Our Copywork jar

This is something new we're trying this year: a Copywork jar.

Here is how it works. Each day for her scheduled Copywork time, Ella will go to the jar and pull out a slip of paper. I've organized it to give her some variety, so that each day of the week she'll be copying from different "genres", for lack of a better word. Here's the schedule I came up with:

Monday (pink paper)= Poetry
Tuesday (yellow paper)= Quotes
Wednesday (blue paper)= Bible verses
Thursday (purple paper)= Look Up...*
Friday (green paper)= Literature and History selections

*On Thursdays I have given her something to physically go and look up. Here are a couple of examples:
-Go to page 23 of the book you are reading and choose a sentence to copy.
-Go to the library basket, choose a book from it, and copy all the words from one page of that book.



Mark and I had a lot of fun choosing the passages for Fridays. We pulled our favorite read-alouds off the shelves and searched for the passages we knew Ella would love to revisit. Here is one of those:

Not until the light began to fade could she move away from the place. Then she ran so fast up the mountain that it was not long before she saw the boughs of the fir trees above the roof, and then the roof itself, and then the whole hut. On the seat beside it sat her grandfather smoking his pipe, and over the hut the old fir trees were rocking and roaring in the evening wind. Heidi ran all the faster, and before the Alm-Uncle could really see who was coming she threw her basket on the ground and hugged him. In her excitement of seeing him again she was unable to say anything, except to keep exclaiming, "Grandfather! Grandfather!"

~Heidi, by Johanna Spyri

Or how about this one?

"Ohh!" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he-- quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie, and no mistake" said Mrs Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

~The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis

I love it that Ella will be able to recall particular scenes and the characters she has loved in the good books we've read, as well as the memory of all of us curled up on the couch, reading these books aloud together as a family, and discussing them afterward.

My view this afternoon

{Audra's quilt}


This quilt has been well over a year in the making.
(I guess it's been a busy year?! :))

I've had the quilt top made for several months, but have had such troubles finding the backing and binding fabrics. Granted, I haven't taken too many trips out to look, but... still. Today, though, I scored at the fabric store and found both fabrics, and just like that I'm highly motivated to finish.

Open House: Thursday, September 23

I am wearing... Black knit capris + a plum-colored t-shirt.

I am listening to... Ella, practicing piano. Isaac and Isaias, running through the house hollering and pretending that Audra is chasing them. (Which she's not.)

I am reading... Hm. I'm not really engrossed in a book right now. [Which means everyone should give me a book recommendation, stat.] Reading through the book of John for my quiet times, though.

I am looking forward to... The hot bubble bath I'm going to take later, after I run on the treadmill. (See? One more reason I need a good book. ~sigh~)

Outside my window... Well, the shades are drawn now because it's dark, but I happen to know there's a spider and her web outside the window I'm sitting in front of. We've been watching the spider build her web and Ella catches and tosses a crane fly at it occasionally so we can watch Miss Spider capture it.

I am creating... Nothing whatsoever in the crafting department.

I am praying for... a greater sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

Thankful for... "Nuggles" (snuggles) from my littlest...

From the kitchen... Tonight's menu: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas, homemade applesauce, and pumpkin-chocolate-chip muffins for dessert (to celebrate the first day of FALL!)

{Updated to add:} Here's what we did a few minutes later. Usually my girls are a little more active, but for some reason tonight they wanted to both be planted on my lap! Oh. And my apologies for the poor-quality (and dim) video!

Why do Copywork?

In the process of planning and preparing for this coming school year, I re-examined those things that I want to be doing, and remembered all over again why we're doing them to begin with.

Copywork is one of those things.

Here are the reasons we are doing Copywork in our home:

*Copywork allows our children to see proper sentence structure, grammar, and spelling.
*Copywork introduces them to new vocabulary.
*Copywork improves their handwriting.
*Carefully selected copywork gives our children the opportunity to reflect on worthy passages/quotes.

* * *

Here is one of our Copywork selections:

Be the living expression of God's kindness;
kindness in your face,
kindness in your eyes,
kindness in your smile,
kindness in your warm greeting.

~Mother Teresa

I love this. What a wonderful quote for my daughter to meditate on as she copies these words!



Next up: How we're doing it.

Mama Monday

I regularly read Andrea's blog The Flourishing Mother, and am so often encouraged by her posts. She has a wonderful series of Mama Monday posts, where she has thoughtfully interviewed other mothers. It is a great group of women, and I am honored that this week I get to join that group!

If you would like to head over to The Flourishing Mother, you can read my responses to her questions in her Mama Monday post.

{Thank you, sweet Andrea!}

Something I love

When Ella was two, we purchased a dollhouse for her. About a year later, we scored on a HUGE bag of dollhouse furniture and accessories at a garage sale. She spent hours setting up house, playing with the dolls, and acting out little family scenes. I have very fond memories of Mark and Ella, all sprawled out on the floor on their tummies, playing dollhouse together.

The past couple of years it hasn't gotten much use, but I'm glad we kept it. Adelia won't play with anything longer than about 20 seconds, but Audra?

It's her favorite thing.


In the picture above, she had gathered up all the babies she could find and was cramming them into the doll cradle, and singing Jesus Loves Me. Every once in awhile she'd stop singing and say, "Cute. Cute."

Several times a day she walks over to me with a dollhouse bed/chair/couch along with a baby and a mama or daddy doll and wants me to "epp" (help). She wants me to help her tuck them in, just so.

Right now she's saying "Yie down, baby" and putting two babies in a big bed.

A couple minutes ago she had the little dollhouse rocking chair out, had a mama and baby sitting in it (after I helped her get the baby on the mamas "yap" (lap)) and repeatedly said, "Rockabee, baby. Rockabee."

A few minutes before that, she wanted my "epp" once again so that she could set up this little scene, just so:


She was very particular about the mama and daddy being on the SAME chair, with the baby in mama's "yap" and with a blanket laid across their yaps.

I just love this stage~ Audra, at 18 months~ playing house and recognizing a family unit and being a nurturing mama already.

She loves her baby doll, too, and will wrap it up in a blankie and then walk through the house saying "nuggle" (snuggle) or "nigh-night" and pat the baby on the back. Or she'll say "chair, chair", and set her baby in a chair or get out the doll stroller and push the baby around in the stroller.

It's too cute, all of it. And I want to remember it.

Hence, this post.

:)

Verses for a Two-Year-Old

[Caveat: The first verse is our theme verse, so each of the kids is memorizing it. Otherwise I don't think I would have chosen it for a two-year-old. Having said that, I think this will be an easy verse to learn, since we're all learning it together!]

For my little ones, I try to incorporate actions into their memory verses if at all possible. I've tried to note what I envision we'll do (having not yet learned all of these with Adelia) beneath each verse listed. Some of our actions will sort of evolve as we learn each verse, and for some of them I may just make up a little song to sing for it or something.

1. Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

2. Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Action: "Genesis 1:1" (Make 1's with pointer fingers), "heavens" (reach your hands way up) and "earth" (touch the ground).

3. Psalm 147:1
Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God!

Action: "Praise the Lord!" (both hands raised, head upturned)

4. Colossians 3:20
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord.

5. Psalm 118:1
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

Action: "Oh" (touch fingertips together over head, forming an "O" with arms)

6. Proverbs 15:3
A happy heart makes the face cheerful.

Action: point fingers to a HUGE smile on your own face!

7. Luke 18:60
Jesus called the little children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me."

Action: "Let the little children come to me" (beckon/motion imaginary children to come)

8. Isaiah 55:12
All the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Action: Clap hands!

9. Psalm 95:1
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord.

10. Psalm 149:3
Let them praise his name with dancing.

Action: "dancing" (dance if we're on our feet, make dancing motions if we're sitting)