Adversity: The JOYful side of no heat

Looking at things optimistically, the "up" side to losing our heater yesterday was the chance to have a slumber party with the kids last night. We watched a half-dozen episodes of Green Acres and then made a "bed" on the floor of the living room for Bam-Bam, String Bean, Lego Maniac and me. Discretion being the better part of valor, Kotch and Granmere opted for space-heaters in their rooms while Dad is off at a "5-star for Jesus" retreat center and Brikhead is down in balmy Louisiana!

Through the grace of God, the temp outside only went down to the upper 40s so the inside-house temp is a cozy 65.8 (which is a bit warmer than when we have HEAT! ISN'T God GOOD!)

And, for those of you who are wondering -- Molly, the wonder puppy -- weighing in at 20 lbs at her 3 month check -- slept in her own crate but did join the kids after her breakfast at 4:40 a.m. But she was quickly ousted back to her crate when she dared to wake up LegoManiac at 5:00 a.m.

Hopefully the heating man, who came yesterday and charged $300 to get the heat going for about 30 minutes after he left, will be able to come today and "get 'er done" as they say in the South! (altho that's going to be another $600 or so -- thank goodness for good credit!).

Simple Craft-of-the-Week: Crayon Cookies

Sarah over at Plainsong is continuing the "simple craft-a-week club" through this year. We still have lots of spots open if you'd like to volunteer.

I have this week's craft, so here goes:

Crayon Cookies

This is a really easy craft -- one many of you may have done before -- but we'd never done it and since I wanted to have the kiddoes make some posters this week anyway, I thought it was a great time to do this. Also, since we're in the second half of the year, all those new and whole crayons have been relegated to the crayon "bin" -- just one step above the trash!

You'll need old crayons, an old muffin tin, and an oven/toaster oven.

Break the crayons into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces -- we used a bin filled with old, mismatched crayons, many of which were already all broken up. Remove any paper or other labels from the crayons.

The 3 kids and I each did 3 cups of crayons -- some did their favorite team colors (Clemson - orange and dark blue, Broncos - orange, blue and white), some did it in their favorite shades (greens or red/pink) and some just did jumbled colors. This is a great chance to discuss color theory, primaries and secondary colors, etc.

Bake in an oven set to 170 for about 20-30 minutes. Ours took awhile becuase we had to keep opening the oven (the light wasn't working) to check if they were all melted yet!

Once all the crayons are melted remove pan to cooling rack.

Let cool completely -- about 2 hours. When the "cookies" are completely cool, they will slide right out of the cupcake tin!

Have fun with the crayons -- you can use them to make posters or just fun designs ... we're putting them back in the container the "old" crayons were in so that we can find them easily whenever we want to color fun pictures!

Proof of the need for simplicity and slowness to attain JOY!

The average man eats in a hurry and gets dyspepsia. He walks in a
hurry and gets apoplexy. He talks in a hurry and begins to stutter.
He does business in a hurry and becomes bankrupt. He votes in a hurry and
produces corruption. He marries in a hurry and gets a divorce. He
trains his children in a hurry and develops spendthrifts and delinquents.
He makes his will in a hurry and leaves a legal contest. He dies in a
hurry and goes to the devil.

And his tribe steadily increases.

MORAL? Slow down.

-- author unknown (unfortunately!)

as quoted in Warriner's English Grammar and Composition, Harcourt Brace 1977, pg 305-306.

Theme for the Year: JOY!

Yes, I know we're past the 1st of January when I should have already had a theme, lots of books and crafty ideas, and generally had the entire 365 days planned. But, that didn't happen (what with flu that wouldn't leave our house, a new puppy, Christmas with little folks who still "believe", and the general mayhem of being stuck inside with sub-zero temps outside).

But enough moaning about what "could have been". Onward, and (hopefully) upward!

So, my theme for this year is JOY! Seeking, finding and taking joy in everything we do, in everyone we meet and everywhere we go .... JOY.

There is a Christian-poster I once saw that spelled out how to achieve JOY ...

putting Jesus first

then Others next

then Yourself last

As a focusing theme for the "littles" and our home-learning environment, I turned to my friends at 4real for inspiration. One thread that Susan posted had the perfect subject line: A Magical Childhood! Doesn't that sound wonderful? Creating an environment where each child's formative years are focused on the magic and wonder of each day ... finding God's magic in different spots ... creating an environment where each child can find his/her own magic and making memories while learning! Doesn't that sound wonderful?

Susan's 4real post pointed me to a website called, A Magical Childhood, where the site-owner shares her motive for her site:

This site was born out of my desire to share ideas and celebrate
the neat parents out there. In an age when kids are getting scoliosis from
toting home such heavy backpacks and people are trying to teach their infants
French, I thought it was high time there was a place that focused on plain old
happy, goofy, silly, leisurely life for our children.

Over the next week, I'll be posting some of my ideas of how we'll focus on JOY this year and also how we'll be creating a "magical childhood" environment here in our home. If you have any comments, suggestions, or even criticisms, please post in the comments below ... I'll need all the help I can get!

Happiest of New Years to you all!

Family: Lego Maniac turns 9!

Today, Lego-Maniac turns 9 ... and he so enjoyed his day! One of the great things about homeschooling on your birthday is that:

1. throughout the day, you know you're special ('cause your mom keeps hugging and kissing and telling you so!)
2. you can pick the movie to watch on your birthday (even if it's one mom really doesn't care for)
3. you get to have a pajama day - and no one laughs that you're 9 and wearing Spider Man pj's all day ...
4. you get to be around those who love you all day long ...
5. you get to finish the day with lots of seafood, pizza and sugar (his cake was angel food with really thick butter-cream frosting and sprinkles he added) and watch a fantastic family movie!

Field Trip: National Western Stock Show

Tuesday we went with a group of homeschoolers to the National Western Stock Show -- last year we'd heard about this annual event, but didn't go. Thanks to MaryM, we got organized this year and were able to go. I was even so organized we actually did a mini-cowboy/western unit with the following picture books:

She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain by Jonathan Emmett and Deborah Allwright – a very cute retelling of the classic song. Very fun for the kids.

Cowboy Slim by Julie Danneberg (illustrated by Margot Apple) – tells the story of a poet who wants to be more than a “catalog cowboy” and prove his worth on the trail. This is a great introduction to “cowboy slang” and an interesting explanation of how the poets on the trail calmed the cattle and entertained the other cowboys.

Cowboy Jose by Susan Middleton Elya (illustrated by Tim Raglin) – a combination of Spanish phrases and English verse makes this poem-story come alive. The story is the need to win “the lady fair” by making money but the vaquero quickly learns about loyalty and true love. Lots of fun to read aloud!

Roundup at the Palace by Kathleen Cook Waldron (illustrated by Alan & Lea Daniel) – explains what happens when a bull headed to the annual National Western Stock Show in Denver gets loose in downtown Denver. Interesting story and starts fun conversations on “what if this happened to you”.

High as a Hawk: A Brave Girl’s Historic Climb by T.A. Barron (illustrated by Ted Lewin) – the true story of an 8-year-old girl (the youngest ever) to climb to the top of Long’s Peak in 1903, led by the tracker who wanted to make Long’s Peak a National monument. Interesting story of perseverance and “doing it for Mama”.

Fritz and the Beautiful Horses written and illustrated by Jan Brett – a beautiful story about a land where only beautiful horses are allowed and a small, but dependable pony who isn’t allowed into the city … until he proves his worth is greater than his lack of beauty! This is a classic Brett book with a hint of the beautiful illustrations to come in her later books.

Bedtime in the Southwest by Mona Hodgson (illustrated by Renee Graef – of Little House series fame!) – very nice illustrations show how animals get tucked in in the southwest! Very cute book with great illustrations!

The Dirty Cowboy by Amy Timberlake (illustrated by Adam Rex) – what happens when a cowboy takes his annual bath? A very nice story!

The Toughest Cowboy: or How the Wild West was Tamed by John Frank (illustrated by Zachary Pullen) – a group of the roughest, toughest cowboys adopt a dog that tames them. There is some grossness at the beginning (which my boys loved!) but it quickly turns the corner and all is civilized by the end. An interesting twist on the “taming of the wild west” theme.


The Stock Show is 102 years old this year and was originally organized to celebrate the livestock that helped settle the West. This is a national show so you've got breeders and growers from all over the country coming to show their angus bulls, dairy cattle, goats, horses ... well, you get the idea. There is a petting zoo with very calm animals and education opportunities for the kids to learn all about agriculture, farming and ranching -- especially in this area.


We had such a great time meeting animals and ranchers (here the kids are getting ready to be "background" for a live-tv interview with the owners of the goats) ....

hugging lonely sheep ....

and learning all about the wild animals indigenous to this area ...We ground our own whole-wheat flour from fresh wheat, learned about soil erosion from some CSU Ag students, and learned about farm animals from the good folks at the Urban Farm near our house.

We can't wait till next year's show!

Unit Study: Mittens

Today, as it was supposed to be kind of snowy (but was instead just bitter cold!), we did a mini unit on mittens. We read some GREAT picture books, made fleece mittens and watched the old Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe while eating whole-wheat brownies we made yesterday from flour ground at the National Western Stock Show.

Here are the picture books we read about mittens:

Noah’s Mittens: The Story of Felt by Lise Lunge-Larsen (illustrated by Matthew Trueman). What all happened on the Ark anyway? This picture book (with wonderfully whimsical illustrations) explains how wool felt was “invented”, why and what uses it could be put to once the Ark rested on Mount Ararat.

The Winter Mittens written and illustrated by Tim Arnold tells the story of a little girl who finds magical mittens in a silver box (and the trouble that occurs when she uses them just a bit too long). This book is more a short-chapter book than a picture book – but definitely read-able in a short time.

The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg. Where did Annie lose her mitten (her 5th lost mitten of the season) and who might have taken it? These questions are answered in Kellogg’s classic story – with his signature illustrations throughout.

The Missing Mittens by Stuart J. Murphy (illustrated by G. Brian Karas) is a wonderfully illustrated story that explains the difference between even and odd and easy ways to remember the difference.

and some other picture books about snow and winter:

Annie and the Wild Animals written and illustrated by Jan Brett has all the charm of Brett’s books – but this one tells of Annie’s search for a pet after her cat, Taffy, goes off and Annie has no one with whom to play. The wild animals that offer to be Annie’s friends are “just not right”.

The Polar Bear Son: an Inuit Tale retold and illustrated by Lydia Dabcovich does a wonderful job of portraying/relating the life in an Inuit village, especially for a woman who has no one to help her. The illustrations are gorgeous!

Little Daughter of the Snow by Arthur Ransome (illustrated by Tom Bower) is the retelling of a Russion folk-tale about a childless couple who create a snow-daughter but don’t quite love her enough for her to stay forever.

Wild Horse Winter written and illustrated by Tetsuya Honda is a story about the Dosanko horses indigenous to the Japanese island of Hokkaido. This is a fascinating story of a breed of horse that does unusual things to combat the stormy weather on the island.

All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle (illustrated by Barbara Lavallee) is a rhyming story about “all you need” to build a snowman or two. The illustrations really add to this story – with their pastel-y rainbow palette and the white of the snowmen!

Building an Igloo text and photographs by Ulli Steltzer explains in words and black/white photographs how an igloo is built (right down to an ice block used for a window). This is a really cool book that describes clearly enough to make you own igloo (if you’re lucky enough to have that much snow).

Snowmen: Snow Creatures, Crafts and Other Winter Projects by Peter Cole, Frankie Frankeny and Leslie Jonath – this is a GREAT winter craft book with unique and creative projects to make with snow as well as a few edible and non-edible inside projects. The uniqueness of the projects makes this a really special book.

Here is a quicky tutorial on the fleece mittens. A while back we'd gotten some fleece remnants from Jo-Ann Fabrics (a wonderful fabric store that happily gives a discount to educators -- even homeschoolers!). Today, we pulled out the pieces and the littles picked out their favorite color.

Folded so there would be four layers, I then traced around their hand -- with the fingers closed but the thumb extended.

The kids then picked out embroidery floss in a coordinating color and sewed the mitten-halves together.

Once the mittens were sewed -- for Bam-Bam's, I did a blanket stitch on the right side, for String-Bean's blue mittens she over-stitched on the wrong side, for Lego Maniac's green mittens he did a running stitch on the wrong side -- we turned them out onto the right side and I did snow flakes and a snowman on Bam-Bam's with gold glitter paint while Lego Maniac used fabric paint to decorate his with mountains and a Chinese dragon. Ever-thinking String Bean decided to leave her's plain so that if she wears them on a cold day in the Spring, they don't look "out of season"!

Pretty cool -- or rather, cozy --, huh?

Books: memories that truly last a lifetime

Over at 4real forum, we've been discussing book memories in the thread, when you were a kid. This is a thread about THE favorite picture book of each poster's youth.

Well, that got me thinking about books and the wonderful ones I've read over my 40+ years of reading. The first book I ever read was part of Maurice Sendak's Nutshell Library -- my favorite in that collection too -- "Pierre". (I was in trouble ALOT when I was little ).

The first chapter book (with minimal pictures and boy wasn't I sad about that! ) was B is for Betsy. I can still see the orange cover on the book I bought when Mom and I (just us -- when you're the 6th of 7, that's memorable!) went downtown San Francisco on errands and I got to pick out a book to buy.

I've been buying books ever since -- and many have carved their titles in my memories! But I think none are so special as Pierre and B is for Betsy!

Family: Movie Night

We don't watch much television. We haven't had cable or a satellite dish for the past almost-10 years. We rely almost exclusively on being able to "beg, borrow or steal" good family movies to watch on the weekends (or special feast days/celebrations) for "Family Movie Night". It is getting harder and harder to find entertaining videos that will satisfy all our diverse tastes.

But then I saw mention on the Catholic Charlotte Mason Yahoo group of a new venture by some Catholic families in the Chicago area. Faith and Family Flix is trying to be the Catholic alternative to Netflix or Blockbuster. Right now, they have a pretty good catalog of classics, comedies, documentaries and kid-vid that would rival Netflix or Blockbuster. They'll be adding more offerings as fast as they can. For about the same as a Netflix subscription ($9.99/1 dvd, $16.99/2 dvd, etc) we'll be able to bring home good family entertainment on a pretty consistent basis!

Go ahead, give Faith and Family Flix a try -- it's a worthwhile endeavor that needs to be supported by those interested in bringing good movies -- movies that edify, educate and entertain -- into our homes!

FRCH: 10 years old and having a party!

Alicia's great site for Catholic homeschoolers, Favorite Resources for Catholic Homeschoolers, is celebrating 10 years (!) of bringing great reviews of a diverse blend of resources to Catholic homeschoolers. The site covers just about any subject or topic a homeschool parent (or student) would need and gives a list of reviewed resources.

I'm proud to be one of her reviewers!

Hop on over to the site and get in on the book-giveaway to celebrate the decade!

LSU takes the BCS National!

OK, for my eldest, Brikhead, this game was more important than whether or not the Rockies won a game in the World Series. This one was big -- he went back to Baton Rouge early so he could see the game live in New Orleans (and paid dearly for the ticket for the chance).

BUT, his patience and loyalty paid off!

LSU beat #1 Ohio State 38-24

Geaux Tigerx!

Epiphany: Annunciation to the Gentiles ...

Giotto's "Adoration of the Magi"

... that Jesus came to save ALL, not just those "in the know".

I love the Feast of the Epiphany, also known as "Little Christmas" or "Visitation of the Magi". Celebrated every year on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany was God's way of letting all know that Jesus came to save ALL. Ever since I was little, we've always celebrated Epiphany with the "opening" of our stockings -- Mom made for us (and I made for mine) stockings that were bigger than the average so that they could be packed with treats from the Magi.

We also always make a King Cake to symbolize the crowns of the Magi. This recipe makes 2 good sized cakes. This year we hid a half-shelled walnut as the "baby" in the cake and String Bean found it ... so she gets to "host" the next party before Lent (which starts early this year, February 6th).

Here's the recipe we used for the King Cake:

Ingredients:

3 eggs + 2 yolks at room temp
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
4-1/2 tsp yeast
1 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water
two walnut halves (or plastic baby from cooking store)
1 cup combination of citron, currants, golden and black raisins (soaked in 1/2 cup port)
1/4 cup (each) sugar in 3 cups
food coloring: green, yellow and purple
egg + 1 tbls water (egg wash)

1. scald milk and butter; let cool to room temp
2. sprinkle yeast in warm water. let soften than sit for 5 minutes (till light and bubbly)
3. beat eggs and add sugar, salt and dissolved yeast
4. add milk mixture and beat well.
5. stir in flours and mix well. Dough will be soft but not sticky.
6. place dough into buttered bowl, turning to coat whole with butter. cover with a towel and put in a warm, draft-free place until doubled (about 1-1/2 hours)
7. drain fruit and dredge with 2 tbls flour
8. turn dough out onto floured board and knead till elastic
9. split dough in half and pat each half into a rectangle
10. place fruit down center of each rectangle; fold dough over to seal in fruit and knead in the fruit a bit (not too much as the dough may discolor). Insert walnut (or baby) into dough and knead in to hide.
11. shape each rectangle into a "tube" of dough and join into two crowns; place each on its own cookie sheet (first covering with parchment paper)
12. cover with a towel and let rise till double (about 45-60 minutes)
13. preheat oven to 350 degrees
14. when crowns have doubled, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with colored sugars (add about 5-7 drops of green, yellow and red/blue to individual cups of granulated sugar and stir with a toothpick till sugar is nice color).
15. bake in middle of preheated over for 30 minutes, or until done
16. remove from oven and cool
17. when cool, make a milk/powdered sugar/vanilla extract glaze; place in ziploc baggy or pastry tube and pipe glaze stripes between colors.

You can wrap the second cake in plastic wrap and then overwrap with foil. Freeze for Mardi Gras (the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday). If you take it out of the freezer on Monday night, let thaw completely and then pop it into a 350 oven for 10 minutes, it will taste as if you made it fresh!

Christmas: the spending of gift money

One thing my kids LOVE from Christmas is the gift cards/money that they receive from distant relatives; this is particularly good for after-Christmas markdowns (75% some places!) and for spending at the toy shop where Kotch works!

Here's what the littles bought on a recent shopping spree to Target:

LegoManiac bought a laser tag set to "share" with his younger brother, BamBam (note the Rambo-esque headband made this summer while camping!)

String Bean's fort is large enough for her mattress and other important paraphernalia!

Books -- Jon Scieszka named Ambassador for Reading

I just saw this at Tasha Saecker's blog, Kids Lit. This guy is exactly right about getting kids to read and I'm thrilled he's speaking out against computers and high-tech solutions that have proven to increase non-reading! My public library has more computers (and folks glued to the screen) than space for books ... a many-times-weekly irritant! I'm wondering if allowing my almost-9-year-old to play computers since a young age has created the reluctant reader I have on my hands now?

Here's more about the "job" he's been named to fill -- a 2-year assignment to bring reading to kids!