In my most recent post, I mentioned including Resurrection Eggs as part of our Easter tradition. They can be found here, via the Family Life website (a service of Campus Crusade for Christ).
Have a great day!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
First and foremost. . .
Happy Easter to all. It was a wonderful Resurrection Sunday here on the mountain. A few takeaways include:
Pt 1: Kicking off the morning: We have a family tradition of hiding (OK, strewing) Easter eggs about the living room for the kids to "find" when they are all up on Easter morning. Many are your garden variety plastic eggs filled with candy (primarily the kind the parents like too so that we can poach unashamedly afterwards). Some are hard-boiled and dyed the night before by all of us. This year included 18 such eggs, some of which were blue with smiley faces, some were plaid, one looked just like a dinosaur egg. They were magnificent. We hide the candy eggs on Saturday night after the kids are asleep; the "real" eggs spend the night in the fridge and are added on Sunday morning.
Much like we do at Christmas with Santa Claus, my wife and I work very hard to make sure that our kids know that Easter is not just about treat-filled baskets and candy-filled eggs. Thus, in addition to candy eggs (total: 94) and real eggs (total: 18), we have 12 "resurrection eggs". We bought these before Easter last year and the are a GREAT addition to the tradition. (ooh, a rhyme!) These particular eggs, which look just like the plastic eggs filled with candy, have inside something representative of the Easter story. It was so great to watch the kids open them this morning and shout "praying hands, like Jesus in the garden", or "a cup, like what Jesus used at the last supper". (OK, she actually said "last dinner", but we got the point). Other eggs contain a spear, a crown of thorns, a cross made of nails, a white linen cloth, a whip, a rock (to seal the tomb), and others that I'm not thinking of at 11:30 at night. Most importantly, one egg is completely empty, just like the tomb. Belle found that one and recognized the significance of it immediately. Isn't it great when they know their lines?! I can't remember where we found these; I'll see if I can find the source and post it in a later entry. All I know is that it was a real blessing to watch all three kids remember why the eggs were there and what their contents meant.
Logistical note: Belle woke up with the sun and entertained herself until I got up (bless her!). I dragged myself out of bed about 8:30 to start the coffee pot (VITAL). The Boy got up shortly after I did. He and Belle waited "patiently", as they knew no-one was allowed to start collecting eggs until everyone was up. I took coffee to my wife in an effort to bribe her out of bed. Then, and only then, did I head downstairs to coax Tinkerbell out of bed. She and her mother are of the same cloth; they would both sleep until 10 every day if they could. This all works pretty well during the week when there are no am deadlines (thank GOODNESS we homeschool). On Easter Sunday Morning, when you have to hunt eggs / eat breakfast /parents have to shower-shave-etc / get dressed in all new clothes (where are Belles new shoes - do we have a slip for Tink - uh-oh The Boys pants are a little long) / "WE NEED TO LEAVE FOR CHURCH!!!!!", it can get a little stressful. I'll omit the gory details, but trust me when I say, it could have gone better.
Pt 2: The Hunt: After church and lunch (including interestingly colored egg salad, of course), we headed to our community Easter Egg Hunt. Tim blogged on theirs yesterday; ours is similarly structured. Remember a few things: 1) while we live in a somewhat remote part of the state, it's a gated community popular with retirees. 2) those retirees like to have their grandchildren come visit for holidays. 3) those retirees LOVE to show off their grandchildren (wearing their Easter best) to all of their friends at a community gathering. "Zoo" doesn't begin to describe the event. In addition to the actual hunt (which started at precisely 3:00 and was largely over by 3:03), you can pet the animals in the petting zoo (including a camel, llama, cow, donkey, goat, sheep, duck, chicken, rabbit, and probably others that I couldn't see through the crowd) and get your picture taken with the Easter Bunny. Actually, we had a lot of fun. One of our friends (also a homeschool parent with whom we'd like to spend more time but it just hasn't worked out yet) shared a precious story about Tinkerbell (our 6 year old) that obviously I must share here. Our friends daughter (age 5) was somewhat overwhelmed by the crowds during the Easter Egg Round-up and ended up with a completely empty basket. She doesn't know Tink that well but, being the only girl in a family of 4 boys, she tends to remember every girl she meets. When she saw me and The Boy just after the Hunt, she turned to her mom and said "I want to go find Tinkerbell". So, they did. They sought out and found Tink over near the Easter Bunny. Tink looked into the little girls basked, saw that it was empty, and without saying a word started moving some her eggs from her basket to the friends. Neither I or my wife saw this, so our friend found us to share the story. She was so touched. We were so proud!
Pt 3: Dinner: After the egg round-up, we returned home for some desperately needed rest. Belle was allowed to stay up and visit WebkinzWorld (after she did her phonics first). The younger two were sent to their rooms with strict instructions to "put their heads on their pillows and rest". We parents actually sat down in the living room and visited for a few minutes, then did some chores until it was time to leave for dinner with the grandparents. Background: my wife's parents live in our community as well - maybe 8 minutes away. We had a wonderful Easter Dinner with them. The kids love visiting Mimi and Papa. We had a lovely dinner (that neither of us had to cook!). We even got to bring home some leftovers. All in all, it was a great end to a great day.
I hope that all of you had an equally blessed day.
"Christ the Lord is risen today, alleluia!"
Pt 1: Kicking off the morning: We have a family tradition of hiding (OK, strewing) Easter eggs about the living room for the kids to "find" when they are all up on Easter morning. Many are your garden variety plastic eggs filled with candy (primarily the kind the parents like too so that we can poach unashamedly afterwards). Some are hard-boiled and dyed the night before by all of us. This year included 18 such eggs, some of which were blue with smiley faces, some were plaid, one looked just like a dinosaur egg. They were magnificent. We hide the candy eggs on Saturday night after the kids are asleep; the "real" eggs spend the night in the fridge and are added on Sunday morning.
Much like we do at Christmas with Santa Claus, my wife and I work very hard to make sure that our kids know that Easter is not just about treat-filled baskets and candy-filled eggs. Thus, in addition to candy eggs (total: 94) and real eggs (total: 18), we have 12 "resurrection eggs". We bought these before Easter last year and the are a GREAT addition to the tradition. (ooh, a rhyme!) These particular eggs, which look just like the plastic eggs filled with candy, have inside something representative of the Easter story. It was so great to watch the kids open them this morning and shout "praying hands, like Jesus in the garden", or "a cup, like what Jesus used at the last supper". (OK, she actually said "last dinner", but we got the point). Other eggs contain a spear, a crown of thorns, a cross made of nails, a white linen cloth, a whip, a rock (to seal the tomb), and others that I'm not thinking of at 11:30 at night. Most importantly, one egg is completely empty, just like the tomb. Belle found that one and recognized the significance of it immediately. Isn't it great when they know their lines?! I can't remember where we found these; I'll see if I can find the source and post it in a later entry. All I know is that it was a real blessing to watch all three kids remember why the eggs were there and what their contents meant.
Logistical note: Belle woke up with the sun and entertained herself until I got up (bless her!). I dragged myself out of bed about 8:30 to start the coffee pot (VITAL). The Boy got up shortly after I did. He and Belle waited "patiently", as they knew no-one was allowed to start collecting eggs until everyone was up. I took coffee to my wife in an effort to bribe her out of bed. Then, and only then, did I head downstairs to coax Tinkerbell out of bed. She and her mother are of the same cloth; they would both sleep until 10 every day if they could. This all works pretty well during the week when there are no am deadlines (thank GOODNESS we homeschool). On Easter Sunday Morning, when you have to hunt eggs / eat breakfast /parents have to shower-shave-etc / get dressed in all new clothes (where are Belles new shoes - do we have a slip for Tink - uh-oh The Boys pants are a little long) / "WE NEED TO LEAVE FOR CHURCH!!!!!", it can get a little stressful. I'll omit the gory details, but trust me when I say, it could have gone better.
Pt 2: The Hunt: After church and lunch (including interestingly colored egg salad, of course), we headed to our community Easter Egg Hunt. Tim blogged on theirs yesterday; ours is similarly structured. Remember a few things: 1) while we live in a somewhat remote part of the state, it's a gated community popular with retirees. 2) those retirees like to have their grandchildren come visit for holidays. 3) those retirees LOVE to show off their grandchildren (wearing their Easter best) to all of their friends at a community gathering. "Zoo" doesn't begin to describe the event. In addition to the actual hunt (which started at precisely 3:00 and was largely over by 3:03), you can pet the animals in the petting zoo (including a camel, llama, cow, donkey, goat, sheep, duck, chicken, rabbit, and probably others that I couldn't see through the crowd) and get your picture taken with the Easter Bunny. Actually, we had a lot of fun. One of our friends (also a homeschool parent with whom we'd like to spend more time but it just hasn't worked out yet) shared a precious story about Tinkerbell (our 6 year old) that obviously I must share here. Our friends daughter (age 5) was somewhat overwhelmed by the crowds during the Easter Egg Round-up and ended up with a completely empty basket. She doesn't know Tink that well but, being the only girl in a family of 4 boys, she tends to remember every girl she meets. When she saw me and The Boy just after the Hunt, she turned to her mom and said "I want to go find Tinkerbell". So, they did. They sought out and found Tink over near the Easter Bunny. Tink looked into the little girls basked, saw that it was empty, and without saying a word started moving some her eggs from her basket to the friends. Neither I or my wife saw this, so our friend found us to share the story. She was so touched. We were so proud!
Pt 3: Dinner: After the egg round-up, we returned home for some desperately needed rest. Belle was allowed to stay up and visit WebkinzWorld (after she did her phonics first). The younger two were sent to their rooms with strict instructions to "put their heads on their pillows and rest". We parents actually sat down in the living room and visited for a few minutes, then did some chores until it was time to leave for dinner with the grandparents. Background: my wife's parents live in our community as well - maybe 8 minutes away. We had a wonderful Easter Dinner with them. The kids love visiting Mimi and Papa. We had a lovely dinner (that neither of us had to cook!). We even got to bring home some leftovers. All in all, it was a great end to a great day.
I hope that all of you had an equally blessed day.
"Christ the Lord is risen today, alleluia!"
Friday, March 21, 2008
Pomp and Circumstance. . .
I am pleased to announce that, after much hard work and effort, the reading level of this humble blog has progressed from "High School" level to "Post Grad" level. (see the icon, bottom right-hand side of the blog)
I'm now successfully channeling William F Buckley, Jr!!
(I also have serious doubts about the methodology of this tool)
I'm now successfully channeling William F Buckley, Jr!!
(I also have serious doubts about the methodology of this tool)
As usual, Dave Barry has the answers. . .
this time, to Florida's Primary voting issues. The man is brilliant.
"If you want to vote for Clinton (or Obama, or none-of-the-above), TEXT your vote to. . . "
"If you want to vote for Clinton (or Obama, or none-of-the-above), TEXT your vote to. . . "
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Carnival of Cool Homeschoolers
I'm not exactly sure what the CoCH is, but I know it's new. Here is a link to its inaugural edition, couresy of Shez.
Does this make the original CoH the Carnival of Hot Homeschoolers? Of Lame Homeschoolers? Of Nerdy Homeschoolers? Regardless, it's a great way to see links to others in our same boat and how they're navigating these waters. (how's that for actually NOT mixing a metaphor?!).
Shez saw my last entry in the Carnival of (sublime) Homeschoolers and linked to it for this new initiative.
Have a look.
Does this make the original CoH the Carnival of Hot Homeschoolers? Of Lame Homeschoolers? Of Nerdy Homeschoolers? Regardless, it's a great way to see links to others in our same boat and how they're navigating these waters. (how's that for actually NOT mixing a metaphor?!).
Shez saw my last entry in the Carnival of (sublime) Homeschoolers and linked to it for this new initiative.
Have a look.
Free Rosetta Stone Contest
We have not used Rosetta Stone here on the mountainside, but I've heard really good things about their products. Here is info on a context for a free (FREE) program. Hat tip to Arby for the lead.
Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!
This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.
This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.
To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/ and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!
Rosetta Stone has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while -- next week they are unleashing a brand new curriculum, and you can WIN the *all new* Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3… FOR FREE!
This is a $219 program (and believe me it's worth every penny!) and the winner gets to pick from any of these 14 languages: Spanish (Spain or Latin America), English (American or British), Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Irish, Hebrew, or Russian.
This will also include a headset with microphone, and students will participate in lifelike conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone still incorporates listening, reading and writing as well, in addition to speaking. Many homeschoolers requested grammar and vocabulary exercises, and with Rosetta Stone Homeschool Version 3, they're included! For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program and allow parents to easily enroll students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, and view and print reports.
To win this most excellent program -- in the language of your choice -- copy these (blue) paragraphs and post it in (or as) your next blog post -- then to enter the contest, go to the original contest page HERE: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/JenIG/501132/ and leave a comment with the link showing where you blogged about it. And please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post it. And good luck! The winner will be picked randomly on March 26, and will be notified thru the link they left to their blog pg. And if you have more than one blog, you can post them and enter those separately for more chances to win. Yay for free stuff!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
115th Carnival of Homeschooling . . .
is up and running in an homage to Dr. Seuess. "Oh, the things that you'll do!" Janice Campbell did a wonderful job tying together the multitude of submissions into a Seussian adventure. I actually managed to get a submission in this week as well (2nd week in a row!).
Enjoy.
Enjoy.
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