Weekend Round-Up!

Weekend Round-Up!

1. I couldn't make it work for me, but how cool is this? Blogumus: An animated cloud for Blogger, reported by Blogger Buster.

2. This gave me tons to think about. From Zen Habits, 7 Little Habits That Could Change Your Life. Included on the list are Single Tasking, Focusing on One Goal, and Kindness.

3. Natural Kids had a great entry on Why Boys Need Dolls. All of our children, boys and girl, have cared lovingly for their babies, so it was a great affirmation.

4. Thanks to The Mother Load, I finally signed up for Twitter and used some the Ten Useful Tools for Twitter Users. You can follow me here, by the way!

5. Rhonda Jean over at Down to Earth reminded me that if I keep waiting for everything to be perfect before I get started, I'll never start. Instead, we all just need to take a leap of faith and Dive.

6. Nicholas loves playing mail carrier, so I'll definitely need to steal from Emmer's Ideas and make this wonderful post office play set. Hmmm.... he does have a birthday coming up...

7. If you've been playing the coupon game and following all the frugailty blogs, you've got to check out Ideas for Cooking from Your Stockpile over at Frugal Blog. There's no sense having it if you're not going to use it!

8. And speaking of frugality, Be CentsAble has Small Steps to Affordable Whole Foods.

9. Homeschoolers might be interested in the Geography Treasure Boxes from Heart of the Matter Online.

10. And finally, in response to the humorous, but misguided (and now, cancelled) nun beauty contest, Sister Mary Martha is having a contest of her own. So send in photos of your favorite nun. Sister Cass, I don't know where you are, but thank you for stepping in and being like a mother to me when I needed you.

This week's plans and projects

On Monday we're taking the day off school and Daddy is taking the day off work. We're ending the day with a cook-out, including root beer floats.

Tuesday will be a little crazy. We have to figure out how to get Katie Grace to ballet and Michael to soccer at the same time.

Wednesday is St. Gregory's feast day. We like to walk around the house singing in chant. We're odd that way. Nicholas and Katie Grace both have soccer,

Girl Scout sign-ups are on Thursday.

First Friday is on Friday. We celebrate both by going to Mass and by going downtown in the evening. This is also the first day of co-op, where we'll be learning about popes and the papacy.

The first soccer games are on Saturday.

Sunday is not only Grandparents' Day, it's also Rally Day at church. We make sundaes during the Sunday School hour, and after church we have a pizza lunch and a showing of Tomato Sawyer and Huckleberry Larry's Big River Adventure.

We also are adding in writing, spelling, Latin, and geography to our school day. Our easy start is over!

This week's feasts and festivals

Monday, September 1: Labor Day!

Wednesday, September 3: St. Gregory, reformer of Church liturgy. If you want to plan ahead, here's a page full o' chant.

Friday, September 5: First Friday
Anniversary of Mother Teresa's Death

"We need to find God, and God cannot be found in noise and
restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature--trees
and flowers and grass--grow in silence. See the stars, the moon, and
the sun, how they move in silence. The more we receive in silent
prayer, the more we can give in our active life."

Sunday, September 7: Grandparents' Day. I found some great projects on Family Fun's website!

Handy Tray
Family Tree Mobile
Garden Stones
Cut-Out Coasters
Personalized Flower Pots

Peg o' My Heart

How serendipitous! My clothespin bag was attacked by killer squirrels (or something, I didn't see) and I need to make a new one. When I google searched, one of the first sites was from one of my favorites, Tipnut.com!

11 free clothespin bag patterns

This one from myluckychicken.com is cute, but the button holes might be too much for me.

And this apron from Mother Earth News is lovely, but again, beyond me.

I'll probably settle for this easy-peasy recycled shirt bag. Looks easy enough even for me!

Swiftly go the days...

I thought I would share how our day goes on a good day (and how I wish it would go on a bad day, LOL!)

Sometime between 6 and 7, I get up. I take care of laundry, including folding and sorting it into our laundry bins (dishpans labeled with each child's name). I also try to get kitchen chores started and do any prep work for meals. I try to get my shower at this time, get dressed, and start breakfast, all while listening to NPR. It's peaceful, because our family rule is that no one except Mama and Daddy can come downstairs before 7 AM.

I try to have breakfast going by 7 and then roust the troops. Michael and Katie Grace can usually be bribed with the promise of breakfast, but Nicholas is like his mama-- he'd sleep the day away if he could. The kids start their morning routine before breakfast by getting dressed, taking care of their night things, washing their faces and brushing their hair, and making their beds. After breakfast, they take up their laundry and put it away and brush their teeth. They also give their rooms a once over. This is when I run upstairs and finish getting ready for the day. Then I hang out the laundry and maybe water the garden.

We have devotions next. We'd like to do this with Daddy, but usually he's left for work by then.

Following devotions, we'll have art or music appreciation together. This is something that's still being worked out.

Next Michael goes up to write in his journal and I have circle time with Nicholas, Daniel, and Katie Grace. She likes to feel like she's helping lead it with the little ones.

Now the fun starts.
Katie writes in her journal while I teach Michael his math lesson.
Nicholas plays with Daniel.

Then Michael works on his math exercises while I give Katie Grace her lesson.
Nicholas still plays with Daniel.

While Katie Grace does her exercises, I do a math-oriented activity with Nicholas if there's time. Michael either finishes his math or plays with Daniel. He likes to read him books.

If we've made it this far without everything exploding, we have a snack. Usually it's about 10 AM. Sometimes we do a cooking project like making cookies or soft pretzels. I might run down and switch the laundry.

Next we have Christian Ed. This is also a work in progress. We follow the rhythm of the church year, so we might do an activity related to that. If it's a saint's day, we learn about the saint and maybe do some copywork.

Now we're coming up to what we call The Language Arts Big Fun Hour. It gets crazy.
I set someone up with copywork or handwriting and work on grammar or writing with someone else. Then we reverse. I send Katie Grace to read to or play with Nick and the baby, and I work with Michael on spelling. Then he has until lunch to: finish spelling, handwriting, writing or grammar, and read a chapter of whatever book he's reading. (Right now, it's Stuart Little). Next Katie and I do a reading lesson, followed by what we call "You Read to Me and I'll Read to You." She reads to me from an easy reader and then I read a chapter of a Katie book, usually American Girls. Then I go over her spelling, and she works independently. If there's any time left before lunch (and miraculously, there usually is) I do something with Nicholas.

Sometimes we even have time to clean the room of the day before noon!

*Deep Breath*

LUNCH! The hardest part of the day is over. The kids eat, I do any kitchen chores and meal prep that need done. I also try to get a few chores done. The kids run and play outside for a bit. They like to call it "recess." Then they come in for read-aloud.

The next couple hours are pretty negotiable. We always do a little Story of the World, we might do a little science. Sometimes we go on a nature walk or a field trip. We try to do art and music a couple times a week. I want to start adding some Latin into the mix as well. This is also a time for the kids to follow their own education interests.

Whatever we do, we're usually done by around 2:30. The kids clean up the school room while I check any papers in the finished work box, log attendance, whatever needs done.

Usually next the kids duke it out for screen time. They each get a half and hour, and have to choose between a TV, computer, or video games. The rest of the day is pretty much their own.

At this point, the day sort of falls apart. I suppose that's my next goal-- to have an afternoon routine for myself.

From my notebook...

From My Notebook

I've seen lots of people in the blogosphere sharing their google notebooks lately. I have one of those too (although I'm not quite sure how to use it or what to do with it!) but I also have another, low-tech notebook. 12 more actually. One for each day of the month.

Since before Michael was born, I've been collecting ideas and pasting them in monthly notebooks. Some are educational ideas, left over from my teaching days. There are recipes, fingerplays, craft projects, things I've found online, songs, and my own thoughts. Many of the months now have two or three notebooks or folders. Some of them have doodles on the pages from my little ones. One or two are even recycled from my husband's seminary days, and the magazine clippings are glued over top his old Hebrew notes!

I'm going to start sharing some ideas from my notebook. Here's a little rhyme to start off. It makes great copywork for an older child!

The fish lives in the brook.
The bird lives in a tree.
But home's the very nicest place
For a little child like me.

Something for Nothing

Here are some great online giveaways you may want to sign up for!

This Full House is giving away a Lands End multitasking backpack here. All you have to do is leave a comment!

I'm No Supermom has a sweet My Little Roo "slipcover" carrier to giveaway.

Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids

Time for true confessions. Despite my commitment to eating healthy whole foods, my family's diet kind of stinks. I'm overweight, my kids are way more familiar with the McDonald's menu than I had ever hoped they would be, and I often resort to last minute processed foods or take out when it comes to meals. Change is so difficult!

Coincidentally, I was also looking for something to use as a foundation for our health studies this year. I know most of health takes place within the context of a healthy home, but see above. We're talking the talk and not walking the walk.

I found the book Healthy Habits, Happy Kids: A practical plan to help your family by Gregory L. Jantz with Ann McMurray. I've looked it over, and I like what I see. And even if, as we go, I disagree with some of it, it looks like it will provide a good foundation. The author comes from an eating disorder background, and I definitely have some food issues. It's a legacy I do not want to pass on to my children. There are eleven chapters, so we'll take one healthy habit a month and see where it takes us. You can read an overview of the book here on the very outdated blog, and I'll also try to share the details of our journey on here.

Here's to Healthy Habits!

Circle Time! Creepy Crawlies and Other Creatures

Since we're just dipping our toes back into a rhythm, this isn't as fleshed out as my circle times usually are. The theme is "Summer Creepy Crawlies and Creatures" to match the nursery rhymes we've chosen for this week and next.

So...

Gathering Song (from Lisa Monet's Circle Time CD)
Circle time, circle time,
Time for circle time!
Sing a song, bring along
A rhythm and a rhyme!

Circle
We start out singing Over in the Meadow. They like to act it out as we sing.

Next, we move into the duckie portion of circle. We're singing Six Little Ducks and Five Little Ducks Went Out to Play. We totally do this one up, too. At the end, when there are no little ducks going out to play, we weep. And when Mother Duck quacks her final quack, even the most recalcitrant of ducklings are sure to hear and obey.

This is followed by the froggies. You know the ones. There are the Five Green and Speckled Frogs and then there are also the ones that go "Um, AH!"

Fishies are next. Once I Caught a Fish Alive is a favorite with the baby, who has discovered that he, too, likes to bite the little finger on the right.

Of course we have to do Arabella Miller, since it's our nursery rhyme this week, and Here Is the Beehive, which is next week's rhyme. Then, just for fun, we add in

Five little busy bees on a day so sunny.

(Hold up all fingers.)

Number one said, I’d like to make some honey.

(Bend down number one.)

Number two said, Tell me where shall it be?

(Bend down second finger.)

Number three said, In the old honey-tree.

(Bend down third finger.)

Number four said, Let’s gather nectar sweet.

(Bend down fourth finger.)

Number five said, Let’s take pollen on our feet.

(Bend down thumb.)

Humming their busy little honeybee song.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! (Fly fingers.)

and

The bee is such a busy soul.

She buzzes all around.

You see her flit from flower to flower,

Making her sweet buzzing sound. Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz

She sips each flower’s nectar sweet,

‘Til she can drink no more.

Then back to her hive to prepare a treat

Of honey which she’ll store. Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Once in her hive, she doesn’t stop.

Her chores continue on.

Feeding queen and young and fanning her hive,

Singing her sweet buzzing song. Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz

and

Roly-poly caterpillar (wiggle right pointer finger)
Into a corner crept, (place right pointer finger in left cupped hand)
Spun around himself a blanket (spin around)
Then for a long time slept. (place head on folded hands)
Roly-poly caterpillar (wiggle right pointer finger)
Wakening by and by, ("stretch" right pointer finger)
Found himself with beautiful wings
Changed to a butterfly. (flutter arms like wings)

and

Let’s go to sleep, the caterpillar said, (wiggle finger)
As they tuck themselves into their beds. (make a fist)
They will awaken by and by,
And each one will be a lovely butterfly. (open hand one finger at a time)

There are a million songs and rhymes to go with this theme.

When in Rome...

X shall stand for playmates TEN.
V for FIVE stout stalwart men;
I for ONE, as I'm alive;
C for ONE HUNDRED, and D for FIVE;
M for a thousand soldiers true,
And L for FIFTY, I'll tell you.
~from A Journey Through Time in Verse and Rhyme

We started out by looking at how our hands can make the numerals: One finger held up looks like an I. When you hold up five fingers, you can see the V between the thumb and first finger. And when you cross your thumbs, you get the X for 10.

Then Michael worked on these in his main lesson book. Michael has some small motor issues, so I'm always really proud of him when he perseveres with something that isn't really his forte. But he had an idea--to hide the Roman numerals in the gladiators weapons or outfit--and he stuck with it. He wrote an explanation on the shield as well. He's planning on adding more details and a background tomorrow. He's a great kid.

Nursery Rhyme Nursery School

Nicholas is at a difficult age. Well, let's be honest, sometimes it seems as if all his ages are difficult, but what I am talking about is his September 29 birthday. We could start kindergarten this year, but I don't feel like he's quite ready, emotionally. He's definitely still "incarnating" in Waldorf-speak. On the other hand, he definitely has a desire to "do school" like his big brother and big sister. What to do, what to do...

I asked him what he wanted to learn about this year and, bless his heart, he said "Nursery Rhymes". Since I traditionally do fairy tales in kindergarten, I was really excited by the idea of framing his nursery school year in nursery rhymes!

Granted, with a big brother in year four, a big sister in year two, and a baby brother toddling around, he's not going to get tons of play. But it will give me a framework for putting things out he can do on his own, songs to sing, stories and books to display.

I'm also a sucker for cumulative projects, so we're going to create a Mother Goose Table. It will be sort of like a nature table, but we'll add some sort of homemade craft to represent the nursery rhyme each week. I just need to figure out where to put it.

I did decide to let him start with the kindergarten math program. However, we're totally ditching the worksheets and instead working the concepts around the nursery rhyme theme. I sat down today and picked a rhyme for each week. Mostly they were Mother Goose Rhymes, but I did choose a few from Catch Me and Kiss Me and Say It Again as well.

I'm going to add our Nursery School Nursery Rhyme to the sidebar each week, and will definitely keep you all up to date on what we're doing.

The Age of Reason

MICHAEL: Mama, can babies sin? Like, if a baby was born and he didn't do anything but he was nursing and he bit you on the milker and then died, would he go to the other place?

ME (inside thinking what the heck?!?!): Um, no. Babies can't sin. They can't make a willful choice not to love and follow God.

MICHAEL: Oh. Well, what age can you sin?

ME: Well, what do you think?

MICHAEL (looking rather meaningfully at his brother Nicholas): I'd say about 4.

ME: Well, traditionally the Church says 7 is the age of reason.

I cannot begin to describe the look of pure disgust and disbelief Michael then gave Nicholas.

Little League World Series

Welcome to my hometown! Once a year, we host the Little League World Series. On Sunday afternoon, Chip took the three oldest children to watch the championship game.


All the kids go to the top of the hill and slide down the dirt on boxes. When the children came home, I swear it was the filthiest they've been all summer.


And, of course, the blimp.


It was funny. As nice as it was to have the big kids gone, Daniel was absolutely miserable without them. When he woke up from his nap, he was really missing them. He kept wandering around crying and saying "Tatie? Tatie?" He was very happy when we picked them up from the stadium.

This week's feasts and festivals, plans and projects

Have I mentioned how good it feels to be back in a routine again? Oh yeah. *happy sigh*

Monday, August 25: We are officially back to school. We started dipping our toes in the water last week, but this week we're jumping in with both feet! It's also Leonard Bernstein's Birthday so we'll be listening to a Young Person's Concert or two,

Wednesday, August 27: St. Monica
I love St. Monica. She was a mama just like me, and St. Augustine gave her more trouble than mine ever will.... and look how great he turned out! I know novenas are supposed to begin 9 days before a feast day, but since God is outside time and space I am hoping He and St. Monica won't mind if I start my novena to St. Monica on her feast day. I could use some mama-guidance from above. It's a pretty simple one. Just pray this prayer, either nine days in a row or every hour for nine hours:

Exemplary Mother of the Great Augustine,
You perserveringly pursued your wayward son
Not with wild threats
But with prayerful cries to heaven.

Intercede for all mothers in our day
So that they may learn
To draw their children to God.

Teach them how to remain
Close to their children,
Even the prodigal sons and daughters
Who have sadly gone astray.

Dear St Monica, troubled wife and mother,
Many sorrows pierced your heart
During your lifetime.
Yet you never despaired or lost faith.
With confidence, persistence and profound faith,
You prayed daily for the conversion
Of your beloved husband, Patricius
And your beloved son, Augustine.

Grant me that same fortitude,
Patience and trust in the Lord.
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica,
That God may favorably hear my plea
For

(mention your petition here)

And grant me the grace
To accept his will in all things,
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
In the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God forever and ever. Amen.

Thursday, August 28: St. Augustine

When I was in college, we sang a beautiful collection of choral pieces based on quotes from St. Augustine. One of my favorites:

Thou hast made us for Thyself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.

I smell copywork.

Katie Grace has Little Flowers today. They're learning about loyalty, going on a picnic, and meeting with Sister Kelly, one of the Capuchin Sisters from the Mother of the Eucharist Convent. Katie Grace loves Sister Kelly, and is really looking forward to seeing her again. She's talked with the girls before, and they all love her.

Friday, August 29: The Martyrdom of John the Baptist

I don't know how much we'll celebrate this one . I tend to avoid the gory stuff with my kids. Although, who knows. They might like it.

Michael and Katie Grace also both start soccer this week.

Five Reasons to Be Happy on a Sunday Afternoon

1. The three big kids and Daddy are at the Little League World Series Championships.

2. The baby is taking a loooooong nap.

3. I am drinking some fresh brewed iced Tazo black chai tea.

4. There's a loaf of fresh bread being kneaded in the bread machine and

5. I survived another Sunday in church alone in a pew with a surly nine-year-old, a bouncy seven-year-old, an insane four-year-old and a baby who likes to bounce toys off the heads of the people in front of us while spitting. And I even sang a solo today!

Weekend Round-Up!

Weekend Round-Up!

Here are my top ten favorite links from the Blogosphere this week, posted in no particular order.

1. This was actually from last week, but I can't wait to try Baked Potato Soup from Carrie's Cooking.

2. Check out this sweet little baby-face portrait from Lucykate Crafts. I may have to make a series of these to go with our nursery rhyme theme this year!

3. Simply Thrifty gives hints and tips for Don't-Waste-It Smoothies. My kids love smoothies, and I'm always looking for ideas for using up the odds and ends.

4. Once again Bohemian Revolution has tons of ideas I want to try. Homemade printed curtains would be great in the kids' rooms. Here are directions for making your own worm bin. And beer-battered fish and chips-- yum!

5. Homemade shampoo recipes from Passionate Homemaking are another thing I've been wanting to try.

6. We're back to school, and Little Blue School's election unit studies have caught my eye. Michael is very interested in this presidential election, and I'd like to follow that interest.

7. Just for fun, Cake Wrecks has some hilariously scary new cakes this week.

8. Jennifer over at Tree Hugging Family linked to a great eco education resource, Kids for Saving the Earth.

9. If you're tired of reading the same book to your little ones for the billionth time, check out this quote about read-alouds over at Stretch Mark Mama.

10. And, last but not least, The Rowdy Pea has art, music, science, and fun all mixed together in one with Rainbow Jars. It's magical!

African Lullaby

To me, poems are like old friends. Sometimes, we leave them, and it's such a pleasant surprise when we run into them again. I was so happy to find this poem that I loved reading to Michael when he was just a baby!

Someone would like to have you as her child,
But you are mine.
Someone would like to rear you on a costly mat,
But you are mine.
Someone would like to place you on a camel blanket,
But you are mine.
I have to rear you on a torn old mat.
Someone would like to have you as her child,
But you are mine.

All caught up!

Hooray! I know it's a lot of posts in one day, but I finally finished blogging our three weeks of vacation. Whoo hoo!!!

Our Cross Country Adventure

My little adventure buddy Daniel and I went on a great adventure a week or so ago. We flew to Santa Fe for a moderator retreat for Mothering.Com! The plane trip there went pretty well. The trip home was not quite so easy, but still, we made it! I worried and stressed about this for months and months. I'm pretty proud of myself and my little guy.

Daniel loved playing in Mothering's library. There were tons and tons of toys and books for him to enjoy.

Here he is passed out behind the couch while we had our meetings.

This picture was taken at the very end. Poor Daniel had just about had it, but Peggy O' Mara was still willing to hold him. She was so gentle and loving with all the little ones wandering around the meetings. I have to say, she was a lot different than I expected, in a totally good way. I thought she'd be all new age-y and out there, but she was really grounded and practical and sweet. I couldn't get over how generous Mothering was as well.

I loved this statue at the Mothering office. Every time I walked by, I wanted to rub her belly.

Everyone!

Let's Open Up a Restaurant in Santa Fe...

Saturday was for my adventure buddy Daniel and I to go sightseeing.

First Stop: The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
I love St. Francis. He was such a cool and crazy saint. Sister Mary Martha had a great blog entry about St. Francis a while ago. But I digress.

The Basilica was beautiful. It's undergoing renovations right now. It actually reminded me a bit of St. Mary's, my home church in Lancaster.


Cool statue of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.


Nest stop, the Palace of the Governors, the oldest continually used building in the United States.

And the Native American vendors program.


One thing that really impressed me about Santa Fe was the amount of public art.


I really wanted to go see the Loretto Chapel. I remember seeing a movie of the week about it years and years ago. Here's the outside, and a statue to honor the mysterious carpenter who built the staircase.

The sign cracked me up. Notice the "TM" after "Miraculous Staircase". And "As seen on Unsolved Mysteries"! Oh my goodness...


My last Santa Fe picture before the camera died-- the mysterious staircase at the Loretto Chapel.

Yummy Local History

Another day trip we made was to the Sturgis Pretzel House in Lititz, PA. Tours that involve food are always a winner.

The Birthplace of Our Nation

Proclaim Liberty thro' all the Land to all the Inhabitants thereof...

Cradle of Our Nation and Home of The Ducks

My hubby's planning for our trips to Philly pretty much consisted of insisting we Ride the Ducks. To be honest, I was not all that impressed with the attraction and felt it was overpriced History Lite. The kids, however, loved it, and so did Chip, so maybe I am just a big Duck-hater.

What was there to hate?

Well, the part where we splashed down into the Delaware River, for one. I always spend times like this looking desperately from one kid to another, wondering how I would save them all in the event of an emergency.


And the quackers were high on the hate list as well. We left those at Grandma and Grandpa's house.



The happy baby was pretty cute, though. He slept through most of the ride.

OK, I guess it wasn't so bad!

We're Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo!

Years ago my friend Teresa gave me from sage parenting advice. She said once you have three or four kids, always check to see if a family membership is cheaper than individual admissions. And, in the case of the Philadelphia Zoo, it was! So we are now proud zoo members.

And now...

Zoo Animals