Getting better!

I can't believe how much progress Velcro Boy has made in the past 4 months (just under anyway).  I had an actual conversation with him the other night.  In itself this is not remarkable.  What IS remarkable is that I understood every.single.word.  It actually moved me to tears (and is again as I type :).  These types of conversations are happening on a more and more frequent basis and I love it!  It allows me to see just how smart he really is and how much he's absorbed over the years.

He still has a lot of errors, but he's working and trying soooo hard that progress is being made.  We need to work on speed and volume (he's too fast and too quiet - those that know him in real life will find this hard to believe :).  He'll be going (probably) to therapy over the summer, 30 minutes once per week.  We still don't know what the schedule will be, which is making it hard to plan the schedule for the rest of the family.  Therapy will also continue over the next school year, 30 minutes per day 4 days per week.  Since he'll be there so often and it'll be hard to coordinate everything else around the sessions, we've decided to put him in Kindergarten full-time.  The plan is to homeschool him after Kindergarten is done.  It's my deep down hope that he'll make so much progress in therapy that he won't need to be there the whole year and I can bring him back home.  I'm not holding my breath though.

This was a really tough decision to make.  I've recently begun to see just how much I've taught him and seeing some light bulbs coming on in incredibly rewarding.  I'm seeing some early addition and reading skills starting and it's amazing.  His fine motor skills are developing rapidly and he's doing very well tracing letters and numbers, coloring, doing puzzles, etc.  We'll continue to work over the summer, but I'm nervous about bringing him along too far and him being ahead of his classmates.  We'll continue religious education here at home, of course (though he answers questions about his brother's 2nd grade book.

I dread the time away from him, and while I worry about the influence of public school, it is only Kindergarten.  How much damage can they do at that age??? 

Feast of Pentecost 2010

We now have a tradition...

Pentecost Cake!

It didn't come out quite as nice as last year's cake, but it's still delicious :)

1 large Christ candle
12 birthday candles for the 12 apostles
7 hearts for the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit
12 strawberries for the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit

Note to self: Put the strawberries on top and the hearts around the outside.  Strawberries "leak".  Get a new candle and push it IN (it leaned on the way to the table - it's leaning here too).


Last year I had The Professor cut out tongues of flames and write the gifts of the Spirit on them.  This year the wonderful Jessica made my job easier :)  She made the flames for us, so all I had to do was click and print.  The Professor did the rest :)  Jessica made a windsock, bet I took the short way out...

Hard to see, but the gifts of the Spirit are printed on the flames.

We also had a coloring page and a crossword puzzle.

We went with a red theme for lunch ~ Red (ish) hot dogs, red ketchup, red-orange macaroni and cheese.

For supper we went red and white.  We had London Broil Chicken (which comes out nearly white for some reason), bread and strawberries

Garden of the Good Shepherd week 7

All Finished!

As much as we've enjoyed the Easter season and the Garden of the Good Shepherd activities, I am glad we done ;)

Day 43: The Water

Revelation 7:13-17

We were going to visit the fountains at the local zoo, but...

Day 44: The Deer

Psalm 42:1-5

nada!  Deer cupcakes were tempting...but we're really sugared out.  So, we were going to get books about deer.  But I didn't get to the library :(  So, no books either.  (man, I'm really slacking around here)

Day 45: The Lion

Daniel 6:14-23

We had a Daniel in the Lion's Den coloring page.

Day 46: The Beehive

Judges 14:5-9

We read Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett. 

Day 47: The Peacock

1 Kings 10:21-25

These cupcakes are the best!!!!  The peacocks Kelly made are really cute too.  I saved the info for next year.

Day 48: The Pelican

Genesis 1:20-23

We went to a local wildlife center and saw many of this week's animals.  Pelicans, deer, some water and yes, some bees.

Day 49: The Phoenix

Job 29:14-20

We couldn't come up with anything.  Shrimp were suggested, but most of us don't like shrimp (weird...I know)

Day 50: The Dove

Song of Songs 2:8-17

Pentecost!  I'll make a separate post for this one :)

Our completed calendar...

Next year I think we're going to do the weekly parties.

Garden of the Good Shepherd week 6

Obviously we've kinda dropped the ball around here with posting and even with the activities...oh well...here's what we've been doing...

Day 36:  The City Gates
Revelation 21:9-14

The kids colored Heaven's gates...

Velcro Boy's

Doodlebug's

The Professor isn't much into coloring lately, though he does love to draw...

go figure...

Day 37: The Temple

Revelation 21:22-25

We were going to build a temple out of Lego's

Day 38: Hallelujah!

Revelation 19:6-9

We listened to the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's "Messiah".

Day 39: The Thrones

Revelation 22:1-5

We watched The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  We read the series a while back, so The Professor was thrilled with this.

Day 40: The Bride

Hosea 2:18-20

We looked through wedding albums.  The original and the one from our convalidation nearly 2 years ago (how DOES time go so fast?!?)

Day 41: The Groom

Revelation 19:6-9

Tuxedo Strawberries!

YUM!!!

Day 42: The Crowns

Isaiah 62:3-5

We were going to make a crown cake.

I forgot to get a picture of the calendar to this point.

Happy Pentecost!

Come, Holy Spirit / Veni, Creator Spiritus

English version:		Latin version:
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest; come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.		Veni, Creator Spiritus, mentes tuorum visita, imple superna gratia quae tu creasti pectora.
O comforter, to Thee we cry, O heavenly gift of God Most High, O fount of life and fire of love, and sweet anointing from above.		Qui diceris Paraclitus, altissimi donum Dei, fons vivus, ignis, caritas, et spiritalis unctio.
Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known; Thou, finger of God's hand we own; Thou, promise of the Father, Thou Who dost the tongue with power imbue.		Tu, septiformis munere, digitus paternae dexterae, Tu rite promissum Patris, sermone ditans guttura.
Kindle our sense from above, and make our hearts o'erflow with love; with patience firm and virtue high the weakness of our flesh supply.		Accende lumen sensibus: infunde amorem cordibus: infirma nostri corporis virtute firmans perpeti.
Far from us drive the foe we dread, and grant us Thy peace instead; so shall we not, with Thee for guide, turn from the path of life aside.		Hostem repellas longius, pacemque dones protinus: ductore sic te praevio vitemus omne noxium.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow the Father and the Son to know; and Thee, through endless times confessed, of both the eternal Spirit blest.		Per te sciamus da Patrem, noscamus atque Filium; Teque utriusque Spiritum credamus omni tempore.
Now to the Father and the Son, Who rose from death, be glory given, with Thou, O Holy Comforter, henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen.		Deo Patri sit gloria, et Filio, qui a mortuis surrexit, ac Paraclito, in saeculorum saecula. Amen.

Note:
This prayer is attributed to Rabanus Maurus (776-856) and is used when the Holy Ghost is solemnly invoked. It is a partially indulgenced prayer at most times, but on January 1 and on the Feast of the Pentecost, however, one may, under the proper conditions, receive a plenary indulgence for reciting it.


Fisheaters.com

Awesome machine!

My old sewing machine died after 18 years of use and I finally found a good replacement.  It's a Brother CS6000i and I love it.  It's a good middle-of-the-road machine that should keep me in stitches (ha ha) for years to come :)

Sweet!!!

Happy Feast of the Ascension Everyone!

Garden of the Good Shepherd week 5

We've been staying away from the sweets lately, so this week is book based.

Day 29 ~  The Tree of Life's Leaves
Revelation 22:1-5

We read Why Do Leaves Change Colors?
Fall Leaf Project
Fall Leaves Fall

Day 30 ~ The Tree of Life's Flowers
Isaiah 55:12-13

We read Planting a Rainbow

Day 31 ~ The Tree of Life's Fruit
Galatians 5:22-26

We made Ambrosia! 
11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained
13 oz pineapple chunks, drained
1 c. flaked coconut
1/2 c. whipping cream, whipped with 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 c mini-marshmallows
mix all ingredients together and chill overnight.

We also did a fruits of the Holy Spirit maze.

Day 32 ~ The Owl
Psalm 102:6-12

Though I was sorely tempted by these super cute and yummy looking cupcakes, I exercised restraint and we just read Owl Moon and my kids painted some owls.  Sorry, no pictures. :(

Day 33 ~ The Olive Tree
Genesis 8:6-11

The kids did some Easter activity pages and coloring pages.

Day 34 ~ The Palm Tree
John 12:12-17

We read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Day 35 ~ Roses and Lilies
Song of Songs 2:1-7

We ended up celebrating this one a few days late (Monday in fact :) )
So we had the roses hubby bought for Mother's Day and we read The Rose in My Garden.


Our calendar...

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

I hope that in addition to a perfect sacrifice you've all had a wonderful Mother's Day.  Just full of sloppy kisses, construction paper cards and hugs from small arms. 

Favorite Fives: Outside

It's that time of the month again...  This month's favorite fives is our favorite outside things.

Let's see...hmmm....

1.  Fireflies!

2.  Fall leaves.  

I love the smell of fall.  Isn't it wonderful how God can make a season into a smell?!?

Unfortunately we don't get a whole lot of the first two thing down here in Florida :(

3.  Flowers! 

(Can't seem to find any in our digital files.  Can it REALLY be that long since I've gone out shooting?!?  Must correct that ASAP...)

4.  The beach.  

Salty air laced with the smell of suntan lotion (coconut).  The call of sea gulls.  Kids running back and forth.

The peaceful silence when you're alone.

Though I do dislike the sand.

5. Sunsets!  

(I have come to appreciate sunrises lately too)

 God's power in all it's majesty. 

Head on over to Emily's to tell us about your favorite fives!

Garden of the Good Shepherd week 4

Day 22 ~ The Boat
Matthew 8:23-27

We made boats from Colonial Kids!

Read Boats by Anne Rockwell.

And hung some of The Professor's pictures of boats...

This last one is the Dawn Treader from The Chronicles of Narnia series.

We read the series as our evening read-alouds and the Professor really enjoyed them.  

I think he'll get more out of them in a few years though.  

Some of the material seemed over his 6-year-old head ;)

Day 23 ~ The Mast

Ezekial 27:4-7

We were going to make cross-shaped sugar cookies, but we're all way too sugared out from the treats lately :)

Day 24 ~ The Sail 

Acts 27:33-44

Berry blue sailboats!

Doodlebug even made a shipwreck ;)

Day 25 ~ The Net

Mark 1:16-20

Net-shaped pretzels!

Day 26 ~ The Fishes

John 21:4-8

We went to see fish (and cats) at the pet store.  We also had Goldfish for snack.

Day 27 ~ The Barbecue

John 21:9-14

Nada

Day 28 ~ The Leviathan

Psalm 104:24-30

We went to the aquarium at the Science Museum and read  My Visit to the Aquarium by Aliki.