Monday was another work day. Any time Joyce is willing to come over and be part of the work party, we are happy to get busy. Again, my job was to care for the children and the meals while the work crew did their magic. Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday was a special day for several reasons. Of course, it was Mother’s Day, so all the children were prompted by their father to give the appropriate greeting to their mother. But more importantly to them, it was Isaac’s birthday! Read the rest of this entry »

As I was sorting through the pile of paperwork and handouts that came along with our chicks, I noticed a brochure called “Kids in the Kitchen” put out by the American Egg Board. One of the recipes caught my eye, so I asked Luke if he wanted to put it together. He was so tickled to be able to make this recipe, and we thought it turned out quite yummy, so I wanted to share it with you here. The recipe was originally intended to be put together in separate custard cups, but we just used a bigger pan and adjusted the cooking time a bit. Here is how we did it. Read the rest of this entry »

(The following is an e-mail I sent to my husband at work.)

When I came back upstairs after talking to you and then putting in a new load of laundry, I realized I didn’t know where Judah was. Fortunately he was making noise upstairs, so it was easy to track him down.

He was in the bathroom, and he had been playing in the toilet. There was water splashed all over the seat, toilet paper was unrolled, and there were splashes of water on the floor along with bits of wet toilet paper. When he saw me, Judah pulled some soggy toilet paper out of his mouth and dropped it on the floor. When I got closer, I realized the toilet hadn’t been flushed after the last person used it. Judah’s outfit was wet and his diaper was dirty and hanging low.

As I was getting him all cleaned up, changing his diaper and putting a new outfit on him, Luke came upstairs. I started complaining to Luke about what Judah had been doing and wishing out loud to Luke that someone would have kept an eye on Judah while I was downstairs. After I was done with my rant, Luke said very cheerfully about Judah, “He sure is a kerative boy, to think of a way to get you to put a clean outfit on him!”

School is supposed to be dull. It’s supposed to be tedious. It’s usually not very interesting, and it’s certainly NOT supposed to be silly!

So what was the big idea yesterday, as we were studying shapes, to be bouncing around the living room shouting,

“CIRCLE!”

“SQUARE!”

“RECTANGLE!”

???

This was school??? Oh dear. Studying shapes and identifying them should probably be a bit more sedate, don’t you think?

And then on to our science lessons… We spend a lot of time studying the chicks that are in our front yard throughout the day. We noticed that one of them had a large lump on it’s neck, so we researched chicks and lumpy necks and learned that it’s not unusual, since the bird will sort of “pig out” on it’s food, to have a lump there. In fact, you can feel the food through the thin skin of the bird’s “crop”. Totally cool! And it’s been fun giving the chicks stuff to eat. Veggie scraps, crushed egg shells, and yellow squash that was past it’s prime. We’ve learned that chicks don’t seem interested in avocado shells or rejected onions. Who knew??? We’re also watching their big feathers grow in, and we got to see what the chicks thought of the garden snake that was dangled into their pen. (They didn’t really care. Doubt if they even knew what it was.)

The neighbors are fascinated with the goings on at our house. As the kids wait for the school bus, they look longingly at our kids already playing and learning. And when the neighbor kids get home from school they hurry over to our house to catch up on what’s been happening all day. I do feel guilty that we’re having such a good time here. After all, school isn’t supposed to be THIS much fun, is it?

Two days ago I made the trip to Ottawa, IL, to attend an open house at McNatt Learning Center. It was intriguing to see how the staff there can help people. I often get frustrated with my children when they exhibit behaviors that I assume are just discipline issues.  But what if some of their “issues” could be resolved?

We haven’t yet started any treatment with the McNatt Learning Center, but I would urge you to check it out if you have questions or concerns.  We’re on this journey together!

Today’s theme is one of variety! Life here in our house rarely follows one theme for very long anyway, so I’m going to share three different things that I found amusing.

On the Fence
First, let me show you my eldest child “relaxing” yesterday evening while working with some modeling clay.

I’d like to know how a person can even SIT on a fence like this, much less consider it relaxing. When I asked Laura how she was doing it, she said without any degree of amazement or bragging, “I’m just sitting on my heels.” Oh. I see. Read the rest of this entry »

Some people take sick days, but here at our house, we’re having an injury day today. I rigged up a swing for the kids to enjoy on the front porch, and they have been swinging on it almost nonstop all day! But one by one they are getting injured. Read the rest of this entry »

In the middle of the night (around 1 a.m., to be more specific) I was awakened by a tiny kitten voice crying. So I thought, “Oh, that’s nice, Indigo is having her kittens.” I wanted to make sure she was having them in a good spot, so I turned on the light to investigate. Indeed, she had found a wonderful spot, right at the foot of our bed, on top of our down comforter! Read the rest of this entry »

Last night we attended the sixth annual Arts Alive program at our church.  What a thrill to see my children get up on stage and present the poems they have worked so hard to learn.  I was so proud of them.

And again I’m reminded of why their success means so much to me.  It’s because I AM THE TEACHER!