Homeschool Shenanigans

Mr. B working hard on his math.

 

What a great attitude!

 

I can hardly believe how these hands have grown since infancy, when he needed to hold my hand for nearly everything and he could only grip one or two of my fingers at a time, to this pre-teen stage where his hands are nearly the same size as my own.  Thankfully he still likes to hold my hand.

 Notice anything different? 

Yep, he got braces last week. 

 

Looks like he needs to make sure to brush his braces after lunch.  Gross!

Apparently he also agrees that it's gross.

I love this sweet young man of mine!

The After Photos

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I started an update of Beeb's bedroom.  I posted pictures of the chaos during the painting process but haven't followed up with the "after" shots.  Wait no more, the pictures have finally arrived. I spent a few days this week cleaning up the space to make it presentable for photos, but in reality it is a lived in space and not some high end designer "no clutter, perfectly staged room because no child actually lives or plays here" room. 
This is real... except that it's clean for once.

Beeb wanted her walls painted turquoise.  Mom vetoed that option and we settled on a neutral grey with turquoise and red accents - all colors pulled from her quilt that was made by my awesome neighbor... because she's just that nice.

 

Here is my favorite photo of Beeb as a baby.  The photographer was amazing and actually got her to give her first full belly laugh that she was quickly captured.  Good memories.

Another sweet friend, who was Beeb's primary teacher the year she was baptized, embroidered the cute note in the turquoise frame.  It reads "I belong to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" followed by her name and baptism date on the bottom line.  So lovely!

 

One of my more favorite aspects of her room are these butterflies that are climbing the wall.  I used various scrapbook paper and my Silhouette Cameo to cut out different shapes and sizes of butterflies.  They are adhered to the wall using dimensional stickers.

 

 

I have a collection of frames in my craft room that sometimes threaten to take over the house.  I love them and will scour garage sales for them.  I painted this frame to match her room, attached chicken wire, and now it is a cute place for her to clip her favorite little photos, phrases, or drawings.

 

 

 

 

One of the great features of the internet is the easy access to the talented, artistic people who are willing to share.  For this arrangement I found the two posters on a blog where they were downloadable for free.  I keep a file on my computer with all these types of "freebies" and then print them out when I want to use them.  Cheap art is so cool! 

 

Yes I see that the frames are crooked.  I fixed it - I promise (after I took the photo).
    

  

 

I love this little flower.  My SIL brought back these cool building tiles from Japan as a gift for Beeb and they have become one of our most favorite creative toys.  Their shapes can be straight, angled, round, etc.  The design possibilities are limitless.  

 

I have always really hated the closet doors in the original part of our house.  However I don't hate them enough to replace them, and really they aren't that bad, just dated.  I wanted to do something with these doors so that they wouldn't just be plain ol' white doors.  I saw this idea on Apartment Therapy and immediately knew that I would copy the idea for Beeb's closet doors (Who doesn't love The Giving Tree, or Shel Silverstein?).  I borrowed a friends projector, traced the image onto the doors and then followed up with black craft paint.  I love it!  I don't love the shelves to the right of the closet.  Well the shelves are find, but the random collection of stuff that doesn't really coordinate bothers my brain, but a real live little girl lives in this room and she gets some say so too (maybe... just a tad). 

Note Beeb's Minecraft Creeper helmet on the top shelf.  She made it for her costume this past Halloween.  She was so clever in her design, and very patient as she glued all those squares onto the box.  It is one of my favorite costumes to ever walk out our door on Halloween night.

That's it for now. 

 Perhaps this summer I'll get the desire to paint the bed and dresser... but don't hold your breath.

Mini Me

This is how we find Beeb many a night.

 

She may look like her daddy, but she definitely has a fair share of me in her as well.

Oh Baby.... Quilt

A few years back I discovered the joy of small simple quilting projects.... baby quilts.  It has now become my "go to" gift for friends who are expecting.  As much as I enjoy making these little pieces of art I always forget to take a picture of them.  Now as I am moving out of the baby years (and so are many of my friends) I have fewer and fewer opportunities to sew these blankets.  I came to this conclusion recently as I prepared to wrap up the blanket gift for delivery and realized that it had been a while since I had made my last blanket, and there would likely be another drought before I need to make my next, so I had better take a picture... at night, under terrible can lighting, on the floor in my office.  Oh well, hopefully next time I'll remember during daylight hours. 

 

I used a Moda Birds & Berries charm pack for the colorful chevron front, along with the Moda white charm pack for the contrast.  The border and backside of the quilt (not photographed) are from the same Bird & Berries line, though bought by the yard.

 

It's been a few months since I finished this quilt and I am itching for a reason to make another.  Anyone pregnant yet? 

Stuck

Earlier this month AH and I were skiing with the kids on a beautiful Saturday morning.  As we made our way up the lift, at our favorite little ski area, the backside of the mountain opened and we decided to hit those trails first.  Being a nervous intermediate skier I opted not to follow my family down the black diamond run, but instead took the longer, easier way around… only I missed my turn and ended up having to ski back down to the main lift and come up the hill again.  When I reached the top I waited patiently for AH or one of the kids to ski by.  While standing there I noticed the Ski Patrol roping off the entrance to the backside of the mountain; the side of the mountain where my family was last skiing.  Not a good sign.  I asked a nearby ski patrol volunteer what was going on and he said that the lift on that side of the mountain had just broken down.  It was running on backup power to get the skiers out of that area and would then be closed until it could be fixed.  

I waited for a long time.  I watched people ski by from the area of the broken lift and continued to wait until no more skiers were coming.  Thinking I must have somehow missed my family I finally took my skis off and trekked over to the broken lift so see if it was still operating.  Turns out it wasn’t and it was full of passengers all hanging in the air.  After a few attempts to get the lift engine working again, to no avail, the ski patrol quickly called in a rescue code and all the ski patrol members from all over the mountain came to help evacuate the stranded skiers off the lift, including my family. 

AH and Beeb had it fairly easy, being the last skiers on the lift they were a mere foot and a half off the ground.  AH jumped off and helped Beeb down.  Mr. B was in a bigger pickle being several chair ahead and truly stuck 40 feet in the air.  It took about two hours for the patrol to get all the skiers back on the ground.  Unfortunately because we were on the backside of the mountain everyone had to hike up a fairly steep hill to the top to be able to ski back down to the lodge and parking lot.  I was able to reach AH by borrowed cell phone and realized he and the kids would be one of the last ones up the mountain.   Knowing my kids would be working hard just to walk up the steep hill I decided that I had better go down and help AH carry ski gear up.  I found them ¾ of the way down and AH was indeed carrying all the skis.  It was slow going but we all made it back up to the top and were happy to call it a day (what a workout!).  The resort compensated everyone for the hassle with a free pass for another ski day and drinks at the lodge.  AH claimed all our free passes and is using them to ski with his buddies who don’t have a seasons pass. 

For the most part the people who were stranded had smiles on their faces when they reached the top of the lift.  Some were sourpusses and grumbly and I avoided them.  Sure it was an inconvenience and folks had to work hard to get up the mountain, but overall everyone was okay, got in a good hike (ha ha) and the weather was very nice and not raining/snowing/windy.  Plus we all learned how the Ski Patrol gets stranded skiers off the lifts – very cool! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mid-Winter Break: Sunriver

Last week we enjoyed a week off from school and I decided to take the family to Sunriver, Oregon to ski the great Mt. Bachelor (my favorite ski joint).  AH's brother and family joined us, and AH's parents even came for a few days of frolicking fun.

Snow in the rainy PNW has been sparse this year with no exception for Sunriver.  I was so disappointed that this was my family's first impression of a winter wonderland that I love so much.  My previous winter visits had always included a lot of snow.  Thankfully by day two a nice storm rolled in and left a few inches for us to enjoy in the lowlands. 

The mountain itself had been having daily snow leading up to our visit as well as and during our stay, so there was always fresh powder to be found.  Though the snow was perfect for skiing it also included heavy winds and fog that made our first couple of ski days a little less enjoyable.  However on our last ski day the clouds lifted, the winds died down, and we had a gloriously sunny day that allowed us to actually see the terrain we were on!  AH and his brother were able to hit the more advanced sections of the mountain and enjoy long ski runs through untracked powder.  Everyone had a great time.  Here's a recap in photos:

On the drive home we made a short stop at this WW I memorial in the shape of

Stonehenge that overlooks the Columbia River.  

The Lion King

Beeb made her acting debut this month in The Lion King.  She played the part of Sarabi, Simba's mother.  She had a fun time during all the play practices and the actual performance. 

 

Roar!

Home School: Month 1

This past December AH and I decided that the best educational environment for Mr. B would take place at home.  It was a discussion we have been having for years but when you know it is right you make it a reality. Mr. B finished out the month and following winter break he and I started his "new school" at home through our school district home school partnership program. 

Week 1:  I was a total mess.  The curriculum we ordered hadn't arrived and I wasn't sure how to teach him each day.  I had many conversations with the teacher who runs the home school program and she was able to help me find a structure that would work for us without the formal workbooks. 

Week 2:  Now we are rolling.  We have a schedule that seemed to be working each day.  Expectations are clear but I'm noticing that not all computer work time is being used properly.  Must keep an eye on that.

Week 3:  Still learning and growing but I am monitoring all computer time to make sure Mr. B stays on track.  He's not so happy with this but I am.  We are using Khan Academy to teach and reinforce grade appropriate math skills.  I really love their "coach" option that allows me to send specific skills to my "student" to work on.  I also love how it tracks the usage of time and even breaks it out into "video vs. skills practice" so I know if he's really working or just pretending to watch videos.  Learned this week that Mr. B never fully picked up how to do division in 4th grade!  I was so shocked, but it reinforced my belief that we made the right decision to move his education home.  He picked up division quickly and he loves his new accomplishments.

Week 4:  Curriculum arrived!  Now what do I do?  This first week was an adjustment in learning how to use the teacher's manual with his books.  Lots of reading and a little bit of planning but it's coming along. 

Week 5:  We are catching our stride.  Fewer tears and more celebrations.  He's loving it and even told me he likes having more time with just me each day.  It has really helped strengthen our relationship. 

Cons of homeschool: 

• You have to be home.  My time has now become his time and I am still working on finding my new normal for my own activities.  Some activities I have dropped and for others I am making adjustments, such as being much faster at doing them (like grocery shopping). 
• You have to have strategies for dealing with a frustrated child.  We have our rough moments when learning is hard.  I appreciate all those wonderful friends who have demonstrated great parenting techniques that I am now using during some of these hard moments.
• There has to be structure.  It can be very easy to just have a "field trip" but it can't be every day.  Kids need structure.  I need structure.  This isn't the case for all homeschool families but it is for mine. 

Pros of homeschool:

• I am home more.  This has meant I cook more (healthier meals for everyone), household chores are getting done with more regularity, and I am spending less money because I am not running to town several days a week.
• I'm my child's greatest influence again.  I really love this.  5th grade through middle school, I have heard, are the worst for kids.  Somehow they get exposed to the worst things you don't want your child exposed to, by the most uninformed or experienced non-experts (their peers).  I like being the person who he spends the majority of his day with - the person he comes to to ask about those growing up questions.
• I can now see how he is learning and I can ensure that each concept is well understood and executed before we move on to the next step.  We were finding that in public school he was getting 4 out of 20 problems right on a test or worksheet (nobody notified us until the end of semester) and then the class would move on but Mr. B hadn't learned the previous step.  No more!  Some skills he picks up right away, others we spend days practicing until I see that he has mastered it. 
• Learning is so much faster with 1:1 time.  There are no distractions, I can see right away if he is understanding the principle of it or if I need to tweak how I am teaching it to help him understand.  It's all good.

I am sure there are more items for each list but these are the most obvious that immediately come to my mind.  I am really really loving having him home.  He is great to have around more, he is such a sweet boy, and I love our reconnection now that I have an extra 6.5 hours with him each day.

Daddy Time

I just peeked out into the backyard.  AH and Mr. B are out there enjoying a little camp fire together.  I opened the window to say "hi" but then overheard the gospel discussion they had going on and didn't want to ruin it, so I slowly and quietly closed the window.  Wanting to capture this parenting moment, I grabbed my camera and through my bedroom window I snapped this scene.  AH is a great dad. 

Motivation - Inspiration - Enduring

This afternoon I signed up for the Rock & Roll half marathon.  I didn't really want to do it but relented for three reasons: 1) the women I run with want to do it (my usual motivator), 2) it's the closest race before Ragnar, and 3) it has hills, and I really need to be okay running hills in order to do well during Ragnar since there are lots of hills during that race.

Currently I'm reading Scott Jurek's book "Eat & Run" and find it completely fascinating.  It's really very timely as it has motivated me to commit to this latest goal.  Reading about Scott's upbringing (very hard), how he constantly analyzes himself and other athletes around him, using that data to understand how he can ask more of his own body, and I really appreciate getting a glimpse of what drives him mentally to just keep going.  Understanding his internal dialog encourages me and acts as a influence within my own mind to keep moving, and maybe to even try a little harder, go a little faster, or to push along a bit farther (this sounds great now but in the middle of a run it's a whole other discussion in my brain).

I really enjoy running (but not by myself).  I really enjoy being bone weary tired after pushing my body beyond what I thought it was capable of (even it if means I fall asleep on the lawn that afternoon).  I am constantly amazed that I can, and do, keep running when my legs have sort of gone numb, or when I've hit the proverbial "wall" (it really feels like a wall) because I didn't eat the right foods or get enough rest before heading out on a long run.  I am constantly amazed that I can endure and that I like this sort of hard work.  It's peaceful and brings balance to my emotional and spiritual wellbeing and for that alone it is worth all the hard work and tradeoffs to make it happen each week. 

R.I.P. Gill

Today we mark the passing of the best Beta fish ever.  Gill was a wonderful member of our family for the last 2.5 years, and for a fish he had quite the lively personality.  Rest in peace Gill, you will be missed.