Graduation

Congratulations, Emily!
You have such a heart for God and I know He has great plans for you.
We're so proud of you!

You can see more pictures here, if you're interested.

Homeschool Convention Fun

I spent a blissful Thursday evening, Friday, and Saturday at the state homeschool convention. The main speaker this year was Andrew Pudewa, who was great! I learned so much and to help myself remember it all, I decided to rehearse it in a post.

These are the points I want to remember:

• The most important things I can do to nurture excellent writers and speakers it to read aloud and have the children memorize material. I already read aloud to the younger children, but I need to read aloud to all the children, choosing books that will stretch them. It has always been a priority for me to read to them, so it should be pretty easy to add a bit more and include the olders. We used to memorize poems when we used ABeka years ago and we have memorized a lot of scripture in the past, but we've let that drop in the last couple of years or so. I need to resurrect it. Hmmm, I'll have to think about how to fit that into our school day.
  
  
• Learning to spell words in a sequential manner is very important. It's also very important to have the child spell each word aloud, as well as write it. Since Thomas is such an inventive speller, I was particularly interested in the workshop entitled "Spelling and the Brain". Mr. Pudewa recommended the spelling program I'm already using, Sequential Spelling, so I'm on the right track. I just need to have him spell aloud, too, which I've not been doing.

• Four errors of teaching writing are: over correction of the child's work, not making assignments clear, withholding help, and over expectation. Whoops! Guilty as charged on several counts. I think I'm doing OK about not over correcting, I try to make assignments clear (but I know I fail sometimes), and I don't think I'm expecting too much, but I am guilty of withholding help sometimes because I feel like I'm doing the work for them. Not so, says Mr. Pudewa. He says you cannot help too much and the child will tell you when he wants you to let him do it alone.

Going to the homeschool convention always inspires me to begin another school year. I love talking to people with whom I have so much in common, I like to look at and buy new books, and I like to learn new things and be encouraged that I'm doing a pretty good job after all. This year's convention met all those needs!

Happy Mother's Day
to Granny and Julie,
and all the lovely friends and mothers who read
this blog.
May God bless you as you seek Him in the rearing of your children
and give you the desires of your heart.

Vacation!

We've been home since Monday, but what with all the unpacking and starting to pack for moving, we've been pretty busy.

We had a wonderful trip, with a couple of adventures thrown in! We loved seeing Daniel, Julie, Shiloh, and Ella and got to meet Julie's family and eat with them several times. They are great cooks and great at card games (the girls want to play spoons with Mrs. Fiddler again sometime!) and we enjoyed being with them, too.

We left on Monday, the 19th, and on the way up, we stopped at Bill Monroe's birthplace in Kentucky, visited an Amish village in Indiana, and, my personal favorite, saw the Little House in the Big Woods in Pepin, Wisconsin, and saw Caddie Woodlawn's house, which is in Wisconsin as well.


We had a bit of adventure in Minnesota when the alternator in the van stopped working, but a big THANK YOU to the guys in St. Paul who rescued us and got us back on the road in just a few hours.

Getting over into Canada at the border was interesting. The officials there couldn't believe there are Southerners who don't carry handguns or own rifles and searched the van thoroughly just to make sure. Daniel and Julie drove down to meet us near the border and it wasn't long until we were in Selkirk, hugging the kids!


One day we went to the Oak Hammock Marsh, one day to Lake Winnipeg, and one day to the Manitoba Museum, and one day to The Forks. The children had the opportunity one night to play for some of Julie's relatives at a church and they sang some hymns in the Cree language, which was really interesting. We ate Polish food that Julie's lovely grandmother made for us and Indian tacos one day, made by Julie's father, Mr. Fiddler.



We left there on Thursday, the 29th, with many tears and plans to visit again. On the way home, we visited Plum Creek in Minnesota, where Laura and Mary lived in the dugout, and DeSmet, South Dakota, the location of 5 of the Laura books.


On our last day, we tried to get through Tennessee, but had to turn back and go across Kentucky instead, stopping overnight in Somerset, then home the next day through Knoxville and Chattanooga. But we enjoyed seeing more of Kentucky and had the opportunity to buy a case of Ale-8-1, a favorite local ginger ale which we used to enjoy when we lived in Lexington. (Sorry, no flood photos - we were too stressed!)

Fifteen days, 1400 photos, and a mountain of laundry! Worth it all!

We miss you, Daniel, Julie, Shiloh, and Ella!

Grandbaby Time

Today is our last day in Canada. How can I leave the grandkids and Daniel and Julie?

Vacation

Today: Part of Indiana, across Illinois, a bit of Iowa, across the Mississippi twice, some of Wisconsin. Black dirt. Beautiful farms as far as the eye can see. Rolling hills. Dairy cows and cheese shops. M&M Blizzards at DQ. Lots of small towns. An indoor swimming pool!

Best signs seen today: At a butcher shop: "Gross' Burgers". Want to eat there?

In the middle of Illinois farm country: "Mexican Scuba Diving Lessons". Somebody tell me what that's all about.

Best things we saw, but didn't get a picture of: A giant ear of corn made out of yellow gallon milk jugs. And a giant Viking on a street corner in a Wisconsin town.

Vacation

Last minute packing. Up early to leave while it's still dark. Nashville during rush hour. Ale 8's near Bowling Green. Bill Monroe's birthplace and a nice couple who showed it to us. Amish in Indiana. Coconut cream pie. Beautiful farms with white farm houses and clothes on the line. Discing everywhere. Trees blooming. Cheaper by the Dozen on CD. Our first day of traveling.