Sculley Family 2003
Sculley Family 2003 Academic Curriculum Guide
Teamwork Rocks!
The theme for our family in 2003 was TEAMWORK. Solomon said it well: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up . . . If two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?” The girls take that last part literally, & slip (mostly unnoticed) into our nice warm king-sized bed in the wee hours of the morning (snuggling is so fun!). From sharing chores to soccer teams, ministry teams to math clubs, the Vineyard church to visitors, praise teams to prayer teams, happy birthdays to home groups . . . life is not meant to be lived in isolation, and we’re very grateful for the many team-mates God’s brought us to walk it out with.
Math
Paul = Karen = 40! (that’s an exclamation point, not a factorial :))—thanks for all the birthday wishes; from Jul to Dec, Peter + Jonathan + Michael + Cascade + Karis + Esther = 40 (pretty cool, huh?); the set of who lives here continues to morph over time—our good friend Flossie F. stayed with us till August, then our new friend Paul M. moved in (we’ve had surprisingly few glitches with 2 Pauls in the house!)—they are both incredibly thoughtful, considerate, and giving—a total joy to live with; Peter & Jonathan each won awards in math competitions we entered in our math clubs.
Anthropometry
Peter’s tall enough to ride any roller coaster at Six Flags; Jonathan’s a couple of months behind him; the others are stair-stepped on down from there, the shortest being Karis, who still manages to reach whatever she wants. How’s that for scientific measurements? 🙂
Visual Arts
I took the plunge and got LASIK in April (from 20/400 to 20/20 in 5 minutes—no more glasses!!); what an amazing gift—highly recommended (my favorite new experiences are to see twigs on trees in the distance, and to be on my boogie board & see my kids on the beach); other visual arts include the boys’ room (especially when filled with Jonathan’s Knex creations); Michael’s & Cascade’s Worship Dance class; all the girls’ ballet (Miss Kathy is their hero)—Cascade wants to “dance forever”; I love developing web sites.
Medicine
Medical excitement included Michael’s sphincter pharangyoplasty surgery in January (a vocal success!) & Cascade’s broken arm (a fashion success—first a full-length neon orange cast, followed by a bubblegum pink short-arm cast; finally a black & red sling).
Literary & Dramatic Arts
One of our favorite around-the-dinner-table activities is quoting, um, not Shakespeare, but “Finding Nemo” or other deep literary works: “Fish are friends, not food!”, “Coo coo ca-choo . . . Totally, dude!”, “Bad squishy!” We love acting out Mr. Bean, too . . .
Culture
Rite of passage: as an 11-year-old, Peter earned the privilege of choosing a pet—and we’ve been enjoying Slippers the cat ever since (an adorable, cheeky, playful rascal he is—both of them, actually)!; weekly date nights—thanks to Flossie, Paul & I have enjoyed many evenings out on the town; we also each set aside a night each week to date the kids one-on-one.
Macro-Economics
Paul is finishing out the year at Georgia Pacific; we look forward to seeing what God will do next—He’s always been faithful to provide; there’s no formula to reconcile what comes in with what goes out—he multiplies and blesses us beyond our wildest dreams.
Micro-Economics
Peter saves fastidiously, earning way too much for his annual birthday bonus (age% of bank account); Jonathan makes charts of his projected annual earnings; Michael occasionally knows where his money is; Cascade trades hers for Chuck-e-cheese tokens so she’s ready for her next date with daddy; Karis & Esther prefer shiny pennies to dollar bills (we hope that lasts for a while longer).
Technology
Peter is a Java whiz-in-the-making (the computer language, not the caffeinated version :)); I’m hoping to learn how to use my new cell phone by the end of next year (the kids will teach me); we’ve gone digital with our photos this year; still can’t program the VCR; Peter & Jonathan take great delight in all technology upgrades, because they get to take apart all the old stuff.
Reading
Paul listens to John Grisham, Sherlock Holmes, or Agatha Christie books-on-tape during his downtown commute; I read aloud at mealtimes (recent favorites: “The Cat of Bubastes”, “Tom’s Midnight Garden” & “The Little Princess”); Peter reads voraciously; Jonathan enjoys Guinness’ Book of Records; Michael’s a walking animal encyclopedia; Cascade loves junior versions of classics (which is why Esther named a doll “Jane Eyre”); Karis & Esther automatically grab a couple of books each whenever we head to the car; the boys’ favorite evening activity is listening to books on tape while creating robotic, electronic, or other model masterpieces.
Writing
Karis is passionate about her chalks (“chocks”)—a favorite driveway decoration; the older children enjoy sending weekly encouragement postcards to those dear to them; Esther enjoys her coloring, and happily spends time each day at the little red table; I enjoy writing prolifically, but rarely with a pen & paper—Outlook, Word, Publisher, & FrontPage are my writing tools of choice!
P.E.
Praise & worship, soccer, adventures in the woods, archery, dance, ballet, running laps, Flossie’s P.E. with the Sculley & Parkison boys, trampoline, fort, neighborhood walks, foosball, air hockey, kickball, swimming, vacation hikes . . .
Trichology
Cascade has mastered the art of trichology by arranging 63 hair clips, barettes, elastics, scrunchies (collectively called “hair boos”) in her & her sisters’ locks; Paul dabbles in this subject by starting a debonair mustache whenever he gets away on a men’s retreat.
Creative Arts
Jonathan continues to grow as a fabulous potter; Cascade is an artiste extraordinaire too; play-doh is our favorite family art medium, and we freely mix the colors :); we all love chalks & paint; Master’s Academy is a delight for the older kids; birthday party fun (J—pizza & llama piñata; K&E—Mexican; C—princess; M—pirate {at one point, the pirates raided the princesses}; P—rock-climbing).
Music
Esther earned the distinction of whistling at the youngest age in our family (3); our 5 pianists provide a continual feast for the ears (we’ve even gone digital on piano!); Peter enjoys Bach & Kabalevsky; Jonathan loves Handel; together they are preparing their first duet for a fine arts festival; Michael and Cascade are progressing wonderfully through their pieces, which change weekly; I was tickled to receive a “Who’s Bruce Hornsby Even Though I Sound Like Him” award from our Atlanta Vineyard worship arts dept 🙂
Nutrition
Sculley food groups: chocolate, coffee, peanut butter, Chick-fil-A, home-baked bread, & granola; supplement with multivitamins, extra iron, and Fire gum; oh, and toasted marshmallows at our fire pit; thanks to cousin Sharon, corporate purchases from Kraft Foods ® are becoming another staple in our diet; we love Frontera, Macaroni Grill, IHOP, Chili’s, Bruster’s, Starbucks.
Field Trips
Paul & Jonathan had the awesome privilege of being on a team that traveled to Ufa, Russia in July, joining a team from our sister church in Perm. They did servant evangelism projects alongside Russian brothers and sisters and saw God move in many people’s lives. The whole family spent a week in the mountains (gorgeous views) and a week at the beach (soaked up as much surf & sand and as little sun as possible). We enjoyed many field trips, especially frolicking in the fountains at Centennial Olympic Park and “accidentally” getting soaked. Peter went on his 1st youth retreat to the beach—earned the most-sunburned award—ouch!
Language Arts
Continuing with Latin; laid German aside; picked up Spanish; we’re learning useful phrases like “Hannibal ad portas” and “El camarero deja caer la bandeja” – one has to do with someone at the gates, the other to do with someone dropping plates 🙂
Ecosystems
Paul says he doesn’t remember promising “to love, to cherish, and to rearrange furniture whenever the mood strikes me”—but, hey, it doubles as an aerobic workout :); other Sculley family ecosystems include the boys’ room, Paul’s truck, and my desk (reminds one of an archaelogical dig site); a friend & I taught missions at a VBS in an underwater cave (well, it kinda looked like one).
Career Guidance
Paul—another contract :); Karen—homeschooling: 8 years down, 13 to go; Peter—engineer / chemist / computer programmer; Jonathan—architect / inventor / scientist; Michael—teacher / police officer / firefighter; Cascade—ballerina / doctor / housecleaner; Karis—mountaineer / cheese tester; Esther—talk show host / mother of many (she loves her dolls!).
May you know the love of Jesus Christ and place your hope in God . . .
We love you! Paul, Karen, Peter (12), Jonathan (9), Michael (8), Cascade (6), Karis (3), Esther (3)
Peter (in Dec)—“Jesus is pretty popular this time of year!”
Karis—“Can we ride the calculator?” [escalator]
Cascade—“The first time I experimented it . . .” [experienced]
Esther (adoring Slippers)—“I want to soft the kitty”
Peter (a la Latin)—“I ate fast, I ate well, I ate lots!”
Karis (with a Russian wooden whistle)—“This whistle’s not working—Daddy will have to put new batteries in it”
Michael (happy guy)—“I love it!”
Jonathan (age 9)—“Muuummy! My laptop doesn’t work!”
Cascade—“Sometimes your tummy doesn’t need something but your taste buds really want it!”
Peter (of a woman in labor)—“She was having transactions”
Esther—“We got bellyjeans when we were at Sunday church”
Karis—“Look! The birdies are flying to the south to winter!”
Peter (after piano lessons)—“Jonathan and I are doing a duel!”
Birthday wishes: K—“a billion dollars!”; E—“a cookie!”
