County Fair Fun

We're all spending much time rocking in the corners and babbling incoherently in an attempt to recover from our week at the fair that was proceeded by several weeks of preparation and several months of meetings.
I was amazing again at what my children, as well as the children in our county, were able to produce. When I was their age I was just trying to coordinate my eyeshadow, clothes, and shoes (right, Megs?).


Since this was our fist year with animals at the farm, we spent much time in the barns. Ripley's stall was right next to one of the cow aisles. I was impressed - these children work HARD. (Also impressive was the size of those cows!)

Cowgirl Emelie with Skips Special K Ripp

Preparing to run the barrels

Meghan with Ghirardelli during his agility run. The rabbit project leaders called Delli "a star with natural ability!"

Delli in his Hawaiian shirt for the costume contest (or as Meg calls it, "The Rabbit Humiliation Contest")

Bryan trying to drum-up some business outside the Lemon Shake-Up stand

Meggie with her floral arrangement that will be going to the State Fair!

I had a wonderful photo of Ted with his blue-ribbon picnic table that he made for his woodworking exhibit, but it's been lost in the transfer process. I'll post one soon!

Grrrrrrrr......

Due to the amount of SPAM comments I've been receiving lately (those folks in China love my blog!), I've had to enable comment moderation. I'm sorry that you won't be able to see your comments until I approve them, but I'd hate for any of my younger readers (or anyone,for that matter) to find their way to something inappropriate!

If you have suggestions on how to stop the SPAM, please let me know!

Thanks!
Lainie

WFMW - Preschool (and beyond!) Character Curriculum

One of the things I am most excited about for this school year is the Character Concepts for Preschoolers Curriculum that I purchased from theLearningParent.com.



We will be using the character part of the curriculum during breakfast so that everyone can learn from it. In fact, we couldn't wait and have been enjoying some of the books and the CDs since they came over a month ago.



After listening to the CD story on "obedience" on time, Brigitta (5) started quoting "We obey cheerfully, immediately, and thoroughly!" The younger children especially love Crossroads of Character: Learning to Make Wise Choices (they just call it the "cousins" book.)


The same Bible verse and character definition are repeated through the history story, Bible story, flashcards, and "Cousins" story to the memory work is effortless. I love that the Mom's Guide schedules everything out for me along with field trip suggestions, recipes, arts and crafts and more! By the end of the year we will have learned 12 character qualities, their definitions and supporting Bible verses.

I'll be using the preschool components with Heidi (3) mostly to have some one-on-one time with her in the morning before the busy-ness of our school day starts. The set comes with a workbook and flashcards, and the mom's guide has suggestions for history and science reading.

Back to our Happy Place!

We just told the children a couple weeks ago that we were going to head back to Disney World again this year. They were completely blow away!

Bryan started the conversation by telling them how we need to save money and that we wouldn't be using our free Six Flags passes since the overnight hotel stay would cost too much. The children braced for some bad news...

Then Bryan told them that the biggest reason for our need to be frugal had to do with the number "72" he'd posted on the wall -"Because that's the number of days until we leave for Disney World!" The place erupted!

What the children didn't know is that we had booked the trip while driving around the Magic Kingdom parking lot (while Bryan was trying and failing to get into bus parking) last September!

Booking it then enabled us to snatch up the same great deal we had list year - namely, free food and lots of it! This makes it cheaper to spend a week at "The World" than going just about anywhere else.

To date the children have given up boxed cereal completely, enjoyed more beans and less meat, and tried to be creative with their own finances, all so we can have "another dollar for Disney." Can't wait!  

Menu Plan Monday - August 2, 2010

I tend to forget the blissful ease of sandwiches and salad when the weather (and the kitchen) are warm. With a pound of lunch meat only $2.50/lb. at Aldi, it's a very economical way to feed the family!

This week we will be enjoying:
Monday (Bryan Night Meeting) - Baked Mac 'n Cheese, Ham Sandwiches

Tuesday - Chicken Enchiladas

Wednesday (AWANA planning meeting)- Spaghetti & Meatballs, Garlic Bread, Salad

Thursday - Black Beans, Cheese & Chips

Friday - Bible Study

Saturday - Sour Cream Salad, Baked Sandwiches

Our menus for last year can be found at our website. Breakfast menu is here; lunch menu is here.

Find more menus at:

Start Slow, Finish Strong!

Since the Stumpf School will be officially back in session next Monday (gulp!), I've been trying to get my brain around what this year will look like for us.

I will have 6 school-age students from kindergarten to 9th grade. Plus one preschooler and a toddler that is a weapon of mass destruction. Since I will be moderating somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 subjects, this year, more than ever, I will be employing the "start slow" philosophy.

For the first two weeks of school we will focus on the basics: phonics or language arts, math, science, and subjects that are pre-scheduled for 36 weeks. We will hold off on Circle Time, History, Writing, and other subjects that I schedule for 30 weeks per year.

These "light days" will enable us to settle back in without feeling overwhelmed. We'll be able to see the areas in our schedule that need to be "tweaked." For a couple children, we're trying some new curriculum, so we'll be able to tell if it's a good fit without rushing.

The Stumpfs are ready to start back to school and the more structured days that come with it!

Back To Blogging Again...

I'm enjoying a day at a library to get my plans together for school this year and spend some time re-entering the blog-o-sphere. My break ended up being longer than expected but also more needed than expected! Thanks for your patience and emails of support.

We've just wrapped up our 4-H fair work for the year (except for Meggie whose floral arrangement is going to the State Fair), Ted celebrated a birthday, and our family has enjoyed making some plans for the future (both immediate and long-range).

I look forward to sharing what's been going on, as well as what we're looking forward to, over the next few weeks!