How Does a Banner "Speak"?

How has a week gone by since I last shared anything here?

I was not quite sure until I went to pull up the pictures on our camera of what I sat down to write about today:

Nina's First Holy Communion banner

It was then that I recognized what a full week we have had, which culminated in a most precious narration by Nina, which you'll find at the very end of this post.
 
In our second to last week of Lent, there was lots of catch-up to do after having recovered from a belly bug that had hit our family. There was also the usual array of chores, lessons and to do's.  Plus, there have been some special activities, such as:

 ...stopping by our church to visit Jesus and pray on the Annunciation...

...building forts with friends in the snow. (Yes, snow!  Spring in our area seems not to want to be outdone by the record-breaking winter we faced.  So, since "Spring" officially began we have had snow more than once!) ...

...Thinking about warmer climates, though, we found ourselves immersed in African explorations as we planned and hosted our once-a-month Geography Club where fun like this unfolded...

... After mapping, expert reports and some on-your-feet cultural games, the kids made mock African necklaces and played traditional African skill and strategy games...

... Geography, though, was not the only club-induced focus in our week.  In fact, we found ourselves switching gears from geography to math as we measured and cut enough PVC pipe and insulation pieces for 18 people to makes daggers and clubs at our once-a-month Duct Tape Battle Club.
 

... Late in the week, Luke led his third Duct Tape Battle Club meeting at a friend's home, starting the meeting off with prayer.   

What is Duct Tape Battle Club? 

It is an initiative Luke asked to create just after Christmas that I said, "Why not?"  about and so glad I did.  Getting together with friends to build duct tape weapons has been such a blessing to us.   Not only are the meetings themselves so much fun, but the way Luke planned for the first eight club meetings, has stayed focused preparing for them, and has demonstrated budding leadership skills while running the initial three meetings truly makes me smile with pride and thanksgiving.


So, indeed, it has been a full and fruitful week!  

A week that found us winding down on Saturday night, gathered around our kitchen table, immersed in the very activity I initially sat down to write about today:  banner making!

While the boys made banners for their Duct Tape Battle Club, Nina put together the banner she has due today at her final  First Holy Communion preparation class.  

When I told Nina that she may be asked to present why she chose the symbols for her banner that she did, she blew me away by narrating the following:

I chose green for my name because when stuff grows, it has a stem and I am growing in love with God. 

The blue background looked like water and fish are in the water.  And, it looks like the bright sky.

I chose the fish because of the miracle that God made through his son Jesus when he broke the bread and multiplied the fish for so many people.

I chose the chalice to be gold because, in our church, the chalice is gold.  I put rubies, sapphires and emeralds on the chalice.  They are precious and Jesus' blood and body are precious.  Plus, the jewels remind me of a king and he is the king.

The body (the host) has light coming out of it because Jesus is the light of the world.

Sometimes I end a week staring at all the things that I have not attended to and wondering where the week went.  As I do, I can get to feeling discouraged and begin to berate myself about priorities, time management, etc. despite any of he goodness that has been so obvious during the week.  Then, something as simple as looking at snapshots causes me to pause and to smile in gratitude at the experiences we are able to enjoy and the impact those experiences have upon my children's growth, understanding and development of our world and of our faith.
 
Likewise, words like the ones Nina shared about her First Holy Communion banner stop me in my tracks.  They testify to the fact that my kids "get it".  Despite our crazy busyness at times and despite all my personal failings, our Lord is working in their hearts and in their minds, shining glorious light and sharing unconditional love.

Wow!

A banner (or my girl's thoughts about it) seemed to speak to me this week with words of affirmation and encouragement:  No matter what I do or fail to do, love and light can shine.  May each of us remain steadfast and come to know God's amazing mercy and love as we journey through the final week of Lent and head into a glorious Easter season! 

Middle-of-the-Night Reflections on Bountiful Blessings

What's a Mama to do when she wakes in the middle of the night not feeling well but unable to get back to sleep?  

Reflect on another week of blessings and bounty, perhaps?

~1~

On little girls who demonstrate virtue and skill...

Building forts after football, a trees class and a walk in the woods is hungry work, apparently, as it inspired our Nina to request to go inside to prepare a snack for herself and her friends.

I was pleased and surprised when Nina came out carrying a fruit tray to share with everyone.  She'd gone in, selected produce, sliced it, tidied up and served us all of her own accord.

Then, as the boys continued to work, Nina decided it was time for a drink, so, demonstrating continued hospitality, she came out bearing homemade raspberry juice.

Little girls who take initiative in hospitality, hard work and play certainly bring a smile to a Mama's face!

~2~

On family who offer time and talent...

Three little curly heads walk into Accentuation, and when Auntie has finished sharing her time and talent with them, this is what comes out:

 Beaming babes so excited to show Grammy their new hair cuts (and to ask if they can help her pick grapes and begin a batch of homemade grape juice, a request that Grammy, of course, happily obliges.)

Simple moments with extended family are such a blessing!

~3~

On Daddy's that risk thumbs and appreciate family time...

One complaint I could never make is that my husband does not engage with his children.  In fact, Daddy gets right in there with his kids, even risking his thumbs at times, as he did last Saturday when he chose accompanying the kids and me to a Home Depot workshop over catching up on some much-needed sleep.

And - bonus for me - Mike enjoyed time with the kids while I went out on a rare Mom's Night with a fellow Signature Moms blogger, where we got to try our hands at our first (free!) paint night ever.  Thank you, Signature Healthcare, The Pour Artist and Mike for the fun time out!

~4~

On helpful community events...

 

It's hard to believe that this eight-year-old who was completely engaged by playing in a forest fire truck, moving through a "smoke house" and more this past weekend used to struggle so much with such outings.

Attending a local annual fire safety open house first started paying off for Luke a couple years ago, when sensory overload began to abate.  Now, curiosity and imagination are king!

All three children engage, learn and enjoy...
 

While Mom and Dad smile almost as big as Jack.  (But not quite.  Oh, how that boy can smile!)

~5~

On girls being girls and boys being boys...

Sandwiched between boys, it can be tough for a girl to find girl time.  

Yet, after coming to the end of the rope (or yarn, as the case may have been during the kids string walk at Eco Science club this week), Nina found time for girls to just be girls...

Hanging in a tree with a best bud away from the fray of her brothers for a bit...

...and setting up a "salon" on a boulder in the sunshine, where her friends and her did one another's hair before inviting Moms to come over to get their hair done, too, complete with stick combs, twisties and braids.

Meanwhile, the boys were boys...  Climbing trees...

Rolling abandoned tires about...

...and exploring the trails, with the boys in the lead and Mom following a bit behind for safety and snapshots!

Life is so good when friends hang out after events to enjoy gorgeous autumn days!

~5~

On quiet family time...

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While being out often brings adventure, being home can bring fun, too, especially when you are trying out a new game like Snake Oil - Party Potion.  It was so much fun this week to spend quiet time playing this game on the couch with the kids.

  

Of course, once we got Daddy into the game, "quiet" no longer described our time.  Indeed, the children's rapt attention to Daddy's sales pitches became punctuated by raucous laughter and ridiculous groans.

I wonder if the kids will remember these simple family times when they grow up as much as they do all our adventuring...

~7~

On Self-Directed Learning

  

One reason we choose to homeschool is so our children can learn at their own pace, maintaining their love for learning and inquisitive natures.  Part of our choice, then, becomes letting the children lead a large amount of their "schooling" activities, such as when Nina made herself a "learning center" this morning in the hallway and, then, proceeded to select word cards to build sentences with all of her own accord.

Or, when Jack takes out dry-erase cards to practice letters with on his "Montessori" rug.

Or when the science lesson of a morning comes from simply noticing what's going on inside or butterfly habitat.  

The children were so excited to see our second caterpillar had gone into j-form and had begun to make a chrysalis this morning, but, then, so disappointed to admit later in the day that something had gone awry.  The little guy never finished his chrysalis and seems to have passed away mid-try.

The other monarch we are fostering seems to be doing well still, though.  We are hopeful that we'll have a butterfly to tag and set free soon!

We love books here, but there is just nothing like learning about life, death and cycles through real life experience.

Real life, even with headaches and sleep interruptions, is incredibly blessed.  Thinking about the past week again proves that to me.  At home, out and about, one-on-one or in a group, my children, my husband and me continue to know and appreciate the fullness of life. 

What bounty of blessings have you experienced this week?

Sharing at My BJs Wholesale, Conversion Diary, Pebble Pond, and Home to 4 Kiddos.

7 Words for This Week

H.I.I.F.

What, you do not know that acronym?

Don't worry.  I just made it up, because although I could say T.G.I.F, as in "Thank God it is Friday, (the week was so blessed!)

Instead, I find myself thinking, "How is it Friday?" as in, "Where did this week go?"  (Or, as the case may be now, H.I.I.S, since I began writing this on Friday, paused, and now find Saturday almost done!)

Truly, the week flew -- fast, fun and full of discovery! (Okay, there were moments of being frustrated, tired and whatnot, too, but let's focus on the more positive stuff!)

This past week there was...

~1~

Community

Sunday, we were blessed by spending time with part of our church collaborative community enjoying simple timelsss pastimes.  (More on that tomorrow!)

~2~

Tradition

Before I ever met Mike, I began going to Honeypot Hill with my brother, my sister and their families.  I would love it if we all could still go there together now that I have my own children, timing never works for that.  Thus, Mike, the kids and I simply continue the tradition on our own.

How we love climbing ladders to pick apples, feeding the animals, doing the mazes and appreciating the beautiful scenery! 

~3~

Animation

One thing I love about homeschooling is having time to learn alongside my children!  Part of that learning this week included the Outside the Box crew mentoring the kids and me in creating our first stop motion animation videos as a part of a DIY.org Animator badge work.

The children were so proud of their work (and I was pretty amazed by how relatively simple stop motion really is.)   

~4~

Butterflies

Nature study (insects and plants), physical education (hiking and jumping off rock walls) and faith (marveling at God's amazing creation) this week included a fabulous free monarch butterfly tagging program at Allen's Pond Wildlife Sanctuary, a place that makes me feel so lucky to live in the area I do.

Isn't it gorgeous?

~5~

Teeth

... or lack thereof!

Nina bravely pulled out another tooth this week and now has a 4-space gap that makes me laugh every time she smiles.  How she can articulate at all, I do not know, but her chatter and song have not slowed down!

In fact, Nina had her first church choir practice ever this week and came away from it beaming!  She's so excited to finally be old enough to join the church choir and has been telling me she wants to serve our church in every way she can as she grows.  Yay!

~6~

Geography

A geography club seed began germinating in my brain long ago.  It was more recently watered and fertilized by similar desires by my friend Dani and just this week grew into a seedling I am delighted by.  Children from five families got together for our inaugural meeting this week and had so much fun!

~7~

Forts

You might recall from one of the reasons I listed last week about why I am hesitant to call myself a homeschooler that my children have begin a completely self-initiated fort building project.  Well, it is not just their anymore.  

Luke recruited a friend to be in his army, using paperwork and all, and then, together with that friend, his siblings and the friend's little brother, worked happily away pounding nails, layering mud and bricks and fortifying their fort walls.

~Plus~

Mini-Lessons

Plus, of course, there were plenty of mini-lessons, including Nina choosing to create simple sentences, and...

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Jack combining Montessori Sandpaper Numbers with a favorite open-ended toy (the awesome MindWare Q-Ba-Maze ) to practice numbers.

What a week it's been!

Did your week fly, too?  What fun and learning have you been enjoying?

Sharing at Conversion Diary, Managing Your Blessings, Pebble Pond,  Weird Socialized Homeschoolers and Home to 4 Kiddos.