15 in 2015: watch "The Sound of Music" with the kids

via

Watching The Sound of Music was one of the "15 in 2015" items that I was most looking forward to doing with the kids. I grew up on this movie, and had sung most of the popular songs from the movie to my kids since they were very small. Aside from a youtube clip on the famous puppet and yodeling scene, they didn't know much about the movie's plot, characters, nor did they tie all the songs together as being from the same film until watching.

I'm not sure how many times I've seen this movie in my lifetime, but I know it's over 10 (which seems fairly high for a movie). I tried to have restraint and not sing along to all the songs that I loved, but that barely lasted the first five minutes when Maria belts out, "the hills are alive, with the sound of music!" I sang along, and was so pleased that the kids also remembered some of the songs from their toddler years, including one we sang to them often before bed, "Edelweiss".

We watched the movie over two days, ending the first day with the Intermission, and then finishing it the following day. The kids loved this movie so much, and I was grateful they didn't get mired down in some of the more adult parts. They were somewhat bored with Goerg's and Elsa's longer scenes, but didn't seem too worse for wear overall. Lukka thought it was hilarious that Maria made the children's clothes out of curtains, and both of the kids loved the 'Do Re Mi' and 'The Lonely Goatherd' songs the most. They were practically jumping in their seats when Maria returned from the abbey. Watching the end of the movie, Lukka asked quite a few questions that led to a brief history lesson on Nazi Germany and why the VonTrapps had to escape their home in Austria.

All in all, I'm so glad I waited until the kids were a bit older to enjoy this movie with them, instead of watching it when they were too young to appreciate it. Even Ani perhaps should have been a bit older, but she sat with us engaged the whole time and loved the singing. The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies, and I'm thrilled my kids love it, too. I look forward to many musical renditions in the home, watching it or not!

Comments

Home School Activities: Board Games We Love

My children have recently become enthralled in the world of board games. I was never a board game player. Sure, I remember long summer hours (days? it seemed like it..) spent around a Monopoly board, but I was never one to suggest to get out the cards, or a game. As my children have grown and they are now able to do activities with me, I started noticing that they really took to puzzles (when done all together) and the one or two board games I happened to have kept in the storage room. They were always asking to play Candy Land and so I figured I should branch off a bit. Over the course of the last year, I have found GREAT games, even ones that I love to play alongside them. The amount of 'teaching' they have gotten through games is jaw-dropping. Counting, team-playing, math related patterning, are just some of the skills I've watched develop. I asked before Christmas on facebook what my friends and their own kids loved and I was thrilled with the response. We have found ov

Top 10 Books of 2017

early sunset in Ft Langley I love reading all these "Top 10" lists of favorite books read throughout the year, so I'm adding my two cents. I'm involved in a Book Club that I love with women from our church, a small group that meets every week and goes through a book every few months, my own list, books I'm reading aloud to the kids and books I'm reading for educational purposes (think professional development). I took a look at all of those combined and this is what I got, in no particular order: * The Problem of God by Mark Clark - I loved going through this academic apologetic book with my friends from church. It led us to great discussion, and good food for thought. I listen to Clark's sermons every week and so knew I'd probably love his writing style, too. If you have objections to Christianity, or are feeling confused about what to believe, this is a great primer. * You're Smarter Than You Think by Dr. Thomas Armstron

August Book Titles

* 50 Women Every Christian Should Know by Michelle DeRusha -- I heard the author on a podcast and the book sounded good. It was described as a book full of 5-7 page mini biographies on each woman, and that sounded both easy and interesting. It was. I really enjoyed this book and plan to give it away as a Christmas gift to someone I know will get a lot out of it. I really don't know that much about Christianity's historical females, and I felt I learned a lot. Some of the women I had never even heard of before, and it was fun to read about women I'd heard of before by name, but knew little about their lives. * The Story of Science by Susan Wise Bauer -- Oy. This book was tough to get through. Not because the writing wasn't good (it was excellent), but because of the subject matter and my right-brain. Out of any schoolish subjects, I would rate Science as my least favorite and most difficult. I read this book because when I had the kids' school order it, I thoug

Our House in the Middle of Our Street

Search This Blog