Belt Testing

Isaac and Maya had belt testing for Tae Kwon Do today and they did fabulous, I must say! The whole testing progress was very long. We were in the gym from 1:00-almost 4:00 this afternoon, but all the kids did very well sitting still and being patient.

Kyle, Pedro, and Grandpa showed up to see them test, so this was a very special day for them! After Maya's first rotation of skills, the instructor stopped to tell Maya he loved her hair. Funny. Threw off her concentration totally! But she did manage to do all the correct moves while grinning ear to ear.

I'm so proud of Isaac for getting his orange belt (3rd level) and Maya for achieving her yellow belt (2nd level). Any complimentary comments will be read to them. Hint, hint.

Don't Forget the Point

Royalty

Joe Cool showed up in our kitchen this morning and took over the meal preparations. She said her name was Miss Leah Elizabeth and she spoke with a British accent. She explained that she was named after the hotel. How intriguing! I asked her which hotel she was named for; she said "the first one." Impressive! She walked with ladylike poise and grace.

After I thanked her profusely for humbling herself to serve in our kitchen, she explained that she was only showing the servants how to do it properly. She then went to each of her servants and gave them a job. Even the youngest were employed in filling the cooking pots.

When her majesty walked upstairs to change her attire, her loyal help rebelled!

One lone worker remained faithful to the task.

Maya, the ever-loyal Onion Lady

Logan's Call to Radio Station

I Love to Read, but. . .

I also love audiobooks! We use a lot of audiobooks in our schoolwork. We have listened to several books from our curriculum from mp3 files on the computer or CDs in the car. Currently we are listening to An Island Story and Burgess Animal Book for Children on Librivox. I have become a big fan of Librivox, an online provider of free audiobooks from the public domain. As a general rule, if it's a classic book, it's on Librivox.

Since I'm frugal to the core (I prefer the term "smart"), I also utilize my library for a lot of audiobooks on CD. Right now, we're listening to Farmer Boy on CD. We've listened to all the Little House books this way. We listened to Pinocchio, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Wind in the Willows while traveling. Listening to books in the car eliminates sibling bickering, and since they have nothing better to do, they love it!

Another gem I was recently introduced to is Old Time Radio Programs. "You Are There" is a fantastic program for teaching kids history. You can listen to a news reporter reporting events of history as they happen. Try the episode The Sailing of the Mayflower. After you try one you'll want to use the rest to supplement your history studies.

Back to Work

Now that the weather's getting colder, Halftime is over and school is back in full swing. This morning we did our Bible study, nature study, poetry, math, and phonics. Then we headed to the library to get a few videos. It rained for the past couple days so we're having video time in lieu of playing outside.
After lunch, the kids had rug time while I read "Understood Betsy" and "Pilgrim's Progress". (The big kids always ask for "just one more" chapter of Pilgrim's Progress, but I like to end with a cliffhanger, so they don't always get their wish! Better to keep them wanting more than to have them beg to stop - that's my theory.)
Back to rug time- I keep special toys for this purpose in our under-stairs closet. To be considered a rug time toy, it has to meet two criteria: it has to be something you can play with alone (although they rarely do!) and something you can play with quietly.

Isaac playing with gears

Daniel and Lydia playing with magnetic dress-up dolls. (LOVE these!)

Chloe was very proud of her doll creation.

When I finish reading a portion of the story, I pick a kid to narrate back to me. Most of them do very well at this when their hands are busy. It's amazing! Chloe does much better narrating through drawing (it's impressive the details she can remember if she draws out the story), so I've learned to make sure she's doing a mindless task on the rug. Otherwise, the whole story is lost on her. Figuring out everyone's learning style has helped me so much. Then I knew what skills I needed to work on with each of them!

The contest is ending soon!!!

If you want to be entered in the drawing, you still have a few more days! The drawing will take place on December 1, 2007.

To enter, click on the link on the right panel. Put "Book Contest" in the subject line.