Sunday, November 7, 2010

Ironing, Slumber, and the Zodiac/Bügeln, Schlummer und Sternzeichen

We've been trying to catch up on some neglected household chores lately.  One was the unimaginable pile of ironing.  Ever since our washing machine broke, laundry has developed into a gigantic task.  We still need to replace or repair our washing machine, but money is very tight right now.  So I ironed almost the whole day yesterday and can report that my husband has many shirts again!  There is also quite a bit of cleaning to be done -- even just one field trip can turn some other days into cleaning and tidying-up days.  I haven't taken many pictures recently, but still want to share a few. 

Heaven on Earth: An Astrological Entertainer with Slides, Wheels, and Changing PicturesJonathan and I studied the zodiac last Friday.  Live Education! does a fine job of introducing the concept of the precession of the equinoxes in connection with it.  One of my favorite books on qualities of the signs of the zodiac is a book I bought many years ago in Washington D.C.  It is called Heaven on Earth: An Astrological Entertainer with Slides, Wheels, and Changing Pictures and has many whimsical pictures.

Charlotte finished her triangle tree.



Miriam studied the 11 times table.  




Veronika likes to copy what Miriam learns.  On Friday she tackled the cursive alphabet. 



Veronika and I have also been enjoying the preschool religious program Questions for God.  It has gentle watercolor pictures and the language is similar to the New St. Joseph's Baltimore Catechism, which we use from grade 1 onwards.  We read one book per month, rereading it every week.  The author's website also has a DVD and some free teacher's materials available.

During Flora's nap yesterday she really looked like a picture of Eloise Wilkin's children.






In den letzten Tagen haben wir angefangen, einige sehr vernachlässigte Haushaltspflichten zu erledigen.  Eine davon war ein unvorstellbarer großer Bügelwäscheberg.  Seitdem unsere Waschmaschine kaputtgegangen ist, ist das Bügeln und Falten der Wäsche schwieriger geworden.  Die Waschmaschine muß immer noch ersetzt oder repariert werden, aber im Moment ist bei uns das Geld sehr knapp.  Also habe ich gestern fast den ganzen Samstag gebügelt und kann nun sagen, daß mein Mann wieder Hemden im Schrank hat!  Das Putzen ist in den letzten Wochen auch zu kurz gekommen.  Schon ein extra Ausflug kann alle Zeit fürs Aufräumen und Putzen auffressen.  Wir müssen also noch weiter putzen und aufräumen, bis alles wieder ordentlich ist.  So habe ich in den letzten Tagen auch kaum Fotos gemacht.  Die wenigen, die ich habe, sind aber hier zu sehen. 


Am Freitag hat Jonathan etwas über die Tierkreiszeichen und Sternbilder gelernt.  Live Education! hat uns besonders die Präzession der Erdachse in Verbindung dazu nahegebracht.  Eins meiner Lieblingsbücher über Sternzeichen und ihre Eigenschaften habe ich vor vielen Jahren in Washington D.C. gekauft.  Es heißt: Heaven on Earth: An Astrological Entertainer with Slides, Wheels, and Changing Pictures


Charlotte hat ihren Dreiecksbaum zu Ende geklebt.  Miriam hat das 11er Einmaleins kennengelernt.  Veronika ahmt gerne nach, was Miriam lernt.  Am Freitag hat sie angefangen, Buchstaben in lateinischer Ausgangsschrift abzuschreiben.  Veronika und ich benutzen das schöne Vorschulsprogramm Questions for God für Religion.  Wir haben nur die Bücher und lesen jeden Monat ein neues Buch der Serie mehrere Male, doch gibt es auch ein Video dazu.  Die Sprache ist eng an den St. Joseph's Baltimore Catechism angelehnt, welchen wir ab der ersten Klasse benutzen.


Flora hat während ihres Mittagsschläfchens gestern wie ein Bild von Eloise Wilkin ausgesehen.        



Free Signature Generator

6 comments:

  1. hello eva, you have a beautiful family. it's nice to read about your days. i empathize about money being tight. so many things we could use that we must do without . . because we choose other things to spend on! i'm glad you got your ironing done. accomplishing chores can feel so satisfying . . until the next week rolls around! good luck with your washer. i hope things work out that you can soon have it fixed. the live ed reference is helpful. i understand better now how to work with it. we just need to fit the expenditure in. also, thanks for the heaven on earth book suggestion. that does look very helpful.

    morgana and i love the picture of flora sleeping. you're right! she looks just like the wilkin child drawing. what a blessing she is to have in your home. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the picture of them all at the table... very industrious. I could guarantee that Pip would be on the table rather than standing quietly by the side! She's inherited my Dad's climbing genes!!

    The picture of Flora sleeping is so cute. Pip is beginning to drop her afternoon nap, she's the earliest of mine to do so and it makes for challenging afternoons! Sometimes I walk her in the pram just so she'll nod for half an hour, otherwise she's a grumpy gal by tea time.

    Hope you manage to sort something regarding the washing problem, it must be quite a challenge. Will keep you in prayers regarding that one.

    Cyber hugs and Blessings
    San xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. I absolutely love the pictures you post! The school room set up is most admirable. Our homeschool room is in the basement family room right now, but with the winter it is very cold, so school tends to migrate to the kitchen. Did you or your husband build the table?
    By the way, we are just south of you in Virginia. My husband is in his last year of course work at CUA. He's working on his Ph.D. in philosophy. I can totally sympathize with you having (or once having) a husband working on his Ph.D.! I guess we wives at least get more accomplished at home then. I would love to switch emails with you somehow to talk more about German-English homeschooling.

    Sincerely,
    Alecia

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Dorina,

    thanks so much for your kind words. They made my day! It's so true about the chores. It feels so much better when the house is clean and cheerful. Do you know the "The Spiritual Tasks of the Homemaker and Homemaking as a Social Art"? These books are very helpful in that area.

    Live Education! has been very helpful for us and the good thing about it is that you can reuse it with the younger ones. Without it my lessons would be too dry, but I also need some other books to compliment it.

    Thanks for your comment on Flora sleeping. She always looks like a little angel when she sleeps.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello San,

    Flora is pretty good about not climbing onto things. Veronika was different. She spent many meals standing in her seat although she didn't really climb onto the table. She still doesn't like to sit down for a meal, but now she has to.

    I'm amazed that Pip will stay in her pram for so long. Most of my children did not enjoy prams. The only one who did was Miriam, which was a blessing because we were in London when she was a baby. Is it not too cold in the winter to go for walks? We get so much snow that you need a sled to go for walks with babies. When does Pip fall asleep at night? I remember that when my other ones started to drop their naps they would go to bed by 7 o'clock, which was great.
    Thanks for keeping us in your prayers. Jonathan has started a novena to St. Joseph for the washing machine.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello Alecia,

    Thank you for your nice comments. We don't have a school room, what you see is our dining area. We only have a tiny house and have to make use of every bit of space. The table is from Ikea, one of my favorite furniture stores.

    We live in the very northwestern part of New York State, closer to the Canadian border than the southern part of the state. My husband got his Ph.D. in political science more than 10 years ago. He's a professor at a small Christian college.

    ReplyDelete

Welcome and leave a comment, if you like. I look forward to reading your lines.

Willkommen auf meinem Blog. Über einen Kommentar würde ich mich sehr freuen.