What Do You Do With A Clear Dinning Room Table?

Well, lay on it of course! (or is it lie on it?-I guess my English grammar still needs brushing up-)

Eventful Week

This has been one of those weeks. It started with a bang. Monday was a day lived at a high speed with activities since 7:30 until about 9:00. That is not counting the it was Mark's birthday. Poor thing he didn't even get a cake this year. His made-from-scratch-with-his-mom-special recipe German Chocolate Cake would have to wait until next year.

Then ... came the flood. Really there was a flood in our town. All of the sudden Tuesday night the gates of heaven opened and water just poured down, 6 to 8 inches in two hours, lots of high winds, cars stranded, cars flooded, people stuck. Thank the Lord we were all nearby. Our house didn't flood, just some minor leaks in a window and three inches of water in the garage. BUT our phone line hasn't worked since then. AND getting a real person to talk to in the phone company is as difficult as finding some dry land under our house. And, since this is isn't enough, our cellphones have been acting out, making it difficult to communicate with the phone company. The stupid thing just keep dropping calls. It has been extremely frustrating.

Then last night another big bang, literally : the garbage disposal made a huge noise and it just quit. Just like that. Now cleaning dishes is just so much fun! Since this is still not enough, get this, my car was in the shop for two days and I just found out that our tub is not draining well.

So I think I am just going to find a good book, climb into be and maybe, just maybe, when I poke out my head again, all would be magically fixed.

Simple Woman Daybook

Outside My Window~ the sun is peaking through the clouds trying to come out.

I am thinking~ about different ways of knowing. How do I know God? How does He know me?

I am thankful~ that yesterday busy day went without a glitch.

From the Kitchen~ peanut butter banana cupcakes came out of the oven this morning in an effort to feed the kids a good breakfast before heading out for standardized testing.

I am creating ~a blog that will help me express all the thoughts buzzing around in my head.

I going to~sit down and read aloud to my kids and reconnect after a busy morning.

I am wearing ~ a green top from Dress Barn and khaki pants.

I am reading ~Hold On to your Kids (the name of the author escapes me- great book though)

I am hoping~ that the addition to our house would materialize this time.

I am hearing~ HGTV in the background.

Around the House~ some things brought from Sam's need to be put away, several hot-spots need to be cleared.

One of my favorite things is the smell of bread baking in the oven.

A few plans for the rest of the week~return to our school routine after testing, go on a field trip to a dairy farm, concentrate in getting the house back in order after a busy week.


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Unusual Mother's Day

How can you tell your boys (from the biggest to the littlest) that they can't go to see the annual Air Show? It doesn't matter if it is mother's day, the Air Show only comes once a year and the Blue Angels only come every other year. What is a mother to do? Thank the Lord that she has a daughter that does not like Air Shows, and quickly start planning a mother-daughter day. Being the good mother I am, I took my daughter to Blockbusters and rented some movies.

It made for an unusual but fun Mother's Day. We all went to Mass in the morning (this gives you the measure of the interest on the air show: we went to the 8:00 mass with no problems). After a good pancake breakfast the boys headed to the show. Gabi and I settled to our first movie, Meet the Parents (Note to self: remember that what is funny when your kids are not around might not be as funny when they are with you). When we got hungry we went to the drive through of a local Greek restaurant, brought the food home and enjoyed our second movie, Step Up.

Step Up is Gabi's favorite movie. I was glad she suggested this movie. The movie is fun to watch. There are some parts I would've liked to discuss with her but, not wanting to turn this fun day into a "teachable moment", I let it pass. Maybe some other day I would talk to her about it.

After a break to make some blueberry pie and start some rice for supper, we watched Dan in Real Life. I had watched that in the theater and really liked it. This time around, and maybe because I was with my child, I was more critical about it. I still enjoyed it. It was a fun movie.

When the boys came we had our Mother's Day dinner, which also doubles as Mark's birthday dinner. His birthday is today and this is going to be such a hectic week that I decided to just cook a nice dinner and just celebrate. Who cares if I had to prepare dinner on Mother's Day? what is important is that we had lots to celebrate and that, after a fun day for all, we gathered around the table to do it together.




This is a picture of Alex's creation, a beautiful centerpiece for our table.

Having Some Fun

What Have We Been Up To?

Lately we have been so busy. It seems that we are constantly on the go. Lots of things to interrupt that Unschooling Experiment. I have been distracted with a zillion things: garage sale, physical therapy for my neck, runs to and from ballet and choir, planning a vacation, upcoming testing, upcoming field trip... I don't remember ever having such a busy month of May.

It is difficult to continue school in the midst of such much distraction. I wish I could stop school now and just enjoy the nice weather, go outside, go on nature walks, learn to draw, do art, and then school more formally later in the summer, when it is miserably hot outside. I had a friend who did that. But I know my kids won't go for that. They would like to be out and done in the summer like all their friends. It is difficult to swim against the current!

Of course, you would say, isn't that what the unschooling experiment was all about? less formality, more delight directed learning? Well, I have discovered that

• my kids are not self motivated. If I directed to something new then they can take off with it.
• that to homeschool this way the mother has to be really present and in tune with her kids.
• this mother, with half her brain in other stuff, doesn't do a good job at motivating her kids.
• going into "unschooling" half way doesn't really work. You either do it or don't. Having to do certain things (like non-negotiables like math and religion) ruins the atmosphere.
• I have to be the one making the big changes. I have to be involved. I either get involved with what they want to do or get them involved in what I want to do. I have opted, in most instances, for the second option. No fair. I need to be willing to play what Nicolas wants to play, listen to what Alex wants to say,etc.
  
• with me, it is an issue of control. It is difficult to let go and let them be in charge.
  
• it is also an issue of trust. I don't trust that they can self regulate. I don't trust that they would choose good things to spend the time with. I fear that they are going to choose the easiest thing to do: watch tv and play on the computer, talk to friends, chat...
• it is funny how you enter into something for your kids and you end up learning a lot about yourself.

Now, I don't want you to get the impression that we are not having fun. Nicolas and I have sat every day for about an hour and just read. I haven't done that for a while. We are reading about plants, bees, butterflies. We are reading fiction and non fiction. Then we are going outside and doing some plant related "stuff". We have planted, weeded, watered, looked at seeds, drawn seeds... I have a mind of making use of some free lapbooks I have found here and here. Nicolas likes to work with his hands.

Other things we are doing:

• Reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.
• Reading Amy Welborn's Prove It! Church.
• Studying decimals.
• Reading Introduction to Scripture the Scott Hahn textbook.
• We just picked up again Story of the World vol. 4. We read yesterday about South Africa and Apartheid.
• Alex is reading The Breadwinner a book that takes place in Afghanistan. ( I just discovered this have a sequel)
  
• Gabi is reading Murder in the Orient Express.
• I am reading Hold On to your Kids, subtitled Why Parents Need to Matter more than Peers.
• Alex and Nicolas have spent some time playing together.
• Alex is fascinated with the Toreador Song from Carmen.
• Nicolas just thinks about baseball.
• Gabi is trying to plan how she would remodel our bathroom (it needs it badly- believe me!)
• Alex and Nicolas have watched some segments on plants from the LPB Cyberchannel.
• Alex is drawing downtown Meratain, a city he has created in his imagination.
• Gabi is busy preparing for her dance recital.
  
• Alex is practicing his violin and his choir concert.

I guess learning is happening more than I realized.

Ligers, Tigons and Leopons

Liger Mane
Originally uploaded by Batian_Lion

Did you know that in captivity lions and tigers can breed? I sure didn't. Here is a Liger: a cross between a male lion and tigress. Cool!

Can you tell we have been reading about Wild Cats?

Coming to Terms

Yesterday we gave away our baby things. The whole bit: crib, bassinet, swing, car seat, stroller, comforter, etc. We gave away the things but not the memories.

That is what I remind myself. I was surprised that it was hard to give the things away. After leaving my country and leaving things behind, I have never been attached to things. But parting with these baby articles was harder than I thought.

I don't think is the things. It is coming to terms with where we are in life. We are not the young ones, starting out our families. We are not the ones expecting joyfully and anxiously for the arrival of that little baby. No. We are the ones that been there and done that. We are the ones looking back and remembering. We are the ones in the middle of this journey we call life, trying hard to raised those kids we joyfully and anxiously expected. We are the ones in the trenches.

It is coming to terms with our kids growing up and we growing older. They are not the babies they once were and we are not the young couple we once were. It is like being in the middle of a trip and looking back to where you came from. But it is also looking ahead and seeing the part that you haven't yet trudged. It is trying hard not to be afraid at what is still ahead of us. It is holding tight to the promises of Jesus that he will always be with those who love them. It is coming to terms with what we haven't accomplished and being thankful for what we have achieved. It is, I tell myself, not about regrets. It is about embracing what there is to come. Joyfully, confidently, unafraid, expectantly waiting for the marvels God is going to do with what we have offered him: our lives and the lives of our children.

"Unschooling Experiment" - Day 1

After Gabi left for her last Classical Conversations session of the year, the ones left at home embarked in our "unschooling experiment". If I want to be honest with myself, this is not true unschooling. It is MY version. The only version I can feel comfortable at the moment.
Alex did his alloted section of math. In the meantime I read to Nicolas. He picked several books from a stack of library books. We didn't get to read them all. We read:

• The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer
• Henry Builds a Cabin by D. B. Johnson

Alex joined us after he finished and we started reading about Wild Cats. This trail was inspired by a friend of Nicolas who came to play yesterday. She wanted to play "Wild Cats".
Seizing the opportunity ( you know how homeschool moms are always looking for teachable moments :-) )I went to the library and came with a stack of Wild Cats books. So far we have read two:

• Really Big Cats by Allan Fowler
• Scary Creatures: Big Cats by Penny Clarke and Terry Riley

After reading we moved to the computer and found this The kids had a good time watching the clips. My tenderhearted son was mad at a lion for killings some cubs. "Lions are mean," he said. We talked about the violence of the animal world, the survival of the strongest and how animals can't help themselves. They can't reflect on their behavior.

After lunch we went to the nursery to buy some plants. The seasons offer such and opportunity for learning. We are going to be talking about all things botany in the next few days. When we got back home we (all mostly I) planted.

Some got planted.
Some are still waiting...

Hard at Work

Adding Some Color

Unschooling Experiment

Every single time I read a post on unschooling my heart ticks faster. I so want to try this. I so want to see my kids own their own learning life. I want them to follow their passions and discover new ones. I want them to learn how to think for themselves. I want them to think out of the box.

The thing is that I don't think I can do it. I don't know how to go about it. We are at a perfect place to try an experiment. We just finished our first year with Classical Conversations
It has been a great year. Now we have about a month before the "official" school year is over. We got a lot done this year. Now I feel I could try my hand at something more relaxed. I would like to pursue some art, some gardening, some nature walks. Or I could try letting my kids, especially A., to be the one leading the way. Honestly, I don't know how to do that. I don't fill comfortable just letting him be. I think that for us "flexibility within structure" would work better. Tons of ideas flow through my mind:

• I could re-implement some of Bravewriter ideas. We used to do teatime and read poetry and freewrites. The kids loved them.
  
• I could do make sure we read poetry every day. One poem a day. I have several Spring poetry books on hold at the library. I could combine those with the teatime.
  
• I could do some art. I have discovered some interesting blogs on art lately here and here. They both look interesting, and they seem to have lots of resources for me to explore. I am creating a list of projects for the summer.
• I could try our hands at some architecture, one of A.' passions. They have some cool links to explore.
• I could do more science. We discovered this videos from Youtube. We can explore these more and see where it would take us.
• I could let him work on a project from the Dangerous Book for Boys.
  

I guess I can present this list to A. and let him choose. I could also take him to the library and let the pick some books. The thing that makes me hesitate is this: I want to have something to show for our efforts. I would like to have a lapbook or a narration or something that would say loud and clear:"You have accomplished something!"

This brings me to a complete new thought: Why do I feel as if I have to have something to show or as if the accomplishment has to be measurable? Whose accomplishment should it be mine or my children's? Do I need to prove myself to someone? Why I feel so scared to try this?

Trying this Again

This is my second attempt at blogging. I have been thinking about pros and cons:

Pros:

• It would give me a place to organize my thoughts.
• My in-laws would love to have a place to follow the kids and our family .
  
• It would serve as a record of our learning.
• It would give me some practice in writing.
• It would give Mark a chance to peek in on our days. If I can write what I think, it would give him a chance to read what I am thinking. We don't always have time to talk and hash out my thoughts on the kids education and day to day endeavors

Cons:

• It can take time.
• It can feed my tendency to accumulate information without really putting it into practice.
• It makes me feel vulnerable to actually share what I am doing and thinking (not that very many people would read it but the possibility is there)

Let's see how it goes this time!

Learning Seems to Far Away

I guess there is a season for everything. Learning, the kind that adults do, the kind that directs your days, involves your thoughts, delight your senses, guides your passions. That kind of learning seems so far away. Now life is full of driving, scheduling, meeting, talking. Not a moment to think. Not a moment to reflect. Not a moment to let the experiences of everyday sink in and be turned into some kind of learning...

A Life In Two Phases

I just finished reading Tennyson: an Illustrated Life. As I finished the book the fact that stayed with me is how neatly his life can be divided in two phases hinged on the year 1850. That year his life changed dramatically: he published his poem In Memoriam which had been written as a response to the death of his close friend Arthur Hallam; he was named Poet Laureate and most importantly, he got married. The author of the book (the name escapes me now) talks about how Emily, his bride, had brought stability to his life. This second phase of his life was not plagued by insecurities, fears, anxieties, hypochondria, depression. This year seem that have put a lot of these to rest and he went on to live a long productive life.
It made me think of the role of a wife in the life of her husband. I would like to know more about their relationship. How did she manage to help him? Was her influence really important or would success and age have accomplished the same results? What kind of woman was Emily Tennyson?

Ordinary

I was thinking yesterday about my ordinary life. My so common life, my anonymous life. I am destined to be ordinary, common. Nothing rises me up above it. I am an ordinary woman living an ordinary life. Nothing distinguishes me from the person next door.There are millions of people like me, not known, going about their business.

What does ordinary means? The dictionary defines it like this:

1. Commonly encountered; usual.
2. Occurring with regularity or periodically, normal.
3. Average in rank or merit; of not exceptional degree or quality, commonplace.

I don't have a problem with normal, periodical, regular, usual. It is the third definition I fear.I don't want to be average or of not exceptional quality. I want to be the best I can be. I want to strive for excellence. I want to be known. I want to be good at something. I want to find my niche in life. I want to make a difference. I want to expand my territory, enlarge my tent.
How can I do that in the mist of the "ordinary" of my life? I think of the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year. It is the longest time of the year. We can't feast year round. We need time to recollect, to meditate, to incubate, to ferment, to be. But the Ordinary Time is not dull or boring. It seems to affirm what was learned and lived during the special seasons.
How do I reconcile the life I live, which is the life that I believe I am called to live at this time, with the desires of my heart? Is this restlessness God given or is it something to calm down at all costs, something to ignore,repress, hope it would go away?
Is ordinary something to rebel against or is it something to embrace?

Lord Alfred Tennyson

Not being an American or a Native English speaker there are many famous literary figures that I, either not know or only know superficially. One of them is Lord Alfred Tennyson.
My 13 yo daughter was reading some of his poems as part of the Ambleside Online poetry study. She had a strong reaction to the poems. She didn't like them. She complained that they didn't rhyme. I suspect she didn't understand them and couldn't relate to them. His poems seem to evoke strong feelings and I think those feelings are foreign to her.
I decided to take on the study she had started. My reaction was different. I liked the poems I read. But I need some context to place the poems in. So I have started a Tennyson study for myself.
Here are some websites with biographical information here and here. Our library has a book by Harold Bloom on Tennyson which I just requested. Hopefully I can write some of what I learn.

A Planning Routine

I loved Dawn's posts on planning . It makes so much sense to have a routine. This week I have been able to consolidate the bulk of my dc's outside activities into two days, Tuesday and Thursday. That frees Wednesday for planning purposes. I'll try this and see how it works.
This is what I am thinking about next week:

• History:
  
• Read chapter on Mexican Independence from Story of the World Vol3.
• Read chapter on Miguel Hidalgo from Fifteen Famous Latin Americans.
• Geography
  
• Review countries and capitals of South America.
  
• English
  
• G:
  
• Continue online spelling course
• Continue Bravewriter course
• Copywork
• A:
  
• Continue polishing his piece on Bolivar.
• Do some grammar exercises from the KISS Printable workbook
• Spanish
• G:
  
• continue her current work on So You Really Want to Learn Spanish

• A:
  
• Play Combinaciones
  
• Review vocabulary from the previous units before he goes on to the next.
• Math
  
• G: continue her current work on Teaching Texbooks
• A: read chapter from How Math Works about presenting data.
• Latin
  
• G: continue Henle I through Memoria Press.
• A: I am not sure what to do with A. at this point. He doesn't seem to be grasping the concepts from Latina Christiana. I don't know if I should continue, try something else or simply abandon Latin until he is older. Maybe I should just do some Latin and Greek roots and play Rummy Roots with him. Or maybe look into some other program for him. I am not sure at this point.
• Science
  
• G: continue her regular course work
• A:
  
• read books on longitude as part of the Journey North Mystery Class.
• continue his book on Thomas A. Edison.
  
• Reading
  
• G:
  
• continues her reading of Treasure Island
• continues her reading of A Philadelphia Catholic in King James Court
• A:
  
• continues The Seventeenth Swap
• continues Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
• Art
  
• continue study of Vermeer - I need to find out more about picture study
• Music
  
• continue study of Elgar
  

January 29 to February 2nd

This week we will:

• Finish reading about Simon Bolivar. The kids took notes while I read. Alex would use his notes for copywork, he will polish his grammar and spelling.
• Fill out and color a map of South America.
• Play some online games to review the countries and capitals of South America http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geospy http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/South_America_Geography.htm
  

• Look through some books about the different South American countries.
• Read about Jose de San Martin. The kids will take notes as I read.
  
• Continue our study of Vermeer-We will look at this tutorial for the picture Woman Holding a balance. http://www.nga.gov/feature/vermeer/
• We have several prints of Vermeer. We would look at them and try to identify common elements. We will also pick one of the paintings and narrate it.
  
• Continue our study of Edward Elgar (see sidebar for links)
• Do the work require for the Journey North Mystery Class http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/mclass/About.html
• Continue our reading of the retelling of Comedy of Errors.
  

Today

This is what we did today:

• Clean house: a good habit we have been able to establish in our house this school year has been our Home Blessing Hour - a la Flylady.
  
• Watch the second part of the Jacqueline du Pre dvd (Jacqueline du Pre: a Portrait)
• Watch Great Artists vol.5- we watched the section on Vermeer.
• Read Johannes Vermeer by Mike Venezia.
• Went to Co-op.

All in all it was a good day.