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My Buttons Jar

April 19, 2008 By Laura 2 Comments

jarofbuttons
(My Button Jar)

Like many women, I am sure, I feel that a home is a place in which you should be surrounded by the things that make you happy. Things that touch your soul, lift you up, comfort you. Aside from one’s family, I think that these are the things that make the house, a home. They could be meaningful pieces, that perhaps have a family history, or were passed down to you. Maybe it’s something that brings back cherished memories. Perhaps it’s something created just for you, or given to you by a very special person in your life. Or maybe it’s just ‘things’ you collect, because they speak to you, for reasons you aren’t even sure of. (And don’t really feel the need to figure out.) You just like seeing them there. Whatever those things may be for you, they matter, and should be part of your ‘sacred environment’.

My button jar is one of those things in my home. I simply just started getting and collecting buttons in this jar, because I liked the idea of it. I love buttons, and I knew seeing a bunch of them, in all of their colors, in a clear jar, would just give me one of those quiet inner-smiles. And they do.  But for even more reasons than the visual appreciation I have for it, now.

It started with my husband’s comment in the store on that late summer day, as my oldest daughter and I excitedly spun the button rack, plucking off little packs we loved. He asked “What are all these buttons for, again, Honey?”. It was the way he said it. So gently. He knows better than anyone, how I get when I get an idea. I go on an urgent mission. He doesn’t always understand it. But he is always so understanding of ‘me’ and my simple needs, and you can just hear the love in his voice, when he asks these questions, trying hard to understand the purpose behind the urgency of my latest mission.
So he asked, in that sweet way he does.

By the grace of God, an answer came to me, that didn’t sound quite so crazy, as the truth it initially was. I said “Well, I’m going to keep these in the school room, and they’ll be great manipulatives to have on hand for the kids, in helping them understand math concepts and stuff, for kindergarten.” I surprised myself, and thankfully, the answer seemed to suit him just fine. So then I honestly added, “And also, I just want a button jar.” Which made him laugh, in a way that I knew, he knew, that was the bigger of the truths.

Turns out, those buttons have been used a whole lot! They don’t ‘just’ sit there, looking pretty.  At the beginning of the kids schooling, they used the buttons for the building of math skills, on their number charts. I would call out a number, and they would see how fast they could find that number on their chart, and mark it with a button. Or we would teach them about numbers that come before, after, or in between, other given numbers.

buttons-math-chart-homeschooling

kids-homeschooling

As the beginning of the year wore on, we also used them for lessons on counting higher, comparison, direction and position (right, left, up down, next, last, over, after, before, etc.) They also came in handy for number theories (ordinal numbers, even, odd) , and sequences such as first, 2nd, 3rd, last. etc. At this point in the year, we mostly use them to show them the visual concept of addition and subtraction.

I’m not the only one that has truly enjoyed having this jar of buttons in our home! The younger kids ask all of the time “Mama, can I play with your buttons?“, and the ‘your‘ part always makes me chuckle. (But I don’t feel the need to correct them 😉  Of course, I always say “Yes“. They ‘play’ with them, making up their own games that incidentally, re-enforce every mathematical concept we have taught them. Everything they learned with those buttons, was FUN to them, and so they just want to do it more. And I think ‘Keep playing.’

When I first got that jar of buttons together, and sat it on my school cabinet, the sight of it, as I said, just gave me a quiet inner-smile. Maybe they represent my surpressed urge to start sewing. (For all of the beautiful sewn things I just totally make up in my head, and then so surprisingly, cannot find in the stores!)

But more than anything now, seeing that jar already brings me warm memories: Of the thoughtfully put question my husband asked me in the store that day, or the fun the kids have had with them during school time, and the value in the various lessons they’ve learned while using them. Or the many times I watched any one of the children at the table, buttons scattered about, ‘playing‘. Suddenly, the vision-turned-reality of my button jar just sitting there, holds true purpose, life-long lessons, family value, and cherished memories. It’s times like these I am really glad I had such a crazy idea.
And as it sometimes turns out, so is everyone else in our family.

Save

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling MATH, Homeschooling Tagged With: button jar, buttons, elementary-homeschooling, elementary-math, homeschooling, math-manipulatives

Well, Alexis Grace (10) Drew Up a Plan for a Tadpole Breeder

April 15, 2008 By Laura Leave a Comment

tadpole breeder plan

The mud bucket and net is ready to go.  The big bin is ready. The empty milk jugs are lined up along the stairwell, just waiting to be filled with the pond water. And she’s got her tadpole breeder all planned out.

Looks like we’re going bullfrog tadpole hunting today! << Click that link to see our field trip hunt!

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Field Trips, Homeschooling, Science Tagged With: elementary-homeschooling, elementary-homeschooling-field-trips, plans, sketches, tadpole_hunting, tadpole-breeder, tadpole-breeder-plan, tadpoles

6 Tiny Potted Plants

April 15, 2008 By Laura Leave a Comment

tiny potted plants

How cute are these tiny potted plants sitting on the window sill?  Something about little sights like this just stir me somewhere inside, and make me smile.

We got the kids this little kit, to plant some flowers in these little starter potted plants, which we will later transplant into our flower beds outdoors. (They just LOVE stuff like this. All projects, really.)

The first thing they needed to do was put the peat pellets in a bowl, and add one cup of water.  Then they had to wait FIVE MINUTES.  You know…..eternity, for a kid.  This photo below totally cracks me up, because of their expressions of waiting….and waiting….they look thrilled, don’t they?

waiting-for-soaking

Just staring at this bowl…..for FIVE MINUTES…..as they soil soaked up the water and expanded.  After about 2 minutes,  {S} couldn’t take it anymore, and went into the kitchen to stare at the set timer instead. : )  At least with the numbers counting down, he could see the end in sight.

tiny potted plants

FINALLY the timer went off, and it was time to mix it up good.  They all took turns getting the job done well.

kids potting plants

Then Daddy filled up the little pots to the top, while the kids chose the flower seeds of their choice, and counted out 10 seeds each.  {A} and {S} chose Delphinium (Pacific Giant), {O} and I chose Rudbeckia (Gloriosa Daisy), and { J } and Daddy chose Hollyhock (Alcea Rosea).  Then their little hands got to work, planting each seed about 1/4″ into the soil.

little hands potting plants

They were pretty happy with their little potted plants, and very excited to watch them grow.  We put our initials on them to know whose is whose, and of course, to see whose is growing the best.  Will some of us have a more skilled green thumb than others?  Or do some species grow faster or slower than others?  We’ll see!  And I’m sure we’ll keep you posted.

tiny potted plants

Unfortunately, they have to be kept in this little ‘greenhouse’ to grow.  So much for my happy little vision of them lined up on the window sill.  But I’m gettin’ over it.

tiny potted plants

Let the growing begin!

Filed Under: Elementary Homeschooling, Elementary Homeschooling SCIENCE, Homeschooling, Nature Study, Science Tagged With: dirt, elementary-homeschooling-science, flowers, kids-gardening, kids-growing-plants, kids-potting-plants, plants, seeds, soil, tiny-potted-plants

Spring and Budding Promise

April 13, 2008 By Laura Leave a Comment

hostas breaking ground

I know it doesn’t look like much.  Yet.  But it will soon enough!  These are the buds of my hostas and tulips.  Spring and budding promise. I wait for them, in such anticipation, every early spring.  New England weather is so crazy, and everyone knows how much I despise the COLD.  So when I see these buds, it’s proof to me that maybe, perhaps, spring may truly be here. Even if it’s not quite acting like it yet.

More than the hope they give, I know all that they will flourish to be.  I’ve seen it!  These little pathetic buds are full of promise.  I’ve soaked up the joy they give me at every glance, year after year. I have faith, that it will happen once again.

The hostas actually hold a little family history for us.  My mother-in-law gave us this cluster of hosta, probably over 11 years ago.  She had transplanted some, and didn’t have anywhere to put this one she had left. She had a beautifully gardened yard. The kind you see in Better Home and Gardens.  Just lovely. I loved visiting and seeing it.  But gardening, plants, flowers,…it all just wasn’t my thing.  Seemed like a lot of work to me! So I wasn’t all THAT excited about taking the orphaned hosta.  : ) But my husband was kind of excited.  He broke it up into 5 plants, and planted them around the big pine tree we had on the side of the driveway there.  They never did so well there, I would imagine because of the excessive shade they were in, and the acidity of the pine needles falling.

Eventually we cut that pine tree down, and they did better with more sun. But they looked pretty silly around a stump. And that was getting pulled out.  So since the hostas had grown on me some (no pun intended : ), we decided to move them over the short wall, overlooking our yard.  They did well there, and as they grew a little more each year, so had I.  I began to have a more appreciation for what I call “those domestic kind of things”.  I rather enjoyed looking at my hostas popping up through the ground every year, and flourishing into full green hardy plants.  They are just beautiful every year now.  One might even see me out there raking up around them, keeping their beds clean.

Don’t get me wrong.   My yard still does not look like my in-law’s did. (They have since moved.)  In fact, my yard is a sore sight at the moment.  Where we live, the earth is extremely sandy. We had some major home construction about 2 years ago, for an addition to help accomodate our suddenly-bigger family, and my little green yard has not been the same since.  I will never forget seeing that excavator climb up the hill of my Junipers from the driveway, and gracefully crawl across my yard, completely unearthing everything in it’s path.  I think my mouth just hung open. That was just the beginning, and well, the yard has been secondary to finishing the inside of our home ourselves. But the hostas and tulips are a beautiful distraction from the mess of the rest.

Speaking of, the destruction of construction brings me back to the story of my tulips. I had planted some tulip bulbs over by the tree, around the same time of my half-hearted domestic efforts, many years ago.  I always loved tulips, enough that the thought of having some in my yard gave me enough ambition to actually plant some.  To my surprise, they eventually came up! But in the process of our construction, and the need to relocate lots of sandy grassed-earth, formerly know as our yard, the sandpiles were dumped on the location of my tulip bulbs!  Looking at the pile that was several feet high, I thought “Well, that’s the end of my tulips!  They are buried for good now!”

I was so very wrong.  Amazingly, to me anyway, those tulips made their way all the way up from the ground, through several feet of sand, and broke free into the air, to grow and flourish once again.  Their leaves are a little more tattered, but I can appreciate what they have gone through; their long and difficult journey, to get where they wanted to be.  They truly make me reflect on us, as a family.  We have been through a lot in our family life. Just difficult circumstances and the kind of struggles we wondered if we would ever get through.  But with what faith in God we had, and, well I won’t say patience, but perseverance, we always did make it through.  Just like many people and families in this world, who got through the difficult events that are all part of God’s greater plan, we prevailed. We’ve come out stronger, feeling all the more blessed, and have a bit more clearer perspective on life, than before. Like the sprouts of the tulip bulbs buried many, many yards below the surface, we looked UP.  We reached for the Light, looked to God for some strength and determination.  We believed, and persevered.  And eventually, we reveled in the reward that was ours.  Feeling, and living, and reveling in the glory of God.

So there is beauty in those tattered and nubby buds.  Spring and budding promise. As the photos below from last year testify, just LOOK what we have to look forward to…..

hostas

yellow and orange tulips

yellow and orange tulips

tulip close-up with water droplets

yellow and orange tulips

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to usb] and persevere in running the race that lies before us 2 while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12; 1-2

 

Filed Under: Faith, Life In General, Photography, The Big Picture, The Homestead Tagged With: buds, Christian-faith, Faith, flower photography, flower photos, flowers, Hebrews-12;1-2, hostas, photography, seasons, spring, thoughts-on-life, tulips

Let it be written on the heart – Scripture Memorization for Kids

April 10, 2008 By Laura Leave a Comment

John-3-16-homeschooling

We’re sharing a bit about Scripture memorization for kids, today.
We are celebrating the 50 Days of Easter in our family, which is part of the Liturgical year of our Catholic faith. As a way to symbolize each day, my husband and I hung plastic Easter eggs from decorative ribbon, and strung them along the tops of the 3 large windows of our school room, for the kids to wake up to on Easter morning. After morning devotion, they take turns opening one egg a day, and inside each egg is a small way we will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection that day. It may be a fun activity to do later that day, a new project, a family outing, a treat, etc. But in some of them are Scripture for them to try and memorize. We truly didn’t expect the Scripture eggs to be as much of a hit as say…the treat eggs! But surprisingly, they have been a huge hit. Each day they have gotten a Scripture, we write it on our large dry eraser board and set it up where they can all read it, and use it as they wish throughout the day. They get all excited, and spend the day intermittently studying the scripture, practicing with each other, and all breaking out in laughter when one of them gets stuck or messes up at the same spot, over and over.

Of course memorizing Scripture is easier for our oldest.  She’s not only older, but also has a deep friendship she has developed with her Bible.  Perhaps unusually so for a 10 year old. She has contently spent hours at time just reading and studying it, and copying Passages into various notebooks she has. She knows more Scripture by heart than her parents! <shame>.  She’s inspiring, frankly.

Anyway, by the end of a Scripture-egg day, when they all can recite the scripture by heart, complete with the book and verse, without looking at the board, they are thrilled and proud to get their star beside their initial.

It serves them well to be so determined, to accomplish a goal they’ve each set for themselves, and to take such pride in a dry-board marker star, which they have earned through their own hard work. But it will serve them even better, in the scope of their lives, to have these Scriptures written in their minds, and on their hearts. Are they not some of the most powerful tools, and weapons of armor, one can carry throughout their lives.

Filed Under: Faith/ Catholic, Homeschooling, The Big Picture Tagged With: bible-verse-memorization, bible-verse-study, Catholic-blogs, Catholic-families, devotion, homeschooling, John-3-16, Scripture-memorization-for-kids

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