Little Runners

The boys ran for their lives yesterday!

They particpated in the Lidingöloppet, the world's biggest cross-country race. Since the first Lidingöloppet in 1965, hundreds of thousands of runners have participated. This year, over half a million people will have passed the finishing line on the classic Grönsta gärde. Many of them come from countries other than Sweden.

Every year, between 25,000 and 30,000 runners from 25–30 different countries take part. They come for the beautiful natural surroundings, the hilly course, the magnificent autumn colours and for the national festival.
The main categories are 30 km for men and 10 km for women, but there are categories for all ages and all abilities. We even watched 3 and 4 year olds run (with a parent) the one mile race! Hundreds of them!

~N~ ran with nearly 300 other 11 year old boys. He ran the mile in 7:34, which placed him at #156. The fastest runners at this age were running a mile in 5 minutes! We could not believe it!

~D~ placed #226, running the mile in 8:49. He was competing against more than 300 nine year old boys! They each received a medal, a certificate (they call it a diploma in Sweden) and free food and drink after they raced.




I was so proud!

Today is ~D~'s ninth birthday! We'll celebrate with his favorite meal, chicken fried rice, which he will get to eat on the Special Red Plate. I decorated his room with streamers and balloons last night while he slept, so that when he woke this morning, he found himself in a party room! Fun! He also opened a present this morning. Sweet little boy. I can't believe he's 9!

Rejoicing,
Marla

Memorize It!

I've really enjoyed reading Fiona Buckley's historical mystery series, which goes back to the time of Queen Elizabeth I. I'm currently reading the fourth book and today I ran across an interesting thought. The series heroine, Ursula, credits her tutor for her fantastic memory. She describes how he taught her to memorize poetry and to really look at things when they were out walking, to remember what they had seen. Again and again, this skill aids Ursula in getting herself out of the many troubles she finds herself in.

It came to me, after I read that paragraph, that I wanted to strengthen my children's memory (and my own!) I always thought it would be good for my children to memorize poetry and Scripture but I have not incorporated it into our homeschooling yet. I also would like for them to memorize geography facts, such as the capitals of the States, and know where each State is located on a map. I know there are many other items that are worthy of memorizing. Right now, we are memorizing this prayer, which we say together each morning:

Heavenly Father,
We need Thy hand to guide us,
in the studies we pursue.
And the presence of Thy Spirit,
to illumine all we do.
May the things we learn, so meager,
never lift our hearts in pride.
Till in foolish self-reliance,
we would wander from Thy side.
Let them only bind us close, Lord, to Thee,
in whom we find the very fountain-head
of wisdom, light and life of all mankind.

In Jesus Name, Amen
(from the hymn by John W. Peterson) and with many thanks to Donna, where I first saw this posted!!!

I remember memorizing the Preamble to the Constitution, passages of Romeo and Juliet, and inserting names of States on blank U.S. maps when I was in school. What an accomplishment it was to recall these things from memory! I know that I probably can't quote anything I learned back then word for word now, but I imagine that after a little review it would come back to me. Who can forget John 3:16? And why is it that virtually NO ONE ever does forget it??

Our memory is an awesome gift from God. I should do the hard work of putting it to use, rather than complaining about how terrible it is!

Rejoice!
Marla

He doesn't like it....

Last night I held a family meeting, the boys and I, on top of my bed.
I asked the boys if they liked being homeschooled.
They both replied, quite enthusiastically, "YES, YES, we do!"
Then ~D~ changed his mind.

He said, "No, wait! I don't like it."

I turned to him, my heart sinking to my socks and waited for his explanation.

This is what he said,

"I don't LIKE it, I LOVE it!!!!"

Whew.

2 happy children.

One relieved mom.

That's cause for Rejoicing, ain't it?
Marla

Jumbled Thoughts

~D~ had an accident on the trampoline this morning. His bottom lip collided with his brother's knee, thereby splitting it open and causing all of us much distress! I'm glad to say he is making a fine recovery now, and his lip, though swollen and cut, doesn't look as bad as it did earlier.

Yesterday, ~D~ finished reading his book The Good Master. I asked him to give an oral book report last night, in front of the whole family. He did a very good job remembering facts and characters. Today he begins the next book, The Singing Tree. ~N~ is nearly half way through The Bronze Bow. He insists his book is MUCH longer than his brother's and his doesn't have any pictures, so of course, it will take longer to read it.... wink, wink.

We are enjoying the rhythm and pace of our school day. If I begin to wonder how we're doing compared to his public/private school counterparts, I panic a little and can't figure out how to get it all done in a day. I don't have the energy or the willpower to work in any science yet, but I hope that as we all adjust, I will feel like it later. I guess we are focusing on other things right now, like typing skills and learning Spanish, rather than science lessons. I am wondering about providing them each with a science topic and then letting them learn on their own more about it. However, I try not to compare myself with public school.

Today's English lesson for ~N~ was a lengthy discussion on writing an expository paragraph. He chose to write about his 3 favorite types of games: video games, basketball, and board games. I wasn't very excited about teaching on this topic, but after I saw his paragraph come together I realized how important each step of the lesson was.

We had a combined birthday party for the boys on Sunday afternoon. They invited their friends to play a game of Laser Tag, followed by birthday cake and ice cream in the party room, and then opening their gifts. Since it was the last birthday they will celebrate in Sweden, we wanted to do something memorable and fun for them that involved many of their friends they have made since we moved here. It was also the last day that Gröna Lund, Stockholm's amusement park, would be open this year, so we spent the rest of the afternoon there. We took Vidar (pronounced vee-DAR) with us, our 9 year old Norwegian neighbor. The sun came out after a rainy start and we had a wonderful time together.

I hope to get back to some sort of blogging schedule soon. The past 2 weeks have been an adjustment for us as we eased out of our trip and into schooling. Time to make my blog rounds and see what's going on with the rest of y'all!!!

Rejoice!
...for the Lord is good
and His mercy endures forever!

Marla

Remembering Rome

Ahhh, Roma!

We stayed at a bed and breakfast in the heart of Rome, just a few blocks south of Termini, the main train station. From there, we could walk to the Coloseum, which we did on our first day in Rome, which happened to be my birthday! (I must say, celebrating one's birthday in Rome is the way to go!) The owners of the B&B spoke hardly any English. Luckily, Italian is alot like Spanish, so between my husband and ~N~, they were able to somewhat understand each other. Breakfast consisted of walking a block to a little Trattoria, where once again very little English was understood, and where we were served an Italian breakfast. Which consists of a basket of bread, a croissant and an espresso. (I ordered coffee, but was always served espresso, until I learned to ask for American coffee!) Ahem. These cultural differences can be a little bothersome until one has had the coffee they are used to.

The boys ooohed and aahed over the Colosseum, and we marveled at how well it has endured the passing of time. We looked for those 200 kittys that supposedly live there, but they must have been napping in the tunnels under the missing floor of the Colosseum. We were able to walk around the inside but not go down under where the tunnels were located. My boys could hardly stand that. They desperately wanted to walk around those mysterious tunnels and I couldn't blame them. What a strange feeling it was to stand in the Colosseum and imagine what it must have been like for the bloodthirsty Romans to witness a gladiator fight. We imagined the crowds roaring, their thumbs pointed down, and great beasts appearing from beneath the floor through the concealed trap doors. It was like traveling back in time.



The following day we made our way to the Pantheon. This was another incredibly well preserved ancient building. A "pantheon" (temple) to all the gods built in the 2nd century and an architectural achievement like no other. The bronze entrance doors weigh 20 tons EACH and the walls are 25 feet thick. The dome is 143 feet across, and the building is 143 feet high; a perfect sphere resting in a cylinder. But the most marvelous thing to us was stepping inside and seeing the 18 foot hole in the center of the dome, which lets the sunlight and rain stream in. The Pantheon was reconsecrated as a church in 609.



We walked through the Roman Forum, marched up the Spanish Steps (all 136 of them!) and viewed the empty oval grassy space that once was Circus Maximus. Towards the end of our time in Rome, we spent a day at St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. St. Peter's was inspiring. But probably my favorite moment was viewing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I have no pictures but mental ones. I shall never forget standing there and looking up to see Michaelangelo's famous paintings. Wow.



We stayed at cheap lodgings, ate cheap (except on my birthday and the day we got totally ripped off at a restaurant across from the Vatican Museum), walked nearly everywhere, and still this trip cost us a bundle! But I like that saying which reminds us to spend money on memories, not things. We didn't come back with many things, but we sure came back with a ton of memories!

CHOW!

;-) Marla

Remembering Paris

Its great to be a kid again. That's how I felt when I walked through the gates of Disneyland. Like a little girl, ready to experience the joys of childhood in that wondrous place. I never went to Disneyland as a child. The first time my husband and I went to Disneyland was in California as newlyweds. I don't remember being nearly as excited about that as I was about seeing Disneyland Paris with my children! We made a beeline for Space Mountain and were ecstatic to see there was hardly any line at all! We got right on and could have rode again, but instead we went to Honey, I Shrunk The Audience, one of those 3-D shows. Both of our boys were enchanted with the place the whole day long. The weather was warm, but not hot. There were only long lines at a couple of the rides, and those were only 30-45 minutes long.

We stayed at a hostel near Disneyland, which means we were about 30 minutes outside of Paris. The hostel was very basic but clean and cheap. Unfortunately, it was in a bad location and required a 20 minute walk to the nearest bus/train station, then a 30-45 minute journey into Paris. We got used to this set-up, and it was mostly only a pain when we first arrived and had to drag our luggage (thank goodness for wheeled luggage!) there, and again when we had to drag our luggage back!

We visited the Eiffel Tower, taking the elevator to the very top and enjoying a panoramic view of the city of Paris. I didn't realize how small Stockholm was until I saw how big Paris was!



We also enjoyed seeing the Arc de Triomphe, the world's largest triumphal arch, commisioned by Napoleon. It truly was magnificent, more grand than I had envisioned. We saw the gleaming white Basilica Sacre Coeur and the crazy Gothic gargoyles of Notre Dame. Both were mind boggling and beautiful. Our last day in Paris we went to the Louvre, where we thronged around the Mona Lisa with other admirers. ~N~ and ~D~ were mystified by her constant gaze. Her eyes followed them no matter which angle they looked at her! ~N~ kept saying "I can't believe I'm seeing the REAL Mona Lisa!!!" The Louvre is a monstrously huge art museum that would take days to see everything. We took in as much as we could. There were so many fabulous paintings, beautifully rich in details and colors.

I'll save Rome for another entry. If Paris is romantic, I'd say Rome is ALIVE. Very different cities. Both wonderful!!

Rejoicing,
to be back in my own bed
but grateful for the memories,

Marla

We're back, safe and sound

Yesterday: Unpacked, did laundry

Today: School, more laundry

Tomorrow: will write a real blog

In the meantime, here's my little world travelers standing in front of NOTRE DAME, Paris!!!




Rejoicing,
Marla