MFW 1st: Weeks 29, 30, & 31

I'm so ridiculously behind. We leave for Ethiopia in TWO weeks from today. TWO. Wow. Wow. Wow. Kevin is working zillions of hours to pull this off, which leaves me at home with the kids, homeschooling, end-of-year portfolio, and every detail to tidy up and pack up to get us on that plane ... oh and housework and cooking and mothering and sleeping ... wait, what's that? My great grandma used to say we can sleep when we're dead. That's how I feel.

Over the last three weeks we have gotten into a groove that will wind down the year. As we come to a close with MFW 1st Grade, I have mixed feelings on how the year finishes.

In news other than MFW we started the next book of Singapore 1 for math ... 1B and Mae is beginning multiplication this upcoming week. We have reviewed place value, addition, subtraction, and grouping by tens and ones. We pulled out our beans and bean sticks, which have been a huge help in conceptualizing grouping and how it eases addition and subtraction.







We started Rod & Staff Phonics (Bible Nurture series) but after a week we shelved it. Way too dry. Mae needs less phonics review and just more reading practice. With that I turned to Pathway Readers (just the readers), Reading Literature First Reader by Treadwell (she is in love with this book), and The Elson Reader Book 1 (along with the guide for me, which is fabulous!). I also got her a few Junie B Jones books ... I know, not exactly high-quality literature, but she giggles and relates and it makes reading a wee bit more accessible for her and it tempers the reading aloud she does from her readers, which are brimming with morals, culture, and classic sensibilities.













We also began Usborne's Science with Plants (admittedly, I do not enjoy the Usborne science books, but the girls do, so alas, we continue). We started by investigating and researching beans and seeds ... and now we are growing three little plants that have sprouted from our kidney and lima beans. We have yet to plant them, but we anticipate they will be strong enough to transplant this upcoming Friday.





















Nature is always a must for us. We love the time outside now that the snow (we think, hope, pray) is gone until next winter. We live on a pretty lane with trees that are leafing out and with marshy areas full of mushrooms, brooks, moss, and critters.































We also began a Hymn study of my favorite hymn ... In the Garden by Charles A Miles. We will study this until the end of the year. We are listening to it often, learning the lyrics, researching Miles, and looking at sheet music.



We have been reading like mad. The girls want me to read aloud at every free moment ... breakfast, lunch, dinner, bedtime, while I'm folding clothes, you name it. I am trying to put more aside (the floors, laundry, dishes) to keep this fire going for them. This leads to long nights, but again, my great grandma was right. Mr Poppers Penguins was a huge hit, even with Jack. They still make-believe the story together. Next up was My Father's Dragon ... all three books ... and we flew through those. I think we all got a bit teary throughout the stories ... so tender and told with such childlike grace and delight. Awesome. We are on to The Trumpet of the Swan. I can't wait to see how my girls take to this sweet story.

For Art we are still working through ArtPac 1. Some lessons are just really fun and do teach valuable, age-appropriate "art" lessons ... more like lessons in coloring ... vivid vs light, feathering, shading, outlining ... the girls definitely need more drawing instruction, but for now, this is filling the niche and there is no lack of patience being taught. This summer we are going to dive into a few Emberley books, which I've been hoping to do for years with Mae. I can finally pull out these books I've been saving now that the girls are old enough and have the patience to really learn from them and truly enjoy them.









Back to MFW ... once we got to Easter and through the end of the phonics workbook, it seems like the lessons for the rest of the year fall flat. Bums me out a bit. We've also jumped from two Bible notebooks per week to four. That's a LOT, which is leaving us little time for some of our Charlotte Mason studies. Where the Old Testament was incredibly rich in MFW1 with stories that I would tell first (courtesy of the TG) and with the Bible reader and notebook blended with activities, the New Testament feels rushed and a little like busy work. Each day is exactly the same, which makes the end of the year feel even longer. Am I the only one who feels this way? Where is Jesus? So much led up to him in the OT studies, but now that he's here, there is no passion.

We've learned about Gabriel appearing to Mary, the birth of Jesus, Jesus in the temple, John baptizing Jesus, fishers of men, healing the man on the mat, Jesus calling Matthew, the 12 apostles, and the farmer and his seeds. It feels cursory to me, which is disappointing, but since we're in the homestretch of the year, and the first 2/3 of MFW1 was exceptional with regard to the Bible History, I am enriching with crafts and activities pertinent to our lessons and using Mae's Discoverer's Bible as well.

















I can say without hesitation that MFW has helped me cultivate such a love of reading and writing in Mae, and those are not her strongest areas of learning. She is much more math and science minded, but the narration and dictation that has been building since our first Bible reader and notebook lesson is outstanding. I have not taught any formal spelling, but this child can spell, and she can spell well. Not because she is naturally inclined, because she isn't, but because MFW set the stage by implementing CM's philosophy of narration and dictation so early on and with great consistency. Well done.

With that we've scaled back with our afternoon lessons to Hymn study (2x per week), Come Look with Me (1x), Pagoo (1x), Art (1-2x), Nature (1x). This plus morning Bible, Math, Language Arts, and Reading fills our days, just differently than before we started the NT.

Happy almost SuMmErTiMe!!!

With Him.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was gorgeous in every way ... well, it would have been even more perfect if one more little person were with us ... soon! We spent the afternoon tidepooling and playing at Harbor Beach. Our sweet little beach close to home.

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These beautiful children are because of Him.

Easter Break

Grammy visited during our Easter holiday while Viola healed from her surgery. We made a neat stained glass Jonah craft using the book The Man Caught by a Fish by Brem for inspiration, made and ate (yummy) Hamentashen cookies (a little late for Purim but delicious just the same), played games, and had fun in town at Children's Day. It's always a great time when Grammy is in town. We miss her so much!

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With Him.

Mixing in More Charlotte Mason

Mae has been well prepared by MFW for a more challenging second-grade year after learning with MFW Kindergarten and First Grade. We have adored MFW, but the next two years will be a transition time for us. I do not want to put Mae in Exploring Countries and Cultures (ECC) until fourth grade due to some of the more mature topics, and my middle two children will be at a better age for jumping into the cycle when they are in second grade (and one of my middle two is far less sensitive than Mae, so I think ECC will suit her well at that time). This also sets up my youngest to jump in the family cycle when they reach Explorers to 1850 and I like this starting point for him. So ...

all that considered, I'm going to redirect our homeschool to my first love, a purer Charlotte Mason education. We are going to use Ambleside Online as our guide.

Mae will be in Year 2, with a few modifications since I must incorporate Angela O'Dell's beautiful Living History of Our World. I still love many of MFW's suggestions for Language Arts and for Math, so we will blend some of those foundations as well. This will also keep us "on track" with MFW should we jump back in with ECC in two years.

My plan is under the tab 2011-2012 Curriculum. We will have lessons four days per week, with Nature on our light Fridays, along with Reading and Math. On "paper" this curriculum looks like a lot, but taught in the spirit of CM, it is a balanced blend of short, thoughtful lessons and rigor steeped in some of the best literature.

Now, to start planning ... my favorite part!

In Him.

Joy to My Soul

When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. --Psalms 94:18-19

My mom came into town after *Viola's surgery ... huge blessing ... and we had an incredible few days together. I still need my mom after 34 years. I hope my girls (and boys) do to!



The surgery was uneventful and we're still praying for Viola's hearing to be restored to 100%. She goes back to the ENT on May 24 for a follow up about her hearing. Coming out of the anesthesia was another story ... it was a nightmare. Wow. She also got terribly sick from the pain medication and throat/ear surgery plus throwing up = not.good.results. Today is day 11 post op and she is doing better than I imagined. The surgeon said her tonsils and adenoids, throat, and ears were full of strep infection. She's had strep 7 times since November ... in truth, she probably never got over it the first time. She is finally looking healthy. Finally! Clear eyes. No dark circles. Her rashes are clearing. Her color is coming back. She has more energy. More smiles. Fewer tears. Less naps. She can sit upright for longer stretches. Fewer tummy aches. More outside playtime. This is such an elixir to our weary weary souls. She still has a very long road ahead, but this is a promising first step. We had so many family and friends praying for her and loving her from afar ... there are no words for our gratitude.

While my mom was in town we ventured to Wendy's for a little lunch. I've been home for days and days, probably weeks and weeks ... daydreaming of that phone call from our adoption coordinator. I had just paid for lunch and my mom was corralling the kids to the table, I had my hands full with jackets, the diaper bag, and the tray of food, when my phone started buzzing in my back pocket. I thought about ignoring it, but in that split second, I thought, "it just might be ...". AND IT WAS.

We have a court date!

In one month from TODAY we will be boarding a plane (with a tremendous travel group) and flying to Ethiopia to become the parents of one little person half way around the world.

Fun trivia: Our court date is exactly 9 months to the day from when God stirred our hearts to be his family and we sent word that we would like to accept his referral.

Months and months of waiting ... reigning in our anxieties and deepest fears ... finding the courage to be faithful and steadfast that God had gone before us and was paving our perfect way to this little boy. In that moment in Wendy's, my once cautiously brimming heart overflowed with joy.

A million adoption puzzle pieces have to fall into place seamlessly for us to pass court while we are in country. Please pray that our MOWA letter is ready and that the judge finds favorable determination with us and that we leave Eth belonging to this child. (Also, I have an intense fear of flying ... lots of prayers and well wishes would be especially coveted.) This will be our first overnight away from the kids, ever. And, nine years since we had a getaway alone. It makes me woozy to think of leaving our three at home for a week, but Grammy and Papa will be so much fun! Pray for a smooth week for all of us as we are apart and as we come together on different continents. 

With utter faith,

*I've decided to use our children's middle names to protect their privacy while not making me crazy trying to remember what bloggy names I've given them. My mind is mush lately.