Kid Niche: Weave Your Word in Me Bible Study (Homeschool Review Crew)

When Luke and Matthew began homeschooling, we continued on with theology studies where they had left off -- both were in upper grades so much of the foundation had been laid by their schools.
For the little boys, it's been a completely different process because of my own admitted struggles -- after our experiences with our Catholic parish and diocese, I'm caught between a few rocks.  My belief in God has remained strong, and despite exploring other denominations, I realize that I'm Catholic by faith to the core.  While I'm still working toward forgiving those who have wronged us, I want to teach my children my faith.  Bible studies have been a thorny issue for us.  Most Bible studies are aligned to the King James Version of the Bible, and the viewpoints presented are slightly different than ours.  Catholic programs seem to be few and far between and finding a good Bible program that fits both our faith and the boys' learning styles has been challenging.  I was intrigued by Weave Your Word in Me - Part 1 from Kid Niche Christian Books, which is designed to be translation-neutral.

"Translation neutral"? What does that mean? Well, in a nutshell, Kid Niche takes the core lessons of the Bible and uses them to guide the user's reading, but refers the reader back to the chapter-and-verse passages in his own Bible, rather than providing the scripture passages printed within the study.  This allows multiple faith denominations to use the same core guide, but approach the Bible from their points of view.  It works with any of the most popular translations: KJV, ESV, NKJV, NIV, NASB, and our preference, the NABRE.  Where there is a difference in where to find things, it will indicate this, so that the student is studying the correct Bible verse for the lesson.

Weave Your Word In Me takes the prayer Jesus taught his disciples (and therefore us) and unravels it in a way that children can learn the "great God-truths Jesus has woven within the Lord's Prayer."  I really like this approach - as a child, I learned my prayers by rote, without really understanding them.  This program combines both learning the lessons of the Bible and learning to have a relationship with God.  It's a very different approach from Jude's past studies, which have been more historical in nature than personal.

The program is geared toward later elementary students (grades 4 to 6), and I think this is an appropriate target age.  I think this study does a good job of helping support the emerging thinking and faith of children in this bracket without becoming "too" anything -- it's not too simple for the almost-teens, but not too deep for the younger end of the age range.  It's a program that I think could be used for students slightly younger and older; a student could start with it at 8 or 9, and then revisit at 12-turning-13, and as their thinking matures, their answers will change.  I notice that Jude is still in a more "literal" phase, while I think Celia would be beginning to find more philosophic/theologic answers.  I liked that while some answers are very literal, and basically "if you find the correct verse, you just need to fill in the blank," there are also places where the student needs to read and then parse the readings to find the correct answer.  It's not a huge leap from "what it says" to "the answer you need," but it's just enough to help encourage "figuring it out from context" rather than a purely literal reading.

On a practical note, I liked that this arrived as a pre-printed, pre-punched packet that just needed to be popped into a binder.  It's also on a heavy-weight paper, which means it holds up to erasing misspellings.  Each of the 36 lessons is only one to four pages; lessons take Jude no more than about fifteen minutes.  Each day is short, but still fully teaches him the core lesson of the day.  There is also an "answer key" provided, so if your child is working independently, the parent can easily check answers.  While Weave Your Word in Me - Part 1 is the first "half" of the program, there is a Part 2 available, as well as a full 80-lesson version.  I think if I were to purchase this myself, I would get the full 80-lesson program.  I think if you had a relaxed approach or another religious study program going on simultaneously, once-a-week might be sufficient, but at our two-to-three-a-week pace, we will finish this in the "first quarter" of our school year.

Jude liked this study and wants to continue past the review period.  Subject aside, it's always a good thing when he says "I don't want to be done."  He enjoyed the seek-and-find aspect of the program - each "question" referred to a different book and/or verse of the Bible.  He was proud of himself when he remembered whether a specific book was Old Testament or New Testament, too.  His prior Bible study courses were more chronological -- beginning with "In the Beginning..." and continuing from there.  I like how this pulls verses from the Old and New Testaments, showing how the lessons God shares through Scripture are timeless - from the beginning of Genesis to the writing of Revelation and right on through until today.

For more reviews about this program, click the banner below.

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Reading Eggs (Homeschool Review Crew)

When Jude was learning to read, we tried a whole mess of programs, and by the time I heard about Reading Eggs, he finally seemed to have a grasp of things.  Damien flew through learning to read before I could do more than remember it existed.  When this opportunity came up with the Crew, I finally did a little investigating. I discovered that the company's offerings were a series of leveled programs, including one for both emerging and proficient readers, called "Reading Eggspress."  We signed up for their standard two-week trial before I volunteered for the Crew review, to see if it was suitable for my "older" readers.

For our review, we received a six-month subscription to the full program that includes three levels of Reading Eggs plus their MathSeeds program. The complete program spans the entire pre-to-middle school gamut: Reading Eggs Junior is for the preschool set (ages 2-4), Reading Eggs introduces phonics and early reading (ages 3-7), and Reading Eggspress (ages 7-13) helps readers grow their reading and comprehension skills.

Time for a commercial plug: if you sign up using the following link before NOVEMBER 30, 2017, you can receive a FOUR WEEK FREE TRIAL (no credit card required):

READING EGGS FOUR WEEK FREE TRIAL

If you're considering Reading Eggs, I would highly recommend giving it a try for the more extended period.  I think two weeks in, we were still in a honeymoon period...a month in, we felt very differently about the program, especially for Damien.

Each level has a placement test. When we did our early trial, Damien started with the eponymous Reading Eggs program.  Although he has been reading for quite some time, I wanted to make sure he wasn't missing foundation skills.  (Not impossible, because he raced so quickly through learning to read.)  Since Jude was going to work on this the entire six weeks, I didn't push him to move on, thinking he would be a "bonus" kid in this review, and he took the Reading Eggspress placement test when we began our "official" month-long review period.  (Jude took the Reading Eggspress test during our trial, tested into and continued on with it)  The placement test measures literal understanding, inferred understanding, critical thinking, and vocabulary.

However, while Damien has maxed out for Reading Eggs, I think he is in over his head here.  He placed into level 141 - the beginning of the "Year 5" level of the program.  I was shocked -- I expected him to be closer to 3rd-grade level (which is still a year older than his chronological 2nd grade). While he did well with the testing (the only support I gave him was reminding him to slow down, to read all of the answers before choosing one, etc.), he is really struggling with the program. He's been working for about a month, and he's only moved up through eight lessons because he's often repeating passages over several days.  I like that if a student hasn't proved proficiency with a passage that he isn't permitted to just move on, but he's getting frustrated with repeating the same sections over and over.  His scores are also not all that great.  Our family standard of "successful" is 85%.  I think a "B average" is well within my kids' capabilities, and in my experience, knowing 85% of something seems to be the cut-off between a reasonable foundation that periodic review will firm up and one that is closer to the precipice of crumbling.  Damien's scores, even after repeats, are far lower than that 85% threshold.  He tends to start with scores in the 60s, and then slowly build up after several repeats to the 70s. We have far more frustrated tears than we ought to. I think he would do better to move back down closer to a year 3 level, and then build up confidence.

Jude, on the other hand, is doing fairly well, when he pays attention.  Jude has ADHD and takes medication to help support his focus.  Reading Eggs is a program that we have found needs to be done early, while the meds are in full force.  He also often needs someone to sit with him and remind him to slow down, pay attention, follow directions, etc.  When he's ON, he has 100% scores. When he's struggling to hang onto the ability to find details, he bombs.




While his scores are below our "accepted averages" in several areas, I'm comfortable with letting Jude stay at the level he's at and continuing to move forward because his scores fluctuate so widely. When he struggles, he's in the 60s, but when he's focused, he gets 100s on the first go.  While I was hoping that this would be a program he could work on independently, I'm not surprised that he needs extra help staying on task.

There are a few things I wish were different within the program.  First, while I like that each lesson includes a vocabulary section for the passages, the student is expected to choose three words from a list of five.

The dictionary placement, pronunciation, part of speech, roots and derivatives, using the word, etc. are presented, giving a substantial word study.

However, ALL of the words are included in the passage, and in later sections, the student may be left guessing what a word means if he didn't choose that word during the vocab section.  Here, Jude chose quell, reveal, and sorbet, but that left him to have to go look up the other two to continue the next section.

I think three words at one time is a reasonable number to study, so I'd like to see a second vocab section visit so that the student gets exposure to all of the words.  It was hard to fault either boy for incorrectly answering questions that hinged on the extra words -- he didn't know the word because it wasn't one he chose!  Yes, kiddo can go grab a dictionary (and often did), but then that defeats the purpose of a self-contained program.

I also wish that it was easier to win trophies.  It takes 1000 eggs earned in one calendar week.  Doing one numbered lesson a day (10 tasks) during a typical school week gives them only 450 eggs; even adding a lesson on each of Saturday and Sunday would still leave them short.  It takes the boys about 30-45 minutes to do a lesson; doubling up just isn't an option.  While it's not a huge deal to me if they win a trophy or not, they are disappointed that they always seem to fall short.

The last part of our subscription, MathSeeds, is a program for students ages 3 to 9.  We didn't do any work beyond the placement test. It includes some geometry (plane and solid), addition, subtraction, and very early multiplication.  Damien tested into level 131 of 144, but since he is already working at a 3rd-grade level, I skimmed ahead to see what else was being presented.  His normal math program is skills-based, and he is already proficient in adding/subtracting through three and four digit numbers, which is what the program tops out with.  I felt that this wouldn't be worthwhile for him to focus on -- review is never bad, but it just wasn't efficient for us.  Though he's a  just-turned-10, Jude is already working at a 6th grade level, so he didn't even attempt the placement.

I was excited to finally try the Reading Eggs reading program.  However, I'm not sure if we will extend our membership.  I think that there are some tweaks we can try (adjusting levels, looking things up on our own, working together) but it's not what I had hoped it would be.  I was really hoping that it would be a compromise between "I want to play on my computer" and "I don't want you vegging out for hours with YouTube videos."  It's possible that with some adjusting it may turn out to be a success, but at the moment, it's not really filling the space I had hoped it would.

75 families are working with Reading Eggs. Click the banner below to read their reviews.

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Five Minute October: Remain

Remain.

I'm drawing a blank. I keep coming back to write this one, and my mind just remains empty.  I don't have anything funny or philosophical to go with the prompt.  I guess I'll remain honest?

The best I can come up with for any deep thought is from St. Paul:

"Faith, hope, and love remain...but the greatest of these is love." (1 Cor 13:13)


Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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Five Minute October: Try

Try.

This one is pretty easy.  "Try" was the word I chose for my "Word of the Year" back in January.  My goal was to try new things, or still get started even if I knew finishing was going to be difficult (or not happen at all.)  I can't say that I've tried everything that I've thought "Wow, I'd like to..." because inertia (and fear of looking like an idiot) are hard to overcome, but I have managed one major goal -- I've completed a 5K and am now working on a 10K distance run.

A friend of mine suggested that we celebrate our birthdays by trying as many new things as years old we were turning. They could be as simple as a new ice cream flavor instead of an old favorite,  I have a long way to go until I hit 42 new things, but I have plenty of time.  If nothing else, I've learned that life is not really about making a "bucket list" of things to do "sometime before I die."  It should be about finding experiences to create "I didn't know I wanted to do this, but I'm glad I did" list.

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Five Minute October: Write

Write.

I'm going to admit I've written this in advance.  I've taken this week off from blogging to celebrate my anniversary, but I wanted to participate, so I'm writing ahead a little.

Writing is something I've always loved. I may have hated the research part of a paper, but writing it was something that I never really minded.  Writing a blog seemed like a good outlet for me.  Sometimes, I find it as hard as those research papers. Do I have a topic to focus on? Do I have something to say? I sometimes feel like I'm just writing for the sake of writing, without a purpose.

I want to make writing a focus again.  Something I'm learning is that I don't have to work "in real time."  I'm hoping to clear out a backlog of stories that need writing down.  I have photos and stories I want to share, but just haven't gotten that far, or figured "They were so long ago, why bother?"

Celia's violin teacher holds a contest each spring - who can practice the most days in a row.  To count as an "official" practice, it needs to be only five minutes, because the hardest part usually is just getting started.  Five minutes a day hasn't seemed so hard - often I find myself writing for fifteen or twenty once I get started.  I know that five minutes that turns into an hour isn't going to happen every day, but I think once this month is over, I'm going to set up a "just five minutes" for every other day and see what happens. Maybe I can clear out some of the backlog that's in my head!

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Five Minute October: Remember

Remember.

That's an easy one for today.  What I remember is getting married, 20 years ago today.

I remember my maid of honor's mother cornering me as I returned from the hairdresser, handing me a plate of food and a glass of orange juice, and saying "You're not passing out on my watch." I remember my grandmother walking into the church, stopping in the Baptistry to visit and crying as she and my dad reminisced sitting in the waiting room the day I was born.  I remember running a few minutes behind, and as we got ready my best childhood friends came hustling in. (They were always running late, so it brought another smile through the tears.)

I remember walking up the aisle and seeing Neal there, and then walking into the sanctuary.  The ceremony itself has blurred with time, but I remember we had chosen a Scripture reading from Jeremiah, and as his sister began reading, "A reading from the prophet Jeremiah..." Neal whispered "was a bullfrog..." Yes, I struggled to keep a straight face.

Most girls have ideas of their dream wedding.  I had a pretty simple "dream" -- I wasn't picky about almost anything, but I always wanted a wedding picture take in front of the Holy Family statue in front of my grade school.  Thankfully, the weather was perfect, so I got my dream picture.

I remember trying to greet every person during our cocktail hour. After getting me a third glass of wine in the space of twenty minutes, my brother finally appointed himself my wineglass holder. Every time I put it down to take a photo, my glass disappeared onto the tray of a helpful waitress.

I remember dancing with Neal - our song was Billy Joel's "To Make You Feel My Love."  I danced with my father to "Butterfly Kisses" and started to cry yet again when the singer crooned "She'll change her name today," and my father was the first person to call me Mrs. Falciani.

I remember heading to our new home.  Happy and exhausted, I sat in the back of the limo with Neal's jacket and arm around my shoulders.  I couldn't have asked for a better end to a better day, that was really the start of an awesome life.

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Five Minute October: Listen

Listen.

I'm reminded of the time Luke presented his Science Fair project on the physics of paper airplanes.  I'm not entirely unconvinced that the judges didn't award him first place just because he kept talking.  Aspies + favorite activities = you've got a lot to listen to.

Jude has multiple obsessions.  His current one is watching animal shows on YouTube.  Every day he has a new fact for us; tonight's was about a lizard that dives for its food and only lives in the Galapagos Island.  The other day, I was so busy listening to his dissertation on orcas that I forgot to get a grocery cart.  Rather than put out that it took us longer to shop,  he seemed rather pleased that he had distracted me.

I think sometimes it doesn't matter what they're talking about. Kids just want us to listen.


Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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CTCMath (Homeschool Review Crew)

When Jude first started doing math, it was a huge struggle.  We went through several programs before finding CTCMath and found that it checked quite a few boxes for us. It was online; one of Jude's favorite ways to learn - tick.  It was comprised of short lessons followed by a few practice problems, so it ticked the "short and sweet" box. Most importantly, it was not a Common Core program.  I know opinion on Common Core is varied, but for us, it was practical. Jude got frustrated repeating the same concept in six different ways.  He's more of an "I know how to do this, why am I doing it again?" type of kid, so learn and move on was right up his alley.  Tick.

CTCMath is it is not only homeschooler friendly but also large family friendly.  We received a One-Year Family Membership, but it really covers the entire family.  The company's founder is a homeschooling dad of a large family, so he gets the frustration of "Family" plans that only cover two or three kids.  Homeschoolers also always receive a 60% discount! CTCMath has also given me a link to provide with my readers; by using it, you'll receive the 60% discount PLUS a Bonus 6 months Free.

This is our third time reviewing CTCMath - you can read our prior reviews by clicking the following links:

June 2015
April 2014

How does our experience this time compare to the past?

I think the quality of the program is as good as ever.  The lessons are short but thorough and well presented.  The concept is introduced and reviewed, and then the student is sent off to do the practice problems.  Note: the instructor is from Australia, so he does have a bit of an accent. He speaks very clearly, so it's not an impediment, but if you're not expecting it, it may be a bit of a surprise.  It's also still flexible - we've worked in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, on both a Mac and a Chromebook, and on an iPad.  (CTCMath runs in HTML5, no Flash required.)  Nobody can say, "I can't get online and do my math!"  It continues to not be aligned to the Common Core -- you student will learn everything he needs to know, but it's not tied to the methods of that curriculum style.

However, what once was a pro -- online containment -- in the last year or so has become a drawback.  When the boys were younger, working on just a screen was pretty easy.  A few manipulatives on the table, or even their fingers, and the early levels (K-2) were a breeze.  Working solely with a keyboard and screen was no big deal.  However, now that the boys are at 3rd and 5th/6th-grade levels, it has gotten more unwieldy.  For example, they are into "borrowing and carrying" territory.  The program does give the opportunity to manipulate numbers on the screen, but it becomes a dexterity issue.  We wound up switching to pencil and paper.  It's not a huge issue to copy the problems, but it frustrated the boys because it wasn't the way it was "supposed to be."

Since we needed a paper-and-pencil type program, we explored several and decided on one that has a different scope and sequence than most elementary math programs.  As we got comfortable with it, we drifted away from CTCMath for no reason other than we had a different curriculum to work on.

Every day, the boys do both a lesson in their main math program and an extra enrichment activity.  I thought that CTCMath would be good for this type of assignment.  I felt that it would give them an opportunity to practice their skills.  When we got started with the review, we began working on the diagnostic tests.  Jude had some areas that he had minimal difficulty with -- his usual program had covered all the topics.

However, there were some areas where he began to struggle with the test because he hasn't been exposed to them.  For example, he has spent the last six months working on everything he could want to know about fractions but hasn't begun anything with decimals.  When he got into things that required them, he got answers "wrong" because he had to just guess so he could move on.

Damien had a similar situation, where he gave up on a diagnostic test and went back to work on an area in its entirety.

They're used to learning everything there is to know about an operation/topic, and then moving on to a new one. I felt like even if I wanted to just use it for extra practice, it would take a lot of guessing to figure out where to pick things up at.  For example, Jude is in fifth grade by age but has the skills to complete some of the Pre-Algebra fraction lessons (approximately 6th or 7th grade) already. I think if you're used to a typical first grade-second grade-third grade sequence,  CTCMath would be a good choice for if you're looking for something new and fresh.  We're just atypical students.  If you're not following a "normal" sequence, you may wish to give their Free Trial a chance and see how it works for you.

And, our original reason for wanting to get away from all-on-computer still holds.  The boys get caught up in "But I have to use the numbers on the screen..." instead of just writing on a piece of paper.  A problem that literally takes fifteen seconds on paper takes five minutes by the time they grasp the slash marks, move numbers into place, etc.  Since we're using it for reviewing skills, I had allocated about 20 minutes a day into our schedule. Some days were taking close to an hour to complete the task.

I can't complain about the content of the program.  I still believe it's a high-quality program and teaches math very well.  I think we're just in a bit of an in-between phase.  Peeking ahead at the Pre-Algebra and higher levels, there is a worksheet option that gives you a list of problems to work on scratch paper with pencil, and then you enter the letter of the corresponding answer in.  This eliminates having to work an entire problem with a mouse/touchpad, or the temptation to try to figure it all out mentally and make mistakes trying to calculate and remember at the same time.  Since the program spans Kindergarten through Calculus, I would consider coming back to CTCMath (again) when the boys are back in sync with the sequence of the program around Pre-Algebra and/or Algebra.

Lots of students have been hard at work using CTCMath. To read other Crew Reviews, click the banner below.

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Five Minute October: Plan

Plan.

One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is our field trips. Rather than taking a field trip day once or twice a month, we save up our time and pennies to do a longer trip in new locations.  We've seen 46 of the mainland 48 states in the last three years and visited over 80 National Parks locations.

However, a trip of 30 states in 34 days takes some serious planning.  We start making our wish list just after Christmas.  Everyone gets to list a few things they'd like to see and do. It could be as specific as "have an in-person lesson with my violin teacher in Minnesota" (Celia) to as vague as "Can we do something Pony Express?"  Sometimes, we pick things based on "We're this far already..." I mean, as I was mapping out one trip, I realized that from Petrified Forest National Park, San Diego and the Pacific Ocean were only about two inches away! We added on to our trip -- we felt we couldn't be within six hours of the other end of the country and not put our feet in the ocean.

It's going to be time to plan our trip for next summer soon.  Last year was a short trip to Massachusetts.  Matthew wants to go to Kitty Hawk and Great Sand Dunes NP.  I pointed out they were nowhere near each other, and he said, "Well, I didn't mean in the same day!" Sounds like I'm planning another big road trip for our future!


Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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Five Minute October: Truth

Truth.

When I started out on this "Five minutes a day" thing, I didn't think it would be so difficult.  I knew the hardest part was getting started, but having a daily topic to focus on should have made it easy.  But sometimes, I spend half an hour trying to figure out what I want to say for those five minutes.

I was talking to another blogging friend about how it's coming time for Homeschool Review Crew applications, and how torn I am. The Crew has been a huge blessing to us, especially as we have entered stages of homeschooling unexpectedly.  But the truth is it's getting harder to keep up with the blogging requirements.  When I first started blogging, Jude was in preschool, so we had lots of crafts and daily activities to share. As he's gotten older, we still have things to share but not as much.  While Luke was in high school, he was a co-writer here.  Matthew doesn't enjoy writing as much, so he tends to go in a different direction with reports, and oral discussions don't make for exciting blogging.  Plus, as the kids get older and school days become longer and more involved, by the end of the day, I'm just done in.  Part of me says, "It's one blog post a week. It's not that huge a commitment." But some weeks just go by so fast, and I think "Wait!  I had a Wordless Wednesday idea, how did we get to Saturday already?"

I promised myself at the beginning of 2017 that when I blogged, I was not going to worry about statistics and page views and longer, and write from my heart.  So, for better or worse, you're getting the unvarnished truth today. I don't know if I'm going to re-apply or not. I want to say, "Of course, I'll do it, because I love it," but I just don't know what's left in the tank.

PS. If you're interested in being part of the Crew, check out the requirements here.  Like I said, they're relatively simple and the support of other homeschoolers is great.  Maybe I'll see you there next year!








Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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Five Minute October: Hold

Hold.

 Hold on, time.  When did my babies get so big?  My smallest "baby" is seven,  my eldest nineteen. I'm hearing a lot more "Hold this while I go off to do..."  I'm just waiting on "Hold my beer!"  The wailing "I said, hold up!" is less the wail attached to little legs trying to keep up and more the teenage tone that can convey anything from "I heard you and don't want to listen," to "I need more time primping!"

I'm holding little hands less and less.  Sometimes Jude or Damien will grab my hand in traffic, but usually I wind up steering them through the really crowded ones by holding onto one shoulder as they try to shake me off, saying "Mom! I'm not a baby!"

I'm holding on to memories of those babies now.


Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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Five Minute October: Story

Story.

When I read today's prompt, it prompted an earworm -- the track "If You Knew My Story," from the Broadway musical Bright Star.  This was one of those shows that never seemed to gain traction, despite a great music, book, and cast.  The song is the opening of the show, and the chorus goes:

If you knew my story
My heaven and my hell
If you knew my story
You'd have a good story to tell. 

I love this song because we all have a life story that has two sides -- some times are wonderful, and some times are utterly horrid.   The character in the story hasn't had life go quite the way she planned. However, instead of letting these events take over her life, but she takes what life has given and uses it to define herself on her own terms.

It's easy to let life steamroll us...I know I sure often feel like I've been run over! But I think this is one of my favorite songs because it ends with the verse:

Even though I stumble
Even though I fall
You'll see me crumble
You'll never see me crawl.

I like that idea -- stumbling and falling aren't important. It's getting back up again that makes your story.


PS: If you have the time to watch the concert version of  Bright Star, do.  Composer Steve Martin is a man of surprising talents.

Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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Five Minute October: Trust

For a long time (ok, practically his entire life) every time a cat comes within a two-foot radius of Jude, he has jumped and curled in on himself.  A few weeks ago, he suddenly decided he wanted them to sit on his lap.  I told him he was probably going to have to earn their trust -- they were used to him jumping so they might come near him, but they might not come to him.

At first, it took a gargantuan effort for him not to move when they came near.  He would start to flinch, and then remember he wanted them to come to him. Slowly, they came close when he was sitting next to me.  Finally, Annie parked herself in my lap but fell asleep on his knee.

One day, she wanted to sit in my lap, but it was already full of science book, so I gently scooted her towards him, and there she stayed.

He was so excited that she finally trusted him enough to sit with him.  I was impressed that he trusted her -- he's fearful her her scratching him.

Now, it's not uncommon to see the two of them together.

Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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Five Minute October: Hope

Hope.

Hope is one of those words I hear a lot in this house. "I hope I can...," or "I hope we go to..." or even "I hope Santa will bring..."

I like hearing "I hope." It means there's a belief in the future.  I love hearing, "I hope when I die, I get to see you in heaven." It means I'm raising my child up to believe there is more to life than what is of this world.

A friend of mine often writes when times are a struggle, "Hoping on, hoping ever," as a reminder that God is bigger than us, and our hope is in Him.  Right now, in this world, there is so much devastation and despair. Hope seems like something almost frivolous.  But I think now is when we need hope the most.  We need love and kindness and good neighbors, but I think without hope, none of these matter.   1 Corinthians 13 is usually referred to as "The Love Chapter" of St. Paul's writings and focuses on how empty life is without love.  Yes, without love, everything rings false, but often overlooked are the words "Love hopes all things."   Love needs hope, or else it can't bear or endure "all things."

Hoping on.  Hoping ever.



Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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Five Minute October: Create

Create.

After my college experiences, I'm convinced that it doesn't matter what you do after college, you will find some practical application of what you've learned.

For a long time, three semesters of dialect classes were the foundation for an ability to hold an intelligent conversation with speech therapists.  Two of costuming came in handy when making Halloween costumes, Saint Day garb, or even fashioning a flamenco frock for a school project.

Damien is my costume king.  Some days, he is decked out as one character; other days, he's SuperPirate BatChef.  I've never seen somebody so excited to see Amazon bring a pack of "chemo caps." He wanted an official Aladdin turban, but the wardrobe department's budget didn't extend quite that far.  I found a pack of ten hats for a third of the price of a costume turban, and figured he'd just have to bejewel the cream-colored one to be Aladdin.  When they arrived, he grabbed a blue one, ran upstairs to ransack his brother's dresser, and then came back down dressed as the Genie.

The other day, my little Ghostbuster got busted trying to wander off with my vacuum parts to use as a ghost trap.  When I suggested he make his trap of some things we didn't need, he rummaged through the recycling and the craft shelf, and brought me a ruler, a juice jug, and some yarn.  He then proceeded to tell me how we could build one.

Four years of college tuition, including a mandatory semester of set and prop design distilled down into braiding the yarn so that it would be stronger when he flung the bottle to catch the ghosts.  He told me I was a genius. I said that I had my moments that make me worth keeping around, and he responded, "Yeah...and you're tall enough to reach the chocolate."

That's my kid. Creating ways to keep Mama humble.

Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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Five Minute October: Tell

Tell.

One thing about Jude is he's never short on a new fact to tell you.  The other day, I took him grocery shopping with me.  I forgot to grab a cart from the parking lot because I was busy listening to him tell me about orcas.  I was proud of how he patiently waited at the curb for me to run back to the cart corral and grab one.

That was only the beginning. When we got done our shopping, I told him again how proud I was of him.  He has experienced near-crippling anxiety.  One of the reasons we became homeschoolers was to remove this roadblock to help him learn, but the grocery store has been an exceptional source of stress for him.  He doesn't like feeling as if others are watching him. Slowly, he's worked his way from hiding under my coat to walking next to me.  This time, he went about 20 feet away from me to grab a loaf of bread, and then said it was OK if I took an armful of chips back to the cart while he got his bag.  (At our warehouse club, they're sold two factory bags to a club mix-and-match pack. I did ask if he wanted help filling his bag, and was informed that he could do it himself, thank you, and I could go.)   I skedaddled back before he changed his mind.

This is HUGE for him.  Not only is he two-thirds of an aisle away, but there is another person in the aisle.

 Until Jude, I used to take for granted being able to say to a kid "Be Mommy's helper...can you get something over there while I get this here?" and getting a chipper response.  When the doctors asked me what our goal was, I said that I didn't need a "neurotypical kid response," I just needed to be able to take him with me to get groceries.  I need to tell everyone how proud I am that he's worked really, really hard and is now my official Chip-Getter.


Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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Five Minute October: Worship

Worship.

So we're going to start out with a tough one, I guess, and throw me out of my comfort zone right away.  Ok, clock's ticking.

 I miss Mass.  It's been a while since I've attended on a regular basis...bad Catholic, I know.  When we began our homeschooling journey, it was because we had some serious fallings-out with our parish and the former Bishop, followed quickly by a broken promise by the then-new Bishop.  It was a 1-2 punch that left our family reeling.  One side of me acknowledged the leaders were only human, but the human side of me was broken-hearted and unable to separate what was done on a Tuesday from the voice giving Sunday's sermon.  I was too angry. My faith in God was never shaken, but my faith in my church was shattered.  I suddenly felt unwelcome...resented, even.

Now, I find I miss that routine and the rituals. I need to go back- not because of guilt, but because I think my soul needs it.  I often think returning might help soothe the weariness I feel.  At the least, I think it's time to start looking into seeing what schedules local parishes have and working towards going back.

Click here to read the entire series:  Five Minute October

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Five Minute October

I've been struggling in my writing.  I find ideas to write about - things everyone has done, something we've made, a reworked recipe - but by the end of the day I have a pile of pictures and no ability to put together coherent sentences.

The more you do something, the easier it becomes.  (Or so the theory goes.) So I'm going to work on writing five minutes a day for each day in October.  This could get tricky as we have a crazy month planned, but I figure, I can handle five minutes. I'll be sharing over at Five Minute Friday - there's a whole month of five-minute free writes waiting. I'll link each post back to this page as the month goes on, so everything is in one place at the end of the month.

Happy October!

1 - Worship
2 - Tell
3 - Create
4 - Hope
5 - Trust
6 - Story (Five Minute Friday)
7 - Hold
8 - Truth
9 - Plan

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©2012- 2017 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com