Fall Leaves Unit Study

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October 11, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert 4 Comments

We found some pretty leaves and some nice pinecones, acorns, and samaras. Few trees are changing colors yet.

I captured a few quiet moments to do some leaf rubbings and still life drawings.

Fall Nature Study

Elizabeth focused on the acorns.

Katie enjoyed the leaf rubbings and really wanted to do a rubbing of the acorn, but it was too “fat.” haha

I love the concentration on Tori’s face here.

Alex was quite fascinated by the leaf rubbings and enjoyed his abstract drawing of leaves. He was too quick for me to get a picture in action!

More Fall Fun:

More Nature Study Fun!
Fall Crafts and Activities!
Fun leaf crafts
Fall unit study
Favorite Fall Books
Apple unit study
Pumpkin unit study
Leaf Study from The Homeschool Scientist
The Enchanted Homeschooling Mom Leaf Study
Living Montessori Now Leaf Study
Falling Leaves Study from Home Hearts
Lots of ideas for Fall Leaf Studies at The Handbook of Nature Study blog!

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Kindergarten Games

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September 11, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

Victoria and Katherine are excited to be in Kindergarten.

They are growing up so fast!

Here they are, having fun while graphing our rainforest animals from our rainforest unit from 2TeachingMommies.

We’re loving our Crayola Dry Erase Activity Center.

Our calendar this month is all about the rainforest too!

Tori had her first soccer game this week! Katie will join her next year, probably on the same team (for my scheduling sanity).

Right now, since Katie is still four, she’s on a Smart Start team that only practices once a week, no games.

The kids had fun reading Pete’s a Pizza.

I plan to start using Draw Write Now this week.

We’re planning to start back up with You Can Read.

We’ll probably need to review the first few units we started last spring. They’re about a quarter of the way through Funnix reading and math. We’re loving Greek mythology in Tapestry of Grace right now.

We’re starting science this week to keep up with co-op. I’m hoping to keep a better school schedule for the remainder of this month and include some fun stuff too! We need to start using our workboxes again.

We started participating in a weekly homeschool co-op last Thursday. I think the girls really loved it. There are three “classes” in the morning, then lunch, then PE.

The girls are in an Apologia Swimming Creatures experiment class, The Young Peacemaker, and geography (with a focus on missions!).

In a way, I don’t like not being with them every minute until after noon, especially since they weren’t able to tell me what all they did. The parents all rotate as helpers/teachers in the classes, so I will be in their classes occasionally.

Kindergarten is a busy year!

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A Snapshot of our Day

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August 25, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

Here’s a day in our homeschool life.

We have a toddler, 2 preschoolers, and 1 finishing elementary.

A Day in Our Life | Our Homeschool Schedule

We’ve pushed our schedule back some…I really just am not a morning person! No 6 AM wake-up calls for me, please!

We get up around 0730 and have breakfast.

The kids get cereal and juice and I guzzle a pot of coffee. Then, together on the sofa, we do Bible and calendar time. We do history and literature reading together as much as their itty bitty attention spans can manage.

Then, we get dressed. Some days, that’s about 10 AM.

So, don’t visit me before noon, y’all. I ain’t like them storybook Southern belles who roll outta bed fully coiffed and already in impeccable makeup. NoSiree. It takes lots of work to look this good and I seldom feel up to it if I don’t really have anywhere to go. Ponytail and glasses and clean clothes will suffice at home, thank you. I know you FlyLady followers out there probably need oxygen right about now to get through the rest of this post.

We do laundry and dishes. I used to have a chore plan with a zone for each day, but I’m not sure what happened. We just clean when we need to lately. Most areas need daily cleaning. That works for now.

I try to get the girls started on their workboxes and computer work. I try to occupy the Bubba during this time. Lately, I’ve had all the kids go outside to play before it gets too hot. Then, they do school work when he naps. They’re much more amenable if they get their outside time. I’m much more amenable if I get some quiet time too.

We eat leftovers for lunch, or snacky things like deli meat, fruit, and veggies. Usually around noonish.

I need to get back into the habit of listening to our composer of the month or an audio book, or at the very least, some jammin’ praise and worship music.

I try to keep the Bubba up as long as I can.

On a good day, he naps about 2.

If he goes down earlier, we don’t get much done in the afternoon. While he naps, Elizabeth gets all her school work finished – Latin, math, reading, writing…all that good stuff. Sometimes, Tori and Katie do more school-related activities, other times, they watch a DVD or play computer games. It really depends on the day and how organized mommy-teacher is that week. And sometimes, they complete their entire week’s worth of activities in two days. Then what?!

Snack time and playtime commence when the Bubba awakes. I prep for dinner and we try to clean up before Daddy gets home. Some days, that happens, and others, well, it doesn’t. Luckily, Daddy doesn’t care too much. But I do. I detest dishes marching across my countertops and partying on the stovetop. Right now, I think they’re doing West Coast Swing in there. I don’t even want to look. On good afternoons, I get to lie around and read while the lil boogers play cuz everything is mostly done. Not this week. Nope. And Daddy has been rolling in after 6:30 PM since he returned from his deployment. With all that extra time, the boogers could be cleaning up, but they’re making more messes. Rather counterproductive. So rude.

Soccer started this week, so our dinner plans are unpredictable. Last night, we ate at 8:30 PM. Tori has practices Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6 PM and Elizabeth has practice on Mondays at 7 PM. Katie has an hour in there somewhere, but no one has felt the need to inform us yet. Commence insanity and slow cooker meals which look like pet food. We will have AWANA beginning next Wednesday at 7 PM. Dinner isn’t that important, right? Don’t studies show that you’ll get fat(ter) if you eat after 6 PM? And don’t most cultures eat larger lunches and smaller dinners anyway? And they’re healthier. That awful S.A.D. diet. sigh

I could do so much more if I didn’t have to eat or sleep.

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Nostalgia

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July 1, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

They say that our sense of smell is our biggest memory trigger.

I would tend to agree. All other senses deteriorate with age, but smell? I don’t think it really does.

Certain fragrances cause a turmoil of emotions, bringing up memories of past experiences and associations.

No one much wears it now, but the perfume L’Airs du Temps perfume reminds me of my grandmother (Mom’s mom). She wasn’t a fancy woman by any standards. She was proper. She was a southern lady. She had 11 brothers and sisters and they grew up very poor. She had her hair set every Thursday. She liked going out to eat. She could cook amazing breakfasts. She loved watching The Price is Right. I awoke to the fragrance the day she died and just knew.

Red Delicious apples remind me of summer afternoons with my father. We would eat tuna salad with Wheat Thins or leftover cold fried chicken (from Church’s) with Pringles and apple slices. I prefer Rome apples, but my daughter, Elizabeth, likes Red Delicious and every time I cut one for her, the scent brings back so many memories of those lunches with my dad.

Peppermint candies remind me of my grandma (Dad’s mom). She always had mints in her purse. She was always sucking on them. She had always smoked, so I think she had those mints for when she couldn’t have a cigarette. She was a regal working lady with hats and gloves and matching accessories. She always looked perfect. She took sarcarm to artistic levels, but she was never mean. She was the godliest and loneliest woman I’ve ever known. Elizabeth looks just like her.

When I was at Essential Oil Beauty School, Dr. Cole Wooley did a little experiment while teaching about oils and emotions.

He had panels of volunteers smell certain oils and describe their memories and feelings.

He used orange essential oil.

He asked a panel to close their eyes and describe their earliest memory of the scent.

The audience was amazed how far back the memories went.

Scent is very powerful.

What’s your earliest memory associated with scent?

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First Day of Summer

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June 21, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert 2 Comments

It’s the First Day of Summer!

Yes, I am a total slacker when it comes to Nature Study. I am a bad Charlotte Mason mommy-teacher.

We love being outdoors and we do talk lots about nature and plants and critters, but I just never seem to document any of it or have drawing pages at the ready. And it’s hard to snap photos while holding a squirmy 30-pound almost 15-month-old (as you can see from the blurry images)!

I have lurked on The Blog for many months and I finally got in gear today to do something productive. We did study dandelions last week, but alas, no photos.

We explored our yard in earnest this morning. Here we have a happy little spider on the spirea. He had lots of buddies hopping around too! Katie just loved him and drew him on her page (see below).

Excited to see our roses about to bloom!

The last of our lilacs. So pretty!

Radishes galore. Katie adores radishes and begged to plants lots and lots. A red lettuce off the side (that’s mine!)…

The girls wanted to do nature notebooking.

We love Productive Homeschooling for printable pages and The Handbook of Nature Study for great ideas.

Here is Tori’s Summer Drawing page. She drew our neighbor’s cherry tree, with a bird’s nest, strawberries, flowers, and radishes.

Katie drew a rose, spider, red pepper, and lilac.

How do you celebrate the first of summer?

I love Productive Homeschooling for notebooking pages.

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Preschool Summer

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June 10, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert 1 Comment

Well, we’ve been displaced from our school room for almost 2 weeks, but we’ve managed to get some stuff done.

The girls love Funnix and now they’re doing the math one too! Katie actually prefers the “numbers game” and I have to make her do the reading one first and then she can do the math one as a reward. Too funny!

Katie was playing the bingo review from You Can Read. I’d call out a word and she’d say, “I’m gonna catch you, ‘my’!” It was just precious.

Tori completing her Bible copywork. We’re going through the Seeds Family Worship CDs and using the printables here.

Katie “posing” while completing more of her sight word work.

I finally broke down and got a lil pool.

I just love this photo of Katie leading Alex. They had so much fun and it’s been the only warm day we’ve had yet.

Tori thought the rain canopy was the coolest.

We love the warm weather!

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Quiet Time with Kids

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June 8, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert 2 Comments

The only quiet I get is when those four little rascals are sleeping. Which means, I get to go to bed around midnight and/or wake up before dawn. If I do both, I am rather a tad bit grumpy. So, lately, I have been greeting my pillow around midnight. And I dread leaving it all alone in the morning.

I don’t get a lot of quiet time to myself with four kids.

I know many things will change when my deployed husband returns home next month. (Many things will have to change when he returns…)

So, I am not a morning person. At all. When I can get the little darlings tucked away in their beds before 9 PM, I am happy to finish some chores and settle down to read. By then, I struggle to read what I should read. I often have to discipline myself to read the Bible instead of the latest Kindle freebie. I try to read a Psalm and/or Proverb every evening before getting too comfy and reading something else. I’m also reading a couple books with online book clubs.

Here is my great, almost brand-new La-Z-Boy recliner I found used on KSL classifieds for only $60! I also found the neatest little table at the thrift store that has a built-in book rack on the bottom.

Voilà! My quiet time/reading nook. Yes, my Rubeus kitty loves his new chair! Didn’t you know he rules this house?!

And here is the battle station. Look how neat and tidy!

I love the smell of organization in the morning.

So, in the mornings, after I’ve been so rudely awakened (occasionally at the unspeakable time of 0530) by a crying baby boy…I say a quick good morning prayer, stumble into his room, try to smile and kiss him and love on him while I change his diaper…stumble downstairs and give him his banana and cereal and cup of milk.

I make coffee (the nectar of the gods). I make it to the desk and check my Facebook and emails and delete 7/8 (a very accurate statistic) of them that are about deals and sales to stores I rarely frequent. (I really should unsubscribe – Who can afford it and who braves actual shopping with 4 kids?)

Then, I read my SOAP verse for the day and pray.

By that time, if I’m lucky (usually I’m interrupted), the boy is done with his breakfast and my coffee is brewed. I wipe him up and let him go wreak havoc on a tidy house…and he doesn’t like his morning naps anymore (what am I to do?)!

I try to settle back in with my cuppa and reading, but that doesn’t always happen. Usually, by that time, my youngest daughter comes bounding down the stairs (can you tell she’s a morning person?) and demands a drink and TV.

I usually go get my eldest daughter up to help me at that point.

On good days, I actually make a hot breakfast and we sit together and read devotions, memory verses, missionary cards, character study, etc.

Then we cheerfully do chores together, like dishes and laundry. I start dinner in the Crockpot or with a marinade.

Then we waltz off to do our read-alouds and family school work.

The lil girls do their Funnix and seat work without complaining usually. Elizabeth is Miss Helper and completes ALL her reading and notebooking in record time.

We all together prepare a lovely nutritious lunch, usually from leftovers.

Lately, the kids have been watching TV with cereal and no milk, much too late into the morning. The basement is still without carpet and all our stuff is in the garage from a sudden flood. Except the TV. The humongous projection TV is jammed into the little living room off the kitchen and it reminds me constantly why I banished it to the basement when we moved here.

I hope and pray to have more discipline to turn the TV off more and focus on finishing our school lessons in the next few weeks before deployment is over.

Many afternoons, I encourage the kids to play in the back yard or quietly in their rooms if the weather is bad.

Some days, I long for bedtime for the kids so I can be by myself for a little while.

How to Have Quiet Time with Kids

There’s a learning curve to having quiet time with kids. I have to model it before I can expect it.

Model quiet time with quiet activities, quiet voices, soft music for short times
Quiet busy bags, activities, or books for young children nearby in a safe space
Designate naptime or rest time mid-afternoon in bedrooms for a half hour or hour for everyone to recharge
Downtime in afternoon with poetry, audiobooks, tea, and/or art
Wind-down time in evening with prayers, stories, snuggles, aromatherapy, soft music

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Tween Update

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June 6, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

Well, it finally decided to get warm around here. It did snow last Monday.

So…I’ve noticed some interesting things lately about my tween.

She’s been much more cheerful and agreeable. She’ll do the dishes without complaint. She’s been willing (mostly) to complete her school assignments. She’s been lots more affectionate, initiating hugs and kisses. She’s been funny and playful. I actually like being around her, most of the time. I think it’s all about God. I think He’s working on her heart and mine. I’ve been trying to give her more freedom to be a kid and have fun, if her chores and schoolwork are completed. And I’ve gotten to the point where if she is having a nasty attitude or being non-compliant, I simply tell her to go pray about it. So much less stress than yelling or snapping at her or any other punishments that never worked. She’ll go away for a few minutes and then come back and apologize and be so much nicer.

Here she is, acting goofy on the swing. She begged for a picture doing her “acrobatics.”

Here is Elizabeth being artistic with a pool toy.

And this is what I found after the 4-year-old asked me for an old toothbrush and carried out an armful of rags and sponges.

Nothing like washing the van and getting on top to really get that icky roof clean, eh?

Before her spring piano and voice recital. She was nervous. She played “O Mio Babbino Caro” by Puccini and “Can Can” by Offenbach. She sang “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat” from The Aristocats. She did well.

So, we’re trying to finish up Unit 1 from Tapestry of Grace, Year 1. Yes, I realize we’re totally off a normal schedule. Who cares?!

We’re still working on Apologia Anatomy. We will pick back up with math and Latin this fall.

We found a Friday park day! And we’re going to be a part of a co-op beginning Sept. 1. They do Apologia science and art and PE, among other things. I’m pretty excited.

We’re heading to Chicago soon for my husband’s sister’s wedding. yay plane ride alone with four kids!

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A Reluctant Queen Book Review

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June 4, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

My review of A Reluctant Queen: The Love Story of Esther by Joan Wolf.

Well, let me begin by saying that I love the story of Esther. Isn’t it just a lovely fairy tale?

This novel is no different. It was a quick read and it was delightful. I really felt sympathy for the characters and could not put the book (or mouse, since I downloaded it on my Kindle for PC) down.

I was disappointed that the author felt the need to create a fictional king. Why not use Xerxes, like most historical accounts suggest? The king in the novel was loving as a man and cold as a king. Xerxes was featured as this king’s brother. I wonder for this choice.

I was surprised that I felt real pity for Haman. The author created his character as a man hungry for the love of the king rather political power. He had such jealousy of anyone close to the king that it just ate him up. Haman was characterized as having a mental disease similar to the obsessions we read about in the news today. I was interested in this new characterization of the villain Haman.

I was hoping for more Biblical references and that the plot would more closely follow the Biblical account of Esther. I would think that Esther would have prayed more.

She was a very real and lovable character in this book. I love how she was characterized in her weakness. The Bible mentions that she fasted and prayed before appearing before the king to ask for an audience. In the book, there was only one meal with the king and Haman, instead of two.

The author left out the reward of Mordecai’s being paraded through the streets for revealing the plot to kill the king. Mordecai was probably the least important character in this book and I would have liked him to appear more interesting.

I understand that this book is fiction, but I can’t even call it historical fiction, much less Biblical fiction.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I just think it could have been better had it more closely followed the Bible and historical account.

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Repairing Broken Roads

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June 3, 2011 By Jennifer Lambert Leave a Comment

The bitter steam of my PG Tips wafts up from the jeweled Indian coaster on the corner of my desk. I sigh, heavy with longing and regrets.

Just today, how many failures and errors and missed opportunities?

Countless.

My angelic towheaded 5-year-old asked, “When do we know we get to meet Jesus?”

I remember the fear I had at her age: wondering who would raise me if my parents died? There was no one, not really. An old uncle or even older grandma; either would probably die before I reached adulthood. I didn’t like the idea of living with either of them. Such horrid thoughts for so young a child. I wonder just exactly what is her fear or is it just curiosity?

I answer her that no one knows how long they have to live and that we should always live a life so to be prepared to meet Jesus. We should pray and do His will and be blessings to others. That seems to satisfy her. This one has such deep thoughts. She often has nightmares. She worries. I see myself in her and it scares me. I want to shelter her, protect her, keep her innocent forever. Give her freedom and encouragement to love unabashedly. I want her to live the barbarian way.

Sometimes, I feel like I’m still sixteen, struggling with the same issues that all teens have: what is my life? It was a frightening and exciting era, full of hope and angst and terror. Much apathy.

It still is frightening and exciting. I think I have mostly gotten over the angst. I reminisce over the errors of my past and cringe. What is my life? What have I accomplished? I quake inside over the inevitable questions that will arise that I want to refuse to answer. Days creep into years and soon now, it will be too late. Scared to be accountable for all that lost time. What if I come up short, wanting?

My tea is cold and bitter now.

I have three daughters to raise to not be like me…despicable me. Let them be bonny and blithe and lovely and loved. Let them not ever have to understand the choices I made.

I have a son to raise to choose a wife who is not at all like me. May he grow up to be a Godly man and choose a virtuous woman from a loving family who will accept him as their own.

May these precious children never know alienation or be disavowed. May they only know love and acceptance.

I know God has a plan. I know God always had a plan. He was with me through all those wretched times when I didn’t call out to Him and all the times I did call out and didn’t hear or heed His answer.

I can wish all I want that I had met my husband when I was, oh, like fourteen…because that would have made some things ever so much simpler, right? I wish he was the only boy I had ever dated.

I often wish I could just erase the 14-28ish years…so many troubles. But, I guess it makes me who I am, even as messed up as all that is.

So, now I pray that God can use my past for good.

He promises that, right? Romans 8:28

Kids growing up in sheltered and safe households with little knowledge of the evils of the world don’t know how great they’ve got it. I often wish I had not known the world so intimately.

I pray my kids have a linear and easy road to adulthood.

I wish I hadn’t gone down so many broken roads.

What would I do differently if I could do it over?

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