UNPLUGGED

The little Ws and I are going to spend the next week completely screen-free. I'm mentioning our break from screens here so that people don't wonder if we dropped dead, shattered our computer, had our electricity shut off, flew to an uninhabited island, or are upset with the people we're not responding to. We're not. We're just temporarily screen-free and will still be happy to talk to you on the phone or in person while we take a break from the screens in our lives. The kids will have access to screens again on 11/6 and I'll be back on 11/7 (eight days for me because I already take an internet break every Sunday). And on that note, I'm logging off.

BOOKS I FINISHED - OCTOBER 2016

Justin Morgan Had a Horse, written by Marguerite Henry

I read this to Naomi for school and enjoyed it as much as I did when I read it to Silas and Devon. It's the story of the colt who eventually became the father of Morgan horses, the man who owned him, and the boy who loved him.



The Kitchen House: A Novel, written by Kathleen Grissom

This book could be considered a downer, but I liked it. I think it's a testament to the resilient spirit of people who have everything stacked against them and find a way to keep moving forward, no matter how messy, painful, and unfair the process is. It's also an inside look at a reality that is completely foreign to most people.



Make the Bread, Buy the Butter: What You Should and Shouldn't Cook From Scratch - Over 120 Recipes for the Best Homemade Foods, written by Jennifer Reese

Sarah mentioned this book on her list of September reading and it intrigued me. I now have a list of recipes I want to try, but I also really enjoyed the writing style. More than just a cookbook, I read it in a couple of sittings. Hearing her descriptions of how she came to decided whether to recommend making or buying a particular food was both interesting and amusing, and I found myself laughing at various points throughout the book.



Moon over Manifest, written by Claire Vanderpool

Stacey and Sheila recommended this book, written by the author of Navigating Early, which I read in March and loved. This one was harder for me to get into, but I ended up liking it. It's the fictional story of a girl whose dad, the only parent she has, sends her off to live with people she doesn't know. It's about the history of a community, loyalty and secrets, and belonging.



A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-First Century, written by Oliver Van DeMille

Mandi, in explaining how she was changing her approach to school , and Heather, in a podcast with her daughter about homeschooling through high school, are two friends who had mentioned this book during a season where I felt like shaking things up a bit, so I decided to read it. I'm definitely a Type A, structure-loving, plan-following kind of person, and we aren't unhappy with Sonlight, the curriculum we've been using and loving all along. However, lately I've felt like turning into an unschooler who just learns through life and lets go of checking all the boxes. In fact, I want to ignore all the boxes. That's so out of character for me! We're still using Sonlight and I'll never be an unschooler, but I do think we'll be shifting a few things around in the next few months. No radical changes, but just some that I hope will make what's good even better.

No book is perfect and not every detail of every approach will work for every person, but I think every parent and educator should read this one. It's filled with wisdom and practical ideas. Here are several of the quotes that stood out to me.

p. 38, Application to the real world is essential; no education is complete, or even particularly valuable, unless the student uses what he or she has learned to serve the community, family, society and God.

p. 48, To achieve truly excellent education, keep it simple: Read, Write, do Projects and Discuss.

p. 50, The key to quality discussion is to have lots of discussions, both planned and spontaneous, about classic and other quality readings.

p. 53, A great mentor is not only one who gives assignments, but also one who accepts them and thereby allows the student to begin practicing leadership.

p. 79, This is key to good writing: students must be reading good writers.

p. 103, Find a model of great education in history and you will find a great teacher who inspired students to make the hard choice to study. Wherever you find such a leader, you will also find self-motivated students who study hard. When students study hard, learning occurs.

p. 103, Let me be absolutely clear about this: When students don't study,  no funding, program, policy, law, philanthropic donation, presidential mandate or anything else will provide quality education. When students freely and voluntarily choose to study hard, education improves. Over time it achieves excellence.

p. 111, This is a great key to life: lose your life in service and you will become great. Do what is right, even when it is difficult, especially when it is difficult. Do not make the mistake of being a social climber. Of course you will want to use your knowledge and skills and talents to do great things, but do them because they are right, because they are good, not because they make you look good.

p. 111, The world teaches that good grades equal intelligence, but they don't; that degrees are equal to education, but they aren't; that money and position are success, but they aren't. Do not buy the facades the world offers. Only virtue is success. Only integrity is greatness.



When You Reach Me, written by Rebecca Stead

This book is about a girl who keeps receiving anonymous notes written from someone who knows details of her life that shouldn't be known. I had a hard time getting into it, but eventually found myself pulled in enough that I was trying to predict the ending. This is a book Silas will read for school this year, but I read it for myself.

p. 144, Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It's like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten.



The Woman in the Photo, written by Mary Hogan

I loved this piece of historical fiction. It bounces back and forth between the past and the present, narrated by two women tied together by a photo of Clara Barton. I'd never heard of the Johnstown Flood before reading this book and have been intrigued by the pictures I've found online.

p. 165, "You'll be your own kind of beauty. Which is the only kind of beauty to be."

p. 325, ... nothing matters so much as service to others. No riches - or positions in society - can replace the precious feeling of being useful.

p. 354, "Of course I know. I'm your mother. I have eyes in the back of my head and ears in the front. I am a Picasso."

KIDS' PICTURE BOOKS I LIKED

B is for Beaver: An Oregon Alphabet, written by Marie and Roland Smith and illustrated by Michael Roydon

This book has a simple rhyming text that tells something about Oregon for every letter of the alphabet, but also includes a lot more information about each thing in the sidebar of every page for more advanced readers. It's part of a series and we're going to try reading all of them. Both authors and the illustrator are Oregonians and we're hoping the other books have that same personal touch, having the text and pictures be done by someone who lives in the state the book is about.



Bridges Are to Cross, written by Philemon Sturges and illustrated by Giles Laroche

The illustrations of each bridge scene are great, but I also like how it gives the name of each bridge, where it's located, the style of bridge it is, what year it was built, and a little piece of trivia about it.



Draw What You See: The Life and Art of Benny Andrews, written by Kathleen Benson and illustrated by Benny Andrews

I'd never heard of Benny Andrews before, but fulfilling his childhood dream of moving away from the segregation and inequality of Georgia to a life of combining art and activism was neat and I loved his illustrations in the book.

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FABULOUS FLIP FLOPS

I've worn flip flops almost every day of my life for many years and have several pairs, some classic Old Navy ones I've worn for ages and bunch of new ones friends gave me when I turned 40. I've realized in the last few years, though, that my feet, knees, and hips hurt if I'm on my feet all day in them. Evidently I'm old enough now that I need some arch support if I'll be walking around in flip flops for more than a couple hours.

Several months ago I was browsing Goodwill and saw a pair of Okabashi flip flops with great arch support. I'd never heard of the brand and they were twice what I pay for Old Navy flip flops. They looked brand new, so I looked them up online, realized the ones being sold at Goodwill were a great deal, and handed over my money so I could take them home. I was instantly smitten with the arch support. What a difference it made in how my feet felt! Sometimes you just don't realize how big a problem is until you resolve it. 

My only complaint was that the flip flops didn't fit quite right. They looked and felt fine in the store, but after wearing them for a couple weeks I realized they were a smidge too wide. That made my foot hit the rubber in a way that would leave a tender mark on the top of my foot by the end of the day. I hopped back online and realized the brown Okabashi Surfs I had bought were technically for men (nothing distinctly masculine about them) and I think that's why they were a little wide. 

Then I got a pair of denim Okabashi Mauis for my birthday from someone who didn't know I'd recently discovered the brand. My feet just barely fit lengthwise, so I quickly exchanged them for the next size up and have been happily wearing them ever since. I still wear my Old Navy flip flops and all the other fun ones I was given for my birthday on a nearly daily basis, but my Okabashi flip flops are my top pick on days I know I'll be walking around a lot or when my body is sore for one reason or another. 

Here are my happy feet in my Okabashi flip flops.

Some fun little flowers on the inside

See how the opposite side is raised? Love that bit of arch support!

They have several different styles, but this one comes in 15 different colors. That's a lot of options! Bonus points allotted for these other factors that are selling points for some people - made in America, recyclable, vegan-friendly, and can be tossed in the dishwasher or washing machine. The links above will take you to Amazon, but here is Okabashi's size chart for those who want to figure out which size to buy.

Have you ever worn Okabashi shoes? If so, which styles do you like?

UPDATE - I now have three pairs of Mauis - blue, brown, and black. I also have a pair of brown/aqua Indigos someone passed down to me.

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10/27/16: THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for slippers.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

A PLETHORA OF PICTURES

Just some random pictures, glimpses of ordinary life around here during October, starting when Naomi read some Amelia Bedelia to Teebs.

Devon soaked up some sunshine while he enjoyed a book.

Devon and Teebs had fun together at OMSI.

Silas learned new things from one of the firefighters.

Devon, inspired by Bryan Berg, spent a morning creating card structures.

Teebs accepted Silas' challenge to solve IQ Twist without any pieces touching another piece of the same color. I don't have pictures of the other little Ws playing it, but this game is out on the table more than it's on the shelf these days and they all play with it.

Teebs experimented with what he learned from The Crow and the Pitcher in Language and Thinking for Young Children.

Naomi had dinner duty and made Mexican baked eggs with black beans, tomatoes, and chiles.

Tim and Naomi were playing Phase 10 and Naomi hopped out of her chair to put her arm around Tim when I asked them to look at the camera.

The origami someone had been practicing from Dollar Origami spilled over into the laundry they had to fold.

I'm a big fan of using a regular dictionary and, just like my mom did when we asked what something meant, say "look it up" multiple times a week.

I cut the last of our flowers for a friend earlier in the month, but walked out a couple days ago and found this sneaky little bud, the last bit of summer in our yard. 

Ok, that's all for my picture dump.

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DOLLAR WORDS

I was recently introduced to dollar words and decided to see if our family could come up with some. The rule is that each letter in the alphabet is assigned an increasing monetary value, with letter "a" worth $.01 and "z" worth $.26, and your goal is to come up with words that total $1.00 exactly. I wrote all the letters and values on a whiteboard, then we spent a few minutes trying to figure out some dollar words while we waited for friends to come over yesterday. We only had time to come up with two, which we've written on the board since taking this picture, but we plan on adding more as we come up with them. It's spelling and math, along with a side of healthy competition and boredom prevention. Perfect!

AN AFTERNOON AT CHAMPOEG

I recently decided that I'm done waiting for our whole family to do fun things together. Tim's gone a lot and it seems at least one of the bigs has something going each week beyond our normal commitments. My attempts to include everyone means we rarely do anything. Well, I rarely do anything. No longer! I'll obviously still try to do things that work for all 6 Ws, but I'm not opting out of fun things simply because everyone can't participate. That just isn't very realistic in this season of life.

That means that I came home from taking Silas to a friend's house around 11:00 this morning, planted garlic, pruned a few plants, then announced that I didn't want to spend a sunny Saturday inside and was going to Champoeg for a while before I had to pick Silas up. We bought a year long parking pass for state parks back in June that we had yet to use because, as I'm sure you can guess, I've been waiting do things all together. Today we finally started putting it to use.

We had about two hours to spend at the park, so we hiked for the first half and just hung out for the second. We were going to take a picture of ourselves mid-hike, but just then a couple walked by and agreed to take it for us. 

We had to do a silly pose, of course.

We lost Teebs for a while. Thankfully, he turned up right after I took a picture of this giant leaf we saw.

Speaking of foliage, Naomi picked this little flower for me.

Naomi and Teebs spent a bunch of time digging in molehills, finding worms and burying various things they had found in the grass.

Devon sat at the picnic table to chat for a few minutes.

Then he went off to his happy place, up a tree.

Tim and I sat for a bit while the kids did their thing.

Teebs found a cool spot to sit between two trees.

Then all the kids posed  by a tree that we saw and heard break as I was taking the picture of Teebs in the tree wedge.

By that time we had to get Silas, so we loaded up and headed out. I'm so glad we went! I love, love, love being outside and it's easy for me to get so caught up in various responsibilities and/or waiting for ideal circumstances that I never go soak up the great outdoors. I'm looking forward to more days like this in the near future!

10/20/16: THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that a math disaster we started the week with is going to be completely resolved by lunch today.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

FIRE STATIONS & FENCES

Two Saturdays ago the Woodburn Fire District held a safety fair and open house. Silas helped hand out information and goodies at one of the tables, so he was there the whole time, but I took Naomi and Teebs up to check it out for a while. They walked through an ambulance, ate hot dogs, loaded goodie bags with swag from various agencies, went on a ride with me around the block in an old fire truck (Silas got to join us for that), and posed for a picture on an even older fire truck. 

Meanwhile, Tim and Devon stayed home and finished the fence repairs they and Silas had started a couple weeks earlier, as pictured below. The fire truck rides went right by our house all afternoon, so I sent Tim a text when we headed out and he and Devon were waving on the corner when we rode by.

GOOFBALLS

All the little Ws have a silly side, but Devon and Teebs are the goofiest and most random, by far. This is how Teebs walked into the living room one day. No reason other than he thought smashing his nose flat and pulling his cheeks forward with a rubber band sounded like a good time.

Devon reached behind himself during a meal to grab a yam, then used it as a phone for doing Mrs. Doubtfire impersonations. 

This is what I saw across the table when I sat down to dinner one night. Because, why not? I mean, if one buys a huge roll of duct tape, one must come up with creative ways to use it. Right?

Then I looked over and saw Devon's leadership skills in action.

Then this happened later in the day.

Teebs started singing the always obnoxious, super repetitious lyrics to Watch Me, a song the little Ws picked up somewhere unknown to me. It refers to the Nae Nae, a dance move, but we discovered that Teebs didn't really know what he was singing about. He got a little embarrassed and awkward once I busted out the camera and asked him about it, but it's still funny.

These two can drive me bonkers with their shenanigans sometimes, but more often than not they make make laugh.

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A GRANDMA & SOME GIRLS

Naomi and one of her cousins spent a couple nights at Grandma Linda's in late August. Linda likes dollhouses and had asked if Naomi would be interested in one. Linda had already taken color suggestions from Naomi and done a bunch of painting ahead of time, so they did some of the assembly together and then Linda finished the job later. She took the girls to the Portland Miniature Show in early October and gave them some money to spend on a few furnishings for their own houses, then Naomi got to bring her dollhouse home.  

Here's the sign over her front door.

This is the outside of her house. She thinks the stonework at the bottom is really cool!

Here's the inside. Pink, pink, and more pink.

And here are all the rooms. The bathroom is the one she bought a bunch of furnishings for, so it's the most complete. The rest will get furnished over time.

The landing.

Evidently this is currently a napping room for tired dolls, but will eventually be a real bedroom.

The future kitchen/dining area.

And the living room.

With a cobalt living room and lime kitchen of my own, wouldn't you say she comes by her love of bold colors honestly?

Here's a picture Linda sent me of the girls at the end of their visit to the miniature show. Naomi had so much fun, both on the assembly days and at the show. 

10/13/16: THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for full freezers.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

10/11/16: WORTH REPEATING

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An inferiority complex is just as dangerous as a superiority complex - both involve preoccupation with self. In essence, that is the definition of pride.

~ Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life quoted in At the Feet of Jesus: Daily Devotions to Nurture a Mary Heart, both written by Joanna Weaver


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A teacher is two jobs. Fill young minds with knowledge, yes. But more important, give those minds a compass so that knowledge doesn't go to waste.

~ Olympia Dukakis as Principal Jacobs in Mr. Holland's Opus


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If I'm growing spiritually, that means I'm becoming more bothered by my offenses than I am by yours.

~ Scott Sauls as seen on Great Homeschool Conventions' Facebook page


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Whenever you're faced with a difficult decision, flip a coin. It answers your question, not because it tells you what to do, but because in the brief moment the coin is in the air, you know exactly what you want.

Faraz Raiput commenting on a photo on Humans of New York


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"Advice is autobiography," he added. "I only say what worked for me, and then others can choose to try it or not."

~ Why Self-Help Guru James Altucher Only Owns 15 Things, written by Alex Williams in The New York Times


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KINDERGARTEN, ROUND FOUR

Over the years I've listened to friends and educators with more experience than I have talk about the pros and cons of kids being older or younger than their classmates, the advantages and disadvantages of starting school before reaching the birthday cut-off or holding back a year to start later. Silas, Devon, and Naomi all started kindergarten the summer they turned five. Teebs, however, didn't get the memo that all the Ws have birthdays in June or August and has a late birthday in December. So all those things I'd heard and read suddenly became relevant to my life. 

I've gone back and forth, balancing the experiences and opinions of those who have gone before me with the details of our own life, and finally made a decision on what to do with Teebs. Our winter baby has started kindergarten a couple months before he turns five and we'll adjust things along the way if we need to, just like we've always done with our summer babies.

Here's a little peek at his first day of kindergarten earlier in the week. He loves his Handwriting Without Tears book!

We were given a couple sets of bathtub letters, similar to this set from Munchkin, when the bigs were little. We quickly found we enjoy them more as a tool for letter and number recognition, color recognition and sorting, basic reading, and spelling practice than as a bath toy. So we call them "foamies", keep them in an easily accessible place, and Teebs used them for some reading practice.

Next up was his first time reading a story to me. A very short story, but a story nonetheless. This is book one in the I Can Read It series. I confess that there are times when these books drive me crazy, especially the early ones with limited vocabulary, but they were great first readers for Silas and Devon ... and probably would have been for Naomi if she could have seen the words clearly. So, we read them.

We read a little bit of Finding Out About Everyday Things together and he glued some pictures down to show how the water cycle works, then we called it a day.

As the links indicate, the items we used are all available on Amazon, but we originally bought the books from Sonlight when Silas started kindergarten nine years ago. He's really excited to be in kindergarten and I'm looking forward to going through the curriculum a fourth time. It's a fun season of life!

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THANKFUL THURSDAY: 10/6/16

I'm thankful for our blanket bin, a wooden box filled with blankets that reminds me of Dad because I bought it at his neighbor's garage sale during a visit to his house many years ago, Grumps because he was also visiting my dad and broke my twenty dollar bill into smaller bills so I could more easily negotiate the selling price, and several friends and family members because they made or bought the blankets we like to snuggle up with on the couch, spread on the floor for Lego playing and movie watching, or toss on our bed for a little extra warmth during the winter.

What's one thing that you're thankful for?

BOOKS I FINISHED - SEPTEMBER 2016

Blackout, written and illustrated by John Rocco
A picture book I read to the kids, it serves as a good reminder to regularly spend time unplugged and interacting face to face with the people in your life.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, written by Jean Lee Latham and illustrated by John O'Hara Cosgrave, II
I read this to Naomi for school, my third time through the book. It's the true story of Nathaniel Bowditch, a man from the 1700s who changed sailing forever. A mathematical genius with a knack for learning languages and understating nautical things, he was also a humble man who was always willing to patiently teach others what he knew.

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations, written by Alex and Brett Harris
Written by teens for teens, I've heard of this book several times and decided to read it myself. It made some good points and I'll probably have the big boys read it.

p. 22, And we experienced firsthand that all effort - even failed effort - produces muscle.

p. 90, Like pride, complacency thrives when hidden behind rationalizations.

p. 93, Pursue excellence, not excuses.

p. 121, Teens have a lot of energy, but we don't always know what to do with it.; older people often have better insight but don't always have the time or energy to see it through. The beauty of collaboration between older and younger generations is that we combine strength with wisdom - a surefire way to accomplish more for the glory of God.

p. 139, We all want to do big and important things, but we tend to discount the equally important small things that get us there.

p. 145, And because God is good, by doing what He has put before you with all your heart, regardless of whether it appears significant or not, you will find yourself benefited and strengthened, ready for the next big thing.

Finding Jake: A Novel, written by Bryan Reardon
A school shooting has occurred and one boy is missing. His family is obviously distraught and his dad, a man who has stayed home to raise their kids while his wife worked outside the home, is second guessing everything about how he's parented. The community is angry and treating their family poorly, but the family just wants to find their son/brother.

Importance of Being Little: What Preschoolers Really Need From Grownups, written by Erika Christakis
A random pull from the library shelf, I think this book has an important message, but I just skimmed it because I didn't want to spend a big chunk of time reading something I already agreed with. Basically, it's about less structure and more freedom, less formal education and more time to play, less micro-managing by adults and more opportunities for kids to think and discover on their own. It would be good for parents of young kids who spend a lot of time ordering every moment of every day, thinking about how to increase the odds of their kids getting into prestigious colleges, and feeling like it's their responsibility to be the solitary source of entertainment and intellectual stimulation for their child. It would also be good for anyone who works with young kids, whether by profession or as a volunteer.

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, written by Kay Redfield Jamison
I'm always intrigued by books written by people who end up suffering from the very thing they help others to deal with. Jamison was already pursuing a career in mental health when she was diagnosed as manic-depressive, a term she prefers over bipolar. This book is about her struggle to come to terms with her illness and how she eventually found a way to live life with it.

The War That Saved My Life, written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
I loved this story about a young girl who, thanks to her cruel mom's embarrassment over her disfigured foot, has never left her home. Her life changes drastically when she escapes with her younger brother and comes to live with a woman with no husband or children, a woman who had no desire for children to live with her. Risk, love, family, heartbreak, friendship, grief, fear ... it's all there.

p. 205, "Saying something stupid doesn't make you stupid," Susan said. "Luckily for all of us."

Wolf Hollow, written by Lauren Wolk
A child who is a bully. A grown man who is bullied. People who make assumptions. A child who knows the truth. I enjoyed this story.

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GONE HUNTIN'

Silas had planned on trying out for the football team this fall, which he would have had to finance from his own spending budget, but decided in the spring to use his money to pursue hunting instead. He paid for his license and a hunter's education class he took back in May, then had to figure out how to go hunting without a gun or any family members with a clue about hunting. 

One man offered to loan him a gun. Another man took both Silas and Tim to a shooting range about a month ago for some practice. Another man, one who hunts regularly, invited Silas (and Tim as his chauffeur) to join his hunting group this last weekend. This is what happened about ten minutes into the first day of hunting season on Silas' first hunting trip.

He posed a little later with the rack.

And all the guys took a group shot.

Silas and Tim teamed up to cut and freeze the meat, thanks to some advice from experienced friends. Silas is also researching how to mount a rack and has started that process, then he wants to be in charge of cooking all the meals this animal will provide for our family. Between this trip, the fishing he does, and various things he reads about outdoor living, I think we need to figure out some sort of elective credit. "Wilderness survival" or something like that. Hmmm ...