Book Review: The Family Under the Bridge

We read so much at our house.  It makes me happy the girls share my love of reading.  I just finished up reading a book called "The Family Under the Bridge" to Little c.

It's a heartwarming tale of a homeless grandfatherly man who meets a homeless mother and her three children in Paris.  Initially Armand, the grandfatherly man, decides he doesn't care for children.  The Calcet kids change his mind and he grows to care a great deal for them.  All being homeless, Armand cares for the children while their mother works and searches for a home for them.  Armand goes from a homeless man, happy to be on the streets, with no desire for employment to a man who pulls himself back together so he can help support these three children.

The book won a Newberry Honor Medal and was published in 1958 so it's an oldie but a goodie.  We traveled to Paris with the girls a few years ago so some of the locations were recognizable to Little c.  Upon finishing the book, Little C asked if there was a sequel.  I guess she liked it?

The Last Days of Summer

We had some of our favorite people out on the boat a few weeks back.  Our boat is very enjoyable but we actually enjoy ourselves more when we can share the fun with friends.

This was Little c on the boat...

And this was Big C...

I am seriously questioning whether she has narcolepsy because she falls asleep practically every where.  This is in the middle of the afternoon...in bright sunlight.


Our friends told us about this fun little place called Frog Island that boasts of a rope swing.  Well we swung over there to check it out and it was fun.

Even Dave got in on the action!  What a brave, fun dad!

No fun night with our family is complete without a little tubing.  It was Big C's friend's first time in a tube.  I think she liked it!!  Lots of thumbs up to go faster!

Little c and her pal hung out on the front of the boat and talked.  They both like to talk!  Maybe next time we'll get them in the tube too.

It's such a gift when the kids get along well and the parents do too.  I am sad the summer is coming to an end here because we'd love to have another boat night this year with our friends!  Something to look forward to in 2014!

Camping Close to Home

Our summer fun list included camping this year and our dear friends like to camp.  We managed to coordinate our schedules and found a nice campground close to home.   We had the absolute best time! Mostly because of the company.  My friend's sister and her family happened to be camping at the same location so we enjoyed meeting new friends too.

The beach was 'closed' because it was after Labor Day but that did not stop nearly everyone camping from swimming. There had to be over 50 people at the 'closed' beach.   It was awful hot so we were pleased to see people breaking the rules and were happy to break them too!

There was some game playing and a park for playing.  Little c said she wished we lived at the campsite although she said she could do without the bathroom situation.  I had to agree.  I was so grossed out by no sink to wash hands.  I could barely do the day with only hand sanitizer.

Big C took another nap while camping.  I sort of couldn't blame her.  I appreciate a nap in the tent too.

The kids donned their headlamps and went exploring in the woods for a bit.  B-Real joined them.  And I wonder where one of my children gets her dorkiness?  I have always loved the nerdy, smarts ones though.

Donuts for breakfast, anyone?

And we finished off our time with a few rounds of capture the flag.

I love to camp but I also love my coffee in the morning.  Thanks to our friends camp stove (boiling water) and B-reals quick buy of a french press, we were able to have some pretty amazing camp coffee.

Thanks friends for sharing your camping expertise with our less experienced family.  When are we going again?!!!

This is how we roll

In our home school we read a TON!  Once a child can read they can learn anything.   Although they are capable readers I still enjoy reading out loud to them.

We are reading a wonderful book called "Hoot" right now.  It's by Carl Hiaasen.

When I read to them I look for opportunities to teach about different topics and to teach new vocabulary.   Mostly the kids learn through the use of books.  We use some workbooks but primarily I want them to read, read, read!

For example, from Hoot the girls have learned about:

• burrowing owls
• cottonmouth snakes
• truancy (what it means and why we aren't truant for home-schooling)
• rabies (what animals mostly cause rabies in humans in the U.S., how it is treated, how many people die from the disease)
• watching the movie "Hoot" and comparing and contrasting between book and movie
• what it means to moon someone
• vocabulary like prone, survey, epilogue

We also talked about how you would not want to talk to a police officer without a lawyer present. Sometimes the police will manage to get you to say things that are untrue. Police officers, like regular old people, are not all good. The girls now know to tell a police officer "I want a lawyer.  I won't talk to you until I have one".  

There are so many teachable opportunities through reading to your children.   

(Yo) gurt Lab

My mom, Big C and I went on a little date last night to this new frozen yogurt place in Wayzata called (Yo) gurt Lab.  Mom said she thought Big C would like it because it had a whole bunch of topping choices.  I was prepared to be sort of disappointed, thinking frozen yogurt, boring.  But it was so far from boring; it was awesome!

For the adults there were probably 20 different choices for frozen yogurt.  I selected the limoncello but they also had salted caramel, avocado, pear, dark chocolate, pumpkin, cinnamon, apple pie.  Seriously there were so many choices! The Lab offers small cups for sampling. You pay by the ounce and could choose to have a variety of those choices mixed together too.

Then the toppings.  I don't think they were missing anything.  For the kids there were Fruit Loops and Cocoa Krispies, three kinds of M&Ms, marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, pretzels, carmel and chocolate sauce.   For the adults there were all kinds of fresh fruit and candy toppings.

I hope to go back sometime VERY soon!

Homework is Killing Me

We get "The Atlantic" magazine.  Well, I should say B-real gets it.  Historically I have found it horribly boring although he claims there are really interesting articles.  This month two of the cover articles really struck me and I grabbed the magazine before B-real could slide it into his work bag.

The first is an article written by a dad of an eighth grade student (Esme) in NYC.  For one week he tries to do the same homework he daughter does.  His point being that kids have too much homework these days.   On an average night his daughter is spending 3-4 hours on homework.  She is averaging 6.5 hours of sleep.   My favorite line is when Esme tells her dad the homework is about "memorization not rationalization".  That reminds me so much of my school experience.   Memorize material for a test, do well, and then forget the information because it has no meaning whatsoever to me.  

Get this, one night for math homework Esme has to determine the distance from Sacremento to every other state capital in both miles and kilometers.  When the dad questions the value of the homework to the teacher, the teacher suggests that maybe Esme needs to be moved down to a remedial math class.

The author ponders how it would be for an employee to work at his/her job for eight hours per day and then come home and be expected to do three or four additional hours of office work.  As a student there is homework on the weekends too.   So add some extra office time into your weekend.  Now your job is more equivalent to being a student.  How happy would you be?

This is what we are expecting of our children?  In some of my circles the children's amount of homework is seen as a bragging right.  Like somehow the amount of homework equates to a quality education.  I see it the other way around.  What sort of school keeps your kids for eight hours a day and can't get it done? What sort of school requires your child to spend even an extra couple hours per night on school work?  Personally, this would not make me proud, more like embarrassed. 

Here's a link to the article:

My Daughter's Homework is Killing Me

Some sort of amazing

The girls are doing a home school program through our local YMCA.   While I was in the locker room with them I noticed a woman with many children.  It's not that uncommon to find home school families with lots of kids but this Caucasian woman had lots of Asian children.  I asked if they were all hers and she said "Yes, I have eleven children from China".

Wow was I amazed.  Not only because she adopted eleven children from China but because she managed to get nine of her eleven out of the women's locker room faster than I managed with my two!

As fate would have it, our paths crossed again last night at gymnastics.  Eight of the eleven take gymnastics classes.   I feel so inspired and motivated by her presence and by witnessing her polite, poised young children.  If she can do it with eleven, I should have no problem doing it with two. 

Her name is Jean and she has in fact adopted eleven children from China.  She will be adopting two more in November.  It will be their last trip to China to adopt.  She is in her mid-fifties (she told me) and has four biological grown children of her own.  Jean home schools all but one of her children.  They come to the U.S. speaking absolutely no English.  And they have a host of medical needs.  She and her husband have traveled across the U.S. to have the right specialists treat their children.  The kids are so polite and respectful.  She has so much energy too and gets right in there with the children and has fun. 

Tell me, is she not amazing and inspiring? 

Here is a link to her blog...

There's No Place Like Home