Oct. 6, 2008 - Weekly Homeschool Report #2
Ok, I admit, I am a little late getting ths up, but it has been a CRAZY weekend. I had a hard time trying to find two minutes together! I think we got more accomplished and Thursday wasn't SO bad. ;)
We worked heavily on the 8 parts of speech and will continue to go over those this week. As our core histroy this week, we learned about the story of Abraham. We worked on several projects, including making a tunic and creating a lapbook.
Gabriella has been using Aesop's Fables to do copywork and we use verses from the Bible to learn dictation. There is always a lot of reading involved. She finished "The Adventures of Reddy Fox" on Friday and will begin a new book this week.
Those are basically the highlights! This coming week we will be getting into some new things, including poetry and nature studies! I look forward to seeing what the week brings for us! Below are some pictures of the lapbook we created:
I will be posting the "how to" for this lapbook at www.lapbooklessons.com. You can also join them for more FREE lapbook ideas and FREE templates!!
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Oct. 1, 2008 - "What is Poetry?"
What is poetry?
This is what my 6-year old asked me today when I asked her if she'd like to do poetry as her copywork today. How do I answer that? What IS poetry? I am not even sure I know the right way to define it.
What do YOU say poetry is?
I say it is a strand of intricately woven words pieced together to make a song that you read with your mouth, but sing with your heart.
Now my task is to figure out how to introduce this in our homeschool. I am not sure I even know how to teach it! Better get out my "Charlotte Mason Companion" for some tips! (I love that book!)
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Sep. 30, 2008 - Blogger Friend School - Wacky Week
This is WACKY WEEK here at Blogger Friend School! Everything is wacky fun! This week YOU, the student, get to share something of your choice that is little “Wacky”!!!
Have you done something crazy in your homeschool? Do you fingerpaint with your toes? Do you let your children do your hair? Do you wear your pajamas during homeschool? Oh, the list is endless, but it’s up to you and how much fun you want to have.
To make it even “wackier” (not sure if it’s really a word, but hey, we don’t check spelling this week at BFS either!!!…..try and type some or all of your post sdrawkcab. (backwards!)
Hmm...well...I don't know if I can really pinpoint one thing that is wacky. I don't allow school work while in pajama's because I believe getting dressed helps us wake up and "face the day". I think it helps us get motivated, so that is sort of a requirement before beginning lessons.
OK, I just thought of something wacky! Well, to most people this is considered wacky and that's OK! Back in Feb. of '07 we got rid of our television - completely. We gave it away along with the dvd player. I was allowing too much of it and the kids whined too much because of it. We went without a tv for over a year - until this year (about May) when someone gave us their tv. It is about half the size of the one we used to own (nice and conservative, lol) and it remains in our basement, out of our main living area. It is used only for dvd's approved by parents.
Our living room instead consists of 4 book shelves; two large, two small. We have our own personal library right at our fingertips! It has proven to make us closer as a family. We talk more, hang out more, play more, and LEARN more! It was never a regretable decision. 
This is something that is totally wacky to most people. 
Although a verse wasn't "required", I'd like to share one anyways:
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
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Sep. 27, 2008 - Homeschool Weekly #1
I was so pleased to be browsing through some wonderful blogs and come across one that was featuring this button "Weekly Homeschool Report from the Couch". How clever! I was just thinking that I would like to do one post a week to just kind of summarize our week, and BAM! here's this meme. :)
Ok, well my previous post did sum up what we did over the last couple of weeks. But I'd like to go into a bit more depth for this past week.
Although, I will admit, we did not get as much done as I hoped. Thursday are my "bad days". For some reason, once Thursday hits I am exhausted and unmotivated. My goal this week is to begin praying that away and praying for it to be my BEST day of the week. Enlight of this information, I was just informed Thursday that every Thursday my husband will be at a study group for his class until after 10pm. Boy do I need to pray! When I heard that information, I just cried! Jon's schooling is supposed to be "distance learning", yet somehow he and his group all live in the area. 
Anyways, that's my tiff with Thursdays.
I think we did rather well the first three days. I find it hard to focus sometimes because of the high demands of my little ones. Over the course of the next few weeks I hope to change that. I would like the 3 oldest at the table doing some sort of activity during our more "formal" teaching times.
This week Gabriella worked with adverbs. After learning nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives, I think it's becoming a bit more confusing. So I'd like to spend more time on these. She is doing VERY well with it, though. The more she works with each part, the more she understands them and can identify them. We are using "Simply Grammar" by Charlotte Mason and so far we really like it.
Our History this week consisted of reading of the Tower of Babel straight from our Bibles. Gabriella will be working on some prewriting assignments to further expound on her knowledge of the story and geography.
In math this week she's learning fractions, measurement, less than/more than, telling time, and graphing. It has been fun! We both have really enjoyed stepping away from the drilling of adding/subtracting facts.
We looked over a map of Mesopotamia and located key cities and rivers. Speaking of maps, we were SO blessed to find a set of FOUR large wall maps, laminated and everything for only $20 at Costco!! Talk about a DEAL! We got a World map, United States map, and North America map - bonus map included was of flags of the world. This was an AWESOME purchase for our homeschool!
For science, Gabriella has been reading "The Adventures of Reddy Fox" by Thorton Burgess. She reads this independantly and draws a picture of what she read and writes a short caption. After she is finished, we will piece the book together as a keepsake. Her pictures are quite impressive! Below is a sampe of one. Pay close attention to the bottom, right corner. She drew the CUTEST duck! It's pecking at a worm coming out of the ground. I also love how Little Joe Otter and Uncle Billy Possum are fishing in the pond! So cute!
We also did a bit of dictation from verses in the Bible. This is a wonderful skill that I believe should begin at a young age (whenever the child can write without too much difficulty).
There were also a couple of craft projects thrown into the mix.
I admit, I feel like we have a lot of holes in our day with just "dead air". I feel Gabriella is finishing "too fast". I want to do some things more in depth.
Things we will stay focused on are reading, writing and arithimetic, of course.
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Sep. 25, 2008 - Ancient Egypt, Creation and the Tower of Babel
I just wanted to share a few things from what we've been doing lately.
Over the course of the first few weeks, we learned about ancient Egypt, the importance of the Nile, how the land was worked, what the pharoah's role was and touched on their belief in many different gods.
Last week we learned the story of creation and noah's ark. This week we are learning about the Tower of Babel. All this includes the history, geography, science, etc. of the content. It has been very interesting and fun! It works much like a unit study.
Below Gabriella is holding her pop up Pyramid. The first pic. shows the outside with the sun and a pyramid. The second pic. shows the inside w/ the walls/floor and pharoah kind of popping out. She drew everything all herself.
Below is a sneek peek of Ben working out his fine motor skills.
This pic (below) is a picture of a humming bird - up close and personal! It flew into the shop at my husband's work, but my husband said it just suddenly died. He called to ask me if he could bring it home to show Gabriella. We were all fascinated. The wings look more like those of a flying insect rather than a bird. They are very thin and flimsy.
And here is a pic of Jeremiah for good measure! Pictures of Ellie will come later. 
Stay tuned for next week's segment: The Patriarchs: From Ur to Egypt
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Sep. 23, 2008 - BFS - It Keeps Going and Going and Going...(Energizer)
Housekeeping: that household mess, it keeps going and going and going. It’s a perpetual chore that we diligently need to keep going on to stay on top it. We all have different ways of keeping ourselves energized.
Assignment:
I have used Flylady (and still do). I am FAR from perfect using her methods. My BIG problem is consistency. I am not consistent so there is ALWAYS a back up. If I could just stick to doing her monthly habits, it would be an accomplishment! (BTW, I've used Flylady's methods on and off for 3 years now!) I've created a control journal. I've tried the emails, the printouts, the BOOK! LOL I've been to www.donnayoung.org and other wonderful websites offering free organizational forms.
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Sep. 19, 2008 - Reevaluating our Home School
Every time I go to someone's homeschooling blog, I always find something "cool" that they are doing with their lessons and with their children. It seems I always want to adopt something or another. What I want to do is take the time to seriously think about and evaluate our homeschool experience and decide what goals I want for us so that I can make steps to reach them. I need to figure out what is important for OUR FAMILY - not adopt what is important for EVERYONE ELSE'S family. I don't think it's wrong to go in pursuit of ideas to help support what we decide to do for learning experiences. But to just go browsing and see something fun and say "Oh I want to do that" and then feel overwhelmed because I've just done that 10 times at 10 different blogs!!! (Anyone else get what I'm saying?!?!?)
So I am going to take some time this weekend (I'll have to find it somewhere, lol) and jot down some ideas, a philosophy (of education), what is most important for us to strive for and find creative ways to pursue them. I hope to be able to share with you on Monday or Tuesday what I've come up with!
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Sep. 17, 2008 - Try It, You'll Like It! BFS #102
Memory Verse: Psalms 26:2 NIV
Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind.
Assignment: This week I want you to do something for someone else. Do you have a neighbor that needs you? Do you know an elderly person or single mom that could use you? What about the homeless? Pack even one single sack lunch and give it to someone in need. Do you know someone in blogland that is struggling right now and could use a note from you about how much you care? Pray about this. Let God put on your heart the perfect thing for you to do for another. Now, here is the kicker…I DO NOT want you to post about what you do. Whatever you choose to do is between you and God. Our rewards are in heaven, not here on earth, Mathew 6:1. I want you to post about how doing this “act” made you feel. Was stepping out of your comfort zone in this area as hard as you thought it might be? Could you see the gratefulness in their eyes? Hear it in their voice? Tell it from their typing? Do you think you might make doing things like this a more regular part of your time? If this is an area that you are already active in, tell us how you feel this has impacted your life.
At first glance, I thought this assignment would be near impossible for me to carry out. Not because I don't enjoy serving others or want to serve others, because I do - on a daily basis. It's just very difficult sometimes to get OUT of where I serve to serve in other areas, What am I talking about? My family, This is my number one area of service. I believe many times we wives and mothers forget our sole responsibility, our sole purpose. It is to be a help meet to our husbands, This is what we were created for (Genesis 2:18). We were created to serve.
Living in this world can easily distort our purpose for even existing. This is not a demeaning role - it's very high calling and a difficult - extremely difficult - one at that. As a help meet, I am required to be sacrificial in every area of my being! That's not to say that my husband doesn't allow me any freedom, because he does, But it requires me to put my own wants on the back burner in order to meet the needs of my husband. This is a proactive and purposeful lifestyle. It is something I must daily work at. Yet it is also something I see fruit in very often.
Is it worth it? Yes, it's more than worth it. My husband and I have a blissful marriage because we understand the roles God has given each of us. I can see relieved stress in my husband when I take the inituative to help him in the "little things" (i.e. making his lunch, keeping the house tidy, cooking him meals, even bringing the trash cans in after garbage day). Often I will even call him at work and specifically ask him if there is anything that would help ease his day or that I can do for him that day.
Is it hard? Absolutely. There are times I get angry because I feel like I give, give, give and some nights hubby will come home and play on the internet or play station for an hour and a half while I'm still "working"; running around doing dishes, bathing kids and trying to get them ready for bed and I feel like I'm alone. Does he do it intentionally? Nope. For one thing, the man can't read my mind. If I need help, all I need to do is ask. Not slam stuff around to get his attention and let him know I'm upset that he can't see I need help, etc,.(and yes, I've done that) This only adds fuel to the fire. And I pray. I tell God exactly how I feel, because with God I don't need to hold anything back (talk about a great friend!) It is then God gives me instructions on what I'm to do or He remind s me that he has worked hard all day, too, and sometimes just needs that "wind down" time. Most days God uses my husband to meet my needs for affection, acceptance and emotional support - but there are times that God is the one I receive these things from directly - so either way, my needs are being met. Through it all, I am learning to put more dependency on God for my needs, then on my husband. This is not to say my husband is "released" from fulfilling my needs, but I don't nag him to do so. I pray and trust God to do it and it is usually, almost always, through my husband these needs become met. They may not always be on my timetable, but they are met just the same - and usually and the exact time I need them.
Serving inside the home is the most difficult ministry on the planet-this includes working moms/wives. For one thing, you cannot just step out of it (unless you believe in divorice, and I am not talking of cases of abuse or unfaithfulness. Just everyday life and the struggles that go with it). I don't want to live the rest of my life in a marriage that is broken due to selfishness. Love is not an emotion - it's an action. And to truly love someone is to deny yourself and put them first.
Here is a picture of me helping Gabriella plant flowers in her garden. It's the only one I could find and my hands were at work (and dirty!)
Another favorite verse of mine: A wise woman builds her house, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands. Proverbs 14:1
Please visit Blogger Friend School for more wonderful answers and experiences to this assignment,.
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Sep. 16, 2008 - My Kids' Picks
My children, esp. my daughter (6) love to read. I am thankful to be able to instill in them a love for reading! Briefly, here are the books they take a high interest in as of now.
Gabriella, 6 years old:
The Frog and Toad series
"They are such good stories.", is what she had to say about the "Frog and Toad" series.
Now this book, "Enchanted Tales" is actually one book of a two book set. It is filled with favorite Disney stories. Let me tell you, my daughter has read one of these books (of the 2) so often, that the hard cover has literally fallen off - and she handles books rather well.
Her favorite stories are The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty. She is fond of these because ever since she was 3 has taken an interest in anything "princess" and hasn't stopped since.
Benjamin (3) has really taken to Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? and Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear? After I read him one book or the other, he will take the book and "read" (from memory).
Now I put a third book in here for my 3-year old because it is worth mentioning. His grandpa bought him this book and it is an "oversized book". It does not fit on any bookshelf we own! The book is about a small ship who is "accused" of only wanting to play all the time, but wants to grow up and be like his dad. During a bad storm, Little Toot has a chance to prove himself to the other ships on the sea and sends for S.O.S. help. In the end, the other ships begin to respect him and he is happy to make his dad proud. It's a very cute "father/son" book.
My 18-month old has really taken to Blue's Clues. I don't know how he ever found the interest. We don't watch tv all that much and even if "Blue's Clues" is put on (dvd), he only watches the introductory song and then he is off playing. However, we do borrow plenty of "Blue's Clues" books from the library and he may have developed a love this way.
So far, this book Peekaboo Blue has been a favorite of his. I think it is adorable, with different "lift the flap" varieties. There are different fabrics to illustrate different parts of the book. For example, Purple Kanagroo is hiding under a picnic table and the "lift the flap" is actually a piece of red and whit e checkered cloth like you would have at a picnic. It is just a very cute book. It is easy for little hands to grasp the fabric to lift it or move it over.
For more wonderful stories of children's favorites, please visit www.5minutesforbooks.com
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Sep. 15, 2008 - Monday Funday
Ok, usually Monday's are considered to be dreadful to most people. You know, the weekend is already over and now it's time to get back to work. Well, for me it's been different. I don't know if it's because I'm well rested from the weekend with having Jonathan home or what. But Monday's are my most productive and energetic day of the entire week! I feel so accomplished today. I could hardly glance at the computer other then to send out a quick email to a friend about meeting tomorrow evening.
It sure feels good! I am praying for the same for tomorrow. I don't know why, but as the week goes on it seems to get harder (in a matter of perspective). God is really working a miracle over here in my life.
Oh my, this weekend was such a stressful weekend. Saturday we got our mortgage statement that said our mortgage was going up $500 per MONTH due to the city taxes raising!!!! Jonathan and I were freaking out a bit, yet trying to remain optimistic at the same time (which isn't easy to do, mind you). You can imagine what something like this would do to a man - a man who's sole responsibility is to take care of his family by bringing home the "bacon". I did the only thing I know how to anymore. I prayed. I prayed for peace for my husband, for the bank, for favor, and just literally cried out to God in despair, begging Him to take care of this problem. We knew it had to be a mistake because we just got paperwork on our yearly taxes and the numbers did not match up. Yet in the back of our minds, we still wondered, is there something we don't know about (being first time home-owners). We felt like everything was just crashing down on us. Not to mention there were other stresses to add to it in a different area of life which I cannot discuss here.
Well, Jonathan called the mortgage company today, and sure enough, there was a discrepency in the numbers and all is worked out. PRAISE THE LORD!!!! What a relief! I tell you, when you see numbers like that, numbers that aren't worked into your budget and you start to rearrange your entire lifestyle in your mind, suddenly all the little struggles just don't matter anymore and you wonder why you even bothered with them to begin with. You suddenly begin to realize how good you have it. That's where I am. I am so tired of being so worried about stupid little things that don't even matter. Sometimes I feel like I live in a bubble and don't get out much to see how other families struggle. We have it good! There are families falling apart and being destroyed by financial disaster, divorice, custody battles, etc. Even if it's not divorice, it's a marriage in ruins. The wife doesn't respect her husband, the husband having an affair. Children left to themselves. What do I have to complain about? I am really trying to keep my mind in check and learn to be more thankful for what I have and have a merry heart. A merry heart is good medicine for the soul, the Bible says. I believe it, because bitterness rots the bones. Who wants to be around anyone who's bitter!?
Well, anyways, I am praising my Jesus for His faithfulness. He is SO GOOD! Thank ya Jesus!
Here's praying for a Terrific Tuesday!
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