"Everyday is a School Day (And That's The Way We Like It!)" is our intended mentality, but our reality includes new back-to-school activities every now and again.
It helps us pretend that we aren't weird home schoolers every day... only most of them.
It also gives us a window of time to measure progress for our required annual review.
One Year Ago:
Now:
I took a lot of photos intending to hopefully luck into a few good ones to share, but to haven't found the necessary time or focus to sift through or edit photos, so here we are, squinty eyes and all...Scroll quickly....
Please imagine for a moment that you are four years old and your mom has recently finished reading "The Meanest Doll In The World" to you.
One fateful day, you walk into a thrift store with her. There, in the midst of clothes, shoes and well-loved toys is a dollhouse as tall as you are. (Remember, you're 4...) But it isn't just any dollhouse, no. It is THE dollhouse. You know this because 'KATE' is spelled across the roof in bright red vinyl. (You can't actually read yet, but you're working on it. Your mom tells you what the letters spell but of course, you already KNEW this was Kate's house the moment you spotted it.)
Your mom believes it must be destiny because... I mean, what are the odds? So she texts your dad, because it cost TWENTY-FIVE dollars!(Twenty five dollars that will prove to be only a small down payment in the grand scheme of things... have you ever looked in a minitures catalog? Those folks are serious.)
Here is what she sends him:
It totally works.
(remember this when it's time to get that pony)
You don't realize it as you take the house home, but your mom is about to go somewhere...else. She will spend many nights bent over this house, clipping popsicle sticks for baseboards or 'wallpapering' the small walls. Her neck will hurt- a lot- and she will need massive amounts of coffee when it's time to 'be the mom', but she will proudly show you her latest work like she wants you to hang it on the fridge or something and you two will scour ebay for dolls and furniture everyday for days and weeks on end. She will smile and tell you stories about her dolls and old dollhouse.
She will have so much fun, it will almost be like she's four, too!
BEFORE:
At first you tell your mom that you want black shutters and a black roof, but you both agree it looks too haunted that way. You give your mom creative license but remind her kindly to " Do what the dolls want, not just whatwewant"
Shelf Paper Wood Flooring
STRIPES!
Under Construction
Construction Zone
The house is a work in progress for a while...a pretty long while. Things in the real house are being neglected. Someone should go buy groceries. Seriously.
Wheels are added to the bottom and a crystal knob that casts rainbows around the room on sunny days is affixed to the door. There's a shiny number four on the front because remember--now we all are four!
We have a friend who builds people houses making a front door and more window ledges.
Meanwhile...
...you're making your way through the rest of the Doll People series... falling more in love with Annabelle & Tiffany, Doll-Kind and most importantly... BOOKS. Books are literally coming to life for you. This makes your mom feel sly; like she served you vegetables instead of Cheetos for once.
You've found the perfect Annabelle and Tiffany dolls to freshen up from eBay Land. You routinely check new dolls for bisque faces. It's amazing the ways that learning a new word like bisque or porcelain affect everyday life, like how slowly and carefully you must now go about your errands with Mom whenever Annabelle decides to tag along in your Dora the Explorer backpack. It is almost like bringing along a newborn baby.
You also better appreciate Annabelle's situations in the books.
Sometimes, as we made dresses or curtains, we could be heard singing "Ailene, Ailene, Ailene, Aiiiileene...please make this fabric stick just because you can!" (Jolene)
Mom had DollyPops when she was a little girl. And now she has them as a big little girl.
DollyPops get some overdue TLC...and paint.
GNARLY
DollyPop Day @ The Ladies' Room Spa
The pink one is our Tiffany
Even though there are still things to be done, your mom wants you to be able to enjoy the house before that number four on the front grows digits in the front or the back. So, finally, she moves it and your vast and quickly growing doll population in to your room.
Remote controlled cabinet lights make the house interactive until we can afford those tiny chandeliers in the catalog ... we've kept the attic dark because you've got to stay true to the book. We are looking forward to Halloween decor coming out in stores soon so that we can add a few spiders too.
See that pink wardrobe? It's NARNIA. Tilly Mae is in her crib. Free carpet samples from Lowes make a soft place for dolly toes.
SplishSplash!
Popsicle stick sofa & perfume bottle-top dolls
Picture frame fireplace with popsicle stick mantel Glitter glue flames are safe for dolls and children alike.
Fresh eggs from HennyBlue, Booster the Rooster helps keep the time, gathered round the table with good friends is always a good place to be.Free linoleum sample squares curl just like the full size version
Contruction projects ensue.
Stories continue to unfold.
But it all started with one story... yours.
Aslan & Pippi too... Cruella DeVille is our stand in Mean MiMi... Bobby & Bailey are having a ball... that handmade ladder may be the proudest thing I've ever accomplished- not counting real live baby humans... Tiffany & Annabelle- BBFF (Bunk Bed Friends Forever)
So, if you can imagine all of that Ms. Ann & Ms. Laura, maybe you can also imagine how much we appreciate your having sent us on such a fun voyage. It's an ongoing adventure and you gave us the fare. We wanted to send you a picture postcard of the fun we're having and say thanks. So...
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Riley would like to add (in her own voice):"The books are awesome and pretty and they are also pretty awesome."
RyeBird tried to recruit her Papa to read The Doll People books too... Reading Rainbow style:
There's just something special about Walt Disney's Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow. It is my favorite park for several reasons, and it seems to me one of the most fitting monuments to the man behind Mickey Mouse.
At its inception, Walt said of EPCOT:
"EPCOT will be an experimental prototype community of tomorrow that will take its cue from the new ideas and new technologies that are now emerging from the creative centers of American industry. It will be a community of tomorrow that will never be completed, but will always be introducing and testing and demonstrating new materials and systems. And EPCOT will always be a showcase to the world for the ingenuity and imagination of American free enterprise."
Ingenuity. Imagination. America.
I think that's all of it in a nutshell.
Walking through the park makes me nostalgic. Not only for past visits and childhood adventures, but also for the strong broth of a certain philosophy, spooned to me steadily from the time I could sit up, and mixed in my bottles before that.
The basic recipe includes (but is not limited to):
Whimsy
Curiosity
Music
Creativity
Exploration
Fun
Can-Do
Optimism
Service
Kindness
Wonder
Learning
Talking Animals
Hats & Props & Seersucker Pants
Simmer over the gentle warmth of a heart aglow. Serve generously and without discrimination.
Long before there was a search engine and megladon corporation, my siblings and I were privy to the fact that googol is a number- one with one hundred zeros. The loud thumping in our attic was not a fan but tiny little Indians holding a pow-wow. We lived in a world of honker birds and sing-a-longs. We were entrusted with glue sticks and spangles, given complete creative control over the construction paper pile. Life was punny and word play was encouraged. Pennies were wishes for personal computers. Stale bread became duck food. We made sleds from box tops; thrust ourselves down hills without any snow. We enjoyed a balanced diet of wisecracks and wisdom. We knew..still know..the joys of ice cream.
Has she jumped track? Perhaps. I do tend to do that sometimes.
The point is that there are good things in life, dreams do come true, we should reach for the stars and never give up.
In the theme park of Positive Mindset, the only admission fee is choosing to walk in.
I'm not saying that every day was Disney growing up, but it was close enough, in hindsight. I am saying that we were given a map to that silver-lined place called joyfulness, for which I'm grateful.
When I walk thru EPCOT, I feel hopeful. I see technology and new ways that we, as people, are working for the good of mankind; we have not ceased thinking, inventing, and trying to one-up ourselves. We are seeing needs and filling them, we are striving to improve upon our last best invention. We come up with some pretty nifty stuff.
At Epcot, we're encouraged to push the buttons, try it out, think up some big thinks of our own. I see Walt when I'm there...or at least what I understand to be his thumbprint. And I see that, despite the bleak headlines, all is not lost in this world... there's plenty to look forward to, much to anticipate.
At EPCOT, I feel inspired, too.
"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the small, small world after all"
There are many nationalities in the World Showcase, represented by more than airplane runway lights (long story)... all just steps away from each other - close enough to exchange a smile, try a pastry and appreciate the diversity of our world, without a trip through airport security. Each of the worlds within the showcase are all so distinct, even those that have been influenced by other countries or cultures. There are different ways of saying things, different ways of seeing things. So much to explore. I love it.
We read "Around The World In 80 Days" this school year...and we are currently reading "Innocents Abroad", so it was a pleasure and a bit of a living lesson to walk (and take boats) 'around the world' in less than 8 hours with the BigKids.
They also have a pretty good example of a geodesic form in one part of the park...if you know where to find it ;)
I feel relaxed at EPCOT. Walking around with my small-business-owner-always-at-work-even-when-he's-not husband and our eclectic cast of characters, I know that I can enjoy the day's park visit because of the work he's been doing. Because of the work he will return to in short order. I am reminded that he does all that work for us, for family moments like these and for all the others where we simply have a roof over our heads and enough food to fill each belly. I feel cared for and thankful for all of it..for all of them. For him.
Yes, we must eat by the sweat of our brow, but there is time for sculpted flower gardens too.
Time for exchanging pleasantries and learning something(s) new.
All of these pleasures are available inside the parks, but on the outside, too.
Especially outside.
Every single day.
The parks are just a reminder to stop and notice every now and again.
When the Discovery Channel came out with the Boomdeyadah campaign years ago, we adopted it as a sort of school anthem.
"I love the whole world, and all its sights and sounds..."
It's our home/school philosophy.
It's our life philosophy.
And Epcot provides a wonderful scale model.
(It's a small, small world- ha.)
Not to mention, it's a lot less crowded thanMagic Kingdom most days.
(the slideshow also includes hotel and other trip pics due to shortage of time to sift & sort- disregard red eye and double takes...if you can )
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." ~ Walt Disney
Rye insisted she wanted "real" coffee in her cup...
... I think she liked it.
First Period: Individual Grade Photos
FISHER KAI
Fisher is in Jr. High now
6th-ish Grade
LOGAN ALEECE
Logan is finishing Jr. High
8th-ish Grade
CHANDLER BRICE:
Chandler is a Freshman (& not very fond of having his photo taken)
2nd Period: Group Photo
AFTER SEVERAL ROUGH DRAFTS...
ALETHEIA FIRST DAY FALL TERM 2014-2015
3rd Period: Group Work
A peek into one of our favorite classes: Rubber Pencil 101
(and a video about Earthquakes)
Pre-3 runs simultaneously in the same room:
Weather gal :
Fidgets have been added to each desk space~ a listening aid, believe it or not:
A Book Butterfly:
Riley in her "Music Appreciation" tent..a.k.a. naptime:
She now says "I hate music appreciation!"
There were many other things not pictured, like a lesson on Earthquakes, LoF Decimals & Percents, LoF English, 100 Essays: Essay #1: The First Day of School, Lunch & Break Time, Books Aloud and more.
We ended the day with cookies.
In an ideal world, maybe they would have been homemade cookies. That was the original plan, too, make a special treat to close out the day.
But, homeschooling (amongst other things) has taught me that we do not live in an ideal world and sometimes, one must wing it.
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