Thank You, God, for these lovely memories of all the sweet-smelling roses. Thank You for the long, warm days of June. And thank You for little girls in white dresses frolicking through the garden green.
This morning we kicked off another year of learning at Starlight School. Aren’t my students cute? We all appreciate the new lunch boxes; in fact, I think I need my very own new lunch box, too.
These from Goodbyn come with dozens and dozens of dishwasher-safe stickers so you can customize and decorate them yourself. What’s more, they stack quite nicely in the refrigerator. One noticeable drawback is their lack of insulation. But here in the frozen tundra, keeping lunch cool usually is not too much of a problem. If you live in a warmer climate, keep this in mind before ordering one yourself.
I was so jazzed about using these that — for the first time ever — I packed the girls’ lunches the night before. How revolutionary!
This completely helps me fight grumpiness around mid-day; my own grumpiness, that is. Some days when we are still deep in the books and the clock ticks ever closer to noon, I really wish I could just send them to the cafeteria for a while! I can’t; but having lunches all ready to go seems like the next best thing for easing my mid-day stress. Of course, this is just Day 1, so maybe I will follow up in a few weeks and let you know if this is still such a grand idea for homeschool moms.
The school room itself finally came together last week. Tah-dah!
Notice the geography theme? And the owls? I am so excited about the owls. We have an owl theme going this year to help us remember some of our key verses. This week’s verse is from Proverbs 1:5 — “Let the wise listen and add to their learning…”
The school room is truly a blessing, and I am very thankful to have the space to keep school books and projects organized. But since the room is in our basement and lacks windows, most days we can only bear to stay down there a few hours before we must come upstairs for air and sunshine and food (for the latter, see lunchbox discussion above).
We had plenty of sunshine and fresh air today. The weather is downright perfect this week! Right after lunch we headed to our favorite park for recess and a few “not” back-to-school photos. The playground equipment at this particular park is scheduled for a major upgrade in a few weeks, and I am feeling a tad bit nostalgic about saying goodbye to the swings, merry-go-round and slides that both my kids have thoroughly adored since before they could walk. Sniff.
Plus, doesn’t the weathered equipment make a nice background for school pictures?
Another favorite feature of the park, besides its massive trees, is the gazebo.
Lots of brides have their pictures taken here, and for a good reason. It offers nice lighting in the afternoon and an array of leading lines to add interest to your photos.
So that’s a quick wrap of our first day of school. Now I gotta run and pack tomorrow’s lunches.
This is the story of a tidy little ship that sailed on Father’s Day.
O it’s I that am the captain of a tidy little ship,
Of a ship that goes a-sailing on the pond;
And my ship it keeps a-turning all around and all about;
But when I’m a little older, I shall find the secret out
How to send my vessel sailing on beyond.
— from “My Ship and I” by Robert Louis Stevenson
Here’s a slideshow with more pictures of the tidy little ship’s voyage.
The end of the school year always makes me think about caterpillars and butterflies and how my little girls are growing up.
Last June we acquired five monarch caterpillars from another homeschool family. We fed them milkweed — which wasn’t easy to find — and we watched them eat, eat, eat.
The girls’ favorite caterpillar was named “Tiny Corn.” She was the last to go into her chrysalis.
We marveled at the shiny gold dots on each chrysalis as they hung from the lid of their habitat.
One by one, after they broke free from their chrysalises and dried their wings, we let them fly.
“Tiny Corn” was the last to go, and she held on to the hydrangea on the patio for a while.
Then she held onto Linnea’s finger for a while.
And then, just like the others, the stately monarch mounted up on the breeze and flew high into the blue sky.
Thus ended our monarch butterfly project.
Two years ago we raised painted lady butterflies and let them go at “Butterfly Meadow” — another lovely experience!
2 Corinthians 4:15 – “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”
168. starting a journey through all 66 books of the Bible
169. big hands showing little hands how to tie shoes
170. the smile that says, “I did it! I did it!”
171. the sweet friend who generously shares her sewing talents
172. the pink and purple reversible bag they made together
173. tulips and daffodils peeking through the soil
174. the bird chirping in the tree top
175. frosty white tree branches
176. hot water
177. finishing book one of 12
178. little girls in black peacoats swinging their Bible bags
179. the patio that emerges from its snowy cocoon
180. foggy mornings
181. rainboots
182. pink bicycles, pink scooters, pink helmets and pink cheeks
183. holding her hand while we sing
184. Sunday naps
185. robin sightings in the neighborhood
186. finishing a good book
187. walking with her to the mailbox
188. her excitement in finding a Lincoln Brewster CD in the mail
189. how she remembers and paints about smashing rotten tomatoes last fall in the neighbor’s garden
190. how she remembers and paints about butterfly meadow
191. the sweet Papa who mails us hope for summer — a life-like butterfly in a jar!
John 1:16 – “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.”
Psalm 66:16 – “Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what He has done for me.”
139. the glorious sky all pink and purple at sunset
140. “smushy” chocolate oatmeal cookies in Mama’s old tupperware dish
141. a tearful afternoon spent sharing testimonies
142. meaningful walks with dear friends
143. my Grandma’s 91 years
144. health insurance
145. the 5-year-old who is a very cooperative patient
146. the 8-year-old who loves babies
147. gentle new moms with tiny babies
148. early morning snuggles
149. spring-like songs sung by birds
150. the encourager who inspires young artists
151. moments to ponder citizenship in heaven
152. peace that overcomes worry and anxious thoughts
153. the new Children’s Ministry director
154. muffins in the morning
155. the very literate 5-year-old reader of billboards and signs
156. little legs exhausted by gym class
157. a break from school work
158. Psalm 91:1, 4
159. bumping into homeschool friends at the library
160. books that tell of the Almighty
161. healing of those mysterious hives
162. the little ears that love to hear stories
163. the liveliness of sisters re-telling silly stories about “Ponies!”
164. the hope of spring
166. smiling new faces in familiar old places
167. a gentle push outside my comfort zone
John 1:16 – “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.”
To celebrate some reading accomplishments and our Minnesota heatwave — it was 31 degrees — we spent a few hours sledding this afternoon. My girls sled quite often on our neighborhood hill, but it’s rare for Michael and I to go sledding with them. When we do, we usually go to this ball field and take our sledding tube along — which makes it extra special fun for the girls.
Here’s a little slideshow of our joy rides.
Growing up, one of my favorite characters was Charlie Brown. I didn’t read the comic strip, but I loved the specials on TV. Truth be told, I lived vicariously through Charlie Brown.
The complicated social struggles Charlie Brown was having with Lucy and Snoopy and all his friends weren’t really what entertained me. I didn’t understand most of that. What entertained me was the idea of hunting for the great pumpkin in a pumpkin patch, the idea of buying a Christmas tree in the snow, and the idea of kids casually ice skating outside on a pond as snow falls softly and piano music plays peacefully in the background. It all just seemed right to me.
Without Charlie Brown, I would have thought all pumpkins came from the grocery store and that ice skates were only used indoors by under-dressed children with a white-knuckle grip on the half wall that surrounded the rink. But Charlie Brown enlightened me, and I am thankful.
Not long after we moved to Minnesota, I found out that Charles Schultz, creator of Charlie Brown, was from St. Paul, Minn. I also discovered most of the reasons I am enamoured with Minnesota trace back to something that happened in a Charlie Brown TV special. Or Grumpy Old Men. But mostly Charlie Brown.
All this to say: I had a Charlie Brown moment yesterday. Not an exasperated, I-am-fed-up-with-Lucy kind of moment, but a magical, joyful moment enjoying something quite simple.
Yesterday, I went ice skating for the first time on a pond and for the first time in about 15 or 20 years. Our family went to Centennial Lakes in Edina for a friend’s birthday. It was 11 degrees and brutally windy outside, but the frozen ponds where we skated were tucked behind a shopping area, which blocked the wind. Plus the sun was shining brightly, and that kept us warm. While we skated, music played quietly from the deluxe warming house nearby. It was simply a magical experience. Or maybe the magical part was that I, by the grace of God, managed not to fall on the ice! Either way, I am inspired to do some more ice skating soon!
Above is Laurel, age 5, twinkling at the piano, sometime in December. “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” is the first song she has learned to play since her “pre-reading” piano lessons began one wonderful week in late October with Miss Amanda.
Miss Amanda actually only taught her the first half of the song. Laurel learned the second half from Linnea’s piano teacher the day before our homeschool Christmas program, at which she performed the song before a live audience. It followed quite nicely after Linnea’s performance of “We Three Kings.” You know, “Star of wonder, star of light, star with royal beauty bright…”
In typical Laurel fashion, she played the entire song with complete confidence and generously added a few extra notes whenever she pleased. It made for quite an entertaining version of the song.
Starlight Writer 