Gloria in Excelsis Deo: {SQT} The St. Valentine's Day Edition

1. What's Working Well?

Click here for some latest little practices that are working well for us. I can't always be focusing on the areas that need improvement, right?

2. Confession

We have found a new location to go to weekly Confession and at a better time too. The parish is fewer than ten minutes away and has Confession most days early enough so we are home starting school by nine. The kids and I are loving it.

Our three-year-old sees a kneeler and kneels to pray!

This was my week to take a turn sitting in the cry room with the little boys while the big kids went to Confession, so I just brought along Joseph's catechism reading.

3. Getting Outside When We Can

The weather dipped back to chilly and wet this week. The kids were not deterred, and even I got out for a couple of walks!

I've been pondering lately . . . There are long-term, pernicious ill-effects from television (and we don't allow video games) that end up taking time from my day (mostly in the form of bad behavior that has to be dealt with), so it's usually not worth putting it on, even if the alternative (cleaning up muddy clothing and footprints on my floors or picking up board game and puzzle pieces) also takes time. I think the alternative clean-ups probably even take up less time . . . and don't damage the soul/conscience/character. I'm pretty positive my children would refuse to play outside if screen time were an option more often, but at the moment, I've been able to hold the line pretty well . . .

Six- and seven-year-olds pushing their three-year-old brother on the swing

Visiting the playground during their older brother's Latin class at church

We don't let a downpour stop us!

Begging to play hockey in 35-degree weather before breakfast

4. Math

Joseph's numerical literacy is growing by leaps and bounds in only two weeks of switching to RightStart Math, which I had used with my first three Kindergarteners. He "gets it" immediately with these better explanations. I am soooooooooo glad I switched.

All my attempts to teach place value with the other curriculum failed
until I got out my trusty Place Value Cards from RightStart.

5. St. Valentine's Day

Click here to see our family celebration!

6. Thomas Draws

My sturdy boy Thomas (3-1/2) with his delayed speech that is almost all caught up has begun drawing lately. It's so exciting to this mama!

One morning, he brought me a book and asked me what it was. I explained that it is a book to teach a person how to draw animals. When I was walking away to teach Joseph and saw Thomas had set himself up with the instructional book, a paper, and a fat crayon, I even snapped a picture thinking it was so cute, since obviously Thomas was too young to follow the directions.

I was mistaken, and Thomas produced this wonderful purple cat with no help from any siblings.

He also drew this picture of David, which is a whole new level of sophistication for a stick person.

Bonus pic of littles playing Play-Doh

7. Etiquette Education

I really enjoy books about etiquette and manners and, in fact, collected and read many of them in high-school and college, as evidenced below. FYI, old books of etiquette are really interesting snapshots into days of yore and into changing societal mores.

This year, I had my girls read Emilie Barnes' "A Little Book of Manners: Courtesy and Kindness for Young Ladies." That was a great hit, so when I recently realized that Joseph at six is perfectly old enough for some formal etiquette instruction, I bought Emilie Barnes' "A Little Book of Manners: A Game Plan for Getting Along with Others." It teaches the same manners but in a way appealing to little boys (who, despite the news these days, are very different than little girls).

Big brother John (12) will be reading this book to the boys several times per week, which lends the study of manners a decided cool factor. The three fellas are enjoying it already!