Good Lord I'm TIRED!!!

Today (Thursday) was the start of mine and kiddo's three day practicum with Classical Conversations. I was so nervous about meeting these people whom I will be doing school with for the upcoming school year that I had a serious case of butterflies in my stomach. Those darned butterflies thought it would be funny if they woke me up every hour, on the hour!!! When my alarm went off at 5 AM I seriously wanted to throw it across the room. The urge to hear that alarm die after it made impact against the wall was very strong. Very, very strong. Ahh, but I did the adult thing and slapped the SNOOZE button several times.

You may be asking yourselves, "Why would you have to wake up at 5 AM Kimberly?" Well, the answer is quite simple. The practicum is an hour drive from where we live now. An amazing church in the Houston area opened their doors for the Classical Conversations Organization. And without charge! Wow, you just have to love a church that will open their doors for a community of believers to meet in for a reason that is beyond that church's business and services. I wish there were more churches like Sagemont around because we desperately need more like them!

Thank you Sagemont Church for opening your doors to us. And for serving us while we learned how to best utilize our curriculum. May God bless your church in glorious and wondrous ways!

I am enjoying my practicum immensely. Violet is having the time of her life while in her class too. She has already made several new friends. It melted my heart to see how well she got along with the other kids in her group. Hugs were shared by all when it was time for us to leave for the day. And one precious little girl even asked if Violet could come over and spend the night!

This year's theme for Classical Conversations is "Thinking Beyond a Book!" I love that theme. I love books! I love reading! But it's easy to forget that books are actually tools to be used in a home school setting. And, if you aren't careful, books can become a task master. Our mission statement says so much...

We believe in an integrated education that seeks to know God and to make Him known.

How awesome is that?!!!

It's getting late but I want to leave you with one thought that was shared by Amanda Butler, our speaker today. Amanda shared with us this thought...

"Children are souls to be nurtured, not to be measured."

Yet another quote that I absolutely adore! I want to nurture my daughter and teach her in a way that she is excited to learn! I want her to love reading, math, science, history, and so forth. Because a child that is excited to learn is a child that WILL learn!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I am LOVING having my niece down right now! We are having so much fun. Today we got up and out of the house pretty early. Our quest was to conquer the day and I think we did a pretty good job of doing just that!!! Our first stop was at a local movie theater to watch the movie Doogal. That was pretty much a let down but we didn't let it keep us down. From there, we went to Memorial City Mall. R.C. was amazed at how big our mall is. She had some money that was burning a hole in her pockets and so we looked for a little something to buy. Her choice was an amazing white shirt that has a cross on the front and angel wings on the back along with the words True Love. I have to say, I really wish that shirt came in my size because I would have totally bought one for myself!


After we ate lunch we headed to Sephora. R.C. is of the age to where she wants to start wearing some makeup. So, I thought it would be fun for her to get a professional makeup lesson. Julie, our sweet makeup consultant/artist, did a fantastic job on R.C. She kept things young/youthful but without putting on too much makeup. I have a beautiful niece and when the makeup lesson was finished, she was simply stunning. Oh boy, we are going to have a hard time keeping the boys away from that one!


From the mall we went to the Museum of Natural Science. We had an amazing time there. I asked the girls what their favorites were and they said they loved seeing all the different dinosaurs and the Egyptian Mummy. Which those were my favorites too! But I also loved the Foucault Pendulum, watching the pendulum swing back and forth, showing how the earth rotates, eventually knocking over a pin when it comes in contact with one. Every one was waiting to see a pin get knocked over and cheered when it finally happened. If I understood correctly, it take close to an hour for the pendulum to move over a fraction of an inch to hit one of the pins. (Don't hold me to that little fact though because I could be wrong!)


We had a fantastic time today! I enjoyed watching the girls as they fell in love with one thing or another at the museum. There is nothing better than to see a child's look of surprise and wonder as they see, and learn, something new. I do have to say this: I'm not as young as I used to be. My body aches all over due to all the walking we did. And, I'm sure it didn't help that my purse weighs a ton! With all of the aches and pains as well as the absolutely crappy traffic we drove through, it was totally worth it. And then some!

And speaking of traffic!!! Personal Rant Here, so consider yourself warned: if you are driving down a major road/interstate, then please get off the freakin' phone and pay attention to HOW YOU'RE DRIVING!!!! I'm driving along in my lane, the lane I've been driving in for the past fifteen minutes, when a lady (who had her cell phone glued to her left ear) decided to move over into MY lane. And in the same exact spot where my car was. Yikes!!! I laid on the horn several times and she just kept talking (blah, blah, blah), never once looking in the lane I was in and never hearing the freaking loud horn that is blaring RIGHT NEXT TO HER WINDOW!!! Grrrr, I can't begin to describe how much that hacks me off!!! Okay, rant over. Thanks for sticking with me through that.

We'll be taking it easy tomorrow (Wednesday) because my body will need time to recover. Also, I have a ton of launry to get done before we drive to Austin on Friday. But on Thursday, I have even bigger plans for the girls. A trip to the Museum Of Fine Arts is first on our itinerary, and after a quick lunch, we will be going to the Museum Of Health & Medical Science. Yeah, I'm trying to sneak some "culture" in to these kids, even if it's the last thing I ever manage to do!

Uno, Dos, Tres...

Quacco!!!

Violet has been learning how to count in Spanish and is doing a pretty good job at it. Only "Cuatro" (aka, four) is said "Quac-co". I love how my kid's brain works! She always knows how to make me laugh, even if she's not trying to.

Dooley

We recently found a new TV show that Violet adores, Dooley and Pals. Dooley is on in the mornings and he always brings a smile to our faces. This is a wonderful show to start the day with. The characters are adorable and the lessons taught are invaluable.

Dooley is an adorable martian who lands in a family's back yard here on earth. He, and his pals, are ready to learn everything there is about life on earth and what it means to be a good citizen. There is singing and dancing involved along with educational concepts. Gregg and I enjoy Dooley and Pals almost as much as Violet does and are quick to sing along to the songs on the show. If you're up at 6:30 in the morning and get Smile of A Child TV then I highly encourage you to check this show out.

The Feathered Marvel

There is a slight storm blowing around outside. Rain is gently falling and there is the occasional rumbling of thunder. The thunder that graces my senses is my favorite, a low rumble. The rumbling reminds me so much of the giant drums in an orchestra's percussion section. It truly is music to my ears.

As if the rain and thunder were not enough to enjoy there is a lovely little mocking bird serenading the storm. I've finally come to appreciate the mockingbird. They make the most lovely sounds and are able to mimic other birds. It's rather astonishing to think about actually. A male mockingbird can have anywhere from 50 to 200 different songs and has one of the loudest voices of all the different species of birds. Gregg and I can attest to how loud a mockingbird can actually sing since we had one perched outside our bedroom window for two years in our old home. We lost countless hours or sleep because of that bird and we began to hate the mockingbird because of it's schizophrenic hours.

Our new mockingbird neighbor though is very kind to us. He prefers a tree across the parking lot and never comes close to our windows. He sings at all hours of the day and night but it's considerate enough to keep its distance. I'm convinced that distance is tightly connected to how much a person enjoys and appreciates the mockingbird. The closer you are to one the more annoying it becomes. If there's a decent amount of distance, enough to soften the mockingbird's song, you are more likely to enjoy these feathered marvels.

I've decided that the mockingbird is alot like a musical chameleon. It is able to change its song as quickly as the thought strikes. It only has to choose which song it wants to sing, what other bird it wants to mimic. Did you know that a mockingbird can even mimic the sound of a car alarm? I don't know why that surprises me but it does. Considering that mockingbirds are very comfortable in suburban areas it makes sense that it would learn to mimic the sounds that surround it.

Amazed

Gregg and I were pleasantly surprised to discover that Violet has the concept of right and left down recently. She was putting on her shoes the other day and had one on the wrong foot. I told Violet that it needed to go on her Right foot and so she began putting that shoe on the right foot. I decided to test this, since I wasn't sure if it was just a fluke, so I asked Violet which ear was her left and she pointed to it. Then I asked her which was her right hand, again she showed me the right appendage. I was completely amazed.

I had just recently started working with Violet on her right and left sides. I just didn't think she'd get it so quickly. We have an amazing child.