An Inspired Little Boy

I have been working with Corbin on learning to read, and while it hasn't been unpleasant by any means, what he is learning hasn't been sticking as well as I would like it to.  He is compliant and cheerful and cooperative during his lessons, but it just seems like he isn't really paying close enough attention to retain what we are doing.

Just recently we have had several breakthroughs that have made me really hopeful that everything is about to change!

Breakthrough #1:  Corbin started writing!  It began with him copying his sister's artwork, then doing artwork of his own, then he began tracing his name when I wrote it for him at the top of his worksheets, and finally it culminated in him writing his name without me even prompting him to!  He is one of those kids that I can encourage but not push.  If I push, he will push back.  I am so very thankful that the Lord revealed this to me about Corbin at a very young age!  I never "told" him to write his name.  I would casually ask him, "Corbin, do you want to try to write your name at the top of the page, or would you like me to?"  He would usually say, "You can."  I know that if I had made a big deal out of him learning to write his name he would have become angry and defiant.  Because I let him decide when he was ready (with just a little encouragement and gentle prompting from me), he is excited and proud at his new accomplishment!  Mommy is pretty darn proud, too!!  At our homeschool co-op this week he wrote his name from memory on his craft project and was beaming as he tried to show everyone.  It was a big moment for us!

Breakthrough #2:  I realized that the phonics program that I used for Abby (100 Easy Lessons) just was not going to work with Corbin, no matter how wonderful a curriculum it might be.  I noticed that Corbin is very interested in memory work and repetition (I think he knows some of Abby's memory work better than she does!), so I speculated that perhaps The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading might be a better fit.  Abby has been doing it as continuing phonics lessons, just much further on in the book, so I gave it a whirl with Corbin ... and he loved it!  Not only did he enjoy it so much more, but he actually remembered what we had learned.  BIG sigh of relief from Mommy!!

Breakthrough #3:  I believe one of the reasons Corbin was not very motivated to learn to read was because he hadn't yet seen all of the wonder and excitement and mystery and adventure to be had in being able to read on your own.  Mommy can read to him ... Abby can read to him ... Daddy can read to him; why did he need to learn to read for himself?  That all changed when I read to him a book from the Billy and Blaze series.  I have never in my entire life seen a child so excited to be hearing a book read aloud!  He was jumping up and down on his stool, letting out squeals of excitement, and clapping his hands ... I was in awe at how emotionally involved he became with the characters.  He asked to have the book after I finished and went to sit at his desk.  He asked me if I could read it to him again and I told him he would have to wait until everybody was finished with school.  He frowned, looked at the page he was on, and pointed his finger at the first word on the page.  "Mommy, what is this sound?"  I told him what it was, but told him he would have to learn to read to be able to read the whole book.  "Okay, Mom," he said determinedly, "I need to learn to read."  I think my heart skipped several beats!!  He got it!  Right before my very eyes, he realized just what a privilege it was to be able to read on your own ... to go on those adventures by yourself.  I felt like I had just witnessed something very sacred and profound. :)

Corbin is a passionate, passionate boy.  My biggest struggle with his education is going to be finding ways to keep that passionate mind focused on the goals I have for him.  I am thankful beyond words that the first and often biggest hurdle - that of getting a child to care about learning to read - seems to be behind us!

Five in a Row

No, no ... I didn't switch our curriculum (although FIAR is awesome and I love to peruse their book lists!). No, "Five in a Row" would be my nickname for our crew these days:

Aren't they too stinkin' cute?!  From L-R:  Corbin (4.5 years), Samuel (20 mos.), Josiah (7 weeks), Abby (6 years), and Daniel (3 years).

Oh, how I love those babies!!

Our sweet Josiah Wayne is our newest blessing, born in September and breaking the family record for weight - a whopping 10 lbs 12 oz.!!  Cutest 10 lbs. 12 oz. of chub you ever did see! :)

Here he is moments after birth:

GAHH!! I just want to run in to the room and kiss him right now looking at that!!  But I won't.  I will have a little self-control until I finish this post.  THEN I will run in there and kiss his chubby cheeks all over... ;)

And here is a recent one:

Yes, he has awesome hair :) It is a natural mohawk ... no styling required.  It is actually the lightest hair any of our kids have had, and is very close to a strawberry blonde!

Okay, just one more pic because I like him so much!

*sigh*

Library Success

Tomorrow we are headed to the library and we will be returning the following:

Amish Horses, by Richard Ammon
Carl's Summer Vacation, by Alexandra Day
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa: Horse in the House, by Erica Silverman
Don't Fidget a Feather, by Erica Silverman
Draw Me a Star, by Eric Carle
Follow Carl, by Alexandra Day
Here's a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry, collected by J. Yolen & A. F. Peters
Jeremy: The Tale of an Honest Bunny, by Jan Karon
Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey
One Morning in Maine, by Robert McCloskey
River Parade, by Alexandra Day

Robert McCloskey, Alexandra Day, and Erica Silverman are quickly becoming some of our favorite authors!  Books by these authors not only hold the attention of all three of the older kiddos, but also keep Mommy coming back for more, too!  The Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa series is cute as can be, and has the added bonus of being about a horse -- something that automatically gets an eager audience in this house.  Robert McCloskey's books are timeless and have such an air of peace and simplicity about them.  And I love the Carl books simply because they give the kids a chance to tell the story on their own!

This was our second time to check out Jeremy: The Tale of an Honest Bunny, and we loved it just as much the second time around as the first.  This book is definitely going on our Christmas wish list!  One afternoon I came in to the living room to find that Corbin had dragged one of my kitchen chairs in there and flipped it upside down so that he could stand on the seat part and hold onto the legs of it.  I asked him what he was doing, and he said, "I'm sailing to America!!  Like Jeremy, Mom!"  Well, it must have been rough seas, because that kitchen chair is now in need of repair ... but at least Corbin had a great adventure! :)

The only books that didn't get a lot of attention this time around were Here's a Little Poem and Amish Horses.  Wait, that is not true.  Amish Horses was enjoyed by Corbin many times for the great illustrations of horses, but we really didn't read it through but once.  Here's a Little Poem was alright, but just wasn't really the type of poetry that we have grown to love over here.  I guess I'm just partial to the rich children's poetry that can be found in books like Now We Are Six.


I am working on our library list as I type (as well as nursing a baby and trying to calm a frustrated toddler     ... so goes a day in the life!), so I will check back in soon with what we find tomorrow.

Storm Chasing 101

Today's school experience did not follow Mommy's lesson plans in the slightest, and I couldn't be happier about it!

We had finished up the boys' lessons (with Abby participating, as well) and needed to go get the rental car cleaned out and washed (loooong story, but our "bus" has been in the shop for almost 2 weeks now).  I figured we would get that done and then come home for lunch and do Abby's lessons.  God had a different plan for the day, however....

I decided to stop and let the kids run off some energy at a park before going to the car wash, also giving me some time to spend on my nature journal, but noticed some pretty dark clouds rolling in not 20 minutes after we got there.  I loaded everybody back up and started to drive, only to see that the rain was surrounding us but we were not getting a drop.  In that moment, an idea hit me.  We would be storm chasers!  The car needed to be washed, and it is not often in this summer heat that we get a good soaking rain, so why not kill several birds with one stone??  We would wash the car, entertain the kids, and learn a little bit at the same time!

We magically transformed into amateur storm chasers, with the kids taking turns telling me which direction we needed to go next.  Mommy couldn't move the car if they said "that way" or just pointed, so they had to work on their directions: left, right, straight, turn around, etc.  I have to say, they did a pretty good job, too!  We managed to stay in constant rain for over an hour, even though the storms were scattered!  We had so much fun, and there were so many little lessons hidden in the experience; it is definitely something I will never forget!

We are now working on creating "Storm Chaser Badges" to show Daddy when he gets home.  The kids are so proud and can't wait to "teach" Daddy how to be an expert storm chaser!  I happened to have my camera in my diaper bag, so I even managed to get some pictures and videos to share with him :)  Good memories in the makin'!!

And, I didn't have to wash the rental car ... one less chore for Mommy today ;)