Theater - A Cat in the House

October 15 Karen auditioned for a Missoula Children's Theater production of Cinderella.

She was cast as Cleo the Cat and really enjoyed the part. This was her fourth Missoula play and her first where she had a solo part instead of being one of a group. They come to town twice a year and Karen auditions every time.

Missoula Children's Theater is an international touring children's theater. The tour team of two directors arrives in town with set, props, costumes, make-up. Local kids, ages 5-17, audition on a Monday and perform on Friday and Saturday of the same week. It's amazing what comes together in that short time!

It's Harvest Time!

I love Fall Colors!

Camping at the Beach in October!

October 8-12
The girls and I went camping at Carpinteria State Beach with CHN (California Homeschool Network). I did not bring my camera on this trip, so I've relied on my friends for photos. Here's a great slideshow of the trip. We had a wonderful time. Some of the activities included: exploring the tide pools, salt marsh field trip, mini geological dig, weaving, knitting, crocheting, playing in the sand and waves, a talent show, campfire fun, yoga on the beach (yay!) & connecting with friends old and new.

My friend, Karin, got this great shot of Linda with her seaweed "fishing pole."

Backpacking

Labor Day weekend, Karen & Dave backpacked at Click’s Creek in the Golden Trout Wilderness.

About a week after they got back Dave hurt his knee while he and Karen were on a walk in preparation for another backpacking trip they planned to do mid-September. He ended up with arthroscopic knee surgery to repair torn meniscus. He's on the mend and already talking about planning trips for next year! We want to take the whole family on a backpacking trip in the coming year.

A Beautiful Gift

Yesterday, as we were leaving our homeschool Park Day, Karen says from the back of the car, "How about if I make dinner while you and Dad relax together and Linda and Melissa watch a movie?"

Really? OK!

When we pulled into our driveway, Dave was just coming out of the house. He had also just gotten home and was getting ready to go for a walk. Karen got her sisters set up with a movie, got out the walkie-talkies, turned them on, handed me one, and sent us out the door. So, Dave and I headed out for a walk TOGETHER! Just the two of us!

When we returned from our walk, Andrea Bocelli was playing on the cd player, and the table was set with a fresh green tablecloth. Karen was whipping up some buttery scrambled eggs, and had some fried eggs already on a serving plate. We got out of her way - it's easy to want to offer "helpful" advice and she was doing just fine on her own. After cooking the eggs, she set about making blueberry muffins from the recipe in her American Girl Samantha cookbook. A few minutes later, she called us all to dinner and we enjoyed delicious eggs, yummy blueberry muffins and romantic music. It was a wonderful peaceful evening.

It was such a joy to receive this special gift from our lovely daughter, given straight from her heart.

Thank you, Karen!!

Learning to Read

I had been wondering how reading happens. It is difficult to "see" how someone learns to read, to really see the process that is going on inside. A while back I decided to ask Karen how she thought she learned to read. Here is how the conversation went.

I (Mom) ask Karen, “How did you learn how to read?”

Karen: “I don’t know.”

Mom: “Can you remember when you couldn’t read, and then you could? Remember when you used to read the BOB books?”

Karen: “Zoophonics helped”

We talked a little about my memory of when Karen read her first Bob book by herself. She doesn’t seem to remember it, but I told her how excited she was bouncing on the bed “I can read!”

Mom: “But then you stopped reading for me. Remember when we used to take turns reading? I read some of the page, you read some of the page?”

Karen: “Oh yeah, the easy reader chapter books. I like books with bigger words. I like you to read Nancy Drew to me because of words like Pierrot.” [Nancy Drew and friends find a life-size Pierrot puppet in The Clue of the Dancing Puppet…]

Mom: “So how do you think you learned to read after we stopped doing Bob books and you stopped reading out loud to me?” (Karen was never fond of the take-turns-reading-aloud thing.)

Karen “I taught myself. It’s like the world is full of words and there are words all around me all day and every day. And the words are like… cookies and I slowly eat them up day by day.”
***

Happy Mother's Day!

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Outdoor fireplace!

A few weekends ago, Dave moved a wood-burning stove/fireplace into the garden. It looks like a funnel turned upside down, with a curved opening for adding firewood. I picture it having been in someone's cabin in the '70s. Dave's parents found it at a yard sale (I think) some years ago and passed it along to us. Yesterday, we enjoyed a fire out there for the first time. I was able to sit outside with my knitting warm by the fire. We brought snacks, blankets, and had a great time.
-JC

Poetry

"It is a beautiful quiet morning

i make believe you sing to me love
inside I laugh and cry for you are
my mother"

Karen posted this on the fridge last July using magnetic poetry tiles. She then wrote the words down on two notecards - one for me, as you see here, and one for Dave with "mother" changed to "father" at the end.
-JC