Going home from Knoxville

Nanna and the girls

During the summer, we (the kids and I….my husband stays home and works) usually visit my mother. She lives about 14 hours away in Tennessee.  This year was a little different. My cousin was getting married, so we decided to make the  trip a little earlier and go to the wedding.  We left shortly after Pascha and drove to Tennessee.  Surprisingly, Helena did very well.  After a week in Tennessee, we packed the car for a shorter trip (with my mom included) to Charleston, South Carolina for the wedding. The kids began to measure time in “how many movies do we have left?” increments.  My cousin was gorgeous, and it was a great time seeing so many family members.  After our return to Tennessee we spent three more weeks visiting my mom. While in Tennessee, I took the opportunity to visit Father Stephan Freeman’s parish.  They were very kind and warm.  Unfortunately, he was away visiting Texas!  We also visited a Greek parish in Nashville and the parish dedicated to Grand Duchess Elizabeth in Murfreesboro.  Our school work was cut to a minimum (workbooks and math).  After five weeks of traveling, it was nice to return home.

Gardening in Texas, is unlike any other place I’ve ever lived. There are two growing seasons; fall and spring. You can even garden in winter.  Because of this, the information on most seed packets  is incorrect. Instead, it helps to have a calendar specifically for your particular area in Texas.The Travis County Extension Service offers this handy garden planting calendar.  You can also find this at:

http://www.co.travis.tx.us/agext/garden/veggies/planting/janmar.asp

Planting Calendar

January through March

This was actually an answer to a question in the comments section, but I thought it worth posting:

The Well Trained Mind doesn’t provide a real curriculum (she suggested the book Slow and Steady Get Me Ready) for pre-k to K. Many first time home-schoolers want to start with Kindergarten and not first grade. I was no different. I started our first daughter at 4.5 with pre-k. At 3 years old I had taught her to recognize one letter a week. By 4 she knew the sounds of the letters. At 4.5 I was ready to teach her to read……..she wasn’t ready! It was a struggle. There were tears and frustration. I followed the advise of more experienced home-schoolers and put it away for a while. I tried again at 5, and she flew right threw it (and hasn’t put down a book since). So when daughter #2 turned 3 and started asking for pre-school. I said NO…she kept asking until I agreed to start when she was 4. When she turned 4, she asked again, but I was busy and would do a little then put her off. I was determined to start at 5. One day Sarah (still a new 4) brought me a Bob book (highly recommended) and told me that she had read it. I hadn’t really worked much with Sarah on her letters, and I thought she was just prattling. She sat down and read the book to me. I was stunned. She taught herself to read a simple book, because I was waiting to long. She had been in the room while I taught Katherine, and she picked up more than I thought. I tell this long story in order to illustrate the importance of watching your child’s signals. It will be different from child to child even in the same family.

Now to really answer YOUR question. I really began formal schooling with both Katherine and Sarah with Kindergarten (4 days a week no more than 2 hours total). They were both ready at 5 (I think girls are ready a little faster than boys…but I only have girls so I may be wrong). For Kindergarten I focused on reading, writing, and math for Katherine. In addition, I had her work through one of the giant comprehensive Kindergarten workbooks that you can buy at Sams or Costco. For Sarah I am doing the same (reading, writing, math, workbook), but adding Orthodoxy (our religion) and “Electives”. I added Orthodoxy, because kids love stories. Bible stories and lives of the saints work for religious instruction for this age. I added electives because developing gross and fine motor skills are important at this age. I chose the word “electives”, because I didn’t want to commit to teaching some artsy crafty project each day. I’m not really artsy. Instead I can teach cooking, gardening, science, history, music, art, safety, gymnastics, etc.
Here are some other useful things I’ve learned (on poor Katherine!) about teaching Kindergarten. It should be fun and not stressful for the child…or parent. Don’t expect them to focus more than 15 minutes at a time on a subject. Leave them wanting more! Do not set a goal of finishing this lesson or page….it probably will end in tears. If the child starts getting frustrated, just tell them the answer. You need to end in success. This is the time when we are filling their brains. We may have to put the answer into their brains several times, before it comes back out. Tomorrow they may forget everything and, we might have to do it again. Put something physical between “subjects”. If we sit and read for 15 minutes, we might do 10 jumping jacks, then play piano. It might be school, but I want it to look like fun. Not everything has to be fun, but overall learning shouldn’t be torment.
Finally, each kid is different. Each kid is different. Each kid is different. Sarah just completed her kindergarten workbook, she can write, she can read, she can do kindergarten math. She has had the advantage of being the younger sister and listening to school. I am cautiously moving her forward with her reading, writing, and math. However, she is in kindergarten regardless of the fact that she is doing some first grade work. She will not do the history or science that begins in first grade. First grade is when we really do begin the Well Trained Mind Curriculum. Until then, we just focus on the basics.

This post is in response to a question I received. “Hi, could you please tell me what your routine is with your 5 year old and what you teach her, including any books that you use (apart from the ones you have mentioned already. At what age did you start to teach your daughter using a ‘proper’ curriculum?”

I wrote such a long reply, that I just decided to publish it as a post. -Dominica

The Well Trained Mind doesn’t provide a real kindergarten curriculum (the book Slow and Steady Get Me Ready was suggested) for pre-k to K. Many first time home-schoolers want to start with Kindergarten and not first grade. I was no different. I started our first daughter at 4.5 with pre-k. At 3 years old I had taught her to recognize one letter a week. By 4 she knew the sounds of the letters. At 4.5 I was ready to teach her to read……..she wasn’t ready! It was a struggle. There were tears and frustration. I followed the advise of more experienced home-schoolers and put it away for a while. I tried again at 5, and she flew right threw it (and hasn’t put down a book since). So when daughter #2 turned 3 and started asking for pre-school. I said NO…she kept asking until I agreed to start when she was 4. When she turned 4, she asked again, but I was busy and would do a little then put her off. I was determined to start at 5. One day Sarah (still a new 4) brought me a Bob book (highly recommended) and told me that she had read it. I hadn’t really worked much with Sarah on her letters, and I thought she was just prattling. She sat down and read the book to me. I was stunned. She taught herself to read a simple book, because I was waiting to long. She had been in the room while I taught Katherine, and she picked up more than I thought. I tell this long story in order to illustrate the importance of watching your child’s signals. It will be different from child to child even in the same family.

Now to really answer YOUR question. I really began formal schooling with both Katherine and Sarah with Kindergarten (4 days a week no more than 2 hours total). They were both ready at 5 (I think girls are ready a little faster than boys…but I only have girls so I may be wrong). For Kindergarten I focused on reading, writing, and math for Katherine. In addition, I had her work through one of the giant comprehensive Kindergarten workbooks that you can buy at Sams or Costco. For Sarah I am doing the same (reading, writing, math, workbook), but adding Orthodoxy (our religion) and “Electives”. I added Orthodoxy, because kids love stories. Bible stories and lives of the saints work for religious instruction for this age. I added electives because developing gross and fine motor skills are important at this age. I chose the word “electives”, because I didn’t want to commit to teaching some artsy crafty project each day. I’m not really artsy. Instead I can teach cooking, gardening, science, history, music, art, safety, gymnastics, etc.
Here are some other useful things I’ve learned (on poor Katherine!) about teaching Kindergarten. It should be fun and not stressful for the child…or parent. Don’t expect them to focus more than 15 minutes at a time on a subject. Leave them wanting more! Do not set a goal of finishing this lesson or page….it probably will end in tears. If the child starts getting frustrated, just tell them the answer. You need to end in success. This is the time when we are filling their brains with facts. We may have to put the answer into their brains several times, before it comes back out. Tomorrow they may forget everything and, we might have to do it again. Put something physical between “subjects”. If we sit and read for 15 minutes, we might do 10 jumping jacks, then play piano. It might be school, but I want it to look like fun. Not everything has to be fun, but overall learning shouldn’t be torment.
Finally, each kid is different. Each kid is different. Each kid is different. Sarah just completed her kindergarten workbook, she can write, she can read, she can do kindergarten math. She has had the advantage of being the younger sister and listening to school. I am cautiously moving her forward with her reading, writing, and math. However, she is in kindergarten regardless of the fact that she is doing some first grade work. She will not do the history or science that begins in first grade. First grade is when we really do begin the Well Trained Mind Curriculum. Until then, we just focus on the basics. Don’t forget to add some time for socialization….moms need it just as much (if not more) than the kids.

Addendum: Materials I’m using for Kindergarten:

Comprehensive Big Kindergarten workbook

Writing tablet and scrap paper (for penmanship): I like for the kids to copy short verses, poems, or prayers. (They can decorate it if they like). We keep the back sides of used paper for scrap paper.

Children’s Bible (If you’re Orthodox, I like the Children’s Bible Reader,and A Sacred History)

Child’s Paradise of Saints (Orthodox child friendly lives of the saints)

Law of God (Orthodox basic catechism)

Singapore Math 1 (I skip the Kindergarten version and just go slow through first grade ….it repeats)

Reading: With my oldest, I started with 3 to 4 boxes of Bob Books then I start Phonics Pathways and level 1 readers (any brand of readers). Phonics pathways is boring but it works. I used it two to three times a week for Kindergarten. Sarah followed this pattern, but has moved faster.

There are so many curriculum choices available that it is easy to get overwhelmed. I think the first step to picking one, is to determine what kind of teaching method you will use. This post is titled How to Pick a Curriculum That Works For You on purpose. It should work for you….you don’t work for it. Likewise, you don’t have to be enslaved to a teaching method. Use what works for you, combine, explore! I will give a very brief overview of the four most commonly used methods of homeschooling:

Unit Studies: Information is presented by a common topic to teach each subject. An example of this method would be to use the topic of volcanoes. You would read books about volcanoes for reading, you would use volcano terms for spelling, you would find the locations of volcanoes on the map or globe for geography, you would read about the effects of volcanoes on people for history, learn how volcanoes are formed for science, write sentences about volcanoes for writing and grammar, and draw a picture of a volcano for art. When you’ve had your fill of volcanoes or after a week, you pick another topic. Many people who use the unit study method supplement with a “regular” math and grammar curriculum, however, you may certainly count lava rocks if you like!

Advantages: Topics can follow the child’s interests, can be studied in depth, and are generally retained. Works great for families with children of various ages.

Disadvantages: It takes a little more time to prepare materials…usually with trips to the library. It also may be a little difficult track and assess your students grade level.

Provider: KONOS, Rainbow Resource

Living Books: This is also called the Charlotte Mason approach. This method uses “living books” or “real books” vs. textbooks to teach subjects. There is also a large emphasis on students interacting with nature, art, and music. A living book approach would prefer to use a book written about Abraham Lincoln, or things written by Abraham Lincoln to learn about the Civil War (or The War Between The States if you prefer). These books may also include historical fiction.

Advantages: Books are more engaging than textbooks. It’s easier to track your student’s progress. Pre-packaged programs readily available.

Disadvantages: Reading intensive programs may not suit every learning style. It will require time for parents of kid’s who are reading well yet. Some pre-packaged programs only focus on American History.

Providers: Sonlight, Rainbow Resource

Classical: The Classical Method uses the Trivium Method of presenting material. The core material is centered around time periods in history and languages. The time periods are studied three times in the student’s education (trivium) each time with increasing depth. This method is suitable for schools or home. This method focuses heavily on reading good literature, writing well , history (chronologically) , and languages.

Advantages: Rigorous material, well rounded, can be implemented easily with other methods. Works well with children of different ages (I’m biased…I use this method)

Disadvantages: There is a tendency to make this “like regular school” because it is rigorous.

Providers: Veritas Press, Rainbow Resource, Love to Learn, The Well Trained Mind

Unschooling: This method presents everything as a learning experience. Children learn from just day to day living and doing things.

Advantages: You can follow the child’s interests and study things in-depth. Great for families with various age ranges.

Disadvantages: Requires you to be disciplined in giving the child new experiences frequently. Hard to keep track of what was taught.

Providers: YOU.

Textbook: This is the method used by most public schools.

Advantages: Works well with large groups.

Disadvantages: May not work as well with multiple ages.
Can turn into a public school type of setting if parents aren’t creative. Reading material tends to be less enjoyable.

Providers: Abeka, Seton

Once you know what kind of method you would like to use to teach, you may find it easier to pick a curriculum provider.

Today’s park-day was enjoyable. We socialized of course, but we added organized activities to our agenda. This week at the park, the kids did an invisible ink science project, and newspaper ink transfer project. Last week a mom showed us a neat science project. It was very simple, but even the parents enjoyed it. She put cornstarch and water into a bowl. When we punched the cornstarch quickly, it was solid and our hands could not get through (and there was nothing left on our hand). If we put our hand in slowly, it was a liquid (and your hand was covered in cornstarch). The kids had a great time playing with cornstarch balls. As long as they kept the balls moving in their hands, it stayed solid. If they stopped, it became a liquid and dripped through their fingers. The park is a great place to do messy science projects. It is also motivation to try new experiments at home. Today was our fourth week of soccer, next week the kids will start learning to play tennis.

There is a great overview of the Well Trained Mind for grades K-4 on their website. The overview can be found under their conference and handouts page.  It is called Academic Excellence Grades K-4 by Jessie Wise.  It might save you a little time in trying to grasp the book. If you haven’t visited www.welltrainedmind.com, I highly recommend it .

This is our last “official” week of school. We took a few breaks for various holidays and the birth of Helena, so we are just now finishing. We have taken a full summer break twice; both times I have regretted it. Therefore, we will continue to school during the summer. We plan to have a break when the occasion warrants it, but I’m not stopping completely. With the exception of math (we need the extra work) and electives (the fun stuff), we are cutting the time spent on subjects in half. Several of the subjects will have just 7 minutes, but that is enough for a quick review or “focus session”. Focus sessions might including learning one new word, writing letters in cursive, etc. Our summer schedule looks like this:

Reading (7 minutes) Writing (7 minutes)

Math (60 minutes) Electives (30 minutes)

Orthodoxy (15 minutes) Grammar (15 minutes)

History (15 minutes) Science (15 minutes)

Languages (7 minutes)

A friend asked if I would explain how we use The Well Trained Mind classical homeschooling method. Our personal usage, is just that, our personal usage. There are many ways of using this “curriculum”, because it is more a method than a curriculum. The information in the book looks daunting until you realize that they cover 1st through 12th grades. It is a wonderful resource. I don’t stick to it like glue, but use it as a guide. Now that all the disclaimers are out of the way here’s what we do:

At the end of each year…yes the end, I look at what I need for next year. I pick which subjects we want to learn. I then brake down the “recommended time” for each subject into “realistic time” for our family. Three and a half hours of school a day is more than plenty for us. It is a lot like planning a college semester. Our current schedule looks like this

Monday -Thursday

Reading 15 minutes- (factual reading only- two days she picks/two days I assign ). Katherine is an avid reader. She devours fictional books. My goal this year was to introduce her to reading things that aren’t “book-candy”. We will continue this next year. Some of her factual reading included Muse science magazine, A Child’s History of the World (non-middle ages), a Costume Time-Line of History, and Little Falcons (Orthodox) magazine. Some of her favorite fiction books that she read this year are: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Little Women, all seven books of the Narnia series, From I-ville to You-ville, the Box-Car children books, Betsy-Tacy, Grandmother’s Spiritual Stories, and the Ordinary Princess.

Writing 15 minutes -(she writes about anything she has learned that day. I just want to get her used to putting ideas down on paper, therefore I don’t require her to follow grammar and spelling rules….yet.)

Math 60 minutes- Math is the only subject we do five days per week. We found we needed the extra practice. We have tried Saxon, Horizons, and Singapore math. We prefer Singapore.

Orthodoxy 30-45 minutes- We are Orthodox Christians, so that’s what I teach. We started out with 30 minutes per day. Katherine began reading Lives of the Saints, and asked if we could do it for an hour! I compromised by shifting 15 minutes twice a week from history to Orthodoxy. After all, church history is history.

Grammar 30 minutes- We usually don’t need to spend the entire 30 minutes on grammar, but I can. We used Susan Wise Bauer’s (co-author of The Well Trained Mind) First Language Lessons for first and second grade. We are using Shurley English for 3rd grade.

Electives -this doesn’t have a set time. It depends on what activity we are pursuing. This year we did gymnastics, park-days, play-dates, hand sewing, baking, and afternoon discussion teas. I didn’t have time for much else.

Twice a week subjects Monday/Wednesday(MW) or Tuesday/Thursday (TTH):

History (MW) 45-60 minutes- We studied the middle ages this year. We have our Kingfisher History Encyclopedia as a basic text. Then I allowed Katherine to read various books as long as she stuck to the middle ages. Some of the books she has read are: a children’s version of Shakespeare, A Child’s History of England by Charles Dickens, A Child’s History of the World, Story of the World Middle Ages by Susan Wise Bauer, Whipping Boy, Saint Macrina Grandmother to Saints, a children’s Bible, an adult Bible (still reading and discussing Matthew). We started with 60 minutes, but switched to 45 minutes so she could read Orthodoxy more.

Science (TTH) 45 minutes- Our science program was our “weakest link” this year. We read topics, but I didn’t get around to doing very many projects. This year we studied astronomy for the first several weeks. We then switched over to general science. We did get to work with a telescope, “play” with a rocket launcher (with dad), and explore our general curiosity.

Languages (TTH) 15 minutes- We did not study a foreign language this year. Instead I substituted speech therapy. This included a Critical Thinking workbook, matching patterns, and sequencing skills. Next year we are planning on starting Prima Latina. We have also begun to learn Russian. Although languages are important, basic skills are our primary focus.

While Katherine is doing her reading, twice a week Sarah and I have been doing “preschool”. Her school work focuses on core subjects: reading, writing, and math. Sarah has finished two sets of Bob Books (highly recommended), one set of Hooked on Phonics books, and is now reading level one readers. She is also using Phonics Pathways (highly recommended).

Elizabeth sits in the room and plays. I only keep educational toys in the school room.

I keep track of everything with one of those green teacher notebooks. I have Katherine put a book marker where she stops, so it is easy for me to find where she is and write it down. I am referring to Katherine’s old pre-k book while teaching Sarah, but I found I couldn’t just follow Katherine’s old book. Sarah sat in the office and “played” during Katherine’s school. She learned more than I thought and is moving at a faster pace.

I often get asked how I select my curriculum. Since we use a classical curriculum method, we are not locked in to any one curriculum provider. It is amazing at how many choices home-schoolers now have.  Sometimes all the choices can be a bit overwhelming.

My process for choosing curriculum uses catalogs provided by Sonlight, Veritas Press, and Love to Learn.  These three companies have great selections.  They all organize their information a little differently, but it isn’t to complicated to select works based on a historical time line.  Once I make a list of books that I want, I search Ebay, Amazon, and used curriculum sales for the best prices. I start this process in May, so that I can have a chance to review things before the “change of grade”. I’m not calling it “the end of the school year”, because we don’t intend to stop over the summer. We may take a small break or do half-days, but we won’t stop.  I’ve stopped twice before (due to horrible morning sickness), and regretted it both times. We spent a great deal of time re-learning what was forgotten.

I have just been ordering a couple of books to read for Great Lent…well they will be added to the growing pile beside my bed.  This year I have chosen some books for the girls as well. We will be using the second volume of  The Incarnate God to guide our discussions during Lent.  It is the sequel to The Living God.  I ordered the Living God this morning, but I will have to look at it to see if we will use it this year. I actually ordered the above mentioned set as books for Katherine for 3rd grade, but I couldn’t resist jumping into them now. We will also be re-reading the appropriate portions of the Law of God.  Katherine is currently reading Lives of the Spiritual Mothers for her Orthodox work.  She gets to choose a “factual book” that interests her twice a week (it doesn’t have to be religious).  She has chosen to read Grand Duchess Elizabeth.

Four years ago we had Katherine evaluated for a “lazy-eye” (strabismus) by the undisputed best pediatric ophthalmologist in the area. He recommended surgery on both eyes.  This surgery would not really correct the function of the eyes just the appearance.  We decided to get a second opinion from a doctor who was basically advocating “physical therapy” for the eyes.  The ophthalmologist didn’t think it would work, but he said we had time to try it.  The new doctor (I think she was a pediatric optometrist) said Katherine was not quite ready to begin formal therapy, but to put her in something that moved a lot like dance or gymnastics.  Something that had her moving and spinning a lot would help the eyes to start working together better. We were already in dance,but had not seen any results, so we tried gymnastics.  In three months her eyes were much better. After a year, her eyes only “wandered” when she got tired. Four years later, they look and function normally.  We never went back for therapy.

Two years ago we got a second reason to love gymnastics.   Katherine was diagnosed with a hearing disorder (Central Auditory Processing Disorder, CAPD). The audiologist thought that gymnastics had helped a great deal (by forcing both halves of the brain to work together) and recommended keeping her in it.

We have seen other benefits from gymnastics as well.  Katherine has learned discipline.  She is very strong and flexible, and it has challenged her to push beyond what she thinks she can do. She has been invited to the team (I’m not sure if we will accept).  We aren’t looking to make Olympic athletes.  However, she really enjoys the class.  Sarah has her own gymnastics class as well, and Elizabeth is looking forward to the day that I let her “go to class” .

Last week was Helena’s baptism. It was a very special day, for a new Orthodox Christian was received into the church. Many of Helena’s “firsts” happened on that trip. It was the first time she flew on an airplane. It was her first time meeting her godparents. It was her first Communion. It was the first time she’s been under water since her birth. It was her first trip out of state. I have watched each of our four daughters be baptized, but it never gets old or routine. Each time it’s like the first time I’ve ever seen one. Each time I experience a great joy watching them being led around the baptismal font.

Our little “bundle of joy” became a Handmaid of God. No other worldly occupation or title could top that.

Katherine typically does school work four days a week for about 3.5 hours per day. The fifth day we reserve off for play-dates, appointments, and errands. Having a weekday off allows me to arrange doctors appointments (and other hard to get or weekday only appointments) without missing or rearranging school. This school year we have consistently taken Fridays off.   We are part of a multi-denominational Christian homeschooling group that meets at the park on Fridays.  This has been great for the girls and for me. The kids get to play and I get to socialize! Oh….it’s the kid’s socialization that I’m supposed to be concerned about.  Well, I’m a better mother and teacher when I’ve had a little socialization myself. You can get a lot of great ideas and learn a lot from other moms too. Our group is starting to play organized sports and games at park-days again (we kind of slacked off for awhile).  This particular group also goes on field trips, and we have mom’s night out.  If you home-school or stay home and you don’t a have a great group like this, then perhaps you should consider starting one.  It isn’t hard.  It only takes about four moms to have a pretty good group.  I didn’t take a picture of the girls at the park yesterday, so I posted an old picture of a play-date we had with our friends who have now moved away. Bailey is dancing with Katherine while Sarah and Kennedy are dancing together.  Elizabeth is providing the music.  Their mom, Kecia,  is a wonderful lady, and she is the author of the blog Clothed With Scarlet (posted under Blogroll in the sidebar).

These are our four Handmaids. Handmaid is the term used to refer to a female Orthodox Christian during a church service (for example “Handmaid of the Lord Katherine….”). Males are referred to as Servant of the Lord. Our four handmaids are:

Katherine 8 : Katherine is currently in second grade. She loves to read; big books don’t scare her. She takes gymnastics and is very good. Her favorite subjects are history, Orthodoxy, and gymnastics.

Sarah 5: Sarah is slightly shy in large groups. She is currently in preschool and will start kindergarten in the fall. Sarah likes to draw.  She can read three letter words, likes math, and is teaching herself cursive (she already taught herself to print).

Elizabeth 3: Elizabeth generally plays with educational toys while we work. She does like to write, and her favorite book is Olivia (for those of you familiar with the character, Elizabeth would give Olivia a run for her money).

Helena born Jan 08: Helena is cute and snuggly. She is sleeping pretty well and likes to be held (having three big sisters has kind of spoiled her).

The Four Handmaids

Elizabeth, who just turned three, told Katherine, “I’m pretty on the inside.” Katherine looked indulgently at Elizabeth and said, “You’re cute.” Elizabeth promptly replied, “Uh-huh, I’m cute on the inside too.”

Because we are traveling tomorrow, I thought I would post something that I wrote on Feb 3rd, 2008 (a couple of weeks before I started this blog).

Katherine has unfortunately caught a cold. It scares me to have a sick child near a two week old infant, but I can’t kick her out the house…legally. This morning I was awakened by the sound of Katherine blowing her nose for 45 minutes in the bathroom at 5:00 AM. She insisted that “something” was still coming out, and I was to tired to argue. After waking up groggy, I got ready to bathe Helena . She spit up several times during the night, so her neck smelled lovely . While I was bathing her she spit up a couple of more times and required more bathing. When I was just about done, she spit up on my shirt… right at chest level. One of the big sisters asked if I had leaked.
The rest of the day was spent doing odds and ends that have been put off and running errands (while smelling like spit-up since she kept doing it). At 7:00 PM I returned home happy to get to relax. I walked into Katherine cutting vegetables for a home-made vegetable soup she was making for a very late dinner. There were shoes on my kitchen counter, because one of the kids had stepped in juice…or something like that. There was a pair of soggy panties in front of the laundry room door, and several little girl dresses strewn all over my bathroom floor. Apparently Elizabeth had an accident in front of my potty and everyone got to take a bath. I saved Katherine’s “soup” (water and a few veggies at this point) for tomorrow, and reheated some leftovers. After dinner, I was happy that bed time had come. Unfortunately Katherine got a tiny splinter in her foot, and everyone had to watch or comment. I had to let dad handle the splinter because Helena woke up from her “nap”. When I picked her up, her white onesie was completely “yellow”. Her first bath was not the cute family affair that I had intended. It was a family affair…just not cute. While I was re-dressing Helena, I heard Katherine starting to cry. Patrick had given up on tweezers and was trying to “dig it out” with a knife. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, but you couldn’t tell that from her crying. I eventually sent Katherine to bed with the splinter in her foot. We’ll try again tomorrow. Finally the house was quiet. Helena and I were the only ones awake. I sat rocking her as she kept bobbing her head on my shoulder, and I realized that being a mom is the greatest job…even on a bad day. -Dominica

Because I was packing for Helena’s Baptism, school was very much the independent learning affair.  After school, the girls went outside to play. Katherine and Sarah were excited to have found potatoes growing in the yard.  Apparently some of the overly soft or rotting potatoes that I threw outside (before I started a compost pile) rooted and grew.

Our dear friends Father John and Matushka Michaela  are the godparents of our kids. Since Father John couldn’t get away from his parish to baptize Helena, we are flying there tomorrow. Father John apparently sent the announcement to his parish for the baptism, but it isn’t exactly what I expected…..

Deal all,

Many of you will remember Dominica McGinnis from her time at St. John’s before moving to the Hill Country of Texas with her husband a few years back. This Saturday at 1:30 p.m., the newest addition to Clan McGinnis (emphasis added), Helena, will be baptized at St. John’s. Light refreshments will be served following the baptism.

In Christ,

Fr. John

I have often thought of starting a blog to help keep track of our homeschooling journey. Like most homeschooling families, I have tried several ways of planning and recording our curriculum. Managing the curriculum, resources, documentation, and the countless bookmarks has been alright for just one child. Soon my second daughter will officially start the homeschooling journey (I have been dragging my feet). It seemed blogging would allow me to document what we’ve done, remind me of what worked and didn’t work, and minimize some of the clutter. Besides, the two questions I dislike the most are, “What are you doing?” and “What did you do today?” . The answers are always the same, “school” and “cleaned”. I am sure that the person asking doesn’t really want to hear about teaching the girls to fold laundry or how I swept the floor, cleaned the table, or did the dishes. However, some of our relatives and homeschooling friends have expressed interest in what types of things our girls are learning. I’m sure that some of the happenings at our house will probably make you feel a little better about your own. Finally, this blog will allow me to do something that I enjoy…write.