Duke & Duchess of Cambridge

Red and I didn’t get up at 3 a.m. to watch the royal wedding live. We were pleasantly slumbering through the live version…but we did watch the rerun. Ostensibly it was for “history” since we were watching history in the making. But this isn’t about history- these are our observations. And I highly recommend watching the royal wedding with a six year old. It’s very enlightening!

First, I had to explain a little of the British royal intricacies to Red, who couldn’t understand why in the world England has a queen but not a king. Hey, the queen is married, right? It’s not your Disney royals, that’s for sure. Then try to explain why Prince Will’s dad isn’t married to his mom and why Camilla has to curtsey to the queen. And why it’s a faux pas to wear a tiara to your wedding if you’re not a princess- yet.

We shelved that conversation, which was quickly digressing, to watch the royals enter the Abbey. Incredible doesn’t begin to describe it. As a mom and conservative dresser, I LOVED seeing the dress code observed. Nothing too revealing and everyone dressed to the nines! Red’s response was varied. She loved the dressed up ladies in hats although she had a few choice words for some of the zanier hats and fascinators.

Princesses Eugenie (left) and Beatrice (right)

Particularly, Princess Beatrice’s wacky creation: “She looks like a Dr. Seuss character.” I agreed. Also a raccoon with that eyeliner. But she definitely brought some pizzazz to the event!

She was delighted by the young bridesmaids. The dresses were “lovely!” The mother of the bride, Camilla, and most of the other ladies’ gowns were “boring.” The men provided some excitement with their red uniforms or black with gold braid. She was disappointed that Prince William didn’t wear his sword. Would’ve been cooler if he had. But it was at that point she noticed Prince Harry. She was immediately enraptured by the young prince. He has red hair, like hers, and was grinning like a rascal. She said he was, “such a doll! He’s so cute!” She got such a kick out of Prince Harry sneaking peeks at Kate as she walked down the aisle and chuckling/whispering to his brother who never turned to see his bride’s entrance.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip arrive at Westminster Abbey

The queen’s ride through town provided a certain fascination for Red that I didn’t anticipate. She was surprised that the queen wore a sunshine yellow dress and hat. She listened to the announcer who told the world that yellow was the queen’s favorite color. To that, she promptly responded, “That’s Grandma’s favorite too!” But it wasn’t until the queen came to her spot in the Abbey, standing next to her husband, Prince Phillip, that she unleashed her inner Joan Rivers, “They look like mustard and ketchup!” (Prince Phillip’s uniform was scarlet red.) Apparently, the queen’s outfit was a fail. It was also a failure to Red because the queen didn’t wear her crown. What’s the use of being queen if you don’t wear your crown! And in her words, “What’s the point of having a queen if you don’t have a king?” Hmmm- food for thought.

Kate was the one everyone was waiting for. Red included. Once Kate emerged in her Grace Kelly-inspired gown, Red lost it. She gushed over the gown and lace and tiara. It was indeed a beautiful choice and such a refreshing change to see the bride’s arms/shoulders covered. She came off looking regal, virginal, and every inch the royal bride.

After a few comments on the trees in Westminster Abbey, Red gave up on the dirge of a wedding service. I love the formality of British weddings but it was too boring to keep her interested for long. One day she’ll thank me for watching the wedding. My sister and I were huge Diana fans when we were little. But then again…the love of history and tradition seems to be going out the window with new generations. Maybe this is the end of the royalty.

Red did tell me she’s ready to go to London to meet the new princess and Prince Harry. After all, in one of the pans by the cameras, she noticed they have a McDonalds.

For now,

Call us royal watchers- and commentators!

Our latest struggle is over lights. She “forgets” to turn them out all the time. We come home to a house ablaze. I try to train but I sound more like a nag. Tonight, a dripping wet redhead walks into my room (I don’t allow shouting from the tub) and asks, very accusingly, “Mom, why is the light on in the laundry room?” Ooops…caught in my own nag!

We’re studying ancient history right now and I overheard an interesting conversation as I passed by her bedroom door. She was playing with her stuffed birds and one was the pharaoh of Egypt, one was the princess of Assyria, and another was Thesus, the King of Athens who killed the Minotaur. They were all sailing on a Phoenician ship to Crete. Glad she’s retaining history-even if she’s creating some of her own!

Red is fascinated by human anatomy. We’re studying the inner workings of the body in science: the endocrine system, the nervous system, etc. She loves to hear about organs and even calls up her Uncle Andy to talk about the latest autopsy he’s worked with. So I was pretty secure in her knowledge until she called me into the bathroom one morning. While flexing her ribcage, she claimed, “Hey, look Mom! I can see my lungs!” Later, she told me she hit her “brain” very hard on the wall. (It was her skull.)

One morning over breakfast, “Mom, you’re wearing black & white pjs and white shoes. You know what else is black & white? Skunks.” Gee, thanks.

Red caught a bad head cold, which doesn’t normally stop her unless she wants to be. While attempting to look her most pitiful, she said, ”I’ll feel better if I have a movie and lay down with my favorite blankie.” Hmmm….playing on my sympathies, you bet! Did it work? Yes…because I felt as miserable as she tried to look!

While looking through old photos with me, Red came across one of my dad taken when I was a baby. She grabbed it and gushed, “He looks just like Hawkeye! He’s so cute!” (Hawkeye Pierce from the TV show, M*A*S*H) She’s a third generation M*A*S*H watcher…I think that was one of the first shows she ever saw! Oh, and she’s right. My dad did look like Hawkeye. And Red has this interesting habit of collecting old photos for her bulletin board. She has a high school graduation photos of her dad, her grandfather, and great-grandfather as well as a dozen photos of birds.

I love that my daughter loves books. We negotiate every night over how many books she can read (beyond the ones we read together) before lights out. In fact, she asked me once when she would have to go to bed in order to get the privilege of 30 books. I told her she’d have to go to bed at noon. She considered it before deciding she could just read in the afternoon after school. So the other night she delighted me when she said, “Mom, I’m ready for wonder, excitement and discovery in reading stories tonight.” This kid…already using the $5 words.

There are many times I wonder what I ever did before I was blessed with Red’s entry into our lives. She certainly brings joy, wonder, and excitement!

For now,

Call her Red…and call me a very blessed mom

I love having the internet at my fingertips to help me find anything. And the homeschooling industry is booming online. There are daily free downloads, scope & sequences, books, e-magazines, daily tips, helpful hints, etc., etc…. I tried to pick and choose just a couple sources to get continual information from, but alas, they make suggestions (and good ones!) for more information.

But it isn’t just the internet. I am a bibliophile (a lover of books). I have Charlotte Mason method books, Lorraine Curry books, Susan Wise Bauer’s books, Trivium methodology, etc. I try to read through one at a time but I read like my personality….I am eclectic so my reading follows my mood!

But here’s what I found to be the most helpful right now:

The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. In this book, Bauer gives the step-by-step process for obtaining the Classical education you never got when you were in school. I had a good start into classical method because my mom unknowing used it. So this is a great resource for me to further my own study. She gives excellent suggestions for building your reading basics and furthering your study of classical literature. If you aren’t afraid to read Homer’s Illiad or Beowulf, then your child won’t be!

The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thomas Burgess. Published in 1919, this gem is an amazing science resource. Booksellers are selling copies of this book currently but they are scanned pages from the original book. I have a copy of the original book and the new version and as much as I appreciate the new binding, the color plates in the original book are much better than the scanned black & white copy. This book tells the tale of Peter Rabbit who hops around the Old Orchard greeting his newly arrived feathered friends. You hear from Jenny Wren, Chippy the Sparrow, and Bully the English Sparrow. As your child enjoys the story, he or she is learning the markings of the birds, the reasons for their coloring, how they build their nests and where, and how they sound. It is remarkable how much I’m enjoying learning with this book. Of course, it’s one of Red’s current favorites because it’s about birds. (She’s a huge bird lover!)

50 Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin. This book was first published in 1896 and is another gem from yesteryear. These stories were considered essential for the well-educated and well-rounded child. Some of the stories are fiction and some are true stories of historical figures. The stories contain good morals and valuable character lessons, self-sacrifice, compassion, diligence, etc. They are short, only 2 or 3 pages in length and some have an illustration. They are enjoyable and understandable for children and adults alike.

See Inside Your Body by Katie Daynes. We came across this Usborne board book in the library and we’ve now renewed it so many times that we’re actually going to have to return it. The book has little flaps to help you see “close up” what a blood cell looks like or how the muscles work. My 6 year old enjoys it so much we’re probably going to have to purchase it. What I love is that the book gives the real names for things instead of “dumbing it down.” She knows what villi are and how they work. She can correctly identify the lungs, heart/heart valves, etc.

There’s certainly no shortage to the great books for this Grand Adventure! I’ll share more as I come across them.

For now,

Call me overwhelmed (but still loving it!)

Most of you who know me are aware of my fish phobia (as a college friend puts it.) I can’t tolerate the smell, I won’t eat seafood, and I will not (not for anything!) touch fish. On a trip to Destin, I shocked my family by actually going out into the gulf waters. But as soon as I saw and felt the fish, I was out of there!

So I suppose I shocked everyone when I agreed to go to a dolphin encounter on our recent trip to Cozumel. My husband was laying bets against me even going through with it. But dolphins are NOT FISH! They are mammals who just happen to live in the sea. And they’re cuter than anything in the oceans!

I love dolphins. I love all the stories of how they help humans. I believe God created these amazing creatures specifically to help us in ways we didn’t even anticipate. Plus, they have so much personality!

We were very fortunate to be able to go into the waters with the dolphins at Dolphinaris, Cozumel. We were the only ones for our particular adventure so we had a lot of one-on-one time with the dolphin, Electra, her baby, Golden Boy, and their trainer, Carlos.

Surprisingly, it was Red who freaked out. She was very wary of the dolphins and it took her awhile to warm up to them. (I think it was their size.) Normally, she’s so curious about animals. In fact, she’s our fearless kid who even pets snakes. But that’s another story…

Back to the dolphins…Electra was amazing. She was so laidback. She let us pet her, hug her, kiss her, and obey our commands to sing, dance, and speak. She allowed us to examine her fins, her teeth, her back and tummy. Her baby, Golden Boy, who was eight months old and quite a ham, wanted in on the action. He wanted us to play with him. He would swim over top his mother and try to come to us. The trainer kept tossing him back. But that didn’t deter the playful dolphin. Golden Boy, who, as his name suggests, likes to be the center of attention. He swam off to find one of the other babies to play with and brought Helen back to see us too. Finally, he finally splashed us playfully trying to get our attention. And he got it…but not in a good way. Red had her eyes and mouth filled with seawater and she just about lost it!

For 45 wonderful minutes we enjoyed these majestic creatures. There were 4 other moms and 4 other babies in the tank and we were able to see the 10 jump together. It was incredible. Oh yes, I even fed Electra her snack of dead fish. (Pictures to prove it!) It was disgusting but totally worth it.

At the very end, Golden Boy slid up for a goodbye. Red finally consented to touch him and loved it! Of course…at the very end.

Guess what Red wants to be when she grows up? Yep. A dolphin trainer.

For now,

Call us dolphin lovers!

I was talking with my 6 year old daughter.

I received a long, pitying look. “Mom, it’s not a sword. It’s a L I G H T S A B E R.” She dragged out the word so I would hear it correctly. Lightsaber, check.

Red is definitely her father’s child in this regard. She is dying to watch the Star Wars movies. She insists that she won’t remember the “bad” parts or get scared if there are scary parts. Eh…there are just some movies that aren’t necessary at this young an age. And we’ve dealt with nightmares in the past so I’m on the edge with this one.

Of course, what can I say? I don’t really remember the movies. *ducking* I fell asleep during most of them. And I’ve never seen the last one…or is it the 3rd one? Whichever came out last in theaters. For years my husband tried to interest me in Star Wars or Star Trek. As a dedicated sci-fi fan, he was determined.

Then for his birthday a couple years ago, I bought him the complete Stargate SG-1 series, with the promise that I would watch it with him. What’s a couple seasons, right? Wrong! Did you know Stargate SG-1 went 10 years?? I certainly didn’t and I never would have promised to watch 10 seasons worth!

But I promised. So I did. (I figured I could fall asleep easily and get some good rest in.) But…about two seasons in, I was hooked. I loved the characters, the stories, even the sets! My husband watched one season without me when I was in Florida visiting family. I made him watch it over again when I got home!

And I willingly pulled it back out recently when we were wondering what to watch one night.

Can’t do Star Trek…any version of it…(unless it’s about Data and his striped cat named Spot)

Can’t do Star Wars at all…(I have a strong urge to criticize it Mystery Science Theater-style)

No Farscape, Battlestar Galactica, “V”, etc.

But hey, I’m up for Stargate Atlantis! Or another round of Stargate SG-1!

So for now,

Call me a Stargate fan

Yes, call me a deprogrammer. And deprogram-ee. For I too needed to widen my view of education.

Red spent K4 and K5 in a wonderful Christian school with excellent teachers. They are dear ladies that we will always love. But the fact is, it is a classroom setting. And I haven’t yet broken her of the notion that everything we do has to be done just like they would in school. I get advice almost daily on how I “should” teach or how Mrs. C did it last year. And heaven forbid we school on the couch for a while.

Oh boy…

Because I was educated as a classroom instructor, it is easy for me to understand why my daughter has this narrow view of education. Classroom management is a science. In fact, I had several classes devoted to certain aspects of it! As the student, you are programmed to sit still, wait for your fellow classmates to catch up, walk in lines without talking, raise your hand, go to the bathroom at the same time every day, etc. You have to learn this or otherwise mass chaos would ensue. But when you are home taught, it’s a little unnerving at first to have all the freedom after all the regimentation.

I suppose that’s why she’s blowing my mind at how fast we’re speeding through certain subjects. I didn’t realize what a thirst for knowledge she has and what a sponge she is! We don’t have to wait for 15 other kids to catch up and we don’t have to spend hours a day on managing the classroom. It’s uncharted territory. What most school classrooms accomplish in 7 or 8 hours a day, we are doing in 2 hours.

Because of this, we are making some adjustments to her reading program. After we finish the Classical method (Memoria Press) 1st grade reading program – we’re on target to finish it by December – we’re going to start the second grade program. Frankly, she’s bored silly with it and can whip out two lessons a day.

That’s not to say we’re skipping a grade! We have a LOT of catch up in mathematics. Unfortunately, it’s her weakest subject…most likely inherited from her mother.

Little by little, Red is coming to understand that it’s okay if we don’t have “snacktime” at the same time every day. It’s okay if we get our exercise by playing golf with Daddy or by going on my walk with me instead of a set program. It’s okay if we spend 2 hours working on reading and grammar and Latin and skip science. (We’ll just do science and health for two hours the next day.) It’s okay if we finish our school work by noon. It’s okay if we decide to take a day off during the week and catch up on Saturday.

And she’s learning she doesn’t have to raise her hand to request to go to the bathroom. Please Red…just go!

Learning and education are not exclusive to a building or a room. I’m amazed at the opportunities we have in every day life to learn and grow. It’s fresh on my mind now that we’re homeschooling and I see it so much clearer. We talk about how the eye works on our way to the eye doctor. We find a caterpillar on the sidewalk and she launches into her poetry memorization, “Caterpiller” by Christina Rosetti. We even went to Build-a-Bear to spend her birthday money and the cashier had Red count the change and identify the coins.

So perhaps our perspective is finally broadening. Time certainly helps that process!

For now,

Call me a deprogrammer

Remote Malawian village

With some prompting from friends, I found a topic that I can talk about for hours. Since you’re my “captive” and “willing” audience, I’m going to start my world traveler series.

My parents have always been very active in our church and with missions. Though they don’t do much overseas travel, they spend much of their time and resources on offering missionaries support stateside. I remember we had missionaries come stay with us when they were on furlough and it was always such a treat to hear their amazing stories. As a child, I dreamed of one day being able to travel to remote areas as they did.

Outdoor cooking in Malawi

Of course, as I grew older, I didn’t really want to camp in the jungle or eat grubworms or be without electricity. (Heavens! I needed my curling iron for my mall hair!) But I still wanted to travel. Maybe to those “Holiday Inn” mission fields. (Holiday Inn was the term we coined for 1st world missions- mission projects in areas with most of the amenities of life.)

When I was sixteen, I got my chance. Teen Missions International, a youth missionary program based out of Merritt Island, Florida, accepted me on an international drama team. I was going to a country I never heard of prior to this: Malawi, Africa, a small country squeezed in between Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique. It wasn’t my first choice…obviously. I had been hoping for Australia or Ireland. But hey, I was headed out of the country for the whole summer!

The first 2 (of over 9) weeks saw me basking in the unbearably hot, humid jungle that was Merritt Island. Basking is a nice term. I was dying. I’m a good Northern girl whose idea of hot is when the weather breaks 70 degrees. Here’s why I was so miserable: In order to prepare us for the conditions of 3rd and 4th world nations, we were getting culture shock here. We camped in the swampy jungles of Florida, wore our regulation 8 inch work boots, jeans, and short sleeved (thankfully!) shirts. We rose before the sun, ran a 2 mile obstacle course which included the dreaded rope swing across the dirty water slough, and spent our days in classes under the Big Top. The Big Top was a circus sized tent with enough chairs for the over 1,000 students headed out all over the world. But we didn’t actually have the tent. It blew down in a freak windstorm one of my first nights there. (And yes, I did get clocked in the head by one of the falling beams.) We bathed in the lake and did our laundry in gallon buckets.

I was ready to quit before I even left the States. But there was one thing that got me through: evening rally! The evenings were spent in the relatively cool air singing, enjoying performances, listening to amazing preachers, and relaxing with our teammates. I lived for rally time.

But all good things come to an end. At the end of two weeks, I was trained in puppetry, mime, drama, film, choir, and KP (kitchen patrol). We flew out to London first then made our connections in Kenya, Zambia, and finally Malawi.

Holding baby Emily Banda

Malawi is called the “warm heart of Africa” and we immediately felt that with the nationals who came alongside us in Lilongwe.

Malawi had incredible wild beauty but extreme poverty. We spent our first 3 weeks in country in the capital city working with the missionaries doing street puppetry, drama, and evangelism. We also started work on a Chichewa film project (the national language of Malawi.) Several of the national actors became very dear friends.

After our time in Lilongwe was up, we squeezed into the vans and headed to a remote camp. There we helped out with Boot Camp (just like ours only for the native teens) and finished our film- sort of…

One thing I should mention. There’s a reason the country is very closed. They don’t appreciate having photographers or filmmakers come in and show the poverty of the people. That was not what we were trying to do but the chief of the nearby village took offense. We who were working on film crew that day wound up arrested and jailed. Let’s just say there would be far less crime in the U. S. if you had jails like they do in Malawi! Several hours and many phone calls later and with help from the mayor of Lilongwe (thankfully, a gentleman who met us and liked us) we were released. We stuck close to campus after that! What we needed for props or location, we improvised.

One of my main duties at the Malawian Boot Camp was that of choir instructor. Yes, I had singing instruction and I knew how to put together a choir but this was Africa. This was where the children formed choirs in the streets as something to do for fun! I sat in awe day after day as the Malawian teens rocked the house! They taught me a thing or two about really praising God.

Eating Relish & Nsima (nsima is the white concealed stuff)

There are a few memories that are crystal clear in my mind from this trip:

-The incredible sunrises and night sky full of stars. It was the pure beauty of creation that struck me time and again even in the wildest and most desolate places.

-The food. It wasn’t great cuisine but it was lovingly prepared and shared. I remember sitting on a woven mat with the women picking rocks and chaff out of the rice and having a marvelous time. We’d make a starchy dough called nsima and mix tomatoes and potatoes for the relish base. Simple food.

-The truly warm-hearted Malawians. They accepted us and showed us love that we were trying to bring to them. I don’t know who came away more blessed, but I suspect it was me. I’ll never forget one of the actors from our movie, MacDuff. He was a kindred spirit and before we left he prayed a blessing over me, his adopted “sister.” I’ll never be able to think of that time without tears.

-The children. All we had to do was walk outside and within 15 minutes we had anywhere between 12-50 children wanting to play with us.

Later, as we reflected as a team at a Debrief session in London, one of the most moving times for everyone seemed to be the nightly rally sessions at the Malawian Boot Camp. We didn’t speak Chichewa, but there was no mistaking the joy and love in that room as the African teens sang and danced. It was beautiful.

It wasn’t an easy summer. In fact, I got to visit a Malawi hospital…I caught a bad virus of some kind (one doctor told me it was malaria but we went in winter so I’m not certain…) That trip alone made me very grateful for U. S. hospitals! And of course there was the inevitable conflict of personalities arising from living together as a team too close for too long. But it was most certainly a growing experience and one, looking back, I wouldn’t give up for the world.

For now,

Call me a world traveler to Africa

Today I had a lovely brunch with the homeschooling moms. I left feeling very uplifted and encouraged. I must have brushed against a low hanging branch or something because twenty minutes later in the car I felt the urge to scratch my scalp. There was a leaf or something caught in my hair so I glanced in the rear view mirror. To my horror, it was a SPIDER!! I flicked it out quickly and tried to maintain control of my SUV. Thankfully no one was on the road and my slight swerve didn’t clip anyone.

Once I reached my husband’s dealership (where Red & her daddy were patiently waiting for me), I went around to the passenger side dash to find out if the spider was still there and if it was still alive. Yes and yes. And it was hideous! Not your normal Daddy Longlegs or house spider. It had unusual markings and I was sure it was a Brown Recluse or something equally horrific. It moved suddenly and I almost cracked my skull on the roof of the car trying to get out.

Enter one of the salesmen…God bless Dan for being so attentive to the parking lot. He came out and killed it for me.

I made Red search through my hair for any other unwanted hitchhikers.

And I’ve had the heebie-jeebies all day long.

When I finally felt curious enough I Googled the spider from my SUV. It was probably just an orb weaver of some sort but still…EEEWWW!

So for now,

Call me FREAKED OUT!

I think I am most surprised at how fast we’re going through our books. As a teacher (trained as a classroom instructor), I was surprised that my lesson plans for the week were accomplished in just a couple of days! Of course review is key, so I keep going back to it and Red rolls her eyes in frustration. She retains so much and review is tiresome for her. However, she’ll thank me one day!

But the fact we don’t have to wait for other students to “catch up” is liberating. We are overlapping subjects and exploring the library for supplemental information. Currently, she is fascinated by ancient Egypt and mummies. That fascination has spilled over into science and our study of the human body. During reading time, she’s curled up on the couch with the Children’s Encyclopedia of the Human Body and the World History encyclopedia. I think most parents believe their kids are brilliant. Maybe it’s because we’re just surprised at how sponge-like their minds are at this age.

We have also started our first homeschool co-op class. Partly in order to allay her dad’s fear of homeschool isolation and partly because her mother has no real art talent, Red joined an elementary art class taught at the home of another homeschool family. She is in a class with 5 children close to her age and they are learning art history and drawing from a fantastic artist.

I love the freedom of homeschooling. We have been able to start when we are ready in the morning and take breaks when we need them. In fact, we took a 3 hour chunk out of the early afternoon and ran errands and bought a baby gift for our new niece. And I’m really looking forward to the two planned and two potential trips this fall/winter!

I’m still riding the homeschool high though…hope the bottom doesn’t drop out too hard!

But for now,

Call it week two

But….

I have the cutest kid and the best sister in the world! My sister is a professional photographer (www.alisonbeyerphotography.com) and she has been photographing Red since she was born. I love how Alison captures Red’s personality in every photo. We have yet to see the hands-folded-in-the-lap-fake-smile type photos.

Here’s a few pics from her 6 year photo shoot. We went to Koreshan State Park in Florida and it was HOT! But Red was a good sport thanks to Alison’s foresight to bring along a juicy, sweet surprise…Red’s favorite fruit! And Red’s pal, Nut-Nut the parrot.

So for now,

Call me a proud mama