A Picnic and a Late Treat Run

One of the great things about homeschooling is that our schedule is very flexible.  For example, today we took break at lunchtime . . .

. . . to attend a birthday picnic for our friend Mayra.

As a birthday gift, Anna drew this picture (with some help from YouTube) of Mayra's beloved dog Ollie.  Mayra liked the drawing so much that she went home and framed it. :)

The weather was lovely, and the girls had a great time connecting with their friends.

Joy and Sophie had fun looking for shapes in the cupcake frosting.  ("That one looks like a heart.")

After the picnic, we headed to the store to belatedly celebrate one of our family's favorite traditions.  When the kids get home from their last day of school, I take them to the grocery store and let them pick out a treat to kick off summer vacation.  School was so wonky this year that the tradition totally slipped my mind in June.  I finally remembered it a few days ago, and decided that a treat run on the final day of August would have to do.

Late treats are much better than no treats, so no one complained a bit!

A Blue TIE Affair

When Joy and I played Settlers of Catan this afternoon . . .

. . . I decided to turn my spare roads and settlements into a couple of X-wings attacking a colorful Death Star.

Then I made a blue TIE fighter, so Joy's solitary white TIE fighter wouldn't feel lonely (all of her other settlements were on the board at that point).

After our game, Joy took Anna on a bike waddle to the church a few blocks away.  Anna has been practicing a lot, and is able to balance for long stretches now.  We'll probably put her pedals on later this week.  Go Anna!

 

Waddle Bikes

This morning . . .

. . . Daddy took the pedals off Anna's new bike . . .

. . . so Daniel could use it as a balance bike . . .

. . . while Anna did the same with Todd's bike.  Bike companies don't make training wheels for big kids, and we've heard it's better to learn to balance before trying to pedal anyway, but balance bikes require a lower seat than regular bikes.  Consequently . . .

. . . Daniel and Anna spent the morning waddling up and down the driveway on their younger sibling's pedal-less bike.  They were pretty wobbly at first, but they're getting the hang of it!

 

It's Anna's Big Day!

It's Anna's birthday today!

 

I think Anna gets more excited about birthdays than all of the rest of us combined.  She printed this pretty calendar weeks ago, and has been eagerly crossing off the days until her birthday.

We did our best to make her big day special.  I cooked her favorite meals, Joy treated her to frozen yogurt . . .

. . . and Daddy and I bought her a bike because she been wanting to learn to ride.

She was grateful for the bike, but let's face it, her favorite gift was the little ribbon wand I bought for less than a buck at the drugstore.

Happy birthday, sweet Anna!  Thanks for always being willing to lend a hand, and for reminding me that there are so many things to be happy about in every single day.

The First Day of (Home)school

As our family weighed the pros and cons of remote or hybrid learning during this pandemic, we decided it made the most sense for us to try homeschooling this school year.  The social distancing restrictions of hybrid learning sounded miserable, and we figured if the kids were going to study at home for several hours each day, we might as well do it on our terms and our schedule.

We talked to several friends who homeschool, then researched math and humanities programs that seemed like good fits for our kids. I let the kids each decorate their own school tote to store their books and supplies, then we jumped into homeschooling headfirst today.

I thought of taking our usual "First Day of School" pictures, with each child standing outside wearing their favorite outfit, but this seemed like a more fitting First Day picture for this school year.  It was a chilly morning, and the kids bundled up on our couch in cozy blankets . . .

. . . while Math Teacher Daddy showed them an introductory video for our math curriculum, Math U See.

It was kind of cool to watch Daddy teach the younger kids math principles . . .

. . . while Joy studied math and physics on her own in the next room over.

After Daddy went to work, I took over teaching humanities (reading, writing, art, etc.) using a curriculum called The Good and the Beautiful.  I really enjoyed reading uplifting text and discussing beautiful artwork with my kids.  

Incidentally, while Todd was working on his handwriting workbook, he was annoyed to find that every page has a little drawing assignment.  He didn't want to to color in the owl on today's page until I pointed out that he could make it any colors he wanted.  Then his eyes lit up and he immediately reached for blue and green colored pencils.  I guess with art and schooling, sometimes it's more appealing to do it your own way.

And . . . this is what our dining room looked like after class dismissed this afternoon.  I suspect this school year will be a lot of work for Phillip and me, but I think it will also be a rich bonding experience for our family.

Brothers

When we learned that our fourth child was going to be a boy, we were excited that Daniel would have a little brother to play with.  Then I did some simple math, and realized that Daniel would start second grade before Todd could even talk.  With a five-year age difference, would they ever really play together?

Lately, I've been very happy to find that the answer is "yes."

Daniel loves to make up games, and Todd loves to play them.  Sometimes Daniel makes the rules a little too challenging because forgets he's dealing with someone much younger, but most of the time they have fun together.

I don't get how most of their made-up games work, but I'm so glad that each of our sons has a brother who not only understands but enjoys the same things he does.

Nature Is Cute, and Hungry

One of the perks of living next to the woods is that we see lots of interesting wildlife . . .

. . . like this baby bunny near the hibiscus . . .

. . . or these wild turkey families on our front lawn.

Unfortunately, some adorable woodland creature has a taste for cherry tomatoes.  I haven't gotten to eat a single homegrown tomato since the first ones ripened on my birthday over a month ago.  Maybe this mesh bag will keep the little critter out.  Maybe.

Meet the Nursery

Remember the nursery beds we finally completed on 8/8?

Over the weekend, my mentor brought a bunch of European ginger plants over to fill up one of the beds.  They look a little chaotic after being divided and planted, but they'll look tidier after they get settled.  In spring, they'll put out little flowers, then I'll collect the seeds and plant those in the neighboring bed to propagate more plants.

Here's a closeup of their shiny, heart-shaped leaves.  European ginger is a popular ground cover in this area because it's attractive, hardy, low-maintenance, and resistant to deer and rabbits.  And no, it's not related to the ginger you eat.  In fact eating it would make you sick.  It's related to a plant that tastes like ginger, though, so the name has stuck.

My mentor also gave me a bunch of bleeding heart seedlings.  Bleeding hearts are fun, popular plants, but they're also easy to grow, so a lot of other growers may be selling them next spring too.  They may end up being an interesting experiment in supply, demand, and my ability to identify and connect with buyers.  We'll see how that goes.

Last but not least, my mentor encouraged me to plant two things I had never heard of at the edge of my seed bed, because she believes they have good potential for propagation and sale.  I'm going to trust her judgement and give them a try.  The one growing in tiny clusters along the edge of the bed is called thalictrum.  The big plant with the flower stalk is anemonopsis.  Its name is a mouthful . . .

. . . but its flowers are pretty. :)

Our DIY Hamster Cage

Joy has always been concerned that her hamster cage was a bit small.  Sure, hamsters are tiny, but they cover a lot of ground every day in the wild, and most people who specialize in hamsters say the furry little guys should have at least 450 square inches of floor space to run around in.  Doc's cage had half that. 

As we considered what to do for our little furry friend, we found a bunch of online tutorials for a DIY bin cage.  It's made from a cheap 110-gallon storage bin, with wire mesh zip tied over a hole cut in the top.  That seemed like the perfect solution, so we bought our materials and went right to work with Dad's Dremel.  After Joy cut the hole, though, she realized the wire mesh we bought was really hard to work with.  Then she read the label and discovered that it contained lead, so she decided to return it to the store and look for some lead-free wire mesh.

Unfortunately, we discovered that most hardware stores are fresh out of mesh, lead-free or otherwise, because everyone and their cousin is doing DIY projects in their house and yard while they're stuck at home.  Apparently the stores are also running low on coins, of all things.  In the age of COVID-19, I'm not surprised to see a shortage of anything anymore.

Joy was eager to move Doc into his roomier new home, regardless of the mesh shortage, so she taped a cooking rack, a book, and my favorite muffin tin over the huge hole in the lid.  The cooling rack gave me an idea.

We bought another lid, and cut a hole in it that was slightly smaller than another cooling rack that I rarely use.  Daddy helped out with Bin Cage Lid 2.0, mainly because he didn't appreciate the fact that we gummed up his Dremel bit with melted plastic last time.

He also helped Joy fasten the cooling rack on with a gazillion zip ties.

Here's Doc's spiffy new home, complete with the upgraded wheel Joy bought him with money from her lawn mowing job.  I think the little bow on top is a nice touch, don't you?

That's No Rock

When I went outside to water my garden this morning . . .

. . . I wondered how a big, grey rock somehow ended up next to one of my plants.  Then I took a closer look and realized . . .

. . . that's no rock.  Hi there, Kermit!

National S'mores Day

Since we thoroughly enjoyed celebrating National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day last week, I asked the internet if there was anything fun we ought to celebrate today.  Wouldn't you know it . . .

. . . today was National S'mores Day. :)

Meet Susan

When Phillip asked what I wanted for my birthday last month, a lazy susan was at the top of my list.  We serve a lot of family-style meals around here, and I thought it would be great if we could just give a lazy susan a spin to get the beans or tomatoes we need, instead of having six people ask each other to pass things multiple times during every meal.

Well folks, my wish was granted!  My beautiful birthday gift has made mealtime a much more streamlined affair.  Plus, on the rare occasion when I need someone to pass me something that's on the table next to them, it's fun to say, "Would you put that on Susan?"  

Joy thinks that sounds really weird, but I say one girl's weird is another girl's whimsical.

Lucky Me!

Ever since my parents helped me plant my first vegetable garden almost thirty years ago, I've felt drawn to gardening.  I love planting things and watching them grow and change with the seasons.

Recently, when I was admiring a neighbor's professional nursery in her backyard, she offered to teach me how to start a small nursery of my own.  I liked the idea of earning a little income doing something I already love, so I leveled a portion of our back yard.  Then Phillip and Joy built a couple raised beds . . .

. . . and the hammer crew . . .

. . . helped pound landscape spikes through washers to hold the weed mat in place.

Anna and Joy helped me mix course sand with compost, then haul it out back . . .

. . . to fill our new beds today.  It all seems pretty simple, but it actually took a lot of time and effort to prep the site, buy the supplies, and do all the work.  Filling those beds today felt like a huge achievement, even though I won't actually plant anything in them until next week!

As I stood back admiring those filled beds, it occurred to me that we reached this major milestone on 8/8.  My dad once told me that in Chinese culture, 8 is considered very lucky because it rhymes with the Mandarin word for "good fortune."  I feel fortunate indeed that I finally achieved this goal after lots of hard work and help from my family.