First Steps

For the past couple of weeks, S has been looking like he is about to start walking. He has taken a few steps here and there (including four while I was trying to fill in my ballot), but he usually gives up after one step. Crawling is so much easier. Today, he was holding a broom, and it must have given him just the right amount of balance as he took several steps in a row. I watched incredulously as he kept walking. I know that any day now, he will just take off. My little baby is growing up.

Six Already?

We celebrated AJ's birthday this month. Timo was away for his actual birthday, so we held his party the following weekend. This year, he was able to invite more kids since he has had more of an opportunity to make friends through the co-op. It was great seeing so many kids come to celebrate with my (not-so) little guy.

AJ wanted a knight-themed party, so we purchased plates, cups, plastic blow-up swords, sheilds, and masks before the party. Then, I decorated some chocolate cupcakes with crowns, sheilds, and swords to match the theme.

I have to take a moment to thank my wonderful hubby for taking the kids out of the house so I could have the uninterrupted time to get these done. They took a lot longer than they probably should have, but my birthday boy was happy with the end results. I tried to put some creativity into the sheilds, placing Lego pieces, a puzzle piece, a car, a swing, a cape, and a slide on the sheilds instead of the usual symbols.

AJ seemed to have a ton of fun playing with his friends at his party. I don't know how much of his sixth birthday he will remember, but you never know what kids will recall. If he can look back with a smile, I will count it as a success.

Science Class

I have been teaching a science class at our home school co-op this semester. The kids are around AJ's age, and I struggled with what topic to teach them. I finally settled on energy. That topic encompasses so much, and it would provide a platform from which to jump into physics at a later date.

I don't know how much they are learning, but I have definitely put forth effort in creating a hands-on learning experience.

 

We started off with just an introduction to energy. We talked about distance, force, and work. Then we moved into the definition of energy: the ability to do work. From there, we moved into potential and kinetic energy, discussing elastic potential and gravitational potential energy. We then shifted our focus and discussed how energy is changed from one form to another and what we can do with it. We built a simple flywheel generator with a couple of motors and a bicycle tire to generate electricity to turn a propeller. This was a great visual for the kids to see and (hopefully) understand how windmills and turbines work. We also built a simple solar toy car. Then, it was time to build our own batteries using household items.

 

I explained that all that was needed was two different metals and an acid. I realize that there are alkaline batteries, but I didn't want to get into that. We used copper and zinc as our metals, and the kids each built their own potato battery and lemon battery.

I then showed them how to build a voltaic cell. They each helped with one layer.  We used zinc washers, copper pennies, and vinegar-soaked paper towel circles for this one. Unfortunately, our voltaic cell was the only battery which generated enough voltage and current to light our LED. I did bring along a multimeter to measure the output of their other batteries, though, and every one of the children built a functioning food-based battery.

 

Voltaic Cell

The following week, we used specially-formulated play-dough to build circuits. I showed them how to put LEDs in series and parallel, and they definitely enjoyed the wow-factor that this produced.


LEDs in parallel

After that, I let them loose to create their own circuits. AJ built a submarine, one girl built a bunny, and another girl built a cat. It was so much fun to witness their creativity. AJ's submarine boasted three lights, and this project allowed me to discuss short circuits and why their LEDs wouldn't light if they did not put them in the circuit right.

This week, we plan on continuing the circuit fun, and I also plan on reviewing what we learned so far this fall. Although I was a bit intimidated at first, I am happy I took on this task. While the kids have been learning about science, I have been learning about teaching. This should assist me as I continue in my quest to educate my children at home.

Renewing my Mind

The kids and I have been doing a lot of memory work in home school this fall. So far, without even really planning this in the beginning, we have memorized six poems together as well as several memory verses.
We attended a family retreat in early September where they challenged us to memorize chapters of the Bible rather than select verses. The idea was to get the entire context of the verses rather than just pulling them out at random. We chose Philippians 4 for various reasons, and we have been working our way through the chapter ever since.
We were also encouraged to put the verses to rhythm or song, and, after some deliberation and many rejected tunes, we settled on a classical piece. We sing the verses every school day, and S has come to recognize the tune. He will "dance" to it when we sing it, and he always receives it with a big smile on his face.
I have found myself singing the verses at odd times throughout the day, and I occasionally hear the kids doing so as well. I have even found myself thinking of the verses at night as I try to go to sleep. Usually, my mind races with everything that has happened that day as well as what we plan to accomplish the following day. When the verses run through my head instead, I find I have a much easier time falling asleep.
Memorizing this passage with the kids has positively influenced our lives. I look forward to completing this passage and tackling the next one. It is so much easier to meditate on His words day and night when they are such a built-in part of our daily lives.

I Want to Remember

I've heard homeschooling compared to a black hole. Everything gets sucked in. This is definitely true in my life as well. My days are spent schooling, cleaning, cooking, caring for my kids, and running errands. That doesn't leave much time for anything else, especially blogging.

In the midst of this chaos and busyness, there are parts of life I want to remember. I am afraid that if I don't write them down, I will forget. Like when H puts on several pair of underwear at a time, or how S dances and claps his hands when AJ plays "Grand Old Flag" on the piano and sings to it. I want to remember that H is the first one to help if I am doing anything in the kitchen. It doesn't take long before I hear the chair scooting across the floor as he pushes it from the dining room into the kitchen, saying, "I want to help, Mommy."

I want to remember K dancing to "Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam" as I try to sing S to sleep, even though she should be in bed herself. And H breaking out in poem when he sees the moon... "The moon has a face like the clock in the hall, She shines on thieves on the garden wall." I don't want to forget S crawling toward me, saying, "Mamamamamama," or his proclamation of wanting to nurse, "Nu nu nu nu nu." I want to remember K crawling into bed with S when he starts crying, trying to calm him by snuggling with him. And H standing with his legs apart and his arms out, trying to "trap" people from passing by, even though he weighs only about 5 or 6 pounds more than S. He is so feisty and full of passion.

I want to remember AJ crawling around on the floor, trying to get S to chase him, and succeeding in getting him to laugh. And AJ playing the Demo song on the piano and galloping around the fireplace as part of his "dance" to the music. And AJ telling me the best part of co-op is science because he has me as his teacher. And H telling me he is happy with me right after I told him I am not happy with him. Then his asking if I am happy with him after he has obeyed and the hug that ensues.

I want to remember H talking about the air show for weeks and AJ riding his new bike around the cul-de-sac, singing "God Bless the USA." I want to remember their spontaneous patriotism in the Safeway parking lot on Columbus Day when the flags were flying. They burst into the national anthem and all sang their heart out.

I want to remember K glancing up at me as I enter the dance studio toward the end of her class, and how she is obviously distracted by my presence as I see her looking at me instead of focusing on the task at hand. I want to remember how she loves to read past her bedtime, and how she devours books. I want to remember that AJ turned his light back on to do his sentence workbook when he should have been trying to go to sleep.

So, while many of my posts are for others to learn what is going on in our lives or to record the unique experiences we have encountered, this one is for me. I want to look back and smile as I remember these fleeting days. Because time does indeed fly by quickly.

Summertime

This summer has flown by. I can't believe that we are already starting school again with the kids. Our crazy schedule started the week Timo was in Sweden. The following week, I came down with a week-long stomach bug. Our first round of company arrived the first day I felt decent after being sick.
We had a wonderful time with them. He was Timo's childhood best friend, and it had been five years since our families had seen one another. That means that AJ was just a baby when we saw them last. K was only two.

Two days after they left, we were on our way to Chicago to visit my family. We all gathered at a hotel there, and we struggled to catch up with everyone in our multitude during the all-too-short 5-day vacation.

Our next round of visitors was set to arrive two days after we returned from Chicago, but flight delays translated into an arrival the following day. These were two of my wonderful friends visiting all the way from Sweden. What a wonderful time we had. I shared many cultural experiences with them as well as taking them out into the hot, dry climate around here -- so much different than Sweden!

I was sad to see them leave, but the following weekend, my parents arrived for a short visit. They brought my grandmother's hope chest and two of my grandfather's paintings, all precious possesions more because of the sentimental value than the intrinsic value. It was great to see them again, even though we had just visited in Chicago. Since there were fewer people around, I felt we had more time together during their short stay than we had during the 5 days in the Windy City.

After my parents left, I settled down to try to get into a routine and prepare for the upcoming schoolyear. I love having company, but it is nice to be just our family again.

Peach Preserves



My first batch of peach jam

My in-laws recently visited and brought us about 20 lbs of peaches. I love fresh peaches, and I was drooling over these. However, our family can only eat so many before they start to go bad. I have always wanted to try my hand at making preserves, but I was always intimidated by the process. With so many peaches, I decided it was now or never.

I knew I needed jars, pectin, and some basic tools, so I took advantage of a rare solo trip to WallyWorld to peruse their selection of canning supplies. Fortunately, a nice older lady shopped nearby and willingly answered some of my questions. She was so sweet, and I came home with everything I needed to get started.







My second batch of jam included vanilla,
organic agave nectar, cinnamon, and cloves

My first batch of peach jam tasted so good that my jam-detesting daughter devoured almost a whole jar with the help of her brothers right off the bat. I had doubled the recipe but forgot to double the pectin, so it was thin. That didn't stop my kids from indulging. They finished all four jars within the week. My next batch was proportioned correctly, and they helped polish off a jar of that as well.


Processing the jam



My third batch included some frozen organic strawberries I had purchased at half-price with good intentions, but no concrete plans. Given my children's history in jam-eating, I didn't even fully process two of the jars since I knew I could put them in the fridge and finish them before the three-week devour-by date arrived. I was right. I made it today, and the first jar is almost gone.

Strawberry Peach Jam

If I had known how easy the process really is, I would have tried this a long time ago. For now, my family is enjoying Mom's new hobby. Now excuse me, I need to go buy more peaches.