Mom Teaches 2

We've moved...

2010-12-28T09:04:00.000-08:00

I have moved! Well, not really, but I created a new blog. I have had a homeschool blog and a family blog for the past year or so. But, it's too hard for me to maintain 2 blogs (well, 3 if you count my Disney Travel blog). So, I've combined them under a new name, and I would love if you would stop by and follow me over there. My new blog will be my 'life' blog. I'll blog about whatever is on my mind - school, life, family, you name it. This is my last post on this blog. All further posts can be found at...

This Sweet Life of Mine

Feel free to check it out. I'd love it if you would follow me over there. Make sure to leave me a comment so I know you stopped by. See ya soon!!

Christmas Around the World – Week 1

2010-11-17T10:43:00.001-08:00

Emma and I are beginning our Christmas around the world studies. I’ll try to post weekly what our plans are and the links I’m using. Hope this helps you guys out a bit…

Christmas Around the World Intro:

Mom will read Christmas Around the World.
We will hang green poster paper on the wall to be our Christmas tree. As we study each country, we will add an ornament to the tree.
We will listen to Christmas music as we hang our tree.

Japan:

Mom will read Tree of Cranes.
Read about Christmas in Japan from GTG text.
Emma will fill in a notebooking page I created for her to go along with the GTG text.
Emma will create a paper fan using the templates from The Crafty Classroom. She will then hang it on her tree.

Argentina:

We will discuss Christmas in Argentina using the information on the Homeschool Share website.
Emma will complete a few lapbook pieces and a color page. Both of these will be added to her notebook.
We will listen to Argentinian Christmas carols as Emma completes her work.
We will bake some Pan Dulce, and take a picture to add to her notebook.

I’ll be back this weekend to post pics and next week’s plans. :)

Bach Lesson Plans

2010-10-29T04:22:00.000-07:00

We are using a combination of History of Classical Music by Beautiful Feet and Harmony Art Mom’s music appreciation plans for our Music Appreciation studies this year. We just finished up Vivaldi, and we are gearing up for Bach.

*Note, we do Music Appreciation for 30-45 minutes each week. The boys are also required to do outside reading and a written summary at the end of the unit.

In addition to completing lessons 7 – 10 in HOCM, we will do the following activities:

Listen to Classics for Kids.
Boys will read a biography and write a summary. Isaac’s summary is to be 1/2 – 1 page long. Logan’s is to be 1 to 2 pages long.
Emma and I will read and lapbook Bach’s Big Adventures.
Emma will color this page to add to her notebook.

I highly recommend Beautiful Feet’s History of Classical Music. It is a great curriculum. Some of the activities assigned in this unit include vocabulary, mapping Germany, listening to music by Bach, copying scripture that pertains to his life. My children and I really enjoy it.

From the Teacher’s Desk

2010-10-26T06:17:00.000-07:00

Here's our plan for week 6:

Morning Devotions: Logan is reading a book his youth pastor gave him. Isaac is reading No Girl’s Allowed. Emma and I are reading God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible.

Read-Aloud: I’m reading Understood Betsy to Isaac and Emma. I’m also reading Of Courage Undaunted to all the kids during our history block. For literature, I’m reading Bunnicula to Emma.

Drill and Recitation: Each of the kids is memorizing a poem – E: As Soon As It’s Fall; I: The Sparrow; L: She Walks in Beauty. The boys are memorizing the Preamble. And, they’re all memorizing Psalm 139: 13-14.

Math: Logan is enjoying his College Algebra class at the local college. Isaac is working on reducing fractions by factoring. Emma is reviewing telling time to the 1/2 hour, counting by 6’s, and drilling her addition facts.

Writing: Isaac did some pre-writing for a descriptive essay about Thomas Jefferson. Logan is working on a paper about Napoleon. Emma is working on week 9 in Writing With Ease.

Spelling: All About Spelling lesson 11 with Emma and daily tests with Isaac from Spelling Power

Grammar: First Language Lessons 1/2, lessons 110-111 (reviewing linking verbs), Logan is finishing Chapter 3 in Rod & Staff English 6 (as a grammar review for SAT Prep). Isaac is finishing Chapter 2 in the same book.

Languages: Emma is on Chapter 7 in Song School Latin. Logan is working through Unit 2 in Monarch Spanish 2. We temporarily dropped Latin for Children with Isaac since he was having trouble finishing his work through the week.

Health: Logan is wrapping up chapter 3 in Total Health Plus. He’s working on a food journal, chapter review, and a ‘healthy me’ collage.

History: We are all finishing weeks 3 and 4 in TOG Year 3 Unit 1. We’re finishing our studies of the Industrial Revolution and Thomas Jefferson’s first term in office.

Science: Isaac is finishing Module 2 in General Science – learning about the scientific method. Emma and I are learning about recycling this week. I’m hoping we can tour the recycling plant next week. Logan isn’t taking a science class right now. He’ll take one next semester at the college.

Bible: We are moving into our study of Daniel in Bible Study Guide of All Ages.

Extras: Emma is continuing to work through her Awana Sparks book. Emma will attend her dance classes, and Isaac will attend his pottery class. Emma is working on her needlepoint picture. All three of the kids will make a potholder (our ‘easy’ version of weaving).

Creativity

2010-10-25T14:36:00.001-07:00

Emma and Isaac enjoy creating. They were excited to participate in last week’s Sketch Tuesday and Lego Quest online activities. I highly recommend these activities. The children are given a ‘theme’, and are free to create however they choose to interpret that theme.

Barb (Harmony Art Mom) hosts a weekly ‘Sketch Tuesday’ activity. She sends out an ‘assignment’, and the kids are free to create within that theme. Last week’s theme was ‘something with an antenna’.

“The caterpillar spins a cocoon and turns into a butterfly. the clouds and sun are dressed up with antennas for Halloween.”

…Sketched with pencil and colored with Prismacolor colored pencils…

The other activity the kids participated in is over at Lego Quest Kids. Again, the kids are given a theme and encouraged to create based on their interpretation of the theme. Isaac and Emma were super excited about this activity. One thing they did (that I thought was neat) was they created separately. They were very concerned about being influenced by each others creations. So, Isaac created first. I took a picture of his, and he hid it in his room while Emma created hers.

This week’s theme: Halloween

Isaac loves to create words and letters with Legos. BOO!!

Emma’s display shows a dinosaur coming to get the guys. There’s a guy chained down who’s about to get run over. Beside the house, there is a guy in a coffin. Inside the house there’s a guy chopping off someone’s head. And, upstairs there is a guy mixing a potion.

(I’m convinced that only little girls with big brothers could possibly create stories/scenes like these! Otherwise, there would be princesses and fairies involved!! Ha Ha!)

Field Trip ~ Exploring Nature at the Heard Museum

2010-10-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, my aunt and her boyfriend came to TX for the Titans/Cowboys game. While they were here, we spent Friday walking on the trails and exploring the museum at the Heard. The trails are so nice, and we all had a really good time.

We were all intrigued by this tree. You can see where it was hit by lightning. What’s neat is that it is full of beautiful, green leaves.

Can you see the spider web in the tree?

Can you read this sign? No? Let me type it here for you. Maybe you can help us understand what it means.

The Dimetrodon was the dominant carnivore of the early Permian period, but it actually existed before the dinosaurs appeared on the earth.

Hmmm…Well, ya see…This was seen at the dinosaur exhibit. So, is a Dimetrodon NOT a dinosaur? Or …I don’t even know what else? LOL!

Sweet little log cabin with a moss-covered roof

1st Annual National Homeschool Graduation – May 2011

2010-10-13T14:50:00.001-07:00

National Homeschool Graduation – May 2011!

Join other homeschool families from around the country to celebrate one of life’s greatest accomplishments! At this first ever event, high school homeschoolers get the chance to have a graduation ceremony in the Happiest Place on Earth – Walt Disney World! There will be a rehearsal, Baccalaureate Breakfast, Graduation Ceremony and a dinner/dance complete with everything your graduate needs - including cap and gown. You can come for the day or make a real celebration out of it and stay for as long as you like. We will plan all of the festivities for one day so your family and friends can take advantage of making as many magical moments as you can at Walt Disney World.

What is the first step to planning your graduate’s day? Buy your tickets for the graduation by clicking HERE. Next, we can start planning your accommodations and dining. Fill out a no-obligation quote form by clicking HERE to get started. Finally, you will be contacted with information on how to start preparing all the details to honor your special graduate.

Need more information? Subscribe to my Disney Travel Blog by clicking HERE, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up on all of the latest news!

The Ultimate Field Trip 2011

2010-10-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

The Ultimate Field Trip for Homeschool families – now in our 7^th year!

We are planning three wonderful events for homeschooling families from all across the United States to participate in. Our Mega Meet kicks off the beginning of The Ultimate Field Trip and is scheduled to take place on Monday September 5^th, 2011. This year we are adding a Downtown Disney Scavenger Hunt during the week. Saturday September 10^th we will meet for breakfast at ‘Ohana’s (my FAVORITE place to eat in WDW). Afterwards 3D Travel Company will be transporting families to volunteer at Give Kids the World.

How do you register? Click HERE for a FREE, no-obligation quote to Walt Disney World so you can experience The Ultimate Field Trip with many other homeschool families. Be sure to mention UFT 2011 in the comment box on the quote form. Once you’ve paid your deposit, you can register for the events you wish to participate in. The Ultimate Field Trip – 2011 is in its 7^th year – we have many returning families each year and look forward to meeting our new families as well.

Want to know more? Subscribe to my blog (Goin’ to the Mouse House), join our Yahoo Group, follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

2nd Grade - Week 3 (9/27)

2010-10-04T04:40:00.000-07:00

Week 2 of school left a bit to be desired as far as attitudes go, but it will get better as we settle into our new school year routine.

Memory Work – Mom’s phone number (just to confirm she knows it), names of 7 continents/4 oceans, 1 John 4:14 and John 3:16 (for Awana)

Bible – We completed lessons 9 and 10 in Bible Study Guide for All Ages. She is still really enjoying the workbook pages that go with the curriculum. We are currently learning about Joseph.

TOG – We read about Napoleon (and made a crown like his). We labeled continents and oceans on a world map. We read Seeker of Knowledge, and Emma used the book to draw some hieroglyphs. She created a poster about plants and animals found in France.

WWE – She did the next lessons.

AAS – We reviewed the spelling rules from Step 6 and 7 (Level 2). We did these last year, so we just reviewed this week.

Song School Latin – She is loving this curriculum! She loves learning Latin phrases. She loves the chants. This week she finished up Chapter 3 which was all about feelings.

Free Reading – She read quite a few books this week. She read The Little Engine That Could, MSB Insect Invasion, The 108th Sheep.

Literature – I am reading Nim’s Island to her. I am reading just a chapter a day. We then discuss the vocabulary words (from the unit study found on HSS). I have chosen one ‘go-along’ activity for each chapter, as well. This week we made bread, did a sink/float activity, discussed the need for sleep and created a sleep graph, and played a ‘fishing’ math game.

Geography - This week we learned about oceans. She learned their names, labeled them on a map for her notebook, tagged them on our wall map. We discussed why oceans are salty and learned about coral reefs.

Science – to go along with our study on oceans, we learned about several ocean animals this week. We read and lapbooked about sea turtles, jelly fish, and star fish.

Math – Emma completed 3 lessons and a test in her Horizons math book. We also played math war to practice her addition and subtraction facts.

Grammar – We completed the next two lessons in First Language Lessons 2. We reviewed the poem ‘The Goops’ and pronouns.

Extra Curricular – Emma takes tap, jazz, and ballet classes after school. She is also involved in Awana at our church.

Next week, we will continue reading Nim’s Island. We will move our geography studies to South America – focusing on Argentina first. We will study some animals that can be found in Argentine (like the anteater). We will begin discussing the Industrial Revolution in history.

Geography - Cookie Dough Map

2010-09-25T11:42:00.001-07:00

Last week, I posted my geography lesson plans for learning the seven continents. In those plans, I mentioned I would be making a cookie dough map with Emma. We both loved this project. Here are pics:

Hip Homeschool Hop

2010-09-21T05:24:00.000-07:00

Geography – Week 2 - Continents

2010-09-18T09:32:00.001-07:00

This week , Emma will learn about the continents. We will discuss lines of latitude and longitude. We’ll discuss hemispheres. She’ll be required to learn the names of the 7 continents and where they are on the map. Here’s our plan for the week:

Read Latitude & Longitude.
Talk about hemispheres and lines of latitude/longitude.
Watch latitude/longitude video on You Tube (Latitude, Longitude, and Time Zones)
Complete notebooking activity.
Use the atlas to practice longitude/latitude/hemisphere information.

Read Earth’s Continents.
Learn ‘continents/oceans’ song.
Complete ‘continents’ book from Enchanted Learning (must be member).
Complete ‘continents’ map activity from Enchanted Learning (must be member).
Match continent cutouts to world map.
Play game online (GeoSpy @ National Geographic Kids)

Watch continents video on YouTube.
Review the continents/oceans song.
Match the continent cutouts to the world map.
Complete ‘Our Father’s World’ pages 37-40.
Play ‘continent hop’ from Spell Out Loud.

Watch continents/oceans video on YouTube.
Review the continents/oceans song.
Play the matching game.
Play continent hop.
Finish any assignments not completed this week.

Map quiz.
Song review.
Make a cookie dough map. We will use two tubes of cookie dough. We will roll one flat, bake it, and ice it blue (oceans). We will roll the other tube flat and cut out (the best we can) the shapes of the continents, bake them, ice them green/brown, and place them on our map base (oceans). I will post pictures when we’re complete it.

To coordinate with this lesson and next week’s (about oceans), Emma and I will be reading/notebooking Nim’s Island. I will post my plans for this unit later. Also, for science, she will be learning about insects this week (as they can be found on 6 of the 7 continents) and ocean animals next week. I will also post plans on those topics soon.

Music Appreciation – Vivaldi

2010-09-14T17:46:00.001-07:00

This week we will begin a short unit on Vivaldi. I only teach music appreciation Tuesday and Thursday so this unit will take us 2 weeks to complete.

Day 1:

I will read from The Story of the Orchestra, and we will listen to the accompanying track on the CD.
We will listen to “The Stories of Vivaldi and Corelli” to hear about the life and music of Antonio Vivaldi.
The boys will complete a notebooking page answering questions provided in our History of Classical Music text. Emma will color a picture of Vivaldi to add to her notebook.
The boys will add to their music glossaries.
I will read about Vivaldi from How to Grow a Young Music Lover.

Day 2:

Each of the kids will begin reading a biography about Vivaldi. Emma will read I, Vivaldi. The boys will both read Vivaldi and the Baroque Tradition. After completing their reading assignments next week, each of the kids will write a short summary. Emma will complete a lapbook piece I found HERE. Isaac will write 1/2-1 page, and Logan will write 1-2 pages.

Day 3:

Logan will read from and listen to “Classical Music Start-Up Kit Vol. 1”.
Isaac and Emma will listen to the Vivaldi show on Classics for Kids.
I will read from The Story of the Orchestra about the viola.
We will listen to what it sounds like online and compare/contrast it to the violin.
All children will add Vivaldi to their timelines.
The boys will continue reading their biography.

Day 4:

Finish up the biography if necessary.
Write summaries.

We took a week off already!

2010-09-02T16:47:00.001-07:00

Yep! This homeschool momma took a week off already! Well, it wasn’t really a week off, but we didn’t do school this week. I mentioned before that I work for a company that specializes in Disney destination vacations. Each year, during Labor Day week, we host The Ultimate Field Trip in Walt Disney World. This year, I volunteered to embroider all of the backpacks which will hold our give-aways. In addition, I offered to personalize some backpacks for the other ladies who work with me and their children. So, this week I finished the last of the 56 backpacks that were ordered (in addition to general pre-trip errands and house cleaning/laundry that needed to be done)! We’ll resume our homeschooling upon our return from Walt Disney World.

Here’s a look at what I did instead of teaching this week…

PS ~ I am slowly adding Disney-themed items to my new Etsy store – Goin’ to the Mouse House.

PSS ~ I would love for you to follow my new travel blog Goin’ to the Mouse House. It’s in the beginning stages at the moment, but I will regularly post on that blog after our upcoming trip to WDW!

Curriculum – Bible

2010-08-28T06:07:00.001-07:00

In years past, we have memorized Bible verses for our ‘curriculum’. We have also used Rod & Staff and Explorer’s Bible Study. All of the above have worked well, but did not meet all of my expectations. Here’s why…

We did memorize Bible verses and review them daily. This is good, because it’s planting seeds in their hearts. But, I wanted more. I really wanted us to learn more about the Bible instead of memorizing verses out of context.

So, last year I added a ‘curriculum’. Isaac used Rod & Staff while Emma used Explorer’s Bible Study. Both of those are fantastic Bible studies, and I highly recommend both. However, I really wanted something we could all do together. I wanted something that really digs deep into the Bible. I found that in Bible Study Guide for All Ages.

Each day follows the same format. We start with some drill. Currently we are learning about and discussing the divisions of the NT, and then we’ll begin memorizing the books of the NT. There are review games or Bible drills which have the kids (namely Emma) practicing to find books/chapters/verses in the Bible.

Then we review things we’ve learned in earlier lessons before moving on to the new lesson. After reading the day’s text from the Bible, we read additional scriptures that tie in to the theme of the day’s message.

NOTE: The curriculum can be supplemented with mapping and a Bible timeline. However, we do NOT do these. I really just wanted the focus to be on the Bible itself.

Now, on that note, I do use the workbook pages for Emma. These are separate from the teacher’s guide which is all you really MUST purchase to use this curriculum. She and I both love the workbook pages. One side is a mixed review – reviewing information from previous lessons. The other side is a review of that day’s lesson. It is in comic book format, but it is so neat! It goes trough the lesson verse by verse to review. See the photos for examples.

Emma does the workbook page while Isaac and Logan narrate. I like that they are able to make connections between what happened before and what is happening now (in the lessons). Below is a sample of one of Isaac’s narrations about Joseph…

While Joseph was in charge his brothers came for help. Over 20 years had past since they sold him as a slave and they did not recognize Joseph. Joseph recognized them and told them to come back with there younger brother but there father would not let them take there younger brother because the last time they took a younger brother he was killed.

I’m pleased that Isaac remembered what he’d learned about how long it had been since Joseph had seen his brothers. This was because BSGFAA had us ‘do the math’ and figure out how long Joseph had been gone. I think that tidbit of information lends a bit more to the story of Joseph (and is a fact I never paid attention to in all the times I’ve read/heard the story of Joseph).

I really do LOVE this curriculum. I like that I have found something that all of us can use together as we dig deeper into God’s Word!!

New Disney Promotions

2010-08-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

I don't have my Disney blog up and running, and I promise not to overload this blog with too much Disney talk. But, this news is just too good not to share!

Disney has extended their FREE dining promotion through September 2011 for most travel dates. In addition, they are also offering gift cards valued at up to $500 when you purchase select packages. Click on the following link for more details:

GIFT CARD PROMOTION

FREE DINING PLAN

For your FREE, no-obligation quote you can visit 3D Travel Company.

If you're interested in joining hundreds of homeschool families for The Ultimate Field Trip 2011, you can visit our Ultimate Field Trip page.

Busy Weekend…

2010-08-15T09:32:00.001-07:00

It’s been a busy weekend (and week leading up to this weekend). I have lots going on, but in just a few shorts weeks things will slow down.

I’m working on a new blog for my new job with 3D Travel Company – a travel agency that specializes in Disney destination vacations! My new blog – Goin’ to the Mouse House – will be a place where I can chat about all things Disney! And, I’m in the process of opening a Goin’ to the Mouse House store on Etsy where I can offer all of my Disney-themed creations for sale.

I’m working on some promotions for 3D Travel’s upcoming Ultimate Field Trip (UFT). I’m embroidering backpacks that will be given away to all of the homeschool families who are attending our field trip in September – at WALT DISNEY WORLD!!

I’m gearing up for our new school year. I wanted to start two weeks ago, and even gave it a good try. But, I wasn’t as ready as I wanted to be so we waited. Tomorrow, we will re-start our new school year. I’m ready and prepared. The kids are ready for some structure, as well. Can’t wait to see what this year holds for us! **I haven’t forgotten about the Bible Study Guide post I promised. I will get to it. I’m just a bit swamped right now. **

So, I’ll remain this busy until after UFT (early September). Then things should slow down…until our new 3D Travel promotions kick in and I start booking Disney vacations that is!

Bible Study Guide

2010-08-04T08:04:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness! We are taking a quick snack break on day two of our new school year, and I had to hop on my blog. We started using Bible Study Guide for All Ages this year (lesson 1 today), and I am in love!! I will definitely be back to post in much more detail! But, I had to share about how excited I am about this curriculum...

Last Year’s Reading Lists…

2010-08-03T19:33:00.001-07:00

I’m posting last year’s reading lists so I can take them off my sidebar. I just want to have a record of what we’ve read. Click on the link above (Books We’re Reading) to see this year’s reading lists.

Read-Alouds 09/10

A Light in the Attic
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Child's Garden of Verses
Dolphin Treasure
Dophin Adventure
Follow My Leader
George Muller
Hana in the Time of Tulips
Hans Brinker (GIC) - to Emma
Homer Price
Little House in the Big Woods - to Emma
Paddle to the Sea
Peter Pan (Great Illustrated Classics)
Saint George and the Dragon - to Emma
She Touched the World
Silent Night
Squanto and the First Thanksgiving
Story of Doctor Dolittle
Strawberry Girl - to Emma
Uncle Wiggily's Story Book
Where the Wild Things Are

Books Read in 1st Grade

A Baby Sister for Frances
A Cheese-Colored Camper
Alexander Graham Bell
Amelia Bedeilia's First Valentine
BB Scouts and the White Water Mystery
Be My Valentine!
Belinda the Ballerina
Blueberries for Sal
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Christmas in Mouseland
Danielle the Daisy Fairy
Duck and Cover
Duck Soup
Each Peach Pear Plum
Elephants on Ice
Fancy Nancy
Fancy Nancy and the Boy from Paris
Fancy Nancy Tea Parties
First Friend
Fluffy's Lucky Day
Geronimo Stilton: A Christmas Tale
Geronimo Stilton: The Kingdom of Fantasy
Give Thanks to the Lord
Harry the Dirty Dog
Heather the Violet Fairy
Help Me, Mr. Mutt!
Henry and Mudge and the Big Sleepover
It's a Baby: Flying Fox
It's A Baby: Kangaroo
It's a Baby: Tasmanian Devil
It's Spring
Jack's Garden
Katie Kazoo: Drat! You Copycat!
Katie Kazoo: I Hate Rules!
Labradors
Luke Skywalker's Amazing Story
Magic School Bus Plants Seeds
Mouse Soup
Mr. Putter & Tabby Paint the Porch
Mr. Putter & Tabby Walk the Dog
Nate the Great: San Francisco Detective
Owl at Home
Princess Ellie Takes Charge
Red Pizzas for a Blue Count
Rembrandt
Shannon the Ocean Fairy
Shimmy Shake Earthquake
Snow
Sugar Snow
Sunflower House
Superfudge
Taking Care of My Eyes
The Apple Pie That Papa Baked
The Christmas Kitten
The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid
The Day it Rained Hearts
The Easter Cave
The Eye Book
The Jellybeans and the Big Dance
The Leprechaun's Gold
The Story of the Easter Bunny
Thea Stilton and the Mountain of Fire
Thunder Cake
Valentines Are for Saying I Love You
We Work at the Vet's
Winter Days in the Big Woods

Books Read in 6th Grade

C. S. Lewis
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw
Escape fro the Carnivale (A Neverland Book)
Gilgamesh the King
Gulliver's Travels (GIC)
Helen Keller
Louis Braille
Magic Keepers
Martin Luther King Day
Rembrandt
The Eternal Hourglass: Magic Keepers
The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp
The Family Under the Bridge
The Hunger Games
The Kid Who Became President
The Kid Who ran for President
The Revenge of Ishtar
The Solar System: Asteroids

Books Read in 10th Grade

Bronze Bow
Change-Up
Gym Candy
Homeboyz
Julius Caesar
Left Behind
Night Hoops
The Hoopster
Tribulation Force
White Fang

It’s Back-to-School Time

2010-08-03T05:22:00.001-07:00

I love back-to-school time. I love new school books. I love new notebooks and crayons and pointy colored pencils. I love all that a new year has to offer. I love planning new fun things to learn about. I love looking back and seeing how far we have come in this journey we call ‘Homeschooling’.

So, today we embark on the first day of our new year. Logan is starting his junior year of high school. Isaac is now in middle school as a 7th grader. And, little Emma Grace (she now wants to be called by first and middle names) is starting the 2nd grade.

Today, I don’t have too much planned. I intend to ease into our new school year. With the kids so spread out in age/grade, it really does take me a few weeks to find a routine that works for me – one in which there is not so much ‘wait until I’m done with him/her’ time.

Here’s today’s agenda…

All three kids will spend time doing free reading. This is when they read for pleasure (not an assigned book). I split Emma Grace’s time between her reading to herself and me reading to her. We stocked up on books at the library yesterday so everyone has a stack of books to read through. And, I will be reading Trumpet of the Swans to Emma Grace.

All three kids will do some history reading. As we gear up for TOG this year, the kids had some summer reading that I didn’t assign. So, now I’m assigning it. They will all read about George Washington. Isaac and Logan have a slightly longer list to tackle throughout the upcoming weeks, as well.

Isaac and EG are still working to finish up last year’s math books. We will work through these for the next three weeks. At that time, we will switch to full days of school and to their new math books. Logan is still working to finish his BCIS computer class from last year.

And, we will start setting up our notebooks for TOG. This week, we will work on making President cards, state cards, vocabulary cards, and labeling the US map with the original 13 colonies.

That’s it. I expect that our school day won’t last more than two hours. This means the kids will be done before lunch, and will still have time to play with the neighborhood kids before they head back to school in a few weeks.

Have you started back to school? If so, how’s it going? If not, when do you start?

Plans: History of Classical Music

2010-06-27T08:18:00.001-07:00

This year I will focus on Music Appreciation for our fine arts lessons. I will be using Beautiful Feet’s History of Classical Music. While using this book, we will listen to classical music, learn about the composer’s lives, and learn about where they lived.

I will be using this book with a wide variety of age ranges ~ 2nd, 7th, and 11th. For Emma (2nd grade), I will not require research or detailed maps. She and I will work closely together. Isaac, 7th grade, will work more independently. He will use the book as it is written. He will complete all assignments as they are detailed in the guide. Logan, 11th grade, will also complete all assignments as they are written in the guide. In order to ‘beef up’ the studies so he can earn high school credit, Logan will also be using Harmony Art Mom’s music appreciation lesson plans for high school.

We will do two lessons each week (there are 75 total). We will do the initial lesson component together. The boys will be required to do mapping and research before the next lesson. Each of the children will have to read a biography about each composer we study. They will all be required to write a report/summary at the end of each unit. Emma will dictate/write 2-3 sentences. Isaac will write 1/2 – 1 page. Logan will write 1-2 pages. Occasionally, Logan will write an opinion paper as described in his high school lesson plans.

Below, I have created a carousel showing the resources I will use with this unit. I am excited to use this book, and I hope the kids enjoy the classical music studies.

I’m back!

2010-06-26T13:53:00.001-07:00

I’m back, and I’m ready to blog again! I am so glad I took a blog break, but I have so much to write about. Now that I’m in all-out planning mode for the upcoming school year, I am ready to share plans I as go.

So, as I plan our year, I will post thoughts and ideas here. I am also in the process of cleaning/purging/reorganizing the school room. As I work my way around the room, I’ll share thoughts and pictures about that, as well.

Upcoming posts:

*How I plan

*Plans/ideas for Music Appreciation

*Final decisions about 2010-2011 curriculum

Keep your eyes open for these upcoming blog posts and many, many more.

I’m back!!

Change of Plans for 2010-2011

2010-05-10T18:58:00.001-07:00

I’ve completely changed the direction of our schooling for next year since we’ve added Logan back into the mix. I’m so excited with our new plans!! I’ll slowly buy/plan these subjects throughout the summer while we finish up our current year. Our new year will start the second full week of September after we attend The Ultimate Field Trip.

Logan – 11th grade:

College Algebra at Community College(1 credit)

Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox (1 credit Intro to Logic)

Advanced Chemistry + DIVE CD (1 AP credit)

Oak Meadow Intro to Photography (.5 credit)

Personal Finance (Larry Burkett or Dave Ramsey) (.5 credit)

TOG Year 2 (1 history credit, 1 English credit, 1 government credit)

Mavis Beacon Typing

LOTS and LOTS of reading

Isaac – 7th Grade:

Saxon Algebra 1/2
Latin for Children Primer A
Building Thinking Skills
Rod and Staff English 6
Exploring Creation with General Science
Spelling Power
Mavis Beacon Typing
TOG Year 2 Upper Grammar/Dialectic levels (history, literature)
LOTS and LOTS of reading

Emma – 2nd grade:

Horizons Math 2
Song School Latin
Keepers at Home
First Language Lessons 2nd grade
Rod and Staff Science 2 (spine for unit studies)
Rod and Staff Health 2
BBC Typing (online)
TOG Year 2 Lower Grammar level
LOTS and LOTS of reading

ALL:

Art ‘lessons’ ~ Rod and Staff Art Pacs at grade level
Music Appreciation ~ Beautiful Feet History of Classical Music

Isaac and Emma:

learn to play the recorder – both have been asking since last school year
Possible piano lessons

Extra Curricular:

Isaac ~ pottery classes
Emma ~ tap, jazz, ballet classes; competitive dance team
Logan ~ volunteering with the church’s Upward sports program

Missing In Action

2010-04-30T06:55:00.001-07:00

Yep, that’s me!! I’m MIA right now, but I’m hoping to be back VERY soon. Life is a bit overwhelming at the moment. A ‘good’ overwhelming, but overwhelming none the less.

Life is busy with dance at the moment. It’s the end of the competitive year and beginning of a very busy recital season.

Logan’s back home with us (home from public school)! Praise the Lord for answered prayers. But, his course load is very overwhelming to me at the moment. I’m trying to get all of his lessons entered into my homeschool tracker, and then I will feel like I can relax about that!

Also, I am in training with my new job, and there’s lots to learn. Who knew!?! I’m learning new things about Disney every day, but it’s very time-consuming at the moment.

In order to accomplish the above tasks and still feed my kids dinner, I have to let my blog sit ‘idle’ for a few more days – maybe even another week or two. But, when I come back I’ll have LOTS of good stuff to catch you up on! Hope you’re having a great spring so far!! Be back soon!

Emma’s ‘Free Writing’ Story

2010-04-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

I added timed writing to our schedule this week. I set the timer for 3 minutes and everyone has to write until it beeps. (I even wrote one day.) This writing is on a topic of their choice. I will read their timed writings, but I won’t grade or critique them. Once a month, each of them will choose one to publish. We’ll take that selection through the proofread/edit/final copy stages.

Here is Emma’s first writing (correct spelling will be in parenthesis). She is in 1st grade.

Dance

When you free dance you can Do whatever you wnat (want) you can do it to whatever song you wnat. It’s relly (really) fun when you have a Dance mat. I like to Dance by felling (feeling). Dance class is fun to (too) ecxept you dont chous (choose) what you do.

I love that! It shows what she is passionate about. It shows me that she knows how to construct a sentence correctly. She knows periods come at the end of sentences, and sentences begin with capital letters. It also showed me that she is a pretty strong speller. I was able to decipher all of her misspelled words. I’m glad our first week was successful.

**This writing took her 2 three-minute sessions.**

Upcoming Review for CSN Stores

2010-04-23T15:19:00.001-07:00

I am excited to tell you guys about the awesome bookcase I am receiving from CSN stores. While browsing there many websites, I was surprised by the vast number of products you can purchase from the comfort of your own home. Search for products ranging from children’s furniture to baby supplies to entertainment centers.

When I saw this bookcase, I knew it would be perfect for our school room. What a great way to display our themed books. I even got to personalize it with “Let’s Read!” Right now, I have three book baskets around the room – one for each kiddo. This bookcase will allow me to consolidate all the books into one central location. I can’t wait to receive it and share with you what I think!

Homeschool Swim at the Natatorium

2010-04-10T06:04:00.000-07:00

If you live around the Allen, TX area, you should check out the Dan Rodenbaugh Natatorium. They offer a homeschool swim time with discounted admission. Adult admission is $2.50 and children are $2.00. Homeschool swim hours are 1-3 every Friday throughout the school year.

There’s a ‘lazy river’ at the indoor pool for those not-so-lazy kids of ours who have endless amounts of energy!

There are comfy metal benches to sit on if you are too cool to swim with the ‘little kids’.

There’s a rockin’ kiddie section in the pool for those ‘shorties’ you may need to bring along. There is a slide and sprayers for the little ones and a big water slide for the big kids. (There’s even a hot tub for mom and dad. And guess what…kids aren’t allowed in!)

Samson’s Hair

2010-04-09T09:55:00.001-07:00

My niece is visiting from TN this week and next during her spring break. So, I’ve tried to find fun things to do for school that she can participate in. One thing we are doing is growing Samson’s hair.

Emma and I have been discussing Samson in our Bible lessons (and seeds in our Spring Surprises DNG). When I googled ‘Samson activities’, I came across this one at Danielle’s Place. I had the kids prepare their cups today, and we’ll watch it over the next few days/weeks. I’ll have them use rulers to measure the hair and graph it as it grows. (I’ll share the graph after I make it this weekend.)

Decorate the cups and scoop in the dirt.

Pour in grass seed and cover with the dirt.

Water your seeds, and show off your ‘lovely’ Samson faces.

Grow. Grow. Grow.

Signs of Spring

2010-04-08T17:26:00.001-07:00

My niece is visiting from TN this week and next. We’re trying to have ‘fun school’ while she’s here. Today we took a nature walk looking for signs of spring. This is what we saw…

snapdragons

holly berries

bird seed in the feeder

‘wish flowers

(says Emma)

helicopter seeds

Ask Tracy

2010-04-01T17:29:00.001-07:00

Have you guys visited Tracy at Ask Tracy? If not, you should. It’s like having a personal homeschool cheerleader – for YOU! She posts ‘way to go’, ‘you can do it’ messages. I love when she has a new post come through my Google Reader. She’s so encouraging!

This Day in History – 3/24/1989

2010-03-24T10:02:00.001-07:00

On March 24, 1989 the Exxon Valdez hit a reef and spilled millions of gallons of oil in Prince William Sound. I read The Exxon Valdez’s Deadly Oil Spill by Linda Ward Beech to the kids. We learned how this oil spill affected plant and animal life in the area. We also learned how many people lost their jobs – as they relied on fishing as their source of income. Did you know that it took 17 years to clean up some of the beaches?

Then we did an experiment called Easy on the Oil. This allowed the kids to see the effects of an oil spill on wildlife. The book mentioned how the oil coated the animals’ wings/fur and made them unable to fly and stay warm. As we were filling out experiment forms, Emma also suggested the oil would made the birds too heavy to fly. Good observation, Em! When talking about plant life, we discussed how the motor oil made our flower droopy from the weight. The kids also mentioned the fact that the flowers wouldn’t be able to reproduce, because oil covered the pollen the bees/birds need to pollinate other plants. Way to go kids!

All in all – a very good lesson.

Spring Cleaning Winners

2010-03-23T09:50:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to all those who entered. All winners have been contacted.

Loni @ In His Grip won the Manuscript Handwriting book.

Katie @ Katie’s Nesting Spot won the Crafts for Young Children book.

Angela won the 5-Minute Grammar book.

Tarasine won the Paper Bag Books book.

Spring Cleaning with Curriculum Choice

2010-03-20T15:37:00.001-07:00

I’m Spring Cleaning with lots of readers at Curriculum Choice. Click on the picture above to see how you can participate.

I’m offering the following items. Please leave me a comment letting me know which item you would like. Four separate winners will each win one prize. Make sure you leave your comments by Monday, March 22. I will notify winners on Tuesday, March 23.

What I’m “cleaning” out…

Modern Manuscript Writing workbook

Crafts for Young Children by Evan-Moor

puppets, paper crafts, clay, etc.

5-Minute Daily Practice: Grammar

Grades 4-8

Covers parts of speech, sentence structure, capitalization, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and more!

Super Paper Bag Books by Scholastic

Easy How-to’s for 10 interactive books that kids will love to make and read.

Update on our new adventure...

2010-03-03T04:25:00.000-08:00

Logan's books should arrive today. I will spend the weekend prepping for him and figuring out where to place him in his Algebra and Chemistry books since he already has 1/2 credit in those classes. We'll get back into a "full" routine on Monday! Can't wait!

A new day is dawning…

2010-02-28T18:44:00.001-08:00

After much discussion, deliberation, and prayer we are making changes in our home. We are bringing Logan (my sophomore) home from public school. So, we will be taking a school break while we wait for his books to arrive. Then, I’ll need a little bit of time to sort through his curriculum and figure out our new path. Please pray with us that this transition will be a smooth one, and that I can quickly navigate my way through these school books to get everyone back on track. Hopefully, it won't take us long to find our new "groove". Logan is a bit excited about some opportunities this may afford him - community service at the church. He told me today that he thinks this is an opportunity to come back together as a family. Emma and Isaac are excited to have Logan back at home (he's been in public school for 1.5 years). I'm excited about the new possibilities having Logan home can bring.

Books we read this week 2/15-2/19

2010-02-21T19:53:00.001-08:00

Emma

Amelia Bedelia’s First Valentine by Herman Parish
The Eye Book by Dr. Seuss
Be My Valentine!
Valentines Are for Saying I Love You by Margaret Sutherland
Valentine Mice! by Bethany Roberts
Taking Care of My Eyes by Terri DeGezelle
A Cheese-Colored Camper (Geronimo Stilton)
The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond

Isaac

Magic Keepers (The Eternal Hour Glass series) by Erica Kirov
Gulliver’s Travels (Great Illustrated Classics) by
Louis Braille by Margaret Davidson

Mom

Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges (to Emma)
A Picture Book of Helen Keller by David Adler
Hans Brinker (Great Illustrated Classics) (to Emma)
The Lightkeeper’s Daughter by Iain Lawrence
A Picture Book of Louis Braille by David Adler

In progress:

Cupidity (reviewing for Tyndale) – Me
Discipline of Grace (reviewing for NavPress) - Me
The Little House in the Big Woods – Me (to Emma)
Follow My Leader – Me (to Isaac and Emma)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Me
Alfred Kropp: The Seal of Solomon – Isaac
Wind in the Willows - Isaac
Katie Kazoo: Vote for Suzanne by Nancy Krulik - Emma
Katie Kazoo: On Thin Ice by Nancy Krulik - Emma

Planning Ahead

2010-02-18T04:36:00.001-08:00

Well, it’s that time of year. The time of year that most homeschool moms start looking ahead to next year’s curriculum. I’ve been doing so lately. This isn’t a “set in stone” list, but it is a starting point.

Isaac’s 7th grade curriculum (…umm…7th grade!?! Yikes!):

Bible: Undecided
Language Arts: Rod and Staff English, Spelling Power, IEW Am History 1, Wordly Wise
Math: Undecided – Isaac is scheduled to move into Saxon’s Algebra 1/2, but this is where Logan really began to struggle with Saxon math. I haven’t decided whether or not to keep Isaac in Saxon (which we love) until there is a problem, or switch before it becomes a problem. I’m leaning toward sticking with it, but I am also researching a few other texts.
Science: Apologia General Science
History: My Father’s World Year 4 (American History year 1)
Logic: various games, Critical Thinking books, computer software
Latin: undecided, but Isaac is asking to continue Latin
Music/Art Appreciation: will tie into our MFW history curriculum
Reading: His books will tie into history, and he will do two studies from Progeny Press (one per semester).
Typing: BBC Typing online (free)
Contenders for the Faith

Emma:

Bible: undecided, but leaning toward Explorer’s Bible Study
Language Arts: First Language Lessons, All About Spelling, nothing formal yet for writing, Wordly Wise
Math: Horizons 2
Science: plants and animals as scheduled in MFW
History: MFW year 4
Logic: various games, Critical Thinking books, computer software
Music/Art Appreciation: will tie into our MFW history curriculum
Typing: BBC Typing online (free)
Reading: I’m not sure which direction I’ll take here. We may just do a big mixture of things here: a lapbook, then an Amanda Bennett unit study, a “bigger” book with narration only, etc. I’m still thinking about this one
Keepers at Home

Home School Hop #2

2010-02-15T10:04:00.001-08:00

This week’s theme is FAMILY.

All about my family? Now, I can do that!!

Here’s my beautiful family. This was taken during our beach vacation in Gulf Shores, AL this past summer.

My hubby, Matt, is the best. He is a hard worker – which allows me to stay home with my family! I am truly blessed by this! He is in sales which means he travels a bit, but it isn’t too bad. He is a sports nut, and he shares that passion with Logan. He is also a golf fanatic!! He doesn’t play much since we moved to TX, but he’s got several upcoming golf trips that he is looking forward to. He deserves those trips as his “reward” for all his hard work!

Logan is 16!! He recently got his own car which means FREEDOM!! He was homeschooled until last year, when we enrolled him in the local public high school. It’s not my first choice for him, but he truly loves it. He runs track and cross country, is heavily involved in Young Life, and loves his youth group. He also enjoys being a ref for the Upwards sports teams at our church. He has a heart for helping others (as long as it doesn’t involve washing dinner dishes!!) :) He is a die-hard UNC basketball fan, and dreams of becoming a pediatric pulmonologist (to cure his bff’s Cystic Fibrosis).

Isaac is 11, and just the sweetest little man. He has the most sensitive heart. He loves helping out the “under dog”. He does, however, also suffer from the dreaded “middle-child syndrome”. As a sufferer of this particular ailment, he has an innate ability to command attention wherever he goes. He’s witty and he has a great sense of humor! He’s my funny little man. He loves to work with his hands. He LOVES Legos, and enjoys taking pottery classes. He aspires to be in the army or to be an astronomer. He’s not afraid to show Mom he still loves her. Several times I have gotten “I Luv U” messages made out of Legos. :)

Emma is 6, and she is definitely my little princess! She is our little dancer. She takes tap, jazz, and ballet classes. And, this year she joined the competitive dance team at our dance studio. She loves Littlest Pet Shops and American Girl dolls. She loves to watch Magic School Bus on TV. Emma is our “creative” one. She is always making up stories, drawing/painting pictures, or making a craft of some kind. She aspires to be an artist, ballet teacher, and a veterinarian. She’s also our snuggler! She loves to curl up in our laps and snuggle up for TV or a book. I hope she never outgrows that phase!

So, that is my family in a nutshell! I can’t wait to “meet” the rest of you.

Beautiful!!

2010-02-15T06:35:00.000-08:00

This is a beautiful rendition of The Lord’s Prayer. I plan to share this with my crew as we continue to memorize the Lord’s Prayer this week.

Winter Wonders

2010-02-14T07:28:00.001-08:00

I have posted another review over on Curriculum Choice.

Here’s an excerpt: Winter isn’t a season we get much enjoyment out of in my part of the country. It doesn’t snow much here. It’s just cold and windy! However, I was able to dive into winter with this fabulous unit study.

Click here to read the rest of the review at Curriculum Choice.

The Home School Hop #1

2010-02-09T19:57:00.001-08:00

Theme #1 – All About ME

I’m good about ~~bragging about~~ describing my kids. I’m pretty good at describing our daily life and homeschool stuff. But, me?!? That’s a whole different ball game. I have a hard time with that. I just filled out a job application which required me to write an essay about myself, and I had to send it to my hubby twice to read it. And, both times he told me to add “this” or add “that”, because I was leaving out some pretty good stuff.

So, here’s are five things about me…

1. I love to read! I usually have more than one book going at any given time. I have always been a reader, and walked the halls at school with my nose buried in a book!

2. I hate board games! I will play them with the kids if they ~~beg long enough~~ ask. I usually refuse the board games at family gatherings, though. Just not my favorite thing.

3. I am addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper! I drink 4-5 a day. I know I shouldn’t. I know it’s not good for me, but I “heart” Diet Dr. Pepper.

4. My favorite treat with the kids is to take them for slushes at Sonic every Wednesday on our way to dance class. Emma has 3 classes in a row, so I treat the kids to a slush on the way. I know that Emma wants a cherry slush. Isaac wants a grape slush. I want an unsweet raspberry tea. And, it will cost me $2.32 at “happy hour”. Not a very big deal, but something we look forward to each week.

5. I love pictures!! I love to take them. I love to frame them! I love to look at them in albums. But, I hate to print them out! I am so bad about it! I have hundreds of pics on memory cards that have never been printed out. One day I will print them all out and put them in albums. But, it won’t be today!

To read more about other homeschool moms, check out the blog hop at Our Worldwide Classroom.

Explorer's Bible Study

2010-01-24T09:56:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of each school day I read the Bible aloud to the kids, and we work on our memory verses. However, I like to use a curriculum as a supplement to help us delve deeper into the Bible. For my youngest (1^st grade), I chose Explorer’s Bible Study: Beginnings II ~ God’s Promise. God’s Promise is an Old Testament (Genesis through Malachi) study written for young readers. To find out how I use this book with Emma and how you can use this from preschool through adulthood, read my review on Curriculum Choice.

We're dissecting today!

2010-01-22T06:37:00.001-08:00

I have plans to dissect a sheep's brain today as we wrap up our unit on the brain and nervous system. Hopefully, I won't gross out, and I'll be back to blog about it this weekend! Wish me us luck!!

Books We Read Last Week ~ Jan 10

2010-01-19T09:52:00.001-08:00

My Reads:

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone ~ My boys have both read this entire series (Isaac x2). I never really wanted to read them. These were just never really what I’m “into” when I read. But, after devouring the Twilight series, I thought I’d give these another try. I was pleasantly surprised. I really did enjoy this book, and I do plan to read the next one at some point.

Read-Alouds:

Meet Kirsten (to Emma at bedtime) ~ Wow! I haven’t read an American Girl story to Emma before. She has the dolls, but never really expressed in interest in the books – until now. The story was very well written, and held our attention. I wasn’t prepared for the “sad part”, but it does hold true to how life was in that time period so it fit the storyline. She’s already asking me to begin the next book in the series tonight at bedtime.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening ~ a picture book version of Robert Frost’s poem

Emma:

Mouse Soup
Fancy Nancy
Katie Kazoo: I Hate Rules! ~ She is currently loving this series and has 3 more currently checked out from the library.
Katie Kazoo: Drat! You Copycat!

Isaac:

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp ~ He really enjoyed this book. He’s got the next one on reserve.

In progress:

The Discipline of Grace (Mom – reviewing for NavPress)
The Friday Night Knitting Club (Mom – for pleasure)
Peter Pan (mom reading to Emma for school)
Follow My Leader (Mom reading to both for school)
Katie Kazoo Switcheroo: Drat! You Copycat!(Emma) She finished it…
Peter and the Starcatchers (Isaac – recommended by a friend)

I Reviewed at Curriculum Choice

2010-01-17T16:45:00.001-08:00

This past week, I wrote my first review for Curriculum Choice.

I reviewed The Usborne Art Treasury. You can read my thoughts about this book here and how I’ve used in my homeschooling. Pop on over to Curriculum Choice and read the review. Please leave me a comment, and let me know what you think.

Week in Review ~ 1/4/10

2010-01-09T07:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I had good intentions. I really did plan to do a full week of school this week. But, it was harder to transition back into our routine than I thought it would be. I did not have things as planned out as I would have liked. And, I was just plain tired this week for some reason. So, we didn’t do school Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday we took a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art. Thursday, I did a great job of sticking to the routine, but Friday got the best of me. We only got a half-day done today. Hopefully, next week will be better.

Here’s what we did accomplish…

Emma ~

did a few math lessons and practiced counting by 2’s with a file folder game
practiced putting the months of the year in order with another file folder game
started her Stopping By Woods lapbook
reviewed commandments 1-4 and learned #5
finished a lesson in her spelling book
started an independent study on polar bears
listened to mommy read 3 chapters from Peter Pan (Great Illustrated Classics)
started this Penguin Printmaking craft project

Isaac ~

completed two lessons in his Bible workbook
completed another chapter (complete with vocab and discussion questions) in Family Under the Bridge
completed a lesson in English about possessive nouns
took a spelling test
completed a lesson in math
finished Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3
read more in Phineas Gage (a book about a man who survived a terrible brain injury)
reviewed The Sanctus and his vocabulary words for Latin

Both ~

listened to chapters 1-2 in Follow My Leader
read The Lord’s Prayer orally
completed an hour-long lesson on the brain and nervous system
completed an hour-long lesson on daily life in Ancient Egypt
silent reading (books of their choice-Isaac 30 minutes daily, Emma 15 minutes daily)

Art Appreciation – Kandinsky

2010-01-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

I have chosen to study Wassily Kandinsky for our artist-of-the-month. I used this lesson that Nettie wrote as my framework.

Week 1 (we work on art appreciation once a week for about 1/2 hour…)

Picture study this week: Colour Studies
I will read a short bio. We will note (on our notebooking page) his birth/death dates and find Russia on a map (and Moscow – where he was born).
I will have each of the kids find 1-2 additional facts about Kandinsky (either online or in library books). These will be presented orally during week 3.

Week 2:

Picture Study: Red Oval
We will discuss “Colour Studies” and recreate this work of art using this lesson from Art Projects for Kids.

Week 3:

Picture study: Squares
Both kids will present their Kandinsky reports orally.

Week 4:

Picture study: Colorful Ensemble
We will add Kandinsky to our timeline.
We will recreate “Squares” using this lesson from Art Projects for Kids.

OTHER RESOURCES:

Express Yourself by Joyce Raimondo
Cave Paintings to Picasso by Henry Sayre
Kandkinsky Art Stickers by Dover Publications
Usborne Art Treasury

Field Trip – Dallas Museum of Art

2010-01-06T06:19:00.000-08:00

Today I took the kids to the DMA. I’ve never been to an art museum before. We really enjoyed ourselves. We were able to recognize some art from our artist studies, and we were able to view some art from artists we will study later in the year. It’s amazing the wide variety of “art” out there. Emma and Isaac are total opposites on their “likes” in art. Emma (like her momma) likes “realistic” art. She loved the Degas ballerinas (no surprise there). She liked the pieces where she could “tell” what the artist was trying to “say”. Isaac, on the other hand, liked all the “outside the box” art. He loved the abstract stuff. His quote of the day was “I like to look at art (meaning paintings) but not make it myself". He much prefers to create sculptures and build with Legos. I assured him that Lego sculptures could certainly be considered art. When you use your imagination to create something it’s art.

My favorite part of the day, by far, was watching Emma. She is the resident “artist” (as she puts it) in the house. She is constantly drawing, painting, sketching, etc. All.the.time!! She took her sketch pad to the museum today in case she was “inspired” And, she was. There were a few pieces she sketched to look like the original (like a Degas ballerina). Other times she just got an “idea” and had to put it on paper. After walking through a few rooms of antique furniture, for example, she sat down to draw a desk with a quill and an ink jar on it. It was just precious watching her. And, I must say that Isaac was a very patient big brother today as we indulged Emma in her need to draw.

I was able to pick up a few new art appreciation supplies as well…

123 I Can Sculpt! by Irene Luxbacher

A Year in Art (which I am so excited about)

Kandinsky Art Stickers (this is our January artist)

View Full Album

What’s Coming Up This Week? – January 4

2010-01-03T17:51:00.001-08:00

We have lots of fun stuff planned for this week. Hopefully, I’ll have pics of the fun stuff as we progress through our week. (And hopefully my new lens will arrive soon and the pics will actually be good ones…)

In Bible, Emma is continuing to memorize the 10 commandments. We will review 1-4 and learn 5-7. We are using the scrolls and song from Garden of Praise. Isaac is studying about Jacob this week.

Isaac will continue reading and notebooking Family Under the Bridge. Emma will lapbook Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening using resources from HSS.

Both will complete the next four lessons in their math books. Emma will also practice skip counting and telling time with some file folder games.

In grammar, Isaac is working on possessive nouns while Emma moves into “idea” nouns.

Writing Strands will have Isaac working on a “very short story”. His story is about a turtle who loses her shell.

Emma has asked to do an independent study on Polar Bears. I will have various books and magazines available along with printouts from Enchanted Learning and HSS. She will work on this notebook for the month of January.

In science, we will be continuing our study of the brain and nervous system. The kids are working on memorizing the main parts of the brain and some things each part controls.

In history, we will continue learning about Ancient Egypt. I still haven’t finalized this week’s lessons, but will put a list of our unit resources in a separate post this week.

Isaac is working through Prima Latina. Emma was doing it with him, but she didn’t like it. I’m not making her do it anymore. She will, however, listen to the CD when Isaac does the review lessons. Anyway, Isaac will spend this week reviewing The Sanctus (a Latin prayer) and the 25 Latin vocabulary words he’s learned thus far.

We will begin a study on Vassily Kandinsky for art appreciation. Mozart will be our composer this month.

For our memory verse, we will work on memorizing The Lord’s Praryer. I found a few resources on the internet I will share soon.

Tuesday will find us on a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art. The kids are excited! It’s been a while since we took a field trip, and the first Tuesday of the month is free at the DMA. There’s no better time to go than when it’s free!

What’s your week look like?

NaBloPoMo – January 2

2010-01-02T06:42:00.001-08:00

Ok, so as usual, I’m a late. I’m here, though, and that’s what counts. Right? What is NaBloPoMo? It stands for National Blog Posting Month. The goal is to post everyday on your blog for the entire month. Not sure I have that many interesting things to talk about, but I thought I’d give it a try. This month’s official theme is BEST. However, you don’t have to stick to the theme in your posts. Which is a good thing for me. How many BESTS can there be? Or, as my word of the year has me FOCUS on different areas in my life, maybe BEST is what I should blog about. Hmmm… Lots to think about as I endeavor to write a post each day this month…

Word for 2010

2010-01-01T08:53:00.001-08:00

My word for the year 2010 is FOCUS. Last year was a tough year for me. After our move from Cinci to Texas, I turned into a “turtle”. I climbed in my shell and hung out there by myself for the better part of the year. I lost focus, and couldn’t focus on anything.

In short, I feel God is calling me to focus on the following things:

HIM – I plan to do this in a few ways. I plan to attend the membership class at church with Matt, and we will join the church we have attended since moving to TX. I also plan to read through my One Year Bible this year.
FAMILY – I plan to do this by utilizing our coupon books (more on these later) which entitle the kids to choose an activity each week or a “date” with Matt or myself. I’m also going to work on a “365” scrapbook which will help me focus on my family in an “everyday” way – not just focusing on events.
ME – I am clearing off the treadmill, and I’m planning to run a 5K each month this year with my aunt, sister, and two boys. I am also looking into some “work” related things. One is getting my sewing business back to where it was when we moved. Also this year, I will train to become a Disney travel agent. If you have any future plans to travel to Disney, let me know!!

I’m open to anything the Lord calls me to focus on. For now, he’s got me hard at work on the list above.

Separating…

2009-12-26T16:06:00.001-08:00

I’m going to separate my family and homeschool posts again. To read up on what is going on in our day-to-day family life, check out my other blog: The Zoo Keeper’s Haven. I’m working on a few blogs to post there in the next few days including Logan turning 16, Christmas pictures, Emma’s trip to Sweet and Sassy, and Isaac’s buddy’s birthday party (where the kids threw some pottery).

Winter Recital – Day 2

2009-12-13T17:06:00.001-08:00

Today was even busier than yesterday. We started the day with a dress rehearsal for Emma’s competitive dance team. Then, it was time for the second day of the winter recital. Emma performed her tap routine to Polar Express. She did not like tap last year and quit after the winter recital. She decided to try it again over the summer, and found a new love for it. She did really well on stage this afternoon.

Here is a picture of Emma and her best friend before heading on stage to tap. There are two boys in their class, but I couldn’t get the group together for a shot.

Emma’s jazz class performed to Go Fish’s version of Joy to the World. They did a fabulous job!! This was her favorite from this recital.

That’s the end of our “winter” season. Next up, they will begin working toward the spring recital after Christmas. Also, Emma’s team will polish up their routine in anticipation of their first competition in February.

Winter Recital 2009 – Day 1

2009-12-12T19:50:00.001-08:00

I love dance!! Well, at least when Emma does it (not me!). This weekend is our winter dance recital. Each winter the studio performs The Nutcracker. Emma’s ballet class danced the Russian Divertissement. She really enjoys dancing in the “big ballet”. Not all the ballet classes perform in The Nutcracker, but hers does. Here are pics of her in her Nutcracker costume…

Emma is ready to go onstage.

Emma in the dressing room ready to go on stage.

Emma and a few classmates waiting in the hall before the ballet.
Emma and her best buddy (and her buddy’s brother) after they performed in The Nutcracker.

Emma and her ballet teacher after the recital.

Tomorrow, we have day 2. She will perform her jazz and tap routines tomorrow, as well as The Nutcracker again.

Trimming the Tree

2009-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

I love decorating the Christmas tree. I love to turn on the Christmas music and watch the kids hang their ornaments on the tree. When they are finished, I fill in the gaps with my “good” ornaments. I’m hoping next year, the tree in the pictures will be moved upstairs and become the kids’ tree. I am really hoping to get a ~~bigger~~ new downstairs tree after Christmas ~~when they go on sale~~.

Logan wanted to hide from the camera by putting ornaments on the backside of the tree. After a little friendly ~~threatening~~ persuading, Daddy got him back in the front.

Here is Logan sweeping up one of two casualties from this year.

A little team work always gets the job done faster.

It was funny to watch Emma put ornaments on. She didn’t care where they landed as long as she was the first one back to me for more.

Isaac had a good time hanging his ornaments on the tree and sharing with everyone the memories attached to them.

And, here is the finished product. In the background you can see part of our Dept. 56 village collection. The kids were really excited to get these out. We haven’t had anywhere to display them for the past few year. Turns out, this bookcase is a perfect display!

The Week Ahead pt. 3 ~ 12/7-12/11

2009-12-06T20:12:00.001-08:00

Isaac’s (6th grade) work consists of:

He will read from his book basket 3 days and do free reading (his choice) 2 days. His book basket list is at the bottom of this post.

Bible ~ This week he will complete Lesson 9 in his Rod & Staff Bible 5 book. It is titled “Isaac Serves God”.

English ~ Another Rod & Staff 5 book: He will complete the next 4 lessons. He is reviewing singular/plural/possessive nouns.

Writing~ He is working on a few things this week. He is finishing up last week’s Writing Strands assignment about using details. We will conference, and he will write his final copy. He will do a small writing assignment from his English book about using examples in his writing. Then, he will start the next Writing Strands assignment – writing a “very short story”.

Spelling ~ We have switched from AAS to Spelling Power at Isaac’s request. He tested into level E, but we decided to start at level D so he wouldn’t start off getting discouraged by bigger words.

Math ~ He will work through three lessons and take a test this week in his Saxon 76 book.

Latin ~ We are listening to the Prima Latina CD daily (reviewing one lesson each day). Isaac is also working through a review of lessons 1-5.

Reading ~ He is reading The Family Under the Bridge. He is reading a chapter each day, answering discussion questions, and defining three vocabulary words and using them in sentences. He will finish this book next week and work on a project (I haven’t planned this yet) to wrap up this study.

Isaac’s book basket:

Poetry:	Walt Whitman ”To a Locomotive in Winter”
Seasonal:	The Christmas Story by Elisa Trimby
Chapter:	Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (hope to finish it this week)
Science:	Phineas Cage by John Fleischman
History:	Guide to Egpyt by Michael March
Aesop:	“The Wolf and the Kid”
Extra:	The Nutcracker (so he knows the story when he watches Emma in the ballet this weekend)

The Week Ahead pt. 2 – 12/7-12/11

2009-12-06T18:57:00.001-08:00

Emma’s(1st grade) work will consist of:

Bible ~ 10 commandments: We will review #1 and focus on #2-5.

English(First Language Lessons) ~ Reviewing common/proper nouns and writing the months of the year.

Writing: Her writing this week is centered around Christmas. Monday she will draw a picture of her favorite Christmas memory, write a sentence about it, and glue it on red or green paper to display. Tuesday, she will write a 3-5 sentence paragraph telling what she likes most about Christmas. (She really enjoys writing so she doesn’t mind “long” assignments.) Thursday, I will help her write a Christmas-themed acrostic poem.

Spelling: She will be working through Step 8 in AAS (level 2).

Math: She will do the next 5 lessons in her Horizons 1 math book. A few of the things she will cover include fractions (1/4), adding 3 numbers, adding 2-digits plus 2-digits without carrying, counting quarters, and reviewing time to the hour and half-hour.

She will do typing on the BBC Typing Mat website twice this week.

I will read a chapter a day from Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie.

She will do a Christmas craft each day from The Activity Mom’s list. This week she will make Christmas Cookie ornaments, paint a tree picture and add foam ornament stickers, roll and color reindeer, make paper snowflakes, and bake cookies for her cousin.

We will work together on our Nutcracker lap book. Monday we will discuss Tchaikovsky. Wednesday we will discuss ballet. Tuesday and Thursday we will read more versions of The Nutcracker.

Dance – I recorded her recital routines with the video camera. I hook the camera to the TV each afternoon and have her run through her routines 3-4 times (1 routine per day). This usually takes her about 10 minutes. I will cut this out after recital (until about march when we start gearing up for spring recital).

Book basket ~ I have a list of books for Emma to read through during the week. She usually doesn’t finish the list as it is, and I carry it over to the next week. I would rather have too many than not enough. These books are in addition to all of her outside reading that she does on her own. Some of her books are seasonal, and some are topic based for history and science. There is a poetry book for her to read from (I assign 1-2 per week). I also have some Christmas-themed audiobooks on my Ipod that I will put in her box. She loves when I do that. She grabs a coloring book or a puzzle and listens.

Here’s what’s in Emma’s book basket this week:

Poetry:	Animal Crackers ”Monday’s Child” ”Sneeze on Monday” ”How Many Days Has My Baby to Play” ”Tommy Snooks”
Seasonal	The Small One by Alex Walsh Can You See What I See? The Night Before Christmas by Walter Wick
Chapter:	Christmas in Camelot by Mary Pope Osborne
Science	Think, Think, Think: Learning About Your Brain by Pamela Nettleton (must narrate when finished)
History:	The Nile River by Allan Fowler (must narrate when finished)
IPOD Stories:	Cinnamon Bear episodes 1-5: Paddy O’Cinnamon Weary Willy Crazy Quilt Dragon The Ikaboos Weasley the Wailing Whale

The Week Ahead ~ Dec. 7-11

2009-12-06T18:39:00.001-08:00

We’ve got a busy week ahead in school and in “real life”. I’m trying to finish up a few units so they aren’t “hanging” over Christmas break. Logan is finishing up his driver’s ed course on Tuesday. We have dance classes Tuesday and Wednesday. Friday, my in-laws and my niece are arriving from MO. They are coming for the weekend to see Emma’s Winter Recital (which will be Saturday and Sunday).

Our group time this week will consist of the following:

Memory verse ~ Matthew 1:21

Read-alouds ~ I will read a different Christmas picture book each day. I am also reading from Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses.

Bible ~ We will review verses in our memory verse box, and I will read from our Day-by-Day Kid’s Bible.

Picture study ~ Dora Maar by Picasso

Science ~ The Brain and the Nervous System: We will learn about the major parts of the brain and what they control. We will do a few hands-on projects and watch an online video about the brain.

History ~ Ancient Egypt: We will learn about the daily life of early Egyptians ~ what they wore, the homes they lived in, their education, games they played, etc.

Art Appreciation ~ Picasso: We will look at some art, read a bio or two, discuss some vocabulary, and work on our timeline.

I’ll post Emma and Isaac’s individual work in separate posts.

Memory Verse ~ 12/7

2009-12-06T10:47:00.001-08:00

Our verse this week (for Christmas) is Matthew 1:21. Here are the printables I created. I hang one copy (usually page 1) on our memory board to be displayed all week long. Then, I copy page 1 and 2 on the same page (this gives me smaller cards for the kids). I then laminate these and put them on a ring with our past verses. I print the memory verse puzzles lastly. On Thursday, the kids practice putting the words in the correct order. On Friday, they glue them into their memory verse notebooks.

Matthew 1 21

Baby Love Letters #106

2009-12-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

I love the idea of writing love letters to my kids! I love the thought of recording some meaningful thoughts and ideas specifically for my children to read at a later date. You can read a full description of “Baby Love Letters” at Friday Letters.

This week’s question is…

Describe a family gathering so your child will get a feel for his/her extended family.

Dear kids,

As we wrap up the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I thought it would be neat to compare your holidays with my holidays growing up. I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of some of these comparisons…

My childhood (at Papa’s)	Your childhood (at our house)
Great food prepared by the adults – turkey, dressing, veggies, cranberries, breads, apple pie, pecan pie	Same today – I really prefer a traditional holiday dinner like I had growing up, so that was the menu this week.
Cousins – and lots of them – Tara, Joey, and Jason (the teenagers), Chrissy, Jessie, Rhonda, and George (the tweens)	Cousins – and lots of them – Logan and D (the teenagers), Isaac, Hannah, Allie, and Kiersten (the tweens), Abbi and Emma (the littles)
Hanging with the cousins – rolling down Papa’s hill out back, fishing off the dock, roller skating in the basement, Lincoln Logs in the back bedroom, Simon (the handheld game) under the table; bumper pool tables in the basement	Hanging with the cousins – Guitar Hero tourneys on the Wii, Game Boy marathons after bedtime, walking to the playground at the end of our street, dress-up fashion shows, bumper pool games in the game room (on the same bumper pool table I played on growing up)
Thanksgiving prayers by Papa (the head of the household)	Thanksgiving prayers by Daddy (the head of our household)
Traveling 15 minutes to the next town	Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jessie, and cousins – Hannah, Danielle, Abbi, Kiersten, and Allie – travelling 12 hours from TN to TX to spend the holiday with us

While I don’t have any pics from my childhood holidays (they are all in TN with Grandma), here are some pictures of our holiday celebration this weekend.

Love,

Mommy!!

Preserving the moment…

2009-12-02T07:26:00.001-08:00

We don’t get much snow here in TX. Nothing like what we had in Cincinnati. However, I woke up to some snow falling this morning and had to take a picture before it melted. We may not see much more than this during the winter. And, I’m pretty sure we will never be able to build a snowman (so I added one to my pic).

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-30T16:50:00.000-08:00

We are so blessed! My family drove 12 hours from TN to TX to spend Thanksgiving with us! I was so excited. My mom, dad, sister, 3 nieces, and 2 cousins made the trip south. My mom and dad stayed with my “other” sister – who lives just down the road. My sister (from TN) and all the kids stayed with me. I had two 6yos, two 10yos, two 11yos, and two 16yos (well almost – Logan will be 16 in two weeks, but we aren’t talking ~~thinking~~ about that right now).

I prepared a HUGE Thanksgiving dinner for our family. I loved it! I had coloring pages for the kids on the kid table. The kids played “pin the tail on the turkey” before dessert. (I found this lovely game in the dollar bins at Target.) We did LOTS of hanging out and catching up this weekend.

View Full Album

Friday, we decided to not go shopping. We went to the movies instead. The kids saw Astroboy while the big girls saw New Moon! (And, what a fabulous movie it was! I’ll take sparkly vampires any day!) Hubby and Logan stayed home (actually, their movie – Blind Side – was sold out). I’m sure there was some sport-watching going on.

Saturday evening, we went downtown in our town to “A Dickens of a Christmas” – carolers, shopping, crafts, carriage rides, and FAMILY! This was a neat experience. Maybe next year, we will stay to experience it after dark (when the street lamps are lit and the carolers are caroling). This weekend, however, I was too tired to stay late.

View Full Album

Everyone left Sunday morning, and they all made it home safely. My house is finally back in order, and I’ve found my energy!

Memory Verse – John 10:27

2009-11-29T18:00:00.000-08:00

This week’s verse is John 10:27. I like this new system of memorizing verses, and the kids seem to be memorizing them better. I think it has made a difference to have the word cards that they have to piece together. They have to keep saying it in their heads to do the next word or two. So, obviously, the more they say it the easier it will be to memorize it.

John 10:27

Emma's December Reads

2009-11-25T09:18:00.000-08:00

I will post an ongoing list of Christmas/winter themed books that Emma is reading for the month of December.

Christmas:
Happy Christmas, Honey! by Laura Godwin
A Pussycat's Christmas by Margaret Wise Brown

Winter:
Elephants on Ice by Anna DiVito

Emma's Reads for November

2009-11-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

Emma loves to read! YAY!! Here's a list of good fall books that she read during the month of November.

Leaf Jumpers by Carole Gerber
I Know It's Autumn by Eileen Spinelli
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson
Lucky Leaf by Kevin O'Malley
Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur
Lonely Scarecrow by Tim Preston
The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz
Thanksgiving Is... by Louise Borden
It's Fall by Linda Glaser
Pumpkins by Jacqueline Farmer
Over the River: A Turkey's Tale by Derek Anderson

Working Hard

2009-11-22T16:54:00.000-08:00

Lots of room-shifting going on at my house. My grandfather sold his house after 32 years!! I am getting some new furniture, a doll house he built over 15 years ago, and the bumper pool table that has been in his basement since I was a kid. However, this means we have to make room. Emma is switching bedrooms. She is moving into the old guest room. We are moving the the school room into her old room. That frees up the current school room to become our new GAME ROOM!!! The kids and I are so excited! The kids will have a place to watch TV and play the Wii without working around Daddy watching TV in the living room. Logan will have a place to bring his teen friends to hang out! We will be moving the Legos, doll house, and most of Emma's toys into the game room! I'm working hard to get this swap done before my family comes to TX from TN for Thanksgiving on Wednesday. We will repaint rooms over Christmas break. Emma has decided she wants her new room to be yellow. Not sure what color to paint the school room, but I will not leave it bubble gum pink!! The current school room (future game room) is a pretty green. It stays. Hopefully, I can post pics of the new (unpainted) rooms in the next 2 days...

And the winner is…

2009-11-20T18:37:00.001-08:00

Last week I posted a give-away for Lives of the Musicians. Thanks to all who entered.

And, the winner is…

True Random Number Generator
Min: 1
Max: 14
Result: 8
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

#8 – Ami!!

Congratulations!

Ox-Cart Man

2009-11-19T18:50:00.000-08:00

Last week, Emma and I rowed The Ox-Cart Man. We used the lapbook from Homeschool Share. What a lovely book. Some weeks, Emma doesn't like me to read the book all five days. This week, she did not mind. She liked the story, and she liked the books I read as "go-alongs". We talked about the differences between life today and life in the 1800's. She loved the "how did what" graph we did. She was able to explain to Isaac how to make a cloak (from shearing to finished piece). While I wish I had time to actually make a sampler with Em, I just don't right now. So, I had Emma create her own on graph paper. I "suggested" she copy the sample from the lap book. However, Em is Em and she wanted to embellish the sampler. She loves to draw and color and do crafts ALL.THE.TIME!

Go-alongs:

Milk: From Cow to Carton by Aliki

Charlie Needs a Cloak by Tomie DePaola

Bees by Sue Barraclough

Our “Group Time” Activities: Nov 16-20

2009-11-18T08:10:00.000-08:00

We start out each day doing “group time” activities. During this time, we do our read-alouds, memory verses, Latin review, picture study, enrichment activities, and science/history. Here’s what this week’s activities look like:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Poetry	Poetry	Poetry	Poetry	Poetry
Read-Aloud	Read-Aloud	Read-Aloud	Read-Aloud	Read-Aloud
Memory Verse	Memory Verse	Memory Verse	Memory Verse	Memory Verse
	Latin CD	Latin CD	Latin CD	Latin CD
Picture Study	Picture Study	Picture Study	Picture Study	Picture Study
Science	History		Science	History
Latin Lesson	Art Apprec.	Nature Study	Music Apprec.	Keepers/ Contenders

This week’s poetry comes from Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic while we wait for A Child’s Garden of Verses to become available again at the library.

Monday and Tuesday we will listen to Jim Weiss read “A Christmas Carol”. Wednesday, I will read Squanto and the First Thanksgiving. Thursday and Friday I will read Turkeys, Pilgrims, and Indian Corn.

This week’s memory verse is Ecclesiastes 7:9. Click *here* for our memory verse printables. We also review our memory verse box, and read from the Day by Day Bible.

Tuesday through Friday, we listen to our Latin CD and review our vocabulary and our Latin prayers.

This week’s picture study is from Picasso’s Blue Period.

We will finish studying “muscles” in science, and then we will begin learning about the brain and nervous system on Thursday.

History finds us continuing our study of Ancient Egypt. Lots of fun stuff is planned for this week. Watch for a post later.

Lastly, we work on our enrichment studies. Topics are as follows: Monday – Latin, Tuesday – Art Appreciation (Picasso), Wednesday – Nature Study (Oaks and Acorns), Thursday – Music Appreciation (Beethoven), and Friday – Keepers/Contenders (not much right now LOL).

Art Appreciation ~ Picasso

2009-11-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

For our current artist study, we will be studying Picasso. During our morning group time, we will do a picture study. I have chosen 4 different pieces of art - 1 for each week. I will ask some Charlotte Mason-style "artist study" questions as the kids study the art.

Once a week, we have a lesson about our artist. I have posted my lesson plan below. Each week, I will read a book or two from the list below. I will have the kids complete labpook pieces or complete an art project.

At the end of this unti, we will add a disc to our world map and a graphic to our timeline.

Picasso

I will try to post a weekly "recap" to show our progress.

What’s in the Box? 11/16 – 6th Grade

2009-11-17T08:30:00.001-08:00

Isaac tends to have fewer boxes, because his assignments take him longer to complete. Here’s a peek at what he is doing this week:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Book basket	Book basket	Book basket	Book basket	Book basket
Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible
English	English		English	English
“Grandma” story	“Grandma” story	“Grandma” story	“Grandma” story	“Grandma” story
Spelling	Spelling		Spelling	Spelling
Math	Math		Math	Math
Logic wksht	Typing	Instant Challenge	Typing	Craft
Daily Lang. Rev.	Daily Lang. Rev.	Make paper and send card to Aunt Pat	Daily Lang. Rev.	Daily Lang. Rev.

He is required to read from his book basket 30 minutes each day. He chooses when to read. Usually, he reads between his math practice and the problem set. That helps to break up the math lesson a bit. In English this week, he is reviewing for a test on Friday. His “Grandma Story” is a story he and his grandmother (in TN) are writing together. See a description below in Emma’s “What’s In the Box?” post.

What’s in the Box? November 16-20

2009-11-17T07:01:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to post our workbox lists for a while, but I couldn’t figure out how to enter a table on my blog post. Thanks to Tristan at Our Busy Homeschool I now know how. Here’s what Emma is working on this week in 1st grade…

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Reading	Reading	Reading	Reading	Reading
Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible
Book Basket	Book Basket	Book Basket	Book Basket	Book Basket
FLL	Rhyming Dominos		FLL	Thanks-giving Nouns
GrandmaStory	GrandmaStory		Grandma’s Story	Grandma’s Story
Spelling	Spelling	Spelling	Spelling	Spelling
Math	Math		Math	Math
Mom will read	Mom will read	Mom will read	Mom will read	Mom will read
Hedge-hogs	Hedge-hogs	Hedge-hogs	Hedge-hogs	Hedge-hogs
Math Game	Math wksht	Instant Challenge	Math Game	Math Game
Logic	Typing	Paper Making	Typing	Pilgrim Craft
Dance – choreo-graphy	Dance – choreo-graphy		Dance - Jazz -Joy to the World	Dance – Ballet-The Nutcracker

This week’s reading is Good O’Grumpity. We are using the lap book from Homeschool Share. Her “Grandma Story” is a story she and my mom (her grandma) are writing together. Grandma started the story in a spiral notebook and mailed it to Em. Emma then wrote the next section (actually she dictated it and I typed it), and we mailed it to Grandma in TN. Now, it’s back to Emma, and I am hoping she will have the next section done before my parents come for Thanksgiving next week. As for her dance cards in her last box, I have recorded her recital routines on the video camera. I hook the camera to the TV and have her rehearse one routine 15 minutes each day. Her studio does a Winter recital, and that is what she is currently working on. She takes jazz, tap, and ballet. She is also competing this year (that’s choreography), and she practices that, as well.

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-11-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

I have several blog posts in draft form. They haven't been posted, because I've been lazy about photo editing lately. There just aren't enough hours in the day sometimes.

A few weeks ago, I read Where the Wild Things Are to the kids. I then had them create their own "wild thing". They drew their "wild thing" with crayon and then painted them with watercolor paints. I love the fact that Isaac (who openly claims that he doesn't enjoy art) spent almost an hour on his "wild thing". I love it when he takes the time to show his creative side!

This guy is Isaac's Wild Thing...

This is Emma's Wild Thing...

Memory Verse - Ecclesiastes 7:9

2009-11-16T05:05:00.001-08:00

This week's memory verse is Ecclesiastes 7:9.

Ecclesiastes 7 9

Giveaway - Lives of the Musicians

2009-11-12T15:30:00.000-08:00

I ordered this book to use this year. We are loving it!! But, I ordered it twice by mistake. It's too late to return it, so I would like to gift it to someone. In this book, you will encounter such composers as Vivaldi, Back, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and many more.

Leave a comment if you would like to receive this book. I will draw a name next Friday, November 20. Please be sure to leave a way to for me to contact you (via your blog or email address).

You can visit Amazon to check out the inside of the book.

Knowledge Box Central

2009-11-12T10:46:00.000-08:00

We love lapbooks at my house. Sometimes we use them as is, and sometimes we turn them into noteboooks by putting the minit books on cardstock in our binders. Either way, we have enjoyed several of the lapbooks from Knowledge Box Central. Click on the graphic above, and check out what they have to offer.

Outdoor Challenge #2

2009-11-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

Slowly, but surely, things are beginning to settle down for us. This means we can get back into a fairly consistent routine. One thing I have been trying to do since school started is nature study. When we have to cut a day (or week) short, nature study gets pushed to the back burner. Not today! Today, we did outdoor challenge #2. Isaac found it most difficult to walk "quietly" today. We went around our block and to the neighborhood pond. We had to walk past the local elementary school, as well.

One word describing what we heard:

Isaac - loud (describing the kids on the playground)

Emma - kids (same)

Me - splash (as the turtles dove into the water at the pond)

Two words for something we saw:

Isaac - hard shells (turtles)

Emma - soft flower

Me - falling leaves

Three words for something we felt:

Isaac - bumpy, brown stick

Emma - soft, ticklish water (at the pond)

Me - light, soft breeze

Isaac chose not to illustrate his nature notebook - no surprise there! Emma did - again no surprise! Here is a pic from E's nature study notebook.

Great Thanksgiving Art Project

2009-11-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

As I was browsing through my blog reader last night, I came across this wonderful art/craft at Daily Dwelling.

My family (2 sisters, 3 nieces, my parents, and 2 cousins) are driving from TN to TX to come spend the Thanksgiving holidays with me. I plan to make the poster before everyone gets here. I plan to put some paper in the mail to all the kids and ask them to trace their hands, write what they are thankful for, and mail them back to me (in a SASE). Then, when everyone gets here they will be able to see their hands on the poster on my kitchen wall.

Up For a Challenge?

2009-11-11T04:56:00.000-08:00

What a great idea! Michelle, at Delightful Learning, has created a weekly Instant Challenge. Each week she will post a challenge - complete with instructions and a supply list. This looks like it will be so much fun. I am hoping it will promote a sense of "team" in my children. We may do some of these challenges on the weekend so Logan (who is in public high school) can participate, as well. My plan is to do these on Wednesday. Emma has 3 dance classes on Wednesday afternoon/evenings. I try to shorten our school day so she's not worn out when it's time to dance. I think this will be a fun addition to our "light" load on these days.

Delightful Learning: Instant Challenge Supplies ~Giveaway~

2009-11-11T04:55:00.000-08:00

WOOHOO!!

I won! This box of supplies is such a blessing! I can't wait to get started with the kids.

Delightful Learning: Instant Challenge Supplies *~*Giveaway*~*

Interested in the Instant Challenges? Check this out.

Layla Grayce Blanket Set GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-11-10T19:33:00.000-08:00

Layla Grayce Blanket Set GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Aren't these blankets precious?

Simple Woman's Daybook - Nov. 9

2009-11-09T04:47:00.000-08:00

FOR TODAY... from Tara's Daybook

Outside my window... the sun is coming up on what promises to be a warm, sunny day.

I am thinking... all that needs to be done before my family arrives for Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for... my children and all that they are passionate about.

I am wearing... my pj's (yet again). I write these in the AM while my kiddos are still in bed.

I am going... to conquer Mt. Laundry today!

I am reading... a Nora Roberts book, Uncle Wiggily's Story Book (with Emma), The Secret Garden (with Emma), and Homer Price (with Isaac and Emma).

I am hoping... get a five-day school week in this week!

On my mind... my to-do list...

From the learning rooms... we are moving on to study Mozart and Picasso over the next few weeks. Isaac is learning about Modern Warfare (in an independent lapbook study), and Emma is learning about hedgehogs (in an independent lapbook study).

Noticing that... several of my kiddos are in need of haircuts!

From the kitchen... white beans and ham in the crockpot and I'll make some cornbread, too.

Around the house... it looks like Mom was gone all weekend (and I was) and the guys had fun "hanging out" (they did). Time to break out the mop and broom!

One of my favorite things~ seeing Emma's face light up when she is dancing!

From my picture journal...

Emma and her dance team attended a 2-day dance convention this weekend. Here is a picture of Emma stretching before classes started on day 2. She's the one in the front with the black pants on.

Memory Verse - Prov. 28:13

2009-11-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

Look below for this week's verse: Proverbs 28:13.

Proverbs 28:13

I won an award!

2009-11-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

I feel like London (from The Suite Life of Zach and Cody) when I say "Yay me!" Debbie, over at The Architect and the Artist, gave me a Kreativ Blog award. We know each other from the Homeschool Share forum.

So here are the rules:
*I must thank Debbie...Thank you, Sheri!
*I need to tell you 7 things about myself that you don't know.
*I need to pass on the reward to 7 people.

7 Things you don't know about me...
1. I was born in NJ, and I grew up in TN. My family has moved 3 times in the past 8 yaers. We lived in Memphis for 1 year, Cincinnati for 6 years, and have been in Dallas, TX for a little over a year.
2. I am a library-a-holic!
3. I love my tart burner from Yankee Candle. I stock up on seasonal scents when the tarts are $1 each! I love when my house smells like I've been baking all day.
4. I am also a blog-a-holic! I love following homeschool blogs! I subscribe to a LARGE amount of blogs in my Google reader!
5. I ~~not so~~ secretly want another baby. I have had names picked out for a LONG time, but the hubby says "No Way!!" :)
6. I hate to drive long distances. On any road trip, I fall asleep within the first hour of the ride. (Of course, this is only if I'm not the driver!) I get VERY cranky if I can't nap in the car! Give me a pillow and a good book, and I am set!
7. I am excited about spending the holidays at home this year. My family is driving from TN to TX for Thanksgiving, and we are staying home for Christmas. We have never spent an entire holiday season at home. It will be kind of weird, but I am looking forward to a less busy holiday season!

7 people who are getting this award... (OK, so it's really only 6 - Don't shoot!)
1. Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight - I love her seasonal posts!
2. Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations - Her blog rocks!
3. Jimmie at Jimmie's Collage - She has wonderful ideas for LOTS of topics: math, composers, artists, etc!
4. Tristan at Our Busy Homeschool - I love looking at how she schools with 5 young children.
5. Kendra at Pumpkin Patch - I go here for ideas on using living math in my homeschooling. She has great printables and unit study ideas, as well.
6. Susana at My Family My Forever - Great seasonal craft ideas and lovely family posts

This was fun! Hope you enjoyed it, too.

Memory Verse - Psalm 34:18-19

2009-11-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

Each week I give the kids a new memory verse. We work on memorization every day during the school week. I don't mind if the kids haven't memorized it perfectly before Friday as each verse will be added to our memory verse box. I will begin posting our verses and corresponding printables each week. Look below for this week's verse: Psalm 34:18-19.

Psalm 34,18-19

Below is a chart explaining how I "teach" the memory verse each week.

Memory Verse Work Schedule

Simple Woman's Daybook - Nov. 2

2009-11-02T13:39:00.001-08:00

FOR TODAY... from Tara's Daybook

Outside my window...

SUNSHINE!! Yay!!

I am thinking...

how happy I am to be back home. I drove from TX to TN last Wednesday for a funeral, and I drove back home yesterday. The kids were wonderful on the drive, but I am glad it is over! 11 hours is far too long to be in the car!

I am thankful for...

not having to drive today! I don't have to be anywhere but home.

I am wearing...

my "house-cleaning" clothes while I work on unpacking and doing laundry from our trip.

I am remembering...

the beautiful service I attended this weekend. Marde really planned a wonderful "celebration" service.

I am going...

to relax for the rest of today. Tomorrow, it's back to the real world!

I am reading...

a new Nora Roberts book, but I don't remember the title...

I am hoping...

to make some major progress on our 'great room swap' this week.

On my mind...

a HUGE to-do list!

From the learning rooms...
a field trip to the Dallas Museum of Art tomorrow.

Noticing that...

I still have a few Halloween decorations left to take down.

Pondering these words...

spoken by Marde Ray when faced with a diagnosis of Stage IV colon cancer..."I'm fighting this (cancer), because God isn't finished with me yet." Marde was given 6 months to live in Nov. 2006. She vowed to make every day THE day to tell someone about her God. She did that for almost 3 years before going home to be with her God. In that three years, she went on mission trips to Turkey, Israel, and the American Samoa. What a woman! Heaven became a better place when she arrived!!

From the Kitchen...

Tonight, I'm heating up a casserole I froze a few weeks ago.

Around the house...

I'm seeing all the goodies I brought back from TN that I need to put away. After 32 years, my Papa is moving and I brought some things home from his house.

One of my favorite things~

is my laptop!! I have loved sitting in the recliner today with my laptop and the remote! I don't do that-EVER-but needed to today.

From my picture journal...

my little man

To see what others are saying visit *here*.

I Heart Faces ~ Pink Week

2009-10-20T06:55:00.003-07:00

In honor of breast cancer awareness month, it's PINK week over at I Heart Faces. Here's our pink:

Here's E in her pink panda shirt and her pink cotton candy! Boy was she in pink heaven that day.

Leaf Unit Study

2009-10-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

Last week Emma and I worked on a leaf unit study found at HSS. You can find the lapbook *here*. During the course of the unit, Emma and I read lots of books about leaves. We took a walk to collect leaves. Emma used some of the leaves to do leaf rubbings and some to make a placemat. She worked on a leaf craft found *here*. We will use these to make a garland to hang above our fireplace. We all attempted the chromatography experiment found on the HSS lesson, but it didn't work. The kids had fun trying it anyway.

Here are some pics...

Here is a list of books we read to go along with the unit:
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
Why Do Leaves Change Colors? by Chris Arvetis
When Autumn Comes by Robert Maass
Leaves! Leaves! Leaves! by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Leaves by David Ezra Stein
Leaves by William Corderoy

Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-10-19T08:26:00.000-07:00

FOR TODAY...October 19th from Tara's Daybook

Outside my window...

It's dark and chilly. (It's actually Sunday night not Monday morning as I type this.)

I am thinking...

about going downstairs to eat some more homemade applesauce!

I am thankful for...

my mom who prays for me. I love telling her new revelations or words from God and hearing her tell me that those words were an answer to a prayer she has been praying over me.

I am wearing...

grey lounge pants and a long-sleeved tee.

I am remembering...

sentimental items from my childhood that I am about to inherit as my Papa moves from the house I have always known to a condo next month. I am getting the bumper pool table that has been in his basement for as long as I can remember. I can't wait to watch my children play on it like I did with my siblings. I am also getting some of the "knick-knacks" that say "Nana and Papa" to me.

I am going...

to pack up the sewing room this week so I can move Emma into it.

I am reading...

The Rooftops of Tehran.

I am hoping...

to get a long walk in this week

On my mind...

I need some answers from the Lord on how to restore a broken relationship. It is weighing heavily on my mind these days.

From the learning rooms...

I am going to read Where the Wild Things Are and then have the kids watercolor paint a "wild thing".

Noticing that...

my children tend to be much stronger than I give them credit for.

Pondering these words...

"I hope that the rest of the family can see this for the blessing it is." Said by my 11yo son upon hearing that his Granny has finally gone to be with the Lord after a three year battle with cancer. He heard from the Lord to "be calm when it comes" a few months ago. He believes that God was telling him to be calm when Granny finished her battle.

From the kitchen...

Matt cooked dinner tonight. I love that he does that for me one night each weekend.

Around the house...

things are quiet. This is the time of day when I head to the school room to prepare for the next day, the two youngest are in bed, and Daddy and the teenager are watching TV together downstairs.

One of my favorite things~

being a homeschool mom! I am so blessed to be able to educate my kids.

From my picture journal...

Emma (with a little help from Matt and I) raked the few leaves in our front yard into a leaf pile. She was so excited to make "leaf angels". I think she is missing the Cincinatti snow we left behind when we moved to TX. No snow angels here - she has to settle for leaves. :)

To read more day book entries, visit *here*.

Postcard Give-Away

2009-10-19T07:12:00.001-07:00

Check out the give away Katie has going on her *blog*. She is giving away 100 free postcards from UPrinting.

Pizza Poll

2009-10-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

Isaac is working on a frequency chart and histogram for math class. He'd like your help. Please leave a comment telling him your favorite pizza toppings. We will use this data to create a histogram (a type of bar graph) next Friday. I will post the results then.

Do you prefer:
*pepperoni
*sausage
*cheese
*veggies only
*all meat
*meat & veggies

Thank you in advance for your help.

Autumn Studies

2009-10-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

Emma and I are doing fall/Halloween activities and crafts every day this month. I will read a book while she works on the craft. Isaac opted out of these activities. He has decided he is too old for them. :/

I'll do my best to post updates each Friday. I'll also share links to online activities.

Books read:
Pumpkins by Ken Robbins ~ life cycle of a pumkin cards found *here*

One Halloween Night by Mark Teague ~ Frankenstein color page found *here*

Pumpkins by Ernestine Giesecke ~ Jack-o'-lantern Color Page found *here*

ABC Halloween Witch by Ida DeLage ~ Halloween Pumpkin color page found *here*

Leonardo, the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems and When a Monster is Born by Sean Taylor~ Monster "blob" painting found *here* toward the bottom of the page

Art Appreciation ~ van Gogh

2009-10-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

Another new subject this year - art appreciation. I am loving this, and the kids are, too. I've attached my month-long lesson plan below. Here are some pictures from our art lesson. We studied van Gogh this month. The kids were to paint in the style of van Gogh. Some enjoyed working with the thickened paint. Someone tried to mimic the painting. One worked really hard to mimic the texture in the van Gogh style. Lots of fun!

Sketching their ideas

Works in progress

Isaac's painting

Emma's painting

Everyone's finished paintings
Vincent Van Gogh Lesson Plan

Keepers/Contenders - Fire Safety

2009-10-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

This year, I am so excited to be doing Keepers at Home and Contenders of the Faith with Emma and Isaac. We are using these books with another homeschool family. We are studying one topic each month. This month, we are studying Fire Safety. We spent an afternoon at a local fire station last week. The kids posed for pictures with the clown and got to pet the fire dog. They crawled through a "little house" which was supposed to simulate crawling through dark places. We toured the fire trucks and the ambulance (thanks to the Daddy who went with us - he is a fire fighter!).

Emma and our friends Hannah, Noah, and Joshua

PS - Logan (my teenager), Matt (my hubby), and Isaac did go to the fire station with us. They hid from the camera, though, until my battery died!! That's why there are no pics of them.

PSS - You can find the Keepers at Home and Contenders of the Faith curriculum *here*.

Workboxes - 10/12-10/16

2009-10-12T12:44:00.001-07:00

I have really struggled to get back on my schedule this school year. We have had appointments, out of town guests, illnesses, etc. that have really kept us off our routine. But, I'm determined to get back in the swing of things quickly!

We do several subjects together daily. I am currently reading Paddle to the Sea aloud. I will finish that tomorrow, and then I will begin Detectives in Togas. We are finishing "bones" in science and moving on to "muscles". We will discuss van Gogh and Beethoven. We will take a nature walk to collect leaves. We will discuss fire safety for our Keepers/Contenders lesson this week. And, we will work through lesson 2 in our Latin book. We will also spend an afternoon with another homeschool family creating a painting in the style of van Gogh.

Here are our workbox plans for this week:

Memory verse - Psalm 34:8-9 ~ This is in their first workbox daily. My goal is for them to memorize it by Friday. If that doesn't happen, that is OK because it will then go in our Memory Verse Box to be reviewed periodically. We also started a prayer journal this week. I'll share more about it later.

Bible - Emma will complete a lesson each day in her text. Isaac will complete lessons 4 days this week, and we will have a conference on the 5th day.

English - Emma will complete 2 lesson and do 2 activities practicing her address this week. Isaac will complete 4 lessons in his text combining and diagramming compound sentences.

Spelling - Each of the kids will work through the next step in AAS. We set the timer for 10-15 minutes daily.

Math - Both will complete the next 5 lessons in their books.

Silent reading - Emma reads 15 minutes daily, and Isaac reads 30 minutes daily.

Monthly Theme - Emma will read a book with me and do a "autumn/halloween" activity each day.

Art Appreciation - I will put a copy of this week's van Gogh painting in their boxes daily. They will study it for 1 minute, and we will discuss the painting using CM artist study questions.

Read to Emma - I am finishing Andersen's Fairy Tales this week. I will read one new story each day.

Simple Woman's Daybook - 10/12

2009-10-12T04:59:00.000-07:00

FOR TODAY...October 12th from Tara's Daybook

Outside my window...
It's dark, cold, and rainy.

I am thinking...
that I'm glad I homeschool my kids. They are currently in their PJ's watching a "before breakfast" cartoon as the school bus just rode away with the middle schoolers on my street. (This is the bus Isaac would be riding if he went to public school.) 7AM is just too early to head to school in my opinion!

I am thankful for...
Logan being able to eat breakfast with us before he heads to school. Since he runs track, he has to be at school at 7AM for practice before school. Today, he is skipping which means we get to enjoy breakfast with him.

I am wearing...
a white tank and sweat pants (my pj's really)

I am going...
to try to get the kids' closets switched over today. I need to box up the outgrown clothes and take them to the consignment store.

I am reading...
First Things First by Kurt Warner. It's a wonderful book about parenting.

I am hoping...
to that the meat cutter at Kroger or Market Street will give me a bone to dissect with the kids this week.

On my mind...
I'm hoping my sister hears positive news on the house she and her husband put an offer on. I know how much they want to move into a house.

From the learning rooms...
This week we are finishing up "bones" and moving to "muscles" in science. We will talk about early writing forms in History. Emma and I will talk about leaves as we work on a "leaf" lapbook. Isaac will finish up Adam and His Kin this week. We are still learning about Beethoven in music appreciation. We will do an art project with some friends this week as we continue our study of van Gogh.

Noticing that...
my kids are getting along while they watch their cartoons. (They must be on separate couches!)

Pondering these words...
Don't have any words I'm currently pondering. Looking this week for some words to enourage myself as I learn to set boundaries in a hurtful relationship.

From the kitchen...
Light cooking at the beginning of the week as the hubby won't be home for dinner for a few nights.

Around the house...
I finally got the fall decorations out and placed around the house. I need to get a scarecrow or two for the yard still.

One of my favorite things~
waking up before the kids and having a little quiet time to myself.

From my picture journal...

This was one of my favorite Halloween outfits on Emma a few years ago. I LOVED the striped socks! The following year, I hunted on Ebay for this shirt in a bigger size just so she could wear the socks again!!

To read other Day Book entries visit *here*

Simply Made Sunday - Pumpkin Waffles

2009-10-12T04:53:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I came across *this* recipe for pumpkin waffles. My kids and I LOVE pumpkin muffins so I thought I would try them out. Isaac was not a big fan of them, but Emma loved them! Logan even went back for seconds! So, into the recipe binder this one goes...

Here are a few pics of Emma helping me make the batter. I forgot to take pics of the waffles once they were done, but pretend they looked as beautiful as the ones on the recipe!!

To see what others made, visit Itty Bitty Bookworm *here*.

Simple Woman's Daybook - 10/5

2009-10-05T06:11:00.000-07:00

FOR TODAY...October 5th

Outside my window...

cool, drizzly morning

I am thinking...

about taking a field trip with the kids, but I'm not sure where to go.

I am thankful for...

my husband. He was my rock this weekend!

I am wearing...

sweat pants and a tee

I am remembering...

some not so fun days in from my past that I thought were long gone,

but were replayed a bit this weekend.

I am going...

to kiss on my kids today, because I love them so much!

I am reading...

Take Two by Karen Kingsbury.

I am hoping...

to find some new crockpot recipes for our super-busy Wednesdays!

On my mind...

how I just want to make it through the rest of this day,

and then have a blessed rest of the week with my family whom I love so dearly!

From the learning rooms...

I will be sorting/filing/purging in anticipation of moving the school

room to another room in the house.

Noticing that...

the weather has cooled off enough that it is time to start

sorting fall clothes and putting away summer.

Pondering these words...

no words - just a "fist bump" from hubby saying "We're a team!"

From the kitchen...

beans are in the crockpot for homemade refried beans to go

with enchiladas and Mexican rice for dinner.

Around the house...

time to set out the fall decorations.

One of my favorite things~

Emma snuggling with me in the mornings

before we get out of bed to start our day.

From my picture journal...

Emma (in the bows) with her "big girl partner"

dancing on the Main Stage at the Texas State Fair.

To read more Daybook entries, visit "here".

Simple Woman's Daybook - 9/28

2009-09-28T04:03:00.000-07:00

FOR TODAY SEPTEMBER 28, 2009...
Outside my window...
I'ts still dark outside.

I am thinking...
about what I need to do today. Busy, busy, busy!!

I am thankful for...
my mom. Today is her birthday. Over the years, I have realized what a truly lovely woman she is. I am so blessed that God chose her to be my mom!!

I am wearing...
my favorite cotton shorts, my new Disney tee, and some socks with hearts on them - and I must say, that I am very comfortable at the moment!

I am going...
to the Texas State Fair on Friday where Emma and Isaac are performing with our dance studio on the main stage!!

I am reading...
Karen Kingsbury's Take One with Take Two on the nightstand.

I am hoping...
that my brother and sister are able to come to TX from TN for Thanksgiving!

On my mind...
my ever-growing to-do list...

From the learning rooms...
Beethoven, van Gogh, dinosaurs, and anatomy!

Noticing that...
I need to commit to more "family night" activities around here! I've been slacking.

Pondering these words...
H1N1 flu... Logan, who attends public high school, has talked about how many kids are out with the flu. It makes me worry about him (and the rest of the family). Because of Logan's past diagnosis of Guillian-Barre he cannot (and the rest of us don't) get the flu vaccine. So, we are praying and waiting out this flu season.

From the kitchen...
I am hosting dinner for some of Matt's friends this weekend. I'm very excited.

Around the house...
We are getting ready to play "room-swap" soon. My grandfather is giving me the bumper pool table that has been in his basement since I was a kid. To make room for it, we must create a game room. So, Emma has volunteered to move into the smaller guest bedroom. We will move the school room into the room Emma is currently in. We will then turn the current school room into a game room. We are all very excited about this.

One of my favorite things~
is chatting with CB at the dance studio! I really enjoy the time we have to just sit and talk about anything and everything.

From my picture journal...

Here is a pic from this summer.

In it: Matt, Emma, Logan, and Isaac.

To read more Day Book entries, visit "here".

Outdoor Hour - Challenge 1

2009-09-21T18:49:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to incorporate an "official" nature study into our plans for a while, but didn't really know where to start. I came across *this* blog and found my starting point. So, today we started with Challenge 1. We walked around our neighborhood this afternoon. I told the kids we were just going to "enjoy" nature today. We weren't collecting or studying anything specific. We were just going to "be" outside.

When we got back, I asked the kids to name 2 things each that they wanted to learn more about. Isaac wants to learn about crab grass and stink bugs. He's such a boy! Emma wants to learn more about birds and butterflies. She's such a girl!

So, this week I will read to them from the Handbook of Nature Study about stinkbugs, birds, and butterflies. I will google some info about crabgrass for Isaac. I also checked out a few short books for them to read if they want. I'll have them narrate any interesting facts, and we'll file these in their Nature Study notebooks.

**Emma did collect some nature on our walk. I'll post pics later as my computer is refusing to read my memory card today.**