I write here because doing so helps me to take notice of the sweet things in life. I take pictures for the same reason. I also love the community aspect of blogging. {read more}
Trent, my third grader, has been learning about business and economics for school lately. I thought it would be great if Trent could visit a local business, so I asked a friend, who works at Starbucks headquarters, if we could have a tour of the place. He was kind enough to say yes, so today we had the privilege of seeing behind the scenes at the place that makes the coffee we drink. Trent is not a coffee drinker- he goes for vanilla steamers and bagels, but he is very aware of the success of Starbucks, and it's a company that practices business in a way that I admire and feel good talking about with my son. This field trip was just too cool to miss, so Derek and Grace ended up coming along as well. It's a huge place, with nearly 4,000 people in this building. Here are some pictures from our tour....
a display showing how coffee beans are dried after they're picked
the building was beautiful- very open and modern
A Starbucks within Starbucks
one of the many coffee stations in the building, learning how to use the Clover machine
coffee roaster used for company tastings
this image is made up up thousands of thumbprints, from the partners who work here
the cupping room smelled amazing...they had just been tasting a Kona roast
Trent looks very serious here, but we actually had a lot of fun. It was also a worthwhile learning experience. He didn't have a lot of questions at the time, but he has been talking about what he saw and asking many questions since we left.
Before we visited, I read Onward, by Howard Schultz. It was an inspiring book, that was relevant for anyone interested in not just the business of Starbucks, but in the process of working towards a dream and achieving success. I have become just as, if not more, interested in this latest learning experience for Trent. We still have three more weeks left of studying business and economics, and I'm looking forward to it.
Now that the school year is coming to a close, I thought I'd post my daughter's reading list for her 8th grade year. Last year's 7th grade list can be found here. I'm only listing the books that I assigned to her. She reads plenty more in addition to these listed, ones that are self chosen, but I didn't keep track of them.
Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito- Sheila Garrigue
The fate of a 200-year-old bonsai tree is decided by a young girl and an old Japanese Canadian gardener who resists being imprisoned in an internment camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Sequel to "All the Children Were Sent Away." Google Books
Number the Stars-Lois Lowry
Number the Stars is a work of historical fiction about the escape of a Jewish family from Copenhagen during Occupation of Denmark during the Second World War because of the Holocaust by award-winning author Lois Lowry. Wikipedia
The Blue Sword- Robin McKinley
Harry Crewe is an orphan girl who comes to live in Damar, the desert country shared by the Homelanders and the secretive, magical Hillfolk. Her life is quiet and ordinary-until the night she is kidnapped by Corlath, the Hillfolk King, who takes her deep into the desert. She does not know the Hillfolk language; she does not know why she has been chosen. But Corlath does. Harry is to be trained in the arts of war until she is a match for any of his men. Does she have the courage to accept her true fate? -Amazon
*To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee
Set in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the Depression, To Kill a Mockingbird follows three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus--three years punctuated by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. Though her story explores big themes, Harper Lee chooses to tell it through the eyes of a child. The result is a tough and tender novel of race, class, justice, and the pain of growing up. -Amazon reviews
Mama's Bank Account- Kathryn Forbes
The charming adventures of the Mama of an immigrant Norwegian family living in San Francisco. This bestselling book inspired the play, motion picture, and television series I Remember Mama. Google Books
And Then There Were None- Agatha Christie
The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to Harper Paperbacks…including And Then There Were None, the world’s bestselling mystery, in which ten strangers, each with a dark secret, are lured to a mansion on an uninhabited island and killed off one by one.- Amazon
The Devil's Arithmetic-Jane Yolen
Hannah thinks tonight's Passover Seder will be the same as always. Little does she know that this year she will be mysteriously transported into the past where only she knows the horrors that await.- Good Reads
Good Night Mr. Tom-Michelle Magorian
London is poised on the brink of World War II. Timid, scrawny Willie Beech--the abused child of a single mother--is evacuated to the English countryside. At first, he is terrified of everything, of the country sounds and sights, even of Mr. Tom, the gruff, kindly old man who has taken him in. But gradually Willie forgets the hate and despair of his past. He learns to love a world he never knew existed, a world of friendship and affection in which harsh words and daily beatings have no place. Then a telegram comes. Willie must return to his mother in London. When weeks pass by with no word from Willie, Mr. Tom sets out for London to look for the young boy he has come to love as a son.- Amazon
Jane Eyre-Charlotte Bronte
Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity. -Good Reads
The Watson's Go to Birmingham-Christopher Paul Curtis
When Kenny Watson’s brother, Byron, gets to be too much trouble, the Watson family heads south to Birmingham to visit Grandma, the one person who can shape him up. And they happen to be in Birmingham when Grandma’s church is bombed.- Amazon
After the Dancing Days-Margaret Rostkowski
Annie learns to stand up to her mother in the days following the end of The Great War, through her friendship with a veteran and in the discovery of the truth about her uncle's heroism; this is a gracefully written story with a clear-sighted view of the ironies of war. Ages 10-14.- Publisher's Weekly
The Ramsay Scallop-Francis Temple
Fourteen year-old Elenor reluctantly awaits the return of her betrothed from the Crusade.Thomas, broken and disillusioned from years of fighting, finds the very idea of marriage and lordship overwhelming. When the village priest sends them on a religious pilgrimage together, they learn new things about themselves, each other, and the world around them. Fascinating introduction to Europe at the turn of the 14th Century.- Sonlight
*Bloomability-Sharon Creech
Kidnapped! The kidnappers are actually her Aunt Sandy and Uncle Max, but that doesn't matter to Domenica Santolina Doone, better known as Dinnie. She feels as if she's being taken out of the country against her will. Certainly no one asked he r opinion. Dinnie is used to change-with her family constantly moving from state to state while her father searches for one new "opportunity" after another. But when her aunt and uncle whisk her away to an international school in Lugano, Switzerland, Dinnie feels that this might be one "opportunity"that isn't right for her. Suddenly Dinnie's surrounded by kids from many different cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs. Home, and her first life, seem so far away. Can she adapt to a new country, a new home, and new friends? Or will it just be easier to close herself off-just survive-and never realize all the "bloomabilities" that are possible?-Amazon
The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen-Lloyd Alexander
When Prince Jen volunteers to search for the legendary court of T'ien-kuo, a mysterious old man chooses six gifts for him to bear in homage: a saddle, a sword, a paint box, a bowl, a kite, and a flute.
Puzzled by the humbleness of the gifts but full of high spirits and pride, Jen sets off -- but stumbles almost immediately into a series of misfortunes.-Google
*A Girl Named Disaster-Nancy Farmer
A Girl Named Disaster is the humorous and heart wrenching story of a young girl who discovers her own courage and strength when she makes the dangerous journey from Mozambique to Zimbabwe.-Scholastic
The Giver-Lois Lowry
The Giver is a dystopiacommunist children's novel by Lois Lowry. It is set in a society which is at first presented as a utopian society and gradually appears more and more dystopian. Wikipedia
*= Grace's top 3 picks
This was the last year of homeschool for my daughter. Enjoying quality literature together has been one of the top perks of homeschooling, in my opinion. I know I'm going to miss this when she goes to public school. I would love to stay involved, somehow, in reading with my daughter throughout her high school years. Bookclub? I doubt that's realistic with the busy schedule that she'll be keeping. I'm slightly jealous of her future English teacher, who happens to be one of our neighbors, and also one of the sweetest, most intelligent ladies I know. Grace will be in good hands. I just have to let go, hard as it is. I'm thankful for the great times we had together with homeschooling, and for all the wonderful books we read.
Hello, All I've got today are a few words and pictures to let you know that all is well. I'm hoping to be able to find more time for my camera and for writing very soon. I keep telling myself that this busy time, that has been keeping me away from here, is just for a season. Right? It's all good though. It's the kiddo's stuff: ballet, basketball, piano and homeschooling that's keeping me busy. And I don't want want to wish this stuff away too quickly. I spend many hours in the car driving them around, but we also have some good conversations during those times. It won't be too long before my daughter will be driving herself around- and though this will free up some of my time, I'm sure I'll miss it too. Homeschooling two kids is hard work, but as I close in on the final five weeks of having my daughter at home for school (this fall she goes to high school), I'm happy that we did it this way.
This boy, with his sweet face and his freckles...how I love him
he's playing spring basketball, and improving every day
Wednesday b-ball practice means a coffee date for Derek and I
This book is a project done by my daughter, that I wanted to share because she had fun with it, and because I thought it was a great idea. This is a poetry book project that was assigned to Grace by her teacher at our homeschool co-op. She had to pick out twenty poems, by different authors, and in different genres and meters. Then she put them into a scrapbook and and illustrated them. She included a poem from Sarah's last poetry book, Otherwise, called Not Lily. I mention this for two reasons: I just wanted to let Sarah know how much we love her poetry, and because I wanted to let you all know that she has new poetry book out, called The Memory of Light. She is offering this new book, as well as Otherwise, as e-books, available through her website. Sarah's writing is beautiful. I loved both of these books and wholeheartedly recommend them.
May I never take any of this for granted. Life is good. I turned 37 last Thursday and woke up to a breakfast of French toast, eggs, coffee and o.j- made by Derek. Cards, garden supplies and flowers (the kind I can plant in the ground) were accompanied by hugs and kisses. Derek then told me that there would be a party that night and that he would be working from home so that he could get the house ready. I love that he threw me a surprise party, but that it wasn't too much of a surprise...he knows me well.
For school, we had a museum day. We went to the Asian Art museum at Volunteer Park. The weather was gorgeous. In the picture above, you can see Mt. Rainier, and below, you can see Bellevue with the Cascade mountains behind it.
I took those first two pictures from the top of this old water tower. I ran to the top of the tower. I didn't count how many steps it has, but it's a lot. I was wearing flip flops. For the next few days, my legs hurt, bad, but I'm going to say that it's because I was wearing flip flops when I ran those stairs. It's not because I'm getting old- not at all.
Volunteer park is the first Seattle park. The neighborhood around it is old too- and gorgeous
The ceramic pillows from ancient China were interesting to see. I like seeing the everyday artifacts from life more than anything else. We enjoyed the museum, but we hurried through it because it was a sunny day in Seattle, and we just wanted to get back outside.
Trent asks me to take his picture inside this sculpture every time we come to this park.
After the Asian Art museum, we wandered over to the Botanical Conservatory. I love this place, especially the orchid room.
Trent loved the cactus room.
And because it was my birthday, Grace even agreed to having her picture taken. I spent the rest of the day gardening while the kids and Derek cleaned the house. That evening we had friends over to enjoy homemade pizza and cake- a perfect day.
Now that the current school year is drawing to an end, I'd like to talk about one of my favorite parts of home learning...read alouds. I love sharing good books with my kids, and I enjoy the discussions that occur when we read together. As often as I can, I'll try to tie in a related activity, to further bring the book to life....visiting the fair for Charlotte's Web, going on Seattle's Great Wheel for The Great Wheel, and making donuts for Homer Price, to name a few examples.
This year was my first full year of teaching my son at home. I previously taught my daughter at home, from kindergarten to fifth grade, and during those years, we developed a way of doing our read-alouds that worked well for us. She would usually draw, or just sit and listen while I read to her. She could sit and listen for long periods of time, no problem. My son attended public school for kindergarten through second grade, and during this time, I'm ashamed to admit, I didn't read aloud as often to him.
Trent had often been read to from picture books in his preschool years, but once he started school, we seemed to have little time for read alouds. He had homework every night, and after sitting in a classroom all day, he only wanted to run and play outside with the little free time he had left at the end of the day. When he came home for school, in third grade, I was excited to once again have the opportunity to read aloud with him. It didn't start out as smoothly as I'd hoped though. Standing on his head, burrowing in the blankets, there was never a still moment. I tried to ignore it, but it was distracting, and I wasn't sure if he was even listening. I tried giving him art supplies to draw with, but he wasn't interested. We kept at it though, experimenting with different ways to help him sit for longer periods of time. Now, we both enjoy the time each day when I read to him, and he usually ends up asking for "one more chapter".
I give him copywork sheets to work on while I read to him. These are 4-5 lines of writing from whatever book we're reading aloud together. These sheets give him a chance to work on his handwriting and spelling, as well as writing conventions, such as capitalization and punctuation. They also help him sit still and give him a focus. Now that we've finally developed our little groove for read alouds, I have no intention of stopping for the summer. I plan on reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to him next. Below, I'm listing our favorite read alouds for Third Grade. I think Farmer Boy is Trent's top favorite. My top favorite would probably be The Year of Miss Agnes. I'm going to start compiling a list of books to read for fourth grade, so if you have any recommendations, please, tell me!
Farmer Boy- Laura Ingalls Wilder
Detectives in Togas- Henry Wenterfeld
The Family Under the Bridge- Natalie Savage Carlson
Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 1:35PM 
a display showing how coffee beans are dried after they're picked
the building was beautiful- very open and modern
A Starbucks within Starbucks
one of the many coffee stations in the building, learning how to use the Clover machine
coffee roaster used for company tastings 
this image is made up up thousands of thumbprints, from the partners who work here
the cupping room smelled amazing...they had just been tasting a Kona roast
