Summer Bird Count

As part of our Nature Study this summer, we did a bird count. I simply printed out a paper on which we could write down the names of birds we saw. I didn't expect to write down more than 5. I was pleasantly surprised! This was definitely a great help for us as I am not a natural "birder".

Bird Count Summer 2012
1. Mourning Dove
2. Mockingbird
3. Downy Woodpecker
4. Common Grackle
5. House Sparrow
6. Killdeer
7. White-winged dove
8. Red-bellied Woodpecker
9. Cardinal
10. Semipalmated Plover*
11. Brown Pelican*
12. Ring-billed Gull*
13. Muscovy Duck
14. Mallard Duck
15. White domesticated Duck
16. Goose
17. Sanderling*
18. Heritage Turkey
19. Great White Heron/Great Egret - not sure which
20. Snipe* - not sure which type

*birds we saw at the beach. Some of them were difficult to identify, so we might not be entirely accurate.

RIP Andy Williams

I have to say it was a proud moment for me when the special on the news came on about the death of Andy Williams, and my kids knew who he was.

"Moon river wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style someday.
You dream maker, you heartbreaker
Wherever you're going I'm going your way.

Two drifters off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end
Waiting 'round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river and me."
- Johnny Mercer

The Beach

We are at the beach. That is all.

Completing the Thought

These pictures were supposed to be in yesterday's post - the handmade part of the party.

Homemade Birthday

I've been meaning to post about the birthday party. So here's the post. My blogger app doesn't always arrange the pictures the way I'd like, so I'll give you a rundown, then the pictures should be self explanatory.

Josie's theme was "cowgirl", and James' theme was "Michelin Man". I had put off Michelin Man for about 2 years now in hopes that *someone* might forget about him, but the affection has not waned with time. Jason decorated James' cake as he is The Man for all things freehanded, and I did Josie's cake. Neither one of us liked our own efforts, but all in all I think they were pretty good.

We had the party at our house, and as August is so very, very hot we had our kiddie pool, sprinkler, and slip n slide set up in the backyard along with a bucket of bubbles, which didn't really make good bubbles, but kept 'em busy for awhile!

For gifts this year, I did mostly homemade gifts. I made James an apron, just like Joel's except blue. Also I embroidered him 3 handkerchiefs. I hope they get good and worn out. His non-homemade gift is a tadpole that will grow into a frog. They didn't tell me when I ordered it that they don't ship to our area until the average temp is in the 80s. Maybe around Thanksgiving he will arrive.

Josie's gifts were two pillowcases for her small pillow, and the Cinderella by Marcia Brown. I highly recommend it, the illustrations are simply beautiful.

I thought they both got some really great gifts this year, and the party was very enjoyable.

A Respite

Anne smiled and said, "My idea of good company, Mr Elliot, is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company."

"You are mistaken," said he gently, "that is not good company; that is the best."

Persuasion, Jane Austen

And this pretty much sums up the last four days.

Home Education, Part 4

I feel like I left many points out of my post on Chapter 3. Perhaps I will come back later with some quotes. There are so many excellent things she has to say....

Part IV - Some Habits of Mind - Some Moral Habits

Once you get to this part of the book you might be wondering which habit you should begin with. Habit training is something I have pondered for many years, both personally and for my children. It is sometimes difficult to prioritize habits. And there is always the problem of your pet peeves receiving priority because that is what drives you and motivates you. Am I the only one here??? Perhaps the solution is to change our thinking. Instead of viewing habits as a million little things that we need, or that we must instill in our children, we need to learn to act upon principle. Forget the unmade bed, forget the dirty socks stuck in the couch, under the couch and left in the car, forget the nose being wiped on the sleeve.

How about the habit of Attention? That is where CM starts, "because the highest intellectual gifts depend for their value upon the measure in which their owner has cultivated the habit of attention."

Anyone who has tried to teach anyone anything knows that it is impossible to do it without the other person's attention. So yes, it's the best place to start.

CM writes of how our thoughts follow a pattern, a "law of association of ideas", which is "a good servant and a bad master." It is not always an easy task to direct our thoughts, probably especially to children. Children do follow this law of association, and I think parents would do well to teach, or rather *train*, their children to be masters of, and not slaves to, it.

"Here is the secret of the weariness of the home schoolroom––the children are thinking all the time about something else than their lessons; or rather, they are at the mercy of the thousand fancies that flit through their brains, each in the train of the last. "Oh, Miss Smith," said a little girl to her governess, "there are so many things more interesting than lessons to think about!"

Where is the harm? In this: not merely that the children are wasting time, though that is a pity; but that they are forming a desultory habit of mind, and reducing their own capacity for mental effort."

I believe many people do not realize that they have the capability to train their children in this area.  It requires self discipline to order our thoughts.  We must do it, though.  Life requires it.  To teach our children this habit has every bit to do with training them for life as it has to do with them being able to succeed in school.  CM speaks of beginning to train the habit of attention when your child is an infant.  I absolutely believe in what she speaks of.  When our children were very little and learning to be quiet in church, I did not bring a huge pile of toys to keep them quiet.  I brought a few.  Children do not learn to be content and take notice of things when there are so many options they cannot focus.  The grass is always greener on the other side, the human nature is to always want more. 

"It is the mother's part to supplement the child's quick observing faculty with the habit of attention. She must see to it that he does not flit from this to that, but looks long enough at one thing to get a real acquaintance with it."

So when it comes to school....

"But the tug of war begins with the lessons of the schoolroom. Even the child who has gained the habit of attention to things, finds words a weariness. This is a turning point in the child's life, and the moment for mother's tact and vigilance. In the first place, never let the child dawdle over copybook or sum, sit dreaming with his book before him. When a child grows stupid over a lesson, it is time to put it away. Let him do another lesson as unlike the last as possible, and then go back with freshened wits to his unfinished task. If mother or governess have been unwary enough to let the child 'moon' over a lesson, she must just exert her wits to pull him through; the lesson must be done, of course, but must be made bright and pleasant to the child."

And later....  

"But truly, one of the most fertile causes of an overdone brain is a failure in the habit of attention."

 

So then, what is Attention? 

 

"It is evident that attention is no 'faculty' of the mind; indeed, it is very doubtful how far the various operations of the mind should be described as 'faculties' at all. Attention is hardly even an operation of the mind, but is simply the act by which the whole mental force is applied to the subject in hand. This act, of bringing the whole mind to bear, may be trained into a habit at the will of the parent or teacher, who attracts and holds the child's attention by means of a sufficient motive."

This Habit of Attention then spills over into some of the most important areas of training your children, and which CM addresses:    The Habit of Thinking The Habit of Imagining The Habit of Remembering The Habit of Perfect Execution Obedience Truthfulness   This is a rich chapter, and truly makes you think about the seriousness of the responsibilities of Motherhood.  In fact, I came away from this chapter feeling like a failure.  I know for a fact that CM did not write this chapter with that intention.  Rather, it is my lack of forethought and intention in my parenting that makes me realize my failings when presented to me in this chapter.  If you feel the same way when you read this chapter, don't stay feeling like a failure.  "When you know better, you do better", or at least you should.  And chapter 5 has been such a blessing and I can't wait to write about it! 

The Buck Stops Here

There are a lot of things that I never knew went along with being a mother. Lots of amazing, wonderful things. Seems like that's all you hear about. There are some things that I never heard about. Or maybe I did, and I just thought it'd be different with me. Like:

It sucks being the bad guy all the time.
You will constantly be making them (the kids) do things they don't want to do.
Constantly.
Literally.
All day, if you homeschool.
It gets old.
It is exhausting.
You will want to give up.
You will despair, perhaps.

I realized this past week that I am always having to make the kids do stuff they don't want to do, and I complained to Jason about it. He gave me the old, "Yep, that's your job." Gee, thanks. But actually it helped because kids are very convincing. And manipulative, and I fall prey to it, especially when Jason is gone a lot. So thanks, honey, for being my bad guy and not letting me wallow in the mire. Thanks for helping me wake up and remember - it's my job.

The Catapult

Joel worked on making a working catapult all spring, and on towards summer he made one that really worked. I say *worked* as he is currently disassembling it in order to build Orpheus' harp. He really didn't mess with the catapult much once he got a working one built. But it was really cool, and here are the pictures. Please ignore my messy garage.

Are We There Yet?

I have been attempting to write my post on Chapter 4 for over a week now. I simply CANNOT get myself motivated to quote that much CM when posting from my iPhone. It will have to wait until I can get some free time to go use my in-law's computer.

All this reading and rereading of Chapter 4 in order to write about it has made me restless. It's all about habits, you see. And all I can think of are all the bad habits that I have, and all the good ones I wish I had, and how I think I can begin making aforementioned good habits. All of this plus really needing to just be patient. Just be patient. I know that if I come up with some beautiful, perfect, outlandish plan it will be lovely for about three weeks. Then I will realize that I am the Hare, and should have been content to be the Tortoise that I know I must be, and that really and truly Aesop was right - slow and steady does win the race. At least the sort of long haul that I am on anyway.

In other news, we have two weeks left of our Summer Term. I can truthfully say that I feel like it's gone well. I think what makes me happiest is when I see the boys going to the bookshelf and picking out books we've finished in school in order to read them again for the sheer pleasure of it.

Favorite Quotes This Week

"There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't count"

- Rabbit, The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

"Thus by the Shepherds Secrets are reveal'd,
Which from all other men are kept conceal'd:
Come to the Shepherds then, if you would see
Things deep, Things hid, and that Mysterious be."

- Hopeful & Christian, The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

"'Orpheus shall go with Jason, and bring his magic harp; for I hear of him that he is the king of all minstrels, and can charm all things on earth.'

And Orpheus laughed for joy, and clapped his hands, because the choice had fallen on him; for in those days poets and singers were as bold as warriors as the best."

The Heroes by Charles Kingsley

Home Education, Part 3

Part III - 'Habit Is Ten Natures'

What in the world does that mean? Well, I think it is something that you come to understand, it sort of soaks into you. In other words, it's difficult to explain. But. I shall attempt, if not to explain it well, to give you what insight I gained from this wonderful chapter.

What Charlotte is saying is that habits are your greatest ally in raising and/or educating your children. She says,

"The formation of habits is education, and Education is the formation of habits."

"Habit is TEN natures" is a phrase Charlotte heard in church frequently at the time she was beginning her career. She speaks a little of her experience in the evolution, shall we say, of her philosophy. One of the first things she discusses is the fact that children have "no self-compelling power". Reading this was huge for me. I, like many others, feel like banging my head against the wall every day, ten times a day, because it is so laborious to be on top of the kids all the time. She talks about WHY children are incapable of steady effort, and that they should be saved from the effort of decision. These are all very real things that tend to be burdensome, especially when you have child after child after child. But it's the parent's job to make their children do what they ought to do.

"But it were poor training that should keep the child dependent upon personal influence. It is the business of education to find some way of supplementing that weakness of will which is the bane of most us as well as of the children."

So, here we are again at 'Habit is Ten Natures'. In order to understand what that means we need to understand what 'Nature' is. Our desires. Our affections. Our consciousness of God. Add to that heredity, and physical conditions, and attributes and we begin to have a sense of what our "nature" is. It is nothing to trifle with in a child. She bemoans the fact that a large number of parents and teachers are content to leave children to their human nature. We are not talking about trying to turn our little sinners into saints.

"Wherefore, it is as much the parent's duty to educate his child into moral strength and purpose and intellectual activity as it is to feed him and clothe him; and that in spite of his nature, if it must be so."

"The problem before the educator is to give the child control over his own nature, to enable him to hold himself in hand as much in regard to the traits we call good, as to those we call evil: -many a man makes shipwreck on the rock of what he grew up to think his characteristic virtue..."

She then speaks about Divine Grace, and assures her readers that she is not undervaluing its work.

Returning to 'Habit is TEN natures'. "If that be true, strong as nature is, habit is not only as strong, but TENFOLD stronger. Here, then, have we a stronger than he, able to overcome this strong man armed." Do you begin to see what it means?

Our habits actually run along the lines of our nature. It is nature in action, growing strong by exercise. But habit may be a lever. We can train our children to be courteous, or to never get dirty, or to scream to get their way.

"As a matter of fact, there is nothing which a mother cannot bring her child up to, and there is hardly a mother anywhere who had not some two or three - crotchets sometimes, principles sometimes - which her children never violate."

On to the Direction of Lines of Habit.

"Just as it is on the whole easier for the locomotive to pursue its way on the rails than to take a disastrous run off them, so it is easier for the child to follow lines if habit carefully laid down than to run off these lined at his peril."

She continues in this strain, then stresses the importance of not allowing lapses in order for a habit to grow and strengthen into a nature.

"And do you not take away the child's free-will, make a mere automaton of him by this excessive culture? In the first place, whether you choose to or no to take any trouble about the formation of habits, it is a habit, all the same, which will govern ninety-nine one-hundredths of the child's life: he is the mere automaton you describe. As for the child's becoming the creature of habit, that is not left with the parent to determine. We are all mere creatures of habit. We think our accustomed thoughts, make our usual small talk, go through the trivial round, the common task, without any self-determining effort of will at all. If it were not so - if we had to think, to deliberate, about each operation of the bath or the table - life would not be worth having; the perpetually repeated effort of decision would wear us out. But, let us be thankful, life is not this laborious. For a hundred times we act or think, it is not necessary to choose, to will, say, more than once. And the little emergencies, which compel an act of will, will fall in the children's lives just about as frequently as in our own. These we cannot save them from, nor is it desirable that we should. What we can do for them is to secure that they have habits which shall lead them in ways of order, propriety, and virtue, instead of leaving their wheel of life to make ugly ruts in miry places."

"The boy who has been accustomed to find both profit and pleasure in his books does not fall easily into idle ways because he is attracted by an idle schoolfellow. The girl who had been carefully trained to speak the exact truth simply does not think of a lie as a ready means of getting out of a scrape, coward as she may be."

Notice she does not say that they will not yield to temptation. They have not become sinless, they simply have a strong habit. She drives home again and again through example and illustration the power of habit, and how we are slave to our habits. That is why they are so powerful, and to instill good habits in our children is to do them a world of good.

I love her step-by-step illustration of how mothers ought to go about teaching their children habits. Then the inevitable self-doubting and second-guessing, relaxing, that happens which ruins the progress you've made. To help your child form a habit is such a gift - a "delight in itself", and becomes a real pleasure. It seemed to me that she covered every major issue that a typical mother of young children faces - cleaning up toys, shutting the door behind you, dawdling, tantrums, just to name a few. It is a very thorough chapter, and I highly recommend reading it in its entirety.

More Wishes for James

A subscription to God's World News would be FANTASTIC!
Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel
The Wind in the Willows illus. by Ernest Shepard

Current Favorite Picture

The Wish List

For the two August birthday kiddos:

James:
Read Aloud Bible Stories by Ella Lindvall (any of the 4 volumes)
Little House in the Big Woods (it's his favorite of the series)
Anything by Tasha Tudor
Dover coloring books
Magnifying glass
A medium size rope for practicing tying knots

Josie:
Nightgowns
Hairbands or bows
Small backpack
Anything by Tasha Tudor
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

World Traveller

Actually I only went two states away, but getting out of Texas is quite a feat. Jeana took me to Colorado, and flew me home. Wish I could take the whole family and stay the rest of the summer.

Ways to Save

Looking for a good handicraft option for your kid(dos)? Check and see if your local Home-Depot hosts a kid's workshop. Many do. It's held monthly, on a Saturday morning, and they provide all the materials needed to complete a small wooden item. Safety goggles, hammers, sanding blocks, wood glue, it's all there for you. We have attended our local workshop for the last four months and we have really enjoyed it. The kids have made bird feeders, planters, a small organizer, and a toy truck. They have a different project designed for each month. Great way to teach your kids how to use a hammer if they don't already know! Also helps with reading and following directions! As an added bonus they get their very own Home-Depot orange apron with their name on it, and when their project is finished they get a pin for their apron and a certificate. Go check it out. It's completely free.

Why not make your own yogurt? I thought I didn't have time, just like you are thinking, until someone told me that you could do it in your crockpot. Yes, you can. And for $5.49 you can have a gallon of whole organic milk yogurt, as opposed to $3 a quart at the store.

And while you're at it, make your own laundry soap! I'm in the middle of a personal journey with homemade laundry soap, so I can't give you all the ins and outs of what I do yet. But I can tell you that I save a lot of money. And if you're needing to find ways to pinch pennies, here's a way to that most people don't think of.

Happy saving!

This Is Why

Why read poetry to your kids? Here's one reason why.

Barter
by Sara Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.

Summer Term School Planning

My biggest project this month was planning our summer school term. I am playing a little bit of *catch-up still, but that is one reason why we are doing school this summer. My goals in planning were these: keep a lighter than normal schedule, finish Joel's and James' respective terms in 10 weeks to allow a slightly shorter Summer Term but also not rushing - thus defeating the purpose of the way we learn, add in definite times for Nature Study and art lessons (not Artist Study, which we already have covered). I hope and pray that these goals are achievable in real life and not just on paper.

Here's what it looks like on paper. Basically. Monday-Thursday lessons. No Friday lessons!!!! I am saving Nature Study and art lessons for Fridays. More on that later. Morning Time and math in the mornings, read alouds afterwards.

I ended up having $0 for books, but was able to find all 5 books I needed at the Library. Yea! I grabbed Good Queen Bess even though I also had grabbed Shakespeare's biography. She was just a favorite of Joel's last term and thought he would enjoy reading it on his own. He read it already. That and a few other factors have led me to decide to let him read The Children of the New Forest on his own this term. I have been listening to it on Librivox, and I really don't like most of the readers, and I really just don't have the time to devote to it 3x week. So this will be interesting and hopefully really great, too.

We will be studying trees in Nature Study. Very exciting. There are more varieties of trees here than anywhere we've lived in awhile. We will also do a mosquito study, and a bird count.

I really had to put art lessons in, and make them a priority because the boys simply love it. It has taken a year and a half, but we finally have pastels, pastel paper, and You Can Paint Pastels by Marie Blake. I will do a 15-30 minute art lesson with them (all three boys) quasi 1-on-1 each week. I think it is very doable, and I am excited to see what we make. I think it helps to simplify and focus on just one thing - such as just pastels, or just sketching, or whatever. Also, thinking of it as only 10 lessons really makes it seem very doable. Also I hope to remember Sketch Tuesday every week.

The bulk of my actual planning was for Morning Time. I plan exactly what is going to happen every morning (if you don't take charge, THEY will), so it takes a good bit if planning. Here's the jist of what we're doing:
Folk Songs: Simple Gifts/Click Go the Shears
Hymns: Sweet Hour of Prayer/Rock of Ages, also a variety of Patriotic Hymns
Bible: Genesis, Gospel of John
Memory Work: John 10:27-30, Ps 67, a poem per child
Manners: Hat etiquette, interrupting, more to come
Artist Study: Albert Bierstadt
Composer Study: Mendelssohn
Shakespeare: Pericles, Measure for Measure, As You Like It
Read Alouds: Buffalo Bill, James Herriot's Treasury for Children, Blue Fairy Book, American Tall Tales, Pilgrim's Progress
Poetry for respective Terms

*Feeling like you are behind schedule is a part of homeschooling. It. Just. Is. I say I am playing catch up because I am not quite where I want to be. That's just a part of life, and so I almost don't feel behind, it's more of a "slow and steady wins the race" feeling.

And then it was ... July???

This month was over before it began. I had it so cram packed full of things to do and places to go. I hoped against hope that I hadn't packed it too full.

I packed it too full. In other words, if all the things I planned for June were groceries, the groceries would be spilling out of the bag and busting it. Oh yea, and one of the handles would break.

But lest you begin to believe that I really deserve to be pitied, let me assure you that it has been a wonderful fun-filled month. I have traveled all over Texas, now it is oh-so-nice to be at home and have nowhere to go.

For 10 weeks. Yes, on Monday we begin our 10-week summer school term. I'm looking forward to it. I have been occasionally dropping an advertisement here and there to the boys, "I'm SO excited about the folksongs we're going to learn in Morning Time.... I can't wait to read another Shakespeare play....". I finally heard, "can't we do Morning Time today???"

Yesssssssssss.

"Nope. You have to wait until Monday."