Invented Spelling

Ethan enjoys playing verbal word games with me, and when he actually thinks about it can accurately spell CVC and CCVC words aloud to me, but suggestions of transferring that concept to paper has only been met with resistance, which is fine at this point.  The other day as he was headed for personal worship time, however, he told me he was going to write down what he learned.  Sure enough, at the end of his quiet time he showed me what he had written.  I couldn't decipher it by myself (and still fail to see the connection on the top of the page), but once he told me what it said, I could definitely pick out the words.  That's one small step for literacy...

Making Personal Worship Time Meaningful

The kids generally love their personal worship time.  They get to listen to a Bible CD and color or look at books quietly.  I know right now it's a bit more form than personal connection, but the habit is being formed and that connection is there, and growing stronger as they learn and understand more about their relationship with Christ.

This fall while we were at Family Camp, one of the presenters talked about her pre-reading son starting a pictorial journal of what he listened to.  I loved that idea, and thought Ethan could really get into that, since he loves to draw.  It took a couple days (he doesn't do well when we change routines), but now he loves it.  We have a binder that we keep the pictures in, and it's his privilege to go put the drawing in the sleeve each morning.

Here are a few of my favorites:

The angel of death going throughout Egypt at Passover

Queen Esther's banquet

The reading of the scroll as the people rebuilt Jerusalem's walls

Advent Calendar

Well, I had planned to sit down and do a post on our Advent calendar planned for this year.  While I did get one made, it pales next to Ethan's creation of the day.

I decided I really needed to focus and get the calendar made so it would be ready for this weekend.  While Katie napped this afternoon, Ethan joined me in my bedroom while I sewed away.  I put the scraps I didn't need on the floor and he happily sat there cutting.  He came up to my elbow and asked me to sew two pieces of cloth together.  I looked at what he had, and he had cut out a stable.  Of course, I happily granted the request.  Next thing I knew he was asking for specific colors of cloth. (I really need to make up a bin of lots of scraps for them!)  He wanted green so he could make hills.  Next, he was asking for yellow so he could make a star and have light in his stable.  When I had my cloth bin out, he saw some blue starry material and asked for it.

He wanted his to look similar to mine, but it was entirely his own creation.  He cut out every piece and placed it all together before asking me to sew the various seams.  He was very worried that I'd be using all the little clay figurines (which I did), but I had a package of felt figurines that I had also bought to possibly use.  He was thrilled when I opened it up and let him use them for his nativity scene.

So this evening after supper we went together and got a scrapbook frame to hold his first picture.  I love it!

This was his first step - the stable

Cutting away at the discarded scraps.

Cutting the pieces to be the same size.

Inky was determined to be a part of the show.  I kept pulling her off my advent calendar,
but she kept plopping herself right back on top of it.

He was worried he wouldn't have anything to put on his nativity scene, so started drawing the figures.

Nativity scene waiting for the embellishments

Finally!  Getting to put the figurines on his scene

Ethan's finished product.  It looks even nicer in the frame,
but the glare was too bad to get a picture of it.

Our official family Advent calendar

First Snow!

We woke up Sabbath morning to 3 inches of unexpected snow while up in Michigan for the Thanksgiving holiday.  The kids were ecstatic!  Ethan begged to go outside and build a tiny baby penguin (since that's his favorite animal at the moment).  The snow was too powdery for that, but it sure was fun!

Katie never was too sure about the whole venture.  I'm told after I went in she finally decided to actually touch it.

Mmmm!  First snow!

Still not too sure about the whole thing...

Sabbath School

I just had to take a few pictures of Katie and Elijah's classroom this past Sabbath.  They were so cute together!  There are some definite advantages to having a (very) small Sabbath School.

"Lift Up the Trumpet"

Gazing up at the "stars" after a fun-filled forest-themed Sabbath School

Tie-Dyed Milk

We have good friends we love to visit up in northern Michigan.  David has gotten quite the reputation with their kids, and so every time we come up their anticipation builds as to what craft or experiment Mr. Currier will bring with him this time.  Well, he certainly couldn't disappoint over Thanksgiving!

Here they are tie-dying milk:

Pouring milk onto a large plate

Each kid got to put a few drops of food coloring in the center of the plate.

Take a dropper full of dish soap and squeeze drops where the food coloring is.

Beautiful!  They did it over and over and over and ...

Buddy "Read"

Both kids love informational picture books.  One of their current favorites is "The World's Strangest Automobiles."  I'm really not sure where the book came from, but the pictures surely are captivating.  They've dubbed their favorite picture "The Clementine Car."

This particular afternoon I found them cuddled up together with the book spread over both laps.  It was such a happy site - no squabbling, so pristine - that I had to capture the moment.