Saturday, March 22, 2008
Good Friday
We had such a wonderful Good Friday! It wasn't a day of celebration as much as a day of remembering and of worship (tomorrow will be a huge day of celebration!!). Our church has done a wonderful stations of the cross display for the last few years. I'm not that familiar with liturgical language, but for those of you who may not have heard that phrase "stations of the cross", it involves sitting and reflecting on Jesus' suffering at 7 different points beginning with His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane and ending with his burial after crucifixion.
I was originally not planning on going this year, because we took our whole family last year and it was pretty much an exercise in keeping everyone quiet, chasing the 2 year old, shushing everyone again, and telling them to keep their hands off the props. NOT a worshipful experience for any of us. But when my friend Susanne mentioned it again, I realized that with my hubby working from home I could take the older children two at a time, so that is what we did and I am so glad we went!
Our church uses almost its entire (large) foyer for this, and black fabric is hung from floor to ceiling as "walls", helping to block out light. They have printed the corresponding scripture on large posters to go along with each station, and there are places to sit and read these scriptures and pray and reflect for as long as you'd like. It's also pretty hands on. In the station where Pontius Pilate washes his hands, absolving himself from responsibility for Jesus' death, there was a bowl of water and a towel, so we could each wash our hands too. In the station that reflects on his beating, there were quite a few props from old plays/musicals our choir has done. There was a fake pillar with chains hanging from it, and a whip and wooden staffs. We read the scripture at that station and talked about how Jesus was flogged (beaten), hit in the head with a staff, spit upon, and slapped and hit. We talked at length about WHY this was done to Jesus, and why He endured it. It was very powerful.
I took L and C first, and when we went there was no-one else there. It was very quiet and we had the opportunity to spend lots of time at each station. At the crucifixion station they had erected a wooden cross and had paper and pens, nails and hammers available. We were to write a message, or our name, or whatever we wanted to write on the paper, and then nail it to the cross. L and C spent quite a bit of time thinking about the sins they wanted to write on the papers. C decided not to write anything at all, but L had me help him write something he was sorry for on his card, and then we nailed it to the cross. The cross was full of papers from previous worshippers. I think it was a powerful visual to my boys that it was OUR sins which nailed Jesus to the cross, not His.
When I took the older two children there were many others there and we had to wait before proceeding into each station. It wasn't quite as worshipful an atmostphere, but still very meaningful.
Our whole family then attended the Good Friday worship service in the evening, which was another wonderful time to reflect on Jesus' suffering and all He went through for us. For me. I can't comprehend love like that, but I'm so grateful to live in it each and every day.
I was originally not planning on going this year, because we took our whole family last year and it was pretty much an exercise in keeping everyone quiet, chasing the 2 year old, shushing everyone again, and telling them to keep their hands off the props. NOT a worshipful experience for any of us. But when my friend Susanne mentioned it again, I realized that with my hubby working from home I could take the older children two at a time, so that is what we did and I am so glad we went!
Our church uses almost its entire (large) foyer for this, and black fabric is hung from floor to ceiling as "walls", helping to block out light. They have printed the corresponding scripture on large posters to go along with each station, and there are places to sit and read these scriptures and pray and reflect for as long as you'd like. It's also pretty hands on. In the station where Pontius Pilate washes his hands, absolving himself from responsibility for Jesus' death, there was a bowl of water and a towel, so we could each wash our hands too. In the station that reflects on his beating, there were quite a few props from old plays/musicals our choir has done. There was a fake pillar with chains hanging from it, and a whip and wooden staffs. We read the scripture at that station and talked about how Jesus was flogged (beaten), hit in the head with a staff, spit upon, and slapped and hit. We talked at length about WHY this was done to Jesus, and why He endured it. It was very powerful.
I took L and C first, and when we went there was no-one else there. It was very quiet and we had the opportunity to spend lots of time at each station. At the crucifixion station they had erected a wooden cross and had paper and pens, nails and hammers available. We were to write a message, or our name, or whatever we wanted to write on the paper, and then nail it to the cross. L and C spent quite a bit of time thinking about the sins they wanted to write on the papers. C decided not to write anything at all, but L had me help him write something he was sorry for on his card, and then we nailed it to the cross. The cross was full of papers from previous worshippers. I think it was a powerful visual to my boys that it was OUR sins which nailed Jesus to the cross, not His.
When I took the older two children there were many others there and we had to wait before proceeding into each station. It wasn't quite as worshipful an atmostphere, but still very meaningful.
Our whole family then attended the Good Friday worship service in the evening, which was another wonderful time to reflect on Jesus' suffering and all He went through for us. For me. I can't comprehend love like that, but I'm so grateful to live in it each and every day.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
A Conversation with our Daughter
This week I taught our daughter a new "dress-up" to use in her writing. We discussed strong verbs, that is, verbs that have more impact because they are not over-used. Then we started a banned words list. She can no longer use the words "go/went" or "say/said". She must use synonyms for these words. I could tell that she felt very grown up to learn this, but also that she was struggling a bit with thinking of suitable synonyms.
8 year old G: What is this pink posterboard for?
Daughter: It's for my banned words.
8 year old G: What are banned words?
Daughter: They are words I can't use anymore when I'm writing. See, I learned about strong verbs and we're going to write the weak verbs on this posterboard and then list other words to use instead. And I have FIVE dress ups now that I have to put into each paragraph!
Me, smiling.
Daughter: Why are you smiling like that?
Me: I'm just smiling because you're getting older and are learning so much about how to write well.
Daughter: Yeah, but it's kindof hard.
Me: I know, but you're ready for it to be harder. After all, you'll be in middle school next year.
Daughter, with a horrified look on her face: Middle School????? Please don't make me go to middle school!!!
Me, realizing she thought I meant she'd go to a brick and mortar school: Oh sweetie, I meant you'd be in middle school at home. Daddy and I would never decide to send you to a classroom school without talking with you first.
Daughter, much relieved: Oh, good!
8 year old G: What is this pink posterboard for?
Daughter: It's for my banned words.
8 year old G: What are banned words?
Daughter: They are words I can't use anymore when I'm writing. See, I learned about strong verbs and we're going to write the weak verbs on this posterboard and then list other words to use instead. And I have FIVE dress ups now that I have to put into each paragraph!
Me, smiling.
Daughter: Why are you smiling like that?
Me: I'm just smiling because you're getting older and are learning so much about how to write well.
Daughter: Yeah, but it's kindof hard.
Me: I know, but you're ready for it to be harder. After all, you'll be in middle school next year.
Daughter, with a horrified look on her face: Middle School????? Please don't make me go to middle school!!!
Me, realizing she thought I meant she'd go to a brick and mortar school: Oh sweetie, I meant you'd be in middle school at home. Daddy and I would never decide to send you to a classroom school without talking with you first.
Daughter, much relieved: Oh, good!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Today's little daily things
Tonight was a MOPS night. Great speaker and great topic, "Media and your children". I was immediately convicted that my hubby and I watch too much tv. We are pretty good at limiting our children's viewing, but we don't limit ours as much. Something to work on!
Our CD player stopped working a few days ago so our son who has SPD has not had listening therapy at home since then. This is our third CD player that has broken (in about 5 years). I usually buy the cheapest one at Target, but I'm tired of them breaking so I may have to spring for a more expensive one. Actually I would love to buy him a personal CD player so he can wear it in his little CD player fanny pack (which came with the headphones) and be mobile while he's listening.
My hubby's glasses broke today. The earpiece broke off the stem. I told him he'd have to be a geek until next payday and wear his glasses with tape around the break. He smiled at me and said he's be a geek for a lot longer than that! (he's a really cute geek though). His big deadline at work was extended another week (by the client) so this is his big push week. Hopefully he can get everything wrapped up by Saturday and enjoy Easter.
We did history in the van today. We are reading about the French and Indian war. I read while the children colored. Yes, the van was parked. :-)
Little Man stayed dry through Tiny Tots at church this evening. Yay! He seldom goes at church, so I have to take him potty right before we leave the house and then again as soon as we get home. He was very excited about getting a big plastic egg full of jelly beans from his Tiny Tots teacher.
I am trying to plan our day on Friday. We don't have co-op and aren't doing school at home. I'm torn between doing some fun outing with the kids, or some kind of activity that focuses on Christ's sacrifice. Maybe we can do both? Any ideas?
Our CD player stopped working a few days ago so our son who has SPD has not had listening therapy at home since then. This is our third CD player that has broken (in about 5 years). I usually buy the cheapest one at Target, but I'm tired of them breaking so I may have to spring for a more expensive one. Actually I would love to buy him a personal CD player so he can wear it in his little CD player fanny pack (which came with the headphones) and be mobile while he's listening.
My hubby's glasses broke today. The earpiece broke off the stem. I told him he'd have to be a geek until next payday and wear his glasses with tape around the break. He smiled at me and said he's be a geek for a lot longer than that! (he's a really cute geek though). His big deadline at work was extended another week (by the client) so this is his big push week. Hopefully he can get everything wrapped up by Saturday and enjoy Easter.
We did history in the van today. We are reading about the French and Indian war. I read while the children colored. Yes, the van was parked. :-)
Little Man stayed dry through Tiny Tots at church this evening. Yay! He seldom goes at church, so I have to take him potty right before we leave the house and then again as soon as we get home. He was very excited about getting a big plastic egg full of jelly beans from his Tiny Tots teacher.
I am trying to plan our day on Friday. We don't have co-op and aren't doing school at home. I'm torn between doing some fun outing with the kids, or some kind of activity that focuses on Christ's sacrifice. Maybe we can do both? Any ideas?
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Reading Fanatic
Our daughter has become me. I am thrilled! When I was her age I walked a mile to school and a mile back, reading the whole way. My nose was nearly always in a book. Today as we left the house to take her brother to his occupational therapy, she read the whole way to the van, the whole way there, while we sat in the van, and the whole way back. I had assigned one chapter today. She read three. Such is the lure of a truly good book!
I can't take all the credit for this, of course (much as I'd like to!). Some children who are exposed to good literature from infancy and are read to for hours on end, as all our children have been, really don't have their own love affair with books until they are much older. I have tried hard not to expect that all our children will be strong readers. So perhaps that is why it is so wonderfully thrilling to me that at least one of them IS!
I am having to really speed read to stay ahead of her in this book. In fact, she is ahead of me at this moment. But it's a great book that's hard to put down, so I'm sure I'll catch up quickly. ;-) What book is this you might ask? Yesterday she began Calico Captive, which is the true story of a young lady and her family who were captured by Indians and sold to the French during the time of the French and Indian War (1754-1763). It's very gripping.
I am so thankful for good books! And I'm so thankful that my own parents read to me, read their own books in front of me, and still read for pleasure. My mom took us girls to the library each week with a large cardboard box which we would fill to the brim. The next week we'd return all those books and fill up the box with new ones. When I was old enough I was allowed to ride my bike to the library, where I would fill up my bike basket with gems that I had picked out all by myself. It was during that time that I fell in love with biographies. I read the entire shelf of biographies at my elementary school library, and most of the biographies at the public library! I can vividly remember getting my very own library card. Wonderful!
When I was in 6th grade I read the unabridged version of Little Women. It drew me in so completely that even though it was about 3 inches thick (I am not exaggerating) I read it while walking to and from middle school, which was about half a mile each way. I made the mistake of staying in at recess to finish the chapter where Beth dies, and I cried so hard that I was embarrassed when everyone else came back in after recess and wondered what had made me cry!
In 7th grade I read The Longest Day, which is a story of D-Day told from many different perspectives. It was fascinating and horrifying all at the same time. I learned so much about honor and duty and sacrifice from that book. It left an indelible impression on me.
As our daughter reads more and more fluently and makes more of her own choices for what to read in her free time, I pray that I can continue to guide her towards truly great literature, while also allowing her the freedom to read about some topics that may seem more "adult" for her age (such as my reading of The Longest Day at age 12). That's a fine line sometimes. I'm so thankful for the wisdom God gives!
Thanks mom and dad, for instilling in us girls a great love of books and language, and in doing so, blessing your grandchildren even before they were born. And thank you for giving us such good books as gifts. They are treasured and well loved (as the velveteen rabbit was loved!), and they encourage us to continue reading to our children and passing on to them a love of books. In this day and age, it's so much easier to turn on the tv than to pick up a book, so we need all the encouragement we can get!
We are very excited to take our son G on a date to the library to get his own card, when he turns 9 in May. We did this with our daughter when she turned 8, and now it's his turn. He wants this desperately. I can't wait to see his face when he realizes what we're there for!
I can't take all the credit for this, of course (much as I'd like to!). Some children who are exposed to good literature from infancy and are read to for hours on end, as all our children have been, really don't have their own love affair with books until they are much older. I have tried hard not to expect that all our children will be strong readers. So perhaps that is why it is so wonderfully thrilling to me that at least one of them IS!
I am having to really speed read to stay ahead of her in this book. In fact, she is ahead of me at this moment. But it's a great book that's hard to put down, so I'm sure I'll catch up quickly. ;-) What book is this you might ask? Yesterday she began Calico Captive, which is the true story of a young lady and her family who were captured by Indians and sold to the French during the time of the French and Indian War (1754-1763). It's very gripping.
I am so thankful for good books! And I'm so thankful that my own parents read to me, read their own books in front of me, and still read for pleasure. My mom took us girls to the library each week with a large cardboard box which we would fill to the brim. The next week we'd return all those books and fill up the box with new ones. When I was old enough I was allowed to ride my bike to the library, where I would fill up my bike basket with gems that I had picked out all by myself. It was during that time that I fell in love with biographies. I read the entire shelf of biographies at my elementary school library, and most of the biographies at the public library! I can vividly remember getting my very own library card. Wonderful!
When I was in 6th grade I read the unabridged version of Little Women. It drew me in so completely that even though it was about 3 inches thick (I am not exaggerating) I read it while walking to and from middle school, which was about half a mile each way. I made the mistake of staying in at recess to finish the chapter where Beth dies, and I cried so hard that I was embarrassed when everyone else came back in after recess and wondered what had made me cry!
In 7th grade I read The Longest Day, which is a story of D-Day told from many different perspectives. It was fascinating and horrifying all at the same time. I learned so much about honor and duty and sacrifice from that book. It left an indelible impression on me.
As our daughter reads more and more fluently and makes more of her own choices for what to read in her free time, I pray that I can continue to guide her towards truly great literature, while also allowing her the freedom to read about some topics that may seem more "adult" for her age (such as my reading of The Longest Day at age 12). That's a fine line sometimes. I'm so thankful for the wisdom God gives!
Thanks mom and dad, for instilling in us girls a great love of books and language, and in doing so, blessing your grandchildren even before they were born. And thank you for giving us such good books as gifts. They are treasured and well loved (as the velveteen rabbit was loved!), and they encourage us to continue reading to our children and passing on to them a love of books. In this day and age, it's so much easier to turn on the tv than to pick up a book, so we need all the encouragement we can get!
We are very excited to take our son G on a date to the library to get his own card, when he turns 9 in May. We did this with our daughter when she turned 8, and now it's his turn. He wants this desperately. I can't wait to see his face when he realizes what we're there for!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Weekend in Pictures (with a few words)
I hung a couple new hooks in our basement stairwell where the kids hang their coats. One of my small but frequent annoyances has been taking out the Awana stuff from everyone's backpacks on Thursday and putting in co-op stuff. Where do I keep the Awana stuff in the meantime? To solve this problem I hung a basket on the top hook. This is the new home for our Awana vests and Tiny Tots shirt in between Wednesdays. The hook below the basket is the new home for our son C's "church bag" - his quiet activities for worship service. I am a happier mommy now. As my friend Amy says, "it's always the little things." (and I'm kindof proud of the fact that I did this all by myself!!)
On Saturday evening we went to an event at another church (the church where we meet for co-op). They were hosting the "Stand Strength" team, which is a group of power lifters who lift, break and bend things with incredible strength, all the while weaving scripture into their demonstration.
Getting ready to break through 20 patio bricks, 10 with each elbow. This was truly amazing!
Lifting a 400+ pound telephone pole.
Inflatables!! (I know these are blurry pictures, but the children wanted me to put them on my blog) :-)
Earlier in the day on Saturday I had a successful buying experience at the homeschool book fair. Here is most of what I bought (most of it for next year), minus our Math U See materials which will be coming in the mail this week. That pile alone will be about 8 inches high!
On Saturday evening we went to an event at another church (the church where we meet for co-op). They were hosting the "Stand Strength" team, which is a group of power lifters who lift, break and bend things with incredible strength, all the while weaving scripture into their demonstration. Here's Little Man waving his glow stick during praise and worship at this event.
Getting ready to break through 20 patio bricks, 10 with each elbow. This was truly amazing!
Lifting a 400+ pound telephone pole.
Inflatables!! (I know these are blurry pictures, but the children wanted me to put them on my blog) :-)
Earlier in the day on Saturday I had a successful buying experience at the homeschool book fair. Here is most of what I bought (most of it for next year), minus our Math U See materials which will be coming in the mail this week. That pile alone will be about 8 inches high!
Spelling, grammar, phonics.
I couldn't resist a few books to include in our current history study, and a couple for next year.
A few new art supplies and a cool new lace-up activity for Little Man to use in his "schooltime" next fall (he asks to "do school" all the time!).
I couldn't resist a few books to include in our current history study, and a couple for next year.
A few new art supplies and a cool new lace-up activity for Little Man to use in his "schooltime" next fall (he asks to "do school" all the time!).
Saturday, March 15, 2008
We love co-op!
Yesterday was our day at homeschool co-op. We love co-op and I'm so thankful for the blessing it is to our family! On Thursday evenings I don't like co-op, because I'm usually up later than I want to be preparing for the day (packing up backpacks and snacks, planning my lessons). But on Fridays I love co-op. I love teaching. I love that we have to get up and be somewhere at a certain time (that's really good practice for homeschoolers). I love that my children are being taught such interesting and educational things. I love that my children are making friends. I love it that I am making friends! There are really so many wonderful people in the world, have you ever thought about that? I used to think that I knew all the best people in the world, and now I know that there are many "best" people I haven't met yet!
The two classes I teach are so much fun. The junior gym class is very high energy of course, and very physical. The drawing class is great because the kids are older and it's delightful to interact with them. I have a helper mom this session who is just as excited to be there as the students are!
Our sons G, L and C are all in one class together called "Magic School Bus", and each week they use a different Magic School Bus book to learn about an aspect of science. Last week it was seeds and they brought home a plastic glove with different seeds "planted" in each of the fingers of the glove, with wet cotton balls to make them sprout. Today we will be transferring the seeds that sprouted to little pots, and later this spring we will transplant them into our garden!
Yesterday in this class they learned about bees and honey. They each brought home a small piece of actual honeycomb, and they quizzed their daddy and me on bee facts all evening long. They love this class! (and I do too! It assuages my guilt that I dropped the ball with our science book this year).
Two of our boys (G and C) are also in a recorder class together, where they are learning to play the recorder. They love this class and I love that they do it at co-op and not at home. :-)
Our daughter G is in a sculpting class that is just fabulous, the Kids of Courage class again (where they learn about christian children who are persecuted for their faith), and my drawing class.
Yesterday after co-op a friend of our daughter G came home with us and spent the rest of the afternoon/evening here. We have been trying to get them together for a playdate since before Christmas, so they were thrilled. G's foot seems to be healing nicely so far. No signs of infection (thanks for asking votemom!). She is still favoring that foot quite a bit, and she says that she "feels it" but it doesn't exactly hurt. There are only one pair of shoes she can wear that don't press on her stitches, so she may look a little "interesting" at church tomorrow.
Today I will be going to an annual homeschool book fair in my area. This is a large book fair, with vendors coming from far away states, and I generally buy a good portion of our curriculum at this fair each year. I will see lots of homeschoolers that I know, so it will be fun!
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