I am pleased to report that the FringeFamily has survived two days of school without incident. We even managed to have some fun!
If the next 178 days go as smoothly, I’ll have nothing to write about.
Does anyone have this game? I recently found it at Barnes and Noble and I absolutely love it. It’s creativity packed in a little box for $7.95 plus tax.
Each little cube is clad with a picture. When rolled, combinations of pictures spark your imagination resulting in stories that will make you laugh, cry, or scratch your head in wonder. Unless your children are full of bologna like mine, expect their first few stories to be short and sweet; however, after a few rolls their little minds will conjure up tales tall enough to reach the heavens.
As your children play, they explore the depths of their imaginations while building thinking, listening, and writing skills. Remember, before your child can write creatively, he must think imaginatively.
No, I am not being paid for this plug. I just think this game is worth sharing. Go have fun with your kids! They won’t even realize they are learning.
Eventually everything old and worn out ends up at the dump. I just hope my children don’t adopt the dump-the-grump philosophy when I get old, because I would hate for my last meal to be a half-rotted banana eaten in the back of a mostly rotted Chevy.
That would be sad.
Unfortunately summer birthed the death of my son’s bicycle. The cost of repair outweighed the cost of a new bike, and his once treasured mode of transportation was reduced to scrap metal. For a time he traversed the neighborhood on foot; however, his lust for wheels was intense, reducing him to borrowing his sister’s rarely available, pink bicycle. Soon he discovered a young neighborhood boy trashing his own vintage (I use the word vintage to give this hunk of rust worth.) bike, and embarked on the long and arduous task of restoration. I am certain this bike will be restored in less time than it took Noah to build the ark, but maybe only by hours.
When my daughter’s bike was stolen, the loss affected the entire family. My daughter’s right to private property had been violated, and my son’s back-up wheels vanished. If you are a parent, you will understand that their whining and fussing immobility nearly made FringeMan and I lobby Congress for tougher bike theft laws.
First offense – Loss of appendages (ALL fingers)
Second offense – Loss of legs
Third offense – Death
I kid.
Maybe.
Before I could chop any fingers, bikes began rolling in two-by-two. I repented of my heartless and unusually cruel thoughts of punishment, then pardoned our bike thief. How could I be angry when so many were being so kind?
First I received an email from Debra at Loyalist Cottage. Her generosity and goodness towards my daughter and family touched me in a special way. She told me she was sending money to buy FringeKid a new bike. I meant every word of yesterday’s post. Sometimes it’s hard to receive a gift like that, even for your child. Immediately I thought of a hundred reasons why she shouldn’t send me the money.
Number One Reason: The bike was a piece of $15 junk.
She told me to go buy the entire family $15 bikes if I wanted, but she was sending the money. There are many kind and wonderful people in blogland, but Debra is extra-special. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her a little through emails and being introduced to her daughter over at Broken Poet. I cannot thank her enough for giving of herself to bless my daughter in a very special way.
Right after the email of blessing, my husband got a phone call from some friends asking us to stop by their house. They gave us an extra microwave (see yesterday’s post for microwave story), and their young teenage son gifted my daughter his old bike. This young man’s tender heart blessed us so much more than words can express. FringeKid was elated to have immediate wheels, but couldn’t quite coordinate the workings of hand brakes. FringeBoy knows how to ride and more importantly, stop with hand brakes.
Sadness became joy; theft became blessing. Both kids got a new bike. Thieves everywhere will be spared cruel and unusual punishment.
Recently somebody asked if we, my family, were living under a curse. I understood exactly what she meant and it cracked it me up, because in the span of about two weeks (more like 10 days), it appeared as if our little world were crumbling from the inside out.
My daughter’s bike was stolen. We had to replace the hot water heater. The microwave exploded in eerie bright red lights and pops. The dog ran away, and the room off my kitchen (my future dining room) flooded. Oh, and the car died.
Don’t we all have weeks like this?
I know we do. After a while, you find yourself kinda holding your breath waiting for ‘the next disaster’ to strike. Sometimes I wonder why God allows bad things to happen to good people.
Don’t you wonder why? Sometimes??
Matthew 5:45 “…for he [God] maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
It’s just life. There will be days of sunshine and days when it rains so hard that your house becomes a mudroom. Literally! Often it is in the rainy times when the light of the Lord shines the brightest. God is good, no matter the circumstances.
For whatever reason, He often chooses His creation to be vessels of His goodness; however, sometimes it’s hard to swallow our pride and accept gifts from others, even good gifts. I know it is better to give than it is to receive, but it is also easier.
I have learned that although God could rain microwaves down from heaven, He will often just nudge a friend or neighbor to go grab their extra one from the attic. I believe He works through His creation for two reasons. First, it is a blessing to be a blessing. We feel good when we are able to help someone else. Second, it humbles us. It is one thing to take a gift straight from the hand of God, but it is altogether different when a friend or acquaintance lends us a hand. It reminds us that we need each other. God never intended for us to ‘do life’ on our own. Just as Adam needed a “help meet” in the garden (Genesis 2:20), we also need help in this adventure we call life.
In my relatively short life, all twenty-nine years of it (*cough, cough*), I have been blessed beyond measure. God has been good to me. So have my friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, and sometimes strangers. Their acts of goodness have made me want to be good to others also – to pass along the blessing.
Always be quick to give kindness, you may never know how it transforms someone’s day, maybe even their life.
Come back tomorrow (probably Sunday or Monday :-0), and find out how my family was blessed by….
The rhythm of the weekend, with its birth, its planned gaieties, and its announced end, followed the rhythm of life and was a substitute for it. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald
Mommy & Me
I was going to wish you all a happy weekend, but that seemed ordinary. Instead, I am wishing you a Whimsical Weekend.
We do not come from a family of cattle ranchers. We are not farmers; however, on Saturday, you would have thought FringeKid was plucked right off a cattle ranch in Wyoming.
Does Wyoming have cattle ranches?
FringeKid didn’t win first place in the roping contest, but she did win a very large photo of herself plastered across the front page of our local paper.
My mom cannot understand how our family makes it into the newspapers so often.
NOT the police blotter!
Just wanted to clarify.
You see, we’ve never done anything truly extraordinary.
Not a one of us.
We simply engage in life.
So here’s my deep philosophical question:
Are you engaged in life, or are you always sitting on the sidelines watching the fun happen without you?
The Pioneer Woman has been hosting a photo contest this week with LOVE as the theme. I am in a quandary. What’s a woman with love and no photography skills to do?
Host Love on the Fringe Friday. That’s what!
Feel free to play along. My photos will be up until Monday night. If you’re inclined to spread some love, post your own photos on your blog. Then, come back and leave a link in the comments. I’ll be sure to visit and feel the love.
You be sure to come back and check out the other links.
Last week Snakelover asked me if I am using a curriculum for homeschooling. The answer is a resounding YES. I realize some people can successfully un-school (?) their children, but when the FringeFamily is left to their own imaginations, life gets pretty shallow.
I fear we would sit around all day watching stupid YouTube videos like this (FringeBoy loves this video and now the song is stuck in my head…help!).
So instead, we will diligently follow a lesson plan that includes all the essentials – Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic. Maybe we’ll throw in a little YouTube for good measure. Better yet, maybe we’ll make our own silly video!
In honor of my picture loving daughter, I’ll show you as I tell you what books we are using.
In short, I am using The Story of the World as a launching pad. This year we will be studying Ancient History and progress through time over a four-year period. Instead of using one ginormously boring textbook, we will use a variety of whole books and unit studies on the people, places, cultures, and religions from ancient times. I have a list of library books a mile long. In order to add variety, I also purchased four videos from the Drive Thru History series. They all correspond to countries and time periods we will be studying.
In addition our literature and art will coincide with our history program. For instance, when studying Ancient Egypt, we will create our own hieroglyphics or make a paper mache mummy. The library has fabulous art books based on ancient cultures. All subjects will tie into history, creating a cohesive and repetitive learning experience.
That’s the plan anyway.
ENGLISH: (Sorry about the weird picture layout. I can’t seem to fix it.)
We will be using Writing and Grammar books from the author and publishers of The Well Trained Mind. I like this program for many reasons. It introduces children to great works of literature, includes memorization of poetry, and focuses on giving kids the technical foundation they need in order to become good writers and analytical readers. They learn to recognize parts of speech and diagram. They gain listening and thinking skills through dictation, narration, and copywork. Most of all, I appreciate the strong foundation this program offers. Without a good foundation, life ends up in a heap of rubble.
SCIENCE:
Apologia will be our base program. We will use the library for additional resources. FringeKid’s lessons focus on Land Animals. FringeBoy’s lessons will focus on Anatomy and Physiology. Both children will be journaling and doing hands-on experiments. This curriculum offers a variety of additional projects for each lesson. Online ‘extras’ are a bonus. The program encourages children to dig deeper after the lessons are technically over.
EXTRAS:
- Phonics for FringeKid
- Handwriting for both kids
- English from The Roots Up (a program that teaches the Latin and Greek roots of our language)
- Bible from Memoria Press
FOR ME:
- The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer
- The Well Planned Day (a lesson plan calendar created specifically for homeschoolers) If you homeschool and need a good calendar for your lesson plans, I highly recommend getting this. I think it was around $20, but worth every single penny.
The other night FringeMan commented that he’s never seen me so on top of my game. Since he lived through me in graduate school, I’ll take that as a compliment. A large part of me still thinks I’m slightly crazy for homeschooling, but I think a little crazy is ok.
Sometimes.
There’s so much great curriculum out there, it’s hard to make the final decisions about what books to use. Since every child is different and the homeschooling parent has the ability to tailor a program to fit the child, I am certain every family uses different curriculums. I am in no way saying my choices are best for any other kids. They are simply my choices.
I also joined two homeschool groups. Every Wednesday morning we will spend time with other homeschool families in our area. The kids will do a variety of activities together, including art, music, free play, swimming, games, etc.
If you are homeschooling or have homeschooled, do you have any favorites?
If you are a teacher, what’s your favorite book or teaching aide?
If you have any other questions on my book choices, leave a comment or send me an email.
I think only a few of you noticed the little me in the mirror of the truck yesterday. I understand, it was a lame attempt at cool photography, but I thought it would be like a Where’s Waldo game or something. More like, ‘or something’.
So, this was a big weekend for us. My town rolled out the red carpet, put on a grand show, and hosted the world. Not really, but it was quite the party for small New York town. For my kids, the highlight was riding those swings that fly you through the air until you want to lose your breakfast, lunch, and dinner from the past week and a half. I am convinced the only reason FringeKid likes this ride is because she enjoys watching her flip-flops fly through air as they ‘accidentally’ fall from the vice-grip of her toes. Not a good moment for the guy in charge of the ride, because it’s contagious. Suddenly flip-flops begin slipping from the air in all directions. It could be worse. It could have been birds dropping their stuff. He didn’t see it that way.
The thing I appreciate about this military Hummer is the seats. Every family vehicle should come with seats encased in the most durable plastic known to man. I mean what mother would not love to just hose out her car once a week. No more sitting in melted crayons or once-sucked Cheerios. No milky sippy-cup smells or juice-box stickiness. Military issued Hummers should replace the Mini-Van as the next family vehicle. Forget the commercials you see on TV.
My favorite part of the weekend was Saturday morning when The Chicks Along Canal set up their displays. It was a hormonal upheaval of female proportions. The kind of show men endure for the love of God and their wives. FringeBoy went and sat in the car after 2.8 minutes. He found a Lego to play with or a book to read or something. Me, I enjoyed the sights and sounds. Browsed through vintage linens, old junk, and handmade goods till my heart’s content. FringeMan found a coffee, and FringeKid shopped. After all, she’s female.
They had live music playing, but truthfully it just became background noise for me. I was listening to FringeKid chatter in my ear the entire time about a cute chair our artist friend would like (go visit her website HERE), or a sign I must see, or an old dress that looked like it came from TV….blah, blah, excited blah!
She’s destined to be a junker. I don’t think there’s any way around it.
One of my favorite spots was this Chick’s. She has the most delightful signs and other assorted painted wood furniture, frames, mirrors, and even that ginormous green house/bird house thingy with the chandelier inside. If it didn’t mean kicking out a family member to gain space, I would put that item in my house.
You can visit Christina HERE @ Signs of Obsession. I noticed we have some blogs in common, but we hadn’t crossed paths until this past weekend. It was my pleasure. She’s super sweet and so is her cupcake sign. I bought it by the way. It was my splurge of the summer. If you visit Christina, be sure to tell her I sent you.
The sign is only temporarily up there. If you notice the ceiling just got cut and patched. It needs to be sanded and painted. Then I will hang the cupcake sign permanently.
I think that’s all for today. I just noticed how many words I used. Believe it or not, I don’t like to overwhelm you. I know, you don’t believe it.
John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
I am pleased to report that the FringeFamily has survived two days of school without incident. We even managed to have some fun!
If the next 178 days go as smoothly, I’ll have nothing to write about.
Does anyone have this game? I recently found it at Barnes and Noble and I absolutely love it. It’s creativity packed in a little box for $7.95 plus tax.
Each little cube is clad with a picture. When rolled, combinations of pictures spark your imagination resulting in stories that will make you laugh, cry, or scratch your head in wonder. Unless your children are full of bologna like mine, expect their first few stories to be short and sweet; however, after a few rolls their little minds will conjure up tales tall enough to reach the heavens.
As your children play, they explore the depths of their imaginations while building thinking, listening, and writing skills. Remember, before your child can write creatively, he must think imaginatively.
