Week in Review #16– Snippets of Our Week

We’ve enjoyed our week learning about President Monson.  We’ve also tried to focus really strongly on implementing our We Choose Virtues curriculum (learn more and get discount codes here).  Lots of appointments have been accomplished, including Joseph’s allergist appointment and yesterday’s ultrasound where I saw baby Mason in 3D.  Lots of little things have happened this week as well.  Caleb is starting to take a few steps without holding onto furniture, but he always seems to do it when the camera is far away.  Daniel has really loved coloring and cutting things out this week.  Just about any time he’s not running and jumping on things he’s sitting at the table creating things.  Or looking through his workbox at all the things he’s created.

Ahem.

Joseph is starting to read books to himself without noticing.  It’s still slow, but he’s doing it because he wants to, so it works.  The neat thing is he’s not really paying attention to the fact that he’s reading things off the page.  I caught this picture of Makayla with a bug her great-grandfather sent over – a walking stick.  All the children have enjoyed the insect, but Oliver didn’t realize it wasn’t a stick at first.Emma has been a bit of a pest this week.  I’m sure it’s a phase, right?  She’s doing things on purpose that she knows are not allowed (like walking on the back of the couch, jumping on the furniture, and taking things from little brothers).  My goal today and this weekend is to pour some extra love into her and hope it fills up whatever attention-getting behaviors she’s doing.  Oliver seems to take great delight in sneaking dishes out of the kitchen to use in his playtime.  I found him with my big measuring cup today – no wonder I couldn’t find it earlier!  And yes, this was early in our day – note the pajamas he’s still wearing. 

What have your children been into or up to this week?

It’s Finally Available!

I just have to share a quick link because it is finally available.  The text is up for each of the talks from the Relief Society Session of General Conference right here.  Hooray! 

The video and audio have been available for a few days now, but I’m really more of a reading kind of girl, so I love when the text is ready to read, especially because it has references for the quotes and scriptures used, so I can do more study myself.  

I would love to hear if you have a favorite talk from that session, or something that especially stood out to you.  I got something different from each talk, but I’m pretty sure my favorite was President Uctdorf’s message.  Of the five points he discussed in detail the one that stood out the most to me was his second forget not:

“Second, forget not the difference between a good sacrifice and a foolish sacrifice.

An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth.”

Be sure to go read his talk and learn the rest of what he said in relation to that.  I know that for me it was a wonderful reminder and admonition to re-evaluate the things I allow to take my time, attention, and even money.

Happy reading!

Carlito C. Caterpillar’s Math House Games–A Review

While we use a math curriculum we love (Math U See) I learned long ago that my children love to play games.  Games are often the perfect vehicle for practicing the math skills.  The only problem is that many games assume a level of skill that excludes the youngest math learners.  c3pla.com has come up with a product that bridges the game gap for beginning mathematicians.  I received Carlito C. Caterpillar’s Math House Games ($23.95) about a week ago.  These sturdy 4"x8" cards are on a single ring and contain 40 games that walk a child through three stages:

1. Quantity – The 10 steps in this stage help a child develop the skills they need to imagine, see, and feel numbers and amounts from 0 to 10. 
2. Numeration – Four steps in this stage are used to help a child discover how ten single items can be traded to become one item representing 10, leading to place value ideas.  The concept is explored through the use of a homemade abacus.  A child also familiarizes themselves with skip counting, which comes in handy for the third stage of games.
3. Operations – The six steps in this stage give children game-based, hands-on ways to explore basic math operations

There are two things I really like about Carlito C. Caterpillar’s Math House Games.

• I don’t have to be creative, coming up with age and skill appropriate games when a little one begs to join in the fun.  It’s all been thought up and put into order so we can build skills while having fun.
• The cards explain the what (the concept a game teachers), the why (the reason the concept needs taught), and the how (the way the game teaches that concept).  It’s right there on the card for each game. 

Here is the catch – The games pretty much all require the use of ‘stuff’.  You’ll have to gather items or print the free manipulatives offered here before you grab your child to play a game.  I love that they DO offer everything in a free printable format that is already divided by stage and labeled for each game. I suggest preparing a box with all the pieces you’ll need for a whole stage.  Then you’ll have several games ready at once and just need to read the cards to see how to play. 

All in all, I’m glad to have added Carlito C. Caterpillar’s Math House Games to our family learning arsenal.  I’m working on preparing boxes with all the manipulatives ready to go so I can be a “yes” mommy and jump on the chance to play games with my little ones right when they ask.

{Disclaimer: I received this product for free to review.  I received no other compensation and all opinions presented herein are my own.}

Homeschooling with Little Ones? TOS’s New Columnist Answers My Questions

Today I have a very special guest here at Our Busy Homeschool, someone who knows more about homeschooling with little ones than I do (yes, really – she’s got 8 children and her oldest has already survived to age 18). 

As part of The Old Schoolhouse’s 10th birthday they’re doing lots of fun celebrations - from giveaways on their Homeschooling with Heart blog to free unit studies for you and even introducing new columnists.  Kendra, from Preschoolers and Peace, is TOS’s columnist for The Littlest Homeschooler.  You can find her blog by clicking on this button:She’s been through the trenches and has lots of wisdom to share.  She was kind enough to answer a few questions for me and you can read on to learn her tips about homeschooling with little ones in the house.   

- How do you homeschool older children with toddlers in the house at the same time? Do you have any special tips or tricks to suggest?

There are so many different ways to go about managing lots of ages, and the trick is to figure out what works for you. In our home, I find it's best to work our day around the needs of the preschoolers. 

When making a battle plan (or a routine/schedule), I figure out what will fill the non-napping hours of the littlest ones. Typically, we can fill up a morning for them with breakfast and clean up, chores, a video, indoor playtime, outdoor playtime, table play (coloring, clay, etc.), a walk, and story time. My oldest and most independent students work on subjects that don't need my attention, and the younger students can work on art projects or be in there with the preschoolers. We try to do as much together as possible. Everyone appreciates taking a walk or rocking out to some great music when the weather prevents us from getting outside.

Once the little ones are napping or resting in the afternoon, we get down to business and work on the subjects that take our concentration or my teaching. Those things can typically be accomplished in a couple of hours, but there are those kiddos who dawdle and are sitting at the kitchen counter working on math while I'm making dinner. Such is the life of the homeschooler, but then we do always have our evenings and weekends free from homework. It's a happy trade-off.

- At what age do you think children should begin "formal" instruction?

I really don't think there's a right answer to this question, but my years of experience have taught me one great lesson: slow is fast and fast is slow. Or, "better late than early". I can drag a 3-year-old through phonics (and i do mean drag), and they'll learn to read in a few years. Or I can wait until that child is ready to read and they'll be up and running in a few months. I know which way I prefer ;)

- Should we begin teaching our young children to sit still and learn from "traditional" materials such as books and workbooks? If we don't make them sit still for extended periods of time, how will they ever learn to sit still in church, wait in line, wait at the doctor's offer, etc.?

I'm a super big believer in little people learning to sit still. Some are better at it than others, and if you're a first time mom with a squirmy little guy, it might not be your lack of training. So take heart! Start a little bit at a time, but communicate that you expect him to sit for the required amount of time doing whatever it is you are requiring.

You might not be a traditional textbook-type, but your kiddos will at some point need to be able to follow directions, study a book, and concentrate on answering questions. A daily period of table time doing what you've directed will pay off big time in the long run. Start with 5 minutes and add a little bit as you go. Praise your little ones for their success!

Thanks Kendra!  It been great chatting with you and I can’t wait to read your regular columns for TOS! 

Be sure you hop over and check out TOS’s Birthday Bash to meet all the columnists that will be joining Kendra:

The Yearly Allergist Appointment

Busy.  That pretty much sums up my week so far.  We learned Joseph is still allergic to eggs (allergic enough we carry an Epi-Pen everywhere he goes and eggs do not cross our doorstep in any form ever) and that his environmental allergies are getting more severe.  Want to hear the list?

• Eggs
• House dust
• Cockroaches
• Cats
• Dogs
• Maple Trees
• Grass
• Alternaria
• Aspergillus
• Helm
• Cladsporium
• Penicillium
• Rust/Smut
• Curvularia
• MW Mold

In case you’re wondering what those last 8 are, they’re a variety of molds.  Lovely, no?  I’ve not found the time to google them all, but I’m pretty sure it won’t be pretty. 

Of the creatures his most severe reactions were to cockroaches and dogs.  Is it bad of me to admit that I was glad to have a reason to never get a dog?  I’m just not a dog person.  Let’s face it, I’m not a pet person.  I have lots of children – who needs something else to take care of?

I have to say the allergist trip went really well overall.  I had been dreading taking all six children and being shut in a tiny room while Joseph had 37 different cuts in his back for his scratch testing.  Yep, 37.  Oh, and then you just sit there and wait for him to react and start itching/swelling/being miserable.  The children were absolutely angelic – something I don’t take lightly, and that I know will NEVER happen again.  It was just one of God’s tender mercies, a very appreciated one.

Have you ever dealt with food allergies?  What about other allergies?  Joseph isn’t the only one at my house with allergies, we’ve even got a medicine allergy, among others.  Oh the joy.

We Choose Virtues–a Sneak Peek

Our family’s language is changing.  We’re still speaking English, never fear, but the way we speak and the words we use are changing.  You see, this weekend our package arrived from We Choose Virtues.  My husband and I are using the character traits in our daily conversation, both in praising a child and in reminding them of misbehavior.  My husband and I read through the 12 Teacher’s Virtue Cards we received to decide just which one to begin with.  We chose: “I am Gentle.  I speak quietly and touch softly.  I am NOT… rough, harsh, or loud, and I don’t destroy things or hurt people.”

One thing we loved right off is that each virtue has both a positive catchphrase defining the virtue and the antonym defining the opposite.  As I’ll be reviewing this for you in full come November I just wanted to offer you a peek at how we’re starting out.  We printed the word Gentle in large print and let our 3 year old find it on this Virtues Poster: We noticed things like the fact that each virtue has a different child representing it, and they each have something with them.  Then we let them see our card for gentle.  We read the catchphrase and the antonym.  I then shared Jill’s story, which is on the back of the Teacher card along with activity ideas and more.  In summary, Jill is gentle because she’s got a tiny gerbil in her pocket as a friend.We learned that Jill has a scripture verse that teaches her about being gentle, so we’re memorizing that verse this week as well.  The verse is on the front of the Teacher card, but as we use the King James Version of the Bible instead of NIrV, which is what is on the card, we just printed out the verse to hang on the mantle.  One other thing we’re adding to our Virtues time is a song related to the virtue.  This week we’re singing “I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus”.  Emma was delighted to discover that this song has the word gentle not once, but twice!

For our introduction day we also colored a picture of Jill from the We Choose Virtues Coloring Book Vol. 1.  I love that it is in E-book format for easy printing!  Daniel was quite proud of his picture.I look forward to sharing more about We Choose Virtues with you, but for now you can check them out yourself with any of the links in this post.  I was so excited to get started that I signed up as an affiliate, so I even have special codes to give you some deals.  You can use one code per order.

• "Virtue15" will give you 15% off your entire shopping cart.
• “Virtuemom” will give you 25% off the new Teacher’s Virtue Cards for Families (which is one item I’m reviewing) or 25% off the Home School Kit.

I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek at our new virtues curriculum!  I’ll share a lot more in November, so stay tuned.

A Week of Special Learning is Next!

Next week we have a lot of interruptions to the daily routine scheduled.  There will be 5 doctor’s appointments, book club meeting at our house, and more.  Honestly, they are all things that need accomplished or that we love, like book club, and there are no more than 2 in any given day so we’ll make it through just fine.  However, being the realistic woman I am, I know the full homeschool schedule won’t happen every day. 

I’m planning a special week of learning instead!  We’ll keep up with math, read alouds, and phonics.  After that our days will focus on learning about the life of the prophet, President Thomas S. Monson.  It will be great fun as we prepare to hear him speak at General Conference next weekend.  (Watch this video to learn more about God’s prophets and that God speaks today.) We’ll be using a few resources for this, so I thought I would share them with you.Discover the Latter-Day Prophets by Discover the Scriptures – We own this and it has 18 pages of stories, copywork, and activities about President Monson.  You can get the whole Discover the Latter-Day Prophets e-book (over 300 pages!) for 25% off between today and next weekend in celebration of General Conference – it’s only $14.99 right here.  If money is short right now they are offering 14 pages from the e-book (all about President Monson) for FREE right here.  Enjoy!    On the Lord’s Errand – We’ll watch this DVD over the course of the week, a little bit at a time.  It shares about President Monson’s life.

President Monson’s messages from the last General Conference – We’ll read or watch all the messages President Monson shared last April too.  I’ll link the text of each one below:

• It’s Conference Once Again
• Priesthood Power
• The Holy Temple – A Beacon to the World
• At Parting

Christmas with the Prophets – This book is a lot of fun to read, but for this week we’ll only focus on the chapter about some of President Monson’s Christmases throughout his life.

We’re going to work on memorizing the following verse of scripture this week as well:

“Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”  (Amos 3:7)

It will be a wonderful week to share with my family. 

What will you be teaching your children next week?

My Guest Post on Family is Up!

I love my family, both immediate and extended.  They mean so much to me.  Today I’m guest posting about family over at Welcome to the Madness as a part of:

My post is titled Family in Society and is based on this portion of the Family Proclamation:

“We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”

Click here to go read my thoughts all about it!

Random Thoughts and a Giveaway Winner

While I’m sure you stopped by just to read all the random thoughts in my head right now I will start with the giveaway winner.  Random.org chose comment #32 to win a copy of The Shunning on DVD:

Abbey said...

I have read Many Many many of her books and would love to win.
 Congratulations Abbey, I’ve sent you an email.

Now that we’ve taken care of business, let’s move into the fascinating world of my random thoughts!

First up in my mind is how nice it is to have regular days with homeschool and chores.  I like these boring, routine days!  We read history, did math, writing, reading, and more.  I baked bread.  The kids did chores.  Things just trotted along their predictable path. 

I’ve been thinking about food a lot lately.  Don’t laugh, it’s not just because I’m pregnant.  Ever since my husband and I watched Forks Over Knives on Netflix we’ve been slowly making changes at our house.  The first change – we’re not buying meat.  That’s right, we’re working our way to a generally meatless lifestyle.  I’m not willing to waste what we have and we’ve got some meat in the chest freezer still.  The plan is to use that up as we go and just not replace it.  Meats we’ve already run out of (unless they’re hiding in the depths of the freezer and I missed them):

• hot dogs
• lunchmeat
• chicken
• ground sausage

We’ve got some beef still, and turkey, and I think there are some sausage patties still.  That’s about it.

Many of our meals now are meatless and my children are having to try new things or just be hungry.  I do make sure there is always something they all like on the plates, usually bread or rice.  But there are no seconds if you don’t eat what you’ve been given, so those veggies and grains have got to be eaten.  Not all of my children are picky eaters, some will eat pretty much anything you put in front of them.  They are all being a bit more adventurous in what they’ll try, however.  Everyone tried yellow peppers the other day, even mommy.  We’ve got couscous on the menu.  Beans have been popping up in lots of places, which is not always appreciated. 

I’m looking for some new recipes, needless to say.  It’s fun browsing the internet, but I’ve discovered that most vegetarian websites are a bit nutty – using crazy ingredients that would skyrocket our food bill and then not be eaten anyway!  Simple is our motto at the moment.  Simple, whole foods. 

Another thing on my mind today is habits, virtues/character traits, and training our children.  We have been working on our habits (the shoes are still all making it on the rack – whoo hoo!).  After some discussion with my husband we decided to look for a fun, laid out for us way to bring different character traits into focus for our family.  I’m not sure if you’ve noticed the graphic near the top right of the blog, but you’re welcome to click there or on this banner to the left to go check it out.  We’re waiting for our package from We Choose Virtues to arrive - it looks like it will be a fun way to do just what we want.  I’ll be reviewing two of their products and promise to tell you all about them in November! 

Next up on the random thoughts line is how much I love General Conference.  Seriously, I’m counting down and I think we’re finally close enough that I can start printing out things for the kids to use during conference.  Go read this post to find the links to all the free printables that may make their way into my children's conference binders.

Well, my computer time is at an end, so you’re saved from reading the rest of my random thoughts for today!  Have a great afternoon and be sure to leave me a recipe link if you’ve got any favorites that don’t involve meat.

For Sale: All About Reading Level Pre-1

This Item Has Sold - Thanks for looking!

I have been going through my shelves again to see what we really use and have decided it’s time to part with our All About Reading Level Pre-1 materials.  They are great for a little one who is just learning their alphabet (upper and lowercase) and basic phonics.  I like the emphasis on learning to hear rhyme and the many card games to play, too. 
So why am I selling mine?  Simply this – I’m too used to teaching reading without a curriculum.  It’s a more organic process at our house.  My current preschooler is well past the Level Pre-1 materials as he is sounding out short vowel words on his own.  The next preschooler, Oliver, is 2.5 and not really interested in All About Reading yet.  Instead of keeping it on my shelf I’m hoping to move it out so someone else can use it.

What Am I Selling?

Well, everything in the picture at the top of this post!  I’m selling it as a set, but I’ll link you to each item to check them all out:
All About Reading Level Pre-1 Teacher’s Manual and Student Packet(regularly $42.95).  The student packet is missing letter coloring pages for capital A through capital F.  I have included four pages that are used in the letter games.  These pages I laminated for durability because they are reused many times.  The cards for the games have all been separated and filed into the Activity Box by lesson(regularly $9.95).  The alphabet posters and certificate of completion are included as well. 
The Zig-Zag Zebra, A Rhyming Alphabet Book (hardcover, regularly $14.95), with the audio book version on cd as well (regularly $9.95).  Lizard Lou, A Collection of Rhymes Ole and New Book (hardcover, regularly $14.95), with the audio book version on cd as well (regularly $9.95).  Also the Letter Sounds A to Z CD-ROM for computers (regularly $14.95).  Last but not least I have the All About Reading Tote Bag that is a sturdy way to keep all your materials in one place (regularly $14.95). 

Pricing

As you can see, if you purchase these items new you’ll spend $132.00 before shipping.  I’m selling the set for $80.00 with media mail shipping included in the price.  If you’re interested please email me at tdrowlee@yahoo.com.  I accept PayPal payments only.  Happy Shopping!

Goodbye Convenience, Hello Dishwater

I am spoiled, I admit it.  Compared to most of the world I have so much: clean water, food, shelter, electricity, and modern conveniences.  I have always been grateful for those modern conveniences.  Unfortunately gratitude doesn’t seem to be enough for one of my beloved kitchen servants.  This is my dishwasher.  She’s given quite the workout each week washing dishes for the 168 meals my family consumes.  Sadly, she has gone on strike.  The soap dispenser door doesn’t open during the wash cycle and the water spinner is finally all the way broken.  I understand wanting a bit of a vacation, but really, did it have to happen right now?  A dishwasher on strike leads to this lovely sight: Those are the dishes from last night, which were in the dishwasher when she went on strike, plus breakfast dishes.  They’re all clean now and sitting on the counter to dry.  I don’t mind washing dishes by hand.  What drives me nuts is needing to dry and put them away.  I’m sure that means the children are about to get some new lessons on how to dry dishes.  A few of the oldest will even be working on dishwashing skills.  They were not impressed by the idea.

The other thing that makes me crazy is having dishes on my countertop, clean or dirty. 

Sigh.

The saddest part is the dishwasher won’t be fixed anytime in the foreseeable future.  It’s just not that high of a priority.  We know the difference between needs and conveniences and despite my children’s protests, a dishwasher is not a necessity.

At least it wasn’t my clothes washer – can you imagine the joys of washing cloth diapers and laundry by hand?

Homeschool Plans for a Normal Week

I’m excited for a more ‘normal’ week ahead with no doctor’s appointments, ultrasounds, or other things to disrupt the routine.  I’ve planned homeschool for the week and want to share it here so I’m more accountable for my plans.  I would love to hear your learning plans for the week too, just leave a comment!

Family Schoolwork

Gospel Learning – We’re working on singing Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth and I Love to See the Temple each morning, then we read scriptures or practice some memory verses. 

History – We’ll keep reading in our current chapter books (The Door in the Wall and The Apple and the Arrow).  We also will be reviewing a new to us history curriculum in the next few weeks.  It is the Young Readers Curriculum from Heritage History, which also relies on living books to read together.  I’ve got to finish reading through the Teacher’s Guide and choose books that will go with where we are at in history right now.

Composer Study – We’ll begin our study of George Friderich Handel, which will last through the end of December.  Our first piece is Water Music. 

Book Club Read Aloud – We’re reading Pollyanna.

5th Grader

Math – Continue to work on division by 3’s and 5’s, then take the test.  She’ll also spend some time playing some math games with her younger siblings to help them practice addition.

Spelling – Just keep working through All About Spelling 3.

Writing – One of the last weeks of Story Quest writing class, she’s finishing up her homework.

Science – She’ll keep working on her unit study about chimpanzees and Jane Goodall.  She’s really enjoying this one.

Piano – She’s working away on this and practices without reminders.  Usually it’s the opposite, we’ve got to ask her to stop practicing and go do the rest of her schoolwork.

1st Grader and Kindergartener

Math – They’re learning +8’s this week and practicing past facts (+0’s, +1’s, +2’s, +9’s).  They’re playing review games with Makayla too.

Spelling – They’re moving through All About Spelling 1 and also reading aloud to me daily. 

Writing – They’ll be doing copywork this week and the focus will be on learning to write their full names. 

Science – Hermit Crabs continues for another week and the preschoolers join in here.

Preschoolers

Math – Daniel will be working with a pattern blocks math book I have.  Oliver will be playing with the pattern blocks and trying to count to 15.

Spelling – Daniel joins Joseph and Emma for this and reads to me each day.  I don’t require he do this, it’s just something he really likes.  (Totally different than his big brother at the same age!)  Oliver is working on recognizing the alphabet with his Leap Frog Fridge Phonics set.

That’s the plan at our house!  What will you be learning this week?

What’s for Lunch?

It’s been a while since I shared a picture of what’s inside our Easy Lunchboxes to eat, but I remembered to grab my camera the other day and catch this: In the large compartment is a salad with lettuce, carrot, yellow pepper, pickle, and raspberry walnut vinaigrette.  Yum!  The top right holds green grapes, and the bottom right has some red beans and rice.  It was a great meal and best of all my salad dressing didn’t end up in the rice (like it would have on a plate). 

Want to know the next trip we’re using ours for?  Flying across the country with six little ones and four adults – yep, they’ll save my sanity and save money too.  The food on airplanes and in airports is ridiculously expensive!

Remember you can get Easy Lunchboxes on Amazon – we love ours!

Giveaway Winner and Reminder

My giveaway for the wonderful Wish Upon a Star CD has officially ended.  Random.org was helpful enough to choose a winner for me and it was comment #49:

Melissa said...

god help the outcasts- hunchback

September 11, 2011 4:34 PM

Congratulations Melissa!  I’ve emailed you already.

Thank you to all who entered.  Remember I have another giveaway going right now for The Shunning DVD that ends on Tuesday, so go enter today!

I’ve Started a New Blog

I decided that I need a place where I can write about our experiences preparing for the birth of our son Mason, as well as his journey with Spina Bifida once he’s born.  I actually started the blog days after we learned of his diagnosis with Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele, Bilateral Clubfeet, and the accompanying Chiari Malformation (brain malformation due to the pull of a misplaced spinal cord), with the likely development of hydrocephalis.  I process things by writing and blogging seems to be a natural outlet for that.  I just wasn’t sure if I was going to share that blog publicly or keep it private. 

I’ve decided to share Mason’s Spina Bifida Journal for several reasons.  First, one of the most helpful things to me online so far have been the blogs of real-live families travelling this Spina Bifida journey.  I’ve been able to peek into their lives from before birth (sometimes) through the hospital stay and surgeries and on through childhood.  Some have been gracious enough to answer my emails, as well.

Second, I’ve been humbled and heartbroken to hear the comments of others who think that this diagnosis is a sad thing that “just happened”.  Every doctor we’ve talked to has offered their condolences on the situation, said they’re sorry we have to have a child with spina bifida.  Quite frankly, it’s getting on my nerves. 

Was I shocked when we first learned of Mason’s S.B.?  Yes.  Do I have sad moments when I think about some of the details, like the fact that he’ll have to spend the first part of his life having surgeries and living in the NICU, instead of snuggled safely in my arms at home?  Yes.  But my husband and I are not only thrilled to be having a baby, we’re thrilled to be having this baby, spina bifida and all.  We know God’s truth:

“In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.”

These truths are foundational.  We accepted God’s plan to come to earth because we need two essential things in our quest to become like Him.  We need a body and we need to gain experience with that body.  There is much of the world who will look at the diagnosis of Spina Bifida and decide that “something went wrong” as my son’s body was growing in the womb.  We know that the circumstances of my son’s body are not an accident, they are part of God’s plan.  Some of the experiences his spirit will need to become more like our Father in Heaven will come because of his body, and the rest of my family will learn from it as well.  Russell M. Nelson gives us a wonderful perspective:

“The gift of a physical body is priceless. Without it, we cannot attain a fullness of joy.  A perfect body is not required to achieve a divine destiny.”

I am grateful for the gospel and the ways it influences what I teach my children.  What a blessing it is to know that our bodies are essential to God’s plan of happiness and that God makes no mistakes when he is knitting together those bodies in the womb.

That brings me to the third reason I’m sharing the blog publicly.  The statistics are staggering - Over 50% of women who’s babies are diagnosed with Spina Bifida choose to kill their baby in utero.  They choose abortion in the fear of raise a child who will have lifelong medical issues.  I know that if even one mother reads our journey of living joyfully with a child who has spina bifida and realizes she can do that to, it will be worth it.  Spina Bifida is not a tragedy, it is not the end of the world.  Children are a gift from God that we are given to care for and treasure.  They bring joy to our lives.  

Like I do here, I blog there what is in my heart.  It’s not always neat and tidy, it’s not always sunshine and roses.  I’ll share the emotions, the questions, and the hard parts right alongside the joy.  Right now posts are few, though they will increase as Mason arrives and we begin daily life with him.  If you want to follow our journey you can follow Mason’s Spina Bifida Journal with Google Friend Connect or even through email, the links are in the sidebar of that blog.  If someone you know learns they are having a child with spina bifida will you please share my blog with them, or even give them my email address?  While you’re at it, share hope.  Don’t tell them you’re sorry they have to go through this.  Spina Bifida is not a tragedy, it’s just another path God puts under our feet.  He’ll walk it with us, and it will bring us to joy.

My Bread Confession–and a Recipe

I have a confession to make.  I don’t always bake our bread.  As a matter of fact I have not baked our bread regularly since mid-summer heat and major morning sickness combined to make life miserable.  When it’s 90 degrees in the morning and I’m trying not to throw up baking just doesn’t happen.  With the advent of cooler weather this week and at the request of a daughter I decided it was time to start baking bread again. 

While I like my own recipe it is not always perfectly reliable and I wanted to try something new-to-me for my first batch.  My main recipe requirement was that it use 100% whole wheat flour.  We’ve not had white flour in the house for baking in over a year.  I also wanted to have most of the ingredients on hand because I wasn’t going to haul six kids to the store for one ingredient.  I perused the internet and found Marilyn’s Famous Bread Recipe on The Urban Homemaker.  I had everything but the Dough Enhancer, and felt confident I could skip that and still get pretty good results.  I also loved that she included measurements for my Bosch Mixer so I did not need to double or triple the recipe myself. 

I followed the recipe almost exactly, which, if you ask my husband, is a small miracle.  I tossed the first three ingredients in the mixer and let them sponge for 15 minutes while I fed Caleb a bottle and switched some loads of laundry.  Then I added the rest of the ingredients except dough enhancer, using 13 cups of my nice home-ground flour for that stage (making 15 cups total). 

I use bread pans that are longer and slightly narrower than regular bread pans.  They’re these Norpro 10" Nonstick Bread Pans.  That meant her recipe, which should make 5-6 loaves, made 4 perfect loaves for my pans.  Those will last about 2.5 days at my house – seriously.  Who knew 8 people could go through so much bread?!?!

After rising time I baked the dough for 28 minutes at 350 degrees F.  Then I used a trick I learned many loaves ago – I left the bread in the pans on top of the stove for about 8 minutes.  This lets them cool a bit and softens the crust on the sides and bottom without needing to butter them.  When you turn them out onto cooling racks after those 8 minutes the sides and bottom will be damp.  Don’t worry, it will dry as the loaf cools.  

The bread was delicious, just ask my children - they ate an entire loaf for a snack this afternoon. 

In case you’re wondering, I get my Vital Wheat Gluten on Amazon and store it in the freezer.  Just follow that link and you’ll find what I buy.  I am also eternally grateful for my two kitchen servants, the NutriMill Grain Mill and the Bosch Universal Plus Mixer.  They are so much easier than grinding the wheat by hand and kneading the dough by hand.  Trust me, we used to do it that way while we saved up for these servants. 

Week in Review #15–Progress in Small Doses

Remember to enter my current giveaways before it’s too late:  Wish Upon a Star CD by Jenny Oaks Baker (ends tomorrow!) and The Shunning (ends Tuesday).

Another Friday is nearly over and I want to capture the things we’ve done before I forget.  It has been a good week, mostly just a regular relaxing week of learning.  Homeschool has hopped along at a steady pace.  One funny thing is that Makayla has decided that her new least favorite subject is writing.  That means she will even ask to do math before writing.  Math has held the place of honor in least favorite subjects for so long.  It is nice to have a change.

Daniel had a big accomplishment this week.  He’s finally decided he knows how to use scissors!  I’ll be honest, scissors skills aren’t something I work on or worry about in the early years, so he’s been free to use them for a long while but I’ve not had him working specifically on it.  He’s doing pretty good and almost everything must now be cut out or he doesn’t consider it ‘finished’. 

Caleb is moving along in development at his own pace.  He’s standing pretty steady now and is a master cruiser, but he won’t walk without something to hold yet.  He’s also finally decided to learn how to crawl the traditional way (hands and knees) and is getting speedy.  The poor guy has had all of two teeth since he turned 6 months old and he’s still just got those two.  He is beginning to chew things and is moving up slowly from purees to table food in small doses.  Today’s new accomplishment – eating beans without mommy mashing them first.

Emma has been in a bit of a funk lately.  She’s drawing a lot as usual, but she’s not willing to tell you what she’s drawing.  She just says, “Nothing,” and goes back to drawing.  If you ask, “Is that a duck?” and you’re positive it is, she’ll still just say it’s nothing.  Who knows what goes on in her head?

Oliver, on the other hand, has been talking non-stop.  He’s funny to hear because there are still a lot of letters he doesn’t say.  I can usually tell what he’s saying, but daddy is not as fluent in Oliver-speak.  Other times he’s crystal clear.

Joseph has been loving his math lessons.  He really likes using the Math U See blocks and flies through his practice pages pretty quick.  It’s just other areas he gets distracted in.

We spent Wednesday morning at Book Club with our friends.  It was the end of our reading of Little Men, which everyone had enjoyed.  We did two activities based on events in the book.  First each child brought something for a “natural history museum” and shared about it.  We had everything from a flower and a shell to a headless snake, a crayfish, and rocks.

The second activity had each child who wished to taking a turn telling a story.  Not everyone did this, and our only two rules had been nobody dies in the story and you should keep it short so everyone can tell a story.  Ha!  A few of the girls forgot the keep it short directive.  It was interesting and most of the children were enthralled to hear the stories others came up with.

With the end of Little Men we have moved into our next book club read – Pollyanna.  My children and I are on chapter 5 and so far it’s been good. 

Well, this post is getting entirely too long and has no pictures, so I’ll stop boring you and go see what the kids are doing.  Have a great weekend!

I’m linking to the Weekly Wrap-Up.

Which Composer Should We Choose?

I think it’s time we start studying a composer.  We’ve studied two different artists for the last several months (Van Gogh and Monet).  While that was fun, I’m ready for a change of pace.  Now I just need to decide which composer we should begin with.  I have narrowed the field down to these two:

John Williams – He’s done such a variety of music that is would be interesting to listen to his work.  However, my only reservation is that it might be better to save him for the mid-winter blahs in February.  Then we could begin with something like his Star Wars music and add some pizazz to our days.

George Frideric Handel – We would begin with his Water Music.  I really want this CD from Maestro Classics for studying that.  In the middle we would try some of his other pieces, like Music for the Royal Fireworks.  We would wind up our time in December with a study of Messiah. 

Who is your favorite composer or composition? 

Who would you pick if your choice was between John Williams and George Frideric Handel? 

Is there someone else whose music you think my children would love listening to for a few months?

The Shunning DVD–Review and Giveaway

I enjoy reading Amish fiction books and was delighted to be given the opportunity to review The Shunning DVD - a movie made by Hallmark from one of Beverly Lewis’ Amish fiction books.  One evening my husband and I sat down for a date night after the children were in bed, and this is the movie we chose to watch.  You can see a short trailer here.

The Shunning tells the story of an Amish girl who is struggling with growing up, with keeping the rules of her faith in areas such as playing instruments and singing.  She learns by accident that she was adopted as a baby, and this throws her into a tailspin because her parents will tell her nothing about it.  She feels as if she’s been lied to her entire life.  Her birth mother, meanwhile, is searching for this daughter, wanting to meet her.  Katie ends up being shunned, a practice in Amish communities that is designed to encourage the one shunned to repent and come back into full fellowship.  When shunned those of the church, including her own family, will not speak to her, do business with her, or eat at the same table. 

The movie finishes with several unresolved things, as it is based off the first book in a series, but you do see the choice Katie makes to learn more about her birth mother and the reactions of her own adoptive parents to her decision.

What We Thought
The movie is well done and you find yourself uncovering more pieces of Katie’s background as the story goes along.  We enjoyed watching it right up until the end, but both my husband and I prefer not to be left wondering what happened to Katie.  This movie simply does not tell you.  I’ll be grabbing the rest of the book series from the library because the not knowing might drive me crazy!

Win a Copy of The Shunning on DVD

Want to see the movie?  I happen to have one copy of The Shunning to give away.  The giveaway will end next Tuesday Sept. 20, 2011 and is open to U.S. residents only.  Here is how to enter, please leave a separate comment for each entry you do and be sure to include your email address in the first entry!

• Just tell me you want to win and leave your email address in the comment so I can contact you if you win!
• Tell me if you’ve ever read any of Beverly Lewis’ books before.
• Visit this page and watch the trailer, then tell me you did.
• Let me know if you’ve ever been to an Amish community for a visit or shopping day.

{Disclaimer: I received one free dvd to watch and one to offer in a giveaway.  I received no other compensation and all opinions presented herein are my own.}

Whatcha’ Reading?

Every so often I like to share what I’m reading, or what I’m reading to the children.  Right now we’ve just begun three new books, plus I’ve been doing some reading for me.  Want to take a peek?Pollyanna – Remember the 1960’s Disney classic starring Haley Mills?  It is based on a true classic written in 1913 by Eleanor H. Porter.  This is the next title for our homeschool book club and we read the very first chapter today in our family using my Kindle.The Apple and the Arrow – Joseph, Emma, and the younger ones are listening to mommy read this book in history each day.  We started with the first half of chapter one this morning.The Door in the Wall – Makayla began this book for history today.  She’s reading it on her own and narrating each chapter to me.The Bellmaker – This is the seventh book in the Redwall series and is Makayla’s current free read.  She’s also got books going for science about Jane Goodall, but I can’t remember the titles at the moment.Daughters in My Kingdom – This new book from the church tells the history and work of Relief Society.  I’m about a hundred pages into it and can already tell I want to reread it when I finish.  Pride and Prejudice – This is my current read on my Kindle.  I’ve read it many times before, but it’s my favorite Jane Austen novel and so I’m rereading it again.Children with Spina Bifida: A Parents' Guide – This is obviously research for what we may be facing with Mason.  It is very thorough and I’m finding it a lot to wade through, so I read it in small doses at the moment.

What are you reading at your house right now?  Anything wonderful?  What was the last classic you read to your children or just for yourself?

Buddy Blocks Review

What do you get when you combine wooden blocks and animal puzzles?  You get Buddy Blocks!  Timberdoodle offers three themes of Buddy Blocks: Farm, Backyard, and Jungle - we received the Jungle theme.  They come as a part of the Toddler Curriculum Kit and are intended for ages 18 months and up. 

Buddy Blocks are made of all-natural rubberwood blocks and painted with six animals in a non-toxic paint.  The four blocks come in a wooden storage tray that is painted with the likeness of the six animals the child will find on their blocks.  This was very helpful for my children as they were trying to put together each animal.  For my littlest learner the blocks are an exercise in stacking.  Caleb has recently discovered he can put things in and out of containers, so the storage box is an easy practice spot for that.  The blocks will grow with him, so they’ll get lots of use in the next several years.For my not-so-little learners the puzzles become the main attraction as they try to find the four parts for each animal in turn.  Oliver can usually find the parts for one animal, but I have to say  the blocks are still too difficult for my 2 year old to actually build the entire animal.  He is only 2, so I’m not surprised.  He enjoys playing with the blocks anyway.It took a few days before my 3 year old was confidently puzzling away, but now he’s quite good at making any of the animals.  His favorite is this one: My children also enjoy making up their own half and half animals, which leads to discussions of fractions (is that half a monkey or only 1/4 monkey?).  I think a great way to add another level of challenge in the future would be to have a second set of Buddy Blocks in another theme.  Then my children would need to pay even more attention to the details to decide which four pieces out of the eight hold parts of the animal they want to build.  We just may purchase a set of Buddy Blocks in the farm theme as a special addition to our homeschool supplies for the current preschooler.  I love the durability as well, these blocks will last through my rough and tumble boys beautifully.

{Disclaimer:  As a member of Timberdoodle's Blogger Review Team I received a free set of Buddy Blocks in exchange for a frank and unbiased review.}

Monarch Morning and a Giveaway Reminder

Thirteen days ago my oldest daughter found a monarch caterpillar.  Twelve days ago it built a chrysalis.  Yesterday that chrysalis began to thin and show the butterfly inside.  This morning she hatched.  This is Beta.  You’ll have to excuse the crumpled wings, she’s still drying out as she just climbed from her chrysalis. 

We’ll feed her sugar water for a day or two and then release her from our front porch into the wide world so she can begin her migration south.

Giveaway Reminder

Don’t forget to enter my Wish Upon a Star giveaway for the violin music of Jenny Oaks Baker!  There are many ways to enter and the giveaway ends this Saturday the 17th.