::Teachable Moments: Math-Amnesia & Egg Paint::

::Week 3::
A peek into a week of learning.
{These are excerpts from my journal}

Monday, September 20th~ ::Math:: Cae  has quite the load to do this week. It has taken all morning to do about 1/3 of it. As I have heard from many parents, she seems to have suffered an inexplicable bout of math-amnesia. She has "forgotten" how to estimate. When I asked why she rounded 57 down to 30 she said; "because I like that number!" Agh! 

We moved on to ::English:: Grammar: A study in statements and questions. Cae had to compose a sentence using a question and a statement in order to finish. . . The idea was to make a personal narrative sound more interesting, but hers came out more like an interview: "What did you do this weekend? I went to Toronto to visit Katie M. What did you do this weekend?" I have a great paragraph: 

"Do you ever feel like you are living an alternate life inside your head,where no one else can see? Here's what mine looked like today: I was pulling my hair in frustration at the slow pace of things, and jumping up and down in frustration at my inability to change things. And this unpleasant drama in my head spilled out in unkind words that, mercifully, seemed not to land.

But, ah, the solace of the kitchen! It was my bake-day. Wooden spoon in hand, I managed to flit about making two dozen Cinnamon Raison Buns, two dozen Date and Walnut Buns, & two dozen Whole Wheat Buns, while issuing directives to Caelah across the island. Also, I produced one pan of Lemon, Coconut squares, another of Pecan Chocolate Squares and, finally, a last of good dutch Butter Cake. The freezer is packed! One of us was productive.

Aunty Karin and Uncle Josh arrived for dinner. I was so drained that, while Caelah had her ::Piano:: lesson, I vegged on the couch and indulged in baby-Julia time when I could have been cleaning and prepping. I think I made the right choice. I watched Caelah's pleasure at being a small part of a student/teacher duet. The sound of it made me smile-- a jumbly tune that fit together in a messy way. But the beauty of it still rose up out of it all. I look ahead in great anticipation for what is ahead for my burgeoning pianist. However, I noticed Aunty Karin grimacing at the sound of badly-tuned keys. Note to self, call a piano tuner.

Tuesday, September 20th 2010~ I am experiencing those first annoying situations where the library books I need for the next lessons are, either, due back at the library, or not yet arrived. In comes the flexible mindset. Because I have to return "Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Ancient Egypt" Magic School Bus, I had Caelah curl up and read that first. Whenever she reads something I have her "narrate" it back to me in her own words. Often, there are funny results.

"Ms. Frizzle goes for a trip and they jumped out of parachutes and they flew over modern Egypt but landed in Ancient Egypt. They visit the King's palace because there was a party and there was dancing. At the end of the party the King was ill so the Queen and the King's son helped him to bed. Someone said he'd died and there was a big funeral. At the end fisherman gave them a ride to the airport and they flew back to their home airport. . . I learned about the costumes and how the Egyptians traveled: cars, trucks/ horses, mules."
~Caelah's Narration~

It made sense to get caught up on ::Egypt:: at this point, which meant working through a few more ::Bible:: lessons. "Break of Day" is a book I meant for her to read back when we started the year. It's a poetic retelling of the Creation. She was annoyed by the interpretation. "It isn't even true!" May she always be that sensitive to the Truth! 

We also studied where Noah's sons settled after the Flood. Caelah found the names from the chronologies in Genesis 10, searched for them on an old Bible map and marked where the sons all built their cities. Ham's sons migrated over to Africa. And so we answered our first big question regarding African History and Ancient Egypt: Where did the first people come from? 

 ::Egypt:: was briefly touched upon, as we discussed what dynasties are and coloured in some important info on our ::Outline Map of Egypt::

::French:: Grammar. . . This is where it feels like I need to ship her right back to school. My deficiencies in this area are startling. I have NO IDEA how to use commas. Now complicate that further by applying them into sentences that make me uncomfortable. I just might produce a family of horrid spellers. Pray for me.

In keeping with our study of quirky-writer Roald Dahl, Cae has read The Minpins"-- a book I adored as a kid. Now, I find myself reading deeply into the meaning behind Dahl's words. I get the feeling he wasn't a fan of the Church. His mother reads like a fiery Baptist.  Caelah's thoughts:

"About. . . A little boy named Little Billy who was sitting near the window looking out into The Forest of Sin and wondering what it would be like to go in. His mom said: "Little Billy, what are you doing?" Billy woulds say; "I'm being good, mommy." He heard a whisper from the devil. His mom said not to go out to the Forest of Sin because the Spittler will eat him in five seconds. A poem says: "You may go in but you never come out." When his mom was in the kitchen, he climbed out through the window and through the gate and started wandering. The trees looked the same so he couldn't get back. Red smoke came and Billy yelled; "The Spittler! Mommy save me!." He ran into a tree and started to climb until he couldn't see the top and the bottom. Then he saw this little patch of bark that looked like the shutters of a window. they started to open, and open, and open. He saw a small face and pale yellow light shining from the room. The face had a sweet smile and looked old and wrinkly with bright twinkly eyes like stars. The little person climbs out and says "Hello, my name is Don Mini." Billy asked if The Spittler was the thing chasing him. Don Little didn't know about a Spittler, but he knew about the Gruncher. . . Don Mini had suction boots. The Minpins say that the Gruncher will only die if he falls into really deep water. Billy asks if they have birds big enough for him, because the Minpins fly on robins. He would fly on a swan. They plan to fly Billy on the swan down to the Gruncher and he would smell Billy--because the Gruncher loves humans but has been on a Minpin diet--then zigzag to the lake. The Gruncher falls into the lake and dies in the huge waves. The fire he breathes out is like his heart and it went out." ~Caelah's Narration~

Wednesday, September 22nd~ Another day down the drain as far as school work goes. We all rushed out to W2W this morning. It was a lovely time.{Beth Moore is hilarious}. But then came groceries, and more groceries. And all Caelah had on her plate was to read "Angelique: The Buffalo Hunt" but she made it through a mere handful of pages... And then at home I tried picking away at her ::Math:: but, alas, she barely put a dent in it. I am feeling that despairing feeling again. I need perspective -- again. I don't need to rush through this stuff.

Thursday, September 23rd 2010~ For some fun, we began with ::Geology:: today. Caelah finished sketching her soil samples, now that they have sat for a long while. The clay that had previously muddied the water was now settled in a thin pale layer on top of the silt. I emptied the jars and found that the forest one stank! There was a dead worm in there. Pee-ew! Now she is out getting new samples for a study in drainage.

The drainage experiment worked perfectly. This secretly thrilled me, as had to come up with it on my own. There I was cheer-leading the clay on: "Don't let that water through! Don't make a liar out of me!" It complied. The clay let through a lot less water.
The next things we looked at was composting. Caelah began her own compost in an empty formula tin. This will be a long project: stirring and adding organic material and stirring...

::Africa::came next. Caelah read a bit about North Africa in "The Ultimate Atlas of the World" She then filled out the ::North Africa Factsheet:: We did some map work, colouring in the location of a few of the ancient civilizations in the region and labeling them on our ::North Africa Outline Map:: I had one of those happy-dance moments when I saw that the location of those civilization, as stated by a secular book, consistently corresponded to the biblical location of the cities built by Noah's sons. We lay our Bible Map beside the Africa Map to compare. Love it!  We then studied the first explorers of the area by reading "Great Explorers" & "Exploration Experience".

Finally, we learned about the Tuareg people who, in Cae's words are:

"Nomadic people who travelled across the desert bringing weapon and jewels to people. But they got smaller and smaller because their transportation is too slow: their camels are a lot slower than trucks." ~Cae Narration~

::Canadian History::  Caelah is reading "Angelique: The Buffalo
Hunt" again today to help her get to learn about the Plains People. I found a fun ::Bison Parts Activity:: for her to try. She was amazed by all of the things that could be made from one animal.

"Glue out of hooves!!! I doubt Tammy would do that to her horses..."

For a dose of ::French:: "La Dame et la Licorne" This was obviously a well-chosen book. She understood it perfectly. It's a sweet story, meant to shed some light on the strange painting by the same name.

"A unicorn came out of the sea. It was his first being out in the real world. He traveled along and met other animals who kept on saying "Go on. Go on." Without saying anything nice. He went left, right, left, right. At some point he found himself near a castle in a village and the princess shows him around the castle. She says he can be a part of the castle. He asked her some questions and the princess would answer. The princess says; "You can stay here with me." ~Caelah's Narration~

"The Shepherd" by William Blake

How sweet is the Shepherd's sweet lot!

From the morn to the evening he strays;

He shall follow his sheep all the day,

And his tongue shall be filled with praise.

For he hears the lamb's innocent call,

And he hears the ewe's tender reply;

He is watchful while they are in peace,

For they know when their Shepherd is nigh.

 "We are represented by the sheep and God is the Shepherd."

~Caelah's ::Poetry:: Analysis~

I had her pick her favourite line and Copy the poem using Cursive writing. Oddly enough, she chose the line that goes; "From morn to the evening he strays." I would have chosen any other line.  I wrote it out the line for her first, but she soon discovered I had strayed from the technical style of cursive writing she is currently learning: "Your 'r' is not right." I told her we each develop our own style as we learn to write, and she will too!

 

Friday, September 24th 2010~ The view from the window told me there would be no apple picking today. So sad. Next week, let's hope. . . That meant more time for teaching and learning!

First, I insisted Caelah write a full page in her journal. She did, but not without repeatedly insistently she had "nothing to write about."

We moved on to ::Art:: and the life and times of Raphael Sanzio. I came up with two fun activities to give Caelah a hands-on experience:

She finished off her day by reading "The Painter's Cat": a lovely book that describes the times.

And that, in a nutshell, was our week of learning.

::Creation Wheel::

rafting our way through the book of Genesis. . .

::A week of Moments::

xtricating myself from a heap of children to pass them on to their Daddy, who seamlessly continued where I had left off-- tickling!

Joining a group of brothers and sisters in the love of learning. Opening our Bibles together and peering at the Truth. Striving to understand. Striving to be more than we are. Striving to love more than we do.

Looking into new eyes and finding kinship. Being encouraged by strangers who understand me without knowing me. Affirming the power of unity regardless of stripes and colours.

Biting into the very first sweet I have had in almost a month and thinking: Mmmmmmmmmm.

The comfort of big eager dogs greeting my in the darkness of the driveway after a long evening away. Looking up to see my husband waiting for me in the doorway.

Sitting at a coffee shop celebrating one week of teaching at home. Hard-working girl munching on a thick hunk of lemon bread. Baby sister sitting on the cafe table stealing scraps. Little brother smearing brownie all over his nose.

The sad beauty of being right there when my daughter looked from her book and muttered; "That's so sad. I didn't know you could sell people. . . " Feeling the weight of trying to explain the deep wrongs of the world we live in.

The rush of relief at NOT hitting the enormous hawk that swooped low in front of our moving car. Trying to ignore the little voice in the backseat: "I think you hit him a little bit..."

Swinging by a local orchard and picking up a basket of wind-fallen apples for pie. Chatting with the orchard ladies about the age old question; "What is actually in mincemeat?"

The anticipation of a new camera lens, without which I have been feeling a little bit lost.

The greater anticipation of reuniting with friends and family after a long week of trying to keep my head above the water.

::Made Willing::

Would you all think to pray for me in the next few weeks? The year has tugged and pulled and stretched me in ways I never could have predicted. I find myself moving and thinking in ways that were nowhere on my horizon. I am changed.

One of the ways my life has been altered is with regards to my children's schooling. This Fall, Caelah will be home with me. This is an age-old discussion I would rather not wade deeply into here and now. Ask me when you see me, perhaps. I can look you in the eye and try and explain. But just know that my unwilling heart was made willing by ways and means I can not retrace, and I find myself eager to have my daughter home with me for the school year. I am very exciting to teach and learn by her side. But I am also unsettled. All the feelings of inadequacy this Mother tends to have are now channeled on the opening of the school year. How can I possibly balance all of this and do it well?

Please pray that I hit my stride quickly, and find great blessing in this new life of ours.

::In the Sun::

been so frustrated with our camera lately because it has been producing grainy photos in the half-light. Or is that me? I have a lot to learn about photography. But then my faith in the machine returns when I see beautiful sun-shots, like Miss Annorah's lovely face:

::Trim!::

rim! Well, one window anyways. To most of you this is a non-event. Trim? Oh, but you take it for granted! Living without is for three years has given me a true appreciation for the details that go into building a home. And I would have been denied the pleasure of trim for months, maybe years longer had my brother in-law not taken matters into his own hands. While Aidan and I were off to a wedding, Dave boxed and trimmed our biggest and most-visible window. I am so pleased!

In celebration of the completed window, I bought some Pier 1 curtains I had been eying. Yeah!

::Fire Darts::

"id you see that one!?" Out of the corner of my eye I saw something bright streak across the sky. "Missed it!" But there were more. Flashes of light darting across the sky. Chunks of space rock aflame in the darkness.

My little brother and I were very determined to catch sight of these furtive beauties. Him, because this city-bound boy had never seen one. Me, because I yearned to fill that small empty spot within him. This kid never asks for anything. Unlike so many boys his age, he never expresses a sense of entitlement. And because of that I think we, his grown siblings, feel compelled to delight him.

And so we trekked through the muck of the field next door to no avail. The single street light parked just in front of our lot was ruining out night vision. Into the van and down the road. We pulled over in the darkness. Looked up. Waited. Hoody pulled over his shock of orange hair. Leaning back against the coolness of the van. Hands deep in pockets. He watched the sky. And I watched him. My heart hurting with love for him and his raw wonderment. And the sky offered up it's fiery darts to a sister and brother awash with calm expectations.

::Lantern Party 2010::

antern Party time again! Man, I love this tradition. This year I brought it all inside. Until our porch is more tightly screened-in I no longer want to contend with bugs. Thankfully, our eating nook is the perfect second option. Very cozy. . .


The kids thought so too. . .


I decided on these recipes this year:

::Gruyere Thumbprints::
I made these, courtesy of Martha Stewart. They just looked pretty. I loved them! They reminded me of Yorkshire puddings stuffed with cheese. How could that be bad, right? However, as has proven the difficulty with an appetizer party, they were at their best when first baked...

::Chilled Grape Cups with Lemon Cream::
I mashed together a few recipes to come up with these. Martha Stewart described how to make ::Grape Cups:: And showed me how to make the ::Lemon Cream:: Together they are a delicious, chilly treat! {Too bad the girls missed out on these, as they were forgotten in the freezer!}

::Homemade Hot Chocolate::
This was something I knew would be appreciated by my sister in particular.


The girls trickled in around 7:30-- one sister after another, some carrying very precious cargo:


This year we filled up a bag with notes of love and encouragement to one another. At the end of the evening, when all the girls had gone home, I sat among my lanterns and quietly read them one by one. Beautiful, beautiful words. Tears of gratitude for the ties that bind women in Christ. I am so deeply blessed.

::Annorah & I::

y baby girl and I paired up for our birthday celebration this year. Why not? We are two weeks apart, so one party made more sense. This year, Annorah turned 1 and I am about to turn 29. The weather could not have been more beautiful, and it has been a low-bug season. So we all spent most of the time scattered about the lawn and porch.

We asked anyone who wanted to come early to bring baguettes or buns stuffed with their favourite sandwich toppings so we could grill them for dinner. We ladies tried to tackle the grill, as the men suddenly went AWOL. This resulted in a few deeply charred "carbon sandwiches." But mostly they were amazing, especially Karin and Josh's smoked cheese, prosciutto & avocado sandwiches. Recipe, please?

Then of course came dessert. My specialty...

::Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Truffle Tart::

This is not a dessert for the milk chocolate fans out there. It's hardcore-- dark and bitter. Ideal with coffee and whipped cream.

I also made a cheesecake that had a fresh, bright citrus flavour:
::Key Lime Cheesecake::
Note: Anytime the recipe says to use a "light" ingredient, I completely ignored it. Full cream. Full fat. Full flavour. And Miss Tara made her beautiful carrot cake that looked like it came out of a food magazine. Yum!

It was so good to have the house packed again. We have been having our parties in town lately to save people the drive, but Aidan and I love having people in our home. Sadly, the photos just didn't turn out for this gig. Evening lighting defeats me every time. And I just can't bring myself to use the flash. So, here are a few of the blurry, goofy-faced photos that I am not ashamed to share for posterity's sake:

{So, this was the best photo taken of me all night. . . Seriously.}

{Blurry Oma being gazed at adoringly by HipHop Norah.}

{Two little monkeys smearing little fingers into Tara's pretty cake.}

{Tightly wrapped burrito-babies}

{Aunty Kate's gift included an adorable pink cap. I had to put it on her right away.}

{Leah loves babies. Obviously, Julia could tell...}

{Menfolk on the lawn.}

{More blurry photos of the birthday girls}

::A Reflection on Time::

have heard, on more than one occasion, this week that "people are busy. . . there's only so much time to pursue other people." I am concerned that this very popular belief is mostly founded, and perpetuated by, an insidious untruth. Let me explain.

Some say that we are busier now, in this high-speed techno-age, than our forefathers ever were. Really? I am sitting here typing with the whirrr of my bread maker in the background. My great-great grandmother had to pound her dough out and scrub her laundry and darn her children's clothing with thread and needle. No, we aren't busier, we just have new choices to make.

Some say that one should not place ministry before spouse and family. I would ask what ministry looks like to you? To me it looks like a family affair. When I am bringing people into my home and sharing food and fellowship with them, this is done with my family by my side. They are an organic part of it. They are an extension of me. They offer a true reflection of who Aidan and I are, what we value and how we truly live. And as we open ourselves up to others, is there not time to glance sideways and rejoice in one another? To watch one another? To see deeply into the little hearts of our children as they share? And sift through the meaning and beauty of the words of a husband as he speaks?

Some say that time is far more scarce for one person than another. Yes, circumstances greatly affect our availability to give yet more: the child with special needs, the job that burdens with arduous hours, the illness that immobilized. Yes. And to that I say, it is the responsibility of those of us with excess time flowing through our fingers to gift it to such as these-- Lavishing our surplus upon the ones in deficit. And with some thoughtfulness and creativity it is easily done. Food, flowers, music, encouraging words, a readiness to ease the burden. We can tailor our giving to the one receiving, and fit it into our frenzied schedules like the missing piece that makes the puzzle whole.

I think we have confused "time" with time alone. We have come to exalt solitude, privacy and isolation. I think of Jesus climbing the hill of Gethsemane to pray alone, and then I think how he climbed back down again to carry on with his endless ministry to the broken. We have our own "hills of Gethsemane"-- Those still, dark hours in bed, before sleep comes. Likewise, the pale-lighted mornings. What's more, everyday yields up windows of time to commune with God, sometimes where we least expect. In the words of Brother Lawrence;

People seek methods of learning to know God. Is it not much shorter and more direct to simply do everything for the love of Him? There is no finesse about it. One only has to do it generously and simply. . . In continuing the practice of conversing with God throughout each day, and quickly seeking His forgiveness when I fell or strayed, His presence has become as easy and natural to me now as it once was difficult to attain.

And the sweet intimacies of family are often found with regularity in these same moments at the beginning and end of each day. Night: time alone with my husband. All the thoughts of the day are simmering on the surface of my consciousness ready to be presented to him for insight. A beautiful window of time that is available to us every single night. Morning: freshly awakened children all tussle-haired and hungry. Piling into our bed with chatter and sharp elbows. We are their captive audience. Every single day.

Evening. Morning. Alone. Can we not afford to give of ourselves during the hours that stretch between?

I think so.

I think it is healthy to empty yourself for others. Healthy to teach our children to do the same. Healthy to show that time is not our own, but God's and he will ask us to account for how we spent it. Spend it well.