What I'm Into and Learning (July 2014 Edition)

Vacation Learning:
We're back from a big road trip. We loaded up the family and drove to San Diego. Why San Diego? I bought badges for Luke and Paul to attend two days of San Diego Comic Con back in March. Honestly, I was a little jealous that I didn't get to go to Comic Con too. It really looked like a lot of fun. We're already thinking about coming back next year for Comic Con, but maybe with just the big boys and without all the driving! We'll see.

 I believe that it's important to have family vacations even when they're not always easy or relaxing. It's not easy to be cramped to the max in a minivan for what seems like endless driving through the desert.(We drove through Utah, Arizona, and Nevada. There's a lot of desert out there, but yet I find those Joshua Trees so amazing.) Yet, we did it, but I think our family is definitely outgrowing our Toyota Sienna. It just felt way too small on this car trip.

I love this picture above. It was truly the one day of the week long vacation that felt the most relaxed. This is the beach near the Coronado Hotel on Coronado Island. This was the day that the kids looked the most relaxed as well. The twins didn't really even want their feet touching the water. So, unfortunately, I didn't get all five of them in the Pacific. The twins did, however, happily play in the sand for hours. It was totally worth it to buy them cheap buckets and shovels.

This Summer has been about all kinds of learning and I especially learned some things on our family road trip this year.

1. I don't think I really like long road trips anymore. I've definitely identified myself as an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) this year. (Until this year, I had no idea that everyone didn't experience the world the way I did.) The car noise, kid noise, and that trapped feeling all contribute to sensory overload in the car for me.

2. I can't read in the car anymore. I don't know what happened, but I can no longer focus on a book while riding in the car. What a huge disappointment for me. When I was a kid, I loved nothing more than sitting in the backseat with a book. Actually, I do realize what happened. I grew up and became a mother. I've also learned that I kind of save my reading time for when I'm alone. It's my treat for the end of a long day. I realize that I only read when everyone's asleep. It has to be quiet. The car was almost never quiet. I suppose reading in the car just didn't feel like my time. I barely read in San Diego either despite having my Kindle and two hardcover books along with me. While I watched the twins at the beach, I did envy some of the people I saw relaxing and reading. I even saw a woman knitting on the beach. I watched the twins delight in putting sand in their buckets and dumping it out.

3. I love eating outside. I'm immediately drawn to any restaurant with outdoor seating. It just feels like Summer. Eating outside makes me want to savor Summer more.

4. I can't believe I really didn't feel like knitting in the car either. I brought along two WIPs and I finished neither. I feel stunned myself that I'm just needing a break from the needles. That's not like me at all.


Other things I've discovered this summer:

1. Zumba is really hard for me. I've struggled all summer. My brain seems to be short-circuiting trying to assimilate all those Latin moves, but there's something cool about making your brain work harder.

2. I lost interest in maintaining a garden at least for now. I realize that's okay. I can take breaks from things. I can pursue other things. It's okay to change because we're always in flux. It's just not the season for me.

3. I don't really like French Fries anymore. That's probably a good thing, but also kind of weird. I only really realized that this year even though I don't even eat fries much.

I borrowed this pic from Modern Mrs Darcy. Since we just got back from San Diego Comic Con International, I figure this image is apropos for July. Super hero reader? That's me! I can read several books at the same time. That's my super power.

July Reading:

July has been a slow month in terms of reading. Like I mentioned earlier, I found it near impossible to read much while we were in San Diego and now, we're gearing up for the new school year. Hence, I'm making slow progress on these books (Super Hero Reader powers fading?)

I'm listening to the audio version of this book. Think Cher from Clueless transplanted from her cushy life in Beverly Hills to almost rural farm in Oklahoma. It's a fun light YA Christian novel.

The Screen:

Honestly, I haven't been watching much more than the Jimmy Fallon monologue here and there. I'm waiting patiently to see The Giver and The Hundred Foot Journey on the big screen later this month.

That's it for now. Click on over to Leigh Kramer to find out what she's into in July.

The Year of Learning Dangerously

A while back, I finished The Year of Learning Dangerously:Adventures in Homeschooling by Quinn Cummings.  I reviewed the book on Goodreads, but I thought this book merited some more thought. I haven't mentioned home education on my blog in a very long time. I suppose it's because of a combination of things. The twins might have something to do with it, but honestly, I have grown a little apprehensive as Luke, my oldest child approaches the high school years. How did he get to eighth grade already? He was in second grade when I started this blog in 2007.  I've been on the fence about sending him to the local public high school or continuing on here at home. Both options have their merits. I went to public school and I truly enjoyed my high school years. I already have one foot in home education and the other public education (My son, Sam, 2nd grader attends public school) and they are two entirely different worlds. Luke tells me that he's enjoyed these years learning at home and  I'm saddened that they all went so quickly. Luke asked for another year at home before heading to high school. He wants to complete some more higher level math before going off to high school. It's needless to say that I'm conflicted. Very Conflicted.

I'm more distracted and interrupted these days, but such is life with five children. As I look over my blog over the past year, it seems that I've spent more time thinking about knitting and sewing than anything else. This isn't entirely true. I suppose my silence might suggest this, but on the contrary, however, I haven't lost lost my passion for education. I still gravitate to books about the brain, reading, learning, and education. I'm constantly telling my kids that the good life is life-long learning. I believe in the curious life, but I have learned some things about myself in my home-educating journey.

I'm not a purist to any one educational theory. In my experience, I have gravitated to Charlotte Mason and her approach to education, but as my oldest son gets older, I find it difficult to translate the Charlotte Mason method to an older child. I suppose it shouldn't be hard as we live and breathe good books here. We're constantly at the library. We are steeped in literature here. At one point, early on,  I thought that I would just follow the curriculum outlined in The Well-Trained Mind. I was attracted to the rigor of the classical approach, but I soon learned that I didn't like feeling trapped into any one curriculum. Home educating has given me freedom to pursue so many subjects. Home education feeds my brain too! What can I say? I'm a total nerd. I always have been. My friend, Elizabeth captured my thoughts exactly:

Our academic program has always been literature intensive. It's also delight-driven within limits. That is, my kids get choices about what to study within a certain parameter. Every once in awhile, I look at something known for its rigor (like The Well Trained Mind in its entirety or Tapestry of Grace or Robinson) and I think about how much I want that kind of excellence. I love school. I'm a total library person. I would have taken any one of those curricula as a child and absolutely loved it. But it doesn't suit my household.

I suppose the more I ponder education, good education, I learn that are so many avenues to good learning. See my review of The Year of Learning Dangerously on Goodreads. I have more thinking and pondering to do.

Legos and Learning

This is how my oldest son, Luke spent his summer. He made movies with his Legos.

 Every day, he's creating what I've learned are called "Brick" films. The big boys have amassed a substantial amount of teeny tiny Lego pieces and as much as these little bits of plastic make me insane, I have to admit that they are really creative with them. At first, I thought this was a silly past time, but I realized Luke had to have a great deal of patience to create a minute long film. To create a film, he has to take approximately 300 to 400 stills.  After taking the pictures, he uploads them to Windows Movie Maker. He also learned how to add sound effects and music as well. I'm pretty impressed with the results. Now, he's learning about cameras and photography as well. He's learning to tell a visual story in a limited amount of time. It's amazing how one thing can lead us on the path to so much discovery. Legos, once the bane of my existence, have turned out to play a huge role in my son's learning. I under-estimated the value of the Lego. 

Sewing Space

On Saturday night, my husband and I got some rare time out together without the kids. We were almost giddy with the thought of some time together. We had some dinner, went to IKEA , and a movie. Paul really wanted to go to IKEA although I could have skipped it, but I'm glad I didn't. We found this desk and I thought it would be a perfect sewing table. I wasn't really in the mood to part with the money for it, but then we found a display model in the "as-is" sale section for over half off. Well, we loaded it up in Paul's Outback and brought it home. The cabinets on the sides are big enough to house my sewing machine when I'm not sewing. It looks so much better than the old computer desk I had been using for sewing.

I dug out the dress that I started last April and I vowed to finish it before Easter even though I know Tess has grown too big for it. Isn't that sad? I'm struggling with sewing clothes. I'm a quilter and I have almost zero experience sewing anything other than a quilt.

Recently, I found myself at quilt shop in Golden and I bought some pre-cut half- yards to make these tote bags that Jenn inspired me to sew.  I thought that these totes would make great library book bags and possibly great handmade gifts for children's birthday parties.

I just love little stacks of beautiful fabric. I've been buying more fabric than yarn lately. I'm over-inspired as usual.

Remembering Tasha Tudor

Things have been so hectic this summer that I haven't planned
any activities in honor of Tasha Tudor, but I thought it important to remember her. Like Beatrix Potter and Cicely Mary Barker, I was enchanted with her illustrations as a child and now. A few years ago when I was looking for A Child's Garden of Verses for Luke to use for copy work, I deliberately sought out the version illustrated by Tasha Tudor. I'm also certain that I wouldn't have found The Secret Garden nearly as fascinating without Tudor's illustrations accompanying the text.

The recent issue of Victoria magazine has a tribute to Tasha Tudor. Stacey Norwood writes, "She was lauded as a renaissance woman whose personal revolution turned the clock backward instead of forward, and remained until her death dedicated to a vision that was uniquely her own."

I picked this book up at a used bookstore a few years ago and I plan to peruse it a little today and maybe make myself a cup of tea as I enjoy her magical world.

Not much to say?

I realized that it's been almost a month since I last updated my blog. I guess I haven't had much to say lately, but that's not true. I think I've just been lazy. Right now, I'm at home in a blissfully quiet house and I have the rare luxury of being able to focus completely on what I'm doing. Paul took the boys junkin' this morning. Yes, junkin'. That's what my husband calls going to garage sales. He looks forward all year to Junkin' season. I'm not invited because they know that most likely I will say no to most purchases. That's okay. I have a few rules though. They aren't allowed to bring any cheap plastic toys that will assault my senses (unless of course it's a plastic dinosaur). Somehow, Luke manages to find dinosaurs at almost every garage sale and I can't deny him a whole planet of dinosaurs. Although I've seen his interest in dinosaurs wane over the last year or two, he still buys them when he goes junkin'. Right now, he's into dragons which to me, are just fire-breathing dinosaurs!

Anyway, I've enjoyed the warmer weather over the last week. Last weekend, we took the boys to Clement Park to enjoy the sunshine and we couldn't help soaking it up ourselves. Spring just unfolds too slowly here in Colorado. I've resisted the urge to post pictures of the crazy April snowstorms and to wait patiently for a lovely day. Anyway, while we were at Clement park, I realized that I hadn't seen the Columbine Memorial. So, from the playground we walked over to the Memorial. I just happened to be there a day before the 9th anniversary of the Columbine shootings. It was a surreal experience because I remembered I was pregnant with Luke in April of 1999. I remember sitting at my desk at work and a co-worker had walked in to let us know what was happening in Colorado. (I lived in California at the time.) For some reason, I didn't take it seriously. I had gone to public high school and not once did I ever feel unsafe while I was there. So, I guess the thought that flickered through me at the time was that it wasn't a serious thing. It wasn't until later that day that I would see the footage of that horrible day and realize how horribly wrong I was. I would go on to read Rachel's Tears about the spiritual journey of one of the victims, Rachel Joy Scott and learn of the faith of the other victims. Some of these kids had a maturity about their faith that I didn't realize possible for their age. I was awed.

My little boy Sam turns three tomorrow. I can't believe how quickly time goes. I notice every day how my darling eight year old looks less and less like a little boy each day. He'll be 9 in September and I know I'm going to sound a little "glass is half empty" but I can't help thinking that half of my time with him is already gone (although he does mention that he wants me to homeschool college). Anyway, I've been trying to learn to crochet and I'm finding it pretty difficult, but I'm the perservering kind and so far, I have a head and couple of legs for a crocheted octopus for Sam. I'll post a picture when I'm done with it. I'm going to have to get a move on crocheting 6 more legs before tomorrow.

Overall, it's been quiet around here, but now that the weather has taken a turn for the better, we are all catching a serious case of Spring Fever. I realize we're in the homestretch for third grade and how are we doing? Well, we're on track to finish math and we're deep into division right now. Luke has declared Latin his favorite subject and I couldn't be happier with all the English grammar infused in his Latin program. We continue to read and listen to books constantly. We started the year all excited for art and drawing, but haven't done as much art in the winter months and it's really my only lament. I'm starting to think about next year and what we want to accomplish and at the same time I'm looking forward to the serenity and sweetness of the summer months. I'm always thinking of the delightful things out there to discover.

Speaking of delightful things, we watched a cute movie last night called The Waterhorse based on the novel by Dick King-Smith (of Babe the Pig fame). There's beautiful scenery of Scotland and castle ruins to behold and legends of the Loch Ness Monster. Anyway, we all really enjoyed it and Luke asked for the book. This was a rare occasion where we did not read the book before seeing the movie. He told me last night that he doesn't like seeing the movie before reading the book because then he pictures things like the movie. I readily agreed with him and told him that the movie kind of robs you of imagining things the way you would on your own and how the movie does all the imagining for you.

Well, I suppose that's enough for now. I'm back!!!!!

It's the New year

I took down the Christmas tree yesterday. It seemed to be an all-day process, but somehow I managed to get the ornaments put away and the lights stuffed back into their boxes. I know it's still Christmas, but I couldn't take the pine needles all over the floor anymore. I can't eat another cookie either. I'm done with the sweets. I intended to keep the tree up until the Epiphany, but after the new year, I tend to look ahead and start planning again. I find that it's difficult to celebrate Christmas for twelve days. Of course, I did keep the Nativity up as Luke moves the Wise Men a little closer each day.

As I put away ornaments yesterday, Luke commented that Christmas and Advent passed entirely too quickly this year. I agreed, but in general, I think time passes quickly all the time (except when I'm doing laundry). I thought about all my exciting Advent plans and how we accomplished most of them. We're still reading our Christmas picture books and yes, we did end up comparing the art work in many many editions of The Night Before Christmas from Tasha Tudor to Jan Brett to Will Moses To Gennady Spirin and many others. There were so many mediums of art to accompany this poem. From paintings to photographs to pen-and-ink drawings to pop-ups that it was difficult to decide which artist had the best interpretation of the poem. They were all creative. Along the way, Luke almost memorized the entire poem. He's even working on his own artwork to accompany the Clement C. Moore poem.

We're still only about a third of the way through A Christmas Carol, but there's still plenty of time during the twelve days of Christmas to finish this read aloud since it's not that long and we're all familiar with the story. I can tell that I'm already in that mode where I want to move on.

There's also a small stack of Christmas picture books that we haven't gotten to yet and I'm reluctant to turn them in until we've read them. With all of our nightly read alouds, I did end up with some new favorites this year. We loved loved loved Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt and Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo and The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.

Luke and I did make the gingerbread cookies and he actually ate them and enjoyed them. I discovered that they taste much better undecorated. Plain gingerbread men with a tall glass of milk is mighty tasty!

I'm in planning mode. I'm thinking about the books I want to read this year. I'm also thinking about our winter menu. This Potato soup will definitely warm the tummy during the cold months, but I need at least eleven more dinner dishes. So, I will be sitting down with a cup of tea and a stack of my favorite cookbooks this weekend. I plan to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I bought it last year as an impulse buy at Costco, but didn't get around to reading it. It's been sitting on my nightstand for most of 2007. (I need to start the new year right and clear off the nightstand, but I know another stack of books will grow again.) I received A Walk with Jane Austen:A Journey into Adventure, Love, and Faith by Lori Smith for Christmas and I'm excited to read about the author's adventures around England as she follows in the footsteps of Jane Austen. I also bought this book before Christmas because as I've stated before, I love cookbooks and a book that will combine simplicity with food is something I want to read! I also have plans to read In this House of Brede hopefully in time for Nutmeg's bookclub. At present, I can't find my own copy. So, I hope that my library has an available copy and soon! Now, I'm still working on learning how to knit from this book. So, I've spent a lot of time reading from Kids Knitting trying to understand how to knit. Now, I know that this list will probably change as I discover new topics that excite me. I'm still working on Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature. I've had to take a break since I've spent a lot of my reading time reading children's Christmas books. I'm still fascinated by Beatrix Potter as it is clear that she seemed to learn best when she immersed herself in a subject and not when she had lessons. I've also started reading Atonement thinking I might actually go and see this film, but I'm not sure yet what I think of this novel.

Anyway, all my plans are well and good, but that Baby in a manger has led me to start thinking about 2008 and how much I want to incorporate Him even more into my daily life. I'm thinking about how to get back our good rhythm of learning we had for our first term. Our schedule got derailed during Advent (which I totally expected would happen) but now I realize it's getting close to the beginning of our second term.

The Secret Garden revisited

By the way, we never did watch that 1975 BBC version of The Secret Garden. I'll tell you why. By the time I thought about it, we'd already watched the 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame version, listened to the book and then listened to the full-cast BBC audio version and I'm more than a little tired of it and it is one of my favorite childhood books! So, back to the library it went, but not without Luke wanting me to check out this version instead. I guess we will watch Colin have one more tantrum before we move on.

This is what it's all about

Yesterday, I realized that next week is Christmas! Where has my cozy Advent gone?
We haven't done all the things that I had planned yet. There are still so many inviting Christmas pictures books to read, yummy things to bake and what about the crafts? Well, the beaded snowflakes turned out to be frustrating to all of us. Now, I have a box full of beads and lots of wire left. I still have plans to make 3-D paper snowflakes, but as I'm not naturally crafty, I'm already feeling a little anxiety about this project too. We have been reading some wonderful books this Advent and listening to a lot of the Nutcracker Suite, but I still feel that we've been rushed and it's passed way too quickly.

As you can see, I've spent more than a little time on YouTube and well, Linus just says it all. We watch A Charlie Brown Christmas every year and I believe this humble little classic boils Christmas down to its very essence. I will try to calm down. There's still time to bake the gingerbread cookies (that Luke won't eat) and read more of our stack of books. I noticed that about six of our books are The Night Before Christmas. I still have plans to compare the artwork in each of these editions of the famous Clement C. Moore poem. There's still time to read A Christmas Carol too. There are twelve days of Christmas!

If we don't get to do everything we planned, there's always next year. It's important to remember what Linus says about Christmas. It's the little things that bring us the most joy anyway.

The poor cold baby Jesus

Since Thanksgiving, we've been reading picture books from the enormous stack of Christmas and Advent books from the library. On Saturday night, I flipped through the titles and I decided on Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt. Now, I have to say that I never thought I'd be laughing so much that I'd have a hard time reading. So many of the picture books we've read already are serious or serious tear-jerkers, but this one, you just can't help but laugh even though it's seems so serious.

This story is about a six year-old girl named Angela. She can't but worry that the baby Jesus is cold in the manger scene in her church, St. Joseph's in Ireland. She's concerned that His mother Mary has no blanket to keep Him warm. So, she waits in the church until it's empty and then decides that she is going to take the baby Jesus home so that she can warm him up. What ensues is an adventure to get the Baby Jesus to Angela's home so that she can ensure that He gets warm and then the ultimate return of the Baby Jesus to His mother back at the church. There's just such a good balance of humor and reverance that makes this story memorable.

The only thing I wish is that I could have read this with an Irish accent!

I know Angela and the Baby Jesus is one that we will read again next year and the year after that! What a new Christmas treasure!

It is worth noting that there are two editions of this book. There is a children's edition illustrated by Raul Colon and an adult edition illustrated by Loren Long. We read the children's edition and I have not seen most of the illustrations for the adult version. I will have to compare both editions for future reading.