Latta Plantation Fall Homeschool Day

Latta PlantationFall Homeschool Day

September 28, 2011 (10am-4pm)
Yesterday's Children

Step into the lives of 19th century children! Activities, demonstrations, and displays will be ongoing throughout the day and take visitors through the plantation house, buildings, and grounds. Topics include Manners and Morals, Children's Clothing, Diseases and Medicines, Herbal Remedies, Discipline, Toys and Games, Education, and more!

Two crafts are included free with admission: Hornbooks and Whirligigs/Buzzsaws

Travel the site and look for Manner Stops. At each stop homeschoolers can learn a 19th century manner and pick up pages that will form a booklet to take home!

Presentation Schedule:
10:30am: Literacy and Numeracy, and Dunces of Course- at Alexander Cabin
11:30am: Riddled With Disease- Consumption, Scurvy, Rickets, and more!- at Carriage Barn
12:30pm: What They Wore- at Carriage Barn
1:30pm: Literacy and Numeracy, and Dunces of Course- at Alexander Cabin
2:30pm: Riddled With Disease, Consumption, Scurvy, Rickets, and more!- at Carriage Barn
3:30pm: What They Wore- at Carriage Barn

Postscript: We found our camera! It was in my box of Nature Studies supplies--where it doesn't belong!

Guardian Angels Further at Work

We already know that Mary has one of the most agile guardian angels around, but now I wonder: do guardian angels take an interest in preventing little girls from doing especially naughty behavior? This morning I discovered that keeping the pens all in one spot on the top of the refrigerator is no longer sufficient. Because, hey, if you're two and you have a spare two minutes to yourself, you might as well climb up the cupboards using the sheer strength of your toes (no chair or stool needed), mount the counter top, then scale the side of the refrigerator to see what's up there . . .

Note how Mary wrote on all my lists, but she kept her marks very neat and orderly. So far, I have found no marks from the permanent Sharpie pen on any other surface, just my papers.

It got me wondering if either her or my guardian angel interceded to keep her graffiti contained!

Sisters in pajamas

Monkey Mary

This morning, I was getting ready for the day and Mary was a mere five feet outside the open bedroom door--well within my supervision, right? I turned to glance at her and found that her brother (4-3/4, the cautious enabler) had securely tied a fabric "rope" to the landing newel at the top of the staircase (click here if you're like me and don't know "staircase anatomy"). Mary (2-3/4, the brave, foolhardy one) was swinging wildly out above the staircase, out into the air with only a full story drop below her.

She looked a bit like Tarzan or a monkey swinging on a vine.

After I got Mary back safely on the landing and my heart started beating again, I explained to her why she could never swing on a rope above the staircase.

She explained indignantly, "But I was being brave!"

Indeed.

Really, I don't share all my "Mary stories" because they're all basically the same. Last week she disappeared and was silent for a minute or so, which prompted me to find her stuck and hanging by her fingers from the shower caddy, which she had tried to climb to reach the showerhead. On another morning, John came down in the morning and I asked if Mary was still sleeping. "No, she's stuck on her bureau." Investigation revealed that, yes, she was perched atop her six-drawer bureau, waiting patiently for rescue. Rarely does a day go by without one or more such adventures! When she does fall with a big bang, her stock answer is, "I'm okay! There's no blood."

Inchworm

Our camera is still lost or evaporated or stolen, so I don't have video of the latest inchworm to join our family . . . Miss Margaret in action!

Today I noticed her really starting to scooch. She'd spy a toy and stare at it with determination so strong that, if her eyes could draw the toy to her, they would have done so. She was very quiet about it all, but would draw her knees up under her, and then sort of fling herself forward and move a couple of inches. She'd repeat the scooching until she got there.

And then Mary (who else, I ask you?) would swoop over and take the toy away as soon as Margaret laid her hand on it, noting that it was "my toy!" (And then Big Mama would do her own swooping in, of course.) Oh well, nothing should surprise me after the phase when two-year-old John would scream in rage that six-month-old Mary was looking at his toys.

So, we should have a mobile baby before too much longer!

Big Eyore, Little Eyore

This is so very John (4-3/4):

Viewing our calendar for the week, he remarked a touch sadly, "I think I'll pretend that I don't know Mrs. W---- is coming for a play date on Thursday."

"Why is that, honey?"

"Because then I won't get too excited about it."


(You know, as a child, I always knew that one of the only characters in the cartoon world who would understand me was Eeyore. I love Eeyore.)

Margaret Sits and Eats

Earlier this week John decided that he's big enough now not to need a booster seat anymore. I was planning to buy Margaret a lovely, old-fashioned wooden high chair within the month, but I realized that she probably fits just fine in the plastic booster seat John just vacated. Indeed, she fits just fine and enjoys very much her new, high vantage point, so I guess I can no longer justify a handsome wooden high chair!

I love the way Margaret has "discovered her tongue" in the last week or two. She often sticks it out now and it's so cute!

Margaret has tried a few solid foods now. John had such a rough start with solids, really not being able to start eating solids till 15 months old. So when Mary came along, I was anxious and eager to start feeding her solids to make sure she could eat them: and she could--with relish! Now I feel relaxed. So far, Margaret has tried smidgens (1/16 of a teaspoon) of brown rice cereal, red bell pepper hummus, and smooth, homemade apple sauce (the latter of which made her gag, interestingly).

Oh--and if anyone can--please send Margaret a memo that at six months old she really still needs to take naps during the day time, especially if she's going to wake up at 5:30 a.m. and stay up till nine at night most days. Like, seriously, she needs to nap.

Thank You for Prayers

Thank you for your prayers!

Chris' surgery went well. The doctor said he found what he expected to find, he repaired it, and everything went as expected. I got to visit with Chris for about 15 minutes in Recovery and he is feeling as well as can be expected after such a surgery.

And now the very lengthy recovery period will begin--so any continuing prayers for us will be appreciated!

Prayer Request

Please pray for our family Tuesday as Chris has anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery. Thank you.

St. Blaise, pray for us!

Schiele Natural History Museum

Today Pop-Pops (who is visiting) and I took the children on a field trip with other homeschoolers to Schiele Natural History Museum.

Spelunking

I don't know what facial expression I captured when I snapped this photo . . .

. . . but next thing I knew, John had set up his own happy little picnic on a nearby rock.

There were several outdoor areas that we didn't have time to explore, but we did visit this replica of an eighteenth century farm.

Hogs and chickens

You know chickens are tame when they let a two-year-old repeatedly get this close.

Name this plant! I thought it might be chokeberry (which I planted in our yard last year, but hasn't fruited yet), but now I don't think that is quite right.

And for double points, name this plant! The flower looks exactly like a morning glory, the leaves look like those of a fig, and the seed pods look positively alien: oblong, bumpy, and hanging on long vines.

Like on most bloggers' posts, the above photos paint a beautiful picture, but one that is lacking the fullness of the truth. This is the first year that the kids have been old enough for me to bother doing many school-type field trips with them. But now they are a really fun age and there are so many opportunities to do activities, trips, and classes with other homeschoolers! What an exciting time!

Yet a few weeks into it and I already have no idea how other homeschooling mothers do it.

This morning we had to be out the door before 9:00 to meet with the other families at the set time. I was racing around to get everyone ready. John is beyond the age of doing purposeful mischief very often, but he was being a typical four-year-old space cadet: being distracted, getting underfoot, forgetting what I said as soon as I finished my sentence, losing everything he needed to hang onto ("John, where are your socks that you just had?!"). Mary is at the age of doing purposeful mischief every time I turn my back, so she kept needing my attention. I barked at her to leave the sandwiches alone when she had climbed up on the counter and was trying to eat our packed lunch. Then she burst into weeping tears, I asked why she was crying, and she answered, "Because of the way you talked to me!" Here I am, trying to take my kids on an enriching, fun trip with their loving mommy and I make my daughter cry (by a needed correction, but done in an ugly way): Yes, give me the Mother-of-the-Year Award!

So then I made the kids sit on the windowstill and be still. That got to be another moment where I got to feel humiliation for prior judgments. I've heard of mothers doing that and I distinctly remember a particular time a mother of 10 was talking about how she got everyone ready for Mass and had some extra minutes, so she made them all sit on the sofas and not get up till it was time to go. What is she? Some kind of Nazi? I wondered at the time, thinking of sad little kids lined up on a sofa (as if that was some kind of torture).

Yes, well, now I get it. Because kids on the loose who are not yet old enough to be helping slow everything down and make mama's blood pressure spike through the roof, so it is better to just sit them down in a row and have them wait.

How many times have I judged others, O Lord?!

So, meanwhile, Mary is getting into mischief left and right, John is being a space cadet, and the baby has been screaming nonstop for 20 minutes because I am racing around, trying to get us out the door, and I can't get to her (knowing she is fed and dry, she just wants me to hold her). That is another judgment I get to sit uncomfortably with. I can think of at least two specific incidences of mothers telling me about times they had to let their babies cry so much more than they ever wanted to because of the competing needs of the other children or (gasp!) the needs of the mother (e.g., "I had to let the baby cry for a few minutes because it was nearly noon and I still hadn't been able to eat breakfast"). I felt condeming feelings about those mothers because surely they weren't trying hard enough. There's always a way to meet all the needs of all the children. A mother can keep the baby happy, keep the other kids safe and happy, and herself sane, right?

Yes, well, now I 'get' that one too. My poor baby is sometimes left to cry because I simply cannot do it all. And I hate it.

This morning was one of those times. I felt terrible feelings inside, and every moment more this chaos was continuing, I was condeming myself for not being able to do it all right and get it all perfect because We Are Going On A Fabulous Field Trip And We Are Happy!

Of course, the baby wasn't happy when crying the 45 minutes on the way to the museum.

I don't know how many activities we're supposed to do. If I do an activity in a day, I can't seem to manage (yet) to do any school time. So, that is pathetic. How am I supposed to do museums, art classes, music classes, sports participation when a single activity in a day seems to preclude my ability to teach the children any schoolwork?! I sit comparing myself to others. Why is it so hard for me to get my three measly kids to a field trip when a mother friend who has seven kids nine and under gets to the 7:00 a.m. Mass 30 minutes from her house three weekdays per week? And so on, I could provide comparisons unfavorable to myself ad nauseum, but God doesn't want me to do that. Think St. Therese and the Little Way, think of how we are to do the best that we can with the abilities God gave us, but not more than that. Think of St. Teresa of Avila and how each person's candle given by God is a different size and flames will burn different brightnesses accordingly.

Suffice to say: This morning's beautiful photos of fun at the museum do not reflect the bigger picture of my not knowing what I am doing, not knowing how much I am supposed to be doing, not knowing how on earth other mothers do so much more than this, seemingly with love and competence and fun and orderliness.

On my computer is Galatians 6:9: "And let us not grow weary in well doing: for in due season, we shall reap, if we do not grow weary."

Art Class

Yesterday while doing errands I listened to the conference on temperaments that I've recommended before, specifically to the section about melancholics in order to think about some ways I could better help John. One point the speaker made is that a melancholic can be seen to freeze while doing school work because he feels the need to be perfect, so he might not move on from a problem or task to the next one for fear that the last one wasn't perfect. What looks like laziness or lack of intellect might really be perfectionism and anxiety. The speaker suggested physically covering up all the other problems on the page so the melancholic student sees only one problem. (And, of older students, she suggested limiting their time and requiring them to move on to the next problems.)

I thought of John's reading lessons and how he balks and does silly misbehaviors to try to knock me off track, but when I can finally force him to read, he reads very well. And who wants to be forcing a four-year-old to read? If I'm having to force, something is wrong. But something is also wrong that he can read so well, but won't do so out of anxiety. But I had determined that if I couldn't find a way to alleviate his emotions, I simply had to back off from reading lessons rather than be "forcing" at this early point in education! So today I tried an experiment: I photocopied his reading lesson, and cut up all the sounds and words. Plus I cut his story into single sentences.

The result was that he did so much better! He didn't give me any of his normal rigmarole or protests that "I can't do it." He just read, sounding out words silently and fairly quickly. In fact, I was going to do only one half a lesson, as per our current norm, and he asked to complete the whole lesson. I am grateful to this idea given to me because I think it will help.

Today the children attended the first session of their every-other-week arts and crafts class. They made Saint Spoons, Mary choosing St. Martin de Porres and John choosing Bl. Theresa of Calcutta.

Also, they were given very nice coloring books! Afterward they had free play time in the gymnasium.

Apple Picking 2011

Today we joined our parish homeschooling co-op for a field trip to go apple-picking. Unfortunately, only one other family showed up and they were leaving just as we arrived. But we still had a great time!

While last year's apple-picking was highly commercialized, this year's event was as rural as it gets!

As we drove up the lane to the orchard, the barbed wire fences were marked with a series of hand-painted signs with various warnings. There were decrepit buildings falling down (although the one in this photo was a working shed). The lane was so narrow, I wondered what would happen if two cars crossed paths because there was literally nowhere for a second car to pull to the side. The lane wove up what is called here in the South a "mountain" and a sign read that we should "drive to the top of the mountain." Indeed, while not a mountain by my California standards, it was steep enough that my van started to falter!

John, atop the mountain!

To answer John's innocent question, as I trudged up and down the hilly ground with Margaret on my front and a backpack on my back: yes, carrying a half bushel of apples is heavy!

If there is an elevation, something to climb, some way to be higher: Mary is going to be on it!

Sweet sisters!

If you could see my list of chores to do and my packed calendar for the next week, you'd be shaking your head at me for succumbing to temptation to pick an entire bushel of apples. You see, I am going to be Mrs. Suzy Homemaker and make and can apple sauce, apple butter, and make and freeze pastries, such as apple pies, apple muffins, and apple cakes! (Share any of your favorite apple recipes with me, okay?)

At the end of the day, I bit off more than I could chew. Margaret still hates the car, so I turn down a lot of appealing events we could attend. But I don't want us to live as hermits because that is hard on the kids, even though it would make the baby more content. So, I took a gamble: Margaret cried only 30 minutes of the 90-minute drive out into the country, which was not so bad. But when driving home we hit rush hour, causing our drive to take two and a half hours, during which my poor sweet baby screamed for two hours straight. I knew she was fed and full and was screaming only because she hates the car, so the best way I could help here was to drive home as directly as I could. While my children have their moments (I share with you only a fraction!), John and Mary have never complained or said a cross word about Margaret's screaming, including today. What a blessing!

Changing of the Guard

In the spring and in the fall, I am daunted by planting fresh annuals, but it's never quite as difficult as I think it will be. Three kids to the nursery for an hour and a half yesterday plus three kids helping me plant for an hour and a half this morning = lovely plants for me to enjoy for months.

The Begonia (pink this year) are always successful in our yard.

I replaced the Begonia with Violas in maroon, gold, and a bicolor of maroon and gold.

I bought this Hypearls 'Renu' Hypericum spontaneously because the bright berries charmed me. I've been looking for something low and unassuming to fill in the area beneath our kitchen window (empty since we ripped out the very poorly located Camelia). Perhaps this shrub, which should grow to 30" high, will do nicely (and I might add a second).

This has been our summer front entrance.

The coral bells are perennial, but we have an unknown creature (deer? rabbit?) that denudes the plant several times each summer. The red geranium behind is an annual in this climate but it didn't do well in this spot so I won't plant it again.

I was very pleased with the way the various Coleus flourished and will definitely repeat that planting again for spring. I'll remove the Coleus from the pots when they get sparse and leggy, probably next month.

On each side of the walk, I planted two red mums (still budded--not in full bloom, with the plants stressed out and facing a very short life, as sold at most stores). The geranium had some life left in it, so I moved it forward to provide color for a few more weeks before I yank it.

This is the front entrance going into fall (with the kids examining their worm collection).

My three Lantana at the top of the driveway haven't given me a good bloom yet, so I sure hope to see their cheery "confetti" color before they die in the winter.

We have a row of Abelia along the driveway that were being sheared for years. I'm trying to restore their proper arching shape, which will probably take a few years.

I stumbled upon Oxalis 'Charmed Wine' and was utterly charmed myself. Such a gorgeous purple color in interesting geometric shapes with snowy white blooms! I planted the two in my chartreuse green Creeping Jenny along the path through the back yard (you can see Vinca minor on the other side of the path).

I think they are so striking that I want to whiz back to the store to buy the last few they had in stock!

My beautyberries have their first purple berries! I've wanted beautyberries since I moved to the South and I planted two last year, spending all winter assuring Chris that the bare sticks poking out of the ground would grow into something beautiful.

The chokeberry is growing . . .

. . . as is the Silky Dogwood. All three of these plants should provide fall berries for the birds (and all the berries in our yard are non-toxic for humans, although I do teach the kids to "leave them for the birds!").