A is for...

This week, we started a really low-key, simple homeschool routine for Anne, who just turned 3. I was starting to feel like we all needed just a little more structure, because winter is coming, and if I don't have an alternative ready when someone asks to watch a movie, it's really hard to say no.



We're using "26 Letters to Heaven" by Sarah V. Park, which has tons of great ideas and a stellar book list for each week. It's a great jumping off point! Each week, we focus on a particular saint, and we memorize a Scripture verse that reflects that week's virtue. We have a little bulletin board where we keep track of what we're doing.



Here's what this week looked like:

Saturday: Trip to the library to check out as many of the books on this week's list as we could find.

Monday: Wrote the virtue ("Amiability") and its definition on a card. Had Anne repeat it. Did the same with this week's Scripture. Read a short biography of St. Anne, printed out her picture, and tacked all three things to the board. Read some books.

Tuesday: Reviewed saint, virtue, and Scripture. Made the letter "A" out of Elmer's glue, and let Anne cover it with almonds. Read some books. Later, made patterns with red and green apples, and then  glued them onto two apple trees I drew.



Wednesday: Review. Read. Started searching for things that start with "A" in magazines and cutting them out.

Thursday: Review. Read. Met friends at the nature museum. Later, finished cutting out pictures and made an "A" collage.

Friday: Review. Read.

That's approximately 20 minutes a day of "school," and for the rest of the time we did all the things we always do: play, go for walks, cook, read, color, paint, etc. There was still some TV time in every day, but so much less. And if you ask her, Anne can now recite this verse!

A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones. -Proverbs 17:22

My life as a housewife and stay at home mom can feel so repetitive and never-ending. I clean the house. It gets dirty again. I nurse the baby constantly. My family is hungry (at least) 3 times a day. Laundry has to get done again and again. Toys dumped out and cleaned up a million times a day. And it feels really good, at the end of a tiring week, to have visual proof of having accomplished something real with my daughter.

Oh, and there's also THIS girl. Six weeks old and already smiling at us!

The Red Party {Anne is Three!}

Today is Anne's third birthday, but we celebrated this past weekend with a red birthday party. Anne loooooves red. And she loves cardinals. Ever since last winter when we watched a pair of cardinals visit our front yard feeder, they have had her heart. I had a lot of fun with the theme!

The cupcakes were red velvet, of course. A couple days before the party I showed Anne the recipe photo from my Martha Stewart Cupcakes book, complete with traditional cream cheese frosting. Her face fell and she said, very seriously, "I don't want white frosting. I want red frosting."

Man, am I glad I showed her that picture! Red velvet cupcakes with red velvet frosting, coming right up!



Waiting for guests to arrive in her... drumroll please... handmade (by my mom!) cardinal print dress! And hat!!

We asked the amazing and talented teacher from Anne's Music Together classes to come and provide entertainment. Best money I've ever spent. Anne was ecstatic, and her face as she jumped and laughed and danced and sang, as her beloved Miss Julie sang just for her... I could have watched her all day.









Happy birthday to you, sweet girl! My life is immeasurably better with you in it.