Go Grant!

Our family spent this past weekend with some of our dearest friends. Our husbands worked together before we got married and one day Brent mentioned that I'd really like Brian's wife, Kathy. He described her to me and I immediately thought "We couldn't be more polar opposites if we tried!". Yet, as God would have it, we became super close friends and shared the first few years of our marriages and parenting years doing everything together. They are from Western Maryland but had to move to Harford County for a few years for his job. And, it just so happened they moved onto the same exact street as us after we got married!

It was great. We had impromptu dinner together several times a week, hung out late into the evening, yard saled together, walked each other around the neighborhood while each of us were in labor so we didn't have to call our husbands home from work yet, nursed our babies together (often through tears), caught children's vomit in their bare hands (yes, he's an awesome uncle!), picnicked together, and had many more special moments.

A few years back, (ok, like 11!) they were blessed to go back home to Western MD to their family farm. We have missed them terribly through the years, but each year either they come east for a visit or we head west for some lovin' on them and their kiddos. It is so awesome to have a friendship where you just pick up and go from where you've left off.
The past few years, they have graciously invited Brent and the older boys to come hunt on the farm for deer season. Two years ago, Grant and Jake didn't get anything. But this year was much better!

Jake headed out in the early morning hours and got a shot at an 8 point buck, but just barely missed him. Poor kiddo. He was disappointed, but excited to have actually taken a shot. Meanwhile, Tasha (11)was hunting with her daddy and landed herself a beautiful 6 point buck! Her first buck! Boy was she excited!

Later in the morning, Grant headed out. Kathy and I were chatting away when Grant burst into the room screaming that he got a deer! It was good sized doe and boy was he excited. He said he practically leaped out of his skin! I know he'll hate me for saying it, but he was soooo cute to listen to him explain every detail of the shoot.

Unfortunately, Jake woke up with a fever so we cut our visit a few hours short and didn't go to church with them like we normally do, but headed home. Even though it was a short trip, we still had a fantastic time catching up and having fun. (In fact, we had so much fun, I didn't take any pictures except of Grant's deer!) Sorry!

Our school year

I really need to post about Jake's 10th birthday, but I haven't downloaded my pics from my camera yet!

So in the meantime, I'm going to write about our school year.

The past two years we've used Tapestry of Grace. I have absolutely loved the depth and biblical focus of it. I learned a ton. However, the past two years have been the absolute craziest two of my entire homeschooling career. 2008 held 2 sick pregnancies and 2 second trimester miscarriages and 2009 was consumed with mission trips to Mexico and beginning the adoption process in Mexico. Needless to say, I just couldn't keep up with the weekly prep work that Tapestry demanded. It's a shame since it is such a wonderful curriculum, but instead of it helping me, it was making schooling harder.

So, after a lot of indecision (Tara and Mel, I'm so sorry for all my agonizing phone conversations!) I finally chose to go a simpler route.  With the upheaval of the Mexico adoption and the beginning of the Colombia adoption and knowing we will most likely travel for a month in the middle of our school year, I decided to make this year a more "independent study" type of year.

I really felt like I needed to focus on preparing my middle schoolers (7th, 6th, 5th) for the upcoming high school years by solidifying the skills they need to succeed. I did a lot of research to figure out which skills I wanted to heavily incorporate and which ones we already had a good handle on. In fact, instead listing out our yearly line up of subject curricula, I decided to list out the skills I wanted them to work on and then picked and chose our books based on that.

Our list of products we are using hasn't actually changed but I think it helped solidify in my head my purpose for each one. Maybe everyone else already does this naturally, but for some reason it all just clicked in my head this year, and school suddenly became stress free. I think I'd been allowing the curriculum to control us instead of allowing it to serve us.  It's all perspective, huh?

The older 3 are doing most of the same skills, just at the age/developmental level they are in. Makes things easy! Oh, and not everything is done every day!
So, here's our line up:

Memorization- Scripture memory, Science Facts, History Timeline, States and Capitals

Discussion, Inductive Bible Study, Logic- Morning Bible discussion time using inductive method, The Fallacy Detective with real life "debates" since 3 of them are in that phase of life!

Math
Cait and Grant- Prepare for Pre-algebra and begin AlgebraTeaching Textbooks 7 and begin TT Pre-alg. (This has been my best purchase this year. Highly worthwhile!)
Jake- Solidify mult/div facts, grade level math- Teaching Textbooks 5


Independent Study Skills/Test taking skills/Lab Report writing- Apologia General Science for Cait


Writing
Various writing genres- IEW Student Intensive Continuation Course A (she could handle B, but we're doing it all together with the boys so she's getting her assignments beefed up)
Current Event Reports- biweekly 
Beginning Literature Analysis Essays- reading lots of classic lit from a list I compiled, weekly literature analysis papers based of the questions in Well Trained Mind, Figuratively Speaking worksheets on literary techniques.
Outlining other people's writing- Kingfisher History Encyclopedia or other books from the shelf or library
Notetaking- Apologia Elementary Anatomy and Physiology (The boys are doing this in more of a "notebooking" fun format but Cait is doing more normal bullet point notetaking)
Research-short and frequent!- Mostly on history topics. We're all listening to the Story of the World chapter on audio and then each choses a topic to research and write an essay. They do this 2-3 times a week. Each child has varying lengths the essay must be.
Diagramming, Grammar fluency, Spelling accuracy- Christian Light Language Arts (just the grammar portion- LOVE this program!) and All About Spelling, Cait- Spell to Write and Read Wise Guide

Reading Speed, Reading Accuracy, Learning to appreciate varied genre, Vocabulary- 1 hour of reading required a day from a booklist I compiled (also includes lots of discussion time!), Vocabulary from the Classical Roots

Master the Spanish language- No! Just kidding! I'll just be happy if they can introduce themselves to their new siblings!  I do think that Spanish for Children, Spanish for Adoptive Families, and living in Colombia for a month will take care of this important skill! LOL!




Wow, that looks like a TON! But it's not really! In fact we are finishing our days earlier than we ever have in the past. I think it's because I don't have a different curriculum for each subject. It's more integrated. I don't think I could manage complete integration like some curricula do, but for us, this is working really well.

We are almost 4 months into our school year (started beginning of July) and already I'm seeing tons of progress. And attitudes toward our school time have improved tenfold. They all love the research part of the day and go crazy with wanting to report on every nugget of info they find.


And, to end this super long post, Here's Quinn's line-up:

Math- Christian Light 1
Copywork/Narrations- Writing With Ease
Spelling- All About Spelling
Reading- every book he can get his hands on, and Phonics Pathways
Trickle down effect- he tags along with everything else!

Spring 2010 Catch up

Cait and Daddy went out with her girlfriends and their daddies for a nice dinner and a browse through the bookstore. They are all getting so grown up. I pray that she sees her daddy's example when she looks for a Godly husband one day.

Being silly!

Caitlin learned how to make the famous Mexican dessert- Tres Leche Cake. Mmmm deliciouso!

We had fun fishing in the neighbor pond and catching frogs and other critters!

There is a dilapidated old farmhouse with barns and outbuildings on the same property. We had fun going exploring in the buildings and traipsing through the fields around the farm.

Presentation Night display

A trip to the Washington Zoo was full of fun!

The Panda bear entertained us for quite a while- up close!

Pine Wood Derby

The highlight of February was the Stockade Pinewood Derby. The boys had been dutifully working on their cars each week in clubs. They decided that they wanted their cars to be a surprise for mom so I was banned from the work area of the basement and was pushed away whenever there was talk of colors or stickers or names. It was so cute!
The big day arrived and I finally got to see their cars that they had done ALL BY THEMSELVES! They did a great job. So many of the other kids had fancier, more perfect looking ones, but it is obvious that the parents did most of the work. That's fine, but I was super proud of their work that they had created without much assistance.

The races started and boy, do these kids and parents really get into this thing! There have even been issues of parents helping their kids cheat just so they can win! WHAT? I just don't get it. It's just so...so...so TEMPORAL! I mean- it is great to have fun, make a car, race, laugh- but come on, it's not something to succumb to cheating over! Ah... I digress...

Jake had created his car sleek and streamlined and painted it silver-calling it the Silver Bullet. And, he did really well! His car was in the top running for a while. Then during the last set of final races, they allowed the boys to re-graphite the wheels and I think (I'm not fooling anyone. I have no idea. I'm just repeating what the men said.) that it bogged down the wheels because he suddenly started to slow down. It's ok because he still did well and won a trophy! Pretty cool for his first year!

Grant's car didn't do as well on the track but it did place in the finals for design. Even though there were other more ornate cars, the judges were looking for creativity in design. He called his Wrath of God and painted it a bright fiery orange color! Isn't that hysterical! You couldn't miss it either. It was BRIGHT! And he did win a trophy for good looks!

Since Jake came in high enough in the ratings we got the "priviledge" to attend the Regional Derby Car race. Oh Joy! This event is really a test of Brent's and my commitment to parenting. We love our kids and are excited about the things they are excited in, but going to two of these races a month apart was a true test of self denial. (I feel utterly ashamed of myself, now.) Unfortunately, I forgot our camera and I don't have any photos of the Regional. Lets just say it was a LONG day. It was more fun helping serve the food with Wendy- for the kids, too.
Oh, well, I will have recovered by next year and will have renewed vigor and enthusiasm! LOL!

Birthdays!

Grant turned 10 and Quinn turned 5 this January! We don't do parties every year, but since this was a special one for both, we decided to have a combined celebration. Since we couldn't do it until February, we let each boy pick a restaurant on their actual birthday. Grant chose Outback so he could get some STEAK! Can you tell he's growing up? (These kids are starting to cost a fortune when we go out to eat! No more kids meals! Grrr...)
Quinn, on the other hand, wanted no parts in a restaurant this year! All he wanted was to be home and have tomato soup and grilled cheese and decorate cupcakes! LOL! I kept trying to talk him into going to a restaurant (one less meal for me to cook, right?!), but he was insistent! This child is no pushover!

Then later in February we had their party. Grant was thrilled to get a multipurpose tool which he's been drooling over for a while. I'd been telling him that there was no way I was letting him carry around something containing a knife, so he didn't think he'd actually get one! I think he was pretty surprised!
I was having a hard time finding a gift for Quinn since we'd given him his heart's desire at Christmas- a cowboy costume. There was really nothing that he wanted, so I got him a mini trampoline- something I wanted! Oh, not for me! For my hightly bouncy children who constantly use my sofa as a "bounce-a-line" (as they call it!) I had hoped that it would curb the desire to use the furniture but alas, it has only caused them to want to jump off the sofa and onto the trampoline!

It was a little hard choosing a theme for the party since Grant wanted a Knight theme and Quinn wanted a cowboy theme. So, we combined. The cousins came dressed as either a knight or a cowboy and all was well. I don't go overboard with party decor and games and all, (Caitlin's 5th Princess Party did me in forever!) but they did request a castle cake. It turned out cute and they were happy!
Happy Birthday Grant and Quinn!!!

5K

In order to keep up with the requirements of his job, Brent runs regularly. It has gotten difficult to find time that isn't taken away from family time to do this, so he started taking Caitlin along with him. She loved the one on one time and actually found that she liked the challenge.

Recently, she attended a "Do Hard Things" conference where she was challenged by some older teens to "rebel" against the low expectations that culture has for teens. She was encouraged to try new things and do things that she would consider hard. Brent suggested that she push herself and train to compete in a 5K race. Her first reaction was "NO WAY!" but after she considered the "do hard things" mentality, she decided to step out of her comfort zone and go for it. In addition, she decided she wanted to go even further and try to collect $500 worth of pledges to help raise money for a health facility at River Valley Ranch.
This was even further out of her comfort zone as she would have to actually write a letter to family and friends and ASK them for donations! Definitely, not her cup of tea! She learned a lot about trusting God and gaining confidence in Him.


We were so proud of her determination and her ability to raise, not only$500, but $790!!! Tons of family and friends, even people she didn't know but had read the letter, supported her in this unusual plan of hers to "do hard things". What a faith builder!

And, she ran her personal best time! She completed the 5k (3.2miles) in 31 minutes and 30 seconds. That's a 10 minute, 10 second mile! Way better than I could even dream of doing!

As a reward for her efforts, she won an ipod, and for raising the most money in her category, she won a BIKE! She was beaming and I'm so glad she was blessed by her ability to trust God in this circumstance.

In addition to the 5K, Grant and Jacob participated in the 1 mile, Kids Fun Run. They can't wait for their turn at the 5k next year!

Our New Throne Seat

I can't believe I'm posting about our toilet!
Since we moved in I've hated our master bathroom toilet seat. But just this past month have I finally gotten my act together and bought a new one. Grant was thrilled when I let him pick it out at the store and actually install the whole thing by himself. He felt very grown up!

Grant

I had taken these pictures last month one evening when we were cooking hot dogs over the campfire one night. I just love these of Grant! He's really concentrating on those hot dogs!

Grant's History

Here are some things I had written down about Grant.

Daddy was in police academy for the first 6 months of life. Has a crazy birth story which I won't write here!

Has the Funniest faces. Loves to make people laugh.

Age 2- Dumped an entire box of cheerios on the floor!

Loves to play "Honey and Sweetie" (husband and wife) with Cait

Best friends with Caitlin although he doesn't let her boss him around!

Has a horrible stubborn streak that we're having difficulty dealing with. Spankings don't necessarily work!


Age 4- Oct 2003- Had an hour long (memorable) battle on church parking lot. All the uncles and boys were going to the park while girls had a tea party for Cait's birthday. Grant didn't want to ride in Alex's car seat. It was a long drawn out (embarassing for mom!) ordeal. he wasn't allowed to go and sat on a chair for the tea party. After that huge ordeal (Daddy wasn't there but even Uncle Eric administered some discipline!), I had very few battles.

Humbling scenario #2- I'm at Dawn Garner's house to lead a mom's Bible study on training your children to love God. Grant starts throwing a fit so I take him into the bathroom where I try to impress on him the spiritual battle he is in. Obviously, it wasn't working as he screamed at the top of his lungs, " I LOOOVE SATAN!" big sigh.....God has such a sense of humor, doesn't He?

In awe of Chip Bauer playing guitar for praise choruses on Tuesday Nights. Then Chip sat with us one night and Grant colored a picture for him during the service. After that he couldn't get enough of Chip. This has developed into a wonderful relationship. And, he got his first guitar in summer 2005 (6 1/2)

Age 6 1/2- 1st baseball game- Aberdeen Ironbirds

Lost first tooth December 2005

Becoming a very hard physical worker

Blogging!

Ok, all this blogging fever is sweeping our family! Now, Caitlin and Grant have their own blogs set up. I decided to let them keep a blog as a way of having an "audience" for their writing. I am hoping that this will help them feel like their compositions are worthwhile to write. So often a child is just assigned a paragraph, while both teacher and student know full well that it will be edited, and promptly stuck in a binder never to be seen again. This way, our few- preselected family members will be able to comment and offer their encouragement and feedback. (If you haven't received an invitation- email me! I just haven't gotten around to it yet!)
The way I see it working is for the child to physically write the paragraph on paper, (still needs practice that way!). Then, edit it. After a week or so of writing assignments (this time period is still being worked out) the child can pick their favorite(s) and type (another worthy skill!) it into their blog. I'm leaving the fun List categories on the sidebar to their fancy- with my permissions given, of course! And, obviously, any self-motivated writing will be welcome! I hope this works! It really could be fun- if they receive enough feedback!