SQuIRRT

Summer Quality Intensive Reading Reward Technique :)

Keep your little squirrts reading this summer with this reward program:


I have no trouble getting our children to read during the summer. Each of our independent readers always has a book to read. They all read quickly and eagerly and when they are done, they look for another one. They go to bed with a book every night. After finishing a book, they often come to tell me about it and how much enjoyment they derived from the story. They read a variety of books. They read GOOD books. And, they use the books for inspiration to create original stories from their own heads. Reading is a joy at our house.

I am happy to say that our children are NOT natural-born-readers who come by this great habit by genetics alone. If they were, they would be such anomalies that scientists everywhere might request arrays of testing in cold, smelly labs to try to discover the “reading gene”. No. Our children are good readers because of habits formed through challenges and rewards provided by their parents. This is good news because that means YOU can do this with your OWN children.

Four summers ago I decided to incentivize our children's Summer reading with a points system (No, “incentivize” is not a real word; but, you get the idea; and, it sounds better than “bribe”). Creating a points system was easy enough. For each child I customized what they would each need to do to earn a point based on his/her own reading level. For example, at that time our oldest child could read well enough for me to require her to read 100 pages of a book to earn a point. Our second oldest was a reluctant reader, so I required of her only 30 pages for a point. Our youngest reader was in picture books so I awarded him 1 point for each book he read on his own.

So it looked like this:

Child #1: 1 point = 100 pages
Child #2: 1 point = 30 pages
Child #3: 1 point = 1 picture book

So far, so good. I had a measurable behavior clearly spelled out and customized for each child. Now, what could they cash-in their points for?

(This is the part I like best!)

Cool Back to School Supplies!

When you were a kid, didn't you always look at the rich girl in school with her sparkly rainbow folder or the boy with the Star Wars notebook, and then look down with derision at your peechee folder and 10 cent notebook? I did. So I thought our kids would work hard to earn the good stuff. I set it up like this:

5 points = 1 cool item
10 points = 2 cool items
15 points = 3 cool items
20 points = 4 cool items
20+ points = 4 cool items and a book or CD of their choice.

When I presented this plan to our kids, guess what? They LOVED it! All of them wanted to be the kid that had the nice school supplies! What's more is that I always wanted them to have the nice stuff, but I could never justify the expense. Now I had an excuse to splurge on them because they EARNED it!

At the end of the summer, most of our children had earned more than 20 points. We were very proud and excited. One child was overjoyed to get the BIG box of crayons with the built-in sharpener. Another child got mostly folders with cool pictures of bugs and aliens. I don't remember what our oldest picked out, but after she, a going-on 4th grader, read more than 2000 pages, I was glad to let her pick whatever she wanted.

Our plan has evolved over the last four summers. As each child grows, I increase the requirement to earn a point. Also, I began offering double points for choosing certain types of books. Last summer, I gave double points for the first of each genre they each read. i.e. the first biography, the first, historical fiction, the first non-fiction, etc. This year we will focus on the classics. I have a list of classic books appropriate to each reading level and will offer double points for reading them. You can find such a list here: http://www.amblesideonline.org/index2.shtml These are books that have stood the test of time, and are ennobling in nature for which I want my children to develop a taste.

I you have read to the bottom of this post, you must really want your children to read this summer. I encourage you to try this system. I can only say that it worked for our kids. You may have to adjust it using your parental instincts. Reading is a skill that is developed, not born. It will open for your children a world of fun and learning. Remember that the best way to learn to read is by example. So if you need an incentive to read, set one up for yourself along with your kids.

Chives in my Kitchen Garden

It seems that chives are well-adapted to my area. I planted chives only once and they have come back each year without any help from me. One year I let the flowers get old and it self seeded in little clumps all over my quarter-circle kitchen garden. I thinned the clumps to 4. This year, those 4 clumps are bold and boisterous.

Unfortunately, chives are one of the few things I grow but never seem to use very much. I stare at the clumps and think that the monster-sized one probably ought to go. I shan't let him go to waste, though! No, no! Here is a recipe I am trying this year. If it tastes good, and I think it will, I will mass produce it for gifts.

Lemon-Chive Butter Log

Ingredients
1 Cup sweet cream UNSALTED butter, softened
7 T. fresh, snipped chives
2 T. Lemon Juice
1 T. Thyme, chopped, fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried)

Bring the butter to room temperature, then beat all ingredients together in a small bowl. Do NOT use a food processor. Form into a log inside a piece of wax paper. Twist the ends to seal. Refrigerate until firm, or freeze.

Use with all kinds of meat. I especially think this would be good with pork chops or steak.

For Parents: A lesson from a 2 year-old strawberry patch

Waking up the Strawberries
Along about the middle of March, or early Spring where you live, those hardy Strawberry plants will need a wake up call. Of course they will wake on their own, but without the following procedure, your strawberries will need to push through a thick blanket of dead leaves and vines remaining from the last year. This exercise will remove the majority of the flotsam, leaving the patch fairly open and free to enter full-scale photosynthesis. You will know your strawberries are ready to wake up when you see the first new green leaves emerge.

Choose a windy day for this. The wind at my house is always very accommodating in the spring. In fact, my neighborhood is the unofficial designated spring-training ground for wind. All of those hurricanes that cause havoc in the summer coastal regions got their first practice sessions right here in my backyard. I have found no better use for wind than to blow away unwanted garden debris. If you get a day with the right wind speed in the right direction, your debris may land right where you want it in your vegetable garden spot.

You also need a lawn rake (the flexible kind for raking leaves on grass) and a warm coat and gloves.

Go out to the strawberry patch and stand with the wind at your back. Take a minute to breathe the fresh spring air and reflect on the symbolism of the wind blowing you forward to a bright future. Okay, Enough. It’s too cold for that. Use your rake to gently brush the tops of the strawberry plants just enough that the dead leaves and vines begin to break free and blow away.

Now the strawberries are uncovered from their winter blankets and will happily begin to prepare cheerful white flowers and fat red berries. Help them along with some high nitrogen fertilizer to speed green up and build large leaves. Later in the spring give them a dose of high phosphorus fertilizer to encourage blooms and fruit!


A Spiritual Wake up Call
Strawberries are not the only creatures who need a wake up call. Believe me, I know the joy of dragging my own offspring out of bed on early school-day mornings... each and every morning of the year. It’s a thankless job. But have you ever considered that children need a wake up call not only for their bodies, but for their spirits too? Think about your family’s spirituality. Is your family awake with interest in spiritual things? Do they show love to each other and concern for the world around them? Can they serve others without thinking of rewards? Or are they self-centeredly, spiritually asleep? It may be time for a spiritual wake-up soon.

I have a friend whose husband takes each of their children in turn on a medical service trip to Peru in the summer. They work with their dad as he and his colleagues repair cleft lips and club feet. Those kids get to see first hand the realities of poverty that American kids are generally so insulated from. Her kids spiritually awaken to a new perspective which urges gratitude and prompts kindness.
An experience like this is “once-in-a-lifetime” for my friend’s children but “never-in-a-lifetime” for most of the rest of us. However, other, more simple and more frequent experiences can provide an equal spiritual wake-up call. The experience simply needs to force them to do these three “re’s”: re-think, re-evaluate and remember.

Re-think: the experience should startle them enough to get them out of their “I already know everything” mental state and consider the doubtful reality that they still have something to learn.

Re-evaluate: the experience should cause them to change what they think about their world, to count the blessings they are beginning to see were there all along.

Remember: the experience should bring them closer to God who is the source of all blessings.

Some other examples from my life include:
*My church sponsors occasional workshops for kids age 12-18 with music performances and humorous and inspiring speakers. These workshops present spiritual truths in a way that prompts those three “re’s” in teenagers. My kids come away with a new perspective and a new determination to live a moral and productive life. I have heard these workshops called “life-changing.” I agree. Each time these are offered, I encourage my kids to attend.

*I have read the “Little House” books to my daughters. Those books open their eyes to the way things used to be, the struggles and privation of the people who laid the foundation of our nation. The stories would never persuade them to give up their Nintendo Wii, but maybe they are a little more grateful as their Mario leaves Luigi in the dust.

*My husband and I have taken the time to drive our children to see historical places that are significant to our family. The children realize that the way things are today are not the only way things have been done and not necessarily even the best way.

*While on vacation we always try to visit places that are significant to our religion be it historical homes or churches or temples. The children get the idea that worshiping God is a common practice, a tradition that we should honor.

*It is our dream to someday visit the birthplaces of freedom in America with our children. We want to show them where my ancestor lived in Plymouth Plantation, where my ancestor died at Bunker Hill, Independence Hall, the battlefields at Gettysburg, and at Vicksburg where my ancestor is buried; to see where my husband’s ancestor came through Ellis Island and historical and important monuments, buildings and artifacts that make up the historic district of Washington D.C. We hope a trip such as that will instill pride in their country and a resolve to never let go of the gift of freedom. Not for anything.

Is there a new book you could read to/with your kids? Is there a special place they need to see? Are they in touch with their ancestors? Brainstorm ways to startle your kids into waking up spiritually. Then make sure it happens.

Then stand by as the breezy Spirit of God carries away the deadening flotsam of worry, rejection and discouragement in their hearts so the brilliant Love of God may shine gently down. It will remind them of who they are and add to the vision of who they may become. Soon after, you will see blossoming kindness and the fruits of love and respect in your children.

Opportunists

My brother came with his tractor last night and plowed up our vegetable spot. Not 10 minutes later, a dozen birds showed up to gather the upturned worms. Hmm. How did they know?

Here is my feeble attempt at a poem:

Opportunists

Is it the grind of the tractor

That alerts the suitors,

Or a perk aroma

Only birds can tell,

Of worms up-heaved

With fresh-plowed soil;

An awakening sound?

An arousing smell?

Either or not

The lover-birds come

To capture the prize

And please the brides

What Was Paradise?

I'm ready



















My three oldest children with our mammoth cabbage, 2008

Quote of the day:

"What was Paradise?
But a garden, and orchard
of trees and herbs,
full of pleasure,
and nothing there but delights."

William Lawson

Making Jam the "Old" Way

Did you know that jam was not always so bad for you? Once upon a time, jam was a concentrated way to store fruit for later use. These days, if you haven't noticed, jam contains more sugar than fruit...with corresponding flavor.

Last summer I took my kids to the library for our weekly visit. (I have great success getting my kids to read in the summer, hence a weekly visit is required. But that's another post). While they search the fiction shelves, the foodie that I am (have you seen my picture) usually finds my way to the cookbooks. That day, I picked up this cookbook "Summer In A Jar: Making Pickles, Jams and More" by Andrea Chesman.

The author touts her book's uniqueness by the small recipe sizes for small pickings of produce. I agree that this is a great feature. Most of us have small gardens, tiny kitchens and miniscule blocks of time to devote to a task like canning.

I liked best, though, the low-sugar, natural pectin jam recipes. The pectin (the part of the jam that makes it jell) is derived from apples which are minced fine and added to all flavors of jam, then cooked until a jelling point is reached. The use of this natural pectin allows the jam to be made with a much lower addition of sugar. For instance, a box of name brand powdered pectin calls for 4 cups of sugar to 1 quart of strawberries (1/1 ratio) for freezer jam; and 7 cups of sugar to 2 quarts of strawberries (.8/1 ratio) for cooked jam. Andrea's old-fashioned recipe calls for 1 1/3 cups of HONEY, (great stuff) to 3 quarts of strawberries plus 4 apples (.07/1 ratio). It does take a bit more time to make this jam and you have to use a candy thermometer. This must be why manufacturers opt for the high-sugar varieties. Yet, using my time to make my family's lifestyle better and healthier is the very reason I am a stay-home Mom. I can make quality easier than I can buy quality.

Sometimes the old way is the better way. I can see our culture is rediscovering some of the old solutions and dusting off some of the old values that modern efficiency sometimes leaves out. If you're on board with that idea, you may like this book.

Waiting On The Garden

Today is April 6th. In other years, I would be planting peas by now. As it is, we have had snow for the last 3 days. The soil is soggy and cold and I will not be planting today. Mother Nature will send me her signal when it is time. I will know by her yellow “go” signal. As I have been told by wise gardeners before, “when the forsythia blooms, it's time to plant the peas.” No forsythias yet.
This reminds me of when I was a young college sophomore and I desperately wanted to find true love. I have always been the type of person who needs to commit to an exclusive relationship, longing for a soul-mate throughout my growing-up years. By my 20th birthday I figured I had waited long enough. I was so ready to find that one person to be connected to forever. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long. The following summer I began dating my sweetheart and we were married a year later.
There is always something I am waiting for. Graduations, marriages, births, sending the first child to school, sending the last child to school, the start of the growing season, the end of it. My children measure their lives around the 4 cardinal holidays of Easter, 4th of July, Halloween and their polar star: Christmas. “How many days until my birthday, Mom”, they ask when it's still 11 months away. Do we spend too much time waiting and not enough doing? Maybe.
But, think of this. If we never had winter, when would we plan our gardens? If we didn't have to wait for babies to be born, how would we prepare? If we never struggled through a period of temptation or failure, why would we ever set goals?
And I am living now. I'm nurturing seedlings indoors so they will be ready to go out as soon as possible. My vegetable patch is “shovel ready”: all graphed out with a list of needed supplies. Also, I am nurturing my youngest child as he is preparing to go to Kindergarten next year. I'm cleaning my house and progressing on craft projects that necessarily must go on the shelf when the yard work begins.
Wait time is not “great” time, but it has a purpose. Soon enough, the skies will clear, the temps will warm, the winds will die (or not) and I will have a fresh blister in the bend of my thumb earned by creating all of those raised beds. Not long after that, I will hear from my youngest boy, “Mom, how many days until it snows?”

Strawberries

There are few things as ugly as a bare-root strawberry plant. Yet, if it is treated the right way, it has the potential to produce beautiful, juicy strawberries that will bring great delight to many eaters. Our lives can be like this strawberry plant. Though we may make ugly mistakes, through the atonement of Christ, we can become delightful and perfected. We can fulfill our potential and live with our Heavenly Father in His Celestial Kingdom.

Quote of the Day - Strawberries: "Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did." William Butler