Soccer Season

We're in the middle of a great soccer season.  Enthusiasm was a little slow in revving up since teams and coaches and soccer leagues are different here in Utah than they were in California.  Adele and Ceci had to get past those differences before they could jump in and have fun.  And we've discovered that when you start soccer a little later in your childhood you are put on a team with other late-starters or move-ins, and you play against teams who have played together for years.  Therefore, losing a lot takes a little of the fun out of it.  But despite all of that, their teams are starting to play a little better together and they're beginning to enjoy the season.  Here is a snapshot of yesterday...

Adele's game was first.

And then Ceci's game...

Second Home

We have a second home where we spend about ten hours a week.

It is quite comfortable.  It has a convertible back space that folds down to create a sitting area where we can play games or do homework during someone's lesson/rehearsal.

We have created a little Z-To-Go box that holds the schooling we're doing in the car this fall.  We do French on-the-go, we have several School House Rock CDs (remember those?!) where we learn everything from Conjunction Junction to the Boston Tea Party to math facts (those are all on youtube too), and we have a fun game my brother and his wife gave us for Christmas called Story Cubes.  We have Cobblestone magazines and paper and markers and books on tape.

Now I just need a little cleaning help to keep it tidy...

Ceci's Pixie Birthday Party

Saturday evening we had Ceci's Pixie Party.  The idea was taken from an adorable old Martha Stewart magazine article I had torn out years ago.  After explaining to Ceci that Martha Stewart has an entire team to pull off her parties, as well as an unlimited budget to make it all look just right, we came to a very simplified plan for her party.  It was super cute, and relatively simple since she mostly just wanted to run around in the woods with her friends.

Ceci met her guests at the gates to Memory Grove Park, gave them all their own pixie wings, and they made their way to Pixie Creek, Ceci's name for her party location.

Upon arrival they got a little map of Pixie Creek showing where some fairies had left them some goodies, as well as a little burlap shoulder bag.

Little bottles of Fairy Dust (extra fine glitter) - they LOVED these

Little wooden toadstool pencils

Pixie stixs

After playing in the woods for awhile we had a fairy feast with chicken wands and mango dipping sauce, fiddlehead breadsticks, and edible nests with summer salads.  Near each plate was a little slide whistle.

Ceci wanted a toadstool cake, which was a little out of my skill (and time) zone, but it turned out pretty cute...considering...

Inevitably all of the pixies had to go to the bathroom.  On the way to the Memorial House (where Geoff and I had our wedding party/reception) Geoff explained that the difference between pixies and fairies is that pixies are a little mischievous.  There was a wedding going on in the Memorial House and he said that fancy weddings usually have chocolate covered strawberries.  He challenged them to sneak in and get one.  (Oh dear.)  If they got caught they could just say they wanted to tell the bride how much they loved her pretty dress.  When they filed in they realized it was a fancy sit-down dinner.  Someone asked if they needed something.  They knew their line, "We want to tell the bride we think her dress is pretty."  The fairies were sent to the bride and groom table where the bride loved their visit.  They came out strawberry-less but beaming.

They flitted around the woods into the twilight. 

A BYU pixie!

Post Brighton Camp

Tennie went to a church camp for 12 and 13-year-olds this past summer and made some great friends.  They've reunited a few times since, the last was a trip to the temple, dinner at City Creek, then sundaes and the wii at our place.  They are a great group of kids (not all made it for this last gathering).

Saturday morning Geoff and I went up to the camp itself to close it up for the season, with a host of other volunteers.   It was fun to see Tennie's bunk house, the craft shack, the dining hall and Skunk (the bathroom), and it was great to get up in the cool and clean mountain air!

Ceci's Birthday

Two birthdays a week is a lot.  And I don't want either Geoff's or Ceci's day to be overshadowed by the other.  So we do two sets of decor and cake and dinners and presents and activities.  Two birthdays in a week is a lot.

In our family the birthday kids gets to choose all the meals for the day.  We take a break from school and do an activity of the birthday kid's choice.  We have a friend party, and now that we are in Utah we have a family party.  And I'll add that the birthday kid usually isn't satisfied with all of this.  They don't want chores for the day, they don't want to clean up their messes, get dressed, or have to be nice.  As a matter of fact, they want everyone to do exactly as they say, and do exactly what they want.  I'm slightly exaggerating here, but only slightly.  We have a talk every year on every birthday about how it is more fun to celebrate someone who doesn't expect anything but is grateful for everything.

Okay, this post is really about Ceci and her NINTH birthday.  Nine seems a lot older and grown-up than eight.  The morning was spent preparing for the evening - birthday dinner prep, treasure hunt and present wrapping, and a few last details for her friend birthday party the next day.  Ceci was disappointed to have to sit around and wait for the fun to begin.  But when it DID begin it was FUN!

Geoff came home at lunch and we took the girls to a bouncy house for awhile, then we went to the rock climbing place where I marveled at Ceci and Adele's bravery in climbing the tall walls.

We came home and Jacob and Nikki came for her birthday dinner and a trip to the gelato shop.  Thankfully by the time she went to bed her day seemed satisfactorily fun.

Geoff's Birthday

Geoff hasn't been very celebrated the past few years, and with his expectations nice and low we tried to surprise him with lots of celebratory efforts.  Adele and Ceci woke up and came out in costume and dancing to "Celebrate Good Times", the girls had decorated the house with signs of love and devotion, and they sent him off to work with a gold crown, challenging him to wear it throughout the day.  He DID wear it as we walked to work, in the elevator and in to his first meeting where he received a lot of curious looks.

Jacob, Nikki, Em & Mike and kids joined us for a birthday dinner and cake.  The girls had prepared a treasure hunt for him and stashed away his small birthday loot.  

And last but not least, 42 things we love about Geoff.

Game of Life Dinner Game

Over the summer I came across an old Family Fun game idea I had torn out and filed away.  It is a game of life that catches kids doing things well, and reminds them of things they might forget.  In addition it teaches them a few things about life they may take for granted.

I brainstormed questions about running the household, came up with bonus questions, and a few Uh-Oh!  Here are a few examples:

How many cups in a pint?
How much does a movie rental on amazon cost?
Uh-Oh! Lose 1 point for each personal item left out in any shared space.
Bonus! 5 points if scissors and tape are where they go.
What temperature of water is best on a fruit stain?
Bonus! 10 points if you did your jobs without any reminders today.
Bonus! 5 points if I open any random drawer in your room and it's tidy.
Uh-Oh! Lose 5 points if there is a toothpaste clump in the girl's sink.

You get the idea.  The winner gets to pick the dessert for the weekly treat.  Our girls thought I had an unfair advantage having created the game, but I did NOT win...just for the record.

Fall Dinner Schedule

We have a dinner schedule posted on the fridge but I won't say we always get around to doing it.   When we do it is cool, though!

SUNDAY - Polite Cafe and Manners
This is on-going because, well, the need is on-going...  We still practice using our forks and knives in the European fashion, and we learn to sip the sparkling cider instead of gulp it.  (Let me say here that for the girls this dinner is really about the sparkling cider.  They would prefer a mug of it instead of our little dainty glass.)  We still read and discuss the American Girl Manners book, and we're always working on elbows off the table and chewing with your mouth closed.  Basics, we're going for the basics.

MONDAY - Moral Choices
We still pull these from The Family Dinner Project, and we just learned that The Deseret News provides topics for conversation too.  Helping kids make choices and role play before actually getting in tough situations arms them to choose the right.

TUESDAY - Critical Thinking
We're still making our way through Red Herring Mysteries, but I have another cool book in the wings called Becoming a Critical Thinker.

WEDNESDAY - Learn & Tell
This is new.  Tennie is to tell us about an article in the Economist, and Ceci and Adele tell us about an article in ASK magazine, or something else they've learned.

THURSDAY - Dinner Cards
Still working our way through Family Table Topics.  Have you ever noticed how kids turn conversations to themselves when talking with their friends?  (Or is that just my kids?)  To encourage deeper levels of conversation we take turns asking the person who answers the question three additional questions (total) about their answer. 

FRIDAY - Doodle Drawing
My kids still love these Doodle books.

SATURDAY - Game Night
We really don't get to this one very often because we're often out or separated as a family, but on the occasion that we do play a game at the table we pull it from The Family Dinner, or google an idea.  There are plenty out there.

A little side note, my mother-in-law gave a Christmas gift to some of her married kids and their families last year based on these ideas.  It was a Family Dinner theme and she gave the Doodle book, the Table Topic cards, and a poetry book (which we used last year).  Many of these things make great gifts!

Back to School Dinner

We had our back to school dinner with the theme What-e'er thou art, act well they part.  The girls made paper hats, and we discussed the theme - whatever you are, a student, sister, soccer player, cast member, do your part well.  We read a little from President Uchdorf's article in the Friend magazine and talked about the work and excellence required to do something well.

My kids LOVE this tradition.  It isn't even a huge deal, but somehow it represents a new beginning with a slight celebratory twist.

On the first day of school I made "E"xcellent pancakes to remind them off doing their part well.

A Bit About Science and History

In my sketch of Fall I forgot to mention how we are approaching science and history.  Maybe that is because I don't place a huge emphasis on these two subjects from a curriculum standpoint, which some may disagree with.  The reason is, how many of us remember what we learned in science or history during our school years?  Maybe some had exceptional teachers, or a personal interest in it, so they remember a lot.  I don't remember anything except a few field trips to mines in Colorado that I thought were cool.  I remember liking the Civil War period, but I don't remember any details.  And I don't think it is the facts of science and history that will get you in to college or anywhere else in life, but I do think it is the type of thinking those two subjects can develop.

SCIENCE
If you read anything about education reform these days it is all about the push for science and technology, but it isn't the facts of science, it is the problem solving/critical thinking used in science that they are talking about.  I wasn't taught to think this way, and it doesn't come naturally for me, so I have a hard time with using science in this way, although I wish I could.  Geoff is very good at it, but his schedule doesn't allow for him to take a consistent role.  We try to help them think critically and problem solve in other areas of life, but we are looking for ways to increase this kind of thinking.  In the Spring I would like to pull together a group for a class based on the book The Private Eye.  We tried this a few years ago but it didn't really fly; I think a group and a little more prep on my part would have helped.  But this approach has kids look through little jewelry loupes at things in nature, and then think through what else looks like that.  And then they are taken through a serious of questions about the purpose of the design (i.e. Why veins through the leaf, and why veins through the body?)  So we'll see if I can really pull that off later this year.

I am also trying to organize a monthly field trip to The Leo science museum.  Their field trips are hands-on and multi-sensory, which I like.  And I will say that when we are exploring some place like caves, the Southwest or a rainforest I order topic related magazines from Cobblestone Publishing and we read them as we go.  We use these a lot for history too. 

I firmly believe that children learn more when it is something they want to learn.  One year I created an entire unit on clouds.  I tried to prepare all sorts of activities, and I collected a variety of materials to make it as interesting as possible.  The first day I was reading a book to Adele and Ceci when Adele stopped me mid-page and said, "Mom, I don't want to read this book.  I don't care about clouds."  I could have told her how important they were, and force fed them all of my activities, but instead I ended it there and we moved on.  I am positive that she wouldn't have learned a thing, and having to sit through my cloud lessons would have made learning a drudgery, which is NOT what I'm shooting for!  (Ceci concurred that she didn't care about clouds, either.)

On the flip side, Tennie told me she was interested in DNA one year so I bought her an awesome Usborne book with internet links about DNA and she devoured it on her own. When one of my children expresses an interest in something I try to find books, activities, museums, etc. around that interest.  That is when learning is really alive for them.

HISTORY
I love history, and feel that it gives us a sense of where we've been, and where we can go.  Many history books give a one-sided view of things, and I feel it is important to look at all angles and try to understand what was really going on; why people behaved the way they did.  This way we can see things as they really were (in retrospect) and hopefully look at things as they really are now.  

We don't use a curriculum for history, we read books.  We are studying American history again this year, from the Civil War to the present.  I get reading lists from Sonlight Curriculum - they choose great literature.  My kids remember characters and their story, and therefore remember time periods and struggles of that time.  We read these at night, although our schedule this fall isn't allowing for as much time to read as I would like.  When available I'm looking for the books in audio form so we can use our car time effectively.

We started off the year reviewing early American history with a fact scavenger hunt.  I got out all of the magazines and books related to that time period, and gave the girls a list of dates and people and facts to find.  This took them a few hours.  Geoff challenged them to put the magazines and books in chronological order, which they did.

And now we are off again on the Civil War, the Wild West and the building of the railroad, etc.  At times it is slow going, but we are going!

Sketch of our Fall Schedule

This is our sixth year of homeschooling, and I think it will be different than past years.  Every year we reflect on what went well, what didn't, make changes, discuss interests, research opportunities, put the pieces together and have ourselves a sketch of a year.  But every year takes its own form too.  There are unexpected bumps, turns, brilliant views where we want to stop and spend some time, and winds that blow us in new directions.  Children have their own individual pace and rhythm, and trying to honor that rhythm in each child is one of the greatest challenges of homeschooling for me.  We are rarely spot on with anything, but our consistent efforts are always moving us forward by degrees.

I was recently talking to my girls about how we are taking the scenic route.  There is the direct route on the freeway with well-marked speeds, miles, rest stops and destinations, but on the scenic route you take your time.  You still hope to get to your destination in a reasonable amount of time, but there is an element of risk that you won't.  The scenic route is full of surprises and delights and discoveries, and you want to experience them all, that is why you chose this route.  But things can be unpredictable and uncertain.  Closed roads, camper cars that drive too slow, cows crossing the road, and other unexpected things to slow you down.  Those things only become stressful if you're in a hurry.  A closed road can take you on a new scenic route, and cows crossing the road can be delightful and fascinating to watch if you turn off the car and wait with wonder.  And this is the stuff of our homeschooling approach.  We're not concerned with grade level expectations and the well-worn path to college.  We're taking our chances on a different route.  It is sometimes hard and frustrating and scary, but only when I am in a hurry.  Only when I see cars in the distance zooming on the well-worn path and question if the scenic route was really a good idea after all.  But then I glance at the wonder and questions of our kids, I see us singing together in the car (there is plenty of fighting too) and I see the love of the journey, and that keeps me going.  

So here is the sketch of our Fall:

TENNIE
Latin (online class through CLRCHomeschool.com) - Tennie is amazing with languages and Latin has been an interest for years.
Beginning Literature and Composition (also through CLRCHomeschool.com)
Math - Khan Academy
Piano Lessons
Triple Threat Theater Class (Acting, Singing & Dance)
Lead role in Anne of Green Gables

Additional interests: creative writing, making videos, photography and FRIENDS.

ADELE
Writing (two online classes this fall through Bravewriter)
Language Arts (the Arrow program through Bravewriter)
Math - Khan Academy
French - We're doing this in the car this year with various books and CDs
Piano Lessons
Triple Threat Theater Class
Art Class
Sewing
Soccer
Ignite Academy (This is more for me than for Adele and Ceci!  It is a four-hour class once a week.  I cram in grocery shopping and laundry.)

Additional interests: fashion design, DIY.org, being a kid "who likes to go places"

CECI
Writing (two online classes this fall through Bravewriter)Language Arts (the Arrow program through Bravewriter)
Math - Khan Academy
French - We're doing this in the car this year with various books and CDs
Piano Lessons
Triple Threat Theater Class
Art Class
Soccer
Ignite Academy

Additional interests: moving her body! 

*** I started this post two weeks ago if that is any indication of the pace around here!***

Last Tidbits of Summer

Summer isn't going out with a bang this year, it is more of a fizzle out.  For one thing, it is still 95 degrees outside and I'm tired of being hot.  But it also seems like the school year engines are revving up a little early and we're all ready to jump in to the new year without needing a bang of some sort.  I do have a few scraps of summer to tidy up, though.

Geoff and Adele had a great road trip to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, and then to LA to visit Geoff's parents and his brother Christian and his wife Heather.

They spent time on the beach, played in the cold waves, enjoyed sunsets and good quality time with family.  Adele even got one of Heather's specialty tattoos.  Very exciting.

Tennie has been babysitting a lot.  She is known as the best sitter in the ward, and is especially loved for her availability in the day.  This past week she had commitments nearly every day.

Adele is crazy about DIY.org.  I learned about this site from my friend Ashley and Adele has been hooked ever since.  Basically you post anything you've done yourself, from sewing a skirt to frying an egg to building a chicken coop or making a movie.  Other people can follow you and make comments.  There are no names or addresses, just stuff you do.  I love the positive feedback given for what you do, no matter how it turns out.  So Adele is always on the lookout for a new project.  And she is in love with her new decorative tape.  The handle on the toilet, light switches, etc. are covered with her new designs.

Thursday we spent FIVE hours at one of those pottery painting places with Babs.  Super fun for the girls.  Friday we spent the day at the Timpanogas Storytelling Festival listening to world famous storytellers spin a good yarn.  There were puppet shows and a pottery booth to break up the sitting.  Long day but fun.  And yesterday we went to the Midway Swiss Days along with everyone else in Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Texas, or at least that is what it seemed.  And we nearly melted into the earth.  Fun booths, adorable town, but not worth it.  Too many people and too toasty.

Believe it or not, I am half home body.  My kids are always wanting to go and I am always wanting to stay.  So today and tomorrow we're staying put because starting Tuesday we're off and running for nine solid months!