Restoration Place

Blog Vacation

Hi all. I find myself in need of a blog vacation. There are loads of photos on my camera from recent activities and I've already composed several posts in my head, but it seems best to just let it all sit for a while.

I need time to process some recent events in our lives (please don't worry, our family is well) and that means letting go of a few things temporarily.

I'm still here--just not posting--so if you want to get in touch, feel free to leave a comment and I'll reply.

New Kitty

To all who left precious words of sympathy and encouragement about the loss of our dear cat: Thank you very much. My family and I were blessed by your comments as we passed through most of last week numb with loss and grief. I didn't respond to each of you personally, as I would have rather done, but do want you to know how much your words meant to us.

It seemed right to the children to bring a new kitten into our family right away. Karl and I would have chosen to wait a little while, but God said what He's said before: "I'm bypassing you on this. This is for the children." (One day I will tell you about the various ways He has bypassed us for the good of the children. It's all about saying yes to Him and setting aside our own needs/wants/ideas/expectations.) Thank goodness for bypassing!

So here she is...Miss Molly Nutmeg:

She's a four-month-old tortoise shell and she's everyone's darling, of course. ~smile~

It won't be long before she takes her place in the Monopoly game lid, napping the afternoon away.

We're Just Not Ourselves This Week...

A couple of days ago we had to unexpectedly have our beloved cat (not Blue, the one we've shown lots of photo of here) Brooke euthanized. She began to act very sick and listless, so we took her to the veterinarian. An exam and x-ray showed an enormous, fist-sized tumor on her kidney and the vet explained what I already knew: our sweet cat was dying.

Within hours we went from thinking she was well to having to bury her. All of the children are heartbroken, but Maggie is devastated as this was her special pet. You might remember that several months ago we had to have our dog, Zeb, euthanized. So the grief and the questions about the loss of yet another pet are profound.

I'll be back once we're on the other side of this.

 

Brooke:

The Book Thing of Baltimore ~ Local Outing

I finally made it to The Book Thing in Baltimore after hearing about it, reading about it, and thinking about it for several years. Today was the day of action.

In the Saturday afternoon traffic of this gorgeous 72 degree F day, it took me about an hour to get there, door to door, but it was easy to find and very much worth the trip.

The approximately 150,000 titles are organized by subject, such as History, Children's, Classics, Mathematics, Christian, Fiction, Family, Education, and so on, and they are all free, free, free! Yes: free!

The books are not alphabetized by author in their respective sections, but I wasn't expecting them to be. It's not really the place to search for a specific title/author, anyways. It's more like a treasure hunt.

The Book Thing welcomes donations of books. They are especially in need of quality children's books, evidenced by the few that were available in the bins on the floor, and the many ecstatic children gathering them up by the handful. I plan to take a big boxful next time I visit.

The Book Thing wants you to take away as many books as you want. In fact, they strongly encourage you to...

While I browsed, I was treated to the breeze flowing through the open doors, and the pealing bells of St. John's Episcopal Church across the street:

I must say that I did feel a twinge of guilt as I left with my small armload of treasures without paying. Something about it didn't feel quite right. Especially since I feel I scored big:

The stack, from the top:

The Shack by William P. Young. Looked to have never been read. I tried to read a borrowed copy a few months ago, and couldn't get through what I thought were the first few badly written pages. I even told friends I couldn't read it, but there it was, free. And some of my friends said they were greatly impacted by the book. So I guess I'll try again. Or pass it on to someone else who wants to read it.

Field Guide to the Piedmont: The Natural Habitats of America's Most Lived-in Region, from New York City to Montgomery, Alabama by Michael A. Godfrey. This was marked with Book Crossing stickers, so I registered my finding of the book and made a journal entry.

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling. A 1964 edition with lovely illustrations by Charles McCurry:

The Graphic Bible: From Genesis to Revelation in Animated Maps & Charts
by Lewis Browne, 1929. We'll use this book in our home education, probably daily:

The real score, though, is this Van Loon's Geography: The Story of the World We Live In by Hendrik Willem van Loon. It's a 1932 (seventh printing) edition, inscribed by the apparent one-time owner, John H. McQuilkin, Midshipman, U.S. Navy:

 

I already own a copy of this book, but it's not nearly as large and beautiful. I will treasure and use this book frequently with my children. Does taking this particularly good copy when I already have a perfectly acceptable one make me a selfish hoarder? I don't know. I hope not. I do know that I would gladly pass on my other copy. ~grin~

I'll be going back to The Book Thing soon...with a good selection of children's books to donate, and my eyes peeled for new treasures.

A Few Moments for Mama Refreshment

I had to pause in the middle of this day to have a few minutes to myself. It was very necessary. Twenty minutes of tea and a few pages of a new book to savor and I was much better.

Ok. Back to the rest of the day.

Picture Narrations ~ Little Pilgrim's Progress: Christiana's Journey

We're still slowly working our way through Little Pilgrim's Progress along with the rest of our Morning Stack. Yesterday, I read Chapter 57: The Man with the Straws. The children drew picture narrations, as I was reading, like they usually do.

The reading was particularly poignant. In this chapter, Christiana, her siblings, and friend, Mercy, have stopped at the house of the Interpreter. After the children have all rested, the Interpreter takes them through his house to show them some special things.

One of them was a room featuring the man with straws:

After this, the old man brought his little visitors into a dull, dark room, where  a miserable-looking man was working busily. The floor of the room was covered with straws and sticks, and the man held a rake in his hand, with which he was collecting all the rubbish into a heap. He did not look up when the Interpreter opened the door, and he seemed to care for nothing but his sticks and straws.

"What is he collecting them for?" asked Matthew. "He thinks they are very precious," replied the Interpreter. "He has been serving the Wicked Prince for a long time, and he believes that some day, in the midst of these useless straws, he will find a wonderful treasure. The King is sorry for him and every day He sends a messenger to offer him a golden crown instead of straws." (176)

We pondered the image for a few moments, and the girls began to make a drawing of something they had heard in the reading. The boys drew, too, but they focused on things not related to the reading. That was ok with me, as they had already given great verbal narrations.

 

Blue, the cat, thinks these drawings offer the best seat in the house:

 

Angels holding golden crowns and smiling:

Ben drew Larry Boy and the Angry Eyebrow. Jacob's drawing can't be found:

 

I keep our 1891 version of Pilgrim's Progress in our morning stack so I can read portions of text that match our Little Pilgrim's Progress reading, or to show the beautiful pen and ink illustrations (I make a point of not showing the corresponding illustration before our reading as it may interfere with the younger children's drawings. I want them to be able to imagine for themselves the part of the reading that most impresses them):

 

By the way, I've found an abundant supply of these beautiful copies of Pilgrim's Progress in used and out-of-print bookstores. My copy was only $20.

Here's the man with straws in our 1891 copy:

After the reading and the time of drawing, I was thrilled with our discussion about the man with straws.

I continue to marvel at how good books, read slowly and lived with over time, impact the children's hearts and mind. They really are being nourished daily with "loving, right, and noble ideas" (Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children Vol. II, 228). It gives me such joy to be a part of that process!

Official Hand Washing Lesson

Why I couldn't think to review proper hand washing techniques with my children at the beginning of the winter/cold/flu season I just don't know. Not that I haven't taught them...again and again, but it become clear to me when doing this lesson that some of the information hadn't exactly sunk in.

Somehow, to the children, having hand-outs or visuals or an experiment of sorts makes it "official", not just something Mom is telling them about for the umpteenth time. Or maybe it was the phrase millions of microbes that grabbed their attention.

A few catchy resources, and the hand washing instruction session become real. ~grin~

I started with a book: Germs Make Me Sick! (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) (Reading Rainbow book):

Then we had fun with Glitter Germs.

I put lotion, glitter, a container to catch excess glitter, and paper towels on the table:

I squirted a big glob of lotion on each of their hands and they spread the lotion all over the front and back of their hands:

 

Then they held their globby hands over a container and I sprinkled glitter generously all over their hands. The glitter represents germs. The expressions on their faces were hilarious, but I promised not to post a photo of that:

 

Next, I gave a paper towel to each one and told them to wipe off the glitter:

 

It was very hard to wipe off all the glitter "germs".

Next, we made a trip to the bathroom where I demonstrated the best techniques for washing hands, and how long it should take: 30 seconds. Some sources suggest 20 seconds is enough, others recommend 30 seconds. I'm going for the 30 seconds, just to be extra sure.

Young children have a difficult time knowing when 30 seconds is up, so I taught them to sing the Doxology twice, not too fast, and that would amount to about 30 seconds:

     Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;

     Praise Him, all creatures here below;

     Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;

     Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

The idea to sing the Doxology while hand washing isn't mine, but I can't remember where I heard it. I've heard of singing "Happy Birthday" twice, but I like the Doxology so much better.

We finished up the lesson by reading through Wash Your Hands...Stay Healthy!.

I think it would be fun to try a Glo Germ Gel Kit. It's available at Steve Spangler (Glow germ lotion plus mini black light) and Home Training Tools (comes with larger black light and is a little pricier).