Happy BIrthday Ciaran

Ciaran is 8 years old and we had a great birthday party! 8 little boys here for a baseball game, Mario Kart Wii, Star Wars Monopoly, Lightsaber battles, marshmallow spitting contests, and watching the Phantom Menace. They had such a great time and were so good!

For his birthday we bought him fire bellied toads - he has wanted a frog or toad since he was 3 years old. We told him he could have them when he was 8 honestly thinking he would no longer want them. Well here we are with 2 fire bellied toads added to our family number. He was so excited he could not stop hugging us. He literally ran from one to the other back and forth for a few minutes just so very thankful. He also received a lot of great little boy gifts that he can hardly wait to use, water guns, scooter, legos, skateboard and an eyeclops among others, he was so blessed and so very thankful.

For the first time ever one of my kids seemed sad to be getting older. He just kept telling us "I will never be 7 again" on the verge of tears. We were baffled by this reaction but he simply loved being 7, it was his favorite age and a great year and he will miss it. Interesting guy my Ciaran.

Baseball is around the corner, he can hardly wait to find out his team and start practice. Of course we are expecting a snowstorm tonight so the white stuff may be on the ground again, last year it cancelled opening day once and then snowed on our second opening day. Only in Minnesota does baseball range from 20 degrees to 98 degrees. I don't know which is worse, but I will vote for the cold, snow and freezing rain. Why we don't wait to start until late May is beyond me.

Ciaran is a sweet boy, he has such a generous heart and spirit and is so giving and loving. He is especially tender with me and for the past few months just runs up to me to give me big hugs and climbs on my lap to snuggle still. Of course he also enjoys playing Monopoly, Risk, Wii games and doing anything outdoors. He really is going through the growing out of a little boy stage but I love where he is right now and will hold on to it as long as it lasts. Enjoying his hugs and tenderness and desire to simply be near to me.

He is looking forward to summer when the frogs return, he can swim all day, skate, scoot, bike, play ball and have water fights. I am looking forward to the freedom of those days too. We are hard at work here now trying to finish up school so we have the freedom to start our summer earlier. We typically finish school in early May enjoying one of our favorite months in MN school free, May and September are hands down the best time to be in MN, no bugs, perfect weather just wonderful days for being outside and hiking and loving God's creation.

Ciaran had a great year - he became a proficient swimmer, learned baseball for real and found a passion for it, he got better at biking, scooting, skateboarding and roller blading, he became very creative with Lego's and K'nex and he still loved frog hunting, and geocaching. He improved in school and really advanced in his reading, books he recently read include: Prince Caspian by CS Lewis and Coraline by Neil Gaiman. We have watched his faith develop and him flourish in his bible verse memory. He grew more protective of his sisters and even took a punch in the nose for one of them as he defended her. Mostly though he had a wonderful fun and busy year filled with all the things that make a little boy's life fun and interesting.

I am thankful to be his mother and even though some days I am exhausted from his nearly endless energy he fills my days with joy and laughter, smiles and tenderness and that more than makes up for the challenges along the way. I love you Ciaran thanks for being such a special little boy.

Day in the Life of a 7 year old boy

Thought for something different I would blog today just about Ciaran and his day. He woke up well before the rest of us, got dressed, ate cereal, finished his Star Wars book and convinced his sisters to play a game of Blokus with him all before I even got out of bed.

Immediately upon waking he asked if he could play a video game, if I would play a board game with him or play anything with him. Not fully functional or awake yet he realized that was a hopeless cause and went to find someone else to be with and do something with.

We headed off to the local gym for weekly swim lessons. Unfortunately Ciaran could not finish his swim lessons as he has 10 stitches in his arm from last week. He was whittling a stick, missed the stick and whittled his arm with the knife instead. I took the girls to their swim lessons and Serona took Ciaran to a local pond for a nature hike. They had a really nice time together and Ciaran found a frog, a tiny peeper frog. Could he possibly have been any happier? Thinking they were all hibernating already he was very surprised and happy.

They picked us up at the gym and we headed to our local campaign office to meet and have a picture taken with Senator Coleman from Minnesota. There were a fair amount of kids in the office but we had prepped our kids ahead of time about the kind of behavior we expected. They were all very good especially Ciaran even when he saw other boys his age running around the office he stayed with us and was very good. Rewarded with candy from the office he was content.

We stopped on the way home to deliver a lawn sign and he preferred to run the two blocks home then to get back in the car. Upon arriving home he wanted to play again. He kept himself occupied in the backyard with swings and then hitting a wiffle ball and running after it. Next we had a catch together until he could catch and throw accurately 100 throws, he does love baseball. Next it was time for basketball - first several games of HORSE and then 3 one on one games. I was tired, he was not.

He kept playing basketball by himself for awhile, rode his bike some and then ended up in the backyard on the trampoline for awhile. He then told me how there was absolutely nothing for him to do since no one would do anything with him at that moment. Every suggestion made was denied for some reason or another until he realized I really was not going to get up and play with him (Sirah was asleep on my lap on the deck) and I was not going to let him have screen time while it was nearly 60 and sunny out (knowing there are precious few days left). He wandered off and convinced Maria to do something with him I think and then the two of them talked Serona into a game of The Hobbit, which lasted several hours.

I made one of his favorite dinners, black beans on a tostada with mexican cheese. Serona and Sirah had made brownies earlier in the day (while we were playing sports in the yard) so he enjoyed that treat. Bath time and now they are upstairs dancing to Soul Coughing all together. Likely he will do some reading before bed from either Encyclopedia Brown or the Capitol Mystery series.

There you have it Saturday as experienced by Ciaran our 7 year old energetic and very social son. Not a perfect day for him in his mind I am sure since he did not get to see friends beyond his family and he had no video game time. Still overall a good day I think.

Books for Boys

"Mom can I finish this chapter?" I never thought I would be so happy to hear those words - but I am. After one child who can not get her nose out of a book those words became wearing believe it or not. Ciaran has finally found some books he is enjoying and suddenly wants to read and not stop! Hooray!

He has read the entire Magic Tree House series - though they bored him after awhile. Recently he read the Boba Fett series and is now reading the Capitol Mysteries and Geranimo Stilton. His favorite book so far is still The Chocolate Touch.

I am always thankful when I find books he enjoys reading. Anyone else have good recommendations for a 7 year old boy?

Summer is Just Starting

Yes the back to school aisle is brimming, I am planning fall field trips and sports activities for the fall and many parents are counting down the days until September 2nd here but for us it feels as if summer is just starting.

Ciaran's cast has now been on for five weeks, that is five long weeks of no swimming, water ballons, sprinklers, sports and the many things that make up our summer. It feels to us like late June so we are just about ready to get started.

Ciaran has adjusted to life with a cast amazingly well. He broke his left arm, bummer for him he is a lefty. Still he learned how to play wii (and beat us all still) right handed. He can use his cast hand very well and he even began bike riding again but only on days there is not a chance of being caught in the rain and only on pretty flat level surfaces.

Next week this huge plaster cast can come off and hopefully be replaced with a smaller waterproof cast to finish out the summer. Then I think we will simply live at the pool and beach until they kick us out! The way I see it summer arrived about 2 weeks late this year so we should get an extra two weeks on the tail end, hopefully with enough warmth that this can really be the middle point of our summer. That should put us on track to start school seriously in the last week of September. Have to say I love the flexibility of homeschooling.

This week we went for bike rides, nature hikes, visits to the arboretum, played at local playgrounds, soccer, basketball and catches in the yard - we jut finally got outside. That is not to say our Wii was lonely or we didn't spend some time watching the Olympics just that we are finally venturing outside with a bit more consistency.

We also got back into the swing of service projects with a return to Feed My Starving children, our typical monthly service project. The kids spirits are always a bit calmer after reflecting on packaging meals for 16 children for a year or saving their allowance money to donate to pay for 40 meals. Service has been an important part of our family and I am glad to see us all serving together again after a more sporadic few months since my surgery.

The pain is still there every day. It is strange to have not had a pain free day in almost a year - but at least the pain is manageable and much less intense than it was. Maybe someday it will go away but at least we are getting back into habits we love and doing more.

We have all grown substantially in the past year and it is interesting to see where we are on the other side of things. Rhiannon is 9 now and Sirah is turning 5 next week but much more than their ages they have grown, as has Ciaran. Now is the time for some fun and some genuine relaxation before the rush of fall is upon us.

This year we will start our regular activities mid September with homeschool coop, Awana, horseback riding, an elections cooperative class I am leading and possibly soccer for Sirah. We will ramp up our campaigning mostly in the month of October as we study government and learn about the election process. I plan to start math and language arts mid September and add the rest in by October, taking plenty of time to enjoy the end of summer and the precious few weeks of Minnesota fall.

I have a rough sketch of the year in the back of my mind but have not yet sat down to plan out the actual coursework or my strategy, yet I am not worried knowing it will all come together easily. My only hole still left in curriculum is science as I haven't made a decision about the approach or material I want to study yet. This year grade level work will approximately be Rhiannon - 4th, Ciaran - 2nd and Sirah would be in kindergarten but we will see how her interest is. If she shows interest we will focus on learning to read, basic math skills and improving her handwriting.

Now back to summer and counting down the days until the cast comes off. Please pray for a positive result and a nice waterproof cast!

Ciaran First Grade Reading List

These are the books he read between September 2007 and May 2008. The formatting may not be ideal and there will be repeats as this data is collected and exported from Book Collectorz. The basic format is: Title, Author, Number of Pages


A cow in town (Primary phonics; Set 1),Barbara W Makar,16
A Dollar = $1.00 (Dollars & Cents),Carey Molter,23
Al (Primary Phonics; Set 1 Book 3),,16
All About Frogs (All About...),Jim Arnosky,32
Amelia Bedelia,Peggy Parish,64
Amelia Bedelia 4 Mayor (Amelia Bedelia (Harpercollins Hardcover)),Herman Parish,48
Are You My Mother?,P.D. Eastman,72
Arthur's Prize Reader (I Can Read Books),Lillian Hoban,64
Arthur's Reading Race (Step-Into-Reading; Step 3),Marc Brown,24
Bambi's Hide And Seek (Step-Into-Reading; Step 1),RH Disney; Andrea Posner-Sanchez; Mones; Isidre,32
Bananas (Wonder Books Level 1 Fruits),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Basketball (Wonder Books Level 1 Sports),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
The Bath Book,Harriet Ziefert,
The Berenstain Bears Down on the Farm (I Can Read Book 1),Stan Berenstain; Jan Berenstain,32
The Big Cheese (Step into Reading) (Ratatouille movie tie in),RH Disney; Apple Jordan; Disney Storybook Artists,32
Biking (Wonder Books Level 2 Activities),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed,24
Blast Off!: The Sound of Bl (Phonice Readers),Alice K. Flanagan,24
Boat Rides (Welcome Books),Pamela Walker,24
Bobbsey Twins and the Greek Hat Mystery (Bobbsey Twins Series),Laura Lee Hope,176
Brown Bear; Brown Bear; What Do You See?,Bill Martin Jr.,32
The Cat In The Hat,Dr. Seuss,72
Chad Checks: The Sound of Ch (Wonder Books (Chanhassen; Minn.).),Peg Ballard,24
Clifford's Big Book Of Stories (Clifford),Norman Bridwell,64
Curious George Feeds the Animals,H. A. Rey,64
Curious George Flies a Kite (Curious George),H. A. Rey; Margret Rey,80
Curious George Goes To A Chocolate Factory,H. A. Rey,24
D.W.; the picky eater,brown,
Dancing Dinos Go To School (Step Into Reading),Sally Lucas; Margeaux Lucas,32
Danny and the Dinosaur,Syd Hoff,64
Day of the Dragon King,Murdocca; Sal,68
Dinosaur Babies (Step-into-Reading: A Step 2 Book),Lucille Rech Penner,32
Dinosaur Time (I Can Read Book 1),Peggy Parish; Lobel; Arnold,32
Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1),Mary Pope Osborne,80
Disney*Pixar Storybook Collection (Disney Storybook Collections),Various; Disney Press; tk; Disney Storybook Artists,320
DK Readers: Rockets and Spaceships (Level 1: Beginning to Read),DK Publishing; Karen Wallace,32
Dk Readers: Surprise Puppy (Level 1: Beginning To Read),Judith Hodge,32
DK Readers: Tale of a Tadpole (Level 1: Beginning to Read),Karen Wallace,32
Dogs (Wonder Books Level 1 Pets),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Dogs on the Farm (On the Farm),Mari C. Schuh,24
Dolphins at Daybreak (Magic Tree House; No. 9) (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)),Mary Pope Osborne,67
DR. SUESS'S ABC (Beginner Books),Dr. Suess,
Dragon of the Red Dawn (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)),Mary Pope Osborne; Sal Murdocca; Salvatore Murdocca,128
Driving Buddies (Step into Reading) (Cars movie tie in),RH Disney,32
Drums (Wonder Books Level 1 Musical Instruments),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Duck for President,Doreen Cronin,40
Earthquake in the Early Morning (Magic Tree House #24),Mary Pope Osborne,72
Epic Battles (DK READERS),Simon Beecroft,48
Everyday Hero,Ivan Vasquez; Redondo; Jesu´s,32
Fantastic Four; #527 (Comic Book),J MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI,
Felix And The 400 Frogs,Jon Buller; Susan Schade,
Firefighters (Wonder Books Level 1 Careers),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Fish (Wonder Books Level 1 Pets),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
The Frog And Toad Treasury,Arnold Lobel,192
Frog on His Own,Mayer; Mercer,32
Ghost town at sundown,Murdocca; Sal,73
Go; Dog. Go! (Beginner Books),P.D. Eastman,72
The Go-Cart (Primary Phonics; Set 4),Barbara W Makar,16
Good Families Don't,Robert Munsch,32
Grapes (Wonder Books Level 1 Fruits),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Great Day for Up; youth 23,Dr. Suess,
Green Eggs and Ham (I Can Read It All by Myself Beginner Books),Dr. Seuss,72
Guitars (Wonder Books Level 1 Musical Instruments),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Hamsters (Wonder Books Level 1 Pets),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs Uh-Oh! (Step into Reading),R. Schuyler Hooke,32
Hearing (Rookie Read-About Health),Sharon Gordon,26
Henry And Mudge And The Bedtime Thumps: Ready-To-Read Level 2 (Paper),Cynthia Rylant,40
Henry And Mudge And The Tumbling Trip (Henry And Mudge Ready-To-Read),Cynthia Rylant; Suçie Stevenson,40
Henry And Mudge First Book,Cynthia Rylant,40
Henry And Mudge Take The Big Test: Ready-To-Read Level 2 (Paper),Cynthia Rylant,40
Here Comes Silent E! (Step into Reading),Anna Jane Hays; JoAnn Adinolfi,32
Hide And Seek,B.G. Hennessy,
Hooray for You! A Celebration of You-ness,Marianne Richmond,40
Hop on Pop (Beginner Books(R)),,72
Hot Dog (Step-Into-Reading; Step 1),Molly Coxe,32
I Am Not Going To Get Up Today! (Beginner Books(R)),Dr. Seuss; James Stevenson,48
I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!,Dr. Seuss,40
I Can Ride a Bike (Welcome Books),Edana Eckart,24
I Can Ski (Welcome Books: Sports),Edana Eckart,24
I Like Bugs (Step-Into-Reading; Step 1),Margaret Wise Brown; Karas; G. Brian,32
If You Give a Moose a Muffin (If You Give...),Laura Numeroff,32
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (If You Give...),Laura Joffe Numeroff,32
If You Give A Pig A Pancake (If You Give...),Laura Numeroff,32
Jesse Bear; What Will You Wear?,Nancy White Carlstrom,32
The Jet (Primary Phonics; Set 1),Barbara W Makar,16
Jump; Frog; Jump!,Robert Kalan; Byron Barton,32
Just Like Me (Step into Reading),RH Disney,32
Kella's Kitten: The Sound of K (Phonics Friends),Joanne D. Meier; Cecilia Minden,24
Let's Add Bills (Dollars & Cents),Kelly Doudna,23
Let's Add Coins (Dollars & Cents),Kelly Doudna,23
Let's Find Out What's Big and What's Small,Charles And Martha Shapp,
Let's Go to a Fair (Welcome Books: Weekend Fun),Cate Foley,24
Let's Subtract Bills (Dollars & Cents),Kelly Doudna,23
Let's Subtract Coins (Dollars & Cents),Kelly Doudna,23
Let's Subtract Money (Dollars & Cents),Kelly Doudna,23
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse,Kevin Henkes,
Little Bear (An I Can Read Book),Elsa Holmelund Minarik,63
Little Bear's Friend,Else Holmelund Minarik,64
Little Bear's visit.,minarik,64
The Little Skunk (Primary Phonics; Set 4),Barbara W Makar,16
Loose Tooth (Viking Easy-To-Read),Anastasia Suen; Ezra Jack Keats; Eitzen; Allan; Keats; Ezra Jack,30
Mac gets well (Primary phonics),Barbara W Makar,16
Maple Trees (Rookie Read-About Science),Allan Fowler,31
Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now! (Bright & Early Books(R)),Dr. Seuss,36
Meet the Robinsons: A Family for Lewis (I Can Read Book 2),Sadie Chesterfield; Disney Storybook Artists; Disney Publishing's Global Design Group,32
Mount Rushmore (Wonder Books Level 3 Landmarks),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,32
Mummies in the Morning (Magic Tree House; No. 3),Mary Pope Osborne,80
My "A" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,30
My "D" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,29
My "H" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,29
My "j" book,Linda Hohag; Moncure; Jane Belk,29
My "J" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,29
My "K" Book (My First Steps to Reading),Jane Belk Moncure,29
My "L" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,29
My "O" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure,29
My "P" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,29
My "S" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,29
My "T" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,29
My "W" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,29
My "Xyz" Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,30
My Dad's Great,Gaby Goldsack; Sara Walker; Andrea Newton,32
My First Book (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,31
My Five Senses (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1),aliki,32
My Grandma is Great (Great Relatives),Gaby Goldsack,32
My Many Colored Days Board Book,Dr. Seuss,16
My Nine Book (My First Steps to Math),Jane Belk Moncure,32
My Seven Book (My First Steps to Math),Jane Belk Moncure,32
My Six Book (My First Steps to Math),Jane Belk Moncure,32
My Ten Book (My First Steps to Math),Jane Belk Moncure,32
My V Sound Box (New Sound Box Books),Jane Belk Moncure; King; Colin,29
Nate The Great And The Big Sniff (Nate The Great),Marjorie Weinman Sharmat; Mitchell Sharmat; Weston; Martha,48
Night Of The Ninjas,Murdocca; Sal,68
Now I'm Reading!: Look Around! - Pre Reader (Now I'm Reading),Nora Gaydos,128
Ogre Eats Everything (Dutton Easy Reader),Bethany Roberts; Winborn; Marsha,48
Oh; Say Can You Say? (Beginner Books(R)),Dr. Seuss,48
Old; New; Red; Blue! (Step into Reading) (Cars movie tie in),RH Disney; Melissa Lagonegro; Random House Disney,32
On My Beach There Are Many Pebbles,lionni,32
On My Boat: The Sound of Long O (Wonder Books (Chanhassen; Minn.).),Robert B. Noyed; Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Klingel; Cynthia Fitterer,24
One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (I Can Read It All By Myself Beginner Books),Dr. Seuss; Theodor Seuss Geisel,72
Oopsy Does It Movie 8x8 (Care Bears),Samantha Brooke; Josie Yee; Kelly Grupczynski,24
An Ordinary Night,Kimberly Rinehart,
Pigs (Wonder Books Level 2 Farm Animals),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Pirates Past Noon (Magic Tree House; No. 4),Mary Pope Osborne; Salvatore Murdocca; Murdocca; Sal,80
Play Ball; Amelia Bedelia,Peggy Parish,64
Primary Phonics 5 Good Cook,Barbara Makar,
Primary Phonics 5: Shy Tiger,Barbara Makar,
Primary Phonics 5: Square Eggs,Barbara Makar,
Primary Phonics 5: The Clumsy Rabbit,Barbara Makar,
Primary Phonics 5: The Lost Wallet,Barbara Makar,
Primary Phonics 5: Too Small,Barbara Makar,
Primary Phonics Max and The Fox Set 3 Book 10,,16
Primary Phonics Spot Set 3 Book 3,,16
Primary Phonics The Lost Duck Set 3 Book 9,,16
Primary Phonics: Mittens; Set 3 Book 7,,16
Primary Phonics: Slide; Set 3 Book 1,,16
The Prints (Primary Phonics; Set 3),Barbara W Makar,16
The Pup Speaks Up (Step into Reading),Anna Jane Hays; Valeria Petrone,32
Put Me in the Zoo (Beginner Books(R)),lopshire,72
Rabbits (Wonder Books Level 1 Pets),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Rain: Level 1 (Wonder Books Level 1-Weather),Alice K. Flanagan,24
Revolutionary War On Wednesday (Magic Tree House 22; paper),Mary Pope Osborne,96
Ring the bell (Primary phonics; Set 4),Barbara W Makar,16
Rock Climbing (Wonder Books Level 2 Activities),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Rockets and Spaceships (DK Readers Beginning to Read; Level 1),Karen Wallace; Linda Martin,32
Sammy the Seal (I Can Read Book 1),,64
The Sea Gull (Primary Phonics; Set 3),Barbara W Makar,16
Seeing (Rookie Read-About Health),Sharon Gordon,32
The Seven Silly Eaters,Mary Ann Hoberman; Marla Frazee,40
The Shape Of Me And Other Stuff (Bright & Early Books(R)),Dr. Seuss,36
Sharing: A Level Three Reader (Wonder Books Level 3 Values),Kathryn Kyle,32
Ships (Wonder Books Level 1 Transportation),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed,24
Signs on the Road (Welcome Books: Signs in My World),Mary Hill,24
Skateboarding (Wonder Books Level 2 Activities),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Skateboarding (World of Sports (Mankato; Minn.).),Bill McAuliffe,32
Smelling (Rookie Read-About Health),Sharon Gordon,26
Snip Snap!,Maland; Nick,
Snow fun (Primary phonics; Set 1),Barbara W Makar,16
Soccer (Wonder Books Level 1 Sports),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Cindy Fitterer Klingel; Noyed; Robert B,24
Spider-Man 2: Everyday Hero (I Can Read Book 2),Acton Figueroa; Jesus Redondo; Ivan Vasquez; Redondo; Jesu´s,32
Spider-Man 3: Meet The Heroes And Villains (I Can Read Book 2),Harry Lime,32
Stage fright on a summer night,Murdocca; Sal,70
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,Robert Frost,25
Summer (Wonder Books Level 2 Seasons),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Cynthia Fitterer Fitterer Klingel; Noyed; Robert B,24
Sunburn (Rookie Read-About Health),Sharon Gordon,31
Sunset Of The Sabertooth (Magic Tree House; No. 7),Mary Pope Osborne,80
Sunshine (Wonder Books Level 1-Weather) (Wonder Books Level 1-Weather),Alice K. Flanagan,24
Swimming (Wonder Books Level 1 Sports),Cynthia Fitterer Klingel; Robert B. Noyed; Noyed; Robert B,24
Tasting (Rookie Read-About Health),Sharon Gordon,32
Teach Us; Amelia Bedelia (Hello Reader),Peggy Parish; Lynn Sweat,56
Ten Apples Up on Top! (Bright & Early Board Books(TM)),,24
The bee (Primary phonics; Set 2: p workbook and phonetic storybooks for kindergarten through grade four),Barbara W Makar,16
The Berenstain Bears Down on the Farm (I Can Read Book 1),Berenstain; Jan,32
The cake (Primary phonics; Set 2),Barbara W Makar,16
The clumsy rabbit (Primary phonics; Set 1),Barbara W Makar,16
The Fire (Primary Phonics; Set 2; Book 10),Barbara W Makar,16
The Frog and Toad Collection Box Set (I Can Read Book 2),,
The Giving Tree,Shel Silverstein,64
The go-cart (Primary phonics; Set 4),Barbara W Makar,16
The good cook/ c by Barbara W. Makar (Primary phonics; Set 5),Barbara W Makar,16
The hard worker (Primary phonics; Set 4),Barbara W Makar,16
The knight at dawn,Murdocca; Sal,65
The lost horse (Primary phonics; Set 4),Barbara W Makar,16
The mouse house (Primary phonics; Set 1),Barbara W Makar,16
The Pet Poodle,Barbara Makar,
The Poky Little Puppy (A Little Golden Book Classic),Janette Sebring Lowrey,24
The Pup Speaks Up (Step into Reading),Anna Jane Hays,32
the square egg,makar,
The Tin Man: Primary Phonics (Print-braille Children's Educational Books; Set 1 Book 2),,
The Visit,Booby Lynn Maslen,21
Time Warp Trio: The High and the Flighty (I Can Read Book 3),Jon Scieszka; Catherine Hapka; Lisa Rao,48
Too small (Primary phonics; Set 1),Barbara W Makar,16
The Top Job,Elizabeth Cody Kimmel; Robert Neubecker,32
Treasures In Heaven (I Can Read God's Word!),Phil Smouse,64
Ultimate Tales Spider-Man Double Sided Flip Magazine Number 5 November 2005 (Learning Curve),Brian Michael Bendis,
Viking ships at sunrise,Sal Murdocca,71
What Is A Wookiee?,Laura Buller; Kate Simkins,32
When The Shadbush Blooms,Carla Messinger; Susan Katz; Fadden; David Kanietakeron,32
Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery,Jamie Lee Curtis; Laura Cornell,36
Where's the Baby?,Pat Hutchins,
The White Hen (Primary Phonics; Set 4),Barbara W Makar,16
Who Will Be My Friends? (An Early I Can Read Book),,32
Why We Became Rescue Heroes: The Teammates Tell Their Exciting Stories,J.E. Bright; J. E. Bright; Scholastic Books,32
The World's Greatest Superteam (DK READERS),Neil Kelly,48
A Wrinkle in Time,Madeleine L'Engle; Quindlen; Anna,224
Young Cam Jansen And The Pizza Shop Mystery (Young Cam Jansen),David A. Adler,32
Your Five Senses (Time-To-Discover),,16

Wii Wish You a Happy Birthday

Ciaran turned seven and he played 5 hours and 35 minutes of Wii. His birthday wish was to play video games all day and he came pretty close. Of course he also wanted birthday dinner, cake and presents which took away from his Wii time. As we moved through the day I thought to myself "this seems familiar". Well you know how some kids love repetition?

For their birthday the kids get to choose their birthday dinner, cake and what they would like to do that day. This year Ciaran wanted to have a fruit salad and nice cheeses for dinner. He choose watermelon, pineapple, blackberries, raspberries, pears, apples, nectarine, melon and grapes. For the cheese he wanted Prima Donna Gouda, swiss and muenster. For dessert he wanted a half chocolate, half vanilla Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle cake. Here is a link to his 6th birthday summary.

For what he wanted to do he was limited this year both by the snow and the fact that we are all recovering from being ill for a solid week. So he chose playing Wii all day. We happily obliged and realized in many ways it was a repeat of last year. It was a great day and exactly what he wanted which always makes us happy when they feel that way at the end of their special day.

For his gift this year Serona and I splurged on a nice bike complete with gears. He has been eying bicycles every store we go to. Serona stopped at the bike shop on the way home (he had a bike on layaway) and told Ciaran he had to pick up some new tires he was getting - which Ciaran thought meant for dad's bike. He wanted to go in and look at the bikes but Serona said "No, you wait in the car". Clearly disappointed and perhaps a little surprised to be told no he waited. Serona came out carrying a pair of tires and returned to the car. A few moments later a shop worker came out carrying his new bike and put it in the car. Ciaran was very surprised and very excited. When we arrived home he immediately rode around the neighborhood, snow and all to try out the new bike with gears and hand brakes. He seemed to get the hang of it right away.

Now we just need the snow to melt and no more snowstorms until next November (okay October) - am I asking too much?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cake

This is Ciaran's birthday cake made by Rhiannon. He wanted a TMNT cake and she wanted to make it for him. This is her second cake she has worked on decorating herself after learning about cake decorating in a recent class. She is 8 years old. Let you know how he likes it.

Resistance is Futile

I was on my way out the door to return some library books and pick up some on the reserve shelf. Ciaran gently asks me if he can go with me. It is 10 minutes before bedtime and we are all recovering from the flu. I say no. I start to say "Don't worry I'm not getting new books," then I recovered and looked at him and said "OK you know that's not true" but I'll be sure to pick some good ones and headed out the door.

I arrive at the library with a bag full to return, confident this time I will manage to return more than I check out. I figure I am alone, I don't have to worry about what the kids will sneak in the bag. In reality I still walked out with as many books as my bag would hold, this time just 29 books. Five of them were for me and the rest were story books and readers for the kids. I felt almost guilty leaving the library with a bag fuller than when I arrived. But we really do read them all so why feel guilty? Why not just embrace the benefits of the public library that our family loves so?

I will admit I have had over 100 books checked out at a time often between the two library systems we use. But if you have looked at our reading lists you know we read them. And anyone who frequents the library with young children is well aware of that blissful few hours after you return when you hear nothing but silence and the turning of pages or a solitary voice reading aloud to a captivated audience. The joy of new books!

I arrived home and filled our library cube with new goodies knowing what tomorrow will bring. I even sneaked into Ciaran's room with a handful of new readers to show him. He asked "Can I please read you one now, like a bedtime story from me?" - Who can resist the sweetness of that and I crawled into bed with him and listened to Amelia Bedilia Play Ball. I loved his smiles and giggles at all the silly things she does. He read the whole book to Sirah (who could not resist the temptation of a story and came in from her bed) and I. As I tucked them all in again for the night, including more last drinks, prayers and hugs I was content. I went to turn out Ciaran's light and he said "Please can I just read one chapter book more to myself tonight?" Of course you know the answer to that. Resistance is Futile!

Enjoy a good book with your children,
Tenniel

Our Family

Looking at my sidebar I realized I have not updated our family bio in almost 3 years!!! Some of this will be repeat information for some of you. For the others, welcome and enjoy visiting with our family.


There is Serona (the dad), soon to turn 33. He is a director of product management for a software company. He has two undergrad degrees in Political Science and Philosophy and a graduate degree in Communications, and is also a former debater. His interests are reading, writing and blogging, keeping up with current events, technology and politics, wine tasting, anything and everything Star Wars, and of course his Xbox 360.

Then there is me, Mother Tenn, also 33 and a Stay at Home Mom. I am fairy active in our homeschool co-op especially in planning field trips. My undergrad studies were in Environmental Politics and I have an MA in Communications with an emphasis on Social Movements and Argumentation. My current interests are: reading, blogging and writing,journaling (I maintain 4 journals actively: a prayer journal and a journal for each of my children), research (especially technology, current events and homeschooling), knitting and crocheting and when I find time water aerobics.

Next come the children: Rhiannon, Ciaran, and Sirah.

Rhiannon is 8. She is an avid reader and at times it is difficult to get her head out of a book. She loves horses and her horseback riding lessons. She has recently taken up sewing and 9 patch quilts. She enjoys history and hates long division. She is developing her friendships and doesn't understand why boys and girls don't want to be friends anymore. Her current favorite music is Relient K and Vivaldi (interesting mix). She is a very inquisitive and intelligent child and always keeps life interesting.

Next meet Ciaran, 6 and a half. Ciaran is full of energy and has a passion for nature. He still loves frogs with a passion, though his interest in nature has expanded to include other creatures and nature in general. He still prays at night "God thank you for making all things good and for this world you created. He enjoys video games just like his dad. His current favorite is Disney Extreme Skate for his Gamecube. He will do anything for a half hour of video game time. He is getting ready to start basketball and snowboarding this winter. He has a wonderful personality and is always smiling that contagious smile he has.

Then there is Sirah our four year old. She has a personality all her own and a comfort with that. She asks me "Is today a matching day?" She can often be found wearing multi-colored stripes, with a clashing shirt and something sparkly or shiny on her had - somehow it works on her though it would not for so many other people. She is the kind of kid that makes all adults want to have another one like her. But she has her fiesty and stubborn side too that she saves just for me and Serona, complete with hands on hips and sighing. Being a third child she is very content to do her own thing and just be around us. If a disney princess is involved she is all over it. She also loves her sisters horses, fairies, Bitty twins and being read to all day long. She enjoys playing "foods food" where she makes us cookies, tea, etc while we do school. She also really LOVES being my assistant in the kitchen and has the biggest servant heart of the family. She has been known to get up and make everyones bed in the house, or clean a room and then tell us about it. She has a genuine, loving personality and another great smile.

Rounding out our family are our Australian Shepherds, a five year old male and a 3 year old female. They are loving, patient with our children (I am amazed at what they tolerate from them, especially Sirah) though these same dogs are fiercely protective of the kids and very loud barkers. They love to run ruts and spend time in the yard.

We are Christian environmentalists, social justice advocates, vegetarians, right-leaning, techies, outdoors loving, geo-caching, non tv watching, attachment parenting, extended breastfeeding, crunchy granola, readers, researchers, life-long learners, Guinness and wine drinking and sometimes funny and enjoyable to be around. So come get to know us and stay awhile. We love having you.

The Giving Tree

This book brought many memories today. Sirah and I had a marathon reading afternoon. We read for about a half hour before her nap (about standard) and then she woke up grumpy and not wanting to face the world and decided the way to cope was for me to read to her. We climbed into our favorite leather chair with what I thought was a large stack of books - I had no idea what was to come! We read for two and a half hours straight with two short water breaks for me. She just kept wanting to read and read and read. She picked up The Giving Tree and we read it. At the end I looked down and she was crying, such a very sad cry. She reached up and grabbed my neck and clung. I asked her what was wrong and she said she was so very sad for the tree. She sat in my lap and cried for quite awhile as I comforted her. We had a bit of a discussion after that about giving and taking and about using paper towels in a bathroom - because once she asked me what the "These come from trees" sticker was and it stuck. Her tender heart took quite awhile to recover from reading this book today. I reached desperately for what might be a happy uplifting book and started reading once she had calmed enough. We read until she was calmed down and comforted and then headed to the skate park. I was thankful for the reprieve from reading - I love it but over 3 hours of read aloud time is a lot! Then of course more reading was inevitably to come at bedtime.

The second memory The Giving Tree gave us today brought just as strong of an emotional reaction but in the positive way from Ciaran. Sirah and I were finishing up dinner and I looked over to Ciaran who was "reading" on the couch. He enjoys looking at picture books but has lacked the confidence that unless it is a leveled reader that he is sure he can read every word he will simply not even try to read it. No matter how we encourage it or try to convince him he has been resolute on this point - claiming he is happy just to look at the pictures. I looked over and realized he was sounding out the words quietly to himself. I quickly looked away so he would not catch me watching him. It took a lot to not say something encouraging to him but I kept quiet and looked away.

A few moments later he came bounding over (he rarely just walks) super excited and sat right next to me and said "I think can read this book by myself!" I smiled and said I believe you can do you want to try. He sat right next to me and read the whole book and he was so excited and proud of himself. It brought him such joy and he took some ownership of his reading tonight I think. It is the first time in my recollection that he has chosen to read a book he was not assigned or that he did not know already with certainty that he could read. His excitement and energy was contagious and I was really proud of him and really excited.

So one book brought such completely different strong emotional reactions in my kids in one evening! What a great book it is too. And I choose this picture from the book because it makes me think of both my kids and their reactions today and besides we are a bunch of tree huggers here.

Read to those babies - maybe not for three hours :)
Tenniel

First Grade Curriculum

Here is the plan for first grade though it may change a bit more as we see where Ciaran's needs and interests lay.

Reading - lots of read alouds and self reading from the library and personal collection
Math - Miquon red
Phonics - Phonics Pathways and Primary Phonics
Language Arts - First Language Lessons and Explode the Code
Spelling - online age appropriate spelling list
Geography - Geography Matters
History - Story of the World Vol 3
Science - Christian Liberty Nature Readers, nature journal
Handwriting - Handwriting Without Tears My Printing Book
Bible - My Father's World bible reader - create illustrated bible
Music - Ultimate Encyclopedia of Classical Music
Art - How Great Thou Art

This is a mix of things we did with Rhiannon at this age, some that we feel are better resources for Ciaran and some that we are doing jointly with them this year. This years main emphasis once again will be on building the solid reading skills he needs and foundational math skills.

Ciaran will also have a few supplemental activities, field trips and classes from our homeschool cooperative. It appears his activities of choice right now are skateboarding, basketball and chess. And of course geo-caching - he would like to create more reasons for us to be out caching!

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Now playing: Sara Groves - Conversations
via FoxyTunes

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Now playing: Casting Crowns - Does Anybody Hear Her
via FoxyTunes

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Now playing: Sara Groves - Just One More Thing
via FoxyTunes

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Now playing: Sara Groves - Going Home
via FoxyTunes

Organized Chaos!

Also known as Ciaran's 6th birthday party. We had 14 kids between the ages of 3 and 8 playing board games for nearly 3 hours. The kids did really well, I was impressed with them and overall it was a fun and stress free time. It was busy and tiring and we could not have done it without the help of one of the other moms, Serona and I would have been seriously outnumbered. Still all in all it went well and Ciaran had a great time and my prayer was answered - no tears!

We had many different games out being played over the course of the time, the kids cycled through most of them. Here are some Zooreeka, Operation, Zitternix, Foosball, Zingo, Candyland, Parchessi, Chess, Guess Who, Toot and Otto, and Balloon Lagoon. We had games set up in two rooms at the tables and on the floor. We grouped the kids into teams and those teams were kind of fluid and changing throughout the time but were useful if we needed to quickly organize something or move kids to the next location. We set up in two main areas (upstairs and downstairs) and had several games all near one another so an adult could supervise several at a time. We had one adult upstairs, one downstairs and then a floater that moved between as needed. We set a timer for 15-20 minutes (though we did not strictly stick to it) and let the kids play the game for that length. Some of the longer games did not finish and we simply cycled more kids into the current games and had them pick up where the other players left off.

We had a really great group of kids that made this work nicely. We had a wide age range and both girls and boys (though the girls were really outnumbered) and they played well together in different combinations and age was never really an issue or even really apparent. They were even very including and patient with Sirah who is 3 and much younger than all of them. Sometimes the patience level of some of the kids was shorter than others with some of the games but they sort of naturally worked themselves into another game or kept occupied until we switched.

We had cake and ice cream of course and much to my surprise Serona's idea of heads up 7 up went over really well. In the future I would trim this party to 2 hours - 3 hours was just too much time for this age group and this type of party. But we survived and Ciaran had a blast and all the kids seemed to enjoy themselves.

Instead of goody bags we gave away books instead. Serona's great idea and it went over really well. Given the ages and wide ranging reading levels it was interesting to choose books. I picked some magic tree house books, and some leveled readers (like the I Can Read) series and set them out on the table. We had 20 books to choose from and 14 kids had to pick. I had them randomly draw numbers to go up to the table and pick their books. We also had some light up bracelets and sticky frogs. The books as a party favor went over really well with the kids, the parents and was easy to do. Highly recommend it.

Well I am exhausted! Off to recover. Peace, Tenniel

13 and 15

Ciaran has been working on counting to 20 lately and I noticed a consistent pattern of leaving out 13 and 15. My first thought was the page in Alexander and the Horrible, Rotten, No Good Very Bad Day book when he leaves out 16. Then I noticed something 13 and 15 are unique because they do not use the number before think about it thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen. They both abbreviate the number before they add teen. Anyway that realization make sense with Ciaran and his learning style I can't explain it but it just fits.

So today we decided to work on it with him. I decided he just needed to practice saying 13, 14, 15 over and over again and printed him out the numbers on a sheet with a picture of a frog his favorite. But it was Serona who came up with the idea that worked. Walking up and down steps saying one number on each step over and over again. Whenever he got one wrong he had to start the whole staircase again and then it was suddenly a game and something he wanted to win. A few times and he got it. It really worked for him!

Then we had him walk the stairs and do all the numbers between 1-20 and again he had to start over if he messed up - he never messed up 13-15 but did get confused occasionally with other numbers. Serona walked up and down with him with the promise of playing his new GameCube game if he got it right. Yes we reward (okay some might say bribe) Ciaran with video games. But he did his numbers 1-20 and is playing Cars with daddy now. We will practice a few more times over the next few days until I am sure it is stuck in his mind.

Sometimes a little creativity is all we need. Thanks Serona for being the creative one!