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From the diary of a Pre-School Teacher

My five-year old students are learning to read. Yesterday one of them pointed at a picture in a zoo book and said,
"Look at this! It's a frickin' elephant!"

I took a deep breath, then asked....

"What did you call it?"

"It's a frickin' elephant!

It says so on the picture!"

And so it does...

" A f r i c a n Elephant "

Elizabeth Foss, again - Not So Simple

http://ebeth.typepad.com/reallearning/2008/08/not-so-simple.html

Really, I love her writing. She says so elequently what lives in my heart.
I wrote somewhere that I love chaos. I don't. Chaos is so very hard to live with. But the beautiful gifts (my children, homeschooling, busyness) that are the origins of the chaos - that's what I love.

The Prudent Homemaker

A friend sent this blog to go along with saving money and inexpensive meals.
In addition to saving money this woman makes beautiful meals!
The Prudent Homemaker
She also has a page of shopping wisely that is great!

Curriculum sidebar

I took Amy's lead and added links to curriculae we use. We do lots more as supplements to or parts of, but this is the main stuff and consistent through the years. It's waaayyy down on the sidebar below the pope.

A "just because" present

My dear friend *Patrice* bought me a present. A just-because-I-love-you and I-knew-you'd-like-this present. A book. I book I already own. Normally, I wouldn't be so excited about getting a book I already own. She went to the Cinci Homeschool Conference and brought me a signed copy of Susan Wise Bauer's The Well Trained Mind 3rd Edition. It's not even available on Amazon, yet!

I would NEVER swing the bucks for a book I already own, but I'm SOOOO EXCITED to get the updated version!!

I was so excited that I kept walking around the house cleaning so I can get my work done and hurry up and read it.

I was so excited I kept telling each of my children, "I'm soooo excited!!" Dears that they are, Dd#2 got tired of hearing about my excitement and suggested I just blog about it and get the out the excitement out that was bubbling over. GREAT IDEA!!

I'm soo excited. Do you think the girls at book club will feel unloved if I stay home to read a non-book club book?

Ten Books List

This can be a quick one! Don't take too long to think about it! Ten books you've read that will always stick with you! First ten you can recall in no more than 15 minutes!

1. Mr. God, This is Anna by Fynn (God is the realest reality of all no matter what anyone else believes)
2. Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher (As a child I relished how with hard work and responsibility and sensible living as opposed to living by emotions, Betsy finds her place of belonging)
3. Why Wait : What You Need to Know About the Teen Sexuality Crisis by Josh McDowell (As a young single, after I'd made a mess of my life I found the conviction, partially through this book, to make things different with God's grace)
4. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (God is sovereign even in the worst of times)
5. The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck (This was a gift from my romantic fiance and has emotional significance because of that. It validated that if reality tells you something new, don't be afraid to change the "map" in your head to reflect truth, not life as you used to believe it to be)
6. What's Going on in There? : How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life by Lise Eliot (The complexity of brain development from a scientist mixed with the miraculous excitement of a mom -- author is a mom/scientist)
7. Catholic Education : Homeward Bound by Kimberly Hahn (As I read this book I kept audibly talking to the book in agreement with what it said about children and their place in our lives)
8. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder (I read this for the first time as an adult and loved the dignity and responsibility it gave to children)
9. Fertility, Cycles & Nutrition by Marilyn Shannon (For 20 years I was told by doctors there was nothing to help my painful, irregular cycles and severe PMS. In one chapter I turned the pages of my life that no one had ever understood and she HELPED.)
10. The Narnia Series by C.S. Lewis (I read this for the first time in highschool [just the Lion, Witch & Wardrobe] and it didn't do much for me. I read the whole series to my kids a few years ago and WOW!!! I've read parts over and over to myself just for fun. It's a serious escape to reality!)

Well, that was a fun travel back in time!

My Blog Spot

It's not pretty, and it's ALWAYS messy (the last place in the house to get cleaned), but it's where I blog from (and teach from and drink my morning coffee from and grade papers from and...)


Amy tagged me, so I'm tagging Anne, Grace, Stacy & Nancy -- where do YOU blog from?

Facebook

Jenni asked me how to post my blog into facebook. This post is just for her.

Go to your profile page.
On your wall under "What are you doing right now?" is a tiny gear with the tiny word "settings".

Once you click on "settings", my page says

Stories Posted By You

You can automatically import activity from...other services to your
profile.

Click on automatically import and it takes you to options you can import into your Notes. Click on Blog and enter your address.
Let me know if it works and we should be friends on facebook.
You can find me : J e n n at t h m g dot c o m

25 Random Things About Me

I got tagged on facebook, but this blog feeds into my notes on facebook, so I'll just post it here. (if you're not on facebook, ignore the previous sentence because it won't mean anything to you).

1. My children are the most wonderful gift I have and the best day of my life was the day God made me a mother.
2. My children are the most challenging thing I have to deal with because they reflect my strengths and weaknesses soooo much.
3. I went to 11 different schools in my first 8 years of schooling.
4. I love books.
5. I love to drive a 5-speed car and can hardly wait for the day I can ditch my mini-van for sporty-red-5-speed-something.
6. I LOVE being Cathlolic -- "I GET to be Catholic"!
7. I don't have a single grey hair.
8. Except for aparagus, I LOVE vegetables.
9. I weigh more now than I ever have in my life ... and I really don't care.
10. Jesus has been my best friend since I was 10.
11. I love Breyers chocolate mint chip icecream.
12. Our 15 year wedding anniversary is coming up and between lack of money and nursing a 1-year old, I can't think of ANYTHING fun to do.
13. I love the feel of dishes, they can be so sensual (in a good way).
14. I'm almost 41.
15. I could eat sauteed onion on almost anything.
16. I struggle with being too brutally honest and tactless.
17. Being the mother of 5 kids is a badge of honor I wear proudly and I salute ANY and EVERY mother!
18. Whenever I'm scared or unsure I always go back to what I KNOW is TRUTH and work my way from there -- it's like a mantra for me.
19. I am so NOT gentle with the children in my life, so my new favorite saint is St. Anthony because he was so gentle in his love of the Christ Child.
20. My worst year was 13 : my dad kidnapped us 1200 miles away and told us we'd never see our mom again.
21. I love plaid.
22. I'm a terrible housekeeper.
23. My heart melts everytime I get near a baby -- especially my own.
24. Almost all my friends are better friends to me than I am to them.
25. I'm looking forward to the day when I can be a free spirit again and ride a shopping cart through an empty isle going as fast as I can make it go like I did when I was 22 instead of being the kind of person who says "get your hands out of your mouth" 73 times per day.

Thank you, President Bush

Thank you, President Bush

This was a GREAT post!!

America the Beautiful

I completely ADORED this article by one of my favorite authors...here's a snippet to whet your appetite...

In a hundred ways, America is my mother. I cannot count the ways she has formed me and the gifts she has given me: gifts so much a part of me I doubt I am even conscious of them, any more than I am conscious of the rules of grammar as I speak... Patriotism is simply obedience to “Honor your father and your mother.”

What I Love About My Country
July 9th, 2008 by Mark Shea

Blogger slowdown

It's not just a blogger slowdown -- (I'm a blogger and I've slowed way down in how often I post), it's a whole life slowdown. Last week the baby had a relapse of his Influenza -- I've heard that if you have the least cold symptom left, you can get hit again with fever and sever cold symptoms. Well, he did. So, for the last 2 weeks he's been congested, struggling to swallow at times, etc. (Which means I'm getting less sleep and also contributes to not spending time on the computer). This week he's been particularly fussy. As of Easter morning I've added milk drinking back into my diet (and been LOVING it!). I guess I'll cut it out and see if that helps him calm down any. It's so hard to tell whether it's his teeth, or boredom as he becomes more aware of his surroundings, or my diet.... I honestly thought with my 5th baby I'd be better at this. I'm just less stressed about my own inadequacies, but it hasn't made them better.

My next book adventure

I saw an interview of Clarence Thomas on 20/20 about his new book. I don't have any knowledge of him since the Anita Hill scandals. The interview was really impressive. THEN, I got my new issue of Imprimis (a free publication from Hillsdale College that I get TON out of reading - click on "free subscription" on the left side of the link) and it was another interview of him. I am going to HAVE to read this book!! I'm amazed how much the interviews and world view of this guy speaks to me. I would think that sitting here with a bunch of kids and homeschooling, that I would have so little in common with a black Supreme Court Justice. I'm really excited to get a hold of this book!

Jealousy & Thanksgiving & Prayer requests

Anne answered my tag about homeschool books here, and then she went and had her baby before me!! I'm jelous and thrilled for her all at the same time (especially as I'm in pain with this baby kicking the )*(*$ out of me since 3 this morning.

Congratulations, Anne!!!

I was due 3 days ago and no sign of baby, yet. All 6 of us had colds this weekend with a couple kids having it much worse than others. Friends brought in dinner (of which I was sooooo thankful - Thanks Kerri & Julie!) and I'm ...REALLY ready to have a baby (although anxious, too -- as I recall it sort of hurts). My midwife is fine with me waiting another week and a half or so until my body goes into labor --- which is just what I told her I want -- but do I really want to wait?? (picture of my midwife's waiting room last week with some of hers & some of mine all watching TV together first thing in the morning)

I just heard from another friend that her new baby had to be in ICU due to severe breathing problems after a C-section birth at 36 weeks and her new baby blew a hole in her lung from the effort of breathing. She's home now, but has to be on a monitor and has had a couple of episodes where her breathing is an issue. Her parents had to learn CPR before she could go home. Please keep baby Maria in your prayers.

A dear friend of Dd#1 was diagnosed with a recurrance of cancer. She's 12, was in remission from brain cancer 2 years ago & just underwent back surgery, but they couldn't remove all the tumor. She will undergo intensive chemo in the upcomming weeks as she heals from surgery. Please pray for Emilija and her family.

8th Grade Education

At http://www.truthorfiction.com/ they show this as "unproven". From the intimate knowledge of my grandfather, who got his highschool diploma in the 1930's and the knowlege that provided him, I don't doubt that this was an 8th grade graduation test. I also have a couple of 8th grade grammar textbooks from 1911 and am blown away by the information and analysis required by 8th graders then. I got it in an e-mail, but was so impressed by it, that I thought I post it here.


Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895? This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA . It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , KS , and reprinted by the Salina Journal. 8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS, 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of "lie", "play", and "run."
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6. What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 65 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1050 lbs. for tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $20 per meter?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus .
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States .
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas .
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour) (Do we even know what this is???)
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, and syllabication.
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, sub vocal, diphthong, cognate letters, and lingual.
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi-, dis-, mis-, pre-, semi-, post-, non-, inter-, mono-, and sup-.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane, vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco .
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of: Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying "he only had an 8th grade education" a whole new meaning, doesn't it? This also shows you how poor our education system has become... and, NO! I don't have the answers

Getting to know you

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? A drug addict adulterous mistress who had breast cancer and committed suicide in a movie my mom saw called "Valley of the Dolls." I've never had the desire to watch the show and isn't quite what I would choose for my children.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? yesterday. Pregnancy hormones are doing a number on my emotions this last month.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING yes - It's neater now than when I was in school. Since I starting homeschooling and knew I'd be an example to my children, I polished it up.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? ham (when it's with swiss & miracle whip)
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? I'm working on our 5th
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Yes, but not too good a friend. I don't think I'm as good a friend as my friends are to me.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM ALOT? honesty is more biting, so I don't feel a need for it.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS yes, with the exception of a finger tip that needed sewed on when I worked at Arby's (for a short time), I've never needed surgery.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I would be seriously tempted...but when I went white water rafting and ended up under the boat 2 times, I promised God that I wouldn't needlessly risk my life anymore.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? captain crunch
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No, but my shoes are rarely on.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I am, but only by the grace of God.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Atz Chocolate Chip Mint
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their overall appearance and how they carry themselves.
15. RED OR PINK? neither
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my mouth gets me in the most trouble.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? my Grandma Handlin
18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? none for either. I walk around the house in a big t-shirt when I'm pregnant. (Aren't you glad you don't live in my house and are subjected to such a sight?)
19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE shredded wheat cereal
20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the kids fighting, whistling, asking questions of each other, cabinets closing as the whistling one is emptying the dishwasher, the dogs nails clicking on the ceramic tile as she paces from kid to kid hoping to be fed (since they're in the kitchen)...the general clamour of our day
21. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? normally, I'd be a pale blue aqua, but I'm a little off right now, so I'm a seafoam green that's a little too bright - life is taking more effort and I'm forcing myself to exert the energy to keep up.
22. FAVORITE SMELLS? Brewing coffee, baking cookies, pumpkin spices, lemon-scented cleaner, a slight smell of bleach
23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my neighbor, Katie, who wanted to make sure I was doing OK
24. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Diane has one of the most ougoing fun personalities of anyone I know -- OF COURSE I like her!!
25. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? there's not a single one
26. HAIR COLOR? dark brown
27. EYE COLOR? dark brown
28. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? I have a hard enough time just keeping track of my glasses, let alone a tiny see-through disc. And I just can't bear the thought of sticking stuff in my eyes all the time...nope.
29. FAVORITE FOOD? the reality is NOTHING sounds good lately. I guess non-pregnant would be homemade german chocolate cake heated with Breyer's vanilla ice cream on the side.
30. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? definately happy endings, no contest
31. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The last memorable one was The Pursuit of Happyness
32. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? denim
33. SUMMER OR WINTER? I honestly like them both (and have things I don't like about each). 34. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs, but I'm not even too keen on those (I don't like being touched, much).
35. FAVORITE DESSERT? I already described one, so these are my runners-up ...

Mrs. Smith's Razzleberry pie (I love raspberries) heated with vanilla icecream
Pumpkin pie with whipped topping (I can only eat small amounts of this, but love it)
Brownie topped with vanilla icecream & a little fudge with a lot of toasted pecans

36. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? I'm finishing up a book about President Bush's first term in office and media bias against him and I'm about to start Helena by Evelyn Waugh for a book group I'm in.
WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? We don't have one. The kids lost it, so we're just scratching up the pull-out keyboard drawer of our desk.
37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? A Heroes episode I taped
38. FAVORITE SOUND? Silence -- ohhh yeah!! (and church bells - which signify quiet to come)
39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? neither -- I guess of old music I like Electric Light Orchestra and ... ummm... Steve Miller Band (don't let my kids listen to that music, though).
40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Scotland
41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I like to throw parties...I don't know that it's a talent, though.
42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? in town

I've been tagged

By Amy to list 7 random things about myself (I'd better double check my punctuation*/:)'% before Amy reads this.

1. When I was in 5th grade I let the boys in school talk me into breathing in and out really fast and one of them grabbed me from behind and squeezed my stomach and made me pass out. We got in so much trouble with the nuns that even though I though it was really cool, I never tried it again.
2. I don't like pink or clothes with bows on it -- even on my babies.
3. I'm like Jesus, I've never broken a bone.
4. I was quiet and almost shy as a kid (isn't that ironic!) (or is ironic)! Punctuation around parenthesis always confuses me.
5. I've always been proud of my freckles (my dad told me they were cute when I was little).
6. I don't have any stretch marks on my stomach (I even amazed my midwife with this one) -- do you think I'm jinxing myself by saying that before the pregnancy is over?
7. I met Jesus (as my best friend) in the 4th grade during Confession through the leading of an old priest. I'm so thankful for that priest who took me on his lap while I was crying during confession and led me to Christ!

Homeschooling In the News

This piece in the Washington Times about the Supreme Court saying that homeschooling is a viable educational option is gratifying.

Especially after Amy's disturbing find about eroding parental rights.

Thomas Edison

This family took a field trip and discovered quite a bit of information!! I do have to wonder how much of what they were told is arbitrary truth - sometimes one version of an event can be different from another -- and both are right.

I found it fascinating!

Quick Book Meme

This is SERIOUSLY quick! From Cay Gibson, author of Catholic Mosaics.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open it to page 161.
3. Find the fifth full sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around looking for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.

Here's mine (I didn't cheat. This book was the first book at my side):

The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia

When all the steam has evaporated the salt from the solution remains in the base
of the flask that contained the solution.

Well, THAT was seriously BORING! Now, I'll cheat. This book was on my nightstand.
Back to Virtue, by Peter Kreeft

God, too, hungers and thirsts.

That was good enough to expound upon...

What about God? Does he hunger? Yes and no. God has no needs
and therefore no need-loves. The reason is not that God lacks love, but
that God is love. Water can't get wet because it is
wet. God can't "fall" in love because he is love. This love
is agape, gift-love, love based on excess, not defect. God is
like an overflowing fountain, not like a receiving bucket. But this
fountain is not less dynamic, demanding, active and alarming than our most
passionate need-loves. The Hound of Heaven hunts for us more assiduously
than a starving dog hungs for a steak.

God too hungers and thirsts. He told us so, from the
Cross. It was not vinegar he thirsted for, but for people to enter his
Kingdom. Lovers thirst for other selves, not to consume but to give
themselves to.

WOW!!