Outside my window...
It a beautiful morning! I'm greeted with sunlight reflecting off the snow on the mountaintops. Seeing the sun can be such a rare treat this time of year.
I am thinking...
of tons of things I need to do in the house this week.
I am thankful for...
Sunlight and Chris being back on day shift this week.
From the learning rooms...
We are reading (or listening to CD's which is a nice break for me) to Johnny Tremain. We are learning about the early colonial period before the American Revolution. Rachel and David are busy with piano, math, reading (although they have finished all of the Sonlight readers) and Aaron is busy on his workbooks. We are also learning about birds in Science.
From the kitchen...
Homemade Hamburger Helper, I have not decided which kind.
I am wearing...
PJ's
I am going... to stay home today. Chris is off work, but needs to be working on his class. We will be going to a Boy Scout Event tonight.
I am creating... ?? I am reading...
We are finishing up the Narnia books this week. I have tons of books on my night stand, but I have not touched them in awhile. I have been enjoying reading the Narnia books and some magazines (This Old School House and Answers in Genesis.)
I am hoping... the sun says around for awhile so that we can enjoy it today.
I am hearing... the sounds of the keyboard when the kids have headphones plugged in. I need to listen to them play today. I love the headphones! They can practice without disturbing anyone---like while the others are doing other schoolwork, but I don't always hear the progress they are making.
One of my favorite things... are winter mornings. I love watching the fire in our pellet stove and snuggling up on the couch a blanket and a book.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Boy Scout Court of Honor tonight, Piano Lessons and any errands I have on Tuesday and not sure about the rest of the week. Would you like to start your own daybook? Check out this website. http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/
My oldest son, Chad, decided he wanted to see how much salt was in sea water. What is cool about this is that Chad has never been too interested in science - he's a history/music guy. So, of course, I took him down to the beach and let him brave the wind and rain to gather two gallons of sea water. One thing I love about Oregon beaches is how desolate they are on days like that. It was just Chad down by the water with nothing but the shipwrecked Peter Iredale (the iron remains of a ship that ran aground about 100 years ago) for company. Of course, as soon as he left the car, my Prius decided to flash an unfamiliar warning light at me. While he was enjoying the surf, I was frantically thumbing through my owner's manual, trying to decipher this strange symbol lit up on my dashboard. The bad thing about Oregon beaches on days like this is that they are desolate - just me and my Prius and possibly in need of a tow home. Todd was at home asleep (he had to work later) and the younger two were home but they would be of little use. I did have my cell phone but, fortunately, I figured out what that dang light meant. I had put my cell phone on the car charger for the first time and this light was to politely tell me that my phone was fully charged. AS IF I NEEDED TO BE TOLD! The symbol was of a key with an exclamation point through it. I ask you, does that mean "cell phone fully charged" to you? And the owner's manual showed the symbol but conveniently forgot to say what it meant. I discovered on my own by unplugging the cell phone charger, thinking that it might have something to do with the light. It's a good thing I have a few wits about me.
Anyway ...
We got home with the water but waited until the following day to start boiling. We were thinking it would take all day. We have been discussing Lewis & Clark for the last month or so, since we just went through some of the places that they traveled. And the Salt Works where the Corps of Discovery made their salt during their winter stay here on the coast is down south of us in Seaside, about 17 miles away. We have visited this place in Seaside and during the summer, there is a Salt Work reinactment down on the beach where the actors immerse themselves in the roles of the Corps. If you ask them about anything modern, they don't understand but they'll tell you all about the Lewis & Clark expedition and the making of salt from sea water. So, now, Chad wanted to make his own salt.
It actually didn't take that long. We got it boiling pretty good and after about 45 minutes, salt started boiling over onto the stove top. I think it took about an hour for the water to boil away. Chad ended up with nearly a cup of salt. It was pretty amazing to me. He spread the salt out on a cookie sheet to let it dry out thoroughly. We are not going to consume this salt as it has a lot of impurities in it but the boys will be using it for further science experiments. I think they want to figure out some kind of fuel source involving salt, something like that.
So I think the experiment was a success. Chad enjoyed the process and we all learned something. Fortunately, we don't need this salt to season rotting elk meat, as I believe that was the reason Lewis & Clark needed their men to make salt. The next time you use your salt shaker, be thankful you don't have to work too hard for it. I know I am.
Nov. 9, 2009 - Apollo Eight Astronauts Read From Genesis 1968
Posted By jaminacema
The other night my daughter came to me with her Awana book and said "It says in here that in the 60's the Astronauts read from the book of Genesis on Christmas Eve from the Moon. Is that true or something Awana just made up?" I happened to be sitting at the computer so I played this for her...
I am assuming I don't remember this from the original airing since I was only 3 in 1968! But I do remember hearing it before. It is quite touching to listen to and somewhat sad to think about how much our world has changed in the last 40 years. I can't imagine something like this happening today and obviously neither could my daughter since she thought they had made it up for Awana.
I am praying for a revival for America! How awesome it would be to NOT be surprised to hear prayer in this country! How wonderful it would be for my children and grandchildren to live in an America that honored the one true God! Please join me in praying for our country.
On Oct. 1st the kids and I were in the car headed to the pumpkin patch! They were all dressed in fall t-shirts and I was ready to take some great pictures! Then it started raining...I pulled over and made a few quick calls to the homeschool friends we were suppose to meet. We all decided to go another day. Little did we know it was going to rain for 30 days straight! (I am exaggerating a little here, but honestly this is the wettest Oct. I have seen in my life!) Meanwhile we were in the middle of moving. The rain meant we were moving in the mud and the last thing I wanted to do was trek out into a pumpkin patch and collect even more mud. As the month headed to a close I started to realize a trip to the pumpkin patch was not going to happen. So I did the next logical thing...I decided to have a Pumpkin Party! LOL
What is a Pumpkin Party??? Honestly it's something I made up. But, we had our first one on Nov. 2nd with 97 people in attendance! Thankfully the rain finally stopped and we found a park with lots of concrete to keep us out of the mud. The party was a huge success and a LOT of fun! Here are the highlights....
We started out with the kids each decorating a pumpkin cookie.
Then they ate their cookies while waiting for the pumpkin story to start.
Next we listened to the Pumpkin Gospel You can read all about the story at the link below http://ginaconroy.com/ginablog/wordpress/2007/10/30/the-pumpkin-gospel/
Then we played pumpkin games!
Pumpkin Parachute Game. I got a package of Fun Foam Pumpkin and made a smiley face on one with a marker. Then they would put all the pumpkins in the parachute, throw them up in the air and the person who found the smiley face got a piece of candy. Repeat until everyone wins!
We also had Pumpkin Hot Potato.
And we had Pumpkin Relay Races!
We finished off the party with lots and lots of pumpkin food! Everyone brought a pumpkin dish to share. We had pies, breads, cakes, cookies, pumpkin dip. The food was amazing!
It was a great day and I am sure we will have many more pumpkin parties in the future.
It just so happens that all five of the people in our family have birthdays in a six-month period. So from mid-August to mid-February it feels we are constantly in birthday mode. Tomorrow is my husband's birthday, so that got me thinking about what birthday freebies are out there. I found some great ones, including a list of restaurants that give free food on your birthday! There are also free printable cards, cake ideas, and much more!
I hope you enjoy this week's birthday freebies!
Family Fun has a wonderful selection of birthday cake ideas you can easily make at home. I have made many of these for my family, and they are always a big hit!
This is a neat website. You can see a time capsule of the day you were born. Find out what bread cost, or how much you would have paid for a car. Learn what the minimum wage was and lots of other fun information!
This year Rebecca decided to do math club. She is in high school now and so the math is TRICKY. She, being the perfectionist that she is, came out of class today in a rather foul mood. Methinks it has something to do with the review they had of a recent contest the team competed in. She was not happy on that day either. I'm just sayin' there may be a connection somewhere...
We have long since outgrown Trick or Treating and Halloween has become somewhat of an awkward holiday. It was never really a favorite of mine (although the loads of candy was cool) and now that my kids are all teens it's almost an annoying "holiday".
This year was a bit different, however, because the girls got to go to a dance! Rather than doing the costume thing and having a plethora of "thou shalt not's", the organizers decided to employ black lights and have a "who is the brightest" contest. It was soooo much fun!
The kids have recently become card game aficionados and the idea of dressing with a deck of cards theme was enthusiastically embraced. They spent a couple of hours creating their assigned/chosen card and this was the result.
Josh was supposed to be the jack of clubs, but he decided to hang out with some buddies instead.
I was unpacking some boxes today and I came upon something that really blessed me, so I had to share.
Last spring I did a Women's Bible Study at church. One of the things we did was write down things we needed to give to God and put them in a box. One of the girls brought us all boxes that looked like a flip flop. Very cute! So I stuck mine on a shelf and forgot about it, like I was suppose to. Today I found it. I smiled when I saw it because I knew most of the things I had put in the box God indeed had taken care of. But, just for fun I took off the lid off and started opening the little slips of paper to see the words I had written. One by one I saw that they were all handled by God! Then I opened one I honestly do not remeber putting in there. It was just one word...space. WOW! Did I really put that in there? Yes, our last house was too small, but I had NO intention of moving. I really, really wanted to stay until our oldest was through high school. (3 more years.) We had even thought we might even try to buy it so we could add on to it at some point. We had even looked at those sunrooms you can have built on as a possiblilty for more space in the future. Now as I am sitting in my new house (which is more than 50% bigger than where we were when I wrote the word "space") I cannot help but just be amazed. It was just a fleeting moment. Write something down they said...Okay, give me space. And He did!
God is good!
Happy Homeschooling,
Jamin
P.S. Unpacking is going well! I would say we are 75% unpacked. Here is my very happy daughter in her totally unpacked room! YAY!!!! She is one happy girl to have her own "space" now! :^)
Ah....DS's newfound love is playing Uno. We play and play and play. It has been incentive for him to get chores completed quickly and get a quick game in before we start school! *grin* We have started a challenge that really began when we sat down one rainy day last week to play and I said, "Hey, best two out of three. Waddaya say?" It has turned into DS 16 games to my 4. In the name of all things sane and real how can my son be beating the socks off of me in Uno of all things?!?!?
So the saga continues. I am working on coming back from behind in a stealth attack he'll never see coming.....I think.
The staff and friends of The Old Schoolhouse® have come together to share their favorite family traditions, recipes, and more with you.
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-Gena Suarez, publisher of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine.
Don't forget, this holiday idea book is free--no strings attached. Feel free to share it with your friends, homeschool support group, family, church group, blog visitors, customers, newsletter subscribers, and anyone who would enjoy making memories of an unforgettable Thanksgiving and Christmas..
Download Directions:
Open and browse the Holiday Digital Supplement.
In the top toolbar, click the Download link. A dialogue box will appear. You will want to use the first option that is listed. It will have a small PDF icon to the right and the file size-35 MB. The radial button next to "All Pages" should be darkened. If it is not, click on it to darken.
Click the "Download PDF" button in this first section.
A download dialogue box will appear with options to "open with" or "Save" the PDF. Click on SAVE. Please do NOT try to open the PDF before downloading.
Click on OK.
You will be prompted to select the directory on your hard drive where you wish to store the Holiday Digital Supplement PDF. Make a notation of the directory you select.
Click SAVE.
This is a 35 MB file and many people will be accessing it, please allow extra time for the download-especially if you have dial-up Internet service.
You can read all about the story at the link below
I got a package of Fun Foam Pumpkin and made a smiley face on one with a marker. Then they would put all the pumpkins in the parachute, throw them up in the air and the person who found the smiley face got a piece of candy. Repeat until everyone wins!
The kids loved this! I got the idea here: 
