The binder

This is the inside of my binder. I have a main calendar that shows the whole year at a glance. Then there is a calendar for each individual month. These show doctor's appt., surgeries, birthdays, planned festivals, work schedules etc...

Then there are tabs for each child and pockets that are color coordinated. I have one for seasonal and gathering time (circle) also.

With the first tabs, I lay out the main lesson blocks for each child in the month slot. In this space I have a basic outline of what the month of that main lesson will entail. I have a block for every month of the next school year. So starting in August, Quayde will be working with Human physiology. His first lessons will be with the digestive system etc... There is also sheets with more details on resources like books, field trip ideas, videos, mentors and etc....behind these.

Then in the pockets at the back, I have resources for myself to be able to teach well. I copied off a picture of the digestive system so I can just pull it out for quick reference. The children's lesson pockets are the same color as their main outline pages.

The Seasonal and Gathering time ones have copies of poems, music, activities etc... that I would like to use during the year. I have a master list with all the songs that I have chosen for each month for the children to learn and sing. There are other master lists that have food ideas and activities that we will do for festivals.

This binder helps me to be organized in a way that I can pull from ideas and go with it. If I find a magazine article with a fun activity or interesting idea, I tear it out and put it in the binder. The children can come and open it up to see what is on the calendar for the next week or next month. Lydia does it OFTEN! She is a calendar and weather freak. She has to know what is happening every moment. It also lets the older kids know what is going on so they can plan their activities with friends accordingly. It lets my husband know where we might be on any given day.

The only thing I really can't figure out is how to be more organized with the whole, "what's for dinner?" thing. We tried to do meal planning and then it all gets crazy. Someday I will have that all down too!

Planning for the school year

When you have a four year old, new play clay is absolutely an essential item for a new school year. I made about 7 different colors this morning after breakfast and they are hiding until Monday. It takes about 5 whole minutes to make a batch and it is just so fun.

The next most essential item for a new school year is my binder. It is filled with all my planning pages. I dress up the pages a little so that every time I open it, I smile.

This year I am juggling a pre-schooler, fourth grader and Quayde. Now Quayde is my challenge. He was 3 weeks overdue w/ birthday in January, didn't lose any teeth at all until age 9, and still very much struggles with reading well. He will be doing a combined 7/8th grade this year.

I have been playing with schedules and calendars all day. Lydia needs to do local/state history and there is a fabulous museum in town that we will go visit. Only problem is it has rose bushes everywhere. She is deathly and I mean deathly allergic to roses. So we can't do that main lesson until all the roses are gone. Just little things like that.

I am posting this at almost midnight and think that maybe just maybe I have a 6 month plan complete. Not all the lessons but the outlines and time frames. Believe me, it is a huge accomplishment!

I hope that if you are in the throes of planning that the scheduling gods will smile down on you!

The blue hair challenge

The amazing Ms. Amadee

Look closely you can see that Mr. Steve's hair is blue. Tippy, the t-rex is even sporting blue hair! What is all this blue hair about anyway?

We LOVE our library! Mr. Steve and Ms. Amadee always make us feel so welcome. They come up with really fun programs and ideas to spark imagination. This summer, the summer reading program was, " Be Creative at your Library", well they got creative all right. They created a challenge that if over 1000 children signed up for the reading program they would turn their hair blue.Lydia is magic. She seems to win a prize every single year. This year in addition to getting free books and other neat prizes, 9 kids got to win a blue wig. Lydia won one of the lovely things.
She has been wearing it non-stop. Thayne looks interesting in it too. The final day of the program was last Saturday. The musical group, Sticks and Tones was a super hit with all the children. They brought a ton load of instruments and every child in the room got to play with them. It was like the best drumming circle ever! So much fun and so much energy.
The only thing is that it kind of a start to saying good-bye to summer. The reading program is over and the summer movie nights are over. Even though we have several months of hot weather left, all the schools around here start either on the 3rd or the 10th. I am not really all prepared to start next week but my kiddos are really needing to get back to our school rhythm.
I've got quite a bit of work to accomplish by next week. I think we will ease back into things. I have Michael working on a project to help keep Thayne busy. I am starting to get excited.

On the road - part four

The hardest part was knowing we were leaving. We have developed such a great friendship with the Shers and we don't know when we will be able to see them again. We had to head back down that old highway on Thursday afternoon. Tears were shed and we all made vows to make sure we keep writing each other and stay connected.


I have to say that Tammy is a wonderful cook!!! Our eating highlights were roasted corn, the never ending fruit bowl and her amazing tomato soup. Michael has demanded that I get the recipe from her.

After so many hours in the car, things tend to get a little silly.

We did stop for a few more letterboxes. One turned out to be a dud. It has gone missing because we searched and searched. We stopped in Flagstaff for our last one to run around before the long last 2 hours home. Can you tell by the looks on Maliea's and Lydia's faces that they were pretty much done.

We arrived home 15 minutes before Chaiya had to be at work. Perfect timing! It was a great little break and has us evaluating a lot of things about where we are in life right now. Audio books are a god-send!!!!!

Oh one other thing....in Utah, July 24th is a holiday with lots and lots of parades throughout the whole state. When you are driving down Hwy 89 and there is a town about every hour , getting re-routed for the parade isn't a lot of fun. This is a note to self to plan that in next time.

On the road - Yellowstone

Yellowstone is just as amazing as I had heard all these years. The paint pots and mud things were quite the sight. At this geyser there was water that splashed up and sprinkled but the weird thing was that it was cold. I was amazed by the depth of color, the blues and oranges were stunning. You could see the water boiling deep inside of this blue one. The smell wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be.

There were numerous places that we stopped to look at animals that were across the river.


I think Thayne enjoyed Old Faithful the most. He got such a kick from all that water spraying into the air. It helped that daddy put him on his shoulders so he had a great view.

This picture was taken exactly two minutes after Old Faithful was done erupting. There were hundreds and hundreds of visitors watching and they quickly departed after the show is done.

We ate a yummy picnic lunch Tammy had packed and stuck around to watch it just one more time.

On our way back out of the park there was a whole family of bison that were creating quite the traffic jam. It was great to see these animals up close. Michael took this picture right out the window of the van. It was so nice to enjoy all of this with our friends.

On the road - part three

When good friends are only a few hours drive away from where you are, it would be a crime not to drive up to visit and play with them. After finally getting our act together we arrived up in Idaho Falls in the late afternoon. Tammy, Monty and the girls made us feel so welcome in their home. We adults escaped for a little while and took a drive/walk around the river and the falls area.

Roasting marshmallows and hot dogs by the fire pit was just one of the fun activities. The older kids had run off to play by the river and came back starving.

I think Lydia was in awe of Kayla's marshmallow roasting skills.
We had a great time walking around the river in the late evening. The only problem was I couldn't conjure up enough hours in the day to keep visiting! We eventually all were ready to drop. I don't think there was a single night that we got into bed before midnight.

Our plan was to head up to Yellowstone the next day. We had never been there before and it was only a couple hours drive north. Then we found out that the Sher's did not know about the fun that letterboxing is. So we located some clues and headed out the next morning!


Marching up the trail.......

Kayla found and pulled the letterbox from its hiding place. We exchanged signatures, stamped images then all ran bloody murder down the hill because we were being eaten alive by a swarm of mosquitoes! Emily and Lydia both had bites on their foreheads, arms, legs and everywhere. Some of us didn't get any bites at all; very interesting how they choose their prey. I had bug repellent in the car but none of us had thought to put any on. Thank goodness for the anti-itch cream and benedryl.

When we got back to the cars there was the largest beetle any of us had ever seen. I still haven't been able to figure out what this is. It apparently liked it's reflection. we were all pretty 'bugged" out though. On to Yellowstone.........

On the road - part two

There is a little and I mean little town called Circleville that we stopped at to run around and have a snack. There was a small park on the main road with a memorial to all the men and women from Circleville families that have served in the wars. We brought out the sidewalk chalk to make happy designs for all who might enjoy them before the rain washes them away. Michael really made a quite intricate design. The only problem was we only had three colors. Next time we will bring a better assortment.

We eventually made our way to the hotel in Orem, Utah where quite frankly we collapsed into comfy beds. The almost 10 hours of just driving time plus all of our stops had made for a very long day. The next day held special promises and lots of joy!

Lydia's former nurse Cindy, who is also my dear friend, invited us to be part of her wedding celebration! In Heber there is this quaint little 'village' of old log cabins, part of a fort and this little chapel.
The chapel could only hold about 25 guest and we all fit quite tightly! Lydia was asked to be one of the flower girls. She was a little shy about it but had so much fun.

Honestly, Cindy just radiated happiness. Her dad escorted her; her sons and Steve were waiting for her. She deserves so much to be happy. I really believe that we have the opportunity to serve and nurture every soul that we meet. Cindy was such a happy spark as she helped take care of Lydia several years ago. I felt very blessed to share in her happiness at her wedding now.

Afterward, we headed to Cindy's sister home for a casual reception/family dinner. Wendy so graciously opened her home and served us a fabulous Carribean jerk pork, bbq beans, sour cream potatoes and of course wedding cake!Congrats Cindy and Steve!!!!

On the road

Food - check, Kids - check, Audio books - check, Clothes - check, Gas - check, Headed for FUN!!!

Glen Canyon Dam at Page, Arizona

Found a fabulous park with a water feature in Kanab!

We stopped here for lunch and stayed for almost two hours! It was so beautiful. Cliffs surround the park and it has everything for kiddos to get out some energy.

After we packed up our lunch, we headed back down the road for some letterboxing!!

The place was amazing with a natural amphitheater and natural springs.

then we were back on the road.............

If you give the Callihan's a map.....

Quickly I'll post the madness that we are starting on.
It started with a phone call from a former nurse of Lydia's. Cindy was so wonderful and we felt she was just like family for the few years that she took care of Lydia. Lydia loved to play hide and seek with her and her stuff. Then she left us and moved away to Kansas.

Back to the phone call.....Cindy called to tell us that she is getting MARRIED! We are so excited and she asked us if we could come. The wedding is on Monday in Utah.
Okay we can do a quick road trip and drive up for a day or so for the wedding!

Then we got looking at the map and well.... Idaho is just a few hours north of there and we have friends up there.
Then we got looking at the map and well.... Yellowstone is just another couple of hours and we have never seen Old Faithful.
Do you see where this is going?
So bright and early tomorrow we are off. We are madly doing laundry, making shopping lists and printing out maps off of Google.
We have to be back by Friday because Chaiya has to work that evening, it might be sooner if we run out of money.

Had to post this....

My husband went this morning to get our van serviced before our spontaneous trip that we are leaving on this weekend. He brought home a copy of The Daily Courier. I am assuming that he picked it up at Oil Can Henry's this morning.
When I was a single mom I threw this paper to about 200 people every day. We used it for grammar lessons in our home schooling because it is written so badly and the spelling in it is horrific. I could teach my children how NOT to write and spell through the paper's example.
Nevertheless, it was a great way to earn a lot of money to support us and have my kids with me. We had great times on that paper route!
I do not have any desire to subscribe to the paper and have it come to our home daily.
I just picked it up to glance at the classified section and I think it is very indicative our our economy.

Miscellaneous for Sale

Poker Slot Machine - only $800

Used Guard Rail post for sale great for landscaping

$5 and $6 each

Large Wooly Mammouth tooth call for price

Makes me wonder about the Woolly Mammoth tooth's owner because it's spelled wrong, does he have this legally and how much does he think he really can get for it?

School prep

I have spent the last several weeks taking time each day to work on preparing for our new school year. I've been reading, listening to downloads, searching through curriculum but sometimes Spirit speaks to you in a simple way that makes everything fall into place. I was reading other Waldorf parenting / teacher blogs and came across a sentence that talked about the teacher and her/his prep.

The sentence was simple but very deep. It asked the question... are you prepared each day to greet the children with your soul?

As I pondered and meditated on this, I thought about how many of us just go through the mechanics of the day. Do we do our inner work, so we can be filled enough to truly connect with our children each day on a soul level?
Do our eyes sparkle with love as our children wake up each morning?
I am guilty of being so overwhelmed sometimes, that it is about getting food on the table, this child to that appointment or making sure the house is clean enough for who ever.

I am good with the littles. Each morning they are greeted with a morning song and at night they have their special lullaby and our night rituals. I am not so good with still connecting deeply with the older ones. They are busy running to jobs or friends. I forget to look and greet them with my whole soul sometimes.

The curriculum is important but even more so is the inner work of the momma to be filled enough to envelop our 'babies" with our soul light. This has brought me to a new shift, a good shift because ultimately whether it's the Romans , Norse myths or Chemistry ; it does not matter if my heart and soul are not there.

You'll be proud

Yes, my friends I went today for an eye exam and new glasses!!! I know some of you have been begging me to do this for about a year +. Soon you won't have to look at my floral wired, pieced together frames that have been smashed and put back together too many times to count.
The eye doctor said my eyes have actually gotten a little better. The astigmatism is nearly gone now and my left eye hasn't changed a bit. Woooo Hooo!

No adults please

During a discussion over breakfast this morning, we were discussing book characters. Winnie the Pooh came up, Quayde wanted Tigger to be read "out" of the book. We all watched Inkheart last night, which is why we were talking about our favorite characters.
Lydia piped up that she didn't want Rabbit because he is an adult!
We all know how horrible adults are.

Signs

This week is been full and it is not even over yet. We have this EMPS guide around here to guage how we are doing. We judge how we feel on four levels: Emotional, Mental, Physical and Spiritual; we check each other out to see where our stress levels are and how much fun we need. ;)
On Tuesday, Chaiya and I went down to Phoenix to a doctor's appointment to check a mass that has grown in her neck. My emotional stress levels were a little high. As we were driving in the early morning sun, a reflection came across my windshield.

It was from this little piece of confetti. It was just sitting on my dash. I have no idea where the heck this came from. It is no where near St. Patrick's day and we did not have confetti like this then either. I saw it as a sign of hope.
Chaiya will see a specialist in August but the pediatrician confirmed my guess and the mass is not in her lymph glands which rules out cancer for the most part! Surgery , most likely but not anything horrible. Oh happy day!

Yesterday I woke up determined to have a positive day. I walked into our kitchen and found these rainbows in a star pattern on the floor. What is a better sign than a rainbow?


As I cooked blueberry pancakes for the children, I flipped Thayne's over and there was a smiley face. It just appeared by itself. I wish I could say that the day was amazing and nothing happened but.... we survived the day and are moving forward with great hopes for a event free Thursday! Do you ever have these little happy signs that pop up?

Good Morning

The doorbell rang at 5:40am this morning. We quickly awoke. My first indication was to check where Thayne was. He was still asleep on the other side of our bed. It wouldn't have surprised me if it had been him.
Michael quickly got dressed and headed to the door. After a few minutes, he did not come back nor could I hear any voices coming from the front room.
I got dressed and headed out to find two police cars in front of our home.
Apparently some hoodlums were out creating havoc.
We got off easy only having the tail lights on Michael's truck broken out. From what we could count on the way to church there were probably 30+ mail boxes destroyed. Then we took the other road home and several cars were smashed to bits. All the glass in a mini van around the corner and then another hatchback down the road were in pretty bad shape.
It totally doesn't make sense timing wise. Why in the world would they have not done it in the middle of the night?
Our neighbor had guests spending the night and he was able to give a description, he had heard them coming around the corner and ran out to see what was up.
What a way to have a good morning.

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Our celebration for the 4th around here is simple but a lot of fun. Glow sticks are a must. The kids spin and throw them for entertainment before, during and after the fireworks. Chaiya made cupcakes in the shape of our flag. She put sprinkles on the white ones for stars.

Watermelon is always present on the 4th.



but what we always love is the fireworks! We drive up to unfinished lots on this huge hill overlooking the park and enjoy the fireworks without traffic problems or any large unmanageable crowds. Tonight we saw some really cool ones that we had never seen before. there was a smiley face, hearts and a complete spiral. It was a simple and fulfilling evening.
Happy birthday America!