Happy Halloween!

L was a Knight. E was a veterinarian. N was Peter Pan. They got TONS of candy and are having a ball trading back and forth. "I'll give you a kit kat for M&M's", "I'll give you three tootsie rolls for a sweettart." FUN!!

Just a little off the top?

Today we went to the local Great Clips to get the boys a haircut. The owner of the store was going to be our hairdresser for the day. She put L up in the seat and asked him how old he was. He answered and then proudly said, "So is my brother and sister. We're triplets!"

The hairdresser stopped, looked at me and said, "Oh, my, I feel so sorry for you. You have my sympathies."

I was shocked and I couldn't find any words. She said it right in front of them as if they were a burden to be consoled over!

She then looked at N with his blonde hair and blue eyes and said, "Well, how come you look so different from your brother and sister?"

At that point I was seriously considering grabbing my kids and leaving. However, she had just lopped off the back portion of L's overgrown locks and there was no turning back.

I smiled at her and put my arm around N as I said, "Well, he takes after his Uncle Bernie. He also had blonde hair and blue eyes."

She looked at N and said, "So you're Oddball, you know, like that puppy in 102 Dalmations."

I looked at N and could see an alarm bell going off in the far reaches of his mind. He knew something was strange but he just couldn't pin-point it.

Then she said, "So you all must homeschool."

I said, "Yes."

She said, "Yeah, I could tell since you weren't in school."

I then braced myself for some wildly rude remark about homeschooling and was shocked when she had nothing to say about it. Maybe her internal editor had finally kick started into gear and she was able to refrain from saying anything else idiotic.

I'm still reeling from this encounter. I used to encounter rudeness whenever I ventured out with my children when they were babies. But it hasn't happened in so long that I'd forgotten how much it stings. I think the difference is that I'm not the one getting stung. It's my kids.

Whoops and Yee-haws

Did you hear the whoops and yee-haws emanating from Fisherville this morning? All three kiddos finished their independent reading books today. N finished Mr. Popper's Penguins. L finished Emily's Runaway Imagination. E finished Sarah, Plain and Tall. I think I'm just going to rotate the books to the next kiddo for their next assignment.

We've started reading Harry Potter together. Each child reads a page aloud and we stop frequently to talk about a word they may not know or to talk about what is happening. It is so much fun to share a book like this! The funny thing is listening to E read her page. She changes her voice for each character's dialogue. For example, she uses this low, old creaky voice for Albus Dumbledore. Too cute!

This afternoon is dedicated to quilting. I'm participating in a Round Robin. Two months ago I made a 24" square, that's it above, and mailed it to an internet friend in St. Louis (hi, Sandy!). She added a border and sent it to another internet friend in Puerto Rico (hi, Leora!) who is adding a border. Next it wings it way to Minnesota (hi, Cat!). Can you detect a pattern? Anyway, I don't get to see it until next summer at our annual quilting retreat after it receives 7 borders. I can't wait to see it!

While they are working on my quilt, I'm working on their quilts. I get 6 weeks to add a border to the square I receive and this month I've got a BEAUTIFUL one from a Missouri internet friend (hi, Sally!). I can't post a photo of it because it can't be revealed until next summer. I have to finish the borders I'm adding by next Wednesday so that I can mail it in time for my deadline! So.... this afternoon I'm barricading myself into the sewing room. Wish me luck!

Greek Calamari

Today during science we studied the life cycle of a jellyfish. I had no idea they changed during their lives like a butterfly. They begin life in the polyp stage stacked upside down like nested cups with their tentacles pointing up waving in the ocean. Then they pop off one polyp and turn upside down as their tentacles hang from their body. This stage is called the Medusa stage.

The kids immediately exploded with recognition. We'd been talking about Greek mythology so they recognized the Medusa reference immediately. Their eyes were positively beaming as it "clicked". Then we talked about the simple freshwater hydra and again they perked right up. "The HYDRA mom! Like what one Hercules fought!" They could immediately see why the animal was given that name based on what they know about mythology. It is so cool to see the different subjects intertwine unexpectedly like that!

I was able to finish our logo. Here is the final version. I really like it.

Gifts and Talents.

Everyday this week we are reading Mirette on the High Wire. After we read it we do activities based on the book to explore the characters and storyline. This story is about a girl who discovers her passion is wire walking. She then studies and practies everyday for hours to increase her talent and finally achieves great sucess. The story also talks about the nature of fear and what it takes to overcome it.

I'm using this story to talk about identifying personal passions and interests. We talk about our talents and how we must perservere when something is difficult. We've had conversations about what interests us the most in the world and how we can explore that topic to its fullest. It is such a good life lesson but it makes me so curious about my kidlets.

I wonder how they will use their interests and passions in life. I wonder how I can best encourage and nurture those talents. I wonder what topics they will persue with zeal and which will prove too great a struggle for them.

Our conversations today over this book reminded me of one of the fundamental reasons we homeschool; To provide an atmosphere of learning that allows them to find thier passions and then let them wallow in it. Come to think of it, that's my hope for myself too!

Hmmmm.... wallowing....
Maybe our school mascot should be a pig instead of a phoenix, eh?

Toasty!

Today was the first day this season that we had a fire in the schoolroom's fireplace. Outside our thermometer may have read 40 but inside is was TOASTY! I always feel like Laura Ingalls when I put the wood on the stove in our one room schoolhouse but it does make everything seem more festive somehow. The kids love curling up in front of the fire to read their books.

E finished Strawberry Girl today and was so excited. She had to call Daddy and Grandma to tell them it was 193 pages. It was wonderful to share her sense of accomplishment. She immediately wanted to know what book was going to be next. I think it will be Sarah, Plain and Tall.

Sometimes it is hard to settle on the next book for them since they are reading so well and yet they don't have the reasoning skills of older kids just yet. What I've found is the book list from Sonlight. It is a Christian homeschool curriculum-in-a-box that leans on quality literature to teach each subject. Some of their selections wouldn't fit my family but most of their booklists for reading are excellent.

My latest book is The American Way of Death. I HIGHLY recommend this book. It is suprisingly funny and is an eye opening book about the events and industries that center on the end of life. It really should be required reading.

Dreams but not reality

Yesterday we had an impromptu family "vacation". DH was going to a meeting in Ashland and staying in the local motel with an indoor pool. We packed up the car for their first real road trip. Then it started.

Daddy, how many more miles?

Daddy, when are we going to get to the hotel?

Mommy, how much longer?

Thank goodness for the DVD player in our car! Pop in Toy Story 2 and suddenly all was fine!

I've had this dream that some day we'd pile the kids in the car and carschool. You know, study American History by visiting the cities and sites that can make our history come alive. However, after this road trip I'm not so sure I'd survive! But one can dream, eh?

Goodbye bodies, hello critters!

Today we left behind our study of the human body and moved on to our study of the Animal Kingdom. The lab today involved taking pictures of alien critters and attempting to group them together in pairs. The kids had to pay attention to the critters similarities and differences in order to figure out a way to group or classify them. Then we got the key and saw how they were supposed to be classified. L did especially well working through the logic of classification. E enjoyed coloring all the critters based on whether she thought they were a girl or boy and what type of habitat they'd call home.

They are doing well with piano lessons. I'm taking the frugal/economical route and teaching them the Suzuki method myself! I couldn't believe how much $$ it was going to be for three kiddos to learn piano! I figure if I can teach them to read, surely I can teach them piano. After all, I took piano for a number of years. The fine motor skills required to press the keys in the desired order is challenging them but I'm seeing steady improvement! Today they played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star by themselves for the first time.

This morning our principal, DH, left notes for each kiddo with an encouraging remark about their schoolwork and their progress. They beamed with pride when they discovered their notes! My heart felt good when E beamed, "Mommy, I LOVE school!"

School logo

The kids decided we needed a mascot! We've settled on the phoenix. I decided we needed a logo. Which one do you like?

What's Happening at Fisherville Academy?

We're so glad you asked!

Books, books, books.
Current read-aloud: Peter Pan
Current independent reading books:
E: The Strawberry Girl
L: Emily's Runaway Imagination
N: Mr. Popper's Penguins

Angela's current book: Briefer History of Time

We wrapped up our visit with the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt today. We spent time today on the discovery of Tut's tomb! Someday I hope to visit Cairo and see Tut for myself! N really enjoyed making detailed colorings on the King Tut funeral mask coloring page as I read aloud a book on King Tut. E was fascinated that Tut died when he was Uncle EE's age. L just liked to talk about how old Tut was when he was made pharoah, how old he was when he died, what year Howard Carter discovered the tomb. Numbers, numbers, numbers!

(L discovered something called Powerball over the weekend. Look out!)

Our Family Team Time, the character education we do every morning, is one of the most critical parts of their education! One of my favorite quotes: Character Education isn't just something else on my plate. It IS the plate!
That comes from the the 4th and 5th R's. For more info on character education in the classroom look at this article.

In the daily course of parenting there are tons of opportunites for character training but many times I feel this training is done as a response to some action that isn't desirable. It becomes correction instead of instruction in a non-conflict time. Our daily Team Time gives me the non-conflict time so that they are more resceptive to the ideas we talk about.

This morning we worked on how to introduce ourselves to others. Little nuggets of info, like how to shake hands and make eye contact. Stuff that I might forget to mention to them until there was some reason to introduce the topic. Now I can pro actively talk everyday about some issue of their social/character development.

Today we delved into the new kiddo nutritional pyramid that was recently released by the government. The one area they are really bad about is drinking enough water. They get one glass of juice at breakfast and a glass of water at lunch. Then they may not drink anything until they get Crystal Light lemonade with dinner. They've got to start drinking more water!! As for the concept behind the eating pyramid, they got the hang of it pretty quickly. There is even an online computer game based on the pyramid! We've got the pyramid hanging on the fridge and at their meals they determined what portions of the pyramid where represented on their plate!

A new outlet?

I thought I'd hop on the blog bandwagon and see how this whole thing works.

I've avoided it before because it always seemed a bit egotistical to me. I mean, do I really believe that my musings might be of interest to the radom reader? Could I possibly be authentic to myself without ticking off someone close to me? Is blogging even a good idea or could some sociopath figure out where I live and cart off my family?

I picked the obnoxious green background because it reminded me of the color my DH painted his bathroom when he was a bachelor. The ceiling was this color as well as all the walls! People teased him endlessly about it but he kept it this color until we met. I like to think that I've married a man who isn't afraid to use color, really, really bright color.