Thursday was my girl's last day of Mother's Morning Out. For the beginning of the party, the teacher let the kids play on the indoor playground with the parents. The most interesting thing happened to me, a first for me as a Mommy. It began with a Mom asking me if I was Lydie's Mom. She told me her little boy liked to dress up and pretend to be "Lydie Joy" at night. He had been playing this game with her on a daily basis. Odd, but sweet and interesting. Then, another Mom came up and told me her daughter insisted on a particular pair of sandals at Target to "look like Lydie Joy". Oh my, is this a pattern? Later, Lydie's best friend's Mom told me that all Hayley could talk about was Lydie, and another parent nearby agreed that her child was the same way. Apparently she could have her own little fan club at preschool.
After: 
This is the main wall seen from the family room
I made some inexpensive art for the wall. All three pieces cost $27. The canvases are 16x20. They were painted black. I enlarged some black and white photos and adhered with Mod Podge. Then I hot glued embellishments. I am pleased with the way it turned out.
Another view. The light from the chandelier produces a glare on the art work, but still, I had to remove the shades for more light. This room only has one window. Plus, I love the look of a chandelier without shades.
The big blank wall. Haven't decided what to do with it. See the red and green table and chair that need the white spray paint?
This room has already been worth the trouble. The kids have played with their toys more than ever. And, clean up is so much easier...no dragging toys up and down the stairs!
Flanders fields 
It was so tempting to send the boys off with a movie or to the backyard. But I knew they were capable of helping me. And I am trying really hard to allow them to help me when they are able. So we all picked up paintbrushes together. We are transforming our dining room into a play room. I am giving up my "pretty room" (which was mostly untouched by little hands) and surrendering to the need for a playroom. Our school room downstairs will be solely for school, now. I just felt like I couldn't stand one more day of tripping over toys in the family room.
this home schooling gig, I know I need to take the time to patiently train them to do all the things around the house that I do. So, I bit the bullet, and asked them to join me.
(He also had a hot wheel with a black square taped to it, which was all taped to the window itself.)
Then, they started creating all kinds of chants and poems about Belshazzar and Daniel. I had them write down one of their own creations. Here they are:
Toot loved exploring Savannah. In the picture, he is using a magnifying glass to look at rocks in the market. He cracked me up on the trolley tour because he missed half the city due to his fascination with the window. He rolled his trolley window up and down, using his mathematical brain to find the perfect heighth of the windshield for optimal wind current. He also loved climbing on and around the statues, touching every plant and rock in town, and playing hide and seek. I love to see his Papa and Uncle Rick's engineering skills coming through in his own personality. He is going to design and build great things one day, I think!
Jaybird's favorite activity from our trip was the trolley tour. He loved to hear stories about the history of the city. After each story he would say, "Mom, did you hear that? This is the most haunted city in the country!" or "Wow, a lot of wars were fought here, cool!" And then after we left the trolley he requested to walk to several of the monuments for a closer look.
This kid is a sponge for facts. He loves to learn new things and remembers them well. I hope all that he learned about Savannah, the oldest city in Georgia, will find a safe place in that big, smart noggin of his! I thoroughly enjoyed learning and talking with him on this trip!
Today's mail was chocked full of encouragement. Somewhere between another graduation party invitation (we are honored, praise God for the wonderful teenagers we know that have grown into amazing adults entering this needy world), another precious get-well card for Andy, and the usual junk, the boys and I spied an oddly shaped brown envelope. The return address was from India. The letter was addressed to my middle son- first name only. What in the world? I confess, my husband took the envelope outside to open it, just to make sure there was no anthrax. No kidding. His idea, not mine.
I love art. I love drawing, painting, arts and crafts, studying artists- the whole gamut. My boys have been a little reluctant to catch the fever, though. One loves to build, solve mazes, and put together puzzles. The other loves to tell stories and write. Neither seemed to really enjoy anything that requires a long amount of attention to detail.
I prayed about this little dilemma while I was planning for our home school year. After all, one of the big advantages of being their teacher is providing a tailor-made, individualized education. I thought maybe we could just stick with art history and minimize artwork projects.
After some research and prayer I decided to not only incorporate art projects into our curriculum, but also to do regular artists' studies and picture studies. We also have one drawing lesson a week. The boys go to our neighbor's house for art class once or twice a month, too. The reasons I chose to press forward and treat art with the same type of importance as math, reading, and writing are the following:
~Artwork reflects the creativity we are endowed with by our Creator God. We bring Him glory when we study His world and try to recreate it. We also see how majestic, enormous, and intricate His creation really is which inspires worship.
~Brain research confirms that art education strengthens student problem-solving and critical thinking skills, adding to overall academic achievement, school success, and preparation for the work world (aka their calling).
~Art classes provide opportunities for the advancement of creative skills useful in communication, writing and other areas.
~Artwork helps with fine motor skill strengthening.
~The arts teach us how to have respect for all types of cultures. It is a window into parts of God's world they may never visit. And, it is a bridge connecting our customs with others around the world, giving us a sense of humility and respect for different people groups.
~When working together on a project, students develop crucial skills in cooperative decision-making, leadership, clear communication, and complex problem solving .
~ Both artwork and writing are good mediums for learning to do things in a process. This type of work leads to patience, self-discipline, persistence, and the knowledge of how to make multiple revisions to create high quality work. In other words, art projects build character.
To my surprise, my boys have learned to enjoy our art projects. Although Toot would still rather play with his art teacher's rubix cube than participate in a complex art assignment, we are making progress. I have noticed that not only are they spending more time on the art projects that I assign, but they are drawing spontaneously almost on a daily basis. I am so glad that God gave me the insight to make artwork a non-negotiable part of learning in our home. Maybe one day they will love it as much as I do! But if not, they will surely reap some wonderful benefits along the way.
Pictures: Toot's drawing from movie night (Journey to the Center of the Earth), Jaybird's pasta lion made after studying Babylon and Daniel
Maybe it's because of the constant barage of rain and thunder, or maybe just the illnesses lately, but for one reason or another we are excited about the summer. In fact, the boys have read through their book lists for the school year, so yesterday we started "The Great Reading Challenge". (We have a dramatic flair for titles.) I thought I would share our idea in case some one else is thinking ahead as well.
I would suggest displaying the list in a place where the kids will see it so they don't forget to read. Next, I went to the library and checked out the first 25 books on each list. Then I made up the rules:
My boys read 7 books (total) the first day! And I was inspired to challenge myself as well. I hope to read 1 book a week this summer. We are so excited! Happy reading!
“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.” 
amount of good things, but our busyness was one of the negatives.
Resting after lunch with a book, calming down at night with a book, waking up in the morning with a book >Writing their own manuscripts for books and movies>Making cards for people without prompting>Tasting honey suckles>Digging holes to see what's under the dirt>Stopping at the sight of a drop of dew on a clover and yelling, "Mommy! Come look at the diamonds!">Playing long enough in the creek to learn to skip stones for the first time
~Since then, life has improved considerably. Andy is getting better every day. He has had a couple of short outings and returns to work on Monday. We enjoyed a visit from Mimi this weekend and are blown away by the meals, yard work, and gifts we have received during this time. Andy received several cards just yesterday in the mail that were so touching. And I have never been so thankful for the every day graces of good health that we take for granted. Tomorrow I will begin posting on the fun memories we have made lately and some planning ideas for summer and school. Maybe we are finally on the mend!
