five in a row

one book. five days. several projects. countless memories. this is five in a row.


but what is five in a row, you ask? it's easy. we read one book five days in a row and do some sort of activity relating to the book. my children love the repetitition. by the end of the week, they can basically read the book to me. and the activities we do are so simple, yet so engaging. they really make the book come alive to the kids. caroline often wakes up asking, "what project are we doing today?"


there are five subject areas that are meant to be taught each week: social studies, language, art, applied math, and science.... one per day. (there is also a supplemental bible study/character guide that i LOVE as well.) the teacher's guide offers plenty of activities to choose from for each subject area, and i have found that the online five in a row (FIAR) forums provide even more ideas. the age range for FIAR is listed as 4-8 years old, so my kiddos are obviously on the low end of that spectrum. because of that, sometimes the activities are not on their level... but never fear! i have had fun coming up with some of my own activities or i will simplify the suggested project. these books are meant to be revisited as the children grow older, so when i skip over an activity, i get excited thinking about coming back around to it in the years to come. now... my default is to complicate. (brian just shouted "amen" over here!) keeping things simple is something that does not come naturally to me (think birthday parties...). BUT i am working on it. and FIAR is a great, great arena in which i can practice this skill. there are 1001 activities i could come up with relating to a single book.... but the founder of FIAR stresses over and over again to keep it simple. so i'm doing my best. :)


(waiting for the next round in our taste test!)
i chose to start FIAR in the summer because our schedule was less hectic, and i thought this would be a wonderful way to keep a little bit of structure to our summer before delving in to kindergarten (and phonics and math!) with ethan in the fall. there is so much flexibility with FIAR, yet it provides just enough structure to keep us keepin' on. if that makes any sense. but because it is the summer, we have beach days and pool days and trips out of town and various and asundry things that could stress me out about getting in our five days in a row! but we just roll with it. some weeks we do four days, or our fifth day may be on saturday. or we may carry one book over to the next week and begin our new book on a tuesday. it's tempting to stretch out a book to two weeks when the kids are having so much fun with it, but i try to stick to my plan-- and i remind myself that we'll come back to that book again!

the kids get so excited when they know we're about to start a new book. of course, i build it up and make it a big surprise. i usually will hint to what the book is about, and they just can't wait to find out what it is. the first thing we do after reading our book for the first time is talk about where the book takes place. our kitchen is now the home of two gigantic maps-- a world and united states map-- and each book has a laminated story disc. we place the story disc on the location of the book, and then each day after that, the kids take turns putting the story disc in the right place on the map. in the case of the picture below, the kids put ping on china (on the yangtze river) every day that week. by friday, they absolutely knew where ping lived!


because ethan is really into maps, i have them color the focus country on an identical world map each week. this is probably not something i would force upon a five year old who was not interested in it, but ethan looks forward to the map every week. we talk about where the character lives in relation to where we live and how we could get to their country. for the books based in the united states, we figure out how we would drive to get to their state. since we have started this, caroline is very interested in where we are going in the car. almost every time the car turns, i hear, "which way are we going now?!"


so we are having a ball. i plan to write a little post about each book we are doing, for memory's sake, but also to share the love. i've enjoyed reading other FIAR moms' blogs, and i've come away with some cute ideas for the various books that we will be reading. perhaps i can return the favor at some point with my FIAR posts. we just finished our third book last week, so i am hoping to blog about those first few books before i get too far behind.

FIAR is precious to me because my children are learning to treasure books in a new way. for five days, we snuggle up on the couch together and we soak in the story. for five days, we notice more details in the artwork, we learn words we did not know before, and we gain a greater understanding of God's truths through these characters. and at the end of those five days, ethan and caroline have a new favorite book. sounds like we'll be hanging onto this idea for awhile.

be back soon from china with the story about ping!

how many pictures does it take....

this picture from my father's day post is a sweet one, huh!? so natural, so peaceful... my two oldest cherubs in the lap of their daddy... quietly listening as he reads the well-penned words of c.s. lewis' classic story.

um, no. my little stinker of a three-year-old is not really into prince caspian. that's putting it mildly. she listened to most of the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe, but the second book just doesn't do it for her. we are working on sitting quietly and listening for a little while, but it's definitely a work in progress! so i couldn't help but share these outtakes from our little prince caspian photo shoot...

dancing like the fauns on the dancing lawn...



"ethan, you gotta little somethin' in your nose..."



"daddy is a super reader!"



caroline, don't look at me!



"yes ma'am!" (you can see that by this point, ethan is not amused!)



aaaaaand we eventually got some keepers! i think daddy will have to reread this chapter to ethan. without little miss distraction doing her thing!

their daddy

you do not have to be in our house very long to figure out that my children love their daddy.


they run to the door to say goodbye to him every morning, and they cannot wait for him to get home from work everyday. most evenings after dinner, you can find daddy here...


or here.


daddy lays down the law in our house, and he sticks to what he says. though the kids may not take delight in the immediate situation of being disciplined, i know they love and respect their daddy for the godly discipline he gives them.


even though daddy is gone at work all day, he is far from forgotten! after ethan learned how to write a "y", i told him that now he could write my name! and look what he decided to write instead...


ethan could not wait to show daddy when he got home! ethan and caroline both pile up things (whether physically or mentally) throughout the day that they want to show daddy the minute he walks in the door. :)

and caroline saves up a few of these...


(that picture is my new favorite.)

so it was easy to celebrate their daddy on father's day. it was easy to tell him how thankful we are for him and how blessed we are for the way he takes care of us. because it's true.

brian recently moved into a different office with lots of wall space, and he has mentioned several times that he has no pictures of the kids at work... well you and i both know that i can't let that office be photo-deprived for very much longer! i stealthily uploaded and ordered pics at walmart, ran to hobby lobby (frames not on sale!), michael's, and walmart all on saturday during various parts of the day while brian thought that i was running other errands. (chickfila and the grocery can take awhile, you know!) ;) this was totally a last minute thing because i was sorta busy last week with throw-up and my birthday and all... oh, who am i kidding?! this would've been a last minute deal anyway!

here is daddy after lunch with his present... don't you just love my "father's day" wrapping!??! haha.


he loved the frame with the pictures, even the one where from epcot where he's wearing a viking hat. :) most of the pictures in this post were taken on father's day evening, so i am tempted to replace a couple of pics with some of these new ones...


i can't find his father's day cards... i was hoping to take a picture of them to put on here. they were pretty funny. one alluded to the kids throwing up, so of course i couldn't resist that one. :) but the other one i remember. on the front, there was a picture of a dad and son sword-fighting, both dressed up in pretend armor. the inside read, "you are my knight in dull, plastic armor." i thought it was cute, and brian laughed out loud. :) i love this man. he is far from perfect...as am i. but every day that he gives our children a teeny tiny peek at the love of our heavenly Father, every day that he guides them to that vital understanding of obedience to authority, i fall more and more in love with their daddy... my knight in dull, plastic armor. :)


matthew 7:9-11
which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? if you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

a busy birthday!

what a wonderful birthday i had today! it all started with not cleaning up throw-up. that was an absolutely marvelous beginning to my day. by 9:15 we were headed out to the beach! it was a beautiful morning in the clean, clear water. i did not take a single picture at the beach today because we spent almost every moment of the (very hot) morning in the water to stay cool... i know...i couldn't believe it, and apparently, the toys are a little shocked as well. :) anyway, we'd planned to leave after lunch because of our plans later in the day, but a looming thunderstorm sent us packing a few minutes earlier. so no pictures. oh well. just believe me. we were there. and we got nipped by lots of little fish, we found snails, scallops, and clams... and a crab got me while i was digging for shells!

after showers and a nap (for the girls), we left sleeping amelia with gram and met brian at the movie theater for the opening day of toy story 3! we made sure to get to the theater extra early to get a good seat. (which is SO not me!!) we got there at 4:15 for the 4:50 show. i know, way too early. they did not let us in the theater until 4:48. i am not exaggerating. so we pretty much got there early to get a good seat in the lobby. there were not even any toy story displays to stand in front of for pictures... oh well. we got a super deal on our popcorn and drinks (couples' combo + toy story discount + kellogg's movie cash= two families' popcorn & drinks for $9!! how sad that $9 is a good deal!!!). we got great seats for the show and we were ready to go! i'm sure the people behind us were not thrilled about us snapping pictures in the super dark theater before it started... but i was able to get a few real quick.

the kids could not wait for the show to start! they loved the kid-sized 3-d glasses!!


caroline was in my lap for the 3-d preview that was disturbingly inappropriate for the selected audience (um, who thought m. night shyamalan belonged in the same theater with woody and buzz??) , but i successfully convinced her that toy story would not be scary!

i love this picture of my niece karina! she has a history of not caring for 3-d shows, but i think she liked this one!


and i also love this beautiful picture of my bro'-n-sis'-in-law! thanks, jeff and kristie, for coming with us!


the movie started before we could get our family picture, so we put it off till after the movie. and let me tell you about the movie. it was really, really good. the 3-d is both subtle and effective. the story line is (not surprisingly) adorable and engaging. i heard my children laughing out loud right along with me. but i think i was the only one on our row who shed some tears... yep, it's a tear-jerker. if you have a little one, a grown one, or even remotely like children, i'd put a tissue in your purse next to your contraband candy!!

after i dried my eyes, we gathered 'round for our family picture in our cool 3-d glasses...


i had to laugh at this picture because caroline and i are obviously very guilty of messing with our glasses with our theater-butter-popcorn-fingers! caroline was just fidgity... i had to take mine on and off when i ran to the potty three times! (note to self: don't get a refill on a large mr. pibb at the movie theater. you'll miss lots of good moments in the movie. and your husband will get really tired of you crawling over him.) anyway, i was initially very bummed that this picture did not turn out as well as i'd hoped it would. we should've taken it before the movie. :( but then i just had to laugh. so we'll stick with laughing at it. and brian was not at all surprised that his girls smudged up their glasses. :)

after the movie, we booked it over to tgifriday's, where my mom, amelia, and brian's dad were waiting on us. (and waiting, and waiting, and waiting!) i read somewhere that the movie was 1:20 long... when really, it was 1:40. and it started late. so we were a little off on our plan, but the good news is that our table was ready for us when we got there, and amelia had food to eat while she was waiting! eating at tgifriday's was ethan's idea since my birthday was on friday and he knows how much i love their brownie obsession. mmmm. good call, ethan. we were so so full from popcorn that we couldn't eat that much, but i will enjoy the rest of my dessert tomorrow!! i couldn't leave amelia out of my birthday pictures altogether, so we took a quick family picture outside friday's. none of them really turned out that great, but this one made me smile...


i think ethan's still laughing about the movie, and caroline looks like she's serenading me with my all-time favorite birthday song. what can i say?? i am blessed. it was a great day. thank you, Lord, for the gift of Your Creation, the gift of laughter, and the gift of family and friends. You continue to bestow upon your children gifts that we do not deserve. May you have all the glory.

ain't life grand?!

nana sure does love her grands... and i think the feeling's mutual, don't you!?
(amelia feels the nana love too... she was already asleep!)

this sweet picture was taken a couple of weeks ago. if i were to post a picture of our household this week, it would involve puke buckets and lots of sheets and blankets piled up to be washed. so i thought the picture of nana and the kids was a much better choice! i think we're on the mend. but we'll see what tomorrow holds!

keepin' cool

some friends and i spent a few days out of town last week for a homeschool practicum, and after our long days, it was so nice to relax and chat. the first night we went to jim 'n nick's bbq and oh.my.goodness. the cheese biscuits are so stinkin' good. i can still taste them. the next night, we headed over to the fountain play area at the local shopping commons. my kids have been pretty cautious of these fountain places in the past... but i had a feeling that amelia would have a ball in the water. for the first time in the last 4 months, i was so glad she wasn't walking. she could crawl all over the fountain area without me worrying about her slipping and falling. and that she did!


she was so curious about the fountains and the the intermittent spraying. she loved putting her finger in the holes...


don't know where she got that idea.


it was completely entertaining to watch amelia when the water came shooting out.





amelia did this over and over. she loved getting sprayed in the face! i knew she was just fine, but one of the boys in our group was so protective of her. as soon as he saw amelia all by herself, samuel would sit with her and make sure she wasn't leaning over the hole when the water came out.


so after dozens of water blasts to the face, amelia started standing up to wait for the fountains. she clapped and clapped at the quiet holes, as if to say, "c'mon! spray me already!"


and then my baby girl walked! on this slippery ground, with plenty of wild boys running around, amelia walked! over and over again!


and with each step, her smile got bigger and bigger!


i had to laugh that she did not choose the safest and most stable conditions in which to make her walking debut... maybe she'll be our little dare-devil! (she's been taking more steps at home now, too, and she is receiving a ton of applause from ethan and caroline for her new-found skill!)

and amelia wasn't the only one having fun at the fountains! these are not that clear because, well, caroline was having a blast. caroline kept running circles around amelia as she tried to walk... yes, let's make this even harder for her, you silly goose!!



ethan pretty much steered clear of the fountains and spent most of his time on the (dry) playground, so you'll just have to take my word for it that he was there. :) i bet the next time we visit these fountains, amelia will be running all over the place with the rest of the kids. until then, look forward to seeing many more pictures of my baby girl in her newfangled upright position! i knew she'd get there.

a crazy wavy day at the beach!

our beach day last week was a little different than we've had lately... there were red flags out, and for good reason! we had some pretty rockin' waves out there! these pictures really don't show how big those waves were.


if i were a teenage boy with a surfboard, i would have been loving it... but the waves were just too rough to enjoy the water for very long. though we would have loved to have had calmer water, we were thankful that it was a beautiful day and that there was no oil to be seen. the slight breeze helped since we did not spend much time in the water this day. the girls loved braving the waves with their mommies, but ethan disappointedly watched from a safe distance.


here are caroline and karina sneaking toward the waves. (you gotta love that tooshie tan!)


caroline played the age-old beach game of running from the waves over and over...


our little friend lola got a little boost in the waves from her daddy, who had the day off.


aunt kristie took the big kids for a walk while amelia and i stayed behind. the waves were a little too much for my baby girl, so she spent a lot of time playing with her favorite beach toy: the beach chair. she has so much fun getting in and out of this chair since it's so low to the ground.


then she moved on to her other favorite beach past-time: munching on sand.


while amelia worked on her next book titled 500 ways to scale a beach chair, i enjoyed the view!


i happened to spot these beach bums walking our way and thought i'd keep a couple of them...


we loaded up the beach cart (what a great invention!!), showered off, and headed to sonic for happy hour! though we were a little disappointed that the waves were not fit for our little ones, we still enjoyed our day at the beach. how can you not!??!? i know i have historically taken for granted living in a place with such beautiful beaches... but these days, with the future of our beaches uncertain... we are soaking up every minute of sandy fun that we can. this past week was a busy one out of town, so i am ready to hit the beach asap next week!! who's comin' with me?!