Teaching. Sorting. Digging. Finding. Harvesting. Magic Schoolbusing. Not Finding.

Uffda!  So far this week for school for Sophie and Clara, I've been filling in with busy work: reading and dictation, and grammar by identifying parts of speech in their dictation; some unused pages ripped from Elsie and Jeremy's Thinking Skills books from way back when; penmanship, again unused pages from other used books;. and some math and geography lessons I had at one point printed up from on-line sources that were never used.

But today!  Today.  This afternoon, after the girls had worked on the above sorts of things for an adequate amount of time, so we got to some chores that needed to be done.

We had found all Jeremy's old Magic School Bus computer games that he had gotten for Christmas from Uncle Mark and Aunt Lisa.  Wow that was a long time ago.  Just a little context for how old these are, ... we had to change the setting on my Windows 7 computer to work at a Windows 95 level.  So Inge was able to travel through time to learn about dinosaurs while the rest of us worked.

Clara surprised me by harvesting the ripened tomatoes that I had been trying to get to.  She also picked the bushel or so of apples that our most mature but still young tree produced this year.  It's so fun to finally be getting fruit from it after all these years. 

While Clara was doing that Sophie and I dug through about 20 boxes of books that had been boxed up in the store room since we converted the school room to Louisa's bedroom.   Ooh, for mildew smell on the bottom layer.  Made me want to cry. 

But the good news is that we've found almost all we need for a successful school year. 

But we found unused spelling books and penmanship books. 

I found many science ideas.  I'll just have to decide which to use.  I have many of the TOPS science books, a very fun hands-on approach to science that I think the girls could do on their own.  This would be things like Electricity and magnetism, Light and color, studying life science with things like grains and beans, and I don't remember what all I have down there.

And they could also choose The Human Body (or introductory anatomy), for which I have many resources.  My favorite of these is Daryl Vriesenga's Human Body workbook that has basic and detailed fill-in worksheets for all the body parts and systems, plus a cut and glue model of the human body, layered from drawings of all the various body systems. 

I also have Apologia General Science, but I think that would be better a few years from now if I want both girls to be able to work together.  It's a little advanced for Sophie to reap the full benefits.  And I think Clara is probably still just borderline ready for it when I remember the homeschool necessity of independent work.

I had asked the girls whether they wanted World History, American history, or an in-depth study of a smaller period like Renaissance/Reformation/Enlightenment, or Medieval History, etc.  They both agreed they'd prefer World History so that makes it easy.  I found the Level 6 and 7 Sonlight boxes and the box that had all the teacher's guides and reproducibles.  Those will have all we need for grammar, writing, reading, and World History I and II.  We'll have to see how far we get.  

Clara is interested in learning Spanish, and I have many, many resources for that.  I think the one most appropriate to her age is the Elementary Powerglide program.  We also have a Standard Deviants Spanish DVD; and an Instant Immersion Spanish set of discs, that I think we got with our first HP computer.  And we have many, many Spanish picture books, including the Adventures with Nicholas books from Berlitz.

Sophie wants to study Latin, so I had to order that.  I decided upon Getting Started with Latin, which is designed for independent homeschool learners whose teachers are entirely unfamiliar with Latin. Sounds like just the thing for us. 

I didn't find the aBeka Pre-algebra book that I know I saved.  Jeremy had used only the first handful of pages and then went into 8th grade in Oklee.  I can't imagine I sold it.  But where?  Where would I have stored it?  I hope I don't have to order another of those, since they're kind of expensive.  But I also don't want to wait much longer before ordering...  What to do, what to do.

And I'll also order some Singapore Math workbooks for Sophie.  We have the text books, but no workbooks that are unused. 

It feels good to be ready.  And it's nice we have so many things we don't need to purchase. 

Is this really art?

This is from the Nick Jr. show, Yo Gabba Gabba.  I know nothing of the show.  I stumbled upon this video because of a list of recommended children's youtube channels.  Yo Gabba Gabba was the favorite of the person putting together the list. 

I watched a few episodes with Inge.   Yes, she was interested.  Yes, she was involved.  Yes, she was stimulated. 

Strange.  At first glance, the whole show seemed to me little more than a retro hippy drug induced creation.  And at second glance.  Third....

As I watched the above clip, I was reminded of a discussion going on in worldview and education/homeschool philosophy circles many years ago.  Perhaps it still is.  I mostly no longer have the energy to pursue such intelligent philosophical banterings, so I can't say for sure.

The idea was that 20th century art is widely a reflection of the wider 20th century tendency to forgo rules and order.  What appears in this video to be a bunch of adults clowning around and making a huge mess, is called art.

I don't deny that art is everywhere.  Creativity abounds in humanity.  Beauty abounds in the earth.  Interesting and challenging ideas can be portrayed visually.  Touching moments, hardship, violence, accomplishment, virtue, etc.  These can all be portrayed through visual media.  That to me is art.  At least visual art.

But the above definition of art?  Really?  I think we as a society can and should do better than this.  We ought to hold higher standards before our children. 

Mt. Rushmore and Patriotism

Donna, Inge, and Stella; with Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln in the background

Louisa is holding Donna; our friend, Rachel, is holding Inge; and John, against the backdrop of Mt. Rushmore National Monument.

A mama and young mountain goat along-side a trail at Mt. Rushmore.









Day 3, Wednesday, August 21
We saw Mt. Rushmore, had a picnic lunch, and explored Keystone. Then we came back to our home away from home for supper.

My kids, of course as is typical, made friends with one of the only other campground guests.  This time, Louie from Canada, who is traveling the US for perhaps seven months.  I'm always a bit nervous knowing my kids are so friendly and will talk to pretty much anyone.  But I was thankful that he came over and introduced himself, and we visited a little while.  I know where my kids get their friendly ways.  After Louie returned to his campsite, Joe asked me whether we should invite him to have supper with us. 

Joe gets that gift from his Mom and her parents who make friends wherever they go.  The day our oldest son, Jeremy was born, the rest of the family was hosting a surprise 70th birthday party for Grandpa Kindler.  After the party, Grandma and Grandpa headed west for a little vacation.  I believe they were actually on their way to Portland for an annual Marine Corp gathering of WWII vets who had served together. 

Grandma and Grandpa were hoping to have word of the arrival of their first great-grandbaby before starting out.  But alas there was not yet any news.  When they stopped for supper, they called the hospital to to check in.  As would become apparent, they had shared their joyful news with the other diners.  After Joe's mom told them of Jeremy's arrival, they hollered out, "It's a boy!" which announcement was met with cheers all around.

But returning to the tale of this trip, and to our campground, I was tired.  And we had evening plans.  So I when Joe asked if he could invite Louie, I asked Joe if he would feel too bad if we had a simple family dinner.  Or at least as simple as a family dinner for eleven, cooked over a fire, at a picnic table, with the dishes in a nearby camp bin, and washing up with water heated over the fire can be. 

After said simple family meal, we rushed to get the dishes done quickly, in order to hit the road once more.  We planned an evening trip back Rushmore for the nightly lighting ceremony. Wow, was that good! Really! I'm sad, though, that we didn't get any photos.  We had forgotten the camera in the van. 

The evening started out with a patriotic and informative film which focused on the ideals that has made America great.  And on the four presidents whose faces grace the stone monument, and how these men forwarded American ideals. After that, the big beacon lights were turned on, lighting up the mountain.  The film showed snapshots of our American life. The background music on the film curing that part was a vocal rendition of America the Beautiful. The second and third verses of that anthem never cease to catch me in the back of my throat.

O beautiful for pilgrim feet   Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat   Across the wilderness!
America! America!  God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,  Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved  In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved  And mercy more than life!
America! America!  May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness  And every gain divine!

Those two verses seem to capture much of what is best about America.

A park ranger then came up on the stage and asked us all to stand for the singing of the National Anthem. That was hard enough. Man! I love my country. I think we are a great land that has served humanity well. I feel especially blessed when traveling, seeing all the beauty of the land. Such riches in soil and minerals, and simple beauty to gladden the hearts or man. And the people!  Truly a great and glorious citizenship!

So of course I got all teary-eyed. Inge got a little rambunctious and started climbing around on the benches, which was a good thing. It focused me back on reality, and my job as a mother, rather than continuing to blather over how blessed we are.

But then...

After the National Anthem was over, the Ranger invited all active and retired service members to the front for the colors ceremony. All these many, many people who have served us. Provided our defense. Cared for us. Offered to give their lives if necessary. All these people. Probably close to fifty of them. They got to descend to the stage of the amphitheater. They stood at attention while the ones closes to the flag got to lower it and help fold it. When that was done, the ranger had them all introduce themselves and tell the branch of military of which they are or were a part.

It was very, very touching. Especially at this time of my life. On my way to my son's USMC graduation. I was undone. 

  America the Beautiful
Words by Katharine Lee Bates, Melody by Samuel Ward
  O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for halcyon skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the enameled plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till souls wax fair as earth and air
And music-hearted sea!

O beautiful for pilgrims feet,
Whose stem impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till paths be wrought through
wilds of thought
By pilgrim foot and knee!

O beautiful for glory-tale
Of liberating strife
When once and twice,
for man's avail
Men lavished precious life!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till selfish gain no longer stain
The banner of the free!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
Till nobler men keep once again
Thy whiter jubilee!

Of flattened air mattresses, Storybook Island, and a Stavkirke

Day 2 Tuesday, August 20  

My last update ended with this, “Then we tucked ourselves in and slept like babies.”  That was not technically true.  I slept like a baby, which I generally do no matter where I am.  But there were various reports upon waking, of Joe's snoring waking up the different kids.  When I was young, I was already a very deep sleeper.   I remember my mom and others saying that once I had kids, that would change.  But it has not.  I sleep very deeply.   And don't hear a thing.  There were many times when Joe would have to kick me to feed one or another of our babies when they cried from their cradle right next to my bed.

But I see now that it's a gift from God.   This sleeping deeply thing.  When Joe stayed with another pastor friend of ours, Pastor Thompson said in the morning, “I've heard snoring before, but this, … this was incredible.”

But I hear nothing.

Thankfully the campground had few enough other campers we were in no danger of getting kicked out for breaking the quiet time rules.

Oh, and even after all our careful work patching the air mattresses, we still had two that were flat by morning. Joe's and mine included. I still slept soundly the first night. But each subsequent night was a bit more difficult. My hip bones or upper thigh bones or something became very sore. Who would think a little sleeping on the ground would leave me with areas feeling all bruised and beaten? This middle age stuff is definitely not for the faint of heart. I feel like such a wimp. But even just having the kids slide up on my lap tonight was painful after a few days, if they hit my upper legs in the wrong place. Sheesh. Maybe that means I need to do it more often to keep those thigh muscles properly toned for ground sleeping, … or something?

On our second day out, we drove around. That did not make our older girls happy, since they were all keyed up to swim. The day was very hot, but overcast. We needed to stock up on a few grocery type items and pick up the few things we'd discovered we'd left behind, or the ones we had didn't work. We needed milk and butter, since we didn't pack it from home. I had forgotten my swimming suit, John's flip-flops fell apart by the end of the first day, and Joe needed a new saw, since his did not work. That saw though, that was a good deal. For the cost of eleven bucks for a new saw, we were able to forage enough wood for our cooking fires. At $5 a bundle of wood from the campground hosts, that paid for itself in two meals.

So we drove around. We saw many miles of pretty scenery, taking a somewhat circuitous rout into Rapid City. We wanted to check out some area lakes so we'd know what ones fit our recreational wishes. Once we finished our shopping in Rapid City, we had a picnic lunch, and then went to Storybook Island, a free child oriented park in Rapid City. We went there once before, with Matt, Jeremy, Louisa, and Elsie. The girls were too young to remember, but Matt would probably remember having to go sit in the car with his dad because he ran ahead of us.

The Abrahamsons, doing Piratey things

Storybook Island is a wonderful little place that even the teenaged girls enjoyed. I wouldn't say they'd beg to go there again, but they did have fun.  I was pleased with them and proud of the good heart the showed when they would have rather been doing other things. The park has little houses or displays from many famous childhood stories and nursery rhymes. A child for instance, can go in one house and look over the Cat in the Hat's shoulder and read from the book of the same name.  The walls of the little house are decorated with pages from that story.

You can climb a tower or walk through a tunnel in Winnie the Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood.  Or perhaps you'd like to board a Pirate ship, or go into Giupetto's workshop where he's busy working on Pinocchio. There are many other little houses and scenes that the littles love exploring.

See, Sudesh, we did follow the Yellow Brick Road

After Storybook Island, we headed for our Campground, but on the way, we stopped at the Chapel in the Hills, a reproduction of a Norwegian Stave church. Boy was that beautiful! And it was fun to see a little pocket of Norwegian culture in amongst all the wild west flavor of the Black Hills.

"The Chapel in the Hills is an exact replica of the famous Borgund stavkirke, of Laerdal, Norway. The Borgund stavkirke was built around the year 1150 and is considered the most completely preserved stave church still standing in Norway."

"Another characteristic of the stave church is the woodcarving which abounds in muchof the architecture of Norway. Woodcarving was a prominent part of building traditions before churches were built. The vikings brought their woodcarving skills along with their construction techniques to the building of the Stav Churches. As more and more stave churches were built and dedicated to the worship of God, a rich symbolism grew up, with elaborate explanations of the spiritual meaning of the various carvings and parts of the building."

---

We then went to the campground where Joe made us a lovely supper of grilled hamburgers, roasted potatoes, and onions. Those who chose to, could eat their hamburger in a warmed corn tortillas (we eat primarily Gluten Free due to at least one and possibly others in our family who suffer from celiac disease.)  The others simply ate their burgers sans bun.

After we washed up the supper dishes, we roasted marshmallows, and then hit the sack. I think Joe played his guitar a little while, to help everyone sleep.

Joe showing off his muscles while blowing the fire to start a new section going. He found out the push-up method was maybe not quite so great, because when he'd give a gusty blow the debris from the kindling would fly up in his face. This was a bit challenging when in the "down" position of a pushup.

Family Fun in Tight Quarters

What does a carload of kids do to keep entertained for several hours in vehicle?

All Packed up and Ready to Go

A view from the back.

Day one, Monday, August 19
The goal was to leave at 4:00am, to get an early start. But by the time Joe and I finally had everything ready the night before, it was no longer the night before. It was 2:10 am. Time for a change of plans. Joe was all for getting the kids up, and leaving right then. So that we wouldn't have to drag ourselves awake after less than two hours of sleep. I was thinking more along the lines of postponing our departure time for couple of hours. So that we wouldn't have to drag ourselves awake after less than two hours of sleep.

I won.

It wasn't really a very big disagreement. I simply asked Joe, “Considering my chronic headache lately, I'd really like to sleep horizontally for at least a few hours. Could we please leave a little bit later?” He sighed heavily, grunted and groaned and carried on, and then said, “Sure.”

Not really. Really, he just said that it would be fine that way, too.

So we set the alarm for 5:30 and fell into bed. I think we were both sleeping before we hit the pillows. At 5:30, we got up. Well, I got up.

The plan was for me to make coffee and get the coolers filled. Joe was to empty the household garbages, and then get kids up and rolling.

I got up. I put the coffee on.

But alas!

I ran a nice pot of clear coffee.

And Joe fell back to sleep.

I thought I'd do up the last few dishes, and spilled dish water out the edge of the dish drainer.

The kids had trouble thinking, too, and wandered around in a somewhat clueless fashion.

We finally left home about 6:15. Not exactly our goal, but at least we were on the road.

All the happy kiddos!

Even with all our great cargo space, we still needed to have the coolers right inside the doors. It makes getting in and out a bit complicated. But lunches on the road are easier this way.

We also had to stop in Red Lake Falls to return library books that would come due while we'd be gone. I think we had about 30-35 to return. I had to keep reaching my arm into the little door and flinging the pile to the sides in order to fit all the books in. So, … I'm sorry, ladies, if I left a mess in there for you to pick up. I would have much preferred returning them the previous week, when you were open. We could have had a little visit. And we'd have not had to plan an extra stop first thing after we got going.

But I ran out of time.

Once we were on the road, everything went smoothly. It always does. We generally think of a few things here and there that we've forgotten.

But we were free!

Free of the everyday responsibilities of life. We're on VACATION! It's such a fun feeling to hit the open road. There's rarely anything we could forget that we can't either live without, or pick up along the way.

A few days before we left, in response to a facebook post about our coming trip, our friend, Sudesh (the primary mover and shaker behind this website and fund drive, by the way) posted a fun video. It was from an “Indian Beach Movie” from the 70s, Bombay to Goa. The scene he posted was of a busload of tourists, all looking a bit like Elvis or Annette Funicello, singing and dancing about their trip. The tune to the song was that of the Beach Boys' Help me Rhonda. “Bom-bay-bom-bom, Bombay to Goa! Bom-bay-bom-bom, Bombay to Goa! ...” and so on. The driver was swaying back and forth, and his steering wheel was freely swaying with him. We had all laughed as we watched it.

After we left home, somewhere heading south on I-29, I dozed off. But in one of those fun twists of happenstance, when Help Me Rhonda came on the radio, Joe excitedly woke me up so we could all sing and dance as we drove. Unlike the folks in the movie, though, we stayed safely buckled in our seats. And Joe only pretended to freely wave the steering wheel back and forth.

For the most part, the kids got along well during the entire drive. When the kids first started clambering for something on the radio, Joe hooked up his mp3 player to his little broadcaster doohicky so we could all listen to his audio files. But which would he choose? We never quite know with Joe. And he had that mischievous gleam in his eye.

It might be the New Testament in Koine Greek or modern Hebrew language lessons. It might be an audio book of classic sci-fi tale such as John Carter of Mars or something by H. G. Wells. Or it might be a podcast of anything from the Lutheran radio show, Issues, Etc, to Michio Kaku's Science Fantastic.

We were pleasantly surprised to hear that our listening entree for the morning would be an NPR radio theater production of Don Quixote. That title has always been on my to-read list, so I was kind of excited. But it turned out to be kind of only so-so. It really wasn't very enjoyable. We listened for awhile, but it just didn't capture any of us.

After lunch, we put on C. S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew. The older kids have all heard or read the entire Chronicles of Narnia, but we've not done as much read-aloud with our younger children. So for many of them, this was a new story.

It was fun to see the kids notice the parallels to the Biblical texts. Aslan creating Narnia of course, being the primary one. Some of the younger kids have read or been read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was fun to see the lightbulbs come on as they pieced together who the characters were in the Magician's Nephew, compared to those in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

That story took us across the eastern end of South Dakota, from Watertown, to about Pierre.

The South Dakota Capitol in Pierre

At Pierre, we drove past the capitol. It's a pretty building. I like the contrast of the dark colored dome.

The fields of golden sunflowers holding their heads up toward the sun, or the heavier ones drooping their darker heads toward the ground was one of my favorite views of the day. There were many places where the dusty golden bales of hay in adjacent fields contrasted nicely with the bright yellow of the flowers and the deep green of their leaves.

Not a very clear picture, since it was taken as we were driving.  But it gives a little taste of the pretty colors.

Later as we got into the more arid landscape of the west, we saw some very pretty draws. The grasses were a light, almost silvery green, and the treetops of what was likely primarily cottonwoods tufted out of the meandering shadows in a dark green. The sandy color of the ground where the soils had eroded added nicely to the texture of the landscape.

After Pierre, we quizzed the kids on the number of state capital's we've driven through or been to. John remembered having been to Bismarck and now Pierre, but he didn't remember the others until we prompted him. “Where do Aunt Kathy and Uncle Joel live?” “Olympia?” “What about Boise when we went to see Aunt Beth?” “Oh, yeah, Idaho!” “Or what about driving through Iowa when we went to Aunt Aimee's?“ “Hmmm, Des Moines!” “Where do Kristi and John live?” “Or how about when we camped with Lisa Hecht?”

Gradually they named Bismark, Pierre, Boise, Olympia, Des Moines, and Madison. The older kids weren't in this conversation, but some of them also might have added Lincoln, Wichita, Springfield, and St. Paul. We live quite far from all of my relatives, so most of our vacations have been road trips to see the Aunts and Uncles. That's one reason why this trip is such a treat. We'd be seeing different areas of the country. Areas we'd not usually have the luxury to choose to explore.

When we were done talking about the states, the bigger girls asked if we could hook up Rachel's iPod, so they could hear some country music. We jammed to Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw and others. Singing and swaying just like the tourists in Bombay to Goa. I was driving at this point.

I, like Joe earlier, avoided swinging the steering wheel like the driver in that movie.

Instead, I simply let go and let the car go where it wanted on the empty South Dakota highways.

Louisa had asked recently, when we were also singing something or other, “When you and dad were first married, did you drive him a little bit crazy always singing?” I'm glad he's patient with us girls. Because we sure have fun with our music. But I suppose he and the boys do, too. Or all of us, even, really. Just different music among different family members. Earlier in the morning when Joe had been listening to oldies, we were all singing along gustily to Joan Jett in I Love Rock and Roll.

Another kind of tradition we have fun with on vacations is something perhaps unique to families living in areas as flat as northwest Minnesota. When we go up and down big hills, we wave our arms in the air like we're on a roller coaster and holler, “Wheeeeeee!” Inge's a little young to have much memory of that kind of hills, since they're so rare in the areas we generally drive. When several of us waved our arms on one biggish hill, most of us yelled, “Wheeeeeee!” But Inge instead started singing “Like the ceiling can't hold us, like the ceiling can't hold us,” a line from the song by Macklemore that she's heard her sister playing.

We stopped for a quick trip at Wall to fuel up and to look around. It turned into an hour, of course, since it's hard to stop quickly at Wall Drug.

Later, we were wending our way through the Black Hills on the way to our campground, I told the story of when we had come this way on a different trip long ago. We had just four kids then, and we were camping in the area overnight on the way out to Washington to see my family. We had checked out books on the area from the library ahead of time. We had read about Mt. Rushmore and the artist, Gutzon Borglum. We had talked about the presidents and why Borglum might have chosen each of them to carve into stone, representing forever our great Land. As we got nearer and nearer the Monument, the excitement was building in the older boys. Finally we came around a curve that gave us our first glimpse of Mt. Rushmore. Matt was so excited, he couldn't get the words out fast enough. “Rount Mushmore. Mount Borglum. Gutzland Rushman!” It took him five or six tried to finally get the right words out. “Mount Rushmore! Gutzon Borglum!”

We drove a slightly different route down to Custer this trip, and only had a tiny glimpse of the mountain this time. But we'd spend a day there later in the week.

We arrived at the very quiet and peaceful National Forest Campground, Comanche Park. We breathed deeply of the heavy scent of pine. The kids and I set up the tents and sleeping areas, while Joe made supper.

Then we tucked ourselves in and slept like babies. 

The camp is set up

Marine Graduation Trip 2013

This series of posts will be gradually copied from the US Marine Grad Project blog.  Again, we're so thankful for the generous gifts we received from so many of you.  We will keep that account open, and plan to do a family fund raiser each year, to have moneys available to help other Marine families in financial need.  The focus will be for families affiliated with the Fargo area recruiting substation, for traveling expenses to attend recruit training graduation.  But Joe and I will prayerfully consider all other Marine family related financial needs.

Click on the Marine Graduation Trip 2013 index tab to read the entire series.