The Adventures of Adriel, Christina, and the Kids

The bear did it

2008-11-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

Daddy - "Who put this gum under the table?"

Abigail - (imagine the older child , superior sounding voice here) "Not me, probably Mim did it."

Miriam (You have to imagine the un-enunciated but emphatic lit of the two-year-old voice) - "no meeeee!"

Daddy - "I guess you girls lose gum privileges for two weeks since you can't keep track of your gum"

Miriam - "Bears do, Teddy bears did it."

Daddy "Then I suppose you lose gum privileges for three weeks, for not keeping track of your bears"

Mom starts laughing in the next room.

~Christina

Tonight's Moon!

2008-11-14T20:48:00.000-08:00

I borrowed a spotting scope from work (Leupold 12-40X60mm Golden Ring) and captured this photo of the moon tonight. Spectatular!

(Click image for full size view)

David Catches a Rainbow Trout

2008-10-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Finally, a fish! After months of trying David took this small but beautiful Rainbow Trout today at North Fork reservoir. Way to go David! We'll cook it up as a snack tomorrow.

This was probably our last fishing outing this year since most of the lakes are closing their season in a couple of days.

Season score: David - 1, Dad - 0

Learning to Cut Paper

2008-10-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

Miriam is learning to use her little scissors. She was under strict instructions to only, ever, cut paper. I have enough experience to know that she will eventually try them out of her hair but I have to say it, right?

Although I pointed to the construction paper I neglected to verbally suggest she actually use the construction paper. Miriam went and found her own supply of paper - toilet paper! Hey, at least it was clean and she was following instructions after all.

~ Christina

Weekly Report- Week eleven 2008-09

2008-10-24T16:03:00.000-07:00

We had a good week. Nothing was super exciting as far as school was concerned. I was thinking today about how well grammar is going. I had very little grammar in school. My theory is that my early years in public school they assumed we would learn it later. Later in Private school I think they assumed we had learned it before. Hmmmm. The two years I remember having formal grammar were seventh and eighth grade. I was homeschooled by a friend in seventh and somehow I managed to keep my head above water through Abeka grammar. I only had a vague idea of what a noun and a verb were to start with and pretty much felt out of my element the whole time. In eighth grade I remember memorizing helping verbs but that's it. Yet, I managed honors English classes in High School. How does that work?

Around here we use First Language Lessons and then Rod and Staff Grammar. This is serious grammar, people!

Today Abigail was working on the different things we capitalize in the English language. English is the only language that capitalizes the first person pronoun (I). How is that for arrogance? The real reason has to do with how it worked out on the printing presses of old but it is rather interesting that we are the only ones who do that.

David has been working on antecedents and verb phrases. I can't tell you much more than that because my independent boy dislikes me teaching him grammar. It is much more expedient to read the lesson and complete it on his own. I tried a couple of weeks ago and was met with "Mooooom, I already read it. It's not hard!" Ok, I get the picture. [backs slowly away for the pre-teen boy]

J has been learning to diagram for the first time. One more kid in this world who thinks I am evil! When he first joined us I started in on verb phrases and soon discovered that he didn't know the definition of a verb! So much for trusting someone else's testing. Back to the beginning we go. He is moving right along and should jump up to the next grade level by Spring.

You are now wondering how I could possibly tach grammar after so little exposure. I am about 50 lessons ahead of David and I actually like diagraming. I find it fascinating now as an adult. I love filling in the gaps and it is easier since I am more motivated now than when I was a kid.

These are pictures of us today just finishing up our end-of-the-week work. I was taking pictures of the other kids and Miriam says "Picture me too!" Here she is with her ponies.

David doesn't like having his picture taken

Abigail teaching multiplication to her ponies. She informed me today that I need to order her another math book. She has done about 100 pages this week and finished all of the Beta review pages today.

J drilling math facts. Not exactly his favorite thing but he will be glad to know them later. At least that's what I tell him.

~ Christina

Weekly Report- Week Ten 2008-09

2008-10-17T07:05:00.001-07:00

This was project week. The kids were suppose to entertain themselves while I actually got the house clean. The best laid plans and all..... We had doctor appointments and phone consultations and bored kids and I was just plain distracted! The boys did work quite a bit on their stop motion movies. This week Abigail decided she was going to try to finish her math book so that she could move on tot he next one. She learned to divide and thinks it is really fun. The boys are trying to convince her otherwise and I just keep shushing them. Our home is so peaceful when Abigail is happily doing page after page in her math book. When they are bored they all annoy one another so it is good to keep everyone busy.

Today we will go to the library and I will sort clothes. This was my ultimate goal this week. I have gotten some clutter taken care of but I need to switch Miriam's clothes out for the next size, so that has to be done today. This weekend I will be buying new clothes for David and Adriel and filling in anything missing from Miriam's wardrobe. David has grown and some of Adriel's clothes need replacing after a few mishaps. Time to get ready for Winter!

Weekly Report- Week Nine 2008-09

2008-10-11T13:32:00.001-07:00

This week we were learning more about Rome . Specifically we learned about Roman arches and their building projects. The Romans built 6 bridges over the Tiber River and 5 of them are still in use today! They also invented concrete. Our project this week was to make a Roman arch out of pudding boxes.

Here is David cutting the sides of the boxes to make them a wedge shape.

Everyone helping to get the boxes ready for construction.

Our "stones" cut, taped, and ready for building.

The final product.

The victorious builders.

In other news.... Miriam is finally letting us know when she needs to go potty and accidents are few and far between. The Henderson world rejoices! ~ Christina

Weekly Report- Week Eight 2008-09

2008-10-07T13:31:00.000-07:00

Our first week with out new student went well. We are still learning about Rome for a few more weeks. David is bored of Romans but Abigail and J are interested and excited about our studies, so we will just leave David to his adolescent angst. I didn't get any pictures because I was very busy getting use to an extra student as well as his math and spelling curriculum which I agreed to use. Note to self : The virtual charter school is not my thing! It reminds me how much I love Math-U-See. Wednesday we are suppose to make a Roman arch out of pudding boxes so there should be pictures of that next week.

Adriel's birthday is on Thursday but unfortunately he is still not feeling well. We will celebrate quietly. It sure came quickly this year. I keep thinking it's about a week away. Hmmm, it's not anymore!

New Student

2008-09-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

We are getting a new student! J is 10 yo and is joining our homeschool for this year, so if you see an extra kid in the pictures I post, it's him. We are excited to add someone to our little school. I am also watching two little ones (3 yo and almost 2 yo) for a friend. She is at the hospital with her youngest. Baby Elizabeth could use any prayers you can send her way. Her big sisters really miss Mommy and we want Elizabeth to grow up big and strong.

It is gearing up to be a busy week!

~Christina

Announcing .... (drum roll please)

2008-09-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

Our school has a name! No we don't legally need a name but why should that stop us from having one? Now if we don't feel like discussing the finer point of "socialization" with the cashier at Fred Meyer we can just say the kids go to Navigamus Classical School. Sounds impressive doesn't it? I figure that will look better on a transcript than "Henderson homeschool". I even made a little logo. I will get a picture of it up here eventually. I am still trying to come up with a theme verse or snappy tag line though. How about this one "Aut disce aut discede" -Either learn or leave! (Just kidding)

~Christina

"Mom, why is the flag at half mast?"

2008-09-11T20:22:00.001-07:00

How do you answer that question for children who don't remember that day? My children don't remember a time when we were not at war. David was four years old and Abigail just under six weeks old that September. I struggled to explain why the "bad guys" would choose those targets. I understand that the towers were symbols of American freedom and financial strength. The Pentagon is a symbol of our military strength, but how do you explain freedom to children who have never lived in a country without it? An then, how do you explain why someone would attack us because of that freedom?

Yes they understood the basic facts, airplanes, towers, the Pentagon, a field in Pennsylvania, but they can't understand the horror and grief of that day and all of the days after it. I am glad they can't understand. I am forever grateful to the men and women who keep my children secure in their freedom, never understanding what it is to live in fear and without freedom. I pray that the babies born in Iraq and Afghanistan today won't understand. I hope their mothers can say "You were too little to know what it was like back then..... But now we are free". I pray that day comes soon.

~Christina

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling that thinks nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature, and has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of greater men than himself."

-John Stuart Mill

My First Braids

2008-09-03T17:05:00.001-07:00

Don't mess with me.

Grumpy? Who says I'm grumpy? I'm two. I don't need a reason to make this face. Why are you taking my picture anyway!

Oh ya, I like having picture taken. Do you like my braids? I am so cute and I know it!!

LALALALA

Weekly Report- week three 2008-09

2008-09-03T16:32:00.000-07:00

Better late than never right? David's first week of school went well. It continues to be an adjustment for him but he will be back in the swing of things soon. Each day we get through things a little faster.

David

Math - reviewing Epsilon

Latin - Lively Latin lesson one

Rod and Staff Grammar- lessons 1-3

Abigail

Handwriting - Learning cursive letters l,e, h and f

Math- reviewing Beta lessons

Grammar - FLL lessons 100 - 103

Everyone

Narrations and copy-work

Art - basic drawing from "God and the history of art"

MFW - We started learning about Rome this week. The founding of Rome and the start of the Republic. I picked up the contact paper and card stock that we need for our timeline but we haven't started the timeline yet. I have figured out where to put

the timeline after some

thought. We don't really have hallways so we will have a vertical timeline. Pictures next week.

The girls made their Roman clay tablets. You can write a note and then smooth the clay over and over. Yes, they really did use clay tablet books to write on in Ancient Rome. Can you imagine taking lecture notes on that?

Second grade is exhausting!

Labor Day at Fern Ridge Reservoir

2008-09-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day I took my girls and lady out for the afternoon on Fern Ridge Reservoir. We were joined by a few dozen other sailboats on the lake. It was a beautiful day with good steady air and a warm sun.

The first hour the girls enjoyed playing "hit the buoy." You can watch the action in this video:

Click for full size video.

Later both girls fell asleep, Miriam on mom's shoulder and Abigail curled up on a towel on the floor.

In all we sailed for over four hours and covered over 13 miles of water. A beautiful afternoon.

A Lesson in Frustration

2008-08-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Our first art lesson was about frustration. Apparently even the great artists get frustrated with their attempts and the writer of our art program wanted the kids to know it was normal. He also wanted to teach them to be glad they will be drawing with their hands. Our first assignment was to draw like Joni Ericson Tada - With our mouths! This even got a laugh out of David.

These are Abigail's Butterflies. One done with her hands, and one without.

David's First Day of School

2008-08-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

There it is. Proof that by the first day of 6th grade my son is taller than I am!

We worked hard this morning and learned some great stuff but everyone needs a brain break. Here is one of my favorite reasons for homeschooling. Watching my big eleven-year-old boy wrestle with his baby sister.

Horsy ride anyone?

Weekly Report- week two 2008-09

2008-08-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

This weekly report is really late but you will have to forgive me because my dear husband gave me the weekend off and I ran away to visit a friend in Washington. I also got to spend a couple of hours at Exodus Provisions which is our local homeschooling store. I went all by myself and had no time limit! That has never happened before, it was great. I got to actually look at stuff in person before buying it and even perused some things we won't need until next year. I also got to go get art supplies for our art history program and that was neat. I am not sure what to do with all of the stuff on the supply list but I am excited to learn along with the kids.

last week went better for Abigail. She is getting use to the school routine and she is really excited about her notebook, which has her individual work for the week. She loves being independent! At some point during the Summer she had picked up the idea that school was terrible and she didn't like it. She is mostly back to enjoying school now. There are a few things she doesn't love but over all we are getting into the swing of it.

This week we are busy getting ready for David to join us for school. His first day is Wednesday. I remember my first day of sixth grade. Did anyone actually like Jr. High? He doesn't know what he is missing, and I am sure glad he is missing it!

First Weekly Report of 2008-09!

2008-08-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

Abigail and I started a partial school schedule this week. I wanted to get her into a routine before adding in David and all of the things I need to do for him. Second grade should be a fun year. She is excited about doing Earth Science this year but after the relaxed way we have done school in the past, second grade has been a bit of a shock.

We will start our formal study of Medieval times using My Father's World - Rome to the Renaissance when David starts school but for now we are reading about China in honor of the Olympic games.

She started cursive this year at her request and that is going well. She was excited to write real words in cursive by the end of the week. Math is just review right now but we will pick up new concepts in a couple of weeks.

We are looking forward to having a great time next week!

Here are our First day of School Pictures.

Birthdays

2008-08-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was Abbie's 7 year birthday party. It was a princess party complete with a castle cake, numerous pink ribbons and a bunch of giggly girls.

I also forgot to post anything about David's birthday trip to the Evergreen Aviation space museum a few weeks back so here's some shots of that event as well.

Another sailing weekend

2008-08-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

On Sunday David and I took the old sailboat down to North Fork Reservoir just south of Estacada. The wind was calm but we caught just enough of it to get us the mile from the launch up to the dam where we tied up at a log barrier and fished for a few hours.

We didn't catch any fish but we did get to relax and watch the local bald eagles practice their fishing skills, though they didn't catch anything either.

Tied up to the log barrier.

The log barrier is wide enough to walk on and fish from.

It's a small but beautiful reservoir

Sailing Hagg Lake

2008-08-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

The older kids were at church camp this weekend so Christina, Miriam and I took the boat to Henry Hagg Lake outside of Forest Grove. The sailing was good and relaxing. We made our way around the lake and discovered a little beach area on the opposite side that looks like a fun place to land the boat and play.

Miriam is a crack up with her oversized sunglasses that she insists must be worn up-side-down!

Click for full size video.

Sailing

2008-07-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

We spent a brief time in the water this weekend.

On Saturday we went to Henry Hagg Lake as a family. We arrived late and the park closes fairly early so we were only able to enjoy the water for about an hour.

On Sunday David and I took the boat up to Detroit Lake. There was a slight breeze but after fifteen minutes the wind stopped completely.

That's the adventurous unpredictability of sailing for you!

We still had fun, David jumped in and swam around a bit and enoyed the cool water in the warm afternoon sun. Don't miss the video clip below the pictures.

The Evolution of "Yes"

2008-07-20T16:32:00.000-07:00

Quite some time ago Miriam learned to say "yes". It was a cute, two-syllable-with-the-"s"-drawn-out kind of yes.

Then a few months ago, to my great disappointment, "ye-ssss" gave way to"a-hu" (I have no idea how to spell this). You know, that indiscriminate sound you make when you are agreeing with someone just to make them go away because you are busy? I couldn't get her back to "yes" no matter how hard I tried!

Then last week, oh joy of joys, answering in the affirmative is now an enthusiastic "Ya".

Much Better! I can't help but wonder..... what will be next?

The Old Boat Floats!

2008-07-11T21:48:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we took the sailboat with us on a camping trip to Lake Merwin in Washington. There wasn't much wind the first few days but we put her in the lake anyway for her first swim in over ten years. My friend Jeremy doesn't live too far away from the lake so he came up to help out.

The last day of camping the sky finally cleared and the wind kicked up. We had a great time zig zagging around the lake for a few hours! (Sorry, no pictures of that, we were having too much fun and getting too wet to grab the camera!)

The only casualty was the trailer which didn't survive the trip - it got the boat home, but it's not going any further than that. If you happen to know of an 18' boat trailer for sale let me know...we want to get her back in the lake soon!

Here are a few detailed shots of the boat.

There is still a little work to do such as installing the grab rails, breakwater and benches, but nothing to keep us from sailing.

Abbie's Class

2008-06-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

School has been out for about 5 weeks now and it appears the girls miss it. Abigail's stuffed animals are getting quite an education....

Teacher Abigail

But it seems pupil Miriam needs a nap!

Last week we had box day, when all of our new school book arrived. Abigail loaded up this rolling cart with the books and was reading some of them to her animals and little sister. She finished the new Mind Benders book in two days so I guess we will be asking for more, for her birthday in a few weeks. She is also enjoying her new multiplication audio CD and the Perables home Ec. book I got her. I am so glad she enjoys learning and hey, they are keeping her busy!