Thursday we had our nature walk. We walked around in the Pecan tree orchard behind our house and then we checked out our backyard.

This little bird was in a tree in our yard. He had a pecan in his mouth and had been trying to get it open so he could take a bite. It was so cute. He finally flew off with the pecan still in his mouth.

We found these items in the orchard. Little C (2) really liked this rock. C (7) and C (10) found the feathers and I found the piece of bone. We always find bones of animals out in the orchard.

We had to include our kitty in our nature study today. He was following us around on our walk so we couldn't leave him out.

We had a wonderful nature walk. I'm ready for spring though. When all the bugs, birds and flowers come out. I'm going to be purchasing Exploring Creation with Botany by Jeannie Fulbright to enhance our nature studies this spring.

If you haven't already been taking nature walks, then I recommend that you start. First it's so refreshing to get outside and enjoy nature with your children. Secondly you get to see first hand God's work in His creation. Thirdly it's so much better to learn nature by seeing it rather than just reading about it. Lastly it is healthy. Lots of fresh air and exercise!!! Why are you waiting?????

Blessings,

Jenn

"O Lord, how many are Thy works! In wisdom Thou hast made them all; The earth is full of Thy possessions. There is the sea, great and broad, In which swarms without great number, Animals both great and small." Psalms 104: 24-25

I read this adorable poem from Eugene Field today and it made me think of our two, little toddlers.

Pittypat and Tippytoe

All day long they come and go

Pittypat and Tippytoe

Footprints up and down the hall,

Playthings scattered on the floor,

Finger-marks along the wall,

Tell-tale smudges on the door

By these presents you shall know

Pittypat and Tippytoe.

How they riot at their play! I

And dozen times a day

In they troop, demanding bread

Only buttered bread will do,

And the butter must be spread

Inches thick with sugar too!

And I never can say "No,

Pittypat and Tippytoe!"

Sometimes there are griefs to soothe,

Sometimes ruffled brows to smooth;

For(I much regret to say)

Tippytoe and Pittypat

Sometimes interupt their play

With an intercine spat;

Fie, for shame! to quarrel so-

Pittypat and Tippytoe!

Oh the thousand worrying things

Everyday recurrent brings!

Hands to scrub and hair to brush,

Search for playthings gone amiss,

Many a wee complaint to hush,

Many a little bump to kiss;

Life seems one vain, fleeting show

To Pittypat and Tippytoe.

And when the day is at an end,

There are little duds to mend:

Little frocks are strangely torn,

Little shoes great holes reveal,

Little hose, but one day worn,

Rudely yawn at toe and heel!

Who but you could work such woe,

Pittypat and Tippytoe!

On the floor and down the hall,

Rudely smutched upon the wall,

There are proofs in every kind

Of the havoc they have wrought,

And upon my heart you'd find

Just such trade-marks, if you sought;

Oh, how glad I am 'tis so,

Pittypat and Tippytoe!

Yesterday, I wrote in my previous post, how well my morning was going. How I was able to accomplish so much ..... Well, that was all true until everyone woke up!!! It was just one of those days. Somedays it is just crazy trying to homeschool with two toddlers in the house. Yesterday they decided to get into everything they possibly could. They work together, these two. It's much more fun that way. Miss C(3) was very hyper, too. By 7:45, last night, I was wiped out and put these two little darlings to bed.

Now don't get me wrong, I love their energy, but somedays it sure does wear me OUT!!! I thank the Lord for these blessings everyday. I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Besides running, screaming, hyper little toddlers the rest of the day was good. We were able to get all of our reading done. We had our Monday tea party. I was even able to get in a game of checkers with C(10) and a game of Candyland Bingo with C(7) and C(3). Then C (3) decided to knock all the pieces off and we were done!!! It was good while it lasted.

After dinner, hubbie went to a cub scout meeting and took the older kids and I was able to spend some time with C (2) and C(3). They took a long, warm bath. Then they had some hot cocoa while I read them some books. We watched a short video of Franklin. Then it was off to bed. It didn't take them long to fall asleep. They were exhausted from running all day.

So here I am at the beginning of another day. I woke up at 7:00 insted of 6:00. I have not accomplished anything. I have a headache. SO, maybe today will be better than yesterday!!!

Blessings,

Jenn

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28-29

I woke up this morning to the wonderful sound of rain. It has been so warm and dry here in Texas. There have been wildfires everywhere because of the dry conditions. God has answered our prayers today. We have rain!!! Thank you Lord.

This morning has been good. I made myself get up at 6:00 again. I love it when I get up early because I can get so much accomplished before the kids get up. I have already made some bread (rising now). ***side note*** To answer momwtrmn question about freezing bread- I'm not sure. I just make enough for the week. I haven't tried freezing it yet. If anyone has any tips for freezing their homemade bread and it not having that freezer taste, let me know*****

After I made some bread, I was able to fold a load of laundry.  It is no longer sitting as a huge pile on my couch. Now it's sitting, still on my couch, all folded and ready to put up. Maybe I'll get to that tomorrow morning!!!!

After folding, I made some banana muffins for breakfast. I just pulled them out of the oven and they smell great. I've never made this recipe before so I'm hoping they taste as great as they smell.

As for the rest of the day, we will be staying home and getting some school done. Maybe some more laundry done and some cleaning, too. Have a wonderful day.

Blessings,

Jenn

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." Psalms 42:1&2

Well, our baby turned 2 this week.    I can't believe how fast the past 2 years have gone. Too fast for me!!! 

We had a little family birthday party for him at Chick-fil-a. His little cousins came and all his grandparents. He had a great time. Big brother 10 and big sisters 7& 3 made him a chocolate cake that was very yummy!! I'll post pictures later.

Besides the birthday, not much else has been going on. We did not do any school yesterday. C (7) and C (10) spent the day at their friend's house.Then they all came over to our house late that afternoon so that their mom and dad could go out for their anniversary. They played hard yesterday.

Today we were slow in getting up and ready. When we finally did we made some lunch and took it to daddy at work. We ate together, then ran to the library while daddy stayed in the car with the little ones.

Now we're back at home and need to do a little bit of the reading, that we missed yesterday, so we don't get behind. Then I promised the kids that we would take their bikes to the trail and go riding/walking.

Left to read:

*Old Man Coyote and Howler the Wolf by Thornton W. Burgess

*The Wind in the Willows-the rest of chapter 2

* Plutarch-small passage

*Shakespeare-small passage

*Abigail Adams:Witness to a Revolution-2 pages

Better get to reading. Have a glorious day!!!!

Blessings,

Jenn

Jesus said "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

It's Wednesday night and I finally have a chance to do some blogging. Actually it's Thursday morning 12:03 a.m. This is about the only time I have to blog latley. I've decided I'm on the computer too much and I'm slowing down a bit. My kids need my attention more than this computer does!!! So I'm trying to blog either at night when they are in bed or during our quiet time in the afternoon.

My DH is working late tonight and so all the kids are in our room sleeping. I love it when they are all in our room. I just went to check on them and I found a note on my pillow from C (7). She is such a sweetie. She left a sweet note for me and one for her daddy on his pillow. She is our note giving little girl. I just love it!!!! It makes a mommy so happy to find a love note from her daughter. Thank you God for our precious little children.

We've been sailing right along with our studies this week. In the morning I've been trying to do preschool and play time with the little ones a little before "school" begins for the older ones. We did some singing, studied the letter I, the color green, went over some basic shapes, counting to 10 and a few other things.

The morning schedule, for C (7) and C (10), this week has been:

Bible -15 minutes

Memory verse-5 minutes

Copywork/dicatation and spelling-15 minutes

Read 1 poem from selected poet-10 minutes

Math-15 minutes

Spanish- 5 minutes (learning days of the week this week)

Typing-10 minutes

Piano- 10 minutes

Break for lunch

After lunch and after C (2 tomorrow) went down for a nap, we all snuggled on the couch and did all of the reading for the day. I have been saving all the reading until nap time. This way we can read in peace. This has been taking us about an hour. There are some books that we read together, some I read to one, and some they read on their own.

Yesterday we had our tea party. It went well except for this terrible new tea we tried. I bought Cinnamon apple spice from Celestial Seasonings and we all thought it tasted terrible. Normally I like cinnamon apple flavoring, but this one was YUCK!!! Way too spicy.

This has been a good week. Dh is off the next couple of days and my little baby is turning 2 tomorrow. Boy, time sure flies!!! That's it for now. Hope you are have a wonderful week.

Blessings,

Jenn

"Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!" Psalms 8:10

Friday sure came fast this week. Our first week back to school was a success. We were able to accomplish most of what I wanted to. Today we started The Tempest by William Shakespeare. First we read a section from Tales Of Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb. Then we read a couple of pages from the actual play. So far so good!! I am really enjoying Shakespeare. Last term we read Romeo and Juliet and watched the movie. I used to think that Shakespeare was WAY TOO hard to understand. I am so glad that my fears did not stop us from studying him. My kids are enjoying the plays and so am I.

After we did some reading today we decided to make some M&M cookies. I let the kids make them. They love to do the cooking especially the girls. After the cookies were done I let C(7) and C(10) take some to our neighbors next door and across the street. Both are elderly and we thought they would enjoy some warm M&M cookies. It was so funny though. The neighbors across the street are new (just a few weeks) and when my kiddos took them some cookies the man asked my son "How much are they?" My son said "They're free. We are bringing them to wish you a happy New Year!!" I thought that was funny. I guess he never had anyone bring him free cookies before.

After cookies I decided to make some of my whole wheat bread. I used to make this weekly and then I just stopped. But I have decided that I am going to start making it again. It's so healthy for us and it tastes soooo good. I guess this is a New Year's resolution for me. Speaking of New Year's resolutions we are also going to try to start eating healthier around here. Sometimes it's so easy to just grab something at the fast food place on the way to church or on Friday night. Since the holidays we've had bad habits where our eating is concerned. I am also going to get these kiddos of ours to drink more water. They are always drinking juice, which isn't necessarily bad, but they never drink water. Today didn't go so well. Especially with the toddlers, but I will perservere!!!

Tonight DH had to work and the kids and I had movie night. We had leftovers for dinner. BBQ chicken with macaroni and cheese and beef fajitas. It was "pick what you want" night. After dinner we devoured our M&M cookies. YUM YUM (we'll start eating better tomorrow)

That's all for now!! Have a wonderful day.

Blessing,

Jenn

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31

We have had a great back to school week. Things have gone pretty smoothly. I'm still trying to figure out how to entertain two toddlers while teaching two older ones. I did come up with one idea. While C (7) and C (10) are doing their table work, I have the two toddlers sit in their highchairs on either side of me. I do preschool work with them while overseeing and helping the older two. This has worked so far. Their preschool work consists of coloring a letter, singing, shape sorting etc... This prevents the two little ones from running away and playing in the potty or getting into something they are not supposed to. I pray this continues to work!!!!

Here is Monday's schedule:(all other days are similar in what we accomplish)

We started the day with the Bible. It is so important to me to start the day with God's word. We read about King Hezekiah (IIKing 18). After we read the Bible the kids did their copywork assignment and then studied their dictation passage and spelling words.

Next came memory verse. This week it is Ephesians 4:29 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." We take about 2 minutes to say it a couple of times and then we move on to.....

Our poem of the week. This week's poem for C(10) is I Never Saw A Moor by Emily Dickinson. C's (7) poem this week is The Night Wind by Eugene Field.(Cute Poem)

After reading our poems we ventured on to math. They were excited to do math again this week. I am so glad that my children enjoy math. I pray that it continues. I am trying a math notebook idea that I got from my friend feistytrio. They have a daily assignment that I have written out for them. At the top of each assignment I list a couple of living math books that I would like them to read.

Next came typing and piano. While one does a typing lesson the other does a piano lesson. Then they switch. This takes about 15 minutes.

When they were finished with this they started on their history reading. I read C's (7) story to her and had her narrate back to me. Then C(10) read his story from George Washington's World.

When all school for the day was done we had our tea party. We had our tea and a cinnamon flavored coffee cake and grapes. We listened to Hadyn and enjoyed art work from William Adolphe Bouguereau. Thanks to Pyxis publishing for the wonderful art prints and Hadyn CD. If your interested in a wonderful resource for teaching the Charlotte Mason way then Check them out.

Beside school work we have also spent a lot of times outdoors.We've even done some of our school outside.  It feels like summer here in Texas (mid 70's).

Hope you are having a blessed week, too!!!

Blessings,

Jenn

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17

I've been using this afternoon to get everything ready for our 2cnd term. I've been getting all the books out that we'll be reading and typing up their copywork pages for this week. Here is a copy of my daughters copywork page for this week.

Copywork C Week  13 Year 2

Monday:

They were called crusades because the people who fought in them were fighting for the place where Christ died upon the cross. 

Tuesday:

In the great audience hall of the palace, the three Polos knelt before the Khan.

Wednesday:

Jupiter is the first of the outer planets, and it is the giant of our solar system.

Thursday:

The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.

Dicatation Sentence:

And He took them in his arms and began blessing them. Mark 10:16

Spelling Words:

Car/far/dark/hard/arm/warm

Her copywork, for each day, comes from something that she will be reading that day. For example Monday's passage comes from An Island Story ch 33:The Story Of Richard Coeur de Lion.

Her dictation passage is what she will study all week, along with her spelling words, and then she will write them from my dictation on Friday.

My son also has a copywork page based on his reading for the week.

Here is a list of books that my children will be reading this term. My son reads most of them on his own and my daughter reads some while I help with the rest.

History

C (7)

An Island Story (selected chapters)

Child's History of The World (selected chapters)

The Little Duke

C(10)

This Country Of Ours (selected Chapters)

George Washington's World

Abigail Adams:Witness to a Revolution

Geography

C(7)

Marco Polo (this will last through the entire year)

C (10)

Kon Tiki

Natural History/Science

C (7)

Burgess Animal Book

Exploring Creation With Astronomy

Nature Study (weekly)

C (10)

It Couldn't Just Happen

The Sciences (online)

Exploring Creatin With Astronomy

Nature Study (weekly)

Poetry

C (7)

Eugene Field and James Whitcombe Riley         (selected poems)

C (10)

Emily Dickinson (selected poems)

Literature

C (7)

Wind In The Willows

Lamb's Shakespeare: All's Well That Ends Well & Cymbeline

Parables of Nature

C (10)

1 Shakespeare Play

Plutarch's Poplicola

Age Of Fable

Wind In The Willows

After each reading they are to give me a narration of what they have read. Sometimes it is a written narration (c-10) and sometimes it is oral. We use narration in place of "end of the chapter questions." If they retell what they have just read, in their own words, then 1-I know they've read it and understood it and 2-it will stay with them.

We are currently following the Ambleside curriculum which is using the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling. This has changed our homeschool for the better. Learning  from classic literature versus textbooks. So much better!!!!

Looking forward to tomorrow. I love learning with my children. (And yes I am learning so much!!!)

Happy New Year!!!!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. I can't believe it's already over. We were able to stay home for Christmas Eve and some of Christmas day. Here are some pictures of our family at home during Christmas. This first one is Dad and C (10). They are both checking out C's new DS game.(We're letting him play all he wants right now but when next week comes it's back to his regular schedule. He can only play video games M,W, and F for an hour each day.)

This is C (7) with her new doll. She is such a mamma and loves all her babies.

This is little C (almost 2). He's spinning away on his new sit-n-spin.

Here's C (10) again. It looks like he is playing that game again!!!

This is me with my girls. C (7) and I both have on wigs that my mom bought from the dollar store. She actually bought them for the girls to play with, but I just had to play with them too!!!

Christmas was here and is now gone.(Way too quickly I might add.) Now it's time to start thinking about school again. We will start up on Monday. I'm looking forward to it. We had so much fun on our break, but we all do so much better when we are in our routine. I'll post later about our schedule and books that we'll be reading.

For now I must sign off. It's midnight and I need some sleep.

Jenn