Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan. HarperCollins, 1985.

One of my favorites from childhood. Simply written but vivid and moving.

Short sentences and accessible vocabulary are used, but this does nothing to slow or dilute the story. Characterization of the narrator, Anna, is not that clearly drawn and Caleb seems emotionally about five, but intellectually seven or so (he can read and drive a wagon), so there seem to be some inconsistencies with character, but the setting and Sarah’s character sing. The reader sees the prairie and the shores of Maine and knows well Sarah’s longing for home and growing love for her new family. Escalating tension gives an authentic feel, showing life on the prairie, but all centered on whether Sarah will stay or go back to Maine. She stays, of course. I can see why the movie version added a few subplots (if I remember correctly). This is a simple, almost poetic book. Great for a beginning (and probably female) reader.

Sibling Bonding

St. Nick usually does little with Maggie beyond coo at her (in the same voice he uses for the cat), but here's a rare moment captured. He's setting aside his anti-girl biases and is acting as ... drum roll ... hairdresser!

See it, believe it.

First Fire of Spring

Our first use of the fire pit this season, marshmallows and all. I love this property!



Dr. D and St. Nick in the background, Big Fish right up front.



Little Fish.



Mud Pie sharing with Big Fish.

Sibling Bonding

St. Nick usually does little with Maggie beyond coo at her (in the same voice he uses for the cat), but here's a rare moment captured. He's setting aside his anti-girl biases and is acting as ... drum roll ... hairdresser!

See it, believe it.

Things St. Nick does *instead* of schoolwork

He'll do almost anything. So far this morning:

1. Watch Sesame Street with his younger brother.
2. Put messy pigtails in his sister's hair.
3. Pet the dog.
4. Pet the cat.
5. Make his own breakfast, involving the toaster, the refrigerator, etc.
6. Blow a granola bar wrapper from one end of the table to the other and back again.
7. Write a list of his favorite websites.
8. Run in circles making monster noises.
9. Ask me five million questions (unrelated to school), until I snap "Quit it! I'm not going to bug you about doing your work, but you're not allowed to keep me from doing mine!"
10. Inform me that we need milk and proceed to take inventory of the cupboards and refrigerator in case we're going to the store today, which we aren't.
11. Hide.

And all this before 10am. Ah, the joys of homeschooling.

Another Week, Another Test

That would be a test for Little Fish. He had his Young 5s/Kindergarten assessment this week. I thought he did great. A little shy, but came back smiling. Only he came back with the occupational therapist (who was like fifteen - no, not really, but it seemed like it) who then gave me a handout and instructions on how to improve his fine motor skills.

Huh? What's wrong with his fine motor skills? Oh, he can't hold a pencil right, and his sister draws almost as well (and she's 1.5 years younger). He did start drawing people with eyes and limbs. I was so excited about this when it happened a few weeks back. But ... I guess I should have been more focused on why he hadn't been drawing people with arms and legs earlier. You know, focus on his deficits rather than his strengths?

Old Yeller For Girls

Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo. 2000.

It’s like Old Yeller for girls. DiCamillo writes this story in the adorable 10-year-old voice of India Opal Buloni, the preacher’s kid whose mother ran off when she was three. The story opens with a lonely Opal rescuing a stray dog, who within a day helps her gain a new friend, a party invitation, and a tree that she’s growing herself. There are many points of note in this charming and deceptively simple story.

• There’s a simplicity to the voice that contrasts well with the depth of lessons “taught” by Gloria Dump, such as not judging people on what they’ve done.
• Themes develop fairly naturally, like friendship, empathy, letting go and moving on (another lesson from Gloria, that you can’t hold on to things, you’ve got to love what you’ve got while you’ve got it).
• A Holes-like story-within-a-story set up with various characters telling of their past relatives and such.
• A sweet protagonist hooks the reader while tension slowly and gradually builds; the reader grows more and more dependent on Winn-Dixie until his ultimate almost-loss helps us and Opal face the real loss of her mother.
• Everything is tightly foreshadowed—the dog’s fear of storms, the final party in which we just know a thunder storm will send the dog fleeing into the night. It felt almost too tight, like I could feel the bones of the book, see the edges of the framework. 

An update: the movie wasn't quite so captivating. My kids gave up on it mid-way through.

Since I'm Quitting and all...

Since I've put away Sonlight and am therefore not keeping tack of what we do, here's a little record of the past week (new "method" is to give St. Nick his to-do list on Monday and he can decide when/what he does each day, but if it's not done by Friday evening he doesn't eat).

Last week: MCP Phonics pages 105-110. Printing Power pages 21-25. Math - Singapore 2B exercises 22 and 23 plus Review 2. Poetry: Knock at a Star pages 42-56. Scholastic Success workbook pages 213, 241-246 and Reading Skills Test 4.

Well, that was short and sweet. Now to shower and head to the library to confess that the Tweety's Amazing Adventure DVD went to Goodwill. Ooops.

The clincher

I've been toying with the notion of quitting homeschooling for the past year (actually, it's been my unofficial plan). But this was the moment that really solidified my resolve:

St. Nick was fussing over his homework. Loudly. Reminding me of a 2yr old, actually, which I pointed out to him. And I asked, "Would you act this way in a regular school?"

Pause, but not for thought. Rather to look at me as if I had my brains leaking out my ears. "No."

"Well, why are you acting this way here?"

"Because you're my MOM!"

Point taken.

Just to prove we do actually do educational things, some photos (St. Nick doing an experiment on conditioning with the dog).