I don't understand how...

...she can draw this with no previous instruction.

Belle in a bathtub, with a door in the background.  Luci wanted the door locked, so she drew a key. 

This is not the impressive part.

 This is the impressive part.

Luci drew a three-dimensional box, put the key in, and left the lid opened. 

Luci,  how did you know how to do this? 

I don't know, I just did it.

I told a friend about this drawing, and she said, "Perhaps she'll be an architect."

Luci said, "No, but I might be a girl who builds houses!"

On to Williamsburg!

We are going to visit Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown this spring. I am so excited! A group of homeschool families from here are making the trek. This has been such an interesting study here at home, and at a homeschool co-op class the boys are attending. I've especially enjoyed the study because history (US, World, Ancient--all types, really) has been my worst subject all through my own schooling. That's one of the best things about homeschooling: you learn right along with your children.

Of course going to such an historical place would be more fun if you have appropriate attire! So Luci plotted, and I planned, this PINK gown:


Luci called it her "President Wife" outfit. So, I asked her to pose like a President's wife:

I loved it! Hands on hips, ready to tell the Leader of the Free World just what he's got to do here at home to make the wife happy.

(Mom: Did you notice the pineapple? Just right for posing next to, when you are dressed for Williamsburg, don't you think?)

This dress still needs hemming. The pattern calls for lace at the end of the sleeves and at the hem, plus a bow on the ruffle of the sleeve, but Luci does not want that at all. So, risking an unfinished dress, I decided to not put on those details even though hunting for the trims took longer than finding the pattern and the pink material in the first place. I want her to wear this! If it's not "just right" in her eyes, it will remain in the closet. Oh--and I need to make the shawl and mop cap. That's what I get to do tomorrow afternoon.

It was so much fun sewing today. Even when I put the skirt on the bodice inside out and had to take it all apart. I hate ripping out stitches! But I actually enjoyed my day, even with that. Luci has been at her clingiest with bronchitis, and she let me sew. She played Playhouse Disney on my computer, at the table with me, as I worked. I have not sewed in a long time, because I haven't been able to focus on the task while Luci demanded attention. This gives me such hope for making Luci pretty dresses in the near future! She loves dresses, but the ones for her age group are, well, tacky. They are way too skimpy for my taste, too grown-up, too sexually oriented for me to buy for my young daughter. (And I refuse to buy that stuff when she's older, too.)

If I hit the sales at the mall stores, pretty, modest dresses can be found--but I have to buy for next year to be able to afford things...and, as Luci has done in the past, what she loved at shopping time she did not like at all when it came time to wear the clothes. Wasted money!

Here's the pattern: Simplicity 3725, view D














We are in Volume V, Chapter 1 of our Weaver Unit studies. What great timing, as this chapter covers US History from Columbus through the American Revolution. Some of our resources (but certainly not all) are KIDS DISCOVER Magazines (thanks, Mom and Dad for the subscription!), The Light and the Glory for Children, and If you lived in Williamsburg in Colonial Days. There have been quite a few more books from the library that I can't recall off the top of my head right now.

A Little Sponge

That's what Luci is. Yesterday the boys and I were "doing Bible" at the kitchen table. Luci was in the living room, busy with her toys. The subject of our Bible study was Jacob and his family, in Genesis 29 and 30. I began quizzing the boys, asking questions about the passages read. One of the questions:

Whom did Jacob love?

the boys hesitated, but from the living room comes:

Rachel!

Next School Year

Okay, so I am a geek or a nerd or whatever people like me are called. A geeky nerd?

I just ordered Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America) for our homeschool. I got the set with all three levels, for all the children and for John and me to use. The homeschool version will track progress for each student. Buying all three levels at once is a good deal--essentially, you are getting one year free.

Luci is going to explore Mandarin Chinese with Muzzy. We will all get exposed to the Mandarin language, since I intend for us to use this in the van as well as at home. (Can you say, "Captive Audience?")

Both of those programs let you pay in several installments.

I'm excited. And yes, I have our curriculum for next year's main studies already--continuing Volume 4 of Weaver, and Volume 5 is ready to go when we complete that.

Geek for sure. I looked it up. Here.

Warm Enough for Popsicles!

It's 73* as I write this--it was absolutely gorgeous today! I even found all natural Popsicles that are made by a national, mainstream company--Popsicles by Unilever. They are so good. It's nice being able to get a real Popsicle, instead of one of my home-made ones.

Luci the Giant. I was trying to take a photo of one of the blooming weeds (oops--I mean "wildflowers") in our yard.

At YMCA, waiting for the military support group meeting to end.

Red Maple seeds, on a tree in our backyard. This website, run by Vanderbilt University, calls the seeds "fruits"--two seeded-samaras. I didn't know the seeds were fruits. I learned something today. You can drive down the country lanes here and see trees with red somethings (turns out they are samaras). Just growing wild. Since I grew up out West, with little precipitation and few deciduous trees, the trees and the changes every season here are amazing for me to watch.