Rock Painting and More

Week of Sept. 1 - 7:

 The boys did Life of Fred math, as usual, and Jaden did math copy work.  I let Liv count chocolate chips and peanuts.  I started reading Messenger by Lois Lowry to William.  

Nothing special until fifth day of week, which was Trumpets, which I already covered in a previous post.


I'm not sure exactly when, but one day I got out the alphabet puzzle for the girls, and Olivia put it together almost by herself.  She didn't require much help from me at all.

On Sabbath prep day, we read the first of the new books the kids got for Trumpets, Just the Way You Are by Max Lucado.

And we finished off the week by a wonderful and relaxing Sabbath day.

Week of Sept. 8 - 14:

We got groceries on the first day of the week and not sure whether the kids even did any of their school book work.  We probably read something. 

Math Day: nothing special in math.  We read the second of the new Max Lucado books, Because I Love You. 

Art and Music Day:  We did rock painting.  Oh, it's been a loooong time since I've done rock painting.  William and I did it together back when he was probably Olivia's age, and we haven't done it since!  We both loved it then, though, and I think our rocks were put outside when we moved (so I was told), and the paint probably washed off.  We used washable paint.  We did this time, too.  It's so fun to find rocks that look like something and then paint it into that thing.  I've got some other rocks I've collected over the past year and a half, so we can do some more of this soon, but this time I picked out some somewhat flat stones and instructed that we'd all pick some sort of face to do. 

Olivia's "Bear" (with a bit of assistance)

Jaden William's "Eagle" (He said it could also pass as a penguin, but his aim was an eagle)

Trusten's "Turtle" He was excited to use his favorite blue for a turtle, but then when it came time to make the rest of the turtle, he didn't wait on me to assist him, which I'd planned to do for that part, and he just painted a sloppy face on there.  But I think he's happy with his creation, anyway.

My (Tara's) "Shark"

History and Geography Day:  I think this was the week that Trusten missed his lesson in history and geography.  Don't know.  Jaden's was:

*Spartacus
*The First Triumvirate
*Julius Caesar

We read the third of the new Max Lucado books, Your Special Gift.

Science Day:  Nothing special on this day.  At some point in time, I think during this week, Jaden brought to me an egg and said that its shell had not hardened.  This is a good place to mention it.  He took a video, too, but I didn't post it.  You can tell in the picture how it is, and then he opened it and emptied the yolk.

Also at some point recently JW showed me some of his work he's been doing with chemicals and metal. He transferred some copper to a key.  Here is pictured a comparison of the color of the key before to what it was after the copper coating (too bad he didn't take a picture of the actual KEY beforehand, but it was silvery-colored like the screwdriver):

I know you can't tell very well the difference in the picture, but there is a difference.  It's a LIGHT copper coating. He wants to make some things darker.  

Then Sabbath prep, and the Sabbath day was also the Day of Atonement, a day of fasting from food and drink (but not for the kids).  Jaden William once again tried fasting completely from food and drink (his own choice) and did pretty well.  We listened to a sermon, and I enjoyed a lot of deep meditation and prayer time while sitting outside while the kids played.


Until next time...

Gingerbread Man, Animal Collage, Arctic Animals, and Play-Doh Fun

Week of August 18 - August 24:

First Day of Week:

The usual stuff, and then I was able to get a few hours of peace time this afternoon, while Nathan took the kids somewhere. 

The Second through Fifth Days of the Week:

School reading and such.  I did a "Book of the Week" with Trust and Liv on The Gingerbread Man.  

   
This book's copyright is in 1958, except it's in Roman numerals.  MCMLVIII  It was Nathan's aunt's. We love this story!  It's fun to read over and over.   I love when it comes time to talk in my fox's voice and say, "Very good...very good, indeed!"  

I made gingerbread cookies, and though I cut back on the ginger from the recipe I decided to follow, they were still way too gingery!  I think they'd have been good otherwise (and were certainly better than the last time I made them with a different recipe back when JW was still a toddler).  Olivia liked them, though...and so did the chickens!

 
 I made lots of little ones with a cookie cutter, and then I made one really big one, cut manually with a butter knife, and I think I did a good job, but the head broke off before I took a picture of it. 

Sabbath Day:

I discussed the character traits of the characters in The Gingerbread Man and went over a few scriptures.  We especially talked about pride (gingerbread man), stealing (fox), and the benefit of using clever-mindedness over physical exertion, since every person and animal that chased after the running cookie failed, but the fox won a tasty treat by his logic.

We had a great day of spiritual learning and refreshment and a nice time in the creation, including taking the kids to Roaring River in the late afternoon to swim.

Week of August 25 - August 31:

First Day of Week:

I cleaned the house, while Nathan worked on painting the outside of our house, and later in the day he took all the kids away for awhile so I could enjoy a few hours of peace!!!  

Math Day:  Math, nothing special.

Art and Music Day:  We sang some hymns, as I really would like the kids to know by heart some of my favorite Christian hymns.  Maybe some of them will become their favorites, too.  

Jaden William finally did his animal collage!!!  I printed pictures for it nearly two years ago!  He only used a small fraction of the pictures (saving the others to put in his album), and he spread the pictures out on his poster board (he chose black).  He's got plenty of space to add more pictures over the years.  When I'm able, I'll print more animal pictures of his choosing, starting back a year and a half to two years ago.

  
I let the other kids play with Play-Doh, making whatever they wanted to make.  I, of course, like butterflies, so I made a butterfly with the same colors as the painted lady butterflies that we raised from caterpillars.

They got to use their new Melissa and Doug fun kit for their Play-Doh.   

Trusten made a blue turtle, and Liv made all sorts of colorful creatures, not neglecting to use her favorite color, pink.  The orange and black butterfly is mine. I used a cookie cutter for the orange.

I helped Liv use the cookie cutter to cut out of pink butterfly, which she then decorated.  I think Trusten is holding up a mushroom.  Jaden William is rolling out squares for something.

Jaden William decided to join us for Play-Doh fun.  I don't know what his strange thing is there with the wild colors.  Of course, you can see Olivia decided she wanted a turtle, after Trusten had made one, and then she wanted a star to decorate. 

History and Geography Day:

I think Jaden's three history lessons for this day were listed on the last post...not sure.  Trusten learned about animals on different continents, and we went back and focused on Antarctica, and afterward he decorated his Arctic page in his Around the World book, some reading this may remember (he's decorated about half the scenes now).  I explained that some of the same animals live on both poles--the Arctic and Antarctic.

Nice! I like it!  Don't ask me why that musk ox or whatever it is is suspended in the air.  Maybe he and its friend are jumping to the other ice sheet?

Science Day: We read Ranger Rick, finished up anatomy with Jaden William, with the topic of genetics.  I had planned a DNA extraction from an onion, because instructions were included in an AIG magazine a friend had sent me (whereas I'd planned on buying a kit at some point), but Jaden William declared that it was absolutely stupid and a waste of a good onion, just to see some slimy stuff. Well, maybe... I wonder whether we could put it under our microscope, though, and see details.  We haven't done it as of yet. 

I went over a lesson on plant science with Trusten. 

The boys work on language lessons nearly every day, and JW does spelling once or twice a week, four lessons at a time, usually (same base words, mostly, with different endings in the four lessons).

Sixth Day:  Sabbath prep (cleaning and cooking).  This was the day JW finished his book report on Gathering Blue.  I tested Liv on alphabet flash cards.  She got all but four or five correct.  She also played phone games.  I spent some time with Elizabeth talking to her and explaining things. 

Sabbath:  I think I will only include Sabbath highlights in my monthly "Things We've Done..." posts. Sooo...

Until Next Time...

Feast of Trumpets 2013

Feast of Trumpets 2013

Feast of Trumpets this year fell on the evening of September 4th to the evening of September 5th, on the Roman calendar.  Nathan grilled steaks, while I made baked macaroni and cheese and cut up a salad.  We had ice cream cake for our Trumpets treat.  Although we didn't have trumpet cookies, I still used our trumpet cookie cutter to put trumpet-shaped sprinkle decor on top of the cake.  Yes, even the sprinkles were organic!  The more extravagant dessert doubled as a birthday treat, since I turned 31 on the 4th.

The kids didn't get big gifts this year on Trumpets, but it wasn't due to behavior so much as it was to finances.  They each got a new book, though.  I decided to get them some biblical-themed books by Max Lucado. Each of the stories is good.  We've enjoyed reading each one.  They got:

*Just the Way You Are
*Because I Love You
*Your Special Gift
*The Oak Inside the Acorn

We didn't play at all with our trumpet memory match cards, but I did go over again what Trumpets meant. The kids didn't cooperate very well with me on this day, for whatever reason.  I bought fun balloons for them, which I know they love, but I also wanted to weave them into the lesson that day.  It seemed rather to distract them.  Then we had to finish our poster board project that we also did for this day, on another day.  But all in all, I think they get the picture.

Ok, so I wanted white balloons and black balloons, in addition to the helium-filled smiley balloons.  Jaden William went into the dollar store for me, and he reported that they had no black balloons, so I decided to use red balloons.  The black was to symbolize death, but red symbolizes blood, so it's a fair substitute.  The white symbolizes purity.

So I talked about the day of the 7th and last trumpet when Christ is to return and the saints are to rise up to meet him on his downward descent to the Mount of Olives.  Many wicked people will be destroyed upon the Lord's return, while human beings who possess repentant and teachable spirits are left alive. The white balloons, therefore, represent the ones left alive with "good" hearts.  I put the white balloons and the red ones together on the floor and reminded them of the parable of the wheat and weeds, where the weeds were left along with the wheat until harvest time, and then the weeds will be TAKEN and burned in the fire, while the wheat will be LEFT alive.  Those who possess God's Spirit and have been chosen to be in the "first resurrection" to reign with Christ will be born as spirit-bodied Sons of God and will RISE to meet Christ.  That is what the happy smiley-faced balloon (with white balloon attached as JW's idea) filled with helium and risen to the ceiling represents. They were white balloons with God's Spirit inside, so they are changed, while the other white balloons left on earth are still human beings who will be given God's Spirit and instructed in His ways by Christ and the other Children of God.

The kids got to play with other balloons during the day, and they got their blowing horns (their trumpets) to blow.  Nathan and I managed well to deal with the sound of blowing horns, since it's just that one day!

Lots of time outside on that gorgeous day!  Off with Elizabeth's dress for that!! 

I managed to gather everything I needed to print for our Trumpets project by using my iPad (we've got a wi-fi printer), but I'm happy to report I've got a computer now!  Went with a Mac Book this time, rather than a Desktop.  This makes blogging (and other things) so much easier!

The simple poster we did this year focused on the 7th Trumpet resurrection, since that is what my focus was in the lesson that day.  We didn't finish it until a later day, though.  This project was mainly for Trust and Liv, and besides the trumpets (I placed the left and middle, Jade placed the right ones) and the picture (I placed), Trust and Liv placed all the clouds and space crafts.  The big white one in the center (I know, I know, it's the Star Trek ship!) is supposed to represent Christ's "horse and chariot of fire," while the others are his armies.  Who knows what their vehicles will truly look like....probably quite superior to anything man has designed and made or has even imagined. 

Then the picture of Trust and Liv on the poster...

They posed as if they were ready to lift off and meet their Lord Salvation (Jesus Christ) at the 7th trumpet. 

I hope YOU had a blessed Trumpets Day.

Hoping to catch up on my posts soon.

Until next time...

Plans for the Next Four Months

This will give an update on each of the kids and our educational plans for the next four months.

Jaden

Jaden is very much self-propelled in his learning, which is what I'd hope for a child (and have always been so myself), although he may be a bit too much.  He's getting way ahead on some things, while he's lagging behind on others, but I guess I shouldn't worry about it, as surely he'll see more and more, as time goes on, that he'll need those other things, too.  I want to see improvement in his writing and great improvement in his math.  His reading is quite advanced, and his knowledge of sciences, history, geography, bible, and other areas of study are high.

We will work more seriously now through the remaining three of four areas of science in the textbooks over the remaining three years of his basic studies (the goal is for each child to be ready by twelve or thirteen to transition into mostly self-study and training to be an adult, including college classes).  He's finished with life science (botany, zoology, and human anatomy and physiology).  Over the next year he will do earth and universe science (geology, astronomy, meteorology). 

I've been fine with using the simple God's Design for Science series, because science is something that I teach so much of without a textbook, and the kids have all so far been very exploratory.  The books pretty much just operate to make sure nothing is missed and the learning of terms.

We'll also be using these brightly illustrated, informative Usborne books.  Since we've had them, they've come in handy. 

I estimate these three books (Goldfish, Honey, and Ice Cream) will take the next six months to complete.  He's slow at math, but since I switched to The Life of Fred, I went backward a bit, so I'm planning with these next two or three books to do two lessons each time.  He's handling it well so far. 

He'll also be doing math copy work until he finally memorizes his addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts.  He can add and subtract just fine, including multi-digit problems, but he's slow, because he still doesn't have them memorized, in spite of years of flash cards! 

Time to start volume 2 of 4 in The Mystery of History.  I'm excited!  I love this curriculum.

We didn't speed through the first Sequential Spelling book, but now that he's long ago got it down, and he's improved so much with his spelling, we have started to go through it quickly with much success.  It was actually two years ago when I started it, but we went long lengths of time where we didn't even work on it.  So he should be able to get through these two books in a year to a year and a half.

Jaden will get eight weeks of classes this year, rather than four, about which he's thrilled.  The downside is that they charge twice as much now.  Jaden has looked forward to the youth pottery wheel class for years now, as they did not allow it until the age of ten.  Looks like they now allow it at age nine.

Some of Jaden's current big things he's got going?  Planting various seeds to grow things (especially fruit trees), experiments with metals and chemicals, reading about new technologies, reading Christian biographies, making candles, baking, caring for our chickens, and more.


Trusten

Trusten  is a very bright child with a wonderfully sweet side, but he's still very difficult.  He alone can cause great chaos in our household.  Punishment makes things increasingly worse, and the removal of rewards has never had a long-lasting effect.  Gentle words and in-depth discussions work the best, but it's often a challenge to even get to that point with him.  He suffers from just about every category there is under the Tourette syndrome umbrella: tics, obesssions and compulsions, hyperactivity, sensory issues, and behavioral problems that include violence, destruction, depression, sleep disorders, copralalia, copragraphia, meltdowns, exhibitionism, perversions, etc.

The good news is that he, unlike his older brother, swallows capsules whole with no problems and gives me no trouble when it comes to taking supplements.  Supplements do seem to help (he's extremely picky, so nutritional problems is a main factor, I believe), but I've not yet tried the TS Control by Bontech for him.  I had bought it many years ago for William (whose symptoms are very mild and not nearly as far-reaching), but he wouldn't take them, even broken open in foods.  After a great delay from the manufacturer, my order from a month ago is finally on its way.  I will try them for two months, and I'm praying hard that they will make a big difference for him (and thus for us all). 

In spite of all the trouble, there are some days he's my favorite child.  You never quite know what you're going to get.  Ironically enough, he seems to be a good judge of what is right and wrong. Even though he struggles with his own issues, he possesses a strong sense of moral judgment and fairness (which is actually typical of middle children).

Thankfully, for the most part, he gives me very little trouble when it comes to his school work.  :-)  Also a big plus for me is that it seems that math comes pretty easily for him.  Praise my Father God!  This is just what I need.  I'm not a big math person, but Jaden is even worse, and it has been a literal nightmare at times doing math with JW!

Trusten is nearly finished with the Rocket Readers Learn-to-Read Bible.  He'll then go through the upper levels of the Rocket Readers books and other learning to read books.  It's working out well.  Rocket Readers is what I used with JW, too, and I don't figure I'll ever use anything else.  I'm hoping the Learn-to-Read Bible I've got will last through the girls.  It was used and a bit weak in condition when I bought it five years ago to use with JW, and it's increased in wear.

Trusten will be going through life science over the next year.  Jaden will sit nearby when going over botany, so that he can get a review, as it was a good while ago when he went through it. 

We are already nearly halfway through Our Christian Heritage for history and geography.  After we finish that, I'm sure I'll focus more on geography with him, using our various resources.

Trusten will cover Butterflies and Cats in Life of Fred math series.  He's finishing up the first book Apples now.  He will also soon start some of the math copy work (addition and subtraction), even though he seems to be catching on to the memorization pretty well.

Already a third of the way through book 1 of Explode the Code.  He enjoy is and is doing a very good job!  He can read the instructions and do the four pages each day himself, just as Jaden did.  I may get the remaining books after he's finished with these.  He finished his last Language Lessons book, and he'll work on this series and won't go move on to the next Language Lessons book, until he's finished with these. 

Trusten has no interest at this time in pursuing any activities outside our home, such as lessons in music, art, sports, dance, theater, or otherwise (except swimming, in which I'll enroll them all in again next year, as they haven't been this year and last).  Until he is more stable, though, perhaps it is a good thing. I fear sometimes what would happen...

As of now he usually only spends the minimal amount of time he must outside (except some days he enjoys more time).  He does enjoy some exploration and such, but I wish he'd spend more time enjoying such things.  If he is not allowed to play video games or watch video (the former from which he's been cut off for months now, and the latter from which he's been cut off for a few days), there is nothing inside he wants to do, either.  He does sometimes look at books.  Most of his free time, though, is spent ticcing or harassing Olivia.

He does often play with Elizabeth, which is a nice thing.  He loves her dearly, and she loves him back. 

I've started teaching him more things in the kitchen so that he can soon do some of the things Jaden William does there.  He seems very interested, so I'm pleased about that.  I'm glad about anything he shows an interest in, that is beneficial.  I don't want him to be productive in good ways. I want him to succeed! 

Trusten is still a very funny, witty, and clever little boy.  He makes us all laugh when he's in the right frame of mind.

Olivia

Olivia is only improving on her motherly skills.  She is so sweet and very intelligent.  She is the most advanced in conversational ability of all the children, for her age.  She enjoys helping with Elizabeth, and she speaks gently to her baby sister and leads her away from trouble.  As William did at this age, she talks all about being a woman and a mother (William spoke of growing up to be a man).  Trusten did not go through this normal stage of child development.  

Liv enjoys handling creatures, just as Jade does.  She feels bad for creatures who have been hurt or killed.  

If the boys aren't harassing her or being mean in some way, the only thing Olivia really ever does that is wrong is getting into things that do not belong to her and/or stealing the things.  If I could ever keep that child out of my refrigerator, cabinets, closets, drawers, etc., all would be very good!  LOL  I just remind her each time that she's breaking God's 8th commandment and that that means she is walking on the path of wickedness.  She usually cries out that she wants to be on the right or good path, and she apologizes. 

Liv, whenever I test her, knows most of her letters.  The last time I tested her a few weeks ago she didn't get four or five letters right.  She can count to ten without much issue, but I'll keep working with her on it, until she gets it without skipping.

She likes to draw people. I've tried teaching her how to draw trees and flowers, too, but she says she can't do those, yet.  She has been working on her shapes (other than circles, which she has been able to do for a long time).  Her people look interesting.   She does like to still scribble a lot, too.

She plays iPod games still, when I let her.  She also has had an increased interest in books.

I got her and Elizabeth some more crayons (jumbo for Happy), new Play-Doh with a fun wooden play kit for the Play-Doh, and I got another set of paints for all the kids, so we don't run out any time soon.

 
 Paints, crayons, and Trusten's Explode the Code books that came in an order from Amazon, along with stuff from Fred's.

Liv has been flying through some preschool workbook pages on circling "same," "different," "bigger" or "smaller," etc.  She loves to cut.  I'll be working with her more on coloring, folding, cutting, and pasting.  Trusten will also join in to work on more of these things.

I'm trying to go through some of the workbooks I've still got around, so this numbers book will work out well for Olivia to do some math out of.  I have not started her on Language Lessons, but I plan to before the end of this Roman year.  She will start writing the alphabet, etc.


Elizabeth

The biggest thing with which I want to work on with Elizabeth is language development. She still doesn't say much, though she understands perfectly fine.  She has started carrying out requested tasks like throwing things in the trash or putting clothing in the laundry basket.  She still loves to mimic animal sounds and tunes to songs.  She just doesn't utter many words at all.  She's got a big heart, though.  She says, "Awwwe," when she hugs someone or when someone hugs her.  I know she does this, because she has heard me so many times say that when the children hug each other.  She makes kissing sounds to let you know she wants a kiss.  Anytime anyone cries or gets hurt, she pats, hugs, and loves on the person.  She seems to love everything flight (hmmm...wonder from whom she gets that).  She loves butterflies, birds, airplanes, etc.  Her obsession, though (besides milk and cuddles) is fans. She loves all sorts of fans, and she's literally hung up on them.  

She'll be included in many activities along with Olivia.

Okay, so I'm hoping I included everything I wanted in this post.  I've got to post on Feast of Trumpets and then two or three weeks of things.  This is it for today, though!

Until next time...
 

Second Half of Summer 2013: What We've Been...

Another of my "What We've..." posts to cover the second half of summer, which will soon be over as reckoned by the fall equinox.  I've got at least four additional posts planned, which I soon hope to get posted.  They will cover our Trumpets celebration, plans for the remaining three and a half Roman calendar months, and then the starting back of weekly updates on what we've done in our homeschool, of which I'm already behind.  I'm typing this post on my iPad, as our messed up computer is finally officially finished, after three months of trouble following a lightning strike.  It served us well for four years before that happened.  Nathan is looking for a replacement, which is necessary.  I've had to download two different apps for this device in order to make blogging these posts with my pictures possible, but I'm so thankful I've got this option.  It appears as if there will be no font size changes or anything of that nature, but I'll make do.  Sooo...

What We've Read...

Jaden William's history (Mystery of History):

*Emperor Asoka of India

*The Septuagint and the Colossus of Rhodes

*The Qin Dynasty (Ch'in)

*Hannibal, Elephants, and the Punic Wars

*The Han Dynasty

*The Maccabean Revolt

Trusten's history and geography (Our Christian Heritage):

*Leadership/governing in our lives, especially God and parents

*Four oceans

*Seven continents

*Facts about each continent and some animals that live on each

We've gone back to pick up where we left off in Scholastic's Read and Learn Bible.  We are currently in 2 Kings, about to read about Elisha.  We are also still continually, over and over, going through the book of Proverbs.  Instead of a daily chapter, though, and also trying to fit in other bible reading with the kids (not counting my own reading), we are usually doing a chapter of Proverbs every other day, and the days in between we are reading a chapter in the children's bible.  Sometimes we combine and read both, but some days it doesn't work out, and I feel relieved that I have decided not to stress myself out about it.

Various children's books.  I'm not going to subscribe to the Weekly Reader/Scholastic News this year, at least not for Trust and Liv.  I apparently paid twice last year, because they sent me a notice of credit.  I am still trying to decide whether to order for Jaden William, but I'd likely let him read them on his own time, if I get them, if it's not too late.  When we got these, the reading from children's books was reduced, and I don't like that.  I love the wildlife magazines the kids get, and they are only monthly, so we will continue to enjoy these.  

What the Boys Have Written...

Jaden's book report on Lois Lowry's The Giver (book pictured above in previous section). Yeah, that boy managed to get his report all dirty, because he laid down on his belly on the front porch to write most of it!  He needs much more writing, writing, writing practice, but he is getting better.  He just gets in a hurry on everything!  This was his second draft, so I'm disappointed in how many spelling errors and missing punctuation there was.  

Jaden's book report on Lois Lowry's Gathering Blue.  This is his first draft, on which he came a LONG WAY from his first draft on The Giver.  And he's finally grasping how to write a full-length book report.  This is just his third, after The Giver, and you may remember his first one on The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum.  So I was pretty pleased with him on this.  I've got to go over it, type up corrections, and then he'll write his final draft, which had better be better than his final one on The Giver.  I don't know how that boy managed to spell things incorrectly and miss periods and such, when his second draft was COPY WORK.  I'd typed out corrections and added some detail in to better help him understand what he was lacking.  He definitely didn't lack in this report like he did that report. :-)  His grade (something very few things the kids do get) will be reported in a future post, as well as his book report on the final book in the trilogy.  

Trusten has mostly done copy work in his Language Lessons workbook.  He finished the one on which he was working and will now be working on the Explode the Code series and won't continue on with the next LL workbook until he's finished, which I expect will only take four or five months at the most.  He is good at flying nearly flawlessly through such things.  He's doing well on most of his work, despite his hair-trigger temperament.  Below is pictured some of the drawings he was asked to draw in his LL book.  He normally flies off the handle each time he's asked to draw anything (among many other things), which involves an exposive verbal outburst, a throwing of his pencil, etc.  Once I am able to calm him, it's as if nothing happened, and he gets his work done.  Same thing with anytime he's asked to write something free-hand (not copy work).  He knows very well I'll help him spell anything with which he needs help, but it seems all memory of that leaves him each time. 

Regarding the sentence pictured below, he was required to write his own sentence using one of the words in a list.  After his meltdown, I spoke a few sample sentences for examples, like "I want to fly a kite" and "I hope my momma loves me" ("kite" and "hope" being words in the list).  He shouted, "I know you love me!"  (Think with me: "CHILL OUT, child!")  Well, he calmed down, and I left to be about my business in the kitchen.  When he was finished with his work, he properly put up his workbook.  When I went to check it, I was humored that he had written that example sentence, even after his outburst!

LOL.  (If you haven't read the two preceding paragraphs, please do so now.)  NO spelling errors in that simple sentence, and I didn't help him (true, I spell it "momma" and "Momma" when it's proper, rather than common, but I'm a rare exception).  He just loses it too easily.

Jaden's latest reading and research obsession has been technology, and specifically Apple technology.  He drives me crazy!  He asked me whether I'd rather him talk about languages again, and I said, "Yes!  Please!"  LOL 

I've started reading about plant science to Trusten.  I'll talk more about that and more in a future post.

What We've Been Eating...

Homemade suki-yaki steak with homemade white sauce (maybe not as satisfying to the lust of the tastebuds as what you eat in the Japanese restaurants, but mine is whole-grain rice and pasta and all organic ingredients); homemade chicken pot pie (ok, except for the crusts), homemade peach cobbler (a long-time favorite around here), squash casserole, fruit salad, potatoes, creamy chickenn and potato soup (pictured is a failed attempt at an experimental casserole, but afterward I started making it as soup and cut the potatoes differently); tortilla pizzas; spicy Thai noodles.

The soup and the spicy Thai noodles were well-liked around the table as new meals.  I've fixed the former a few times, but I've yet to make the latter.  I will change it up next time, as it contained way too much oil the first time (but was indeed tasty).  

My sweet boy Jaden William (10 years) has fixed breakfast many times lately (usually muffins). His favorite is pancakes, and he happened to surprise me one morning with making pancakes.  I was walking into the kitchen, and he was already flipping pancakes out of the pan.  Yes, he runs the grain mill, combines all the ingredients himself, and does the cooking, and he does a great job.  He's already had plenty of practice over the past few years.  I asked for chocolate chips in mine, and he surprised me with a chocolate chip smiley face!

That's a cantaloupe out of our garden (yum!), and Na cut the cucumbers one night for our dinner, and he made us all cute things.  He made me the little car/cart above.  Almost all of our cucumbers have been delicious.  Everything has been so good.  Nathan dumped all of our wood ash on our garden spot throughout last winter, and Jaden put the straw and chicken poop from cleaning out the chicken house on there, so our food has been nutritious and tasy.  

What We've Done on Sabbath Afternoons...

Pictured above: After one of the floods (odd for mid-summer), the kids swam and played in the water in the creek that borders our property to the south/southwest.  I took so many absolutely gorgeous pictures.  The kids played after each flood.

You can tell they're dressed and ready to go play in the creek again, but first some fun with mud!  Check out William's mudman!

The two sweetest girls...  Liv wanted to show me a moth and other nature finds.

These pictures are so funny.  Poor Liv.  Trusten torments that poor girl, but you've got to admit that the pictures of him chasing her with his mud ball is pretty hilarious.  

What Nature Things We've Enjoyed...

The kids got to enjoy witnessing the metamorphosis cycle of butterflies (painted lady species).  Pictured above are the caterpillars hanging from the top of their containers (nasty by that point) and each creating a chrysalis for their pupae stage, and then in the bottom picture they are all in the pupa stage.  I pinned them to the side of the butterfly pavilion.  Notice one on some tissue at the bottom.  It had fallen to the bottom of the container, and I didn't have much hope for it.  Jaden and I theorized.  I told him I wondered whether it would not develop properly if it laid on the bottom, or whether the sole purpose of caterpillars suspending themselves up high was to keep away from predators.  I wondered whether there was a dual purpose (like so many things, or often more than dual).  It turned out in the end that the butterfly emerged from the chrysalis alive, but one of the wings was deformed.  It was unable to fly, so Jaden put it in one of my pots of flowers.  We felt bad for it.

ALL ten caterpillars emerged alive as butterflies.  Nine were perfectly formed and able to fly away on release day.

I also read our copy of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar for fun, and I played a video on Amazon on Demand of butterflies and their lives.

We only kept the butterflies as adults in the pavilion two--maybe three--days, and then the kids took turns getting one on their fingers and then releasing them.  The picture at the bottom right of the collage directly above is so funny.  JW had a butterfly perched on his finger, but by the time I shot the picture, the butterfly was gone.

We LOVED this!  It was especially a treat to us, because we love butterflies so much!  Life is truly a miracle!  It's just so amazing!

Poor Elizabeth didn't know any better.  She'd found the under-developed butterfly that Jade had put in the flower pot of flowers.  She came walking excitedly toward me with a big smile on her face, holding the butterfly.  I was horrified on the inside, but I managed to gently tell her that no, that wasn't good.  I don't think she damaged it too much (it wasn't going to make it, anyway), but William started to shout, so I had to calm him quickly and remind him that Baby Sister didn't understand how to hold butterflies, and she was just excited to get to hold one like all her siblings.

Jaden William a beetle or something in its pupa stage. This was exciting!  I liked this particular ones.  You can the one in the upper right picture is broken open a bit, so you can see the larvae inside.  The rest were undisturbed.  This was fascinating!  I just love all the awesome things you can find in nature.  The coverings were like tree bark!

Liv is picured with an adult pill bug crawling on her hand.  She loves these things!  (My younger sister did, too.  I won't touch them.)  Liv is often scared of such things at first, but once she realizes they won't hurt her, she takes quite a liking to them, whatever the "them" may be.  

Well, I've got LOTS more to share, but this is it for now.  There will be more soon.

Until next time...