Learning to Live Life...De Die in Diem

Oct. 10, 2007

Fall Fun

After a visit from family I am ready to blog once again. I thought I’d share some photos of the beautiful fall foliage around here. It’s is so awesome to watch the Lord at work in nature. The kids and I did some studying on the color change in leaves and find them to be all the more fascinating. I have some great links to websites we have enjoyed learning from... (always use discernment when surfing)

· Answers in Genesis: Article-- Do Leave’s Die?

· Kid Explorers—Why Do Leaves Change Colors in the Fall?

· Enchanted Learning—Fall Worksheets

· Ed Helper—Autumn Theme Unit

· Fall Poetry—Fact Monster

Here are some photos of the kids and the fall color around the area. Enjoy...

Blessings,

~Renee~

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Nov. 16, 2006

One More Thing

Posted in School Days

Today I found a great link over on the Washington State Blog for kids to learn about the "First Thanksgiving!" We checked it out and found it to be a fun supplement to our studies this week on the Separatists and Wampanoag nation. Here's the link if you wish to check it out.

http://teacher.scholastic.com/thanksgiving/

~Renee~

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Jun. 27, 2006

What I have been up to part 2...

Posted in School Days

Well we’ve decided it was time to teach our children about the birds and the bees…..I know they are still kind of young. I even have pictures that we showed them, to help in their studies. Now before you get upset with me check out our pictures….

HA! Made you look! LOL!!

My hubby took both of these pictures. He was actually up close to that bumble bee. In the next picture check out the beautiful intricate design on the wings. Is there not a Designer?

We have been having a great time enjoying all of the wild life we have encountered lately. It’s always an adventure just to step out our door it seems. LOL!! The children recently found a nest of quail eggs in our front garden, they were recently laid and sadly a crow had found some of them. Regardless I took some pictures and wanted to share them with you.

Here is one the crow got to....sniff.

Quail eggs are a small to medium sized egg, with a tea stained white color to them and brown spots all over. (In case you ever come across a nest in the garden or by shrubs.)

Here’s a shot of the nest. I am afraid they have been abandoned. (Oh, just in case you were wondering…yes,... the children washed their hands! LOL!)

Here are two photos of a swallowtail in my pear tree in the back yard. The first one I took, was from inside my dining room behind the slider, the other one I went out and got under the tree and took the picture that way.

One more nature shot for you today…

~Renee~

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May. 16, 2006

Why Homeschool!?! Here's Some Good Reason's Not to....

Posted in School Days

Ten Reasons Not to Homeschool

by Jim Muncy

Why send your kids to public schools rather than homeschool? Here are ten good reasons:

10. Skill development: Government schools do a great job of teaching children to sit down and shut up while the teacher engages in crowd control and mindless administrative duties. The ability to put one's mind on hold, sit there and do nothing is a skill that will be in high demand in the competitive marketplace of the future.

9. Lack of ability: I couldn't teach my own child - I don't know how. After all, anything meaningful in life can only be taught by those properly trained and certified to do so.

8. Financial aspects: We can't financially afford to homeschool. Without the school based health clinics, how could we afford to keep our children supplied with condoms and birth control.

7. Goals 2000: I want my children to learn all the correct stuff. Given how fast history changes, I want to be sure they are up on the most recent version.

6. Scheduling benefits: Staying on the same schedule as everybody else has its benefits. That way, when we go to Orlando, we can make sure that we spend our time waiting in lines rather than wasting it on all those rides and attractions.

5. Close friendships: I like the fact that my children are spending so much of their time with people not in their family. I would much rather my children's closest friendships be outside the family rather than within.

4. Separation of church and state: As long as we keep church and state separate, then the more time I can keep my kids under the control of the state, the less time they can possible be under the harmful influence of the church.

3. Socialization: What possible better way could there be to give your children the social skills they will need as adults than to stick them with children their own age all day. Besides, the best influence on your child is the one randomly assigned to the seat behind him or her in home room.

2. Class size: Learning can't occur in groups of less than twenty students. There is nothing quite like being lock-stepped through material with thirty other students to really develop within a person that true love for learning.

1. Class pace: I want my child to know how to learn at the proper pace. If a child can't keep up with the class, then it serves that child right to be left behind in the dust. If the child is learning too fast, then he or she needs to learn to slow down. And besides, what gives any child the right to assume that he or she can learn things he or she wants to learn rather than what the Federal Government decides should be taught for any given grade level. Anything learned at the wrong time might just as well be left unlearned.

I found this on the web and had a good laugh over it; I hope you enjoy it too.

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May. 3, 2006

My "Boot Camp" Article in TOS Home Front E-Newsletter

Posted in School Days

This is a copy of my article in TOS Home Front E-Newsletter.

Reenlisting on Faith, in Homeschooling

As the end of one school year is near, and I begin to ponder what is ahead in the next I like to reflect on the trials and triumphs gone past. This year has been a year of great change in the entire philosophy of our family’s homeschooling adventure. We took all the ways we had been approaching homeschooling and turned them upside down in an effort to remain faithful to the Lord. After three moves and three babies in a row my husband and I were ready to quit homeschooling, and embark on the “easier” road of letting the public school teach our children. After all, didn’t I deserve a break from the whining? I was leaning on my own understanding and the Lord was determined to show me another way. How often in the race of life do we just want to throw in the towel and say, “I’m done, this is not what I expected?” However, have we ever stopped to think that maybe we need to refocus, and reevaluate our situation? That is just what our family needed this year. Instead of quitting and giving up when things got tough we needed to lean on God’s wisdom, not our own. Only He will aide us in finishing whatever race he has placed before us. So after much debate between the Lord and I, well I was debating, He was waiting; we bent to His will and decided to change all our approaches and curriculum. This would entail us possibly needing to homeschool right through high school. Reason being, the curriculum we were using kept to a more traditional scope and sequence; whereas the new curriculum and style we were adopting would venture in a new direction. The children would still learn what they needed to; just at a different time. It would no longer give me a way out, if I felt the need to run from homeschooling; they couldn’t just melt back in. The change was needed to cultivate learning styles. That is a large part of homeschooling is it not? It was a tough lesson learned. Over the past several months, we have noticed a marked change in our oldest two children’s attitudes toward learning and studying. The housework has gotten done, meals cooked, babies nurtured and a faith that has increased ten fold. When I am asked how it all gets done, I can not always explain it, except to say the Lord is so good. As summer approaches for this school year I can thankfully claim the verse 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

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May. 3, 2006

The first of our school projects.

Posted in School Days

I know this is a little late in coming however, I wanted to share some of our projects we’ve done using our Konos curriculum, as well as other theme units I have done with the kids.

The first I am showing is the lighthouse we made during our Authority and Light Unit from Konos. During that unit we studied a variety of different forms of light, from God made light (sun and fire) to man made light (controlled fire and light bulbs.) We also studied God’s “light” in the world; His perfect love and guidance. When learning about the light bulb we studied the different ways people tried to make it work, as well as the final inventor Thomas Edison who after several tries did make it work. We broke a light bulb apart to study the tungsten filament, and all the other parts instrumental in the bulbs working order. In addition to light bulbs we also studied rainbows, and the prism effect, and lighthouses. The Pharos Lighthouse at Alexandria, in Egypt (one of the 7 wonders of the world) was one of the most famous we studied. As a fun wrap up dh and I helped the children build a lighthouse and wire it to light up. We all had so much fun with this unit; I can hardly believe this was education!! LOL!!

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Mar. 24, 2006

Why we decided to homeschool

Posted in School Days

We put our oldest, Nathan in preschool some years ago because it was what you do. Right? LOL! I was happy to have him out of my hair during the day and to have the opportunity to meet other moms, and have him meet friends. Let's get that whole "socialization" thing going. I tend to be quite a social butterfly (as my dh puts it) at times and really was excited at the fact that I could volunteer my time. I was also convinced he would "learn" something. About a year or so before preschool, we had moved to our first duty station, at Travis AFB, in CA. Our sponsor and his family were Christians, and were planning on homeschooling their DS the following school year. I thought that was sweet, quaint really, but certainly not for me. I thought, “how cute, what a doting mother.” She suggested I look into it, and I told her that I was “not the type to homeschool; not patient enough.” I truly believe the Lord was laughing that day. As the year went by, we would go over to visit them; they would share the ups and downs of homeschooling. I am thankful that she was so open and honest with me, it gave me a real picture that though it was not easy it could be done the Philippians' 4:13 way. She would tell me of her son crying at the table because he would rather play, he saw her as just mom, not teacher, at first. When the time rolled around for preschool for Nathan, I just went and signed him up...that was the way things were, and who was I to question a system that has been in place for umpteen years. I didn't even graduate from high school, I am not "qualified" to teach my own children.

Well at the orientation to school, we were made aware that the children would not be learning phonics, math, writing etc... It was not a place to learn these things, just have them briefly introduced. They would learn, through play...however they needed to know 20 sight words, and how to count prior to kindergarten. It was mom and dads job to teach those concepts at home. HUH?? My dh and I were confused, really confused. Did we just sign up our ds for daycare? There was also to be no holiday celebrations at all as to avoid offending someone. (To be honest I was kind of looking forward to those hand made cute holiday cards etc.) I realized that school was becoming this hyper-politically correct, lets not celebrate anything, nor teach anything to avoid offending someone institution. I for one did not agree. But hey, what do you do? Needless to say the Lord was working on my heart, and I was trying to ignore it. Note to self, “do not ignore God.” As the year went on I became the "President" of the "PTA" and thought by doing that I would feel better about the system. By the end of the year, I saw that my ds just might benefit from a different learning environment, and I was considering homeschool. I even brought it up to his preschool teacher (smooth move.) Why would she, who works for the system, encourage something different? She tried to convince me that he would learn better in school, and that his "socialization" was at risk if we homeschooled. Well, that's the end of that, I suppose.

When the time came for Kindergarten the next year, I had hoped everything would be better. The year started with, “there will be some homework, learning sight words (my dh and I do not agree with sight words...long story) no running on the hard top (might get hurt), no wearing shorts or sandals because you might stub a toe or bump a knee etc.” Well it seemed to both dh and I that we, almost disagreed with everything the public school system stood for. Again, what do you do? At the first teacher conference she mentioned that our ds was not learning his sight words, I asked when Phonics would be taught, she informed us that to teach reading, phonics were not introduced until third grade. She explained that children score better on the state tests in first and second grade if they are taught sight (picture) word reading first then undo/redo everything in the third grade when their minds and maturity were at a point to handle reading. My dh and I informed her that was backward thinking...she agreed but said, “her hands were tied.” Let me tell you, I was "fit to be tied" after that! She also informed us his grades would reflect the lack of knowledge of these sight words, if we didn't work with him at memorizing them every night.

We tried, he had at least 2 hours of homework every night, and lots, and lots of tears. By December I was plotting my plan of approaching my dh with the idea. I prayed, researched, talked to other homeschoolers and found different types of curriculum that we could use. When I approached him, I was blown away by the Lord's mercy and grace regarding the whole thing. My dh was 90% on board. At the time, I only wanted to homeschool for a few years until our ds was a proficient reader and more grounded in his relationship with the Lord. There were other aspects of public school I did not like but I was, (at the time), focused on his academics only. We decided that the next school year we would homeschool. As the year went on, I began to see the other things that bothered me, bothered me more. For example, the class was always noisy, there was no discipline, the kids walked all over the teacher, and there was a lot of "boyfriend/girlfriend issues." Basically I saw no ability for concentration on learning. And about those sight words...we flat out refused to force our ds to memorize those words, only to undo them in a few years to try to teach him phonetically. The teacher actually relented and did not penalize him. She even agreed with us that it just might be better to homeschool.

The following year, I gave up my place in the PTA, and hung up the backpack, to keep him and his sister at home to learn in a nurturing environment; where Godliness, was promoted, and where learning was not hated, but loved. I am not saying that it's been a breeze since then, we've had major growing pains to go through, but the Lord is constant, and patient. Like others I always wanted to be a teacher growing up, as did my dh....I guess we are. All in the Lord's time, I suppose.

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Mar. 22, 2006

Our Day...

Posted in School Days

Our day…

This morning started off better than usual even though we had early doctor’s appointments. Isn’t the Lord merciful? Just when we think things might get crazy, He calms the sea. As I hurried to make my DH coffee and breakfast, to take to work, the morning just flew right by. I also needed to make sure showers were taken and kids were fed, I truly believed that school would be a “no-go.” But I was okay with that. I went up stairs to make my bed all the while my two toddlers screamed, cried and fought with each other; thus waking my infant up and starting her crying. As I listened, I felt overwhelmed and just wanted to hide. I thought to myself, “How can I ever expect to accomplish anything like housework, appointments, schooling, etc.” Then I felt a leading to pray…on my knees. I did just that. After my prayer, I got up and quickly finished straightening my room and bathroom so as to attend to the little ones needs. As I was walking down stairs I noticed how quiet it seemed. I entered the living room and saw my DD holding her little baby sister, rocking her to sleep, while my DS was occupying the toddlers. The living room was a little picked up, and everyone was smiling or asleep. It was such a sweet presence to be in at that moment. I quietly praised the Lord for His grace.

After the appointments, we actually did get to some school. Both the kids started out with their cursive practice, then went on to math tests and did so well at both. We sat in the dining room, at their little school table watching the ever changing clouds, from light to really gray, dropping the occasional rain/hail shower. We talked about the clouds, why it might hail, rain, or a mix of the two, and about micro climates. We just talked…there was nothing formal to it but their eyes were bright. At the “peak” temp for the day I had them record the weather on their weather chart. After that we went on to discuss four types of writing on examples of each. We also discussed the root words to these types of writing to give a better understanding on the words (i.e. expository, descriptive, narrative, and persuasive.) We ended with a writing prompt about what the like about homeschooling, written for daddy.

We cleaned up, and played outside while we waited for dad to come home. After which, my sweet hubby offered to make cheese steak sandwiches for dinner. Often I find just when I feel horrible and inadequate, the Lord and his constant mercies are revealed to me, through the loveliness of my family.

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We are a conservative, fun loving, Christian, Military family; with 5 wonderful children. We are striving to learn to take life day by day, just as the Lord's mercies are new each morning.