end of summer

Today, I made these:

And I got to use this (happy birthday to me),

which makes this much easier (as does my dough whisk--best kitchen tool ever!),

because Monday morning, we will be here:

Well, the girl's school looks nothing like that, but she will be at her first day of kindergarten at Legacy Preparatory Christian Academy.  LPCA is a university-model school. Students go to school two to three days a week for instruction and do the rest of their school work, review, practice, pre-reading, projects, at home.

Which means on Tuesday and Thursday we will be here:

Our school room is ready. Map, calendar, magnet board hung up. Supplies in the cute little caddy (I love Lakeshore!! I could get in lots of budget trouble there.) Rebekah's work for the week is clipped together (if you can see the purple glittery flower clip) and hung on the magnet board. The teacher posts the week's assignments on RenWeb for parents to download.  This week we have projects for writing the letter T and doing T sounds, a texture collage to make, some art and some math. Right now, sounds very do-able.  Ben is ready for more this year so I thought we would work on a few sight words at a time which I also have on the magnet board.  I know he and I have more than a few letters to review and do some fun stuff with. 

Plus, I have this:

What is this, you ask? An alphabet box.  Each drawer of this box (available at Lowe's) has tiny objects that begin with that letter.  Here's "T" (so far): treasure, television, table, tiger, ticket, and turtle.

I was pressured--;) just kidding!--into this project by the alpha-crazed Kellye--she of three boys and infinite energy (you can read their alphabet summer adventures, more about the alphabet box, and raising Christ-centered kids whose roots run deep here). There are several games to play like I Spy and Common Bond. I'm interested in building Ben's ear for phonics and these small manipulatives are great for his fine-motor skills, especially once I find the kind of tongs I'd like for him  to use in this and other activities.  I'm still searching for many objects for the less common letters.  Trips to Michaels and Hobby Lobby are like treasure hunts--stickers, buttons, erasers. And I've made some objects--a puffy paint web, an apron from fabric and ribbon scraps.  I'm ready to really get going on it and incorporating it into our mommy school.  I may need to have a Dead Poets moment for myself and rip out the remaining worksheets from Ben's workbook....nah! Bring on the seat work!!

art

wordy

hand-made

Ben's art in the gameroom

meaningful

counting stars

Warning: Do not attempt to listen to this CD when your significant other is out of town, you are bone-dead tired from a week of teaching VBS, and you are driving in the rain with three sweet and silent babes--you just may turn into a puddle of weepy mess (also not very good for driving in said rain.)

On a Thursday evening, I drove by our mailbox before attempting a bookstore and dinner date with my lovelies (at our favorite chicken establishment, of course).  D was out of town and we were approaching the end of a tiring but highly enjoyable week of VBS and the end of a tiring and emotionally draining month in general.  To my delight, a padded envelope bearing a Rabbit Room mailing label awaited us--the new release from Andrew Peterson, Counting Stars. I put the CD in, handed the liner notes to the girl (she is so my daughter!), and enjoyed words and music washing over our car as the rain fell softly and the children quieted down. 

This is maybe AP's most family-oriented album with songs for and about his wife, children, their home--The Warren, and his ancestors.  The album's title is an allusion to God asking Abraham if he can count the stars and the legacy one man can have.  "Dancing in the Minefields" was the first song that got me all mushy, especially as D and I approach our tenth anniversary.   We married young too (22 and 21) and have been sailing in the storms through it all: "And it was harder than we dreamed but I believe that's what the promise is for." You can also watch a music video here--see You Tube is good for something. 

And while several songs are about his own family, there are words to our extended family in Christ: to plant trees that will live on after we are gone, to remember we are priests and princes in the Kingdom of God, and to not let go because there is hope in the night.

This is a raw, honest, and mature album. Every song is true, poignant, and lovingly crafted.  I can't wait to see some of these songs performed at the Behold the Lamb of God concert this winter (December 17th for you Houstonians!). I will be bringing tissues for sure.