CHRISTEPHI

Eight weeks. That's how long our break from school will be by the time we start back after New Year's. It's been such a wonderful break -- much needed!  But our time off is drawing to a close and in these final weeks a good deal of my time is being spent planning our year. I love starting a new school year in January!

My first Christmas as a married woman I tried my hand at gingerbread men and have continued to make them every Christmas since. I prefer them plain because they're just that good, but of course there's a lot of fun to be had in decorating gingerbread men (and boys and girls)! Today we packed up our cookie cutters and went to a friend's house for a rollicking good time baking and decorating gingerbread men. Most of the decorating was done by the kids (who have not yet learned the wisdom of "less is more"), but here's one I made as a sample for the kids to see how to use the supplies. ----------------------- Gingerbread Men Cream together until smooth: 2 sticks butter, softened 1 cup sugar Stir in: 1 cup molasses 2 egg yolks In a separate bowl, mix together: 4 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg...

This evening I snapped a shot of the light from the setting sun illuminating the upper branches of our sycamore tree.  The sun sets so early this time of year, but it's awfully lovely while it's going down!

It's not the worst snowstorm I've ever seen, but anytime there's snow on top of ice it gets awfully dicey out there.  But it is awfully beautiful watching the snow blow around from the warmth of the indoors. At one point I couldn't stay in any longer, so I grabbed my camera and went for a little trek around the house. The snow is delightful even when the weather is frightful!   This is the house across the street from us. It's what I look at out our front windows day after day. Today it is frosted and lovely!

I spend a great deal of time with these keys this time of year -- keeping up with holiday events, weather forecasts, Christmas shopping, tracking deliveries, and sharing the festivities with friends near and far.  I've also been prepping some for our new school year that starts in January.

I didn't have a chance to pick up my camera the whole day yesterday. I did snag this quick shot of daddy and daughter at the supper table with my phone. Daughter had been baking and was adorably smudged with flour -- or is it powdered sugar? She baked chocolate Christmas cookies for today's tea party! Today we were up bright and early (for us) to get everything ready for a last minute Christmas tea party we hosted for some local homeschoolers. We had a great turnout and the house was bursting with fun! I snapped a few shots and then gave Miss M my camera to go around and photograph everybody. Somehow, this is still the only shot that came out even halfway decent. Oh well... 

The Christmas lights adorning our front porch make super neat patterns on the ceiling of the living room where they slip in between the closed blinds. I used a slow shutter speed to capture how cool it looks!

In my youth I was "early to bed and early to rise," typically getting up before the sun. These days, not so much. Hubby and the kids are night owls, which means I'm usually up late right along with them. And when I stay up late, I sleep in late the next morning. (Because sleep deprivation is for the birds.) This morning, however, I was up early and caught this beautiful beam of the just-risen sun casting shadows of my jade plant on the kitchen wall. Due to the position of the window, and neighboring houses and trees, it only stayed illuminated like this for less than five minutes. Five magical minutes, and I captured it!

It has been cold enough to freeze parts of the pond at the park. Today was warmer, though, and drizzley. Perfect for a brisk walk with the fam! Here the kids are amusing themselves with sliding rocks across the ice and of the edge into the unfrozen water. Rocks bouncing on ice make such a unique plink-plink sound!

I love seeing these old sci fi books on my shelf. They were my dad's when he was a boy. I love that so many of the wild ideas the old sci fi writers came up with are now a reality with modern technology. I used to read these on Christmas vacation at my grandparents' farm. Maybe one year my kids will read them on Christmas break!

My little bookworm ran off to the stacks while I picked up the books I had on hold at the library.  We're never there very long, but she always comes home with a whole stack of books to read.

This evening the family was all cuddled up on the couch with plenty of pillows and blankets and engaged in one of our favorite activities -- playing WordHero together on our tablets.  This may look like yet another example of the downfall of civilization in the modern age, but you would not believe the fun, laughter, and hilarity that ensues when we all play together. Our devices are put to use fostering family togetherness!

Today my youngest child lost his first tooth. What a bittersweet milestone!  Here he is giving it a tug with a piece of dental floss. He ended up pulling it out himself a little bit later, no help necessary!

I was far too busy today to look for interesting camera shots, but I snagged this one quickly as my son's friend's little brother borrowed a pair of monster feet and chased the bigger boys up the loft bed. Rawr!

Today my mom, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew drove in from out of state. I had been expecting my mom, but the rest were a last minute addition. I also didn't know they were bringing Christmas with them! Christmas music, advent reading, and a silly Christmas story read by my 7-year-old led up to opening presents and snapping lots of pictures.  I snagged this one of my sister's camera just as she reached to pick it up again.  It's the cooler, newer, more trendy version of mine, just like my sister is the cooler, younger, more trendy version of me...or something like that.

Candles are a common part of many winter holiday celebrations. Kids are particularly fascinated by these little bodies of heat and light. And with that fascination comes the inevitable questions: why? and how?  Why doesn’t the fire get bigger? Why is there water in the candle? How does it work? Not long ago, a winter ice storm came along and knocked out our power. After the initial surprise of being plunged into total darkness, it seemed like the perfect chance for us to investigate just how candles work. What you need: 8″ piece of cotton string metal butter knife paper towel small dish of water yellow or red food coloring 2 taper candles matches or lighter Most children have seen a candle burn, but you may wish to have a separate burning candle available for observation during the discussion. Ask your students what burns on a candle. Does the wick burn? Tie the piece of cotton string to the handle of a metal butter knife. Light the dangling end ...

Today I rested. It seems most days are a whirlwind of activity with ten zillion details I have to keep track of, arrange, and execute.  There are meals to plan, cook, and eat. Rooms to tidy. Appointments to make and keep. Children to educate, nurture, bathe, and worry over. Friends and relations with important milestones to celebrate. World events to stay abreast of. And more.   And most of the time I am perfectly happy with my chaotic life.   But some days... Some days I lie in bed and admire my parrot mobile. For hours. Just because. And I let my mind and my body r.e.s.t.

At some point along the way while I was busy raising this girl, she transformed from a little girl to a young lady.  Isn't she gorgeous?

In this season of Advent, we prepare many things. We prepare Him room in our hearts. We prepare festive decorations and surprises. And sometimes we prepare our homes with a massive purge in our kids' rooms. This is a before shot.  Well, an almost-before shot. We actually already got started and moved Miss M's bird and its table out before I remembered to grab the camera.  We worked for 12 hours straight (with two brief breaks to eat). It's still not done. But we made progress!  'Tis the season.....for hard work. :-)

It has felt more like spring than fall the past several weeks. My pathetic rose plant in the front yard seems to have thought so too. It decided to put out a blossom. Imagine! A blooming rose in December in Missouri! This is my first photo for this year's  December Photo Project . It's not too late to join in! 

What better way to celebrate fall than with some delicious apples? Did you know there are over 7,500 varieties of apples worldwide? I’m sure you can find many cultivars in your local grocery store. We took a trip to our local market and came home with one each of nine different varieties of apples. With our hands on some apples, we decided to do a taste test, gather some data, and graph that information. Supplies needed: several varieties of apples, be sure to make a note of their names! data collection sheet colored pencils paper plates paring knife cutting board Pass around each variety of apple. Observe its color, size and shape. Make predictions about how you think it will taste. Slice each apple. Be sure to keep track of which is which! We put the sticker from each apple onto a paper plate so we could identify each type. Taste a slice of each apple. Rate the flavor and crunchiness of each one. Use a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best and 1 b...

Standing at the kitchen sink with soapsuds up to my elbows, I look out the window and see a little boy under a tree. He has a lapboard and a bucket of crayons. He’s laying on his stomach with his feet up in the air. A curious cat —that thinks it’s a dog —came to investigate him and he scratches it gently, now behind its ears, now under its chin. I must be doing something right. I’m sweeping the kitchen floor and stop by the back door window. I wipe sweat from my forehead; it’s summer. I watch a little girl run and leap grabbing hold of a bright yellow trapeze bar. It was new just this spring. I remember that first day; she was terrified to sit on it, afraid she’d fall. Now her young body is stronger and her confidence level is high. She hangs upside-down and hooks her legs over the bar. In an instant, she’s up! And then down again, hanging just by the knees. I must be doing something right. The hum of my sewing machine stops. I look at the bed behind me. A little boy is...

We are now a little over halfway through Creation to the Greeks and MFW First Grade. As you may have noticed, I dropped off blogging every week as I expected I would. It's easier to blog when the days are short and cold, but much harder to find time for it once spring arrives and we're out gardening and such in our spare time.  I wouldn't have it any other way!  If you wish to keep up with our weekly doings, you'll have to follow my Facebook page which is updated almost every day that we do school! So, now that we're on the downhill side of the year, I thought I would write a little about what has worked well for us this year and what hasn't. Our planners Back in January I copied the grid pages from my CTG and First Grade teacher's manuals and assembled them into a lesson planner for the year. (Remember: MFW allows for photocopying of the grid pages for planning and record keeping as long as you agree to never loan, give, or sell the teacher's ma...

I am not an artist. I can draw passable stick figures — oh, and trees; I can also draw trees — but that’s about it.  My kids are no artistic wonders either.  But we all enjoy sitting down with a few art supplies to let our creativity flow.  I make it a point to keep a few basic supplies on hand. Papers: manila paper drawing paper newsprint paper construction paper cardstock Get started with the proper foundation.  Cardstock for watercolors, newsprint for a budding reporter, manila paper for treasure maps.  My kids typically sit down knowing exactly what kind of paper they want to produce the art they have in mind.  While plain old printer paper will work for most jobs, having the right paper for the project just makes the whole thing more enjoyable! Bonus:  pretty scrapbooking paper, brown paper lunch sacks, index cards, art canvases, tagboard Writing Utensils: markers crayons colored...

Benjamin Franklin was a great inventor and made a big impact in history. He invented the life-saving lightening rod, started Philadelphia’s volunteer fire department, established a public library, and served as Philadelphia’s postmaster. He also founded several famous newspapers. To enhance our study of his fascinating life, we decided to take a trip to our local newspaper! We visited The Landmark , one of the oldest newspapers in the state of Missouri and one of the oldest continuously published newspapers west of the Mississippi. The building The Landmark occupies is itself a piece of local history. It was built in 1869 as a drug store and post office. At that time, a post office was oftentimes a town’s center of news, just like in Benjamin Franklin’s day! The Landmark sends out its paper for printing off site — easy to do in these days of digital layout and the internet — but their office is home to some amazing old equipment from days gone by. The most fascina...

Shortly after moving to our new home this past winter, the kids and I noticed a squirrel that was different than the others because he had no tail! Or rather, just a stub of a tail left from some trauma he must have suffered. We have spent quite a lot of time speculating about what could have happened to him. Was he caught by a cat only to escape with his life? Did he get run over by a car? Perhaps he was caught in the crook of a tree? (This last theory proved more plausible after we found a different squirrel in January caught by its tail, dead, and frozen solid!) It wasn’t long before this unique squirrel was dubbed Dale No-Tail. During our bemused observations, we discovered which hole in which tree is Dale’s home and before long we noticed a female squirrel shares that habitation. When she came to the porch rail, we also observed that she is clearly pregnant (and has nursed kits before; nature reveals these things!). She, of course, has been named Mrs. Dale and we are eagerly...