My 3 Helpers

One of the reasons having Keianna here is working so well is that Zach, Drew, and Baylee are all really good with her.  I'm loving watching them!  With supervision they've been holding her, feeding her, and keeping her entertained.  Over the past week I've been taking pictures of them all, and the resulting slideshow is one of my favorites.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Because the kids have been such a help and also because I recognize that with a little one in the house it can be too easy to hole up and not go out, I've come up with a summer schedule of fun things to do.  So far it's been good!  Here's what we've got:

Monday:  Park Day.  There's a nice park nearby with a playground and a skateboard area.  It's been a hit.

Tuesday:  Library Day.  We head over for our weekly basket full of books.

Wednesday:  The kids have art class every other week, and on the off weeks I'd like to take them to the beach.  It hasn't happened yet, but hopefully soon.  We live pretty close to a nice lake with a little well-kept area for swimming. 

Thursday:  Free Day (for mom!)

Friday:  Pool Day.  I discovered the community pool here where we live.  It's wonderful!  On Friday evenings (after the baby goes home) they've got what they call "The Real Deal," which means it's significantly cheaper to swim.  The pool is a kids' paradise with a diving board, slide, rope swing, pool toys, and a basketball hoop. 

So that's what's going on lately!

Sue

Queen Baylee of Toiletopia

The other day Zach walked into the bathroom only to find Baylee on "the throne."  She had draped blankets over the toilet and wrapped one around herself as a royal robe, and she was happily playing in there all by herself, pretending to be a queen.

The Road to Becoming an Artist is Long and Frought with Peril

Literally.  It takes an hour and a half to get to art lessons; two if traffic through Seattle is bad.  Today was one of those days:  rain, low visibility, bumper to bumper cars, a crying baby, a new toll on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Three dollars to go across!) and Baylee teasing her brothers ("Trust me, Zach.  Keianna's middle name really is Elvis!"). However, it's a worthwhile pursuit.  Here's some of the kids' latest work:

Zach, age 12

Drew, age 9


Baylee, age 6

Our Baby Turns 6

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Forever Friendships

This week we were visited by friends that go way back.  I knew Kris when she was 19 and I was 15 and we both worked in the kitchen together at Grace Youth Camp.  She was a gentle friend, but also a riot to be around.  One time I was quarantined by the camp nurse, but Kris snuck in and visited me wearing scuba goggles and a snorkle.  LOL  She figured that was as close to a disease-control mask as one was likely to find at a summer camp.

A few years later I ended up going to the same college as Kris, and I reconnected with her and met Jason, the guy who became her husband.  My first year there he was the president of the student council and I was the freshman class president.  LOL  I remember doing a lot of nothing in that role, but that's another story.  The thing I remember most about Jason was that he was smart and hilarious.

After my graduation Mike and I married, and we became houseparents at an adult foster care home.  Kris and Jason worked there as houseparents, too.  In fact, it was Jason's high praise of the place that led us to apply for the job.  Kris and I had our first babies while we were working there.  I have fond memories of our Zach and their Symphony playing together.

Now Jason and Kris have moved out of state and so have we, but we still consider them some of our favorite people. 

Sue

Jason and Kris

Symphony holding Baylee


Zach and Soren

I got a job!

I'm going to be taking care of Mike's cousin's baby, Keianna, on the weekdays.  She's absolutely the most adorable little thing, and I don't say that about every baby, because not every baby is cute.  I mean, really.  Of course, you never say that aloud to the baby's parents.  Out loud you use my Grandma Visser's trick:  "That baby has the most beautiful...complexion!"  But Keianna truly is a doll.  She's always smiling and cooing; it just melts your heart.  Right now she's almost three months old.  I started caring for her this week, so here's some pics.

Time4Learning!

A week or so ago I heard through another blog about an online program called Time4Learning.  Always one to check out new things, I went to the Time4Learning website.  Wow.  I've seen a TON of different curricula over the years, but this one really is an incredible program.  I was hooked within an hour.  T4L can be used in almost any way you'd like:  as a homeschool supplement to another curriculum, as a complete homeschool curriculum, or as a supplement to public/private education.  And it's priced very reasonably!  T4L offers language arts, math, science, and social studies for only about $20 a month for the first student, and about $15 a month for every student after that.

I know I had big plans for what we were going to use for school this next year, but I'm seriously thinking about scraping all that (I haven't actually bought any of it yet anyway.) and using Time4Learning for all three kids.  The thing I like about it is that, from what I can tell, it really suits every different type of learner.  It's done on the computer mostly, so it's very visual and auditory.  The graphics are good, the person speaking to you is clear, and the lessons are downright fun.  They're very interactive, so the child needs to be focused, but they're also stimulating, so it's not tough to pay attention.  Also, the program gives many ideas for offline work such as books to read and writing assignments.

Yesterday I signed Baylee up with the thought that if I didn't like it, no harm done, it would give her something to do for a month.  Well, she loves it and so do I!  I can barely drag her off the computer.  As I was registering her I had to answer a few questions about her academic abilities, and based on that the people at T4L placed her in 1st grade math and science, and 2nd grade language arts.  In these past two days Baylee has done several lessons in each subject and has already learned (or reviewed) a ton.  Today she ran up to me because she was all excited about amphibians and wanted to share.   Even with the things she's not telling me, though, I can find out exactly what she's learning.  As a parent, I can log in and see what lessons, quizzes, and tests she's completed and how she scored.

Another fun aspect of the program is called "The Playground."  You the parent can program a timer so that after the child spends a certain amount of time on her lessons, she can go to this playground area to play games.  There are arcade games like Pacman and learning games and links.  Drew, who's been watching Baylee from over her shoulder, especially likes this part of T4L.  lol

Anyway, all that to say, I'm very impressed with Time4Learning and I'm giving it serious consideration as the core of our curriculum this coming year.  Here's a link.  Go check it out!

Time4Learning

Sue

A Day at the Beach

Today we spent the afternoon at the Puget Sound soaking up the sunshine.  It was wonderful and relaxing.  The beaches in Washington are very different from the beaches in Michigan, though.  For one thing, the sand is dark and somehow grittier, and there's always lots of rocks, drift wood, and huge logs strewn all over.  The water is different, too.  It's salty instead of fresh, and it's icy cold.  Kids are the only ones crazy enough to actually swim.  The whole feel of the place is just wilder, less commercialized, if that makes sense. 

Here's a slideshow of the day:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Recipe for Fun

Did you know that a new badminton game + an icy pitcher of lemonade = the most popular house on the block?  It's true.  Ever since we set up the net in the front yard we've had a constant flow of kids around here.   And what's ironic is that I'm really not that kind of mom.  I mean, I like the idea of making our home kid friendly so that "we can keep track of our children and get to know their friends," (a common homeschooler's philosophy and probably what keeps the makers of those huge, expensive solid cedar playsets in business) but in reality what I really want is peace, order, and clean floors.   Still, it's worth the door being opened and then slammed shut 50,000 times a day by kids who need to use the bathroom, get more snacks, inform me that they're hot and want to use the hose, and let me know that all the badminton birdies are in the rain gutter again, because the truth is Zach, Drew, and Baylee are having a great time.

Here's some pics of the summer so far:

The boys playing beach volleyball with a couple neighbor kids.

Playing the Gamecube.   Look at Drew's face.  lol  He's irritated with me for making them pause the game for a picture.

We've been taking advantage of our town's great library.  According to Mike it's within walking distance, but I was dumb enough to fall for that once and only once.  My feet still hurt.  (Yes, Baylee is reading a book called Walter the Farting Dog.)

Zach reading Baylee a bedtime story. What a nice big brother.

I just like this picture.  It's Cooper sitting in the bay window of the kitchen, looking out over a rainy summer evening.

Mike and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary on June 19.  He had a dozen roses delivered to the house.

 And that about covers it for now!

Contrarian's Corner

Mike caved under social pressure and finally started his own blog.  The truth is, he was terribly jealous of me. {grin} Nah, I'm kidding.  He did start his own blog, though.  It's called "Contrarian's Corner" and I'm sure it'll be great.  Check it out!

contrariancorner.blogspot.com/

Sue