'Tis Which Season?!

I haven't seen Kaith much today. I've seen a knight, Darth Vader (tragically unable to find his mysterious black gloves) and Buzz Lightyear . . . all before lunch! It's Halloween every day for this child. So, what did he want for Christmas? The costume of the Evil Emperor Zurg, sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance. That was his only Christmas wish for a month. Since that costume is no longer being produced, it is only available through resale. $60 on e-bay? I don't think so. We had a little talk about availability and Daddy Santa's budget. With a little prompting, he came up with a new wish for Christmas: a Storm Trooper costume (like what cousin Gavin looked so snazzy in on Halloween). I had tried to redirect him to a good guy, like C-3PO (Cory quickly exclaimed, "C-3POs a wimp!" in Kaith's hearing). Kaith said, no, he would rather be a Storm Trooper, because they're more evil.
I worry about that child.
Anyway, as he parades through the house in power black, a nice new storm trooper costume is hidden in Mom and Dad's bedroom--along with a child-sized light saber, purple, like Mace What's-his-name, and two Star Wars early readers, level one (yes, my idea).

Christmas Eve Snow

Trevor woke up one morning to see snow covering the ground. "It's Christmas! It's Christmas!" he informed us. We told him it was not. "It's Christmas Eve! It's Christmas Eve!" he modified. "Call Grandma. We can go over to her house and open presents!" It has been Christmas Eve in our home for a week.

Big 3 Bailout?

It was a great comfort, when we were dating, to discover Cory and I shared similar patriotism and political views. Although I tend to avoid listening to talk radio (I despise arguing), we do have stimulating discussions about current events and American ideals. Late last night and not-so-early this morning we were having another series, mostly prompted by Prop. 8 whiplash (my art school is based in San Francisco. I have to take some shrapnel when I stand up for family values). After a while we fell to the current event of the Senate considering to give the failing Big Three billions of dollars to "rescue" them.
My thought: In facing a potential bankruptcy for the all-American Detroit carmakers, it is easy to become sentimental. After all, aren't these the cars that were driving down the all-American Route 66 in its days of glory? Why would such a national legacy be on the verge of catastrophe?

It appears that Americans simply didn't want to buy the cars the companies were making in the first place. If the Senate did throw them the billions of dollars in question, it would be forcing American taxpayers to pay for the very cars that they had chosen not to buy.

Perhaps, if the manufacturers are willing to start over again, they can begin by finding out what it is their modern American customers want in a car.

Proposition 8

Even after the votes have been counted, the heat is still on about California's Proposition 8. I have a lot of thoughts on the issue. I only put a few in a letter I sent to an editor. In case the letter doesn't get published, or those interested don't get that newspaper, I'll publish it here as well.

What Rights Do Gays Have?

I noticed that Molly Metz said California’s Proposition 8 "gives the entire country the right to call us second class citizens," and I wondered, had her voting rights been removed? Was her social security reduced? Was her right to bear arms removed? Was she imprisoned? Our nation has a long, proud history of granting people the right to believe what they will believe.

Often gay rights are called a civil right, and compared to the wonderful revolution that ended limiting citizen’s rights based on their genetic history or national origin. Some psychologists suggest that there may be a gene that dictates homosexual inclinations. If this Proposition 8 called for brain scans that would determine which parts of society would have their rights stripped, it would have been a civil rights issue.

Our founding fathers fled from the social trends of Europe to found a country of religious freedom. When a few of these religions supported values traditional to America, and rejected following a modern European and media trend, the majority of the citizens voted to support them. Should gay rights supercede religious freedom or voters’ choices?

Do I hate gays? No. I love the people. I just don’t sanction their actions.

Spotlight on Kaith

Someone caught Cory after Church today to rave about how bright Kaith is. It seems that in Primary they were appreciating people all over the world, and there were guests invited who could speak different languages. Brother K. said "Je suis enfant de Dieu," then asked the junior primary if anyone knew what that meant. Kaith raised his hand (that's the only part of this that surprises me) and said, "I am a child of God."
Last Sunday was the annual Sacrament Meeting program done by the children. Only five of the about fifty children had an individual speaking part at the microphone. Kaith (age 5) was the only one under the age of eight. Since he can barely read, he had to memorize his talk, which we had gone over dozens of times in the prior few weeks. My favorite was when we took turns in the backyard standing on the play tower and reciting it. Even two-year old Miriam took a turn and was able to say part of it.
On the actual day, Kaith was so burned out from memorizing that he had long pauses between sentences, which his teacher needed to prompt him out of. Even so, he was the most memorable part of the program.

Jesus Is My Rescue Hero

(Kaith's Talk)

I love rescue heroes! I love fire fighters, because they rescue us from fire. I love police officers, because they rescue us from villains.
But my favorite rescue hero of all is Jesus Christ.
We call him our Savior, because he saves us from death and the power of Satan.
Jesus saves us from the power of Satan by providing the atonement. He prayed for us in the Garden of Gethsemane and died on the cross, so our spirits can go back to heaven.
Jesus saves us from death by providing the resurrection. That means that after we die, our spirits can go back into our bodies, and we can go to heaven with them.
I bear my testimony that Jesus loves me, and he loves you!
I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Family Art

I'm still plugging away at my art classes. I suppose I'm improving in my personal skill, but it is painful to be classed as entirely unexceptional in my artistic endeavors. Most recently, I attempted a charcoal imitation of a sketch by Raphael for homework (no, I don't know what the picture is about). I thought I had done better than I usually do. My teacher graded it "C" and told me I need to draw with straight and curved lines. Please forgive me, but if I'm not drawing with straight lines, and not drawing with curved lines, what am I possibly drawing?

On a more positive note, I've acquired the inexpensive treasure: Art for the Very Young; Ages 3-6. I think we'll do an art lesson or two from it every Friday. The first section of the book is a study of line. It recommends showing the children black and white line art from Franz Kline. I laughed when I saw it. Think of a preschooler attempting Chinese calligraphy with a thick paintbrush. Well, I showed the children a few images (my favorite has the unlikely title Painting Number 2). Then they took handfuls of pre-cut black lines and dropped them onto construction paper (it was supposed to be white, but I didn't have enough). They needed a bit of help gluing. Miriam was the most focused, and was very proud of her composition, which now hangs above her bed. Kaith named his (the red one) Letter X on a Horse and Letter Z on a Jet.

We all had fun with it, and if people can call what Franz Kline did art, maybe my talent isn't completely a lost cause.

Halloween 2008

Trick-or-Treat! Candy's sweet!

Please may we have some to eat?

Chocolates, candy corn or gum:

our bags have lots of room for some!

Kaith was an alien-astronaut (thanks Grandma W. for the alien mask), Trevor was a turtle, Miriam was a butterfly (I think I tried to encourage color-coordinating pants. Oh well), and Sterling, who had no say in the matter, was Nemo, and didn't know why. It was fun to watch him try to crawl in that costume. Cory was a Jedi again, using his light-saber to herd the children around the block. And, of course, we visited both sets of grandparents, which is where the best candy always is. These pictures were taken at the maternal grandparents'.

Sterling Takes His First Cake

Sterling had his first birthday on Sunday, October 19th. At birth he weighed 8 1/2 pounds (I could hold, but not lift him, at first). Now I estimate he weighs 24 pounds. Since we were spending Sunday with his paternal grandparents, we celebrated a day early. First Cory turned his car seat forward, then we went to a pumpkin farm, where we took a hay ride and chose a pumpkin about as heavy as him. There were domestic animals in cages. He seemed vaguely interested in board book words (pig, sheep, chicken, etc.) announced in front of wiggly animals. At home, again, Cory fixed our old electronic toddler toys for Sterling. The highly assertive older siblings left him a small empty box, and would have taken over the new noisy toys entirely, if it hadn't been for adult intervention.

For his official birthday, his Aunt T. had made him his own chocolate duck cake. As you can see, he appreciated the honor and made the most of it.

Our Haunted Home

We recently visited the paternal grandparents, whose house was elaborately decked-out for Halloween. Kaith and Trevor were very excited to see all of the "haunted decorations," as they called them. Then, for family night treat, Kaith chose to make haunted cupcakes with ghosts on them. Friday, I finally got out our little box of Halloween things, where I had stored the garland we bought last year. Today, in Language Arts, Kaith and I reread a poem called "Theme in Yellow," by Carl Sandberg. Then Kaith got to write his own poem:

Theme in White

I "boo" in the dark on Halloween.

I am called Ghosts.

I talk by magic, saying bats are coming to steal me.

I am called Paper.

I turn into dragons and scare the jets away.

I am called Clouds.

Sunday Groceries?

Wherefore, it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

St Matthew 12:12

On this warm, summer-like autumn afternoon, we opened the backdoor . . . and saw a bag of food: 3 boxes of soup mix and 24 cans of various food items.

I don't know whether we were laughing more at the surprise of it or at the sight of Trevor trying to carry the bag to the kitchen by himself. The children excitedly wanted to go through the whole bag all at once. "Look, Mommy: corn!" or "What are kidney beans?" They were so excited.

Then Cory looked a little further outside and saw that we had missed a couple things: 30 jumbo rolls of toilet paper, 19 apples, 24 packages of Ramen (don't laugh. The kids are so excited to make that lunch for the week). Our amazement was then peaked at the sight of a loaded Costco Cash Card tucked into the Ramen.

Since our guardian angels desire to bland with the multitude, we are now uploading our gratitude to the multitude, and hope they know it.

Super Doughnut Saturday

A mouthful of sugar helps the Saturday begin . . .

Cory was leaving for a Saturday at work with the children howling at the door. Then he said, "We'll be back," and strode to the van with barefoot Trevor tucked under his arm. Well, Miriam and Kaith continued to cling and cry in their absence. The van returned, and with it a thin pink box that could only mean roses . . . or doughnuts! (Ah, pay day, glorious pay day. Mommy would buy produce, Daddy supplies the treats.) "Breakfast!" I cried before the door opened, and Trevor proudly cared the box inside. Peering through the viewing window, Miriam promptly claimed the pink doughnut. Then Cory returned with two gallons of sugary beverage with juice-like names, and happiness prevailed around the dining table, in spite of the speedy exit of Daddy (who took two doughnuts with him).

Miriam, who relished her pink doughnut, was nonetheless curious about the "naked brown sugar" one. Kaith, who loves black, readily identified with the "black" chocolate doughnut, and I feigned nutrition between a "fruit" jelly doughnut and apple fritter. Sterling was not impressed with the sugary bread, and whimpered until I got him down, but perhaps his sickness makes new foods unpalatable. Kaith himself gave the title for this block.

An Ideal Husband

Blessed art thou, Lehi, because of the things which thou hast done . . .

1 Nephi 2:1

I'm going to take a time-out from maternal obligations and stories to sing the praises of my seldom photographed husband. Of course I love him because he has his priorities straight, because he has integrity with the same standards in his long hours at work and school as in his few hours at home, because of his diligence which gives us the momentum to keep reading almost-daily from Jesus the Christ, to keep pushing through school until it's done, how he easily calms me when I'm under stress, under other traits and habits. That said, I imagine he would rather be praised by the things which he has done. So, let's see . . . his most recent domestic achievement was installing two four-foot wide shelves above the children's reach in our office, to hold our forty-one pounds of school supplies (yes, we got a ten-pound shipment of Teacher's Guides today. Still backordered on the handwriting workbook). Last Monday, knowing I had not finished my homework that was due that evening, he came home early and took over childnurturing and dinner so I could catch up. Oh, and he brought home a bouquet of pink campanulas. For this module, not only did he pose for my figure drawing (okay, I drew from a photo), but on Saturday, hearing that I wanted to submit my figure drawing homework that afternoon, instead of today, he piled the children in the car and took off until I was done, which took three hours. After putting the kids to bed last night, we stayed up reading to each other and laughing over Little Women (I had no idea how funny it was last time I read it, about a decade ago, and it's so much more fun to read with someone who laughs at the right place).


I never did take a picture of the base cupboard and countertop he so painstakingly and perfectly installed in June, but he did that, and before Spring Quarter was over, too. This week officially begins his Senior year studying Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at UW, taking 16 (?) credits and working 25 hours a week. Of course he's incredible, but extra prayers would be appreciated, too.

Kindergarten Began

I was determined to begin school on Monday morning, September 8, whether our supplies had arrived or not. I was approaching our final morning chore (making my bed) at 9:15 when a large brown UPS truck materialized out front, bringing 31 lbs. of treasures.
Our first week, we read Cinderella, sorted colors, made a cushion-boat like in a poem by Robert Louis Stevens (Trevor is holding a "poison green plum"), and skipped the first nine weeks of phonics (that that is all Kaith skipped is a tribute to the thoroughness of K12's PhonicsWorks program.

Highlights from Last Week

At the company picnic, Cory told Kaith to go sit down to watch the animal show. Kaith chose a spot right next to some young woman, cuddled up, and put his hand on her knee. We have no idea who she is.

Miriam got a turn choosing and making family night treat. She chose star cookies, and was very proud of the result. Our lesson was on prayer, from the new nursery manual. That worked well, since Trevor was assigned to give a talk in primary on that subject (his teacher, who assigned it, said, "your kids give good talks. I learn from them"). We got our hard copy of Behold Your Little Ones just a few days ago, which was much sooner than I'd been expecting it.

About a month ago, I subscribed our family (under Trevor's name) to a magazine called High Five. It's the preschool cousing to Highlights magazine. We got our first two issues (they sent last April's and this October's) this week. We cut-out the bug dominoes, and played that. They also had a recipe for homemade tortillas. Trevor helped me make those, and wow, they were good.

My school started Thursday. I've had three days to work on things and am only two days behind schedule.

Our ward had a "Corn Ball" on Saturday. We brought dinner rolls, as usual. Silly us, we gave the kids lemonade before lunch. They hardly touched lunch, and that includes the cake. However, they did take frequent trips to the bathroom. I think we totaled seven, in all. I've included a picture of that toilet (sorry if you don't know that story. I think its unbloggable). Sterling, who did not drink lemonade, did eat most of a hot dog bun.

Kaith's school starts tomorrow. K-12 has been changing suppliers, I think, and so we haven't received the supplies we'll be using. We got an automated phone call Friday night saying our box would arrive Monday evening, at the latest. It must be costing them a lot of money to express ship a lot of big boxes. I'm glad I don't have to pay for the shipping fee.

Trevor Is a Child of God

Brr-Buh-Buh-Burr . . . Trumpet fanfare!!! Unveiling the colorful new manual: Behold Your Little Ones, useful not only for Nursery (this is to the old nursery manual what Preach My Gospel is to the old missionary discussions), but also for use in Primary and in the home. Currently available in seventeen languages, plus Braille. (Not Japanese yet, sorry Elder West) Our marvelous nursery leader has already given the parents a letter with the lesson schedule for the rest of the year. I've ordered my copy. Have you?

Also available online, we used lesson #1 last week: "I Am a Child of God." It had the song, a scripture story and an activity rhyme we used, several days in a row. Forget our old family scripture attempts that Miriam and Trevor wouldn't attend. They loved the presentation of the scripture story in the manual:

Show the illustration of Moses on page 99. Explain that Moses was a great prophet who lived a long time ago. Tell the children that Moses went to a mountain to pray. Invite the children to pretend to climb a mountain; then have them fold their arms as if praying. Open the Pearl of Great Price to Moses 1:4 and say, “God said to Moses, ‘Behold, thou art my son.’ ” Explain that Moses learned that he was a child of God.

Trevor climbed the post of Miriam's bed, of course (what he usually does during scripture study, but this way it was related). Wrapping up our lesson, we announced that Miriam was a child of God, Trevor was a child of God . . .

"No!" said Trevor vehemently. "I'm not a child of God! I'm a pirate!"

I calmly responded, "Even pirates are children of God."

"Oh. Trevor looked thoughtfully at his feet, then said quietly, "I am a child of God."

Fun Storage

We've been working on our "fun storage:" accumulating a wealth of healthy memories to enjoy in case the weather or our schedules prohibit such indulgences this fall. Kaith's school starts in less than 2 1/2 weeks - that feels so soon!

This week we met friends at a playground.

When I woke up that morning, it was pouring rain. I coaxed the children into personal prayers that morning, and they prayed that it would stop raining so we could go to the park. It did and we did. Trevor rode a two wheeler (with training wheels, of course) for the first time, borrowing one his friend had brought. I suppose that's another improbable possibility for Christmas. We already have helmets.

Three Birds, One Stone

I have had several elusive desires, my Three Birds:
*spend one-on-one time with each child
*have a good kitchen education
*kids involved in staging family night

A couple weeks ago I had a humble stroke of genius, my Stone:
*Let one child a week choose and assist in making treat for family home evening, rotate so everyone regularly gets an opportunity.

This stone first flew three weeks ago. Trevor chose Chocolate No-Bake Cookies. Last week Miriam chose Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies (from C is for Cooking). Kaith had been anxiously waiting for his week. When his Monday finally arrived, he spent the morning perusing cookbooks. I did not have to entertain him, and he wasn't whining! After musing aloud, "We could make ___" numerous times, he finally settled on Rainbow Sprinklers, which are a soft sugar cookie rolled in colored sugar. He was so proud to be making (or helping to make) such fancy cookies! I think we need to have the children rotate responsibilities on the lesson, now.






As you can see, Sterling enjoyed the forbidden contraband that his sister gave him.

Tag-I'm It

Thanks, Suzanne.

My Joys
1 Stargazing, looking at pretty pictures, etc.
2 Alone time
3 One-on-one time with Cory or kids

My Fears
1 Baseboard heater fire
2 Not getting a timely epidural during labor (dormant fear)
3 Giving birth all alone in a dirty bathroom (dormant fear)

Current Obsessions/Collections
1 Giving children enough intensive nurturing in the right things at the right time.
2 Succeding, or at least surviving, Kindergarten with Washington Virtual Academies
3 Succeding, or at least surviving, another semester toward my BFA in Traditional Illustration

Surprising Fact
1 I'm trying to read the Book of Mormon in French
2 I daydream about ironing my sheets and scenting them with lavender sachets
3 I actually do like my children

Tag
I'm afraid of guilting others into work, so I think I'll end here (okay, and I'm trying to save time).

Family and a Temple Visit

Well could you follow the formula given by the Lord: 'Establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God' (D&C 88:119).

Thomas S. Monson,

"The Spirit of Relief Society," Ensign, May 1992, 101-102

Saturday morning we drove to the tenple, and my heart skipped a beat to see the unexpected scaffolding on that sacred building. The spire was barely visible, but, as we drove closer, I could see the grounds covered with properly dressed people, returning to the temple on the first open Saturday since the summer closure. Cory was watching the kids, so he dropped me off. Just past the front desk I saw that part of the ground flooring had been replaced with beautiful, glossy tile, that magnified the sound of every high-heeled step. I was relieved to reach the next stretch of carpeting. I arrived barely in time for the 9:30 session, with four men and four other women, the smallest session I have ever been in. In the Celestial room I took my time reading and rereading the last page of Proverbs where it describes a virtuous woman, and the spiritual differences between sacrifice and self-indulgence.
Afterwards, I waited for Cory in the shade outside, wondering how they had used the snacks I had made, and if Cory had taken pictures at the park. When he pulled up, I could hear a lively, unfamiliar rendition of "Give Said the Little Stream." He handed me a box with a new quad (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price bound together) to replace my baptism set that is not really bound and often missing. After playing at the park, he had decided to purchase what may be our last set of treasures before Christmas, and milkshakes for the kids.

Freaky Friday

I've been determined to master "early to bed, early to rise." I'm getting good at the early to rise, but struggle with early to bed. Well, we were out of milk, didn't have enough cheese for a Friday pizza, etc. I considered initiating my Albertsons online account, but you have to order by 10 pm the night before, and today is payday. Quite proud of myself, I got out of bed while all were asleep, changed into exercise clothes ( a lady does not go shopping in her pajamas), and pulled out of the drive way at 5:59. Traffic was nearly non existent. In 20 minutes I acquired 3 gallons of milk and 8 bags of groceries (most of what we need to enjoy the next two weeks). I was elated. With the children it's been taking about two miserable, humiliating hours. At the check-out stand, I noticed my keys were missing. Yes, I locked them in the van. At 6:33 am, instead of putting the groceries in the van to drive a few blocks home, I called my husband to explain why he might be late to work. He told me to avoid the appearance of homelessness and not push the shopping cart home (I would have returned it, really I would have), and offered to walk over with the children.

Right.

Puppy guarding my van and my groceries, I thought I'd look less silly if I stood there chatting on my self-one, I mean cell phone, so I called my mom. She thought she could get there sooner than my husband.

Fine.

Cory was already getting the children dressed, and had gotten them excited to "save Mom!" The super heroes, especially Kaith, were not happy to find out that Grandma got to be the "cavalry" and they had to stay home and wait. Finally, a little after seven, I got home. Those twenty minute groceries took nearly two hours to put away, since I was then caring for children again.

The milk? They each ate about five bowls of cereal with milk, and weren't done until around ten.

Apple for Baby?

The Lord is good to me,

and so I thank the Lord,

for giving me the things I need:

the sun and the rain

and the apple seeds.

The Lord is good to me.

Johnny Appleseed's Prayer

Origin unknown to Me

I have begun Sterling on a word book. It claims to be an alphabet book for babies, so the first picture is an apple. We start at the beginning each time. Familiarity is increasing his stamina, so now we can get about halfway through.

The neighbors have apple trees. They are not pruned. They are not picked. The branches extend several feet into our property, fruit falls thickly in our grass, and one has espaliered itself down our side of the fence. The children joyously pick and eat these apples. I picked and washed a small apple for Sterling, who thought it the funniest, most exciting thing when I called it "apple." He Who Must Now Hold the Feeding Spoon would not accept applesauce this morning, but was vigorously attempting to ingest this fist sized morsel. Okay, so it only lasted for a few minutes.

Now I present my moral dilemma: is it okay to pick the neighbor's apples that grow on our side of the fence? Do I:

A: forbid children from touching and severely prune off the disputable branches?

B: do I look the other way while the children eat all they can reach?

C: do I walk halfway around the block to spend twenty minutes discussing this with said neighbor, while my children run in the street?

D: rejoice in the manna from heaven and make apple betty for Mom's Movie Night?

One Summer Day

This morning we met another family at Lundeen Park. It has a play structure at one end and a small beach at the other. We started with the playstructure. Trevor and new friend Kaden raced up, raced down, slipped into each other, and laughed. Sterling sat on a blanket in the shade and tried to get his hands on nature. Miriam liked the wiggly slide.

At the beach, everyone waded in. In spite of hiking up shorts, children got wet up to their waists. Miriam was enraptured with the ducks under the dock. No one wanted to go. We had more run aways than I could carry. I informed a certain four year old that if he ran away again, he would get a five minute time out as soon sas we got home. He ran anyway. Thanks to Nicole's help, we all made it back to our van. Trevor was sobbing. Miriam again amazed me with her nurturing instincts (a.k.a. divine nature) by finding a package of pocket tissues, pulling one out announcing, "This is for Twevuh. He's cwying."

I cheerfully administered the time-out. Why am I happy? A month ago we tackled the hitting problem in our family . . . and after a week it was nearly gone, and has stayed that way. Now that I feel we have successfully finished replacing that habit, I think we can move on to our next worst behavior problem of running away. Cory, I propose that if children run away while we are at the park, library, or church, upon getting home we promptly give time outs: 1 minute for Miriam 5 minutes for Trevor, 10 minutes for Kaith (as if he would). I am optimistic that good change can soon occur.

This afternoon I hope to help with cutting workbooks, put away laundry, make dinner, and offer wading pool time.

Renaissance Baby

If he'd been born in the sixteenth century, he'd make a perfect Renaissance baby: can you imagine all the naked baby angels that would be painted in his image? I'm afraid the baby rolls won't last much longer. This guy can crawl all over the house, and, as you can see, is now pulling himself up to stand. I've been cleaning floors with religious zeal!

School, Past and Future

My final has been graded and: I got an A! in Art History through the Fifteenth Century! I hope, one day, to teach children's art classes. I've been researching and saving my ideas, including unit study arts. For example, say fourth graders are studying the solar system. After an art lesson on composition, they are introduced to pastels and sketch their own planet, while listening to The Planets.
I registered for two classes for fall: Figure Drawing (stop laughing, Mom) and Art History, Renaissance through the Nineteenth Century.
And, yes, Kaith is still registered with Washington Virtual Academies (where are the supplies?). For Kindergarten, that will be ten hours a week. Let's see if Trevor and Miriam hate me for it.

Nurturing Music in Our Family

I've had music on the mind this week. Having gotten a child all the way to the mature age of five, I have plenty of experiments to look back on, and a better idea of what a good children's curriculum is. It's funny how my views have changed and matured so much over the past few years. I have to plan when I'm out of class, because once I'm back in I don't have much time to reassess life, just to move on with the plans I've laid out. I haven't yet used all the books I've listed. Hopefully they live up to my hopes. And I still want to find a good Nursery/Folk song book, and game instructions.

Babies
*They are absorbing the sounds of voices, the rhythm of life, and the family culture.
Toddlers/Preschoolers
*Play Nursery/Folk Song Games regularly (including "Ring Around the Rosie" and "London Bridge")
*At the piano (get it in tune, they're developing an ear for pitch): Children's Folk Songs and Children's Songbook; they can hear the melodies, learn the words, and "play" the piano, but more important, they learn that music comes from people, not electronics, and develop a habit of expressing themselves while making it.
*Talk about the feeling of the sounds. "I think these slow low notes sound spooky. Is this your monster song?" or "The music is so fast. It makes me feel excited."
*Musical Scriptures: whatever pictures you use to represent scripture stories, there is always an appropriate song to go with it. Balance letting your children have their favorites, and introducing new stories. Songs may come from the Children's Songbook again, or Hymns or Folk Songs (like "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho")
*Read Meet the Orchestra or Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, to introduce instruments and their names.
*Have some toy instruments. Encourage marching bands and orchestras.
*Have informal family dances.
*Occasionally attend local Concerts in the Park.
*Use themed Music Playlists in daily routines to expose children to a variety of delightful music (more on these Playlists in a separate blog).
Around Kindergarten, give or take a year
*Use Music for Little Mozarts and listen to related ear-training CDs (If beginning piano lessons now, the series also has kindergarten-age-appropriate piano books).
Read and listen to Carnival of the Animals (it may be best to start with no more than one track per sitting)
*Begin learning sol-fa hand signs, and music vocabulary
Elementary (this outline is more skeletal, as I do not yet have an elementary age child)
*Listen to Classic Kids CDs, like Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery
*Begin piano lessons (or another instrument or choir) and instill the habit of regular practice, about 10-15 minutes a day, depending on the developmental age of the child.
*Go to an instrument petting zoo (I think the Everett Symphony has one)
*Read stories about operas and ballets
*As a special treat go to a children's concert, the Nutcracker Ballet, or more Concerts in the Park.
*Keep using music in everyday life, and stretch their familiarity repertoire by introducing new music.
*As long as it isn't violent, profane, etc., let them choose their favorite style of music. Their own CD player or MP3 player could be a special treat.

Public Riches

You may have riches and wealth untold,

Caskets of jewels and baskets of gold,

But richer than I you will never be,

For I had a mother who read to me.

Thomas Carlyle

as quoted in The Art of Teaching Children by Daryl V. Hoole/Donette V. Ockey, c. 1964 Deseret Book

I felt quite clever. A few days ago I used that delightful multi-tab internet function: one open to easy browsing at Amazon.com, the other had the search engine for our local library. Through Amazon, I found a plethera of books our family can't live without; with our public library I reserved most of them for free. Right now we're enjoying:

Fancy Nancy: Bonjour Butterfly

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin

My Daddy Is a Pretzel (This is yoga for kids. It's geared for elementry school coordination, but I'm encouraging it persistently, anyway.)

The Philharmonic Gets Dressed (I was embarassed to find that the title accurately portrays the activities of the picture book)

. . . with more holds waiting to be filled! I hope Fantasia 2000 is available for this week's movie night. I really didn't prepare for last week, and felt the lack.

Superintendent of Public Instruction, Part 2

Remember David Blomstrom? One of the candidates invited to this forum, but who neither replied to the invitation, nor was present? Well, I accidentally came across him responding repeatedly and heatedly to a blog that supported Randy Dorn, former chair of the K-12 house education committee (the one in the Legislature). Trying to be thorough and objective in my notes, I've added included the link to that candidate's views.

What strategies would you promote to encourage and support minorities and students who are different?
Randy: recognize differences. Have their parents involved in all the grades. Eliminate roadblocks. In the Math section of the WASL we need to eliminate the essays. We need to follow the guidelines of the National Math Advisory Panel. We’re way off!
Donald Hansler: I am opposed to any discrimination. We need to improve the ESL program. The high drop-out rate is because of the WASL program (kids with test anxiety). We need two levels of HS diplomas: one for those who can pass the WASL, and one for those who can’t.
Dr. Terry B.: (Referenced House Bill 1209). We need high standards in all skills. We have statewide core standards. The achievement gap is because of racism in society. We need respect between communities and school. We need to have resources to support. Native Americans: we recorded Tulalip stories from tribal members to incorporate into the children’s reading curriculum.
Enid Duncan: we all function differently in different parts of the brain. Look at new developments in science.

What is your vision for education for the next 20 years?
Donald Hansler: I’d make a lot of changes. E-mail me for details. We can develop a fair, efficient education system in this state, then the country, then the world.
Dr. Terry B.: All kids in our state will meet state standards. We need to fully fund education for all kids in the state. We need a connection between K12 and higher education.
Enid Duncan: We need to do something now. Don’t wait 20 years! I took my struggling child, labeled “IQ of 59” across the country to Harvard. The man did not use papers, but used his body to learn he is very dyslexic. I didn’t sit idle.
Randy Dorn: Beyond tenth grade, kids choose interests so they can choose a career, not a job. We need more resources. It may take 1-on-1 or 2 or 3 to get struggling kids up. We want education everywhere. Have quality and skilled teachers in every classroom; that will take more resources.

Momma Called the Doctor . . .

They have a disease around here called elephantitis.

Would you still love me if I came home looking like an elephant?

The Other Side of Heaven

So, Momma called the On-Call Nurse late Saturday evening. That morning, Kaith had a small red mark on his cheek, perhaps a mosquito bite. As the day progressed, the redness increased, and his cheek began to swell. At bedtime, he could no longer open his right eye all the way. After he fell asleep, the swelling around his eye covered his eyelids, and his eyelashes jutted, not down but stark forward. The nurse said that, since he could breathe and didn't have a fever, we could wait until the Walk-In Clinics opened in the morning to get medical attention.


The doctor was 95% sure that Kaith was just reacting to some kind of bug bite. He prescribed steroids to bring the swelling down. The 5% uncertainty was that it could be a bacterial skin infection. Until he lab results tell us otherwise, we have to keep him away from the public and give him two kinds of antibiotics. Kaith was in tears about missing Church, and I'm in awe at the complexity of the dosage schedules. Plus I'm not sure how to get to our follow-up appointment while hauling all the children.

Incidentally, our camera has face-recognition software and red-eye correction. A couple posts ago, the camera recognized the book picture of Molly as a face, but today, we could not use the red-eye correction because the camera could not acknowledge Kaith's face!

Later, the tree which was a Woozle gave me imaginary medicine that he told me to take three hundred times a day. Yes, that was Kaith.

Ward Campout

What do you do for fun on Saturday nights? Go and throw rocks in the lake?

The Parent Trap (1961)

Our Ward Campout was Friday evening. Unwilling to sleep on rocks, we showed up for the evening only. Our children:
Threw rocks in the river.
Explored the Farstead’s camper

(Miriam) Played run-away from Mom and ran into deep puddles

Threw more rocks in the river

(Kaith and Trevor) Found friends to play with

Watched the Homemade Boats' Race (we came in third)

"Played" softball

Swung on the exciting bucket swings

Used flashlights

Made (with help) and consumed s'mores

Japanese Girl, American Girl

Last week, for Mom’s Movie Night, we watched the Japanese-animated film Whisper of the Heart. It’s great for the subtle exposure to everyday life for youth in Japan: drying laumdry on the balcony, biking or taking the bus everywhere, popularity of the American "Country Roads," school uniforms, and studying to get into a good high school. If I’d known how much name-calling there was during part of the movie, I might not have shown it to my impressionable preschoolers. It took several days to mostly weed out their new vocabulary. Cory, on the other hand, has been singing “Country Roads” all week.
This week we watched Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front. I got out my precious The American Girls Club & Historical Society Handbook (a disbanded organization) and found the recipe for Victory Popcorn. When Cory walked in, Kaith informed him “Sweets were rationed because of the War.” I think something sank in.

At Fantasy Fortress

On Wednesday we met some other families in our ward at the Fantasy Fortress playground. Because there were adults I knew and trusted present, I was only a little nervous about taking my little ones to the playground. Sterling enjoyed baby swing, and being carried around, Kaith pretended to be an ice cream man selling ice cream, Miriam and Trevor practiced sliding down the fire pole.

To my surprise, Trevor made a friend who is just his size. They spent about an hour together, climbing, sliding, and chattering cheerfully.

After two delightful hours at play, I decided it was time to go home. Sterling was the only one to calmly accept that decision. The others were so beligerent that I wondered if the outing was worth my new reputation as a kill-joy. Then I remembered that Trevor had made a new friend. Yes, it was worth it.

Sterling, who had spent so much time in arms at the park, decided that afternoon to crawl. He picked up and moved his right hand, then his right knee, then sat up.

Little Mother

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness . . . Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. -- Proverbs 31:27, 29

After lunch, Miriam curled up for a nap on the piano bench, with my shoe.

As usual, she's had a busy day, trying to walk in my footsteps: she voluntarily lays out the bowls and spoons for breakfast, pointed out that I sat down at the table without having gotten my breakfast (I was feeding Sterling first), got down the bag of chips and handed them out, was the first to the table for worksheet time, and so on. This evening, she put on her apron and stayed with me during dinner preparation, carrying vegetables, finding measuring spoons, measuring and tasting the peanut butter. Later she tried to open the Benadryl for Trevor and tried to feed peanut butter soup to Sterling.

I think she's dreaming of filling Mom's shoes.

Smile Shutter Technology

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance --Proverbs 15:13

We replaced the camera that broke. Our new Sony Cyber-shot comes with "Smile Shutter Technology." When in this setting, the camera will take a picture the instant smiles appear. However, it seems to only recognize grins: large smiles with teeth. No Mona Lisa smiles here!