One vote for the Tiger Mom (Or, why are people sending Amy Chua death threats?)

I gotta tell ya, I couldn't put Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom down. Why is everyone going crazy and writing Amy Chua hate mail? So much of it is obviously tongue in cheek; she has a refreshingly intelligent way of at once poking fun of herself and also bringing to light some ne'er talked about important issues in education regarding race and parental involvement.  (Don't forget that Asian Americans rocked the PISA, other American students didn't do so well).

I'm not saying I would ever employ some of her "extreme" parenting methods, but it did make me think twice about some of my own expectations and practices. I also secretly wonder now if our violin teacher thinks I'm a typical slacker "Western mom." She's a very accomplished teacher (to say the least) and almost all of her other students are Asian. It may be time to hit that one a little harder...

Tote Meme

When we lived in ND and decided to home school, we literally knew no one who was educating their children at home. When I told a friend we were thinking about it, she introduced me to Suzie. I remember going to her home to talk about it, and heading home with Gatto's huge tome, The Underground History of American Education. Wow, that book solidified our decision if anything ever did!

Anyway, long story short, Suzie is now blogging and tagged me for a tote meme.

My tote is really a diaper bag, but I could go on and on about how much I love this bag. It's huge, yes, but look at those pockets! I can bring a sippy cup, my own water bottle, a baby bottle if necessary and still have extra outside pockets for wipes, cell phone, whatever. It has a long strap that purposely fits over a double side by side stroller. Brilliant. Seriously, this bag has it all. It's made by Skip*Hop and it cost a pretty penny. Definitely worth it.

I rarely tag someone for a meme because I read the same 15 or so blogs everyday - hard to be original in my picks. But thanks for the tag, Suzie, and I look forward to following the happenings around your home.

That'd Be Bratwurst, My Friends!

Hubby pointed out that not all the world calls bratwurst "brats," like we do.  I hope no one thought I was calling my precious little crew brats!

My First Real Promo

Country Bob sent me his famous "All Purpose Sauce" for review here at Living Waters.  Last night the children doused their chicken in it and loved it.  Toddzilla asked, "Can I drink it?"  To be fair, he would drink just about any condiment (especially ranch dressing) if we let him. When I brought it out again tonight for our brats (bratwursts), we were all pleased with the results.   

You gotta love a company that boasts, "Christ is our CEO."  

Six thumbs up from the crew at Living Waters.

Fresh Look For Fall

Thanks to Jo-Lynne at DCR Design for getting my spot in cyberspace ready for fall.  She's great to work with and her blog is loads of fun!

The air does feel cooler around here - especially in the mornings and evenings. Sweater weather!  Of course I sweated my way around the zoo this morning pushing our enormous Jeep double stroller through the hordes of people that had come to see Dora.  Lucky for me, my little brood was not interested in waiting in a four block line just to shake her hand. Phew!  I don't think this tired mama could have managed it.  

Saving Your Blog

I started blogging because it was a fun way to record our days at home and keep me accountable to our learning goals. There's certainly nothing profound here, just a humble offering of these small hours that make up our family's life. And yet I'd hate for it to just disappear one day (especially before I get to show it to my grandchildren, much to the horror delight of their parents of course).

Enter the Blurb Book.

It was so easy to make my first year of this blog into a little paperback book, ready to be preserved for posterity. With the click of the mouse (and after entering your url and password), Blurb "slurps" every last detail right up and plops it into book format. Actually, there are quite a few formats you can choose, but I went for the standard 7 x 7. Blurb lists all your posts, and you can decide which ones you'd like to include. Comments, sidebars, and advertising are left out, so the pages contain just the images and text. If you've linked to other sites in your post, Blurb offers the option of including them as footnotes.




The price was close to $30 for a paperback book of 190 pages with color photos.

If I continue blogging, I plan on putting one of these together each year and keeping them with my scrapbooks.

Wrapping Things Up

The end of the school year is in sight here at the Living Waters Classical Academy. I've arbitrarily set the finish date at Bobo's completion of Saxon 2. She has about seven lessons left, so I'm assuming we'll be done just before Memorial Day weekend. She'll do some "fun math" over the summer to avoid brain fog in the Fall.

Elbow will probably finish Hooked on Phonics over the long summer vacay. Other than that, the school room will be quiet.

Some thoughts on the year:

• My children still can't get enough of Story of the World. I don't know how many times we'll read through this series before moving on to something else. Mystery of History? Tapestry of Grace?
• We will continue using the Latin prayers from Prima Latina, even while we're on break from the rest of the curriculum for the summer. I'm planning on taking a year and a half to finish this, not because it's too difficult to keep up with, but because I think Latin Christiana I may be too much of a jump right now. My younger students are learning the prayers as we go (and some of the vocabulary too, by default) so I don't want to rush on to the next level just yet.
• Saxon is definitely the math for us. Elbow will start Saxon 1 in the Fall; Bobo Saxon 3.
• We're trudging through Spelling Workout. I'm still not convinced it's really that helpful. I think spelling comes from reading deeply more than anything else, but Bobo seems to like the activities in the workbook and there are some fun things to learn just from the short reading selections at the beginning of each lesson. We've been doing one lesson every other week.
• Elbow will do Copybook II in the Fall; Bobo will start Classically Cursive.
• Bobo will continue on in McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader; Elbow will probably start in the middle of the Primer. We love these books for out loud reading - all the stories and poems are wonderful.

One of our favorite things this year has been reading through the entire history of Laura Ingalls Wilder's family through the Martha, Charlotte, and Caroline books. We'll finish the Caroline books this summer. Next up: Anne of Green Gables!

Lots more to think about for next year, which I'll post about when the plans are complete.

Fresh Off The Press...

Creative Family arrived and I'm about half way through. The children are all about the embroidery projects - "right now!" But I can't see myself finding any burlap, hoops, and blunt needles in the very near future, so that one might have to wait. SouleMama continues to amaze, inspire, and make it all seem more than possible with small children around.

Along such artistic lines, we had a great time at an exhibit on the Portraiture of Aristocratic Children today. A little dress up, a little glue, glitter, and gems - even a mini production of Shakespeare's The Tempest... (Although I must say, I read that play several times for an International Baccalaureate exam in high school, and I couldn't make heads or tails of today's strange rendition. Some things just can't be reduced to a 15 minute quick take for tots.) Kind of amusing to watch them flail try though. Sorry.

In true SouleMama fashion, the museum collages went right up on our bulletin board for all to enjoy. I love how Toddzilla made his Artistocratic dude into a pirate!

The rest of the day was spent OUTSIDE in the beauty of true spring weather. I think we're sunburned.

Elbow's Excitement

Elbow finished her Hooked on Phonics Kindergarten last week. Determined to finish, she read the last three books in one sitting -- painstakingly sounding out each word. This took a good half hour, if not longer. I love her eagerness!

I will admit, there was a carrot at the end of the stick. Phonics is the one academic pursuit we attach a reward too. After finishing a complete set, the reader gets to pick a prize (within reason, of course). I'm not sure how this happened, but Bobo was sure to tell Elbow all about it when she began phonics. Now we're stuck. It is pretty sweet, though, to hear the others rooting their sister on: "You're almost done -- then you get a PRIZE!"

When Bobo went through Hooked on Phonics, there were five levels, marketed at ages 4-8. Once she caught on to reading, there was no stopping her and she finished all five in less than a year. (Surely this had nothing to do with the aforementioned prize...) They've since changed their format to three levels: Kindergarten, First, and Second grades.

Most home schoolers seem to prefer Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We started with Hooked on Phonics for no other reason than Bobo saw them at the library and wanted to check them out. I think it's a great system. The books are engaging and offer a real sense of accomplishment. We don't use the CD much, or the flashcards. The workbook and books are plenty of practice and move along at a nice pace.

Elbow has been waiting by the window (literally) for the First Grade box to come. (I bet there's no mail tomorrow for Presidents Day -- Must.Find.Diversion!). Congratulations to our newest little reader!

Stepping Heavenward: The Oh-So-Inadequate Review

Well, it's official. I've now read Stepping Heavenward. The back story is long and not necessary; suffice to say I've had a long running conversation with myself about when this book would or would not get read.

I am quite sad that it's over. Most likely, I will begin it all over again because I know there is a lot more I can take from this book. As I read, I marked passages that were crying out to be added to my journal and read over and over in the years to come. But I can't write them down - I feel like taking them off one page and putting them on another would somehow alter them, or change what they've meant to me. It's a strange feeling, one that I've never had before about a book.

I now see - hindsight is a beautiful thing - that this book was meant for me now. The reason I had hesitated to read it over the years was nothing short of God's great care of my soul. There is no way that I would have been so moved by this book at any other time.

This Thanksgiving, I am most grateful for God's personal love for his children and his unflinching mercy.

B.F.F.

That same five year old just told me she can't wait for her sister to come home because she's her best friend. Maybe it's because I never had a sister, but comments like these always melt me.

My children aren't overly scheduled, and they don't have constant playdates. We usually get together with other families for a meal and some play time when we socialize. For me, this is wonderfully convenient. I don't know how moms keep track of their children's busy social and extracurricular events, let alone getting them there on time. For them, it fosters a sense of family unity, a desire to get along even when it's difficult, and greater imaginative play. Children accustomed to playing with their siblings know how to make it work, even with a two year old around. "Oh, he wants to destroy everything we just built? Let's pretend that's part of the game..." You know the drill.

Last summer I read Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by the Mally siblings. My first thought was, "Wow, they are some great kids." My next one was, "So that's possible? Who knew?" I pray my children will not only love each other and get along, but have a real desire to be best friends as they grow. This sounds simple and even obvious, but I've noticed that's not the prevailing notion. Many parents pit siblings against each other and create solitary universes for each child. Some grow up not ever really getting to know their brothers and sisters (if they are lucky enough to have any).

Sigh. That was a very roundabout way of saying, "Bobo, we miss you! Can't wait to see you tomorrow!"

A Few Weeks Into the School Year...

The View from Here:

• We are loving Prima Latina. We surprised Dad today and picked him up for lunch. With no prompting from us, the three oldest busted out the Sanctus before digging into their Happy Meals. Not sure there's anything sweeter - or more strange, judging by the looks given by the other playplace diners - than that.







• I continue to like Saxon Math. It's straightforward, very repetitive, and slow moving. Because Bobo is doing Saxon 2 in first grade, we need it to be all of the above. Elbow, who is doing Pre-K/K, is using the Singapore Earlybird books just because she wants to do math like her sister. Next year I will start her on Saxon 1.







• Going through Story of the World: The Ancients for the second time is just as fun as it was the first go around. The girls like that the coloring pages have been changed a little, and I am constantly amazed that they remember minute details about the older version pages. I'm getting more out of it this time because we're using a time line. The Well-Trained Mind recommends doing this for the logic stage, rather than during the grammar years, but it really helps all of us retain the chapters we've read. I'm using small pictures - either from the actual book or from the computer - and pasting them right on the time line. The visual is indispensible!







• Copywork is new for Elbow and quite exciting. Bobo is not as enthusiastic as she once was (she used to bring it to church to show people), but we plod along and will move on to cursive after she finishes Copybook III.







• I've always loved using McGuffey for oral reading. Still do. The selections are a good length and the old-fashioned 'preachiness' is perfect for my 'by the book' reader.







• We're not making great progress in Exploring Creation through Zoology. I still love the Apologia books, I just never had a two year old BOY at the table before. Working on phonics with Elbow also cuts into the schedule - obvioulsy - quite a bit. We did Exploring Creation through Astronomy last year and really stuck to a weekly schedule. Bobo made a notebook. This year we're taking a more relaxed approach with science. We've been looking up bugs and birds that are of interest to us, or reading a little now and then. I may go back to a more systematic approach soon - not sure.






• We just finished a study of Bach. We read Bach: The Boy from Thuringia, listened to Mr. Bach Comes to Call and the Music Masters Bach CD many times. We narrated and did coloring pages for our book of composers. Next up is Handel.






• We're still looking at prints of Van Gogh for our picture study. No artist details at all; just enjoying some paintings. (Well, I shouldn't say no details at all. It's hard to neglect the cutting off the ear story when the children see pictures of the bandaged head in the art books).






• I'm not satisfied with Spelling Workout B. Let me re-phrase: I'm not convinced it's doing anything for Bobo. Granted, we don't do it as we should (with pre-test, going over words each day). It's a lot of busy work with little bang for the buck. I don't think she retains much of it. We're going to drop Spelling for a while and just work on words she constantly mis-spells in other contexts. We'll pick it up again in a few months.




• Bobo is in her second year of piano lessons. Elbow wants to play the violin; I'm trying to hold her off until she's six. So far, it's not working. She petitioned her Sunday School teacher last weekend for names of teachers and where to get a violin. Her teacher (who has 3 accomplished string players in her brood) was oh-so-eager to oblige. Great. Toddzilla wants to play the banjo - always has. This could get interesting. And expensive.

Swooning.

Stopped by Barnes and Noble to read a few magazines tonight -- part of my newly minted Mom's Night Out. I grabbed all the usual suspects and one I had never seen before called Organize. Oh. My. Goodness! I even like the ads in this magazine. I could spend all evening just browsing websites I've come across in this new found treasure trove of information. How cute is all this and this and this?

Musings on Music

I can't say enough about two wonderful resources for developing an appreciation of great music for children (and adults!). We are having so much fun with Zeezok Publishing's series on great composers. We enjoyed Mozart: The Wonder Boy this summer and are now in the midst of Bach: The Boy from Thuringia. My daughters listen with rapt attention; they especially enjoy the stories from the composers' childhoods and the delightful illustrations.

While we're studying a composer, we listen to his story and music on the Vox Music Masters CDs throughout the day. They have a great selection of the composer's music, interspersed with details about his life. Today we listened to the Bach CD as we sculpted and painted in the afternoon. (It was really too nice a day for indoor play, but we just got a new pack of Sculpey -- with 30 colors! -- and the little ones couldn't resist.)

When we finish the book and have listened to the CD many times, we color and narrate pages from History Scribe's musician pages and the Bellerophon coloring books of Great Composers. The pages are then parked in our music notebook until further notice.

Other than 8 years of piano and the lead role in Happy Birthday Sebastian (a church production -- I got to wear the cool white wig and some satin knickers too), my own education in music is shoddy at best.

I love this thing called school at home...