How NOT to Cook PAVLOVA, and our Thanksgiving Dinner Report

Well, over all, Thanksgiving Dinner was a huge success. I mean, I nailed it people. The Mendon Foodie would be so proud. (are you reading, Mendon??) This entire meal was as "from scratch" as it gets, and it rocked. Seriously rocked.

confession: I did not milk my own cow, slaughter my own bird, or cream my own milk. But other than that, totally from scratch. So awesome. 

The duck was scrumptious. I used this recipe for Roast Stuffed Duck (with orange) from Big Oven dot com.  The recipe has some format issues (words are cut off on the right hand side) but it was easy enough to fill in the gaps, and the duck turned out amazing. I, of course, forgot to take a picture, and there's not one over there, but trust me, it was gorgeous.

I made the stuffing and the sauce, both in the recipe linked, and stuffed the bird to cook. Never done that before, and I was a bit nervous. Since I had no cooking twine or anything to "truss the bird" I just tucked the neck flap under the bird, and then the bottom end I pulled all together and stuck the poultry thermometer into the folds of skin/meat to hold it closed. It worked beautifully.

I have to admit -- I was, and am, insanely proud of myself for pulling off Stuffed Duck. It just sounds so.....I don't know, so out of my league. It wasn't. The side dishes were all delicious, too. Just look at this beautifully overloaded plate? Doesn't that make you wish you were here for dinner last night???

starting at top with beans, going clockwise:
Black beans and rice; steamed asparagus; Taos Pumpkin; Mashed Potatoes;
Stuffing w/orange sauce; Duck w/Orange Sauce; Biscuit; in the center, the sweet potatoes & carrots

The real adventure, however, was the dessert. We tried to make pavlova. It's supposed to look like this:

photo courtesy google images

Ours looked like this:

Pavlova Brownie

Turns out, whipping egg whites into stiff peaks, with a fork, is next to impossible. So is whipping heavy cream.  I seriously need a hand beater or electric mixer or something. As rarely as I'd use it, probably a hand beater is sufficient. (no, that's not a hint for anyone). All I have to say is boy is my arm tired today.

First of all, we had to redo our egg whites *three times* due to human error. The first time, 30 minutes in, I finally reached the point where I add in the salt, vinegar and vanilla. Only, I added the iodine we've been using to treat the dog's surgical incision. Dumped that batch, after only briefly considering whether or not iodine would actually hurt us if we ate it......

The second time around I added the vanilla. And we kept beating, and beating, and beating. And nothing was happening, so I decided to try what The Chemist had suggested -- the blender. Not a good idea. One quick little pulse and my egg whites were now a nice, smooth liquid. Oops.

A break, and an internet search, and I found that I could try adding an extra egg white, which sometimes fixes the problem. So, we tried that, and kept beating, and thirty minutes later we were closer than we'd been yet, but still quite far from done. By this time, however, we had to put it in the oven or it wouldn't be done in time to take it out and put the duck in. So, we poured it in, The Artist declared it to be a Pavlova Brownie, and we comforted ourselves with the thought that surely it would at least taste good.

We had to adjust the cooking time, as well, because it's meant to cook at 250*F but my oven doesn't go that low; it only goes to 320*F. I called Kim, woke her up, and asked her what to do about that. She suggested 40 minutes rather than an hour, and watch it. She also said I could whip up a quick cake and put the fruit on that if the pavlova didn't turn out. She has a lot to learn about me (though I do have a chocolate cake mix in my pantry...). Well, I didn't watch it closely enough and 30 or 35 minutes in it was the color of a graham cracker. Oops.

what a meringue shell looks like when you bake it too hot and don't whip it enough to be an actual meringue

You can't tell, but that meringue flavored base? It's hard as a rock. My fork could not pierce it when I tried. The liquidy whipped cream and time in the fridge really softened it up, thank goodness. 

what it looks like topped with not whipped all the way whipping cream, when the mom with the sore arm quits trying and decides to just pour it over the pavlova brownie base and hope for the best

In the end it was yummy, and The Chemist, who hadn't seen pictures of what a pavlova is supposed to be, said he would not have known it was a mess up if we hadn't told him. The meringue layer had the texture of a softened peanut brittle, maybe more like the texture of peppermint bark. The whipped cream was very much a liquid, but yummy, and the fruit topping was the saving grace.

Still, there's only a tiny bit leftover, The Chemist had two servings of it, and The Artist already had some this morning. So, a hit, even though it was so far from what it was meant to be.

Also a memory we'll never forget, that's for sure. Taking turns beating the egg whites, for two hours....whipping egg while reading aloud to the boys....The Writer and his "I just don't want to have to do something different for history this week!!"....I don't recommend our method, but on the other hand I might just have to under-beat some egg whites again so we can have Pavlova Brownie at every Thanksgiving. The memories associated with this will always be family favorites, I'm sure.

I hope your cooking was less adventurous, and that your day was wonderful yesterday, and I hope that wherever today finds you, you are able to look back on yesterday and smile. 

A Poem -- "Come Sew and Go" -- by The Artist, age 9

The Artist, age 9 years and 10 months, wrote a poem and asked me to share it with you. Since he's been exceptionally delightful lately, I couldn't resist.  And since the Grandparents read the blog, I'm kind of obligated to post these types of things every now and then anyway.

Please enjoy his poem.

Come Sew & Go
by The Artist, age 9

Every day I go to sew.
When I'm done I go.
My free time
Is my play time.

When I'm nice there's rice.
When I'm mean it's Halloween.
When I'm sad today
It's a bad day.

Happy Teacher's Day

I have to say, every day there's some new thing that makes me love Brazil. Today, it's Teacher's Day.

A good friend of mine clued me in to this fact; the school her children attend is celebrating in a big way. Gifts for the teachers, cards, parties, all that sort of thing. Plus the teachers are showing off the students' work for the parents, I guess proving they (the teachers) are worthy of this day of thanks and praise.

Sounds cool to me.

Being the good Brazilian that I am (at heart), I'm having the boys celebrate with their Professora. I'm sure she'll be thrilled. A few "I love my teacher" cards, maybe some chocolate, supervising recess from the comfort of the hammock in the backyard.....sounds like a brilliant plan to me.

In keeping with the "show off the kids' work" theme, here are some pictures of the boys.

Math: The Writer works in the book; The Artist works on the computer

Both boys use Teaching Textbooks for math.

Reading: 

The Writer was finishing up The Hobbit, 

The Artist had just finished his book and was doing a puzzle as a reward for being done for the day

 

Just Being Cute:

The Adventurer never ignores the camera, so it's hard to catch him actually DOING school. 

Here he is, though, in his 1st Day of School outfit from a few months ago. 

As far as a little progress report -- 

The Writer (7th grade) has finished The Hobbit, just finished a biography of Mother Teresa (Teresa of Calcutta) and is now studying Arabs in the Golden Age. He's reading Harry Potter for his fun reading, and will start Shakespeare Stories for school on Monday. Math, Language Arts, Art and Science all continue on (the boys are learning about Human Anatomy in science).

The Artist (4th grade) is reading a biography of Paul Revere for History right now, as he learns about the American Revolution, and is on book 3 of Harry Potter which does count as school reading for him, though he's also reading The Great Brain and just finished the Percy Jackson series.  His other subjects continue as well.

The Adventurer (Kindergarten) is progressing nicely. He's learning to add, and will often ask me things such as "What is 2 and 2 and 1? What is 3 and 2? What is 1 and 1 and 1 and 2? What is 4 and 1?" and so on until he's asked all the variations of reaching a certain number, be it 5, as in this case, or 6 or 7 or 9 or whatever. He is coming up with these questions on his own, and as such is gaining a great understanding of math. Reading or even phonics are taking a back seat for now, but that's okay. He loves to be read to, from anything and everything, so I'm not terribly worried.

All in all, I'd say the Professora has earned a little day of thanks and praise for all her hard work. So sweet of Brazil to recognize such dedication, don't you think?

First Day of SPRING

No, that's not a typo.

Yes, I know for most of you reading this, it was the first day of Autumn/Fall yesterday; for us, in the Southern Hemisphere, it was First Day of Spring.

The changing of the seasons is a barely-noticed event where we live; we're inside the Tropic Zone (we're less than 100km north of, or above, the Tropic of Capricorn), so seasons are very much the same from one to the next. Around here, it's mostly Dry Season (which we're leaving behind) and Rainy Season (which we're heading into). 

Winter to spring is not marked by melting snow, shedding of jackets, the appearance of buds or blossoms, the greening up of the landscape or even more sunshine. No, for us, winter to spring is noted by vacuuming the dust off the fans and bringing them out of hiding, running the dryer at night so as not to heat up the house during the day, the presence of the umbrella salesmen on the side of the road (and of our umbrella always in easy reach), and the return of the few migratory birds who visit our feeders.

Still, it is now officially spring time. And, stealing an idea from  joining my good friend GfG over at Morning Star Academy, I decided to celebrate spring with some fun crafts for the boys. A great time was had by all.

Don't they look like they're having a blast?

We made rain pictures -- coffee filter umbrellas with craft stick handles; aluminum foil puddles (or darkness, if you're The Adventurer), and blue fingerprints for raindrops. So fun.

Didn't they turn out great?

We also made toilet paper tube parrots, to symbolize the return of migratory birds. Since we do feed the birds in our backyard, and some of them are migratory, I thought this was an appropriate one.  We don't get these kinds of parrots, not in our part of Brazil, but they sure were fun for the boys to color.

Lastly, The Writer had the great idea to do rainbow handprints. He suggested, and I consented, that they each dip their hand in the plate full of paint, and then leave a handprint on the brown paper we were using to protect the table. What a great idea!

So, they did, and I now have perfect little captures of just how small (or big) their hands were on the first day of spring, 2010. We'll pretend the rainbow colors were on purpose to remind us of the many rainbows we'll see during the sometimes dreary (but not usually) rainy season.

Cute, huh?

Best of all, we had a really fun day. Look at these smiles -- totally worth the mess, right?

Did you do anything to celebrate the changing of the seasons? What do the changes look like where you live?

Well, that didn't last long....

The blackberries, that is.

I thought we'd make a pie this weekend.

I thought we'd have blackberry pancakes for dinner.

I thought we had plenty of blackberries to do both of those and still let the boys eat as they wished.

I was wrong.

In three short hours, we went from 12 cups of blackberries to 4 and a half cups of blackberries.

Between The Writer and The Artist, 7 and a half cups of blackberries, gone. Disappeared. Eaten, just as nature made them, straight from the bowl to their mouths.

And just like that, plans for blackberry pancakes flew right out the window.

I tried. I really did. I wanted blackberry pancakes for dinner, and do an apple/berry pie or a peach/berry pie. I even have a recipe for apple/berry in a Jamie Oliver cookbook, but even that didn't persuade the boys. I guess their gorge on pure blackberries did two things - satiated them for now, and made the thought of corrupting their pie downright atrocious sounding.

The remaining four and a half cups are thus safely reserved in a baggie, waiting to be turned into pie sometime this weekend, right after I buy a pie pan and a pie crust. Because I know better than to try and make my own.

I guess I don't need those recipes after all.....

Blackberries

When The Writer was 5 and The Artist was 2, we moved into the first, and only, home we'd ever owned. The first thing The Chemist did was buy fruit trees and bushes. We had a peach tree, a plum tree, an orange tree, and four blackberry bushes, all of which we planted in the backyard.

The boys watched those bushes like hawks, or, well, like some berry eating type of bird, just waiting to nab the first berry. Once the bush produced, watch out. The kids would be purple for weeks. They loved the things.

When we moved from that house to a rental an hour & a half away, because The Chemist got the job that led to this job, we planted blackberry bushes in the flower beds out front. I'm sure our landlady was thrilled. The boys certainly were.

Berries, berries, berries. The two oldest boys grew up on a steady diet of blackberries, from the time they were 5 & 2 until the day we moved to Brazil, when they were 10 & 7. 'Twas a sad thing to realize that, in this land of the most marvelous fruits ever imagined, there is a serious lack of all things berry. No idea why that is, but on the rare occasion I find blackberries in the market, they run at outrageous prices. We're talking, if memory serves, R$15 for roughly one cup of berries. Seriously.

Well, folks, The Chemist last night struck gold, more or less. He discovered (how he's been unaware the past three years is beyond me....) a blackberry tree on the grounds where he works. Yes, I know blackberries don't actually grow on trees. But mulberries or boysenberries or something or other do, and I don't remember which, and they look, smell and taste just like blackberries, so, indulge me, okay? The point is, The Chemist saw a bowl of blackberries, inquired as to their origin, was told they grow on the grounds and encouraged to help himself, and that is just exactly what he did. To one heaping bucket full.

AFTER the boys ate their fill today

I dumped the contents of the very  heavy bucket into my colander to rinse the berries. Only, they overflowed the thing. Still, I rinsed, and tucked the colander into a bowl to catch any juice and then put the whole mess into my fridge, thankful for empty space since the milk man didn't come on Tuesday (national holiday and all). Well, I'd have tossed the milk to store the berries, no doubt, but I digress......what was I saying?

Oh yes, the berries. The boys were shocked. Stunned. Thrilled. This little surprise of their father's blessed their socks off. Seriously. In ways you cannot imagine. Being mostly deprived of your favorite food for the past three years, and then being given such a bounty as this.....they didn't know what to do. It took them half of today to overcome the automatic Ration The Blackberries response and accept the fact that they could eat fully and still not make a dent in our supply.  Even after their over-indulgence, we still have 12 cups remaining.

Not one cup.

Not two cups.

Twelve.

Very full, very rounded cups.

I have never seen happier boys.  Or purpler ones.

 

 

Except for The Adventurer. You might recall he was only 2.5 yrs old when we moved to Brazil, and as such, he'd not really tasted a blackberry before. Ever, I don't think.  So when The Artist offered him one today, relishing in this bounty after a three year drought, The Adventurer declined.

Aghast, The Artists insisted. He practically pushed the blackberry into The Adventurer's mouth, against much protest.

The Adventurer promptly spit it out, declared, "I feel sick!" and came crying to me. He wanted nothing to do with this very foreign food. This happens when you've spent more than half of your life, and all the bits you can remember, in Brazil instead of the USA.

Perspective, folks. It's all about perspective. The Adventurer happily chooses rice & beans over a hamburger, and apples or oranges or any other fruit at all so long as he doesn't have to eat a nasty blackberry.

The Big Boys however are hoping we have enough left for pie (umm, pretty sure that's a yes), while secretly really hoping that means they can continue to eat freely and still get a pie out of the deal (again, boys, pretty sure that's a yes....) and I am wondering what on earth we are going to do with all these berries. And how I'll ever get my dishes unstained...

Now, the boys have already eaten roughly four cups, or 60 Reais worth of blackberries, but still. I've got 12 cups, 180 reais worth, left.....no, we're not selling. The boys won't let me; I checked. (conversion rate: roughly 90 dollars......)

What's your favorite way to eat a blackberry? Or a couple of kilos of blackberries? With 12 cups yet to consume, and fridge space that needs vacated ASAP (the milk man comes in the morning...), I need all the suggestions you guys can give me.

School Room Redo is Done!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was planning and working on a school room redo; well, it’s finally done.

We do  not have a dedicated school room, so it has been a challenge to combine school items and an efficient layout with an aesthetically pleasing dining room, the first room you see when you enter our home.

When we first moved into this house, approximately eighteen months ago, we set up the computer desk, the book shelves, and the dining table; they’ve not moved from their original positions. Filling the shelves, and keeping things neat and organized as our school has morphed and grown over the years (remember, we now have all three boys doing formal schooling, not just the two older boys) has meant the contents of the bookshelves get shuffled around, often.

Lately, though, I’ve been itching for change. Everyone back home is starting a brand new school year, while we are about half way done. The professora particular was antsy to mix things up, bring in some freshness to our year, and rejuvenate her spirits. Redecorating and reorganizing always helps with that, I find. Apparently, the professora agrees. ; ) A few changes, and I’ve finally found a set up that balances useful with pretty.

The first step to the redo was to purge the shelves of books the boys have finished using for this year. Those all moved up to my closet, shown in a previous post. I also added plastic tubs (to be replaced later with something prettier) where the older two boys can each store their workbooks; this keeps them from flopping over, keeps the shelf looking neat, and keeps things from getting all jumbled and messy on my shelves. I also rearranged the decorative touches, and added some framed scripture to serve as mood setters, reminders, encouragement, etc. during our school days. I did the scripture frames a while ago, but never put them out. I used scrapbook papers and pens; cheap and easy and fun.

 

 

*the scriptures are I John 2:10; Romans 12:10; Psalm 127:3; Psalm 119:66 and Philippians 4:8-9.

Next up, I found a way to hang our maps. We bought this World Map Shower Curtain a few years ago, at Target, but The Chemist has not wanted to hang it where it will be seen. I suppose I can’t blame him. Luckily, I found these oversized hooks which allow me to hide it on the curtain rod, behind the curtains when not in use, and then pull it out when we need it. I also hung this lovely National Geographic map; that keeps little cat paws from dirtying my wall, is a beautiful piece of artwork, and soothing for the boys to look at; the colors are very calming.

the world map, when in use, also gives us a buffer of privacy without loss of natural light, since our window faces the street.

  National Geographic map, computer desk, shelf & display hooks (explained below)

After I got the bookshelves organized and the maps hung, I asked The Chemist to hang my shelf. He did. The printer, previously homeless, moved up there, and I was able to move my teacher’s manuals up there as well. I cleaned an empty ice cream tub and put the boys’ quality art supplies in it; these are the supplies they use when they do art class, not the materials they use for every day stuff.

The other half of the shelf holds various games, things that I use with The Adventurer as part of his class time or things the older boys use while they are waiting to move on to the next subject. The games include things like Boggle, Memory games, Rush Hour and Block by Block, Dominos, and other single-player games that occupy hands and minds. Last but not least, my camera finally has a place to live, at the end of the shelf.

Above the shelf I hung three clothespins, which I will use to display the boys’ school work. Currently there’s a painting by The Artist and one by The Adventurer. The hook for The Writer is empty at the moment, but that’s bound to change soon.

 

The last three changes are minor and stuff no one will really see but us; I moved the boys Portuguese materials into the closed cabinet in the computer desk, along with their everyday art supplies which were already there. Then, I hung our ABC Scripture Memory Verses posters up, on the side of the bookshelf that faces the table. Guests to our home won’t generally see that, but the boys can read it easily from their seats at the table. Lastly, I tucked a chalkboard, some educational placemats, and some additional maps into the space between and beside the bookshelves. I also put my scrapbook papers on the floor next to the desk, but I’m not sure yet if they’ll live their forever. They are sorted and organized into a rotating desk caddy, but The Chemist is not fond of it being visible, so we’ll see what he says.

Overall, we came up with a look that is nice and unobtrusive, keeping the “school room” look to a minimum while still providing wonderful functionality for us. Thanks so much for stopping by; the professory really enjoys giving little tours of her school! I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope any of you out there currently homeschooling, but in a small space (like mine) found it encouraging to see a small space that works well. Happy Schooling, everyone!

Favorite Sonlight Book? An Impossible Question....

Luke, over at the Sonlight Blog (Sonlight Curriculum being our curriculum of choice for the boys), posed a question on his blog today -- What is your favorite Sonlight book? He challenged us, his readers, to blog the answer.

I told him I can't do it.

See, the thing is, Sonlight books are amazing. Wonderful. Awesome. Choosing a favorite is like choosing a favorite child. I can't do it. I love all my boys, equally. In different ways, yes. Different things about them, yes. But do I love one less than the other? No way. Not possible. Not even on the worst of days, when I was sleep deprived and stressed and depressed and angry and completely not enjoying motherhood -- not even on those days would I have said with any honesty that I loved any one of my children less than the others, even the one who was the source of all the stress at the time.

So it is with Sonlight books. Some days, I've wished we weren't reading about the Civil War - again. Still. For the hundredth time. Some days I wanted to chunk a book across the room because I was sick of crying every time I turned the page. Some days I admit to being bored, even while my boys absorbed information I knew they needed. Some days I admit to being driven to distraction by the cartoon style, 'jump around the page' layout of the various Usborne books that Sonlight includes in their curriculum, nevermind those are the very books my boys go back to over and over and over again. And yet, ask me to choose a favorite and I can't do it. There's not a single one I love any more than any of the others.

We have used 8 different programs (called Cores) over the years. Each one of those programs includes roughly 50 books. That's around 400 books I've read over the years, all as part of school for the boys. To choose a favorite is impossible. In fact, it is easier for me to tell you books I didn't like --I can count on one hand those titles-- than to name books I loved more than the rest.  But that's not what Luke asked, so I'll try and do the impossible.

Now, the favorite book I've ever read, of all time, is To Kill a Mockingbird. It does happen to be a title that Sonlight uses, though we aren't there yet. Anyone who's read TKaM though knows it is fabulous. Still, as I read it outside the scope of Sonlight, I don't feel it's fair to talk about in this post.

Instead, I sit here looking at my bookshelves, full of Sonlight Cores. We're currently using three programs - Core K, Core 3 and Core 5. I see so many favorites.

From Core K - Twenty and Ten, a story of school children helping one another during World War II. Or The Hundred Dresses, a story of a little girl, growing up in poverty but choosing to create her own contentment rather than be saddened by the reality of her situation.  Or Capyboppy, a fun tale of a boy and his very strange pet. Or Fun Tales, which are helping The Adventurer realize that each letter does make a certain sound, and will one day (soon?) give him the confidence that he can, in fact, decode those mysterious letters and turn them into words.

Or from Core 3 - Johnny Tremain, which I loved so much when I was a child that I couldn't wait for my boys to read it. Or Calico Bush, so heart-wrenching I bawled like a baby. Or Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, which weaves a lesson on daring to challenge the norm, be a problem solver, use your brain even when people are skeptical, and the ability to succeed if you put your mind to it - all set in amongst life, and family, and friendship and the stark realities of life on the seas and the tragedy that so often befell sailors of years gone by. With a history lesson thrown in there, too.  Or how can I forget a seemingly boring book called "If You Were There When they Wrote the Constitution," full of facts and knowledge and information, but presented in such a way that The Artist has this week drawn a picture for art class that depicts the revolutionary war and just last night said, "I can't wait to learn about the revolution...." -- all sparked by one little "boring" book about the Constitution.

And then there's Core 5 - The Hobbit. The Incredible Journey. A precious gem called The Cat Who Went to Heaven. Aladdin and Other Favorite Arabian Night Stories. Books so good and so well known they need no description.  And on it goes. You see how hard this is - the books just get better and better each year.

The best part is, they last. The appeal crosses over the years. A book that was a "read aloud" in K will be read again, on the child's own choosing, in later years. Our "books the kids read" shelves contain Sonlight books from all across the ages. Greek Myths for Young Children, scheduled in Core 1, is currently being devoured by both older boys. Usborne Book of World History, also from Core 1, is one of The Artist's favorite books to read and re-read. The many delightful treasuries chosen as part of the earlier Cores get re-read so often I can't keep them on the shelves.

So, Luke, I'm sorry, but I just can't answer your question. I simply don't have a favorite Sonlight book. There are scarcely any I didn't like and way too many I did. Just mark my answer as All of the Above, if you would.

Tweaking Our Homeschool

Most of you know we continue to homeschool here in Brazil. The way this works is, we have a "professora particular" who teaches the boys in our home. That is, a private tutor. She happens to work for smiles, hugs and kisses, but who am I to argue?

To help facilitate things for her, we downloaded some new software that organizes the children's assignments, keeps track of completed work, grades, overdue things, even organizes field trips and things. Then, each Monday morning, the professora can print an assignment sheet for the week, one for each boy. Brilliant! No more "I forgot....", because it will be printed right there in front of them, waiting to be checked off. On Friday, then, the professora can check the work, enter the grades into the program, and at the end of a term can print a report card. All thanks to a lovely free software program! Wonderful!!

To make sure everyone is currently working on grade level and doing well, we had the boys do some unofficial testing, using the on-line versions (scored automatically) of the TAKS Test, which is the standardized test used in Texas public schools. The two older boys completed the 3 tests for their most recently completed grade (Math, Reading and Science). I'm pleased to report, and the professora is thrilled, that they scored an average of 80% on each segment of the test. I'm particularly pleased with the Science results for The Artist -- he's currently in 4th grade, so his last completed grade was 3rd grade. Yet, he took the 5th grade science (the only year available) and scored in the mid-80s. All the science reading he does on his own has paid off! The professora is beyond thrilled to know that her efforts over the years have produced such nice results.

We've gone through our library of books and found the official grade level/reading level of each, so that we can be sure the boys are reading appropriate material. We even found a website that will allow them to take on-line quizzes for books they read; lovely built-in instant feedback! Those quizzes will be scheduled on their assignment sheets, grades entered, etc. What a help for the very busy professora! Keeping up with the schooling of a 7th grader, a 4th grader, a relatively new Kindergartner/K-4er, as well as the needs of a new puppy and running a household -- well, anything we can do to help her out is a nice bonus! She works so cheaply it's the least we can do!

The Writer has a new reading list to reflect his current grade level, with his fun reading relegated to the sidelines for 'extra' and not for school credit. He's not thrilled, but I hope the books that have been chosen for him will soon win him over to our side. Also, the aforementioned quiz site allows parents to create personalized rewards for successful quizzes; we plan to set up some prizes that will help motivate him as he meets his goals. The professora is certain that some outside motivation will help him greatly.

We're roughly to the half-way point in our school year; we got a late start this year because of travel issues, so we'll finish a bit late, but that's okay. Next year we'll be able to finish on time again. (we follow the Brazilian calendar, more or less, of schooling from February to November, with some minor tweaks along the way since we travel in the off-season....). 

I'll be doing some re-decorating and organizing in our school room/dining room this week, to give us a little boost for the 2nd half of the year. I always get a school itch when the public schools are starting back up in the US and all my friends back home are talking about "back to school" time; I think mid-year new school supplies, decorations, and tweaks will satisfy the itch and help all of us over the hump so we can finish the school year well. I know the professora at least is quite thrilled; she and I are on pretty intimate terms....you might even say we share one mind.....

Teaching Textbooks: A Review

Now that we are one chapter in, I feel like I can give an honest review of how Teaching Textbooks is working for our family.

I think I can safely sum it up by saying: "What took us so long to find this curriculum?"

What I love about it:

It takes all the emotion, all the frustration, all the "mom learns one way, child learns a different way, and thus we butt heads constantly" out of the equation. No more tears. No more anger. No more hurts or heartaches when my teaching style does not match my child's learning style. Amazing.

Also, it frees up my time for working with my youngest. The Adventurer is a very hands-on child, whether school is in the equation or not. Getting school done with the big boys has often been a struggle. Don't get me wrong -- we've always accomplished the 3 Rs, but we've not often had time for any of the "above and beyond" stuff. Things like art or music have simply not been done, because my available time has been used on the things that must be done. No longer. Now, because someone else is teaching math for me, I have time to supervise those art projects and extra curriculars that make school fun for the boys.

But, I'm not the only one who likes it.  What the boys love:

The Artist, doing Teaching Textbooks 4, loves that he doesn't have to use his book if he doesn't want to. He is able, so far, to do everything by watching the lecture, working the problems right there on the computer (interactive CD-Rom), get immediate feedback (it tells him, right away, if he got his answer right or wrong), and there is even a little "buddy" to give him hints if he needs them. He loves not having to write his answers down, as handwriting is a physical struggle for him, whereas keyboarding is not. He also loves bonus questions, and the chance to improve his score.  He enjoys math so much now that he frequently works ahead, doing two lessons in a day instead of just one.

The Writer, on the other hand, likes that he only has to watch the lecture if he needs to, if the summary/written transcript of the lecture isn't enough. And that he can do all the work in his book, and then just enter the answers later. And that the grade on the lesson is not final until he's attempted each problem twice, meaning if he misses a problem, he can re-work it for the correct answer and his grade self-corrects when he does that.

What we all love -- math that we can look forward to, instead of dread.

The Flip-Flap Body Book: Read at Your Own Risk

This book is a great book.  A wonderful learning tool.  A terrific way to teach your young children about various aspects of the human body.  Things like digestion, the 5 senses, and human reproduction.  On a very kid-friendly level, really.

But use The Flip-Flap Body Book with caution.  Because repeated readings can lead to some really interesting situations.

For instance.....

....the 5 year old sits down to draw a picture. He draws an odd oval-ish shaped thing. (...and some other stuff...)

 When I ask him what it is, he responds quite plainly, "It's the shape of a stomach, Mom."  He repeats this to Louci, the Portuguese tutor when she asks.  When she doesn't understand, he rephrased his answer in simpler terms: "It's a tummy."  He even rubbed his belly for emphasis.

Guess he was paying attention the 327 times we read that section, huh?

Nothing interesting about that one, you say? How 'bout this.....

....the 9 year old sits down to read to the (then 4) 5 yr old. He picks The Flip-Flap Body Book.  He flips immediately to the reproduction section, at the insistance of the 5 year old.  Seems the 5 yr old is tired of mommy stopping before she gets to that part.

The 9 yr old has no such qualms and reads to his younger brother all about how babies are made, grown and born.  Complete with commentary: "see, this is what the baby really looks like at this point....isn't that ugly, Adventurer?! But see, it's only as big as this dot...that's not so ugly, is it?"  Cool, cross Sex Ed off the list. We've got that covered.

The 9 yr old even read the bold section titles, often phrased as questions, and had the (then 4) yr old repeat the questions before he'd go on to read the answers.  So I was not too surprised when I heard, "So what happens when the sperm gets to the egg?" coming from my youngest son....and then answered by my second son as he read the corresponding answering passage. 

Yea, fun times. I even have video, but it won't post here....


Seriously -- it's a great book, and introduces big topics in a way that little people are totally comfortable with.  Just prepare yourself for the inevitable interesting moments that are sure to follow.

On a lighter note, and so I don't leave you terrified of the book, they also compared the size of their hands to the size of the baby hand in the book, as per the directions on the last page.

 Isn't sweetness and brotherly love like this totally worth the, -ahem-, more embarrassing moments?  

Yea, I think so, too.

note: I bought this book as part of a Sonlight Core. No one is paying me or otherwise reimbursing me for this splendid review. I just had these 2 great moments to share, and the book tied them together nicely. Really, I promise.

Math Tests -- the results

So, we plowed our way through the Math Placement Tests and the results are in -- now we decide when to order and whether to ship here (gulp!!) or to Texas and can we wait to get the new math until we get to go home???

Caleb did amazingly well, better than I'd anticipated even.  On the entire 30 question test, divided into two parts, he missed 4 questions.  The grading scale says he could miss 5 on part one and 7 on part two and still be deemed "ready to take Teaching Textbooks 4" so I'm thrilled.  He is clearly doing well with Singapore, but as he is fast entering that level of math where I started having problems with teaching, I want to avoid that this go-round. So we're switching him over, and I'm excited.

Timothy is a different story. As I've said, he and I have struggled a bit with math ever since mid-way through Singapore 3. As he is finishing up Singapore 5, you can imagine the pain and frustration that math has been for the past three years. We stopped Singapore altogether one year and just focused on math facts; we slowed down one year and mixed in critical thinking problems for half the time; we trudged forward and at times raced forward -- it's been the most challenging aspect of our homeschool thus far.  That I've let us --him-- struggle for this long without switching sooner is something I deeply regret.  My only defense is that none of the other options seemed any better: Teaching Textbooks didn't have available, back then, the level he would have needed. Now that his path is finally intersecting with TT, I think he'll soar. 

In the end, I'm still undecided on whether to put him TT 7 or TT Pre-Algebra.  My gut says go with TT 7, which is, after all, the exact level his "grade" matches.  He could do Pre Algebra, I think. On a good day, it would be easy for him. On a bad day, he would be miserable.  So I'm stumped.  I think he'll have lots more good days with Teaching Textbooks.....but am I willing to gamble on that, to bet on that, enough to put him in Pre-Algebra?? Because it's a bet I am not willing to lose. I'm switching so we'll have No Tears Math: putting him ahead of what he's ready for will defeat the purpose.

"But he did the placement test, right?? How'd he do???"  -- see, that's the problem. With zero review before hand, he didn't do well. At all.  A quick day of review, and he missed zero problems. Scored 100%. And it was just "review" -- every problem on the placement test was something he's covered already. Stuff he can do, with ease. On a good day.  So I think -- great! He's ready for Pre-Algebra!  And he is. Unless he's having a bad day.  Unless it's been a while since he's seen that kind of math problem.  In which case.....well, it's those bad days that are the reason for the switch.  So I don't know what to think, which level to choose.

If any of you have a child who struggles with math....or if any of you used to be math teachers in your former lives and have some tips (hint, hint Shawna....).....or if any of you has any idea at all to help me decide and help me understand, I'll be happy to discuss it in more detail off the blog. Or take a note of encouragement on the blog. Either or both, I'm not picky. Most of all, I'm excited that No Tears Math could be ahead of us, in our near future. Wish me luck and wisdom as I decide where to place Timmy, and say a little prayer of thanks that we might truly have finally found a program that works for all of us.

And seriously -- if you have tips, email me. Or leave me your email in a comment so I can email you. (I won't publish the email!).

More About Math -- Why Singapore, and Why Teaching Textbooks?

Shelby asked a detailed question in my comments yesterday, and I decided she needed her own post in order to answer her completely.  If you missed her comment, here's what she had to say:

I'm so excited to hear about this math program through Sonlight. Math has always been my weakness. I am going to try very hard not to let me kids see that. I have heard lots about Singapore math too (though I haven't delved too hard into researching it just yet as we are still pre-k). I'd love to hear what you liked about Singaport (and how you chose this math program in the first place).

 Well, Shelby, let me try and answer you. Why did we choose Singapore to begin with?

Honestly, I didn't do a ton of research. We started out with Saxon K for my oldest when he was my only one in home school; he was 4 or so, and he hated that we'd do something one day, something else the next, a third thing on the third day, and so forth & so on until the 10th or 15th day or so we'd be back to whatever we had done on day one. There was no time to master anything, because you only spent a day on it at a time. We trudged through that first year, enjoyed the many manipulatives that we purchased as part of the program, and shelved it before the next year.

While shopping (we were already Sonlight users) the Sonlight catalog, I read their descriptions of the other maths they carried. It never dawned on me to look anywhere else, so my choices were narrowed down for me just by default.  Singapore, Math-u-See, and Miquon Math were the main options at the time. My husband vetoed Miquon Math and Math-u-See because they were so non-traditional.  That left us with Singapore -- textbooks, workbooks, inexpensive (after spending a small fortune on Saxon, and hating it, that was important to us), and the very program that is used with great renown in....Singapore, of course, where school children often far outscore the US in math and science.  We were sold.

What do we like about it?

Well, we instantly saw that it does just what Saxon doesn't -- it spends a bit of time on a topic, assumes mastery and then moves on to the next topic, which likely builds on the one before.  Plus it periodically schedules reviews of any and every concept learned up to that point.  Which is great.  If you have a child who is relatively good at math, this is perfect.

If you need a bit more review, you need to look for supplements.  Sonlight carries several; we've never used them, though we probably should have. Simple drill sheets have worked for us, though, on the areas where the boys need extra practice.

The problem we are running into with Singapore, though, is the focus on Mental Math vs. Write It Out/Show Your Work style math.  For Mom, who grew up on Show Your Work, to teach Mental Math, we run into some clashes. And some unique problems.  That is why we're switching Caleb; he's in Singapore 3A, and the Level 3 is about the beginning of where the clash of styles started for me with Timmy.  The problems become more complex (as they should), and kids need to start writing some stuff down. Singapore has been such up to this point (level 3) that they haven't needed to write things down before.  Now that they need to, we found ourselves starting at square one with teaching them how to line things up properly, and some major headaches ensued.

I will say this -- Caleb just started Singapore 3A, and he took the 1st half of the Teaching Textbooks 4 Placement Test yesterday; he correctly answered 12 of 15.  A score of 10 of 15 means "ready to go into TT 4" so I'm very pleased. Today he'll do Section 2 of the test, and I fully expect an equally good score.  But see how Singapore is a little advanced? He's only completed Level 2 of Singapore, and is ready for Level 4 of Teaching Textbooks.

Likewise with Timothy; he needs a bit of review on some things, but he will be able to go from Singapore Level 5 straight into either TT 7 or 8 (Pre-Algebra). Either one is a jump. So, I will say -- Singapore prepares them well, and while it doesn't have enough review built in for every kid, there are supplements available for that. Definitely through Level 3 it's wonderful.  Depending on you and your child, Levels 4 and following might also be great. For us, we stuck with it when maybe we shouldn't have, and now we're switching both boys over.

What led me to Teaching Textbooks?

As I said, Sonlight recommends it so highly that they carry nothing else in the print catalog for those higher grade levels. The other thing is that I get impatient when the boys don't grasp a math concept as easily as I think they should.  I've been known to yell at them. I've even brought one son to tears more than once, because I get frustrated trying to teach him math. Teaching Textbooks will take me out of the equation for the most part, is interactive enough that any learning style should be able to use it well (because you have the textbook, the workbook, the CD-rom with visual and audio help, etc.), and well, it will never, ever yell at my boys if they don't get it right away.  And, like I said, with Zach coming up into school, I'll need some time freed up to school him.

I think for Zach we'll follow the same pattern as we're doing now with Caleb -- Singapore for the early years, then switch to Teaching Textbooks after Level 3 or so. We'll see how he does with math, but that's my idea at this point.
So there you have it. I hope I've answered your question and not muddied the waters. If you, Shelby, or anyone else has more questions, please ask. If you want to chat off-board, leave your email in your comment -- I won't publish the comment, but that will allow me to contact you and further discuss things (be it homeschooling, or anything). 

Incidentally, I am not proud of the yelling. No mom should have to choose a math program based on the fact "it won't yell at my kids."  But, I wouldn't be honestly answering the question if I left that out.  I certainly don't yell every day, and I never leave my child in tears -- we take a break, calm down, try a different approach, shelve it for the next day, save it for when Dad gets home, whatever we have to do to not have a tearful rest of the day.  But the thought of having No Tears Math, every day, is a huge draw. For me and my boys. I'm not proud of that, but nor am I afraid to admit it.  Hopefully you don't have to consider that sort of thing, but just in case, I put it out there.

Math Placement Tests

We're entering a new era of our homeschool, as Timothy finds is way into Middle School, Junior High, 7th Grade, whatever you want to call that period between the first 6 years and the final four years of school.  That lovely transition time between "general education," aka, "Elementary School" in the US, and "High School." The time when he bridges into more and more independent study, and into those things like Harder Maths.

We've reached the end of the road with the math we are currently using -- we have used Singapore from the beginning, and are now at the end of what is offered. Next step: Pre-Algebra. As I looked at our options, I found Teaching Textbooks.  For starters, Sonlight recommends this program so highly that it is the only program they carry in their print catalog for those grade levels.

That spoke volumes to me, and I read up on it.  Went on-line and found samples -- Timmy was able to do a sample lesson, complete with instruction, exercises, examples, and practice problems. He liked it. He kept doing it after I said, "Cool; that's good, you can quit now...." Nope, he kept going.  This from the boy who demonstrates great wailing and gnashing of teeth whenever I open a math book. Hmmm.

The next step was to find the Placement Tests so we can determine if he's ready to jump straight into Pre-Algebra (normally done in 8th grade, not 7th) or if he needs the 7th Grade Math instead. He is jumping in from Singapore 5B, so I wasn't sure.  We printed the test, and I'll administer it today.

While Quentin was downloading it and getting ready to print, he started looking at the problems. "I can't do this!" he said. "Timmy can do all of this? These are hard problems!"  So he and I worked through it.  More than once Quentin asked for a calculator, but the directions clearly say not to use one. Quentin himself has told me the boys are not to use calculators for school until Algebra at least. So I told him No as well and we pressed on. When we finished, we compared our answers with the answer key.  We each missed four, mostly due to speed errors; working too quickly and making silly mistakes.  Oops. Forunately that is still in the range that says we're okay to take Pre-Algebra. Whew.

The good news? I don't have to teach Pre-Algebra. Not with this program.  Teaching Textbooks is just that -- a textbook and CD-Rom program that will teach my child math for me. The student will hear a teacher giving him instruction, see examples worked in front of him, have sample problems to work with the teacher, and then "homework" problems with instant feedback to work then and there. If he misses the problem, he can see it worked out correctly so that he gets the next problem right.  I am stoked. This is going to be awesome.

It's not a cheap program, but it is a good one. A great one.  We're thinking of switching Caleb over, too, since Math is the one area that takes the most of my time, and causes the most frustration.  Quentin is not keen on Singapore (though I love it), and with us adding Zach into the mix, less time on Big Kid Math is a good thing for me. A great thing for Zach.  So we printed his Placement Test as well, and we'll have the boys take those today.

Hopefully they'll do well. I'll let you know.

Back to Normal

Well, folks, today is it. Quentin goes back to work tomorrow, we start right back to school, and life returns to normal, whatever that is.

We've had a wonderful almost two weeks with Quentin home. We've been out of the house every day, if only for a brief run to get frozen yogurt, or even if I just count barbecuing in the backyard "getting out of the house."  We've swam, ridden bikes, walked, gone to the park with friends, eaten out, eaten in, watched movies at the theater and at home on DVD -- it's been a wonderful vacation.

It was different for us this year, staying in Brazil for Christmas/New Year's.  We had Christmas Eve/Christmas Day to ourselves, with video calls to the grandparents.  We had a Day After lunch with neighbors and new friends.  We spent New Year's Eve with the C family who also stayed here -- we didn't do Christmas with them since they're Jewish and all -- and had a blast. Watched fireworks from their balcony, ate spaghetti at the house after an hour and a half failed attempt to find a restaurant.  An open restaurant. Turns out that restaurants here close for NYE, or else they open at 9 and hold a "by reservation only" cea (which I'm sure I've spelled wrong, but is the Portuguese word that means late night holiday meal for Christmas/NYE). So we had spaghetti at the house, and "make your own ice cream sundae" for the kids afterwards. We had a good time.

Quentin has seen our schedule in action, and just how easy it is for the kids to accumulate lots of time on the Nintendo and yet still have lots and lots of time for other stuff during the day.  He's seen that I really do get chores done during the day, and not just in the last 30 minutes before he comes home. He's seen that cleaning the living room is a constant, all day affair, what with the kids continuously making messes and all. I hope he's seen that I handle it with grace and patience and ease, but that might be stretching things a bit.  I'll settle for him seeing it at all, and knowing he understands how our days flow now.

I've seen Quentin's willingness to jump in and help out, his ever-constant vigilance against the ants, the way he plays with the boys -- or uses them as an excuse to play Nintendo, one of the two. I've seen that he gets antsy to sit at home all day and do nothing, and that even though he says he wishes he could stay home longer, I can see that he'll be a teensy bit glad to get back to the hustle and bustle and busyness of work.  Even while he's missing us all at the same time.  And I'm glad to have seen that about him.

So we'll enjoy today, our last day with him home -- I think our plans today involve frozen yogurt, so that should be good. Maybe even a late-afternoon jaunt to a water park, but not sure on that one; depends if the weather men are right or not.

Then I have a little bit of planning to do.  We normally take our long break over Dec/Jan and start our new year in February.  Because that usually coincides with our trip home when I purchase our new materials. This year, we are going home for Easter so we'll have a 9-week Mini Session of math, language arts, Bible, and a few tidbits to fill out the day.  Then we'll have our big break during our US trip, purchase the new materials, and start our new year in May after we return from the US.

Thus it's early to bed tonight, because tomorrow it's back to work for Quentin, back to school for the boys and me.  Like I said, life returns to normal for us tomorrow.

What does normal look like at your house? Will tomorrow be a normal day, or are you still in vacation/holiday mode?