Photos

Just can't get enough of them! 

 Cheering on the American Olympic Team

 Getting Ready to go into Caves

 Flying

Back Among Friends

The School Year

I suppose it's ironic that when everyone is starting school we are taking a break. We've been doing school over the summer in anticipation for this moment - another cross-country move. *laughs* According to my sons' lesson plans, we have clocked in 34 days of full school. That's roughly 7 weeks done. 29 more weeks to go. *laughs* We will be in temporary housing for about a month but I hope to knock off a few weeks then. Why? Because there will be another disruption with moving into the permanent house and also a baby coming late this year. *laughs* I'm used to this much disruption so when I have the opportunity, we school.

Anyhow, figured since we've been consistent for 7 weeks, it's safe to say I won't be changing curriculum for the rest of the year so just for fun, this is what we are doing.

For the most part, I'm using the same curriculum for both boys but at their levels. I like it that way because I'm already familiar with the pacing and how to use the resource. I personally have become less interested in what people use and more in how they use the curriculum and how it has met their goals. So listing the curriculum here is only half the picture. The other half is how we built in mastery & review. This list is basically a continuation from last year. The big difference is that we dropped a formal science program and experiments. Instead, the boys choose whole books to narrate and I gleam science memory work from Everything You Need to Know for Science, Biology4kids and their various websites & Montessori For Everyone 3-part cards (though I don't buy them). This new method has gone over very well. I am less stressed and the boys are free to explore interests while basic scientific facts are still covered.

Schedule

C- Fourth Grade

Day:_____
Checklist	Subject	Book	Lesson
	Spanish	Salsa	1 video
	Chinese	Chinese Game	1 lesson
	Spanish	Getting Started with Spanish	1 lesson
	Math	Math Drill	Time:             Score:
		Math-U-See - Fractions	2 worksheets Score:     /100
	Chinese	Chinese Made Easy	Old & New Lesson
	Memory		Go through memory binder
	Spelling	How To Teach Spelling	1 page
	Grammar	First Language Lesson	1 lesson
	Writing	Writing With Ease	1 lesson
	History	Story of the World 3	Listen 1 section. Narrate
			Coloring page or Mapwork
	Read 1 hr	Just Stories	1 Story
		Bk:	Literature
		Bk:	Science
Day:_____
Checklist	Subject	Book	Lesson
	Spanish	Salsa	1 video
	Chinese	Chinese Game	1 lesson
	Spanish	Getting Started with Spanish	1 lesson
	Math	Math Drill - Fractions	Time:             Score:
	Math	Math-U-See	2 worksheets. Score:     /100
	Chinese	Chinese Made Easy	Old & New Lesson
	Spanish	Getting Started with Spanish	1 lesson
	Memory		Go through memory binder
	Spelling	How To Teach Spelling	1 page
	Grammar	First Language Lesson	1 lesson
	Writing	Writing With Ease	1 lesson
	Science	DK Living World	Read 2 pages. Narrate
	Read 1 hr	Angel Food	1 Story
		Bk:	Literature
		Bk:	History

B - Second Grade

Day:_____
Checklist	Subject	Book	Lesson
	Spanish	Salsa	1 video
	Chinese	Chinese Game	1 lesson
	Math	Addition Facts	Pg:     &
		Multiplication Facts	Pg:
	Chinese	Chinese Made Easy	Old & New Lesson
	Spanish	Getting Started with Spanish	1 lesson
	Memory		Go through memory binder
	Spelling	How To Teach Spelling	Review Trouble Words. New section
	Grammar	First Language Lesson	1 lesson
	Writing	Writing With Ease	1 lesson
	Reading		Mom reads to you
	Science	Charlie Brown Encylopedia	2 pgs.
	History	Story of the World 3	Listen 1 section. Narrate
			Coloring page or Map
	Read 30 min	Bigger Stories for Little Folks	1 story
		Bk:
Day:_____
Checklist	Subject	Book	Lesson
	Spanish	Salsa	1 video
	Chinese	Chinese Game	1 lesson
	Math	Addition Facts	Pg:    &
		Multiplication Facts	Pg:
	Chinese	Chinese Made Easy	Old & New Lesson
	Spanish	Getting Started with Spanish	1 lesson
	Memory		Go through memory binder
	Spelling	How To Teach Spelling	Review Trouble Words. New section
	Grammar	First Language Lesson	1 lesson
	Writing	Writing With Ease	1 lesson
	Reading		Mom reads to you
	Science	Charlie Brown Encylopedia	Read 1 section.
	Read 30 min	Living God's Law	1 story
		Bk:

Still Life

Learning a Foreign Language

So a big emphasis in our homeschool is the learning of foreign languages including English. We had been studying Chinese for two years now and have just added Spanish. I must say the kids are better than I am but I'm trying to keep up. If I have them translate flash cards from Spanish to English and vice versa everyday, I do it too. They think it's hysterical when I make mistakes though. :) And C is constantly correcting my accent when I try to say "Good night"!

My goal for both Chinese and Spanish is to be completely fluent, i.e., be able to read, write, listen & speak. It sometimes seem such a daunting task at times especially when the kids forget over break. However, we keep plugging along and even backtracking if necessarily. Afterall, I'm aiming for mastery and not finish the textbook series by high school. Thankfully, we have come up with a system for constant review on past lessons even two years back that doesn't take up too much time. I'm beginning to realize that we need to focus more on listening skills which is very different from speaking skills. So I'm listing free video series that might fit our needs - easy-to-follow, immersion-style and preferably kid-orientated. :)

Chinese

Growing with Chinese
CCTV Learn Chinese various programs
Confucius Institute Chinese Learning for Kids website

Spanish

Salsa
Destinos
Mi Vida Loca

The Trojan War and Nursery Rhymes

I'm thoroughly enjoying another Olivia Coolidge book on The Trojan War so much that I want to borrow every single Coolidge book in my library. Unfortunately, that number is three. :( I must admit that half-way through the book I wondered why the big fuss over the Iliad and the Odyssey. I stumbled on this article by Cheryl Lowe that comes closest to satisfying me. Really, I'm enjoying this re-telling because the story is deals  with complex characters with complex motives. Hector isn't just noble; He's also brash which ultimately cost his life. Odyssey isn't just the bravest and smartest; He's also vengeful. Absolutely delicious!

The girls started formal school this year. It sounds so formal but it really isn't. I try to remember the things I did right with the older boys and Susan Wise Bauer's advice that 5 minutes of phonics consistently done every day can accomplish so much. As I was singing nursery rhymes and doing fingerplays with the younger set, I was struck how much more fun and engaging it is to sing and dance with another playmate. And so much easier on Mom too. When it was Christian, I was basically the one who had to do ring-a-round-rosie a million times. When it was Blaise, I still had to march up and down the stairs to Grand Old Duke of York. But now with three.... ahhhhh I even have enough lambs to follow Mary! I'll try to take a photo tomorrow. There is something truly magical of three little preschoolers, giggling and singing and dancing all around the living room.

Glorious Summer

Now that swim season is over, we have been enjoying a nice routine of swimming and school. Yup, you heard me right. My family came over to visit for a couple of weeks during the traditional school year so I figured we might as well use some of the summer to school. We have been doing a full day school but I didn't want my kids to miss out on the nice, hot summer heat so first thing first we have been hitting the pool in the morning and schooling in the afternoon. This has surprisingly gone on well.

I've also been enjoying Holiness for Housewives. Lord knows how much I need to sanctify the busyness of my days and this book truly helps center my vocation in the mundane chaos. :) I've also been enjoying Sword in the Stone by Rosemary Sutcliff and Golden Days of Greece by Olivia Coolidge. Yes, they are children's books but I wanted light reading just to ease me into the habit of reading again.

Temperament God Gave Your Kids

I have been reading The Temperament God Gave Your Kids by Bennett and am really enjoying it. It cemented my observations of my children these past few years. I appreciate the authors addressing learning styles, discipline, parent-child interaction and how to foster spiritual growth within each temperament.  Even though, I try not to box my kids into one specific temperament, I've noticed one or sometimes two predominate traits in each child. However, if my child is displaying argumentative behavior, a specific dominate trait of cholerics even though he is not usually argumentative, I can still use choleric tactics. :) I especially love the section on the strengths and pitfalls of my temperament with regards to parenting. Humbling, yet encouraging. All in all, an extremely useful book. 

Condensed Version of Merry Month of May

May was a busy yet surreal month.  I spent it

• nauseous as I ended my first trimester. In case, you missed the translation, I'M PREGNANT!  *hee* Another thanksgiving baby. 

• My mom and sister were visiting in town and we did much shopping and eating. We got to try this hip Japanese restaurant in town. It was so good I convinced my husband to make reservations for our tenth wedding anniversary. Our tenth!!!??!! I feel so old and so young. Before she left, my kind mother stocked my freezer with tons of goodies like fisherman seafood stew, beef tendon stew and roast lamb. I even have some lobster, ribeye steaks etc.... you get the drift. I'm in food heaven.

• Swim season started and we are loving it. We are nicely tanned. The girls are learning to float and blow bubbles. They love their swim instructor, a petite high school girl. The boys are both in swim team. I can't say they will be joining the Junior Olympic Team anytime soon but it's all good fun exercise.

• I've been getting my fashion fix through the blog Ain't No Mom Jeans. It's a nice reminder to take care of my appearance even though my main audience is a bunch of preschoolers. In the same vein, I bought some cute slouchy t-shirts, a few snazzy sandals to replace my 8-year-old pairs, switched out my black leather bag for my summer bling and bought new make-up. Oh yeah, I may drive a ten-seater white tank, but at least I'm stylin' in it. *winks* 

• Now that my mom has left, I've been dreaming of Asian cuisine and Rasa Malaysia is my go-to place. I cooked up a plate of Pad Thai according to her recipe and it was delish! However, since I'm still primarily craving bland food, I've been eating tons of Chinese veg simmered with cut-up fish balls and mushrooms. :) Add in an occasional steamed seafood or tofu and I'm doing alright with this pregnancy. 

• I recently discovered that my college friend has a food blog, Saucy Mommy. My kids are particularly smitten with her Bento boxes! Boiled eggs in the same of cars! Star War sandwiches! Strawberry flowers! Oh My! We are so planning a trip to our nearest Japanese goods store!

Contemplating

Circe Institute Audios  
Especially enjoyed
Andrew Kern – A Contemplation of Nature
Dr. James Taylor – Good to Great: Teaching Literature From Grammar to Rhetoric 
Andrew Pudewa – Reflections on Redeeming Repetition: Rut, Routine, and Ritual
Andrew Kern – Mimetic Teaching and the Cultivation of Virtue
Andrew Pudewa – Teaching Boys and Other Kids Who Would Rather Be Playing in Forts 


Peter Kreeft Audios
Especially enjoyed 
Till We Have Faces — A commentary on C.S. Lewis's solution to evil, worked out in fiction. Also deals with the fascinating question "Why does God wear disguises?"
Looking forward to listening/reading more to Peter Kreeft's work.


Memoria Press homeschool products
I really appreciate the logic and progression laid out in their charter school, Latin Highland School. 
Classical Studies - Progression & Books
Christian Studies - Progression & Books
English & Literature - Books
American & Modern Studies - Books

The Month in Pictures

Snapshots of Life

 A Birthday

 Fairy Wings for Christmas

Christmas at Our Cousins' Home

Wood-shop Birthday Party

Happy Birthday C!

And a random photo of the younger crew playing fruit match-up with an Eric Carle jigsaw puzzle. :)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Week is a great way to kick-start the upcoming Christmas. To focus on the things that we have been blessed with. Some years it has been easier to come up with a list of things that we are grateful for. This year, it has been a lesson in humility. I have to laugh at myself. I can been so greedy at times. I want it all. The perfect family. The perfect house. The perfect city. The perfect job. For envy is the thief of happiness. And on a similar note...

"When one door closes another door opens; but we so
often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed
door, that we do not see the ones which open for us."
~Alexander Graham Bell~

I think about all that I am blessed with. I think about my regrets. And I think about how foolish I am. That my regrets are so minuscule and my blessing so many. Yet, at times, the emotions plague me. I reason with myself. I pray for peace, forgiveness and acceptance. I think about how everyone has regrets. Yet, everyone I know has lived with them quietly and valiantly. It doesn't go away but the pain dulls. They find the strength to go on. To make the best of things. To dwell on the past is fallacy. And if I have been blessed with their presence in my life, then I, too, can draw on their strength, wisdom and example. I, too, can accept and move on.

And with acceptance, comes hope and joy.

This Week in Time

Continuing my resolution to record the highlights of the week in a simple fashion......

The local homeschool group has been super helpful is recommending medical professionals and even hair dressers! Nothing is more welcoming than an email from a stranger who says that they know the best hair dresser in town and she ain't pricy. :)

The various medical professionals the recommended above are indeed a dream. It's so reassuring to find people that you trust will give sound medical advice!

We finally sent our saints cards to Kimberlee. It wasn't completed in the expected reverent manner. More along of the lines of "My saint is the patron saint of lightening and so beats yours of gardeners....." *laughs* But we did learn our patronages pretty well through the week.

I finished reading a book! Don't get me wrong. I read plenty of books.... to the children that is. Seldom are they adult books unless you consider dipping into various cookbooks reading. The book is the The Samurai Tale by Haugaard. Ignore the fact that its audience is intended for Young Adult. *ahem* I am very much a "young adult". :p It was originally part of C's reading choices for history but a couple of pages into it, he didn't think it was suitable and I agreed. The author was accurate yet poetic in the typical treatment of a defeated samurai's family. C continue reading The Treasure Seekers by Nesbit, a much more light-hearted children's classic while I sat engrossed in sixteen-century Japan. Blaise, in typical fashion, adored The Samurai Cats by Eric Kimmel.

Good Things This Week

School is coming along so smoothly that it's sometimes boring. *laughs* What a difference from constantly worrying and changing plans. Ahhhh, blissful peace. Thank goodness we have a ton of read-alouds and crafts to look forward to!

Currently sporting a Thanksgiving theme artwork in the breakfast nook. B says that I am "very good at copying drawing books". And that, you can see, is the extent of my creativity.

Found many potential babysitters! Woo hoo! Can you say date night? Or perhaps date day?

Watched a First Lego League competition. M. and the boys are super excited and hope to form a team to compete next year. I see Lego Mindstorm set in the future.

The girls and L. play so well together. All the kids have taken imaginative play to new heights. Lots of sword-fighting, impromptu concerts and general twirling around. It seems as if their imaginations are directly related to the amount of toys I have in storage. *laughs*

Halloween

This year's theme was a medieval royal family complete with our very own fire breathing dragon!

Our Bags Are Packed

If you haven't heard by now, we are moving again. Going back to the beginning as some would say. When M. and I first started off, we had moved there. Had a baby there. And within a couple of months, we were off. And here we are again. Coming full circle.

With boxes everywhere, there's nothing to do. The kids are watching tv like it's Halloween candy. And I'm enjoying the boredom. It's been a crazy month. We did a normal school load till the bitter end when they packed the boxes. We went on many outings and dates to say good-byes to family and friends. I de-cluttered and de-cluttered. Then I spent days returning things to their rightful spot so that it would be easier to unpack.

I never did see the house other than photos M. sent me. When you move as frequently as we do, a house is just a building. We can make anything work as long as I have a dishwasher. I guess it's good training to be not materialistic. Home is about routines and people, not stuff. A couple of toddlers with black permanent markers will do that to you too. However, as time goes on, it's getting harder and harder to say goodbye to people and places. It's probably shows that I'm getting better at living in the moment instead of not bothering to try because "you just never know".

So it's like a new year here. A new place. A new beginnings. New resolutions. I'm digging out my favorite reflective book - A Mother's Rule of Life. I love its simplicity and its gentle reminder to put first things first. And essentially that is why we are moving. To put first things first. I'm drawing up simple lists when we get to the new place. Something simple with pencil and paper just to get the ball rolling. Our new routines are usually the old resolutions but with slight improvement. They are abandoned when they become automatic. They are resurrected when life gets busy and we become complacent.

The kids have been good with the move. Before we even told them the news, the older boys were already complaining that they have "lived here forever". We just told the girls today. Ce was a little concerned that we will never see our stuff again but we squared that away fairly easily. She's been chanting "Bye-bye ... See you in Daddy's new ow-se" Ca. and L. are in the mood of lots of hugs but nothing too clingy. And we are all enjoying entrees from the frozen section. :)

Personal best!

I just completed my first 10k run , shaving off 10 min from my training time! And was only 10min slower than my husband! Yeah!!! The 2mile run uphill was a brute and having my music stuck in slow-moving Glee station didn't help either! But I did it! And I'm now off to train for my next big run. I think it's high time I invest in iPod.

Beach Holiday

Florida was wonderful! We had a great time with my mom and brother. Some highlights:-

The kids were all put in camp but we did take C. and B. out for a short time every afternoon to sail. The wind was unpredictable. Some days we struggled to catch the wind. On other days, we were flying so fast that turning meant tipping over. It was hysterical as we constantly moved from one end of the boat to the other desperately trying to keep the boat stable. My poor brother flipped so many times that week and even managed to rip a sail once. Nevertheless he won first place in the sailing regatta with us last. *laughs*

The boys enjoyed the camp tremendously. They had a daily routine of circus camp, swimming, land sports - hockey, soccer, tennis etc, art and sailing. The camp counselors even took care of their meals. All the kids were excited to go to camp that they even set their alarms to be the first ones there. Even the girls have been known to fling their arms around their camp counselors in greeting.

At night, the boys and the rest of the campers put on shows for parents. One number was a circus act and the other a dance routine. It was hysterical to watch C. dance to and of course you know how well B. dances.

L. lived up to his reputation as easy-going. He took the camp in stride and was known to be a dare-devil in the kiddie pool. And of course, during dinner when we picked him up, he ate and ate. During one meal, he took down four salmon fillets, a plate of watermelon and some fish terrine. He's the chunk alright.

As for M. and I, we decided to busy ourselves with lots of sports. We took advantage of the free daily tennis lessons in the morning with my brother and even rallied together afterwards. I haven't played for fifteen years so it was nice to be on the courts again. M. humored me by joining in one spin class and one zumba session. *laughs* We drank strawberry daiquiries and pina colada by the pool. Otherwise, we went on our own. M. did some pick-up basketball and ran a couple of miles daily. I participating in pool aerobics and lots of zumba with my mother. We met a lovely family and had a great time talking with them over breakfast or lunch while the kids were in camp. Dinner was a riot with the whole family together again. Despite that, it felt so calming but I think all meals are serene because you are eating by the beach.

All-in-all a wonderful holiday!

Dressed to the Max

We went up to Chicago for a whirlwind wedding and we couldn't resist dressing everybody up since more than half of the troop were in the bridal party. Can I just say I have one good-looking husband and five adorable children? Some highlights from the trip:-

I drove eight hours up which is a first. M. was beside me on working his laptop and taking conference calls. I entertained the kids by throwing tattoo stickers at them. :)

Finding matching pair of black patented shoes are ridiculously hard after Easter. And so we settled for black matte ballet shoes only to have one pair disappeared in the ice bucket just before the wedding.

B. wowed us with his original dance moves. The kid has never seen a dance video and admitted nonchalantly that he just did whatever seemed cool. Well, cool involved a series of ninja moves, some robotics, break-dancing and some good ole' fashion moon-walking. He was even asked by some of the ladies at the party for his picture.

The girls were truly princesses that night. Their dresses were so long that whenever they had to climb a flight of stairs from the bathroom to the ballroom hall, they had to daintily lift their dresses in front of them to prevent from tripping. Potty-training them just a few weeks before the wedding results in a lot of bathroom breaks that night. And on the dance floor, they jumped and twirled till late into the night.

It was a great wedding and a great trip all round.