things. 🙂 Tabitha, on the other hand, is all over the projects. 🙂

Improvising…

March 11, 2013 | Stacy

Schooling with a newborn is new for me. I’ve never had a baby in the midst of a school year. Tabitha arrived at the end of Stewart’s kindergarten year, so there was not a lot of pressure there. When Johanna arrived the end of May 2010 we’d already wrapped up the year’s worth of work.

But February is a different story… we’ve completed 27 of our weeks, which is nothing to sneeze at. But there are still a fair number of weeks ahead of us before we can call it done for the year. So we are improvising.

Since each of the kids have completed at LEAST 74% of their language work for the year we can drop down to two-three days a week each. This means I don’t have to keep as tight a schedule and we have time for things like diapers and feedings.

School doesn’t look the same as it did just a few weeks ago. What was normally conducted at the kitchen table is now being conducted, um, anywhere we can pull it off. Today, it was on the couch, with my lap serving as both bassinet and instructor’s desk.

My life is weird… but good!

Fully Dressed

February 15, 2013February 3, 2019 | Stacy

When I was six, or eight, or ten, I could not name the elements to the Full Armor of God. Truth be told, I didn’t know them until about age 33. Sometimes I am so envious of my kids. My prayer is that while it is just being absorbed now, that later on it will be valued by them.

We did this activity once before almost five years ago.As a matter of fact, it was included in my first blog post.

I suspect I will have the opportunity to supervise the same project at least one more time, in another 5 or so years, with Johanna and Ducky. Stewart will be 17 then.

I am so blessed.

5/19/2008

Father-Daughter Dance for American Heritage Girls

February 8, 2013 | Stacy

It was one of those weeks where fitting in ONE.MORE.THING. was going to hurt. But Monday night at club, when the girls suddenly realized it was the week that AHG was having it’s Father-Daughter dance, they each turned and looked at me with hope-filled, beseeching eyes. I had completely forgotten about it coming up.
Out came my cell phone, quick call to Daddy, “Could you, maybe, possibly, squeeze in a night of dancing… this Thursday. Like three days away?”
John’s reply was, “Do my girls want to go dancing?”
I admitted, “Oh. Yes,” sigh, “yes.”

Somehow we got a dish-to-pass made. We found dresses. Nan ironed them. I braided one head. John found a plaid shirt. Then picked up a baby with a leaky diaper and got stained. Found another plaid shirt. It needed a button. He sewed on another button while I braided another head. And they stopped long enough for a picture before running out the door with huge smiles. And yes, a little lipstick and blush.

While they didn’t get any pictures of either girl WITH Daddy… they all assured me they got lots of turns dancing with him.

Scenes from a homeschool

February 7, 2013 | Stacy

The day after the Super Bowl I decided to take my camera around the house to record a little of what it looks like during a “typical” day.

Except the first photos isn’t typical… that is just what it looks like when Daddy let’s you stay up until midnight!!

Shorts in February? Oh yes, that is typical…
A Pepsi before 10 AM. Um, YES!

Cushions off the couch to make thrones, beds, horses, or castles? Very typical!

Chairs blocking your sisters from the place where you are working. A little less typical, but not unheard of.

Wearing a hat to do your work. Exceedingly normal.

2-year-old antics. Most definitely!

What will they do?

January 10, 2013 | Stacy

I had just walked the speech teacher to the door.
The piano teacher had one student left.
Where were the girls to play with Johanna so I could do language with Nigel?
It was so quiet.
Then I heard it.
Giggling.
In the bathroom.

This is okay? Right? Right? Good homeschool fun? I should be glad they are growing up together. Right? They could be stuck in lines waiting to walk to art. But here they can BE art! Right?

She’s “Kitty.” A Danger Ranger.

Back to school…

January 6, 2013 | Stacy

We eased back into school Wednesday doing our morning work before Mama headed out for OB appointments. But then on Thursday it was full steam ahead.

It would be just spiffy if Ducky stayed put until his or her due date in mid/late February. I’d LOVE to knock off another 5-6 weeks of school before the major shift that will come with a newborn.

Who wouldn’t love schooling with these characters? Not everyone has George Washington and Squanto at their dining room table for Anatomy and Physiology.