Bells Will Be Ringing...

I love this time of year, everything about it. I shouldn't love the commercialism but even that adds a bit of the ambiance and extends the season a bit longer. I know this is not technically Jesus birthday and I have struggled in the past with how to approach this holiday. Do we ignore the existence of it? Should we celebrate with a cake for Jesus & no semblance of a tree, Santa, stockings, etc? Or do we go for the whole shebang? I haven't figured it all out by any means but I know for our family we enjoy this season. I really think Jesus would enjoy seeing us have a full blown party with presents. Since we can't give Jesus a present we can give them to each other. This season gives us a chance to look around and see what & who are most important in our lives and try to make them happy. We go out of our way to spend extra time with the kids, even if that just means curling up by the fire with a cup of hot cocoa to watch Frosty The Snowman on the family channel. Now, this is harder than it sounds since we live in FL & it's still 75 outside so we actually had to turn on the AC to get the house cold enough to make the fireplace bearable, LOL! And instead of actually drinking hot cocoa we settled for Hot Chocolate Ice Cream....but you get the point. We are really enjoying this season. We will leave this weekend for our annual trip to visit Eric's brother in Philadelphia. It's a long drive but we really enjoy our time together & we are breaking up the trip quite a bit this year so it won't be so hard on little Autumn. She is a trooper and has spent the majority of her short life travelling so I'm sure she will be fine.

We have made homemade stockings, homemade ornaments, homemade decorations, had a Christmas party with our friends, enjoyed driving around to view the lights, spent some time baking yummy goodies (& eating them), lots of Christmas shopping, and tomorrow we (the older girls & I) are off to dinner & the Nutcracker with friends. I am so grateful that through this whole season none of my children have become obsessed with what they want for Christmas, their biggest focus has been on what they want to get for their siblings. Although Katy does think that everything she sees that is pink belongs to her, "Das Mine" is heard constantly as I stroll through the store. Luckily, she hasn't been insistent that she bring it home with her!

We have taken time off from formal school work for the holidays but I am so glad to see the kids sneak in a little school even though they don't realize what they are doing. The older 3 love playing math games with Daddy & Katy enjoys looking at books, I even caught her sharing the Renoir book with Autumn who seemed very impressed. In all honesty I knew she was brilliant for a 17 week old!

We met our new neighbor, the kids were excited to know that he (or she) is one of 6 also, now they are not the biggest family on the block, that's a first, also having a tortoise as an outside pet is new for my kids also, much less 6 of them. I have been told to watch for wondering tortoise babies in our yard in the spring. How funny is that?!

This is our newest princess, all dressed up for the Christmas Party, isn't she precious!

And I just couldn't post pictures on my blog without a picture of the kids at the beach. We love it here!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

In the middle of all the hustle and bustle of preparing for Turkey Day I wanted to pause for a minute and reflect on a few things I am thankful for. I am so blessed in my life that it is hard to know where to begin. To start I am grateful for God's continual love and blessings, unconditionally, no matter how many times I turn away from him. I am grateful for a husband that challenges me to be my very best and is always ready to make me laugh. No one can change my mood faster than my dear sweet Eric. I am grateful for all of my children with an extra bit of gratitude for the healthy arrival of our 6th this year, Autumn Elise is a treasure, that last piece to make our family complete for now. I am grateful for friends, I have not had many in my adult life because we have moved so many times it has been hard to sustain a real friendship so the friends I have are very precious to me. I am thankful for parents that are healthy and loving and open their arms & house to us at any turn for any reason, they are a true blessing. But if I had to choose what I am most grateful for this year, if it is just one thing I can put to the top of my list it would have to be my sister. She has been there for me so many times I can't even count. She has gone above and beyond the call of sisterhood and has taken rank as my best friend (aside from my husband, of course). She dropped her life for me as my due date approached this summer. She left her husband home alone while she came to stay with me indefinitely to make sure I was not alone during the birth of Autumn. She never hesitated, she never mulled it over, she just did it. She is always a phone call away with a kind word or a sarcastic comment to make me laugh. We talk every day, usually several times a day and I think I just take for granted that she is always there. So I wanted to take a minute and write down how truly blessed I feel to have her as my sister and my friend. She is my never ending source of cheer and comfort, even in the worst of times. I am not eloquent enough with words to express how beautiful she is as a person, friend, sister, mother, wife, daughter, woman. Everyone who knows her is blessed just to share time with her and I am lucky enough to be her sister. I have so many things & people to be thankful for this year but Christina tops the list.

Random Ramblings

I seem to be under the misguided impression that I need to have pictures to add to my blog or it's not worth the effort. But I felt it was time to just barrel through one post without pictures.

We have had a lot happen in the past month or so. A lot of traveling, packing, moving (more about that in another post) and finally unpacking & trying to get settled while preparing for the upcoming (actually, it's here, isn't it?) holiday season while adjusting to a new baby and 5 more in tow. This isn't complaining, I am so glad we are where we are but *whew* it's hard to come up for air in the middle of constant motion.

I hit a wall on Monday, I just couldn't take that first step to start unpacking, it seemed so overwhelming. Unpacking is usually the easy, well, at least fun, part of moving but I think I am still a bit post-partum. When to my rescue swooped in my dear, dear friend & her 3 precious jewels. She is such a get-it-done person, she helped to unpack most of my kitchen (no easy task) and even brought dinner. A real meal in our new home with the kitchen nearly finished, it was just the jump start I needed. The next day, I was able to organize & put away our bedroom, I even color-coded the closet. I really think I would still be sitting in a house filled with boxes if she hadn't been there. It is amazing how God gives you what you need just when you need it. I hope to be able to come to her rescue one day or as many days as I am needed.

My kiddos had so much fun, unpacking with their friends, using the boxes in the yard and then breaking them down for the trash. It was a huge help to me to have the boxes out of the house.

How do you repay such a kindness, maybe a tea party? Hmmm......

What Kind of Flower are you?

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

Autumn in the Air

Abby is Mommy 2, she is my extra set of hands, she & Erin are the reason Katy is so spoiled & Autumn is well on her way. I couldn't ask for better kids.

Seth is the PROUDEST big brother!


Notice the look of fear on Autumn's face as Katy (2yr) swoops in for a hug & kiss.



"She's screaming Mom, just take the picture."






"Yes, you may admire me."



Erin overseeing her friend, Britty, while she holds Autumn.

Abby sharing her sister with Mary. Consider yourself lucky Mary, she doesn't share her with just anyone.

These next 2 photos are pretty funny. It shows the effects of having 4 sisters on my 2 little boys & yet they still remain quite masculine. They were playing outside when Seth decided to bring me a rock he found. I noticed he was wearing work gloves & a doo-rag while carrying a purse to keep his treasures in, it works for him.

Here is Jack showing off the wood he has skinned (he made walking sticks for his sisters) while holding a doll, but in his defense it is a boy doll. Too cute!

These are shots at the Corn Maze in Chattanooga, TN. I took my mom & the 3 youngest.






Hanging out on Nina & Papa's new deck...


Aren't they sweet...

Cashen Crusades

We have been so busy lately, new baby, new school year, planning a move, traveling. It's hard to know where to begin. Life was quiet & calm until Autumn was about 3 weeks old.

We stayed close to home, enjoyed visits from family & friends, snuggled with all of our babies and just relished the transition from a family of 7 to a family of 8. She has been an angel of a baby. When she hit 3 weeks we decided to spend a week with Daddy in AL. A week turned into almost 2 weeks. It was cramped (in his little apartment) but we had so much fun just being so close to him & visiting with friends while he was at work. We can't wait to get back full time. On our looong drive down I told him I couldn't wait to wake up & see the ocean.

This is what I had in mind...

This is the view from his apartment with the Mobile Bay in the background. That is a Yacht Club behind the trees.

This is what I got...

We stayed at this fabulous condo in Orange Beach for our first weekend there, it was so much fun, the kids had a blast. I could go on & on about it but I won't. It was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

We played at the playground, went to the beach & the bay, looked for houses, went shopping, & showed off our newest addition. She was a trooper through the whole trip.

Then back home for 2 days before we were off again to visit Nina & Papa. This trip held a few unplanned pleasures. The original plan was to arrive on Thursday, visit with my sister & her kids, get my haircut that evening (my first time away from Autumn), on Friday we were supposed to leave the boys & Katy with my Mom for the day & head to Atlanta to meet friends at the American Girl Store and Bistro, Friday was also my Mom's birthday so we were going to celebrate her birthday with the family on Saturday. Anyway, our friends came down with a stomach bug and couldn't make it to the AG store. We were so bummed about not getting to see them. I thought about taking the girls anyway but since it was my Mom's birthday & my sister invited my 3 oldest to a not-going-back-to-school picnic with her homeschool group I thought it would be fun to spend the day with my Mom & the younger 3 kiddos. We had so much fun. It was a nice mother-daughter bonding day. We went to a local coffee shop for Cappuccinos & then to a local corn maze. This wasn't quite what we had expected. It was so hot, way overpriced, the kids were too young to really enjoy the maze, it was during a school day so the hayrides & extra stuff were not running, we got lost in the maze, we finally made our way out, got cold drinks & headed over to the little kids play area & petting farm.

This was the fun part, Mom & I relaxed & visited in the shade while the littles played on the playground & ran through the hay maze (more their speed). We also stopped at a local deli for lunch. My older bunch had a blast with their cousins & it turned out to be a great day all around. Well, except for our friends at home sick. The next day was fun when my sister & her family came over to my parents to help celebrate Mom's birthday. Christina, Dad, & I cooked dinner while we all visited & the kids had a great time.

Then home for a few days, we were able to sneak in a play date with some local friends at the playground before we were on our way back to AL to visit Daddy for a long weekend.

It has been a whirlwind few weeks. We are finally back home, trying to declutter a bit before major packing starts next week (I think). We think we have found a place but have been sluggish in finalizing the details. If that gets settled then we should be in line to move in between Nov 1st and the 15th. So we are back to the grind with Autumn in tow, she is growing and changing by the second. Her siblings are just ga-ga over her, so are her Momma & Daddy.

She is such a joy & at almost 8 weeks old it's hard to believe she hasn't always been here.

Autumn's arrival!

Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with the weather because we all know it is still way too hot outside but it seems a few degrees cooler to me minus baby!
Before I begin let me just say that I made some mistakes & rush to judgment out of fear. I was afraid of going into labor while Eric was in AL & he wouldn't make it to the birth. I was afraid of delivery, which just monopolizes my every thought as the time approaches. I was afraid of going into labor while my midwife was out of town (she will be this upcoming weekend).

So when my midwife told me I was 3cm, 50% effaced, with a ripe cervix & she could prod me along to get this over with I was more than happy to just go for it. She pocked & prodded, broke my water & let me lumber along for about 7 hrs while we waited for the labor to get intense. We filled up the pool, truly a wonderful way to go through labor. I did dilate to 7cm but the labor was no big deal, nothing more than heavy cramping. I'm not sure if it was the water or just the labor itself but the contractions never got too bad. So, at 7cm my midwife decided it would be a good idea if I pushed during the contractions while she "massaged" the cervix to help dilate. This was the most painful thing I have EVER been through. I am not a screamer, actually, I'm very quiet & focused during delivery, usually, but not this time. It felt like my whole body was being split in two. After the head was out the shoulders would not budge so I had to get up with the head out & change positions to deliver the shoulders, again, not a good experience. But then she was here, on my chest, tiny and gorgeous and a GIRL to our surprise! It is not an experience I want to relive but it was still worth it when I look into that tiny face and smell that sweet newborn head. She is an absolute doll that has melted my heart. There are no pictures of or during the birth, I am not one for being photographed naked, fat, & writhing in pain so I will share some pictures of our first few days with baby Autumn. She is the light of our lives as you can tell from her siblings proud faces.

Guess what we did this weekend?

Birth story coming soon...

Where does the time go?

I have been bugging my sister for not keeping her blog updated when I realized that I am really the one slacking in this area. We have been so busy & I just haven't taken the time to make note of it. So this will be a quick summary. At the end of June, Eric & I were able to steal away for a weekend. My parents came to watch the children (all 5 of them) and we had 3 days to spend together. We have never done this before & in all honesty I was a little nervous. What were we going to talk about? Well, we figured it out;) & had a great time! I have decided we need to do this more often, I'm shooting for late Oct or early Nov, of course, I will have our newest one in tow but it will still be a treat. Seth turned 4, (WOW!) the following week. I can't believe he is so big, he is my baby boy! We went to the local Museum of Arts & Sciences to see their Dinosaur exhibit. He really enjoyed it. The following week I contracted some sort of stomach bug that has lingered since then making the last few weeks lots of fun. I have been so sick, off & on, it comes & goes. I believe part of it is a recurrence of morning sickness, JOY! So, being sick, I did not take the kids to see fireworks for the 4th of July. I felt so bad about that, we love fireworks. Eric's b-day is the 5th but he was in AL working so we celebrated when he came home over the weekend & then he also had a week of vacation. We were so glad to spend an entire week as a family, Katy celebrated her 2nd birthday, another one that is hard to grasp although her 2 yr old colors are nice & bright! For her birthday we all went to a local nature center, they have all sorts of wild animals that were injured or abandoned & cannot be re-released back into the wild. We saw a Black Bear, bobcats, a cougar, foxes, alligator, an eagle, bison, different owls & others. The best part is that it is free. More about that in another post. I think she had fun. The kids came down with the stomach bug as did Eric so instead of spending the week working on the house as we had planned, Eric spent most of the time taking care of us. He did get the girls room painted but we still have to finish the trim & put in new carpet & a few other minor things. I'll post the before & after pictures when we finally finish. So this week has been a time for recovery, realizing that this new baby really will be here in the next 8 weeks or so, I haven't spent much time thinking about the baby up until now, so the baby has its first new neutral outfit & newborn diapers waiting patiently in the baby's drawer. It's so sweet to see those tiny little clothes & diapers. I can't wait to smell that newborn breath, watch the little one sleep on my chest, and everything else that goes along with a newborn. I am in a nesting phase & am trying to declutter the house, hopefully I will have most of it done before the baby shows up. It will make packing easier after if I have most of our stuff in order. That pretty much sums it up. I will post more with pictures when I get a chance. So much for a quick summary.

Television

The Old Schoolhouse just sent out a weekly newsletter with the theme Television. This is an off and on again topic in our home so I read with interest what others had to say. It is amazing how many adults of today were raised on Television, my husband and myself being among them. It is hard to think of not having that connection to the outside world, that portal of news, entertainment, how-to shows, and animal rescue channels. But unless you are a very disciplined person (I am NOT) this portal also brings a lot of exposed skin, back talk, bad attitude, commercialism and many other things I really do not want my kids exposed. I would not let my children bring home or be among people who behaved this way so why would I allow them to give undivided attention to a screen showing and encouraging this behavior. We currently do not have cable or public television. We haven't had it for close to 4 years now. As much as I would love to say this is because we made a conscious decision to take the smut out of our lives this isn't entirely accurate. We moved into a house that is unable to get the little satellite and cable is not available on our street which means we also do not get a signal for public television either. We have chosen to go without. I know many people that have chosen this avenue that would never turn back and haven't missed a day of television but we have missed it on certain days. I'm a political junkie and I would have loved to watch the election results as they rolled in, I feel out of the loop on a lot of news and political happenings. My husband loves Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel and we both have longed to just veg in front of the Home and Garden Channel. Now we do own a television, 2 actually, and we do rent movies, a lot of movies. And for the most part we are very careful about what we let the kids watch. I have had a few slip-ups from being lazy or forgetting about a certain scene but for the most part I love this way of watching TV. My kids will watch and enjoy things I wold have never watched and much less enjoyed as a kid. My 5 & 4 year old were enthralled with Hamlet last night, I had a hard time making myself watch it as an adult. They love musicals and movies from great literature as well as animal exploration & discovery movies. The other day my 5 year old was trying to wrap his head around the concept of all day television. My 8 yr old tried to explain to him, " You know, it's like when we go to a hotel & turn on the TV and it just comes on and the shows stay on until we turn it off." His eyes got huge as he realized that wasn't just something special they did at a hotel, people have that in their homes. I would like us to curb our movie watching a bit as that can get a bit excessive but it's still a better option than non-stop bombardment of scantily clad chicks selling toothpaste. We may at some point have television in our home again but I dread the day because I know I am weak and I am afraid I will become complacent with all of the junk on TV & start thinking it really isn't that bad, like I did before.

Reading Challenges

I have been very fortunate with my older 2 daughters. They are both avid readers. My 8yr old gave me a run for my money when we introduced phonics & beginning reading skills. She would look at me as if I were an alien, it seemed as if she could not comprehend anything I was saying/teaching her. It was a very frustrating time for me. My oldest learned to read so easily, I thought I was just such a great teacher, LOL!!! With daughter #2 I quickly learned that I had lucked out with my oldest and that each child approaches learning with different abilities, interests, and learning styles. But once she finally grasped that these symbols represented specific sounds and when put together unlocked the words in her favorite books, she was hooked. She is now 8yr old and is currently reading Caddie Woodlawn and Heidi (unabridged) on her own. Above grade level is my point. From there I am at a loss. I am currently trying to teach my 5 (almost 6) yr old BOY to read. This is proving itself to be a bigger challenge than daughter #2. Some days we will start the lessons & he will have no clue that we have ever discussed the sounds before. This would be an indication that he is not ready for this yet, I should wait a few more months & try again, Better Late Than Early and all that jazz. But the very next day he will rattle of the sounds perfectly, as if he has known them his whole life, HUH?! Now I am really confused, what do I do?! Of course, when he is cooperative we plow full steam ahead but when he starts looking at me cross-eyed we put it away for the day and move on to something else before Mommy gets too frustrated. So I can see that this is going to be a challenge especially when he announced today that he doesn't want to learn to read, he likes it when we read to him. For the first time I have mulled over bribery. I do NOT like giving rewards for reading. The reward in reading is the knowledge gained and the story enjoyed but he is tempting me. I have never allowed my kids to join in summer reading programs or anything that gives them toys or food for reading so many books. Though I did consider trying the one from Barnes and Noble this summer. They were offering a free book for every 8 books read. This sounded like a good deal until I found out the books the kids would get for free, it is of less value than a candy bar. Actually, my 8 yr old might have enjoyed them, Magic Tree House books but they were way below the books my 10 yr old is reading, this would not have been a worthwhile prize for her. So, in lieu of the junky books, we opted to start our own summer reading program. She is allowed to read any 8 books off of her free reading list for school & she can pick out a book that I will buy for her. This goes for both girls. So far Abby has read 4 books (we started this 2 weeks ago) and she is in process with 4 more. She has finished the Chronicles of Narnia Series and The Lord of the Rings series, she loves these types of books. Not my thing at all but this will be the type of thing she will choose. Now I'm trying to figure out how to tweak this incentive for Jack to encourage him to try harder to learn to read, maybe when he can read the first series of BOB books he can pick out a free book, I'm just afraid he will choose a picture & sound book from Pirates of the Caribbean or something absurd like that. To his credit though, he is really enjoying Charlotte's Web (which I am reading to him), Peter Pan (Abby is reading to him), and Pinocchio (Erin is reading to him) all unabridged so I know he is capable of grasping the good stuff, it's just not his first choice. The challenge of boys and I've got one more (at least) coming up after him....

Who is your Jane Austen husband?

You scored as Knightley, Your husband/boyfriend is most like Mr. Knightley of Emma! He probably gives you kind lectures to help you in certain matters, though he does these out of true devotion and in your best interests. Others look to him for his wisdom and good sense. He is generous and steadfast, though not afraid to politely argue with you. The two of you enjoy a challenging, sweet partnership and are most likely very active in your community. Knightley 70% Tilney 65% Edmund Bertram 65% Col. Brandon 60% Darcy 50% Captain Wentworth 45% Edward Ferrars 40% Who is Your Jane Austen Boyfriend/Husband? created with QuizFarm.com

Year 4, Term 3: Abigail's Schedule

I started Abby on Year 4 from Ambleside Online last school year, she would have been in 3rd grade. My rationale was that we had been using a classical education model, which is advanced in it's own right, so this Charlotte Mason stuff would be a breeze to her. Ha, ha, ha, there is no fluff in the Ambleside curriculum, it's all great quality literature that is nourishing for their minds. Rather than put her a year back after working our way through the first term we decided to take 2 school years to complete Year 4, slow and (somewhat) steady has made all the difference in the world. Her comprehension, narrations (written & oral), and reading skills have improved immensely in this time. It was definitely the right decision for her. So with that said, here is her curriculum overview & schedule for the current term:

Daily Lessons
Copywork: Classically Cursive Shorter Catechism Book III
Math: Singapore & Archimedes and the Door of Science
Foreign Language: The Easy French level 1
Latin: Latina Christiana 1

Weekly Lessons
Art Appreciation: Eugene Delacroix
Art: Drawing with Children
Grammar: English for the Thoughtful Child 2
Book of Centuries: timeline corresponding to current history readings
Handicrafts: The American Girls Book of Handicrafts
Music Appreciation: Frederic Chopin (composer); Barbara Allen, Cherry
Ripe, I'm Seventeen Come Sunday (Folksongs); Amazing Grace, O For a
Thousand Tongues, How Firm a Foundation (Hymns)
Nature Study: nothing planned, just as we observe we use the Handbook
of Nature Study or field guides.
One Life from Plutarch: Solon (from The Young Folks Plutarch)
Shakespeare: Hamlet

Bible: Alternate readings from NT & OT, reading through Biblical Holidays,
& studying Matthew

History: This Country of Ours (George III, 1765-1782)
George Washington's World

History Tales and/or Biography: Trial and Triumph;
Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution

Geography: Elementary Geography & A Child's Geography of the World

Natural History: Madame How and Lady Why

Science: Physics Lab in the Home; Exploring Creation with Astronomy

Poetry: William Wordsworth

Literature: The Age of Fable by Bullfinch, Kidnapped by Stevenson, The Incredible Journey by Burnford, short works: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irving, Paul Revere's Ride by Longfellow, Rip Van Winkle by Irving

Free Reading: (since we started term 3 a few weeks ago she has finished a few of her term 3 free reading books but I am going to list them anyway to give an idea of what she reads in a term)
The Railway Children by Nesbit, A Book of Golden Deeds by Yonge, Bambi by Salten (finished), Man of the Family by Moody (family read-aloud), Gentle Ben by Morey (finished), Thimble Summer by Enright, Return to Gone Away Lake by Enright (almost finished), By the Shores of Silver Lake by Wilder, The Complete Peterkin Papers by Hale, Johnny Tremain by Forbes, Amos Fortune, Free Man by Yates (she reads this aloud to me), The Reb & the Redcoats by Savery (just 2 or 3 ch left)

So, for instance, last Monday looked like:
Bible: Genesis 15:1-18, Biblical Holidays-Understanding the Hebrew Calendar,
Matthew study Matt 9:9-17 (Distinctions of Disciples)
Plutarch: One page of Solon
Copywork: Cursive, 2 to 3 lines
Latin: Latina Christiana I: Work on Lesson 5, "First Declension"
French: La Francais Facile, Level I: Lesson 1 listen to story & vocabulary
Geography: A Child's Geography of the World: Rd & narrate ch. 3, "The Inside of the World"
Grammar: English for the Thoughtful Child: Read Independently lesson 28, "Synonyms"
History: This Country of Ours: Rd. & narrate ch. 53, "The First Thrust"
George Washington's World: Rd & narrate, "Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI"
Free Reading: Amos Fortune, Free man: Rd Ch. 4, "Woburn 1740-1779"
The Reb and the Redcoats: Rd. ch. 8
Literature: Kidnapped: Rd and narrate ch. 23, "Cluny's Cage"
Math: Singapore Math: Ex. 15 & 16
Archimedes and the Door of Science: rd & narrate ch 1, "Who was Archimedes?"
Music Appreciation: Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland, Early Years: Rd & narrate ch. 2 & listen to music
Folksong & Hymns: listen
Poetry: William Wordsworth: "How Sweet It Is, When Mother Fancy Rocks"
Science: Exploring Creation with Astronomy: lesson 4, "Venus"

That pretty much sums it up. Her day can take 3 to 4 hours, depending on how much free reading she does but she is very independent and does just about all of her readings herself with one or two written narrations a day, one or two picture narrations, and the rest oral. I usually read one of her readings to her each day, she prefers for me to read Madame How and Lady Why, she said it makes more sense when I read it to her so that is how we do it, not too mention, I enjoy that book. I try to read ahead of her so I know what to look for in narrations in her other books, especially history but it doesn't always work out. For science, the girls do that together and I have them read it aloud to me, while I'm making meals or walking the treadmill. That way I know what is going on when it's time for projects and activities.

Tough Life Lessons

Let me just preface this post with a little personal background. I was NOT raised in a family that loved nature. If God made it outside it should stay outside, don't bring it in the house. I am weird about the kids bringing in sticks, leaves, anything of that nature and when it comes to live creatures, forget about it, I do NOT want them in my house and in all honesty, I really don't want to be out there with it either. Now, I realize this mentality goes heavily against the CM philosophy of education and I am trying to have a deeper appreciation of nature. This is a work in progress for me while I am trying to instill a love of nature in my children. This is an area I truly struggle in. That being said, let me get on with our story...

This week my kids were checking on their baby birds living in a nest on our basement deck. While doing so they also spent some time playing in the basement (mostly a playroom). They (usually the boys) have a tendency to leave the back door to the deck wide open. This allows any little woodland creature to meander in at will. Well this time it was an injured bird. The kids found him on the floor. I assumed it was dead & told them to sweep it outside & off the deck. As they were doing this, the little guy began to flutter a bit. OK, so now we have a live bird, that is not doing well. My thought (see preface) get it out of my house & onto the back deck. It's going to die anyway & I don't know the first thing about birds. So we swept it onto the back deck & left. After a few hours it was still alive, ugh! Now what do I do? I can't sweep it into the woods alive & injured. I finally talked to my husband about it (this man will try to save an ant if he can) and he was mortified that we had left it on the porch to suffer. He said we should at least try to do something or I should put it out of it's misery & kill it. OK, I did not have the stomach to kill it so I let the kids put it into a shoebox & bring it in. Now the thing was going to die in my house, yuck! Not too mention the bird poop & mess it would make in the box. The kids wanted to keep it on my kitchen counter, NO WAY! But we did keep it on the bathroom counter, close to the water. We found out that we were taking care of a House Wren, looked up what they ate (bugs, moths, spiders, flies, etc.) & Jack set off to find food. We also set him up with a towel for comfort & a small container of water. The little one survived the night, drank the water & ate all but 1 of the bugs that Jack caught. Jack even went through the trouble of tearing off the wings of the moths he caught because we read that they usually don't eat the wings. Erin and Jack were very good caretakers, they spent a lot of time talking to the bird, they wanted to name it but I wouldn't let them. They had grandiose plans of getting a cage & keeping it for a pet. He seemed to be in better spirits the next morning but by early afternoon was not doing well. I would stop in to talk to him and he would just look at me as if he was so grateful to be taken care of, when I walked away he would chirp for me to come back and talk to him. It was so sweet. Every time we would turn him right side up he would flip over to his back, I could tell he was having trouble breathing but we couldn't get him to stay right side up. Right before dinner the kids realized he had died. They were so upset, I have to admit, I was a little disappointed also, not surprised, just sad. Jack and Erin just cried their little hearts out. I tried to explain that they had done a wonderful & beautiful thing, they had helped one of God's smallest & most helpless creatures live it's last few hours very comfortably. No matter what they or we did, he was going to die anyway, he was injured & sick, but they did everything they could and I know God is pleased with them. It's been about 3 days now & they are still sad about it. Death is hard to face, it's a difficult lesson to deal with but one of the joys of having my kids home with me all day is they learn how to deal with these experiences in our home with momma to cry on & comfort them. I have to admit that I'm glad we brought him into our home and tried to help him. Hopefully, he died knowing that he was being cared for and he wasn't alone.

Ambleside Online Year 2, Term 2: Erin

Here is Erin's schedule for the term we started this week:

Daily Instruction:
Copywork/Penmanship: Docere, Delectare, Movere Copybook II published
by Memoria Presss
Math: Singapore Math and living math books (currently Anno's Math
Games)
Foreign Language: Latin: Prima Latina
French: Phrase-a-Day & Le Francais Facile! Level I
Bible: OT readings on M,W,F; NT readings on T, Th. More in-depth study of
Matthew, and reading through Biblical Holidays as a family

Weekly Instruction:
Art: Drawing with Children
Book of Centuries: Timeline to go along with corresponding history
readings, and other significant figures (artist, composer, biblical, etc.)
Music Appreciation: Folksongs: Barbara Allen, Cherry Ripe, I'm Seventeen
Come Sunday
Hymns: O for a Thousand Tongues, How Firm a Foundation, Amazing Grace
Artist: Eugene Delacroix
Composer: Frederic Chopin
Grammar/Spelling/Dictation: English for the Thoughtful Child (once/wk); Spelling Wisdom, Book 1 (2x/wk), Story Starters (2x/wk)
History:
An Island Story (British History: 1189-1399, Richard I-Richard II)
A Child's History of the World (World History: Richard I-John I Magna
Charta)

History Tales and/or Biography:
Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
The Little Duke by Charlotte Younge

Geography:
Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason
A Child's Geography of the World by VM Hillyer

Natural History/Science:
The Handbook of Nature Study by Comstock
Pagoo by Holling

Science: Exploring Creation with Astronomy

Poetry:
Eugene Field

Literature:
Tales from Shakespeare by Lamb
Little Pilgrim's Progress
Parables from Nature by Gatty
The Wind in the Willows by Grahame

Free Reading Books:
Heidi by Spyri
A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Tanglewood Tales by Hawthorne
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Sidney
Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales
Pied Piper of Hamlin
Abraham Lincoln by D'Aulaire
Five Children and It by Nesbit

To see how this plays out on a daily basis, here is last Thursdays schedule:
Bible: NT reading Matt 8:18-27 & orally narrated; Biblical Holidays-read verses demonstrating God's designated times, Matthew Study Matt. 8:18-22 (Demands of Discipleship)
Copywork: Docere, Delectare, Movere Copybook Book II-completed 2 pgs.
Dictation/Spelling: Spelling Wisdom, Book I, Ex.6, "Happy Thought"
Foreign Language: Prima Latina-listened to Lesson 4 on CD, The Sanctus, & vocabulary words & invisible verbs
Phrase-a-day French-Je vais me promener. (I'm going for a walk.)
Geography: Elementary Geography Book I; Rd & narrate Lesson 10, "The
Blind Boy (C. Cibber)"
History: A Child's History of the World; Rd. & narrate story 54, "Tick-Tack-
Toe; Three Kings in a Row"
The little Duke; Rd 1/4 of Ch. 7
Literature: The Wind in the Willows, Rd 1/5 of ch. 1, "The River Bank"
Free Reading: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Rd 1/5 of Ch. 16,
"Getting a Christmas for the Little Ones"
Math: Singapore Math p. 31-36, Ex. 14-16
Music: Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland, Early Years; rd 1/5 of ch.1, listened to
music, & colored picture to go w/ reading.
Listened to folksongs & hymns
Nature Study: Pagoo, Rd. Ch.3 "Pagoo Is A Hermit Crab!" & picture
narration
Poetry: Lullaby Land. Songs of Childhood, by Eugene Field; Rd poem 4, "The
Dinkey Bird"
Science: Exploring Creation with Astronomy; Do final activity in lesson 3,
"Mercury" (Made craters in flour to simulate craters in Mercury)

We keep all lessons short, no longer than 20 min. This schedule does not take more than 3 hrs tops, that is, if she stays focused (which, in all honesty, is not her strong point, LOL) She also has lots of outside time to explore, play, observe. She is currently keeping a close eye on a momma bird & her new babies.

OK, I'll add Abby's schedule as time allows...

Cashen Happenings!

The Sparrow's Nest
by William Wordsworth

Look, five blue eggs are gleaming there!

Few visions have I seen more fair,

Nor many prospects of delight

More pleasing than that simple sight!

I started, seeming to espy

The home and sheltered bed,

The Sparrow's dwelling, which, hard by

My Father's House, in wet or dry,

My Sister Emmeline and I

Together visited.

She looked at it as if she feared it;

Still wishing, dreading to be near it:

Such Heart was in her, being then

A little Prattler among men.

The Blessing of my later years

Was with me when a Boy;

She gave me eyes, she gave me ears;

And humble cares, and delicate fears;

A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;

And love, and thought, and joy.

(This is a birds nest that Erin & Ruby found last week. Yesterday we noticed a baby had hatched, we are anxiously awaiting the others to break out of their shell. )



We have had quite the busy end of May, I'd thought I would share what else has been going on with us besides preparing for a new school term.

(I know this is a terrible picture but being the great mom that I am I didn't charge my camera & had to take this quickly, right before it died!)
Both of my older daughters have birthdays the last week of May. We are not real big on the birthday party scene but try to keep it more family oriented. So Eric took an extra day off over the Memorial Day weekend & we had him home for 4 whole days! It was wonderful but not quiet. My parents also came to help us celebrate the girls b-days & they brought my 2 older nieces. My mom watched our littlest one while we took all the other kids to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. (GASP-I know, it is a really bad movie for little kids but it is a huge weakness for us, we are hooked & love them, we own the other 2 & will own this one when it is available) Anyway, we had pizza & cake & Ice cream for dinner & opened presents & played & played. We had a cookout over the weekend w/ my parents, Eric & I were able to steal away for a date night & leave the kids with my parents (pure heaven!!). My parents left on Saturday & my sister came on Monday w/ her 2 younger kiddos. So the older 2 were here for over a week altogether, it was like a week long slumber party for my kids.
We went on a picnic, the kids went for hikes, read books, watched movies, ATE a ton of food,
played at the playground, swam (sort-of) in the creek, hunted for frogs, lizards, and fish (which they dissected, yuck!), found a birds nest complete with eggs, and just really had a great time. I had a wonderful time just visiting with my sister, playing with our babies, and looking forward to our new ones. We compared & talked about school curriculum, our kids, life in general. It was so nice to have her here all week. We had a few funny moments, Erin & Ruby decided to make brownies one night. Erin uses my mom's recipe & makes them better than I do so I always let her make them when she wants. But this time she had a companion in the kitchen so her attention to detail was sorely lacking (keep in mind she just turned 8). She showed me the batter before she put it into the oven & it looked very soupy and frothy. We went through all the ingredients & the amount she put in (she was doubling the recipe so I had to check that she doubled her measurements correctly). When we got to the eggs, I asked if she had doubled the 2 eggs to 4 eggs, her face went pale, "It says 2 eggs, I thought it said 6 eggs". This took a minute to sink in. "So you doubled 6 eggs, you put 12 eggs in the mix?!" Not only did they put 12 eggs into the mix but they had miscounted & actually used 14 eggs!! So, dump the first batch of brownies & try again, this time she comes in to ask me something & I'm wondering why she reeks of mint. "Oh, we ran out of vanilla extract so we used mint extract instead." An entire bottle!! The girls, my kitchen, everything they touched smelled of mint extract. Luckily, I love mint & I don't think they put too much in the brownies, I think they spilled the bottle. The 2nd batch of brownies did turn out very good and we had a good laugh over the 14 eggs. Dad especially thought this was particularly funny. Then we have my little Jack, he is always thinking, he has non-stop questions, some of my recent favorites, "Mom are you 25 or 85?" This one he asks on an almost daily basis and of course I answer him honestly, "25 sweetie!" LOL! But my new favorite, during Bible study this week he wanted to know if Jesus was a Christian! I'm still not sure how to answer that but I said "yes". And then little Katy has learned to dangle off the bars of my treadmill, she and Seth hang side by side, they crack me up. Katy refuses to talk, she just makes funny vowel sounds for whatever it is she is trying to say, she'll be 2 in July. She says "mama", "dada", "abba" (Abby), "papa" (Grandpa) but other than that she just makes noises. She loves to taunt poor Seth by grabbing his blanket, wrapping it around her neck & running for her life with it. This, of course, sets off my little Linus & he screams & chases her. She is totally in her glory when he reacts to her. But for as much as she taunts & tortures him, he loves her. He loves to hold her hand and give her kisses. He always makes sure she is OK & I have to watch that he doesn't wake her up from naps b/c he loves to be with her. Why, I don't know, she is rotten, LOL!