McGuffey - wisdom from the past

I have enjoyed Large Family Mothering's posts on the antique McGuffey texts (and other antique resources).  One-room schoolhouse teaching was nothing like the methods used today.

- Most children didn't enter the one-room schoolhouse until they were ten.

- Play was valued for little ones.

- Teachers taught based on instinct, not by teacher's editions.  There were none.

Her posts are worth reading.  A third post is in the works.  I love this woman's blog!  She is a great thinker, IMHO.

Her first post - An Old Dog Learning New Tricks
Second post - The Places I Have Been

science writing - fireflies

During these last twelve or so weeks of school,  my sons will still be doing daily writing, but the topics will come from either social studies or science.  Last night the boys saw the first fireflies of the season, a few weeks earlier than normal.

Peter was ecstatic:   "Jesus really blessed us!  We didn't have to wait so long this year!  Can you believe it, Mommy?"

When assigning writing topics I try to think of what has happened lately, and what the boys seem most excited about or interested in.   Last week it was robins' nests, robin reproductive facts, and the nurturing habits of Mom and Pop robin.

Today, I didn't even have to think twice about a topic.  Fireflies!

"Today I want you to do some research and write some paragraphs about fireflies.  In your details, I would like you to include three facts about fireflies, and three things you enjoy about them."

We found this website, which I know your kiddos will enjoy.  Be sure and read all those firefly jokes!  Hilarious.  Also read about how your child can get involved in an official firefly count.

We also found this site, rich in facts, including that fireflies are endangered (due to light pollution and development, both of which encroach on their mating practices and habitats).  Sad.  Just sad.  Read about how you can help.

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Can you believe my Paul broke out in hives again tonight, about the same time (before-bed storytime)?  He ate bittersweet chocolate two hours after a dinner of sloppy joes, baked potato, chocolate milk, and raisins (remember he is picky).  Weird.  What a mystery.

when it rains, does it have to pour too?

Six-year-old Paul really likes popcorn.  He becomes positively giddy about it, in fact.  I buy it only occasionally because some brands have unhealthy oils (palm or coconut), and other brands have food dye.  I've yet to get him an air popper.

After the girls fell asleep tonight and it was time to read to the boys, I made them some popcorn.  Paul broke out in hives within fifteen minutes--his first case ever!  It took me five minutes to assess the situation and then I promptly gave him Benydryl.  He is sleeping soundly now, with no apparent breathing problems.  I can only hope since this is the first sign of allergy, that this episode will be mild.  Corn is a common allergen, but not on the Top 8 list.  If one is allergic to corn--a cereal grain--it is possible one will develop other cereal grain allergies.

Paul always refuses corn, but does like corn muffins and corn tortillas, both of which he's eaten in the past forty-eight hours.  He's had no new foods lately, except for a smidgen of honey on his corn muffin.  Honey isn't a common allergen, and besides, that ingestion was over twenty-four hours ago.

I'm a bit discouraged about this.  He started crying when I told him he might have a corn allergy.  His passion for popcorn runs so deep!  He was devastated.  And mad.  The only thing I could offer was that some children do grow out of food allergies (except for peanut allergy of course).

Although husband's family has serious seasonal allergies, none in that family have food allergies. My mom and sister have a milk sensitivity, but other than that my side is free from food allergy as well.

Three of my children are plagued by eczema, and in the past two years, both boys have developed pollen allergy.  I'm wondering what other allergies might surface.  Corn, as you probably can guess, is in so many things!  There is even a dusting of corn starch in food packaging.  What a nightmare!

Some days I just can't believe how complicated life gets.

I can only think of two positives right now, in regards to this.  First, we started on a whole food journey a few months ago.  That will help enormously if I have to eliminate all corn derivatives.  Second, Paul has always been a very picky eater.  Now I see that maybe the slower introduction to many foods could have been protective.

So, do you have any good news?  I'd really like to hear some good news!  Please.

our goings on

We are down to the last two months of our school year.  These two months will consist mostly of social studies and science, along with math fact practice.  My second grader has begun multiplication, as is usual for the end of second grade.  However, since there is still some addition fact memorization to be done, we really need to attack that with disciplined consistency now.

I memorized my multiplication facts just fine in third grade, but it's worth noting that I didn't memorize my addition facts until I started grading first-grade math papers.  Interesting, eh?  Or is that just shocking and sad?

Anyhow, I took a year of calculus in college and didn't flunk out.  I can't say I remember anything about calculus though.  Under duress, I accepted it as my fate, along with physics.  Not long after these glorious courses, I axed my plan to be a doctor.  Smart move, eh?

All this to say, my blog posts will decrease in frequency now.  Social studies and science take more prep work on my part.

Happy gardening, sprinkling, kiddy pooling, and popscicling to you!

44us

When we first moved to Ohio five years ago, I picked this as the beginning of my email address:  44us

It meant "four children for us", as in the two boys we were raising, along with the two babies we have in heaven.  Now, five years later, I have four living children--the last two not planned by us.  God made good on that email address!  Sometimes I get teary-eyed when I write it on forms, just thinking about how God blessed.

Recently I thought about changing it to 64us, to signify four here with us, and two more in heaven.  But you know, I don't think I will now.  I like having an inside joke, so to speak, with God.  Not that miscarriage is any sort of joke--I don't mean to be callous.  It's just that He knew exactly what would happen in the next three years.  I was oblivious, just picking out an address a month after a miscarriage, in my grief.

My God....He's amazing!