First day of kindergarten!

Kate started kindergarten today! It's only in the mornings, so we'll still have her home in the afternoons. She's in a combined kindergarten/1st grade class (although in Canada, it's called Grade 1). The kindergarteners do have a separate room where they go with another teacher for part of the morning.



All dressed up and ready to go!




Walking as a family to the school




After a lot of uncertainty, some tears, and the singing of "O Canada", here she is with her class at circle time.

Our baby girl is growing up!

Five in a Row

My friend, Liza, is homeschooling her two boys. When we saw her family in Glacier this summer, she passed along a book to me called Five in a Row by Jane Claire Lambert. It's designed for children from ages 4-8, and provides a guide for teaching Social Studies, Language, Art, Math, and Science using outstanding children's literature. At this point, I'm not planning on homeschooling, but this book really grabbed my attention. I realized that it would be a way to teach my kids some new things, without requiring much time, energy, or money on my part. We read loads of books, and Five in a Row provides simple activities to do with kids based on quality children's books we'd want to read anyway. The basic idea is that you read one book to your kids for five days in a row, accompanied by a couple activities. It rarely takes us more than 20-25 minutes per day. So this is a great resource for homeschooling parents, as well as parents who want to supplement a school curriculum.

For example, this week we did the book How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman. The story is about a girl who wants to bake an apple pie, except the market is closed. So she goes on a wild adventure, picking up wheat in Italy, a chicken in France (for the egg), cinnamon in Sri Lanka, a cow in England (to make butter from the milk), saltwater from the sea, sugar in Jamaica, and apples in Vermont. Here are the accompanying activities for this delightful story:

*Social Studies: We found all the countries on the world map and traced the main character's journey. We noticed how the illustrator depicted the various countries--a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in France, red roofs in Italy, the rain forest in Sri Lanka, and a castle in England. Since neither of us knows much about Sri Lanka, we picked up a nonfiction children's book about the country, and enjoyed looking at the many colorful photos of the island nation and its people.

*Language: We discussed how the author made her story humorous, as well as how she used repetition effectively. There were several good vocabulary words to learn, such as the words superb, locate, elegant, coax, and plantation. Finally, we did a pantomime of the end of the story, where the girl mills the wheat, churns the butter, bakes the pie, etc.

Art: We talked about the street scenes in the book, how the illustrator made the pictures humorous, and the use of color contrast.

Math: When the girl visits Vermont, she picks 8 apples, giving one to the chicken, one to the cow, and eating one for herself. That leaves 5 for the pie. This was a good lesson in subtraction. Of course, we had to bake an apple pie at the end of the week (using the recipe on the back page), and Kate used various sizes of measuring cups.

Science: Since the main character made salt for the pie by obtaining seawater, and evaporating it, we did the same. A fun and easy experiment! We also talked about why the girl brought the chicken and the cow along on her journey--because bacteria can ruin foods if they are allowed to sit out for too long.

The activities are all spelled out in the book. Five in a Row is designed so that you can adapt the curriculum according to time and interest. You can also come up with supplemental field trips and activities as you desire. For example, you might pick up a CD of music from a country featured in one of the books or head to a museum that relates to the theme of a book. Here's the Five in a Row website--there are 4 volumes, and resources for older children as well. The website lists the children's books covered in each volume. I've found that my library has about half of them, and I plan to request the others through interlibrary loan.

8 things I love about my husband on our 8th anniversary

There is so much to love about Eric but here are 8 things, because we've been married 8 years today!

1. His devotion to God--it is his passion to know God, to understand His word and to teach it to others. What a privilege it is to partner with him in this!

2. His sense of mission. When he was finishing up his doctorate at Edinburgh, his one goal was to serve God wherever he was needed. Whether that would be in California, England, Sudan, or a little town in Saskatchewan, he was eager to go!

3. His depth of soul and mind--anyone who reads his blog can see this. I love his strength of conviction combined with his ability to see the complexities of life.

4. His sense of humor--he's had me laughing from our first date!

5. His love of creation--whether hiking in the Scottish Highlands or walking on a prairie road in Saskatchewan, he loves being out in nature.

6. His devotion to our children. He is a wonderful father and our kids just adore him.

7. His devotion to me. We have lots of fun and great conversations, that's for sure. But he is there for me just as much when I'm struggling in some way.

8. His authenticity. Eric does not pretend to have it all figured out. He is open about his struggles and his utter dependence on God's grace. I have heard students say they love the fact that he is so honest in class. We're all on this journey together.

Plus, he's so strong and handsome! I love you Eric!

An American's Experience of Britain's Healthcare System

From what I can see on websites like CNN, it seems like there's a lot of anger and fear about healthcare reform in the US, and not enough calm dialogue about the pros and cons of different systems. Here's an interesting post about Britain's National Health Service from a friend of mine who lived in the UK for 15 years. Read the comments too, mostly by other Americans in the UK and Brits in the US. I had much less experience with it during my years there than she did, but I can agree that people can choose their own doctors, and that the postpartum care is excellent. Also, as she says, anecdotes can only tell you so much--you can hear negative stories about any system. I will say though, that after living for six years abroad now among the Scots and Canadians, I've never heard anyone claim to have a perfect healthcare system, but for the most part, people seem satisfied with their care. Wee Lass with a Latte links to the above post as well and weighs in with her experience.

August flowers

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
~Edna St. Vincent Millay, "Afternoon on a Hill"

Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum

We finally made it out to the Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum and had a great time! It was fun and educational for the kids to see how people lived years ago. We wondered together about what future generations will think about the way we live in 2009!

Here are some photos from the day--if you click on them, they enlarge.


At the Sukanen ship--this was built by a Finnish homesteader named Tom Sukanen during the Great Depression. His plan was to sail down the Saskatchewan River to the Hudson Bay and then across the Atlantic back to Finland.




Full view of ship




Sign on the side of the ship




Grave






One room schoolhouse




Looking around the classroom




Kate loved the dress shop!




Doctor's office




General Store




Playing checkers in the general store




There were lots of trucks and tractors around!




Theatre




Old farmhouse



The kids weren't too sure about this guy!




The Diefenbaker Homestead--this is where John Diefenbaker, a former Canadian Prime Minister, grew up.




Gardens--we saw corn, squash, peas, beans, onions, carrots, and saskatoon berries!




Train station--note the real caboose that visitors can walk through. Will loved it!


I'd definitely recommend a visit here if you're in the area. Children 5 and under are free!

Fun with the Ortlunds in Tennessee

After our time in Glacier, we parked our car at the airport in Great Falls and flew to Nashville, Tennessee. All of Eric's siblings came as well, and we enjoyed a family reunion, as well as an early celebration of Ray's 60th birthday! It was a joy to finally visit Immanuel Church as well. We were able to go to three church services, hear Ray preach, see Jani teach Sunday School, and meet all the wonderful church members!



We celebrated Kate's 5th birthday!








John and Dane talking together before family photos




Gavin and Esther




Will gives Bapa a hug



Dane and Stacey with Ray at his birthday dinner. Stacey made an amazing video of Ray's life, as well as a very memorable scrapbook with tributes from family and friends.




Zachary and Will watching a 4th of July parade. These cousins really became buddies on this trip!




Kate at the parade. My American kids have never lived in the US--so I was grateful they could experience this patriotic holiday.




Mayme with her grandkids at the parade




Will



Bapa and Lizzie




Erin and Krista



Mayme doing crafts with the kids




Will learning how to hit the ball!