The Formula for Math

My family is celebrating Mother's Day today, Saturday, by giving me the day off! It is a wonderful, thoughtful gift. I am enjoying it so much.

The beautiful flowers all my men gave me for Mother's Day. A girl's dream!

Thor and Nick Fury from The Avengers. One of my other Mother's Day gifts! A nerdy girl's dream!

 I have been sitting in my quiet room (except for the times the Monkey comes in to let me know people are not doing his bidding), watching movies on my computer and reading books. I just received Cookie Boy's new math book today, and could not put it down until I read it cover-to-cover.

You will draw one of two conclusions from that last sentence. Either:
a) "She must be one of those "math nerds", who really gets into Khan Academy and things like chemistry."
or
b) "She is really weird."

Both of those would be incorrect. Well, okay...I am a little weird. But mostly, b is an incorrect answer to this particular question.

First, to clarify, I am not a math nerd.

I am, generally, abysmal in math. For example, I was never in the "higher math" classes in school. Except eighth grade. The school sent my mother and me a letter the summer before eighth grade, informing us I was being placed in advanced pre-algebra.
 My mother read it, and promptly called the school to see if there had been a mistake.
There had not been a mistake.

Now, this seems like the kind of incident that a child might resent her mother for, holding it against her for life.
"You never believed in me and my ability to do higher math! If you had just believed in me, I could be teaching Linear Algebra at Harvard right now!"

Nope.
 I believe I was standing at my mother's elbow when she made the call, and when we found out there had been no mistake, we looked at one another and shrugged. She said something equivalent to, "If you want to take advanced Pre-algebra, that is up to you."
I gulped, thought about it, and accepted the challenge.
It was the only year I ever attempted an advanced math class.
Except chemistry - which is not a math class, per se, but a science class with a lot of advanced math in it.  Ms. Alfieri had pity on me and let me wash lab equipment for bonus points to bring me to a passing grade. Saintly woman.

I even chose a college major based on how much math I had to take.

True (embarrassing) stories.

Suffice it to say, math was never my forte.

Which is why it totally makes sense that I coach an engineering and robotics team.

Life is full of irony.
Which brings us back to the question: Why was I eagerly reading a math book on my day off today?

Let me first say this: I am finishing up my 9th year homeschooling my children. I have come to this truth: I could have learned math, and learned it well. I am learning, even as I teach my children, even at my ripe old age of thirty-mumblemumble. 

There are many different ways to approach math, it turns out. I always thought numbers were not complicated, opposed to learning the different rules for using the comma, reading TS Elliot, or learning all the reasons why the War of 1812 occurred. I mean, 2+2=4, and there just is not any other way about it.
Turns out, math is just as simple and complicated as anything else. And there are many ways to teach it, approach it, and learn it.
The way I was traditionally taught in school just did not work for me. I was always confused. I could memorize formulas, but use them???? Hah! (Actually, taking Metaphysics was much the same experience for me. I memorized every single thing I could, but just could not apply any of it. For one year. Then, it all made sense. I guess I have a slow brain.)

Each of my three big boys is taking a different math course. I used Saxon with all of them in their younger elementary years. When The Young Adult was in 6th grade, he almost exploded from hatred of Saxon math. Perhaps "hatred" is not a strong enough word for what he felt. He had a complete aversion, antipathy to the abomination he felt Saxon math to be.
And his grades fell....fast.
He begged me to find him a new math course. I could see the sense in that. I looked around.

Don't let anyone tell you homeschoolers are always nice and without prejudice. All you need to do to counteract that little fallacy is get on a message board about math and read the threads about what math curriculum to purchase. I have never in my life felt so much like I was walking a battlefield laced with mines, which were constantly exploding in my face.
Apparently, math curriculum is a very hot topic.

In the end, I found a program called LIVE Online Math. The Young Adult needed a teacher, and this program offered a video course along with a once-a-week online classroom meeting. It is a great program. Mr. Bovey is an excellent teacher. He might also become a saint after a few years of teaching The Young Adult.
I thought, as homeschoolers, I would never have the experience of of getting a note sent home from a teacher.
Wrong.
God bless Mr. Bovey.

Anyway.....
Romeo also wanted to switch. After braving the math threads again, I decided to try him out on Singapore Math. He took to it like a nerd takes to Tolkien, and he has been happily zooming through Singapore, learning the ability to do mental math in a very speedy manner.

Cookie Boy, however, decided to stick with Saxon. (He is not a fan of change, in general.) Fine. It works for him. But now he is taking Saxon Algebra 1/2 and is doing fine, but....I have not been totally convinced it is meeting his needs. However, I could not find a program to switch him to that offered enough....mathy reasons to switch. Cookie Boy really likes math. He says he maybe even wants to teach math when he grows up.
I wonder if he is actually related to me?

Almost two weeks ago, I attended a conference where the speaker brought some curriculum she used, in order to show us examples of what her family did.

Now, another thing to know about homeschoolers - most of us are kind of crazy about curricula. We love us some good curricula! Homeschool fairs or homeschool conventions? All KINDS of curricula to explore! We are forever talking shop with one another: "What do you use for science/math/history/literature/Latin? how does that work? Can I see?" We like to swap curricula, borrow curricula, try out new curricula - we are all kind of nerdy-nerds.

So, like the good homeschooler I am, I listened up as the speaker displayed all her books on two tables. Books I have never used! Some I have never heard of! Some I have heard of, but never witnessed in person. Dozens of books for me to flip to through! Sigh!!!!

One was a math series, Life of Fred, by Stanley F. Schmidt, Ph. D.. I had heard of it, but only in passing. She even spent a few moments talking about that series. As I sat there and listened, it intrigued me. At break, I went and got my hands on that book. As soon as I read two pages, I KNEW I had found the new math program for Cookie Boy.

In fact, if Cookie Boy grew up and wrote a math program, he would write Life of Fred.

Math awesomeness - Life of Fred

 It is genius. Smart, witty, funny, thoughtful and simple. I actually read one whole book and felt cheated when the book ended, mid-story. A math cliff-hanger?

Fred, in the book I purchased, is a 5 1/2 year old little boy who teaches mathematics at KITTENS University. He is kind of smart and kind of gullible. He gets into all kinds of interesting situations, like, is he supposed to use the lamb in the back yard to make lamb pizza? How do you open a box with blunt scissors (and how NOT to open said box)? And how to get fired from a job in a pizza place in one day. Oh yeah, you also learn all about fractions, as well.
You can go here to read a sample from the book we purchased, Life of Fred: Fractions. We are going back a little to make sure Cookie Boy has all the concepts, as taught in this sequence.

I can't wait for Cookie Boy to begin this. I have a feeling we have a winner.

The High School Decision

It is almost spring, which means it is time to think about the next school year.

After 9 years of homeschooling, we are at a crossroads. The Young Adult will be in 9th grade next year - high school.
(Am I really old enough to have a child in high school? Didn't he just get out of diapers? They told me it would go fast when he was little, but I scoffed at them. I was too tired to even care. But now? Some days, I would love to go back and hold my little boy for a while. Sniff!)
The Young Adult announced last year he thought he wanted to try public school. My rule with the boys is that we are okay with them trying public school, but they cannot enter during their middle school years. I mean, there is so little good about middle school....shudder.....
Besides, 9th grade would be an ideal time to enter the school system, as everyone is headed to a new school, and being new would not be so hard.

I felt mixed by his decision.
 Part of me cheered - I could relax and let a school keep track of all his work, grades, classes and assignments. I would not have to worry about keeping a transcript. Or college requirements. And he could try that attitude he gets on some school teachers and see where that gets him!
Part of me was sad - He is getting such a great education at home and through the parts of homeschooling that are not at home. He would be giving up a lot of freedom

But, I understood his reasoning. He wanted to see what he had been missing, to be with peers, and to meet girls.

But he, too, has been conflicted. I gave him the deadline of March to make his final choice. He has talked to friends on both sides of the schooling fence, asking opinions, weighing options.

The Decision has been made - he has chosen to continue his homeschooling journey.

And I am starting to figure out exactly what I am going to need to do to help him with this adventure.

Pretty funny. The woman who said, when this same child was an infant, "I am not sure we will be able to afford private school when he is older. We went to public school and we turned out okay. All I know is - I am NOT homeschooling."

Here is to a new adventure!

Tuesday Things

Yesterday was Laundry Monday, and I forgot! Since you are dying to know what I found in the laundry this week, here ya go!

At the 12 o'clock position we have a brown scapular, belonging to Romeo. He was wondering where that went! Going clockwise, we have a Lego figure at the 2 o'clock place. I like that he looks upset have having gone through the wash! Next in our loop is a marble. I wash shocking amounts of these.
The last two items in our laundry round-up last week are actually the property of ArtGuy. A receipt, and some candy. I always tell him I find all kinds of little candy wrappers in his pockets. I know he thinks I am exaggerating, but it is true! Here is proof!
That is all for the laundry this time. I...well....I kind of did not do much laundry last week. I am paying for my sins now, though.

Today was a good school day. All three school kids had history tests. Not sure the stars have all lined up that way before! History has been a little bit tough for us. All three big boys actually like history. They enjoy our curriculum, they like the stories and the information. It is remembering it all that is hard. And the maps. Yikes! The maps!!!
Romeo is using Memoria Press's Famous Men of Greece. He is still in the first part, where it is mainly mythology, which he loves. I simplified the test a little for him. I gave him a word bank for the 28 "identify" questions, and only had him answer one of the essays, instead of the six given. At eight, his writing process is fairly slow, and I don't want him to feel discourage. I also simplified the maps this time. They wanted 25 places identified on the maps, including Lake Stymphalus, Nemea, and other more obscure places around Greece and the Peloponnesus. I had him stick to the "classics", like Crete, the Hellespont, Troy, Athens, and so on. He made an 98!!!
Cookie Boy is using Memoria Press's Famous Men of the Middle Ages. If you ever have read the Harry Potter books, you will be familiar with the History of Magic class Harry took with Professor Bins, filled with crazy named goblins, wizards, and other creature. Well, this part of the Middle Ages reminds me of History of Magic! It is full of crazy names, like Theodric the Ostrogoth, Aetius, Genseric the Vandal, or whatever! I did not pare down any of Cookie Boy's test, including the map. He made an 88%! I was very proud of him. A tough test, but a great grade.
The Young Adult is using Story of the World volume 4. He loves modern history, but wow! Susan Wise Bower jumps all over the globe. One week he is studying 19th century China and Britain, and the next he is reading about Paraguay and the Triple Alliance, and Canada and the British North American Act! It is hard to keep up with, and a MUCH more thorough grounding in world history than I ever received! The format is quite a bit different than Memoria Press, which he did for several years. Poor Young Adult has been making C's on all his tests, really struggling with processing the right information. Well, today he scored a 100%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was so proud of him! He was proud of himself, too!

Faith Wednesdays

The schedule we follow for homeschooling has some subjects that are daily (Latin, math, composition, history, Logic for The Young Adult), and subjects that we highlight once a week. Mondays are Literature days, Tuesdays are US Geography, Wednesdays are faith, and Thursdays are science.

So, today is Wednesday! Faith day! We are using Memoria Press's Christian Studies I (which they say takes one year to complete, but it takes us 2 years every time I do it!). In addition to that, I plan on crafting a faith program for us to use.

So, every Wednesday, we will learn

• a new prayer
• a saint
• something special about our faith
• our Christian Studies lesson

Prayer of the Week : The Angelus

The Angelus, by Millet

This is a beautiful older prayer that helps us to remember that God became man and dwelt among us. It praises the sweet "yes" of Mary at the moment the angel Gabriel came to announce she would be the mother of the Messiah. It ends with a prayer that reads like poetry, asking for grace  from the God of the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection to be united with him one day.

This prayer was traditionally recited at 6am, noon, and 6pm. The ringing of the Angelus bells called the faithful to stop and pray. The Angelus bell can be rung a total of nine times, in three sets of three, with a pause between each set.

Leader: The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary
All: and she conceived by the Holy Spirit
All: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinner, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Leader: Behold, the handmaid of the Lord
All:  Be it done unto me according to Thy word
All: Hail Mary, full of grace....

(bow or genuflect, as a sign of respect for the moment of Incarnation during the following lines)
Leader: And the Word was made flesh
All: And dwelt among us.
All: Hail Mary, full of grace...


Leader: Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God
All: That we made be made worthy of the promises of Christ

All: Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts;
that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel,
may by his Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Ressurection, through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.


 Saint of the Week:  
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Kolkata)

Right now is a wonderful time to celebrate the life of this extraordinary servant of God. Thursday, August 26 would have been the 100th birthday of Mother Teresa. September 5 will be the 13th anniversary of her heavenly birth.

Mother Teresa was both a simple woman and a complex person. Her faith was deep, but so childlike. To her, the will of God was all there was. As God called her to serve "the poorest of the poor", that is exactly what she did. Mother Teresa is remembered for her passionate defense of life - each and every life in every state no matter what. This tiny dynamo had no problems admonishing the so-called great of this world to defend life and care for each person in their reach. Yet she also tenderly loved the ill, the sick, the dying, the abandoned, the ones who needed love the most.

As I prepared this part of the lesson, it amazed me to think that none of my children were born when Mother Teresa was alive. True, I was a few months from giving birth to The Young Adult as I sat watching Mother's funeral. Still, they are familiar with her name.

There are so many resources for learning about Blessed Mother Teresa. 

Available now is an absolutely stunning special edition of Time magazine, featuring Blessed Mother Teresa (see the picture above). I was making an emergency stop at CVS last week when I saw it, and despite it being $12, I had to buy it. The photographs are gorgeous. The stories are moving. Every one of the boys, not to mention ArtGuy and myself, have been reading and re-reading through this magazine.

We also used a beautiful book by Demi, simply called Mother Teresa. The illustrations are lush and colorful. The story of Mother's life is told simply enough.

Netflix has one video, "Great Souls: Mother Teresa" on demand. It is not really suitable for young children, but older children and adults might enjoy it. It uses a lot of authentic footage, so it is interesting to get a glimpse into India in general. But there is a really creepy section on the riots early in Mother's residency in India.
Netflix has several other choices via mail.

I have different books of Mother Teresa, her words, her quotes. I never fail to come away happier and more inspired from even a brief reading.

"It is not how much we do but how much love we put in the doing that makes our offering something beautiful for God." - Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

EWTN is running a show called "A Day with Mother Teresa" on Aug 26 at 2am and 5:30pm Central time! They also have a great commemorative site for Mother Teresa!

Summer School

Our school year has begun, and it is like a million degrees outside. So, this session of school will be called Summer School!

The Young Adult spent the night with a friend, and has not returned yet. So it is Romeo and Cookie Boy slaving away this morning, while the Mad Toddler runs around with a blue toy basket on his head, shouting, "I so funny"! Great - another comedian.

The school boys are working on science workbooks for the moment. The Mad Toddler has switched to jumping from cushion to cushion on the floor.

Today we covered: math, Latin, history (Greece for Romeo, Middle Ages for Cookie Boy), literature (Romeo is still finishing up Norse Myths from last semester) and science. Romeo finished his Latin lesson and then followed it with some Latin recitation. In medieval history, Cookie Boy compared Teutonic mythology of the creation of the world vs the Norse creation myth. For Ancient Greece, Romeo continued a review of the gods and did some map work. We also had a break in there for some jumping jacks, push-ups, and sit-ups.
The Mad Toddler held "Advanced Strength Training" by jumping on his brothers' backs for push-ups!

The Mad Toddler has decided to play with a toy ATM instead. Beep-beep! beep beep beeeeeep!

Romeo finished his science lesson by performing an experiment involving pushing and pulling forces.

Things to do:

• plan for Saturday's First Lego League meeting
• do more laundry
• make lunch
• plan dinner
• lose 20 lbs

School Prep

Two days until school starts, and I am not ready!

Today is a cleaning day - clean the school room, put away last year's work (which I was only too grateful to ignore during our summer break), and get this year's books and supplies out and waiting.

I always loved the first day of school. New pencils and pens, new books, new classes, new promise. The beginning of school always held that note of promise, that this year I would shine, this year I would find my way, this year would be full of fun and growth. Well, I was always a nerd!

I hope my kids get that same experience, in spite of homeschooling in classes of one! They always seem excited about the new supplies, and they greet each new package of new books with sequels. I know they are excited about the start of our homeschool coop, about a month away. They love those classes, and being with their friends for a while.

So now, it is tidy and organize! At the moment our school room is a mess, as I have dragged the Mad Toddler's toys out of his bin. It is time to put away the little baby stuff and face the fact that it is no longer links and rattles, but trains, cars, and blocks that amuse him! At just over two, I will need to come up with some items to occupy him during school time. He is not quite ready for the preschool "While I Wait" box I assembled for Romeo when he was 3 and 4. I have kept back some special art supplies for him, among a few other things.

ArtGuy has all the boys at the community pool for the moment. I am blasting some cool music while I try to tame the mess around me. The air is heavy with the scent of cleaners as I scrub shelves and windowsills. It is blissful!

Now, back to work!

Math Woes

Ugh! Math! Remember the scandal over the Barbie that said, "Math is hard"? Well, frankly, I didn't understand what the fuss was all about, because I AGREE! (Okay, okay - no angry comments! I do actually understand what the fuss was all about. It was just a literary device to show exaggeration. Honest.)

Frankly, I hate math. It was the bane of my existence in school (along with chemistry, which is a story for another day). My mother actually checked with the school when they placed me in an advanced math class in 8th grade.  Geometry - barely passed it! Algebra - prayed my way through it!

This particular life truth makes teaching math to my kiddos a challenging process. I chose to use Saxon Math, simply because it came with a script for the teacher! Yes, a line-by-line reading of exactly what to say. That made me much more comfortable when in the beginning of our homeschool journey.

Recently, Romeo has decided to try Singapore Math, and I actually like that, too. He wants to continue next year. I am down with that! Cookie Boy is happy with Saxon and has no desire to move. That is good, too!

The problem is with the Young Adult....again! Always drama there. A houseful of boys does not mean the absence of drama! The Young Adult has never liked math per se, but has always done well. Until this year. This year, it has been like watching the Titanic sink...slowly....over and over.

He is still working on finishing Saxon Math 7/6. With another 20 lessons to go, we are talking another month of work. The problem is his grades, which have been slowly dropping all year. He seems to understand the lessons, but mangles homework problems and tanks tests.

ArtGuy was supposed to be on the case, but after a week of two of helping out, disappeared from the homeschooling scene, much to my stress and sorrow. So, it has been back to me. And trust me, I am not a good one for explaining where you went wrong in a math problem.

Now I am trying to decide if he needs to repeat this particular year in math. Also, I am thinking of using the Saxon Dive CD's to help teach him. For now, we are going to take a Saxon break and do some Singapore math to change the pace. The Young Adult is getting quite discouraged, as is his mother!

World Cup Crazy

Yes, we have World Cup Fever!

 Picture by Lisa Solonynko, courtesy of mourgefile.com

 
Four years ago, during a boring summer day, I discovered FIFA World Cup soccer. It was so exciting! At the time, Romeo was 4. He had been wanting to play soccer since he was 1 and attended his brothers' soccer games. As soon as he hit three, he begged for soccer. I put him in SoccerTots to learn the game. He was in heaven.That particular summer we were getting ready for Romeo's soccer debut in the fall league. So, I was curious to watch the World Cup.

I ended up hooked! Now I understood why soccer, or "football", was such a big deal around the world. My first experience with it was actually in Rome in 1993. There was a game somewhere between the Italian team and FC Barcelona. I didn't know this until the the fans descended on the Piazza di Spagna in their jerseys and gear, making it impossible to get through. Very foreign to an American.

Romeo has played in little league since he was 5, fall and spring. He loves soccer with a passion. So it was with great excitement I looked forward to sharing this round of the World Cup with him (and the others, of course).

This morning we gathered around the tv, ESPN guide in hand. We indentified stadiums and towns and discussed in brief aparthied and how Africa was colonized. It hit me - what great fodder for learning! (This is also a problem with having a homeschooling mom - she can turn anything into a "learning opportunity"!).

So, here are some ideas for all the homeschoolers out there, but also for anyone who likes to take their major sporting events a step further!

World Cup Lesson Plan
 This year the World Cup takes place in South Africa. 
1. The best place to start is by orienting the event in your head geographically. Maps, maps and more maps! If you homeschool with children from preschool up through middle school, Enchanted Learning should be your friend! For a simple fee of $20 a year, you have access to a lot of information and worksheets. We use this mainly for geography at the moment, but when the kids were younger, this was also a great resource for science, crafts, writing, and activity books.  
This morning I printed out:

• a map of Africa with simple to follw directions on labeling and coloring major geographic areas.
• A fill-in-the-blank Africa quiz, with a word bank
• a South Africa quiz worksheet
• and a quiz/printout of South Africa's flag

Enchanted Learning is gold, I tell you!

You can also use other sites, of course! Like The Africa Guide. 

2. Learn a little about the history of South Africa and apartheid. This will inlcude learning about Nelson Mandela.

• A Q&A with Mandela in Time for Kids
• Visit the website for the Apartheid Museum, located in Johannesburg, South Africa. This has a lot of info, but as it is not aimed at kids, adults need to look at it first, and as with all websites, with younger children. 
• Check out books from the library on South Africa and Nelson Mandela for kids. 

3. If soccer is not your forte, bone up a little on the subject.

• Soccer Training Guide
• How To Play Soccer
• Learn some soccer rules
• or this from Soccer-for-Parents, which is basically rules for youth soccer, but make those basic rules easier to understand

4. Get to know the FIFA World Cup

• We found a great magazine guide from ESPN - the 2010 World Cup Guide. They had quite a few at our local used book shop (Half-Price Books). We got it for, well, half-price. It contains a lot of valuable info on the venues, the teams, the matches, the groups, a handy glossary, and some stunning pictures. My boys kept it handy through the opening match.
• ESPN's World Cup site
• FIFA's own site
• And this nice article from Kid Glue about why you should watch the World Cup with your kids

5. There are so many matches and countries involved. It seems obvious to learn about the host country, South Africa, but there are so many countries and cultures here. Have your child pick one of the teams, and learn all about their country and a little of the team's history.

6. Provide some cultural snacks during matches. Maybe not every match. Pick a games and try some food that relates to the teams involved. Or order out. Whatever works for you!

Oh, the Perils of Living with a Homeschooler

I actually got a very good start on cleaning my room Tuesday. It looks so much better. I am not done yet, but it is a vast improvement. I was going to show you, but then today we received our Lego Robotics kit for First Lego League. The Young Adult and Cookie Boy were dying to sample it, so I let them, but only in my room. Legos litter the rest of the house, and I do not want to get any part mixed up. They had a blast, but it did add additional clutter to the room. Sigh! Oh well. I will keep on keepin' on!

One thing that has been making me giggle. I am really and truly not a hoarder. However, we homeschoolers are notorious for saving everything, because we will /might/could use it for a project!

"Ummm, honey - why do we have 42 soda bottles in plastic bags?"
"Oh, I am saving those for my science project this fall. It is going to be really cool. It will demonstrate torque and use string and tape and ...."(here follows a long explanation where I gush and I think ArtGuy's eyes glaze over)

Why is the green pool noodle so short compared to the other two?
Oh well, I cut up half of it into discs for a game we played in PE using bowls and carpet remnants and....

Me - "What are you doing? Don't throw that toilet paper roll out! Are you crazy? I need 120 of those for this awesome art project we will be doing!"

Yes - we save everything!

Another thing I am loving on as I clean....books! I love books. I love to read and I love the books themselves.
I love chocolate, too. I have my own M&M jar, and the M&M fairy magically fills it when it gets low. But do you wanna know much I love books? If I had to choose between books and chcolate, I would give up my M&M's in a heartbeat. No matter how busy I get, I have to read. Sometimes just a little. It keeps me sane.

I love the smell of books, the feel of them, the way they look. I do not have to have hardbacks or fancy editions. Unpretentious paperbacks thrill me about as much as a special edition hard-cover. I just love books.

A set of O Henry books I picked up at Half-Priced books today for $1 each! They are in great shape, and certainly printed before 1960. Will have to work on it to figure it out, as there is no publication date listed....

Another Half-Price find today - art books for $.50 each! There are five in all, and better yet, each book comes with....

slides!!!!!! A little yellowed, but still perfectly fine! How fun! Art lessons, anyone?

My little brother picked this up for me when he worked for....you guessed it! Half-Price books! I read The Divine Comedy to The Young Adult when he was a baby. Hmmmmm - maybe that is why he is so strange! Really though, nothing can beat this epic for mystery, suspense, romance, and spine-tingling writing:

I am the way to the City of Woe.
I am the way to a forsaken people.
I am the way into eternal sorrow.
Sacred justice moved my architect.
I was raised here by divine omnipotence,
Primordial love and ultimate intellect.
Only those elements time cannot wear
Were made before me, and beyond time I stand.
Abandon all hope ye who enter here

      Canto III, The Inferno

This special edition of Dante's The Divine Comedy was published in 1944 and features gorgeous illustrations by William Blake! Yum! I love this book!

My mother's Marian Missal, in Latin and English. Her father (who died before I was born) gave this to her in 1959, or so he inscribed on the title page.

This did not turn out well, but this book is my Library of World Poetry. My sister purchased this for me so I could read some of my favorite poems. Second only to Dante's Divine Comedy in my heart is Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner":

All in a hot and copper sky

the bloody sun, at noon,

Right up above the mast did stand,

No bigger than the moon.

Day after day, day after day 

We stuck, -nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean.

Water, water everywhere

And all the boards did shrink;

Water, water everywhere,

Nor any drop to drink.

My Tolkien shelf! I have a set of LOTR books in hardcover and a set in paperback! And yes, that is The Origins of Tolkien's Middle Earth for Dummies....and it rocks!

My 2 CS Lewis shelves! Including an interactive timeline book! Whoo hoo! The bottom shelf contains 2 complete sets of the Narnia books. I found them for $.50 per book! I will pass these on to my children one day. I believe everyone should have the foundations of a good library, starting when they are young! Books are priceless!

One of the many bookshelves in my house. ArtGuy custom built three bookshelves for downstairs (aren't they preeeety?). Plus The Young Adult has a small shelf, the school room has two large ones, and my bedroom has a medium one and a small one.

I love books!!!!

Yea, It's Friday

Ahhhh, the end of another week. Well, at least as far as school goes, that is! On Friday, I know I have survived another week of homeschooling. You would think that after seven years of this, it would be no big deal. Not true! I guess because the kids keep growing and changing our school keeps growing and changing.
   On Monday I start out with enthusiasm and big plans. Tuesday does not derail this at all. Yet somewhere between Monday and Thursday, something changes. I know it is Thursday each week, because that is the day I barely make it. Each week. By Thursday night, I am ready to throw in the towel, run away to Hawaii, and hang up my homeschooling hat forever.
   I know, I know. I chose this life. And I still choose it.
    I never meant to homeschool. When our oldest was a baby, ArtGuy and I talked about what we imagined we would do for schooling. We were were so poor, we knew private school would not be an option. Both of us were  public-school educated, and did just fine. I looked at my handsome husband and laughed, "Well, I know one thing we won't do - homeschool"!  We both had a good laugh.
    I can be very slow to learn in my life. One thing I realize now. Usually when I say I won't do something, God manages to bring it into my life, or challenge me in that area at a later date.
   So.....a few years later, we faced the question of kindergarten. Ironically, we had moved back to my home state, and to the very school district where I was educated. It is a good one. The Young Adult would certainly have gone to public school if all the kindergartens had not changed to full-day the year he began. The Young Adult had been in preschool, but we had concerns. He was very bright. So bright he was always far ahead of his class. He would get quite bored. He had always been in small classrooms, so the teachers found ways to challenge him. On top of that, he missed home while he was gone. So much so that when I picked him up from school, he would share nothing until I recounted everything that had happened in his absence.
   Our fears were that he would be bored in kindergarten and would end up in trouble. We did not want to see his bright, unique spirit bruised. So, realizing the full irony, I decided to homeschool - for ONE year, to give him time to mature.
  And that, as they say, is history! Somehow or another, we ended up deciding to homeschool each year. Until about five years in, when I realized it was no longer such a temporary thing, but our lifestyle.
   Homeschooling is hard, but very addicting. We have such freedom. Yes, there is a lot of work that goes into it, but we get to learn the coolest things! I have a seven year old who can't get enough of Ancient Egypt. How cool is it that when I was talking about the Pharaohs to my husband, I could turn to Romeo and ask him a question about Hatshepsut I didn't remember, and Romeo could explain at length.
  Yes, I have to spend a lot of time with my kids, but we like each other. We can handle it. And on days we can't, we take a break.
  So, all in all, by Friday I am glad for a break. But I will be ready again come Monday!


  Here are the finished pictures of our Annunciation art projects. I will post the lesson plan for any who want it. The Young Adult is no artist, and just read. But Cookie Boy's and Romeo's projects turned out great!

Romeo's statue interpretation of The Annunciation

Cookie Boy's crayon drawing of The Annunciation

Life is Too Short for Tight Pants

It hit me today...life is too short for tight pants.
My "baby" just turned 5, and most of my pre-youngest clothes still do not fit. I can no longer call it "baby weight". They cut you off after three years, I think. Luckily, the kid is cute, so it does not matter so much that he ruined my body. Not just weight - after he was born, even my OB shook his head and informed me that my "insides are permanently rearranged"...whatever that meant. I was too afraid to ask then.
Five years later I have an inkling on an idea.
Yesterday I wrested the jeans I had been wearing for the last week off my body and threw them into the wash. After seven days or so, they are just much more comfortable. So, today I had to put on fresh jeans. I chose the wrong pair - they actually fit almost everywhere. Almost...
As I struggled to button them, I actually longed for a pair of those "mom jeans" off the SNL skit. Not so funny now...
I wore the stupid jeans all morning, then surrendered. I was miserable, and we all know the saying - "If momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy".
Now I start this blog in a pair of comfy black sweatpants...with an elastic waistband!