The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.136: A Year in Africa // A Literature-Based Geography Study

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World geography has always been a big interest in our home.  We’ve done general overviews of the world in the past, but this year, I really wanted to dive deep into one continent.  Africa seemed like a great starting point!

I’m not exaggerating when I say that this study was one of the biggest highlights of the school year.  We all loved immersing ourselves in African literature and cuisine.  We pored over photographs and listened in awe to musical talent.  In all, we spent 22 weeks in Africa.  This allowed us to take a break throughout December and have a little wiggle room if I wanted to include a few weeks of zoology.

Since I’m on a mission to make our bookshelves really diverse, I purchased most of the books used on Amazon.  (Tip: look for hardcover “former-library” copies for cheap!)  Below I’ve tried to link to everything we read and ate and watched, although I’m sure I’m forgetting something!  I hope it will be helpful for you too. 

Spines & Important Resources:
+ Big printable map: we printed ours as a 3×3
+ Lonely Planet’s The Africa Book
+ Maps atlas: this book doesn’t cover every African country, but it’s worth the investment for the gorgeous illustrations

INTRODUCTION TO AFRICA
Read Africa is Not a Country by Margy Burns Knight and Anne Sibley O’Brien
Make a big printable map of the continent and hang it on the wall
Color a picture

 NIGERIA
Read Master Man: A Tall Tale of Nigeria by Aaron Shepard
Play Dara, a Nigerian three-in-a-row game with a twist
Listen to groovy 70’s music from Fred Fisher Atalobhor and his Ogiza Dance Band
Eat a traditional Nigerian meal: West African peanut kabobs, rice jollof, and Chapman cocktails 

 GHANA
Read Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story from Africa by Niki Daly
Make a kente cloth weaving project
Drink watermelon lemonade
Eat Ghanian meat pies

 LIBERIA
Read Head, Body, Legs: A Story from Liberia by Won-Ldy Paye & Margaret H. Lippert
Learn three different clapping games
Bake plantain gingerbread upside-down cake

 SENEGAL
Read Kofi and His Magic by Maya Angelou
Learn about Lake Retba, a lake that looks like a giant strawberry milkshake
Watch Aziz Faye, a master drummer from Senegal
Bake cinq centimes, a peanut butter and peanut sugar cookie

 MALI
Read The Hatseller and the Monkeys by Baba Wagué Diakité
Eat maasa, gluten-free “pancake doughnuts”

SIERRA LEONE
Read Counting Chickens by Polly Alakija
Play “football” or soccer like the children do in Sierra Leone
Eat West African peanut bites

 MOROCCO
Read My Father’s Shop by Satomi Ichikawa
Play Moroccan bingo (to really make this work, you’d have to print and rearrange the pictures to make a few boards – not hard, but a little time intensive)
Learn a little Arabic
Eat a traditional Moroccan meal for dinner: lamb tangine with sweet honey figs

 SUDAN
Read A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
Learn about St. Josephine Bakhita
Drink cinnamon tea

 EGYPT
Read We’re Sailing Down the Nile by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson
Eat an Egyptian-themed lunch

 ETHIOPIA
Read E is for Ethiopia by Ashenafi Gudeta 
Play mancala
Bake hembesha, an Eritrean spiced bread
DIY an Ethiopian coffee ceremony

ZAMBIA
Read Beautiful Blackbird by Ashley Bryan
Eat spiced tilapia stew

 KENYA
Read Mama Panya’s Pancakes by Mary and Rich Chamberlin
Play shisima, a math game
Eat a traditional Kenya meal for dinner: spicy beef stew, stewed greens and chapati

 MALAWI
Read Galimoto by Karen Lynn Williams
Check out a galimoto in real life and then try making one with recycled materials
Bake mbatata, sweet potato cookies

UGANDA
Read Beatrice’s Goat by Page McBrier
Pretend you’re visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park and research the animals you would see on safari
Learn how to make an egg rolex with chapati

MADAGASCAR
Read A Little Lemur Named Mew by Joyce Powzyk
Make a lemur craft
Eat Akoho sy Sakamalao (Madagascar chicken) for dinner

ZIMBABWE
Read Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe
Bake chimodho, a form of cornmeal bread common in Zimbabwe

TANZANIA
Read We All Went on Safari: A Counting Journey Through Tanzania by Laurie Krebs
Watch Tanzanian craftsmen create their batik designs
Eat gingered pineapple ice cream sundaes with toasted coconut

 CAMEROON
Read The Village of Round and Square Houses by Ann Grifalconi
Eat a traditional meal from Cameroon: fried fish, corn with plantains and peanut butter croissants

 NAMIBIA
Read The 3 Little Dassies by Jan Brett
Pretend you’re eating alligator (or try the real thing!) with bushmeat skewers

BOTSWANA
Read The Great Cake Mystery by Alexander McCall Smith
Eat a traditional Botwanan meal: stewed beef over cornmeal pap with a side of stewed spinach greens


 SOUTH AFRICA
Read Gift of the Sun: A Tale from South Africa by Dianne Stewart
Learn about the African penguins at Boulders Beach in Cape Town (more pictures here)
Eat South’s Africa’s Yellow Rice with dinner

No.122: And We’re Done! Reflections On Our First School Year at the Farmhouse

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School’s out for summer!  A few thoughts and memories I want to remember:

I wasn’t 100% sure I was ready to homeschool again.  I don’t necessarily identify myself as a “homeschool mom”- I’m just a mother who happens to homeschool.  (I’m sure that doesn’t make any sense to anyone other than me.)  But with the bullying and the learning difficulties in public school, I knew it was the best option for our family and I jumped in head-first, hopeful.  Only by God’s grace can I say that it was a life-changing year.  A difficult year for sure, but a good one.  Self esteem was gained and big strides were made in my dyslexic learners.  Last fall, Mark and I considered this to be a “rebuilding year,” building our children back up emotionally and helping them overcome the obstacles they needed extra help with in school.  As always, we were open to the idea of returning them to public school in the fall, but they all enthusiastically want to continue at home. 

Duds and failures:

1. Poetry teatime // I had the best intentions and this never worked out quite how I envisioned it.  We ended up ditching the poetry and just ate homemade treats once a week.  Maybe we’ll try again next year?
2. Fulton Sheen // I loved learning about Fulton Sheen with my fifth grader but we quickly lost steam when it came to the crafty/cut-and-paste part of the curriculum.  It wasn’t a great fit for my quickly maturing boy.
3. States and capitals // We started learning these at the very beginning of the year and then I dropped it for no apparent reason.  Oops.

Successes:
1. Charlotte Mason // While we definitely aren’t purists, this method is really complementary to the way my kids and I learn.  Curiosity and good books certainly are my love language!
2. History // Across the board, the kids said history was their favorite subject.  I’m excited to continue with more rich, living books that make history come alive.  
3. Morning basket // The morning routine of reading aloud was the glue that helped me adequately teach four different students.  On a loop, we read our fiction selections, history, science, African studies, and poetry together before separating for individual reading and math.  So thankful that we were able to experience those books all at the same time.
To celebrate the last day of school, everyone got a book to jumpstart summer reading:
Tradition is also to get everyone a treat, so we celebrated with vanilla milkshakes from Chickfila!

It was a good, good school year.  I’m looking forward to a summer of (relative) relaxation and rejuvenation before jumping back in again.

No.111: Our Farmhouse Schoolhouse in Photos (Week 31)

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I have major spring fever (already!) and you can tell with the lack of school posts lately.  I think I’m ready for the break more than the kids are!  At almost 17 months, the “baby” is definitely a toddler now and is such a distraction: climbing on the school table, whining constantly for me to hold him, or destroying everything he can reach.  He’s exhausting!  Just five more weeks to go… I think I can, I think I can… 

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

+ We added The Blue Fairy Book to our morning basket and I’m surprised at how much my older boys enjoy the stories.  Favorite so far: Jack the Giant-Killer.

+ M (5th grade) started his Edison unit in science.  He’s reading A Story of Thomas Alva Edison and then keeping a journal, writing as if he were Thomas himself.  It has been a nice way to change up his narrations.  I love seeing his creativity.

+ TJ (age 3) is suddenly fascinated by dinosaurs.  A few of his favorite things right now:

+ We have a nest on our front porch fan and just discovered four little white eggs inside.  After a little research, we think they are from an Eastern Phoebe.  We signed up with Nest Watch (a free program with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and will be recording our data to help their scientists.  The perfect spring nature study, just two steps from home.

+ Last week, we watched a few episodes of “Chasing Monsters” on Netflix, including one episode where the Bear Grylls/Crocodile Hunter-like host got bacteria samples from the teeth of live sharks to help with shark bite antibiotic research.  It was so random, but also really interesting.  And in some strange way, it tied back to our science bacteria study from a few weeks ago. 

+ We’re starting to wrap up our African Geography Studies for the year – just three weeks left!  This week we went to Zambia and read Beautiful Blackbird.





MOTHER CULTURE & SELF-CARE

+ Health: Running again!  I’m starting slow, just a couple of miles at a time, but it feels good to be back and pain-free.
+ Reading: A random library pick called Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook.  It’s not something I generally read and I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.  It has really great reviews though, so we’ll see.
+ Fun: I’m in a bit of a creative slump right now.  I need to brainstorm to get that spark back!

No.93: Our 2017-2018 Homeschool Plan: Term Three

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We’re two weeks into our third term and it really feels like we’re on the home stretch!  We have had a wildly successful school year and I’m hoping we can keep the momentum until the very end.  The general plan for our last term is to just “keep on’ keepin’ on”, finishing up most subjects and finding a natural stopping point for the rest.  We’ll have a week of Spring Break after Easter as well as a week of standardized testing.  Summer break, we’re coming for you!      

TERM THREE: FEBRUARY 26 -MAY 25

MORNING BASKET
I’m stretching this guide out to last a year and a half.
Books:
I’m stretching this guide out to last a year and a half too.
Books and Field Trips:

BIG KIDS LANGUAGE ARTS & WRITING
  • Brave Writer Arrow Guides
    • The Borrowers (Topics)
    • The One and Only Ivan (Parallelism)
  • Brave Writer Partnership Writing Projects
    • Project: Five Ws: Who, what, where, why and when (to be used as a biography report)
    • Project: Imaginary continent
LITTLE KIDS READING & PHONICS
FIFTH GRADE SCIENCE
Books and Projects:
K-THIRD GRADE SCIENCE
Books and Projects:
RELIGION
The three big boys will also be attending religious education at our parish.
GEOGRAPHY
We are focusing on the continent of Africa this year, learning about one country a week.  
Term Three Countries: Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Botswana, Cameroon, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia
Books and Projects:
YEAR OF PLAYING SKILLFULLY
This preschool-ish (for ages 3-7) curriculum is primarily for S and TJ and I really dropped the ball in Term Two.  Hoping to get back into the activities this spring.

No.87: Our Farmhouse Schoolhouse in Photos (Week 24)

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This week was so unexpected – two days of temperatures in the 70’s!  We spent the majority of those days outside playing and exploring.  A perk of homeschooling (that I had forgotten) is the freedom to scrap the plans for the unexpected.  Our to-do list isn’t set in stone and we won’t be behind forever.  In fact, the next two days have been chilly and rainy and we easily made up the work!  This homeschooling gig is hard, but the pros certainly outweigh the cons. 

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

+ Our new art and copywork routine is going strong as we read through The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell.  Some days I choose the copywork, other days they tell me their favorite part and we use that.  I love watching their notebooks fill up with their imaginative artwork!

+ M (fifth grade) started reading one last book before we move on from WWI: Rascal.  When I introduced it to him, he looked at it dubiously but quickly changed his tune after the first chapter.  “Mom, it’s actually pretty funny!  Can you imagine having a raccoon for a pet?!”

+ Our Aftrican studies took us to the beautiful country of Uganda this week.  We read Beatrice’s Goat, which is the story of how the gift of one goat changed a family’s life for the better. Very thought-provoking and a great conversation starter. Ugandan street food was on the menu – the Rolex!

+ J (first grade) finished All About Reading Level 1!  Reading hasn’t come easily for him, so we are definitely celebrating this accomplishment!  He got a funny book and licorice as his prize.  While we wait for the activity book for Level 2 to arrive, we’re going to work on these Henry & Mudge books together.  


Current 1000 Books Project Total: 111/1000


MOTHER CULTURE & SELF-CARE

+ Health: A handful of workouts, lots of water and a few extra salads for lunch.  Itty bitty baby steps.
+ Reading: I finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.  Currently reading Happier at Home for book club (I’m so behind!!), An Everlasting Meal and In This House of Brede.
+ Spiritual: Scott Hahn’s Lenten Reflection book and The Imitation of Christ 
+ Fun: I’m on a home decorating kick and have started researching and purchasing a few items for the house!  We moved our things in last summer and really haven’t done much of anything, so it’s so exciting to start making it feel even more like home.

No.84: Our Farmhouse Schoolhouse in Photos (Week 23)

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I’ve been largely off of social media this week and was so sad to hear of another school shooting.  I just finished reading about Columbine a few weeks ago and the timing seemed eerie and scary.  I don’t have any answers; the issue is so multi-faceted and there are many factors at play. But as a mother, I ask myself: How I can be an example to my children and what can I teach them?  I know I’ll be pondering this for days to come, but this is what I’ve come up with so far: 1) Look for the ones who are all alone, who seem a little different.  Don’t be afraid to say hello.  2) When talking to anyone, everyone from a friend to the cashier at the store to the homeless man on the street, look them in the eye and acknowledge their dignity and worth.  3) Be honest about mental health and supportive of the ones we know who struggle.  Like Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”  There’s where I hope to start.

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

+ Week two in our second Sassafras Science Anatomy book!  I wouldn’t use this as our sole source of science instruction, but the storyline is engaging and the kids love it.  I use it as the introduction to the different topics and then we dive in deeper.  The theme this week was the human skeleton and we learned the names of major bones, filling out this worksheet and putting together our new puzzle.

+ We started a new read aloud called The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell.  I’ve wanted my boys to work on their handwriting and copywork, so this new beginning seemed like the perfect segue. To bring some excitement, I bought everyone a brand new notebook.  And each day this week, we’ve read one chapter, copied a paragraph (my first grader does a sentence) and drawn a picture – me included! It’s been a fun way to practice and they’ve each completed it without complaint – a huge win!

+ Sophie randomly asked if we could start doing a Show and Tell during school.  (I can only imagine she was influenced by Daniel Tiger or another such character.)  She pronounces it so adorably (“Shaun-tell”) so how can you say no?  This week, they shared their latest Lego creations.

+ Our Aftrican studies took us to the teeny country of Malawi.  We read Galimoto,  the story of a little boy who collected discarded pieces of wire to make a vehicle.  It was such an interesting look at how one man’s trash is another man’s treasure! I wish I had thought ahead and saved some of our recycling so we could try something similar.  Instead, we looked up images of real galimotos on Pinterest – amazing!  We also made sweet potato cookies (called Mbatata), which were delicious.  We made two batches and may make a third this weekend.

+ J is thiiiis close to finish All About Reading Level 1.  Just a few more lessons to go!  He has worked so hard…I think we need to do something to celebrate before jumping into Level 2.  


Current 1000 Books Project Total: 109/1000


MOTHER CULTURE & SELF-CARE

+ Health: My Lenten sacrifice is to work out first thing in the morning before I use my phone or open my computer.  I managed to fail on day two, but still finished my run in the afternoon, so that’s like half credit, right?  I found and charged up my Fitbit for extra motivation.
+ Reading: Currently reading Happier at Home for book club, An Everlasting Meal and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.
+ Spiritual: I started Scott Hahn’s Lenten Reflection book on Ash Wedneday.  Today’s chapter from The Imitation of Christ had this advice, which I’ve thought about (and prayed) all day: “Each day we ought to renew our resolves and rekindle the fires of our fervor as if it were the first day of our conversion.  And we should say: ‘O Lord God, help me to keep my good resolution to serve You; give me the grace to begin anew, for what I have done up to now is nothing.'” (Chapter 19, p.24)  It’s been a hard parenting week and I’ve needed grace upon grace upon grace.  Tomorrow’s a new day to start again.  
+ Fun: The week flew by and I can’t seem to think of what to put in the fun category!  I’ll need to work on that.

No.81: Our Farmhouse Schoolhouse in Photos (Weeks 21&22)

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Two weeks of ordinary school days.  Throughout the year, there seem to be weeks of input and weeks of output.  Some weeks, we’re cranking out art projects and paragraphs and activities.  Other weeks, we’re just listening to pages and pages of books and having heartfelt conversations.  The past two weeks were the latter.  While it seems like we don’t have much to “show” for it, my kids will talk your ear off if you ask. 🙂

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

+ We finished up the last handful of stories in American Tall Tales.  Their favorite, by far, was Paul Bunyan.  We also finished Redwall, which was wonderful and had the boys asking for chapter after chapter.  I think I read about nine chapters that last day because they had to know the end! 

+ M (5th grade) read through The Silver Donkey for WWI history.  It’s not his typical go-to genre, but I think it’s always beneficial to read different viewpoints in history.  He liked it.  Now onto The Singing Tree.

+ In the little kids’ history, we finished up Squanto. This little book started so many interesting conversations.  For example, when Squanto sailed back to England with the colonists, the Captain put him on display so the English could pay to see a “real” Indian.  Great segue into the dignity of the human person.

+ After two months away, we’re back to our African studies!  We jumped into Ethiopia and Kenya with these books: A Story, A Story and Mama Panya’s Pancakes.  The first picture book wasn’t an exact match (I even think it’s from the wrong side of the continent, technically) but we still enjoyed the story.  Mama Panya’s Pancakes is one of my favorites – such a sweet story of generosity.  For dinner, we made honey garlic berbere chicken thighs over rice for Ethiopia and beef stew for Kenya.  


+ Monday, February 5th, was our 100th day of school!  This felt like a huge accomplishment, so we celebrated by making homemade donuts (with a like-new donut pan I found at the thrift store for $2.99!!) and blowing up mini balloons.

Current 1000 Books Project Total: 106/1000


MOTHER CULTURE & SELF-CARE

+ Health: I’m in a funk.  Paused on working out and am trying to give myself some grace since P is sleeping horribly at night again.  I’m exhausted.  BUT!  I’m drinking more water and have had a few salads, so small victories.
+ Reading: I finished The Paris Architect and Columbine.  Currently reading Happier at Home for book club, An Everlasting Meal and The Thief.
+ Spiritual: I started The Imitation of Christ and like it so far.
+ Fun: Looking forward to painting my first floor this weekend.

No.76: Our Farmhouse Schoolhouse in Photos (Week 20)

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Just another ordinary week around here.  My brain has been swirling with mental to-do lists: home projects, school plans, creative endeavors, exercise, doctors’ appointments, etc etc etc.  It’s invigorating and exhausting all at the same time.  I’m limping to the Friday finish line, but so excited for Saturday – for the first time in a long time, I’m spending the day without a baby attached to my hip!

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

+ A new addition to our morning basket: American Tall Tales.  This week, we read about Davy Crockett, his sassy wife Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind, Johnny Appleseed and Stormalong.

+ Both M and D are in full multiplication mode in math (one is just learning and one needs the practice), so we started extra drills to make the facts stick.  I timed M (5th grade) while he filled out one of these worksheets (“Multiplication Drills”) as fast as he could.  Next week, he’ll do the same sheet and see if he can beat his time.  They’ve also been playing two apps called “Battleship – Math Game” and “Math Ninja – Times Tables”.  Both free!

+ We finished up our Zoology unit this week and will be moving on to Human Anatomy for the rest of the school year.  Amazon boxes have been arriving with new resources, so the kids are dying to get started!  First up: bones and the skeletal system.

+ What’s the best way to get a hesitant and perfectionist first grader to practice his writing?  Give him a penpal!  J is writing to a new friend in North Carolina and sent off his second letter this week.  He’s already told me a handful of things he wants to ask him in his next letter.  So cute.


Current 1000 Books Project Total: 96/1000

MOTHER CULTURE & SELF-CARE

+ Health: Same old, same old.  Mutu week two and very little sugar.  The scale isn’t really budging, which is frustrating, but I still fit in my pants, so there’s that, I guess?
+ Reading: I started Happier at Home for book club.  Also started The Paris Architect.
+ Spiritual: Oh man, I’m slacking in this department.  I’ve set down Fulton Sheen’s book for now.  I think I need something new.
+ Fun: More bread baking this week.  I’m hooked – I want to try ALL the recipes!  Good thing I have a handful of eager taste-testers.

No.73: Our Farmhouse Schoolhouse in Photos (Week 19)

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2018 is just zipping along – three weeks in already!  I’ve been having mixed levels of productivity: one day I am on fire, crossing off everything on my to-do list…and then the next day, I blow it all off to stay under a blanket and read.  This crazy weather we’ve been having in Virginia may have something to do with that…

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

+ We’re still reading and loving Redwall.  The boys, especially J, has been inspired to draw the characters and act out the battle scenes.  So fun – and encouraging – to know that they’re actually listening.

+ M is learning about World War I in history and the first half of Sergeant York was on his assignment list for the week.  He couldn’t put it down!  He finished the entire book in two days.  Next up: watching the old 1940’s movie this weekend with his dad.

+ In M’s History of Science, he started learning about Isaac Newton.  A few facts I found fascinating:
– Did you know that some think Newton may have had Asperger’s?
– Unconvinced with Descartes and his beliefs on light, Newton did some dangerous experiments, including poking a needle behind his eye to see what would happen and staring at the sun while reflected in a mirror. (!!)

+ We learned a new card game (100 Little Things #33) called SET: The Family Game of Visual Perception.  There’s a little bit of a learning curve but we had fun working together to make the sets.  Speaking of games, we also bought Civilization for the computer and the boys are hooked!  They have to work together or the computer gets shut off – I love seeing their heads huddled together as they make their plans and strategies.  


Current 1000 Books Project Total: 92/1000
Poetry Teatime Treat: homemade granola


MOTHER CULTURE & SELF-CARE

+ Health: I’m almost through Week 1 of the Mutu System, which is super easy: a handful of exercises and a daily walk.  My “walks” have just been to the mailbox, but I do have a really long driveway, so I guess it counts?  Still mostly sugar-free, but I did splurge with a little homemade granola.  So good.

+ Reading: Finished two books this week!  I’m still working on Anne of Avonlea and Water for Elephants before I start on our February book club book.

+ Spiritual: I’m reading one small section of Fulton Sheen’s Guide to Contentment each day.  Also trying to make a game plan for Lent – I can’t believe it’s so close already!

+ Fun: Blogging and bread-making are at the top of the list this week. 

No.69: Our Farmhouse Schoolhouse in Photos (Week 18)

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And just like that, we’re halfway through our school year!  I’m wearing that sentence as a badge of honor today.  Some weeks have been wonderfully easy and some weeks have been insanely hard.  But couldn’t that be said for motherhood in general?  I’m trying to stop frantically worrying that I’m screwing up my kids and making wrong decisions and have peace that I’m doing what is best for them right this minute.  For now, the future can wait.

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

+ Our new read-aloud for the rest of January is Redwall.   I remember my brother reading and enjoying these as a kid and now I understand why!  When I shared the book on Instagram, there were so many positive comments about the series, so it definitely is a favorite among many.  As an addition, my little ones have been following along to the story using the graphic novel version.

+ M finished up his unit on Galileo.  Our last “project” is to finally put together the new-to-us telescope we were gifted a few months ago!  Two interesting links we found this week:
– This article about the Catholic perspective on the Galileo controversy
– A weird fact: Did you know that Galileo’s middle finger is on display in the Florence History of Science Museum?


+ After getting back to normal, the last piece of the school day puzzle was including activities for Sophie and TJ from A Year of Playing Skillfully.   She loves having “special” school subjects just for her – I really need to be better about scheduling the time.  This week, we made cinnamon sugar tortilla snowflakes (a huge hit with everybody) and got the wiggles out with ABC exercise cards.  She and TJ also watched Leapfrog’s Phonics Farm and Letter Factory on repeat.


Current 1000 Books Project Total: 91/1000
Poetry Teatime Treat: nothing this week – oops!

MOTHER CULTURE & SELF-CARE

+ Health: My right leg/hip/groin feels all out of whack and I’ve been out of commission all week.  Maybe I should see a chiropractor?  I don’t know what I managed to do to myself, but I need to be an adult about it and really let myself heal.  I think my May half marathon is out for 2018. Super frustrating and discouraging right out the gate for sure.  

+ Reading: I finished Such Good Girls.  I’m still making my way through Bishop Barron’s new book, Jackson Pollock, Anne of Avonlea and I started Water for Elephants too.  Hoping to finish at least two of these this weekend.

+ Spiritual: I’m reading one small section of Fulton Sheen’s Guide to Contentment each day.

+ Fun: I added a few stitches to my cross-stitch.  I’ve been keeping up with my photography project and have started making plans for a mini album.  My new kitchen table arrived (we’ve been without one for seven months) and I’ve been dreaming about ways to spruce up the room.  Creativity can manifest itself in so many unique ways in my everyday life – I just have to seek it.

No.66: Our Farmhouse Schoolhouse in Photos (Week 17)

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We started back on Tuesday after taking two weeks off for Christmas vacation.  As much as I love the post-Christmas, “what day is it again?” lazy days, I’m also happy to be back into some sort of routine.

The biggest (and most unfortunate) story since my last school update is about my laptop.  A few days after Christmas, TJ spilled hot cocoa behind my computer and it seeped into the back.  I watched in horror as the screen literally faded to black.  We tried all the tricks but the damage was done. All of my lesson plans, photographs, links and tabs….gone in an instant.  You don’t realize how dependent you are on a piece of technology until it’s gone!  So this shortened school week was a weird mix of getting back into the groove and trying to remember what was on the schedule.  Note to self: find that external hard-drive and actually use it!

NOTES AND HIGHLIGHTS

+ We read 26 Fairmount Avenue during Advent and loved it so much that we moved onto the next book in the series, Here We All Are.  That Tomie…the kids think he’s hilarious.

+ We started reading about the Arctic Tundra in the little one’s science book, which seemed appropriate with our frigid temperatures here!  Animals of the week: the musk ox and snow goose


+ D is starting multiplication, so I broke out my secret weapon: Schoolhouse Rock songs.  I did the same for M when he was in third grade, and while they both think they’re lame and corny, they get the job done.  I love when I can hear him quietly humming the tune. #missionaccomplished
These are the songs we’ve practiced so far:

+ M wanted to learn a foreign language this year and chose Italian.  I started him on the free Duolingo app on my phone, but also learned that he could work on the lessons on the computer too.  One helpful tool we’ve found for practicing is Tiny Cards, another part of the Duolingo program.    We’ve had so much fun this week trying out words in our everyday conversations!  
Current 1000 Books Project Total: 91/1000
Poetry Teatime Treat: Homemade Bread and Jam

MOTHER CULTURE & SELF-CARE

+ Health: A big week for me!  I’ve cut out 99% of all sugar (exception being a tiny bit of honey) and have focused on filling myself with nutrient-dense foods.  I made this chicken salad with the intention of eating it for lunch all week, but had to make it a second time on Wednesday because I devoured it!  My body is definitely craving protein after a month of eating crap.  I’ve also been running on the treadmill in the garage.  SO cold and NOT fun for the first mile, but I start to enjoy it again after that.

+ Reading: I finished My Not So Perfect Life.  Reading bits and pieces of Bishop Barron’s new book, Jackson Pollock, Anne and one on the Holocaust.  I really need to simmer down on my currently-reading pile.

+ Spiritual: I’m reading one small section of Fulton Sheen’s Guide to Contentment each day.


+ Fun: I pulled out an old half-finished cross-stitch and have been adding a few stitches here and there when I get a few minutes.  I’d forgotten how calming it can be!  I also have been working on making my blog’s Facebook page a positive, inspiring place to be.  I just started a weekly series (fingers crossed!) of “rooting” for/cheering on small businesses or bloggers I find.  Here’s the first one.  

No.60: Our Farmhouse Schoolhouse in Photos (Week 16)

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Only ten more days until Christmas!  Our social calendar has gotten us out of the house, but not feeling crazy.  I’ve finished my shopping and have wrapped all of the gifts.  The tree is slowly being filled with homemade ornaments and it’s just the sweetest thing ever.  With the help of my new morning habit, it’s been my most fruitful Advent in a long, long time.  I’ve even managed to keep up with the St. Andrew novena! 

In past Decembers, I’ve felt a whole range of emotions, everything from disappointment to overwhelm to excitement to dread.  Last year, I had a newborn baby and felt like I was just going through the motions in an overtired fog.  But this year, I feel peace.  All is calm, all is bright.  That’s definitely not how you’d describe my house (so many little people talking at once! hah), but represents my heart. You never know what can happen in the future, so I’m trying to savor it.  What a gift after a whirlwind year.

Day 11 // The Night of Las Posadas
Feliz Navidad!  We kicked off our week of Mexican Christmas traditions by trying Mexican hot chocolate for the first time.  There were varying responses from the kids: one loved, two thought it was just so-so, and two took a sip and declared it gross.

Day 12 // Our Lady of Guadalupe
We listened to the audio story on Formed as we made chocolate pretzel bites and then talked all about the amazing stories that go along with Juan Diego’s tilma.  This Marian apparition is one of my favorites and I love learning a bit more about it each year.

Day 13 // The Legend of the Poinsettia
Another new story from Tomie dePaola for us this year and we loved it.  Did you know that in Mexico, they call the flower “flor de la Nochebuena” (flower of the Holy Night), but we call it a poinsettia because of the man who brought it to the US?  We made our own poinsettias using coffee filters and watercolor paint.  They turned out so cute.

Day 14 // Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia
How we love that that crazy Amelia Bedelia!
We wrapped up Mexico by baking Mexican snowball cookies.  The recipe I picked from Pinterest was just okay, but after help from friends on Instagram (thanks so much, Stephanie and Jackie!!), I’ll be trying these next:
+ Stephanie’s version (scroll to the last photo – she said her family has been using this for years)
+ Smitten Kitchen version

Day 15 // Christmas Cookies
I’m sure you can guess what we’re up to tonight after Dad gets home from work?  This sugarholic and her little minions are going to need a detox come January. 🙂

Other things to note:
+ Last Sunday, I made homemade gingerbread for the first time using this recipe.  It was SO delicious and easy to make.  I’ll never go back to the hard-as-rock store-bought version again.
+ Our read aloud this week was Truce, a narrative about how troops in World War I would defy the commanding officers by stopping and celebrating Christmas with their “enemies.”  Some of the pictures were a little graphic for little ones (dead horses or soldiers laying on the ground), so I just skipped showing those pages as I read.  Lots of good conversation about propaganda, how man’s greed and hunger for power affected millions of others and how war isn’t as “cool” as it sounds.  M will be studying WWI after Christmas break and this was a great introduction.
+ I wasn’t on the ball and didn’t find tickets for the live version, so we watched The Nutcracker on Amazon.  The boys were skeptical, but watched anyway.  Sophie really enjoyed it and ran to get her leotard and tiara before it even ended.  I think it’s a Christmas time staple!

Current 1000 Books Project Total: 86/1000

MOTHER CULTURE & SELF-CARE

+ Health: Aside from a few stretches, nothing.  I have this weird ache in my hip so am playing it cautious.
+ Reading: I finished What Remains True and read a few pages of Anne.
+ Spiritual: Still keeping up with Rooted in Hope!
+ Fun: I gave the blog a much overdue makeover!  I’m still working on some of the kinks (like why random paragraphs on random posts are in bold?!) and have to tweak a few things on the sidebar, but I love it so far.  Fresh and clean and ready for the 2018. 

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