One of the Reasons I Love Boulder

We live close to Boulder, CO. Not in it (too expensive). But it is one of the most beautiful cities in Colorado I've ever been. Cale works in Boulder and so we go there frequently. I am always awed by God's beauty there.

These are all pictures of a walk to the park. Seriously, just walking to the park with the cousins in late April and this is what it looks like. And I was not even trying to take pictures, I was mostly gabbin with my sister and mom and taking care of Carson.

Cousins along Boulder Creek

The snake my sister ran screaming from. Guess she doesn't care for Garter Snakes. 

I thought he was quite active for a warm Spring day.

Evan taking pictures of some Spring foliage. 

This Spring foliage to be exact. Pretty!

I love all of the magnificent, towering Cottonwoods in this photo. They are such grand trees.

So nice to see green and purple in the Spring. 

If you want to see some more of beautiful Boulder, click here. This is a post where I was actually trying to take photos. And you can really see what I'm talking about by way of God's beauty there.

Posts In My Bookmarks

As I'm browsing the web I often run across a post I like and then bookmark to read at a later time when I can actually give it some thought. Here are a few.



This post from the Gospel Coalition was just amazing! I read it multiple times to really grasp it all. And maybe because I was interrupted a few times. =)

What to Preach To Yourself Everyday
I used to think that growing as a Christian meant I had to somehow go out and obtain the qualities and attitudes I was lacking. To really mature, I needed to find a way to get more joy, more patience, more faithfulness, and so on.

~~~~~~~

This is just ack, yuck, ugh and also quite interesting. I mean one of those things that you know you'd totally be fascinated with while at the same time being grossed out. There's a cool picture too.

Thousands of Giant Snails Causing Problems For Florida Homeowners
South Florida residents are being warned to be on the lookout for one of the world's most destructive invasive species: the giant African land snail, which can grow as big as a rat.

~~~~~~~

This post from Our Journey Westward was simple, to the point and read my mind. Yes, we have Homeschooling Imperfection at our house and I chose to see Abundant Life!

Imperfect Homeschooling
Focusing on all the imperfection seems to come naturally, doesn’t it?  Why do we beat ourselves up so often over our failures?

~~~~~~~

The Dutchy of Burgundy Carrots made me laugh out loud and say so true.

Stress and Motherhood
But, I definitely believe I am less stressed than mothers with three, or two, or maybe even one child. There are so many things that just don't matter once you realize you don't have time or energy for them any more.

~~~~~~~

Kathleen Nelson used to keep a blog. I just ran across it a few months ago. So even though the last time she posted was January of this year, I have lots to read! Here is one of the many good ones.

Loving Your Difficult Child
After thinking through this, I've wondered if a lot of kids get labeled "difficult" in their parent's heart because that kid was far more work than they ever imagined, or were prepared to bring to the relationship to help their kid with their struggles.

April Learnin

We just plugged right along in April. It was a good feeling! We also started some fun Journey Through the Letters with Charlotte Mae. 


History/Geography

Carson loves the globe!

Battle of Lexington and Concord
- Light and Glory For Children, chapter 12
- Paul Revere's Ride Illustrated by Ted Rand
- Let It Begin Here by Dennis Brindell Fradin
- Sam the Minuteman by Benchley (Caleb read to me)
Watched Liberty Kids: Shot Heard Round the World and
Ethan Allen and Green Mountain Men
- Trouble At Otter Creek by Wilma Hays


3 Rs

Learning about Quadrilaterals 

Copywork (sort of forgot about this for a week, then had a duh moment and got back on track.)

- Selections from Genesis and Proverbs
- Whole Duty of Children by Robert Louis Stevenson
English For the Thoughtful Child 
All About Reading
Right Start Math 
Logic/Critical Thinking Workbooks (Caleb's request, he loves these!)
Caroline finished All About Reading Pre Reading!


Read Alouds
- Blue Fairy Book (multiple fairy tales)
- Aesop Fables (multiple fables. Caroline LOVES these!)
- Philippians
This went fast, too fast I felt. But I read Philippians myself 5 times, very slowly. It was WONDERFUL! I do love that encouraging book. The kids just kept asking to read about Jesus. =)
- Matthew Chapters 1- 7
It is taking longer to read through Matthew for wonderful reasons. First of all we have had some very deep discussions about genealogy, sex, marriage, why bad things happen since God is powerful and could stop them... Not to mention explaining each part of the Sermon on the Mount. 

So we've been going slowly. I have been humbled by my children's faith. I have been reminded of the plank in my eye. I have repented for not asking and seeking the way I should be. I have been awed by Cale and his leadership of our family and the wisdom he has because of his time in the Word and prayer. I have been so thankful to God for giving me the right words to answer my children's questions. And I have also been excited to see my kids growing in their faith and a have felt a bit weepy that they are growing up. 


Songs (these went with our Bible readings)
- Matthew's Begats (from Andrew Peterson)
- New Testament Books of the Bible Song 


Hymns
- When We All Get To Heaven

Reviewed
- I let the kids pick which hymns they wanted to review. So it changed each time depending on which kiddo was picking. Charlotte always picked, Are You Washed In the Blood, though.


Caleb Read

- Sam the Minute Man by Benchley (over and over and over again)
- Genesis chapters 4 - 11 (he reads on his own and then narrates to me)
- Marshmallow by Clare Newbarry (this one had some rich vocabulary that Caleb had to spend time figuring out)
- One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies
- Many many picture books to siblings
- Stories from All About Reading Level 2 (these are too easy for him, but I like doing them because they build his confidence)
- Christopher Columbus by Stephen Krensky
- Probably more, I can't really keep track.

Poetry
April was Poetry Month

- A Selection of Poems from, Children's Treasury of Best Loved Verse 

Tartary, The Lullaby, Pittypat and Tippytoe, The Elf and the Dormouse and many more...


Nature Study
Golden Ponds: Early Spring Nature Walk and then the snow came and came and came

Games
- Connect Four (Caroline wins this all the time.)
- Go Fish (a math version for math facts)
- Memory (a math version that helps with math facts)
- Battleship (Caleb's favorite)
- Scrabble Jr (more for Caroline, too easy for Caleb)
- Memory and Go Fish (teaching Charlotte Mae, she gets Go Fish, struggles with Memory)


Thoughts
I have missed literature read alouds. We have been doing Aesop and Fairy Tales and LOTS of history. I've been reading Beatrix Potter to the girls and some Five In A Row titles (Angus Lost being a fav). But I have missed reading a really good fiction book. We just started a biography on Corrie ten Boom,  but I think I'll be choosing a fiction book next. Mama needs a good made up, fun story!

Still have not gotten the plan ahead thing tackled. But I did do better with the having supplies gathered. It made a big difference. 

We will keep up a good pace through May, because in June we will be taking some time off for VBS and a family vacation. So I will have a May Learnin' post, but June will be more of a Hodgepodge.

Mothering In Christ

Today I Am Feeling:
- Tired
- Weak
- Unmotivated
- Lazy
- Selfish
- Like I Can't Do It (it being anything, unless it's sleep, I could do that)
- Broken
- Sinful

But I have to get out of this bed and be a mama. There are four beautiful little people, four eternal souls, counting on me today.

Today I am choosing to mother in Christ. I am trying to push through my feelings and push into the realms of my faith. (this is one of the many truths that hit my heart from the Inspire Conference.) 

I am not broken in Christ, I am redeemed! I am not tired in Christ, He gives me rest! I am not weak in Christ, He is my strength! I am not a sinner in Christ, He has washed away my sins! 

I Am Asking God Today For:
- Motivation
- Kind Words
- Patience
- Strength
- Wisdom
- To love my children more than myself
- A Servant's Heart 
AND
- Forgiveness for Wanting to do Anything Less. 

1 John 5:15 And if we know that He hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him. 

Today I am choosing (through prayer and God's grace) to mother in Christ. To push through my feelings and push into the realms of my faith.

Roman 2:4 (MSG) God is kind, but He is not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into radical life change. 

Kathleen shared this translation of Roman 2:4. The MSG is not a translation I normally use. But this verse speaks loudly to me in the MSG. And if God wants to speak loudly to me in this way, well I'm going to listen!

Letter B

This letter went very differently than letter A did. First off, we had more participation from the older sibs. So a bit more distraction and a lot more suggestions. I have decided that I need to get the olders doing chores or independent work during our journey through the letters time. We have plenty of other times through out the day where we do things together. But I would like this time to be special one on one time with Charlotte and a time that she can explore her own ideas without her older siblings showing her how to do it. We also had some discipline issues that we had to stop to correct. But overall Charlotte still highly enjoyed her "activities" as she is now calling them. And that is what I am striving for at her age. Learning is fun!

~Wednesday~

Alphabet Chart and Singing the ABC's

This ABC poster is from All About Reading

Charlotte came up with the idea to use her magnifying glass to look at each letter. She would look at the letter and then say it's sound. Great idea, Charlotte Mae!

Baby and the Letter B

Baby is Charlotte's lovie. Baby is very real to Charlotte and goes with her everywhere. 

Baby packed a backpack filled with B things to help teach Charlotte what sound the letter B makes.

Bottle, Brush, Blanket, Bible, Binki, Bib, Bear

Capital and Lower Case Clothespin Clip

Once again I hole punched these instead. This time Charlotte used blue triangle Learning Links to match up the Capital and Lowercase letters.

Caleb helped and she did it a few more times on her own. She also traced the Capital B and said it's sound. (Her idea, not mine! Yay!)

3 Part Ball Puzzle

I laid out the 1,2,3 Cards and then talked Charlotte through the puzzle. Basically something like this, "I would sure love to play ball. But the ball doesn't have any air in it. Can you help me blow up the beach ball, Charlotte?" Charlotte immediately picked up the empty ball picture and I told her it went first. Together we placed it on number 1. After that she picked up the picture of the ball with a little bit of air and kept making blowing sounds. 

I asked her where that picture should go. She placed it on number 2 (I was sort of surprised she got it. We've never done what comes next puzzles before.) Then I asked where was the picture of the ball all blown up. She picked it up, still making blowing sounds, and put it on number 3. We did this puzzle again, with less talk on my end the second time through.

And she's done!

Hands On Alphabet

Bears, Banana, Bb Magnets, Two Part Puzzle, Beach Ball, Bird Stickers, B Stickers, Battle of Jericho Book

The first things she was interested in were the bears, which she named Mama and Carson Bear. Charlotte had so much fun with this that I put the rest of the hands on alphabet aside for the next day.

She wanted the mama bear to hold the B magnets and then they drove on the blue tray to Chick Fil A and got a banana to eat. On the way there they buckled and unbuckled many times. Isn't it funny how everyday little things are fun for children to pretend play.

~Thursday~

B Stickers and Beach Ball (Charlotte wanted to put the bird stickers from her Hands On ABC basket on as well, which we did!) 

She traced stickers and said B's sound. Then she took my finger and helped me trace the B and say it's sound. =)

Here she is singing, "The B say "b" like in The Letter Factory.

Do a Dot B

Battle of Jericho

We read Jericho from her story Bible and our Sing a Story Battle of Jericho book.  Then we sang, Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.

Next we built Jericho with blocks.

Here you can see the Cannanities, or bad guys, as Charlotte calls them. She kept telling them to get out of the Israelites home. 

Then we marched around, blew horns and the walls came tumbling down.

The Israelites going into Jericho. Charlotte picked out the insects for the Cannanities and some Little People and Calico Critters Rabbit Family for the Israelites. 

ABC Find It: B and Blue Pom Pom Magnets

She squealed, "It sticks. They stick together."

Sensory Bin 

Rice, Toothbrush Holder, Medicine Cups, Plastic Spoons, Small Containers w/Lids, Measuring Cups

~Friday~

I had planned on finishing up with the Bb Magnets and 2 Part Puzzle from her Hands On ABC basket. I also had a Bb Playdough Mat for her to use. But it was Friday, so we just played with the Beach Ball from the Hands On ABC Basket and watched the Letter Factory.

Caroline, Caleb and Charlotte Mae in their pjs. Sometimes Fridays are like that.

Carson James: First Solids

I remember it being a huge deal to start Caleb on solids*. He was our first and the excitement was high! Caroline was next, we tried solids, she wasn't ready. So we waited and then tried later. Third time around was Charlotte Mae. I gotta say, I can't even remember when or how it went. Not because she's not important. But it was not the ultimate high it used to be. It was normal and there were other more important things to do. Like hug and snuggle her and take pictures of all her cute faces. Now it's Carson's turn. Daddy grabbed his phone sometime during it all. So here are the pics, such as they are. This way Carson cannot say, "you took so many pictures of Caleb. What about me?" No worries my boyo. It just turns out that holding you and talking to you and telling everyone about how special you are are mama's greatest excitement. Those peas** just turn into poo. =)

*There are no links for Caleb's first solids because that was pre blog. But no worries son, if you want to see them, we have about 50 different ones in hard copy. I know, mom was a bit obsessed. You'll understand when you have your first baby.

**Yes, we gave Carson peas first. Not rice cereal. Turns out it does not matter what order you start solids in. Just that you start with a low allergy food and nothing mixed together. He now eats peas, avocado, squash, oatmeal and brown rice cereal no problemo. Not a big fan of pears or peaches though.

A Lullaby (also known as: a peek into my nights)

A Lullaby

One of Carson's night time feedings.
Daddy took this sweet picture.

Baby, baby hush a bye,

Must you be awake now?

Sweet my lamb, come, close your eye,

Sleep for mother's sake now.

Baby mice are safe from harm

In their downy holes now:

Baby squirrels lie all warm

In the hollow boles now.

Baby buds are fast asleep

Rocking on the trees now:

Baby fishes, far and deep,

Slumber in the seas now.

All the baby stars above

Dream in cloudy bed now:

Mother Moon, for all her love,

Sleeping hides her head now.

Baby, baby hush a bye,

Cradled on my breast now,

Sweet my lamb, come close your eye,

Let your mother rest now.

Laurence Alma- Tadema    

Charlotte Mae and the Letter A

Just for fun we are starting a journey through the alphabet with Charlotte Mae. We will go through as many letters as she likes. I asked her what letter she wanted to start with and she said, "A." Makes since my girl, makes perfect sense.

~Tuesday~

Stampin A's

Do a Dot Pages

Charlotte was pretty excited to find that when you mixed yellow and blue you got green!

Hands On Alphabet

Adam and Eve book, Apple, Alligator, Letter Factory book,  Aa Stickers, Leap Frog Letter Factory Phonics,  Aa Magnets, Two Part Puzzle, Clothespin ABC

She really enjoyed the items in the basket. She put the stickers on the index card and then I helped her trace the letter A as we said it's sound. The stickers were foam, so good for kinesthetic purposes. 

We also put together the two part apple puzzle and then Charlotte matched the capital and lower case magnets to it.

And of course the alligator ate the apple, fun!

Reading The Letter Factory (out of print) and The Story of Adam and Eve Books

Adam and Eve Coloring Pages

Caleb and Caroline wanted in on the fun too!

I read Genesis chapters 2 and 3 from Charlotte's story Bible while they colored. Charlotte LOVED her new My First Markers.

We also listened to Adam and Eve by the Baker Family.

God made Adam of the dust and breathed into him life.

God made Eve from Adam's rib to be his loving wife.

They lived in a garden home and Eden was it's name.

God said do not touch this tree and then the serpent came.

He told Eve to eat the fruit, God would not let her die.

Eve ate and then gave Adam some, she believed Satan's lie.

Then God said, what have you done... (and it goes on from there)

When I read aloud to Caleb he narrates to me after the reading. Charlotte wanted to "nerrert" too. This is her very first narration. Not bad for 2 1/2.

"They eated the fruit. They disobeyed. They had to leave the garden. God drove them out of the garden. He said, no be in the garden. God was sad they sinned. God drove them out."

~Wednesday~

I had planned to do some activities with Charlotte on Wednesday, but then we got to have an unexpected playdate! So we took the day off from school all around and played and visited and had a blast. It's good to have friends who are willing to talk and eat pbj at last minutes notice.

~Thursday~

ABC Find It Sensory Bin 

Rice, Pom Pom Magnets, ABC Find It Cards

Charlotte would pull out a card, we would say the name of the picture and emphasize the "a" sound. Then she would find the picture on the mat and put the pom pom magnet on it to hold it in place. 

Any learning opportunity put in a sensory bin is a favorite of Charlotte Mae.

Build the Letter A (alphabet builders)

I had Charlotte put together the Two Part Puzzle again so that we could see what the capital and lower case letter A looked like. Then my plan was that we would build the A and a. 

As you can see, my plan and Charlotte's plan were not the same. Someone (and I mean someone other than mama) got a major case of the sillies. 

When I asked Charlotte if she was not interested in this activity, she just said, "I know how to do this mama. I do it by myself" Which would have been great, but the sillies were just uncontrollable. 

Here you can see Charlotte making the pieces dance and then smashing them into the tray. When I asked her to please be gentle she screeched, "don't touch this mama!" That was when I decided we were moving on before someone (and I mean someone other than mama) got into trouble.

 Upper and Lowercase Clothespin Clip

Instead of using clothespins, Charlotte's pincer grasp is not that great, I hole punched under the capital and lowercase A. She then used Link n Learn links to mark the capital and lowercase matches. I figure once she gets the concept down I will hole punch under all of the letters to make it more challenging. 

All done!

Letter A Playdough Mat

I rolled the snakes. Charlotte built the Aa.

Charlotte loves Playdough. She was more interested in telling me a story about her little ball of Playdough. It was a mouse that she was going to give Carson and then he would squeal. =)

"Which hand is it in Mama?" We played this game lots and lots and lots.

Mama's not too good at it. 

Then Charlotte asked for a plastic knife and that was my hint that "school" was over. 

I had a couple other things planned, but I think since Friday is coming we will read and maybe get a nature walk in. Oh, and I do have a big boyo who has school to do. He doesn't often get an attack of the sillies anymore. Just sometimes. =)

Inspired By:

Delightful Learning

1+1+1=1

And Charlotte Mae asking to "do school too"