Boy, I feel like I have been away forever!! Haven't written down anything since November 4th. The holidays just blew the homeschooling schedule right out the window. Luckily we started back on track yesterday. I will have to remember this for next year. School break from Thanksgiving thru New Year's Eve. Good thing we homeschool year round. Anyway, let's get some things down on this journal regarding what we have been doing this last month and a half.
November 6th: We are visiting Italy for the months of November and December. Today we read "Buried Treasure" and watch the movie "Clown of God." Both were about Italy.
November 7th: Went to Tehachapi Co-op and did American Girl (Josephina). We made Feast Day cookies and a memory book. With our around the world girls we did some FIAR activities re. Clown of God, colored Italy flag and people, and did watermelon seed count.
November 8th: Girls went to gymnastics and Mark did some worksheets with them.
November 11th: KDD-Geography day having to do with North American. The focus was on Illinois-Chicago in specific. Lapbook was done and good food eaten.
November 12th,13th, and 14th: Moving days in our home. We moved the girls into the master bedroom and parents into the second bedroom. End result-more room for the girls and Hurray!!!!-Mom and Dad have their own bed back. The girls are sleeping together. One parent is putting them to bed every night. We also moved the office room around so it is more user-friendly and we have a twin bed in there for when friends/family come to visit. On the 14th we also did some schoolwork. We played Animal Dominoes, read stories about hares and made camouflage sundaes (hares from ice cream, etc.).
November 15th: Girls at gymnastics. Jessica did some hidden words, coloring, letter A-D worksheets. Angelina did dot-to-dot worksheets (her favorite thing to do right now).
November 16th: Went to the garden. Girls did "ab" word family activities. They also made toothpick/marshmallow constructions.
November 17th: Colored bunnies.
November 18th: Mark and the girls went on a bike ride.
November 19th: Colored clown for Clown of God book. Painted rabbit and camouflage picture. Did Bunny Hop Numbers. Girls are enjoying the activites for Italy and Bunny Curriculum.
November 20th: Went to church. Finished book 1 of Kirsten-slow reading re. American Girls. Getting behind on it.
November 21st: Tehachapi Co-op was Dr. Seuss activities and Polar Bears in the Artic for Magic Tree House. We also made rabbits from fancy paper and did a "Down By The Bay" picture.
November 22nd: Jessica went to Girls Scouts Juliette Meeting. They did activities for Thanksgiving. We are getting ready for our trip to San Diego to see family and friends.
November 24th-28th: We were busy down in San Diego seeing family and friends. We did get some schooling done. The girls made an alphabet book, watched Raffi's tape as we are doing "Down By The Bay," colored a whale picture and did some Thanksgiving activities-sequencing page, dot-to-dot page, etc.
November 30th: Went to Fresno for Angelina's Eye Dr appt. This was her annual exam. Looking better-talk of discontinueing the patch this summer if Angelina wears the patch as much as she can between now and then. Got a new prescription and Angelina wants them to be sunglasses. Went to a new library (new to us) in Clovis. Got to check out over 30 books and 17 VHS videos. Family was in heaven!!! Girls did coloring books around the letter A & B.
December 1st: Went to the Downtown Christmas parade. It was much warmer this year than last.
December 3rd: Girls went to the Holiday Kids' Camp at church from 9-3. Mommy got to scrapbook all day and night. Yeah, finally got the first scrapbook done. It's from our Bakersfield to Florida trip that we took last Christmas. Also got some work done on both of the girls' baby books. The girls were tired from their fun day also.
December 4th: Went to Xmas concert at church. The girls got to sing three songs with the other youth in front of the concregation.
December 5th: Techahapi Co-op was about American Girl-Kirsten. We have only read the first book and listened to half of the tape for the second book. Jessica and Angelina still had fun making butter and painting a wooden spoon. For the around the world curriculm we made pita bread pizza (easier than regular pizza for Italy) and did Papa Piccolo activities.
December 6th: Girls went to gymnastics and did some work with Daddy.
December 10th: Family is starting to fight whatever sickness is going around. Mostly tired, coughing and runny noses. The girls and Mommy did go to the NOR Xmas parade.
December 11th and 12th: Put up Xmas decorations and did some Xmas activities. Mark was down for the count-sleeping a lot.
Dec 15th: Christina's home from work today and tommorrow. Got bronchitas and asthma-sleeping a lot also. Had girls coloring Xmas pictures, making Xmas cards and Jessica did some sequencing sheets.
Dec 17th-Whole family went to Emily's Bat Mitzvah (homeschooling family we are good friends with). First time we had gone to one. It was awesome!!! Unfortunately, most of the family was not feeling well. Jessica started a fever again while there so we had to leave.
Dec 18th-Did some more sequencing with Jessica and Beautiful Feet activites regarding Clown of God and Runaway Bunny.
December 19th-Tehachapi Co-op was a Polar Express Pajamas Party. The whole family went to this. Lots of activites and watched the movie.
December 23rd: Mark worked and the rest of the family went to Hart Park and played.
The rest of the year was pure relaxing and getting well physically for the whole family. We went to the Xmas service on the 25th. On the 27th we went to the Holiday Lights Tour at CALM. On the 30th, Christina spent a good 7 hours doing scrapbooking-working on Angelina's pictures. The girls stayed up till 12:30AM on New Year's Eve and we paid for it the next day with whining, tired girls. Oh well, they had fun!!!
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day was spent cleaning and decorating the house. We took down the Xmas decorations, put up posters in both the girls room and ours. We hung Chinese lanterns in both bedrooms. We rearranged the girls room and living room as the girls got tents from their aunt & uncle (had to find room for them). We put up and decorated our shrine. All are liking the changes.
Mark and I are talking more and more about needing to get ready for a move to Tehachapi. Probably going to look into getting that pre-approved home loan in February. Maybe we can get taxes done on the same day....hmmm, sounds like a babysitter day on the horizon.
New Year's Day we got some homeschooling done. Both Mark and I felt like it went by the wayside with the holidays and everybody being sick. We started our China curriculum. We are going there from our seats in January. The girls listened to "The Empty Pot." We talked about being honest versus telling lies. The girls then watercolored paintings on round paper (the illustrations for the book are all in a circle). They also hung Chinese lanterns with us. They played outside in the rain for a little bit also (till they got too cold). Jessica is enjoying her Reader Rabbit's Kindergarten computer program that she got for Xmas. Angelina is liking her new My First Leap Pad (we had to buy a new one as the old one got worn out between Jessica and Angelina). I am enjoying my own bed. Actually get to do some reading. Just finished the sixth book in the Chronicles of Naria series. And Mark is enjoying me at home during the holidays.
So that is us up-to-date again. Looking forward to our China travels.
Okay, let's start off with where I ended on the last entry. On Friday, October 21st, 2005 Jessica and I went to her first Girl Scout Pajamas Party. Neither of us had been to one of these events. Jessica did a lot of clingy in the beginning but it was a good first experience. We got to eat junk food. Jessica colored some pictures. We danced to music and met some other Girl Scouts. Jessica liked the most that for the first time she got her toenails and fingernails painted with nail polish! She still has some on her nails one month later
On Saturday, we went to Kids' Sports Camp and we ran around doing errands. Sunday, we made pancakes and talked about Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs. We also did a Ox-Cart Man picture. It reinforced what the ox-cart man put in his wagon when he went on his trip to sell and buy items.
Monday the 24th we went to Tehachapi Co-op. We talked about hurricanes(MSB) and African animals(MTH). It was very laid back as it was only Deb's and my family. The girls did their "eat" worksheets. They colored candy treats and Jess wrote some "eat" words.
Tuesday the 25th, the girls went to gymnastics. They get to do some schoolwork with Daddy there. Jessica worked on a "ake" worksheet, crossword puzzle and hidden picture. The worksheets are very challenging for her but she is doing well. Angelina did some Halloween pictures/activities. At night, the girls got very energetic and made a "family" lapbook. We talked about different families and houses from different areas of the world. While the girls were working on their lapbook, Mark and I packed for our trip to Anaheim.
We all got up early to met a co-worker of Christina's at work. She was driving with our family done to Anaheim. Christina had a business conference and all the family got to come along. Thank goodness we homeschool. It's great that the girls get to come for these trips. Mark likes to be able to get away also. On the way up and down to Anaheim, Jessica listened to Josefina's, an American Girl, books 4-6. We got into our hotel room at 11:30AM. Mommy went to lunch with my co-worker and boss. Then I was in meetings till 6PM. The girls took a nap and mostly watched tv and walked around. After my meetings, the family walked to the mall (very close) and just looked at the stores. We ate at Rubio's and looked at books at Border's. We then walked back to our hotel room and changed into suits. We were going to swim in the heated pool. It wasn't heated so Mommy didn't get in. The rest of the family braved the cool pool. We all enjoyed the jacuzzi though. On Thursday, Christina was in meetings all day. The girls and Mark did some schoolwork, walks in the area and watched some tv. After the meetings, the family, Mommy's co-worker and boss headed for Downtown Disney. Lots of lights, people and sights to see. Our family went to dinner at Goofy's Kitchen. This is an all-you-can-eat buffet with Disney characters walking around and talking to the kids. The girls loved meeting Jasmine from Aladdin. She braided Angelina's hair, talked at length with the girls and even played ring-around-the-rosy with the girls. Fun was had by all!!! 
After eating we went to a store and each child got a surprise. Jessica picked a Minnie Mouse and Angelina picked a bank that looks like a castle. It plays music and has lights. Friday, Mommy was in meetings till 11:30. The family then drove to a Children's Museum in La Habra. We ate lunch outside and played in the park for awhile then hit the museum. It was totally hands on. The girls loved it!! We left when they closed. Before leaving the girls got a surprise again. Angelina picked a wand that has sparkles in it. Jessica picked a dinosaur (my little dino girl)-her favorite type of course! 
Very tired family drove back home to Bakersfield.
On Saturday, October 29th the girls went to their last Kid's Sports Camp Day. The girls overall enjoyed this exposure to five different sports and agreed to do it again in the spring. Afterwards, we went to CALM. Saw some animals, did a search for specific animals (the girls got a prize for this), got prizes throughout our walk through CALM, made bags to hold their prizes, colored a owl, made a bat, sponge painted a bat. Overall, lots of fun activities for Halloween.
Sunday, we did a weather picture. The girls took pictures out of magazines. It was a tie in with Cloudy with A Chance of Meatballs. The girls did a picture of what they would like to see falling from the sky. Lots of fun doing this activity. Jessica and I started reading a book about Juliette Low.
On Halloween we went up to Tehachapi and did some activities with our co-op. Afterwards we went to Lancaster. Jessica had a Girl Scout Birthday Party to go to. Today is Juliette Low's birthday. Lots of activities and food today. Both girls had fun!!!
Tuesday, the girls went to gymnastics. Angelina did flashcards and Jessica did 2 worksheets along with coloring an owl.
On Friday, November 4 Mark and the girls went on a bike ride to Yokurt's. They played on the playground. This was a new thing that Mark is trying to do at least once a month with the girls.
Well, the girls are up this morning now. Let me finish with my last day of our week. Saturday, we went to Berean and found out that the American Girl Club has been stopped. Basically due to some fundmentalists who know nothing about what goes on at this club. It is really too bad as the girls loved getting together with other girls and doing crafts. Jessica and Angelina started on their Kirsten (AG) lapbook. We are doing a prairie lapbook of animals that live there. We also made some pumpkin pudding. That was a big hit. It tasted excellent and all agreed that we need to make this recipe again.
Well off to enjoy the girls before heading to work. Till next time.
Ahhh, I finally get to write about our trip to the King Tut exhibit in Los Angeles on October 10, 2005. What a truelly awesome experience!!!! The girls were great during the whole day. We all saw and did things that we will probably only do once-in-a-lifetime.
Mark and I decided to get one audio tour tape and we shared. It talked more in detail about what we were seeing. Jessica loved watching the movies as she called them. The exhibit had about 5 different movies projected on the wall that talked in more detail about a particular piece, the opening of the tomb, King Tut's timeperiod, etc. There was also a projection from the ceiling onto a large concrete slab that showed the opening of each coffin for King Tut and what was found. Jessica watched that for quite some time. Angelina liked watching all the people and babies for the most part. And that was okay also. She did look at the objects but we were in the exhibit for 1 1/2 hrs so it got too long for her. Mark and I were just in awe of the work put into each piece. I had a particular piece that I really loved. It had hieroglypics on the back side of it which is different then most of the pieces. We both liked seeing all the pieces that were found in the coffins. Gorgeous jewelry!!
Afterwards we went into the gift shop and spent 1/2 hr trying to decide what we were going to buy to remember our trip. The girls each got a gift and Mark and I got a book showing many of the exhibit pieces.
We then went outside and ate some lunch. Some of our friends were already outside from the homeschool group so after eating the children ran all over the grass area. This is when I realized just how grateful I am that we homeschool. 
I found out that our girls had made it though the exhibit and were in there longer than many of the children who are much older. I did not see any children their age in the exhibit as we were going through it. All the children were either infants or older elementary school aged children. Mark and I had done an excellent job in preparing the girls for this field trip, the girls enjoyed it and even had some questions while we were going through the exhibit and afterwards. Thank God that we choose this path for our lives!!!
After playing and eating outside, we went next door to the exhibit. They had an excellent children's area. We spent 2 hours in there. The girls did arts and crafts for a hour, did hierglypics rubbings, we read a book on mummies, colored and built pyramids out of blocks. The girls would have stayed longer but it was time to leave so we could be back in Bakersfield for Mark and I's church class.
We are taking classes through our church. Mark and I are switching off who goes each week. I am taking the classes for credit as I would like to be a Unity teacher in the future. The class we are taking right now is Bible Overview. It is mostly about the history of the books in the Bible. Quite interesting!!!
On Friday, the girls and Mark went to Kids Discovery Day-Geography. This is our second time with this particular co-op. It was a hit again. This month was on Asia-in particular the focus was Russia. The girls were very excited about showing off their lapbooks that they made. Jessica liked the rubles-Russia money. Angelina was telling me about the nesting dolls and pink cake (there's a potluck with foods from the continent being studied). Both were telling me about the book that was read. I'm glad that they liked it because we are doing the same book with tie-in activities when we get to Russia with our around the world curriculum.
Jessica got Benadryl before going bed due to having hives again. We are not sure what caused the hives. Too many factors but perhaps she is now allergic to any dye-not just red dye or she has an allergy to grass starting. Anyway, the Benadryl worked as she was up and about the next day.
Saturday, October 15th, we went to Kids' Sports Camp and played basketball. It was not a hit. That's okay though as later in the day was. We went to Buena Vista Museum as it was free all day (we did give a donation for support). The girls walked out with dinosaur pictures that they drew, painted rocks, a bean bag each, a glow in the dark lizard for Jess, a dino straw for Angelina, lots of digging in sand for "fossils," and new activities to do at home. In the evening, Jessica started working on a desert habitat lapbook (tie in for Josefina-American Girl who lives in the NM desert).
Sunday, Jessica completed her lapbook. She is really getting to like this activity. She did a very full of information lapbook. With much pushing and prodding we got out the door and to JcPenney's for family and children pictures. Afterwards we got a treat of Cinnabons
Monday, we didn't go to Tehachapi for our co-op as Janelle (the girls' friend was sick). So we went to the Discovery Center for 3 hours. We then went to Border's and everyone got an item of their choice. The girls got sticker books and Mommy got a book to help with our curriculum.
Tuesday, Mark took the girls to gymnastics. This is the first day of their new classes. Doing two hours of gymnastics/games tired Jess out-she took a nap in the afternoon. Angelina wanted to be out on the floor with Jessica per Mark. It was a little rough the first day but we both think that it will all work itself out and the new schedule will be better for all. Jessica spent the entire hour working on a word family hidden picture. Mark said that it was challenge but Jessica was getting it. I spent a couple hours off work and got a mammogram done. Also picked up a mirror that I bought for $15 from a homeschool friend who is moving. We have been needing a full length mirror for the girls and it worked out perfectly for us. Angelina in particular likes dressing up and looking in the mirror at herself. Thanks to Mark and his cleaning up/discarding of extra stuff in the girls room, there was room for the mirror in there.
So that's us up-to-date! If anybody has the opportunity to see the King Tut exhibit, I can't urge strongly enough to go, go, go. It is something that can't be missed!!!
Thank God we are able to homeschool!!!! It has and is a wonderful journey!!!!
On 9/26/05, we went to the Kern County Fair with BHL group. The girls got to see some of a circus and lots of animals. Jessica loved seeing her favorite animal, pgymy goats. Angelina loved being able to touch and pet all the animals to her heart's content.
On 9/27/05, we went to the mall for the Girl Scout Kick-Off Program. Jessica got to wear her Daisy uniform and she earned her promise center. She's able to say the GS Promise now. We will be going to the Juliette meeting every month. Angelina and Mark walked the mall. They found tap shoes for Angelina. She was very excited to have found them. We found tap shoes earlier in the week for Jessica but had problems finding them for Angelina as she has her Mommy's wide feet.
On 10/1/05, the girls and Mommy went to dance class. They got to wear their tap shoes for the first time. We also went to American Girl Club and both girls decorated a beautiful wreath which we have hanging in the living room. Fall is here! In the evening we all went back to the KC Fair. The girls each got a toy of their choice. We were going to ride one carnival ride but the lines were too long so the girls got a toy instead. We got to see the rest of the circus, played in the children's areas again and saw all of Mark's prizes. He did great at the fair!!! He won two 3rd places, one 2nd place, and four first place ribbons. Hurray for him-our master garderner!
On 10/3/05, we went to Tehachapi co-op and did American Girl workshop. The candied nuts were a hit for both children and adults. We also did around the world curriculum. I forgot to bring the treat-apple crisp so we had yogurt instead. Again the vote was candied nuts won as best treat. The girls loved making their peacock plume-papercraft for Sri Lanka. I am enjoying this curriculum and I think the girls are also. We lost one of our four girls doing this curriculum. I can't say that I'm sorry about this. The child herself wasn't an issue but the mother was. She was not doing the curriculum at home-only when we got together as a group. I also think that she had some problems with my daughter's energy and zeal of life. Oh well, can't please all the people all the time. I am pleased with this curriculum and it is working for my girls. That is what matters!
Starting Monday (10/3), Mark and I started a Bible Overview class at church. We are both really enjoying it. Lots of great information and we are both learning new ideas. Did you all know that Noah got drunk? Read Genesis 9:20-9:29. I missed that little tidbit. The class is putting the Bible in a historical timeline also which is very helpful to me. Anyway, it's a fast track class. Only 5 classes total but really enjoying it.
10/5/05-Jessica and Angelina worked on worksheets today. Jessica only got through half a worksheet. We are challenging her. It was on the "ake" word family. We asked her if it was too hard and whether she wanted to continue or not. She thought about it and said that she wants to keep trying. What a trouper! She so wants to read and it is not clicking well yet. Phonics is not working. We are trying word families and sight words. She knows about 10 sight words.
The girls went to gymnastics on Thursday. They got their report cards on how they are doing and what they still need to work on. We have decided to change their classes next term. They will be going on Tuesday and will be at the gymnastics center for 3 hrs. Angelina will be doing her class from 11-12. She will have the same teacher but a different class. She really likes Ms. Sarah and seems to respond well to her so we wanted to keep the same teacher. However, Jessica will not be in class from 11-12. This will give Mark 1/2 to do some schoolwork with her and 1/2 for lunch. Then Jessica is going into Homeschool PE for 2 hrs. Currently the class has only 3 other children-all boys. This will be a challenge for Jessica. She will be doing gymnastics for 1 hr and team/cooperative games for 1 hr. Jessica needs to learn to work as a team but she will still get her gymnastics that she loves. It will also tire her out. The other advantage is that Angelina gets 2 hrs of Daddy time. 1/2 will be lunch and the other 1 1/2 hrs will be reading books and schoolwork time. Jessica likes being the big sister which sometimes interferes with Angelina not doing her own work. Jessica helps too much sometimes. Hopefully this new schedule will work out.
Saturday and Sunday were busy, busy days!!!! On Saturday (10/8) the girls had Kids' Sports Camp. They got to play soccer. Jessica and Angelina don't really like playing the actual game but enjoy being the goalies. Jessica is actually quite good at stopping the ball from scoring. Angelina did well also. She has problems as her little legs need to do some growing to make it easier for her. Both girls had fun though. Like putting them in these Kids' Sports Camps as they learn about different sports and they take great naps in the afternoon. Saturday and Sunday were Thundercake activities days. We made puppet paper dolls, listened to thunder/lightening/rain music, did lots of sequencing activities, colored thundercakes, played hide and seek and read the actual picture book. After naps we made Apple Streusel Muffins. On Sunday after church we made Thundercake. It was delicious!!!! Jessica also did some worksheets that involved sequencing, counting, sets. We did some more Thundercake activities. It was a very productive and fun homeschooling weekend!!!!
Next journal entry will be about our King Tut trip. Please read as it was a truelly awesome, once-in-a-lifetime experience!!!
Well, we have finally started our around the world curriculum. It's been a good six months in the planning. Friday, September 16th in the evening, the girls decorated their notebooks. I had stickers of globes and flags from different countries for the front and different types of animals for the back. We talked about the different flags and different animals and that we were starting this new curriculum.
On Saturday we tried a new dance class. It had mixed reviews by the girls. They were tired out by it (good for Mommy), enjoyed learning new things but Jessica definitely did not like the teacher. I think that it had a lot to do with the teacher's cultural background. The girls were the only white faces in the class. Both Mark and I think that it will be a great experience for the girls all the way around so they will be returning. Best of all the class is free in cost-still have to buy the tights and tap shoes. This means the girls can have dance and gymnastics.
On the 18th, we went to Murray Farms after church. The girls went immediately to the sandbox which is filled with corn kernels to dig in versus sand. While they were playing, we got to watch a truck burning on the highway. The truck had driven down the mountains from Tehachapi and the brakes caught on fire. It happens frequently. Luckily the truck was full of water bottles. About 2/3 of the truck burned. Once the fire was put out we went to the orchards to pick apples. We didn't want to get too close to the truck burning as ash was flying in the air and at the time we didn't know what was burning in the truck. Anyway, we picked 3 1/2 flats of different types of apples. The other 1/2 flat was avocados and pomgranates. We also took home a seedless watermelon. This trip we did not pet the animals or go in the hay maze as the girls were tired. On the way home we sang "Apples and Bananas." Lots of apples needed for the next 2 weeks of apple curriculum. After naps we did a Josephina activity (American Girls). We drew pictographs on a paper bag. Before Angelina woked from her nap, Jessica and I read book 2 of Josephina. Nice start on our around the world curriculum.
Today, the 19th, we went up to Tehachapi for co-op. It was so wonderful to see our friends up there. Been missing them and wish we were living up there-soon, soon we hope!!! God willing! I did a workshop on King Tut. We are going to the King Tut exhibit on 10/10 so doing a lot to educate the girls about the exhibit and time period. They watched a movie on the exhibit with some background on King Tut and colored some pictures about King Tut. It was only about 40 minutes long-just long enough to keep interest. Next, Debra (our good friend) did a workshop on The Wild West. The current book we are reading for Magic Tree House is on this subject. The girls really enjoyed the games outside. They was a type of tag based on cowgirls/cowboys and horses/cows. The girls got to dig for gold in the dirt (yellow painted rocks). It was great fun. Afterwards, everyone left except for Fiona, Deb's children and us. We started our around the world activities with Fiona (3 1/2 yrs old), Janella (3 yrs old) and our girls. We read the book, "How To Make An Apple Pie and See The World." Did several of the FIAR(Five In A Row) activities and some counting of people, cows, flowers, etc. Next we made a passport. The girls all glued their pictures in their passport and the flags of Jamaica and Sri Lanka. We again tied it in with the book. We tried an activity that had to do with salt and evaporation but not enough sun to evaporate so all will try this at home. Nice beginning of activities together. When the girls went outside to play, Deb and I came up with the actitivies for the future regarding American Girls.
Mark spent two days doing major cleaning in the house. Finally all the camping gear got put away. I was so impressed and grateful that the house was cleaned up!!! Mark works so hard while I sit on my butt at work. Work was very, very busy this week. I had my 4 MSW interns start this week and trying to coordinate them all was a challenge. I was very tired on Thursday and Friday in particular. But it will be worth it. I love working with interns and teaching them what I know about my love of social work. It is a nice benefit that later in the school year they can do some of my work in seeing clients and the paperwork as a result of the visits. Right now it is a little overwhelming. Plus this is my first year as field instructor. In the past I have only been the task supervisor. Field instructor needs to make sure all the students' paperwork is completed and tries to tie in their internship with their classes at school.
Anyway on Thursday (9/22), Mark and the girls got some reading done and lots of worksheets. The girls also went to gymnastics. They are enjoying this more and more. Mark and I had talked on Monday and we are in agreement that the girls need to stay in gymnastics. Next September we will look at ballet classes for them if still interested but for now, they will be doing gymnastics and the free dance class.
Friday was the first meeting of Kids Discovery Day-Science. This was a little smaller group than the geography one per Mark. I did not take off work. I will in January when I have to do the dinosaur class. Today the co-op was about bats. The girls got to eat a bat cupcake and for the most part, just played with their friends on the playground. It was okay though because that evening we did bats, bats and more bat activities. The girls brought everything home and we had bat night. Lots of fun and worked out just as well.
Saturday was the first class of Kids Sports Camp. The girls did this class through the city Parks and Rec during the summer. This class was through North of the River Parks and Rec. Anyway, it is a class where they do a different sport each session for 5 classes. It is for 3-6 yrs old. The girls learned how to play paddle soccer. Overall, it was fun. They were both a little close and clingy at first. Jessica found that she enjoyed being the goalie and Angelina got bored/tired the last half hour. Afterwards, we played on the playground for about a hour as we had never been to this park. We then went to Berean Christian Store where we usually go for American Girl Club. However, today was Kids Day. The girls got their hands painted-Angelina got a heart and Jessica a dolphin. They colored pictures of Strawberry Shortcake and got lots of stuff to take home. Later in the day, they watched two free DVDs that they got of Strawberry Shortcake. They also got stickers which we put in their sticker books. Busy day for all!
Mark has been working lots of hours on Saturdays and Mondays for the last two weeks. They are short two employees at his work. We are pleased as it means more money going into our savings for that down for our Tehachapi house. The end of August we opened a new account just for that! We have been blessed with the money showing up for that account!!!! Thank you God!
Yesterday, Sunday the 25th, was a busy homeschooling day mostly at home. We had planned to take the girls one last time to Hurricane Harbor Water Park but the weather has cooled into the 70s. We decided we didn't want to be in the water all day with it that cool. Also the gas prices are high ($2.93 a gallon) and it is a 1 1/2 hr drive one way. Saving that money made more sense. So....we kept the girls busy. Mark cleaned the kitchen, stripped the big bed and vacumm the whole house. I got the girls to clean up all the house but their toy room. That will be tomorrow's project. They did some minor cleaning in there. We did tons of apple activities. The girls painted with apples, did an apple puzzle, talked about whole/half/fourths regarding cutting up apples, talked about different types of apples, read books about apples. We also talked about desert animals to tie in with Josephina and Jessica colored some beautiful pictures of desert animals (decorating our wall now). We got on some of the bat websites given to us from Friday's co-op. Printed out 4 bat pictures for each child. Cute bat picture of a mommy bat and baby. While Angelina was sleeping, Jessica did some cleaning of the toy room and Mark and I worked on getting 4 flats ready for returning home. We have been very active in a flat travelers homeschooling group. Going to slow it down here soon. Bringing all the flats in for a break from their travels. Anyway all were pleased with our busy and active day. Tomorrow is a trip to the fair.
Hear Angelina crying-time to sign off. Till next time!
Yes, both girls are asleep and I finally have some time to do some journaling. I have so wanted to get on here but it has been very busy or something else comes up or..... You get the picture. Anyway, I have lots to write about now.
Let's write first about 9/9/05. We all went to our first co-op meeting of Kids Discovery Day-Geography. It was on Africa. The girls had a blast and I was beat by the end of 4 hours as I was doing one of the activity tables. It was well worth it though. The entire family got to enjoy various foods from Africa. There were a total of 26 children present. After eating one of the parents read "The Egyptian Cinderella." Both girls liked the book. I will have to go hunting for it. They then started at Mommy's table and made one puppet each. My table was African animals so each child made a puppet of either a chimp, lion or elephant. They also got handouts of many animals to color and various pencil activities. Next the girls went to a table and made a lapbook on Egypt. Both girls treasure their lapbooks. We have most of them saved from the past. They like looking back at them. Finally they went and made Egyptian clothing. Both girls made a collar and bracelets. Jessica also made an Egyptian dress. It looks like this co-op group might work for us. On the 4th Friday of each month is going to Science. This month they will be learning about bats.
On the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th we went camping at Hobo campgrounds in Kern Canyon. We had such a fantastic time!!!!
We got there about 5PM Saturday night as Mark had to work till 2PM. We sent up the tent and all the needed items for camping. The campground hosts were a very nice and helpful couple named Dean and Betty. We camped right next to the Kern River. After eating dinner, we roasted marshmallows over the campfire (we learned that the girls must wear shoes as Angelina almost burned her heel-the child gets tired and gets accident prone). As we laid in the tent listening to all the night sounds, Jessica was having trouble going to sleep with her numerous questions of "What's that, what's that?" to every little noise. I finally told her listen to the crickets and tell me what song they are singing. So for those of you who don't know, this is the song that crickets sing at night........"Jingle Bells!" 
We all fell asleep laughing.
We did lots of fishing and playing in the sun on the 11th. Threw several carp back as not that great a fish for eating. Sunday late afternoon, the boys and father next to us were leaving. They gave us a catfish to eat for dinner. Mark put it on a stringer. The girls were absolutely interested in this catfish. All of the sudden, Angelina comes running. "Daddy, Daddy, the fish is swimming away." Mark went running to the river and sure, enough one gone fish. Stringer and all.
On the 12th we did some walking around the area, more fish, more throwing back carp, and more playing in the sun. Jessica was cute. Whenever anybody came down the river in a canoe, raft, or whatever she had a conversation with them as they floated by our campsite. Our social butterfly!!
On the 13th we finally caught a catfish. However, by now the girls were confused. We had thrown all the other fish back so why not this one. What we were going to do with it-eat it. "No, no, don't eat the cute fish. Can't we keep it as a pet?" End result was the girls didn't eat the fish and Jessica spent many minutes crying over the poor fishy. 
The girls and I went for a hike along the river as Daddy took the tent down and cleaned the fish (which Mark and I did eat the next day). After all was packed up, we went to the other side of the campgrounds to the day use area. We found out from the campground hosts that there was a hot water springs there. It was indeed hot! Mark hung out in the hot area, the girls hung out in the warm area and I found an area that was hot on one side of my body and the other side was cold from the Kern River. It was a great end to our camping trip.
What a fun, fun trip!!! It was a challenge with a 3 and 5 yr old but it was well worth it. We are looking to go camping about 15 minutes away from the house towards the end of October. We are hoping it will be warmer closer to home. We were all cold one night or the other but during the day we got lots of warm memories for now and in the future.
What was the best about the camping trip was that Mark and I got to relax. Both of us realized that the start of the school year was a little hectic. Too much on our plate. We got to talk and there is a little more balance. Still working on it but not as stressful now.
Well that's it for tonight. Hope all had some laughs and enjoyed our adventure as much as we did! Till next time.
Well, I have stopped maintaining a journal of our homeschooling activities. I figured that this journal and our calendar of activities is enough. One less thing to do-how wonderful!!!
Anyway, I haven't been on her in over a week so get to up-date about our activities. On Friday, 8/26, we went upstairs to our neighbors for the evening and had a potluck dinner. It was very nice. The food was great and the girls are welcomed even though they are the youngest and the busiest 
Our neighbor has two adult males that live with him. He mentors these gentleman in how to live in the community. They are from board and care facilities. One man has been living there for 3 yrs and the other has only been there a couple of months. Anyway, it is great for the girls to experience and the household likes the girls visiting. It reminds me of the past work that I have done and reminds Mark of when his brother, Rick, was alive and living with Mark.
On 8/27/05, we went to Barnes and Noble and the girls got to "cash" in their incentive charts. We started doing incentive charts over a month ago. It seems to be working well. Jessica has 5 categories-making her bed, brushing her teeth, helping, cleaning, and reading a book. Reading a book means for Jessica that she needs to attempt to read some of the words in the book we are reading. Angelina has 4 categories-wearing a eye patch (she has to complete 2 rows regarding this), brushing her teeth, helping, and cleaning. The girls love picking a sticker to put on the chart and when it is complete, they get a reward. Jessica picked a mix & match dinosaur book. She made her on made up dinosaurs with this and even traced about 6 of them. Her abilities at drawing are blooming!! Angelina picked a box called "How To Be A Ballerina." Angelina loves anything regarding dancing and will only wear leotards or dresses at this moment in her life. She loved this reward. I have read the book many, many times this week that came with this box. Angelina dressed up in the tutu and fuzzy hairband. After going to Barnes and Noble, we went to the Discovery Center for 3 hours. The girls have so much fun there. It was a great day when we discovered this place less than 5 minutes from home. We also got some Five In A Row (FIAR) done. We are working on the book called "Lentil." We did art:detail, social studies:geography, social studies:history, math, and social studies:human relationships. The girls love this curriculum as it is centered around reading a book. I love it because it covers 5 areas and the activities are all planned out for me.
On 8/28/05, we went to church. We also did some more math and some science regarding Lentil (FIAR). We finished doing activities with this book today. The girls and I also made some candied nuts and Mark made cornbread muffins for our Felicity Tea Party. The candied nuts actually baked too long so didn't taste good but the muffins and actual tea party was a success.
On 8/29/05, we read the book, "Degas and The Little Dancer." This resulted in us talking about the artist Degas and I had a coloring page for the girls to color. It showed one of the actual pages that was in the book. Both girls loved being able to color a page that was in their reading book. This was a huge success. I need to look for more children books like this. The girls also had their annual physical today. Mark, the doctor and I all noticed that the girls are growing up. They did almost everything that was asked of them at this appointment. They got stickers and lollipops as a result of doing so well. Both girls even got a shot without too much fuss. Never fun doing this 
The girls had to trade in their lollipops. Even though they were sugar free, they had red dye in them. A definite no-no for both. They weren't too heartbroken in getting vanilla ice cream in return!
8/30/05, Tuesday, was a blast. Auntie Catherine came to visit last night and today we went to Murray Farms. Been there before to just buy fruit but never for the day. We got to go picking on the farm. We got a flat of peaches, nectarines, apples, and pears. All were hand picked by the family. We also bought a seedless watermelon. This farm had a place that the girls could dig in corn kernels (big pool of corn kernels). Jessica buried herself in corn kernels. We also went to the petting area there. There were goats, pig, sheep, ponies, roosters/chickens, pigeons, and peacocks. Not all were for petting but enough to make the girls happy. The last thing we did was a hay maze. That was great fun for the girls also. We are planning to return end of September as we want some more apples. The fruit was delicious!!! Jessica was coloring that night and got to do a mini lesson on primary colors and how you can mix those to make other colors.
Wednesday, 8/30/05, we got to go to Fresno for Angelina's eye specialist appt. She is doing great!!! We are now allowed to reduce the time of wearing the patch from 2-4 hours to only 2 hours a day. In November we get to do annual testing. It's hard to believe but we have been going to this place for one year now. They wanted us there at 7:30AM the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. I made the clerical person call someone of authority as it would have meant no trip to San Diego and getting everybody up and out of the house at 4:30AM. I told them no way would they get any good test results from Angelina with that early a wake up call. We are going on 11/30 at 9AM-still early but it will work. After the eye doctor, we went out for lunch and then to our favorite place, a library. And not just any library but a new one. We walked out with 3 of our 4 library cards maxed out-only 90 books, books on tape and videos 
It was great!!! Jessica listened to the first book of Josephina from American Girls. Oh yea, Angelina had a break through. For the first time, she mixed her food. She found out that peas and tuna taste good together.
September 1st, I got to go back to work after being off since Friday. We started our first official day of school. That sounds so funny as we homeschool year round. But anyway, Mark played a reading game with the girls. The girls had gymnastics and we all went to a baseball game. The girls again showed us how much they are growing. They stayed for the entire game and had a blast playing with the other children that were there. We had free tickets from the Book Blast. The girls read books and got the tickets for it. We had what ended up being a minor incident. The girls were playing with other children. Angelina fell and ended up rolling which resulted in falling under the bleachers. I have never seen Mark move so fast. He was up and over the railing and picking up a crying Angelina before I had even reached the railing. End result was two minor scratches from Angelina's glasses on her face and behind a ear. She also got a knot on her head. She went back to playing once the scare was over. She got a free baseball from her incident. We also got a frisbee with a coupon for 10 free tokens at John's Incredible Pizza. Mark won a t-shirt but gave it to one of the children that the girls were playing with. It was all round fun. As we left the girls got a bag full of goodies-baseball cards, coloring books, pencils, and coupons for free food.
Yesterday, the girls and I went to American Girls at Berean Christian Bookstore. They made little ladybug coin purses. We also went to the bank, took some money out but most important we donated money to the American Red Cross to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The girls and I decided to not buy two games and a book from Scholastic. They also found some pennies. The end result was $20.05 being donated. Jessica had been seeing the pictures on the news and understood the idea that the families had no homes and needed food and water. Simplified it for her but she did a good thing when she understood. Angelina doesn't understand the idea of a hurricane but she did understand that some children needed food and water because they can't get to their homes. We all felt like we did something good. I wish it could be more!!!
Anyway, that's our homeschooling journey up to now. Hope you enjoy the reading-Christina
Sunday we were planning to go to Tehachapi Mountain Festival but all wanted to stay close to home. We went to the church, the garden and came home. Jessica listened to the last tape for Felicity (American Girls series). She liked Felicity as much as Kaya. This is proving to be a great series for us. I made mop caps for Jessica and Angelina. We are planning on having a tea party next weekend to sum up Felicity. The girls tried on their mop caps-very cute!
On Monday we were gone from the house all day. We joined our Tehachapi friends at the Amtrak station at 6:45AM. Left Bakersfield at 7:10AM and headed for Fresno's Zoo. We got off the train and onto city buses. Dropped off right in front of the zoo. The girls loved this zoo. Mark and I were impressed. It was totally different than San Diego's Zoo. We were able to see the whole thing in 4 hrs. The girls loved all the birds-5 avairies in the place, I think. We took many bird pictures. Jessica wants to look in the bird book and learn more about them. Both girls loved the petting corral. Goats, ostrich, cow-Jessica's favorite was the pgymy goats. She so wants one when we move into a house. The girls each got a gift from the zoo-Angelina a water bottle and Jessica a pink flamingo that makes noise. The girls want to go back again when they can do a camel ride. We actually got back to Bakersfield on the train schedule. It was wonderful that the train was on time as it has never been on previous trips on the train. Jessica was thrilled to make a new friend on this trip whose name is also Jessica (she's 6 soon to be 7). We all went to sleep early as very tired!!!! The best part of the trip was:
IT WAS THE FIRST DAY OF PUBLIC SCHOOL AND WE ARE ON AN EDUCATIONAL FIELD TRIP WITH OUR HOMESCHOOLING FRIENDS. THANK GOD FOR HOMESCHOOLING!!!!!
On Tuesday, a very tired Mommy went to work. It of course was busy like usual. The best part of the day was in the evening. I went to a Math Curriculum Chat that included parents from our other homeschool group, Bakersfield Home Learners. I have been withdrawing some from this group as it was not meeting the needs of our family. However, there are some new parents in the group and they have started this chat once a month. It is about curriculum. They are also doing a co-op that includes 16 families. The co-op is going to cover the 7 continents in 8 months (no co-op in December). It appears that it might work for us-the decision is still not final yet. Waiting to see the first meeting in September. Anyway, I am very grateful that I went to the chat. I got more Scholastic book orders-$25 in books/games going to be spent. Already do Scholastic through Teh group. I got to see many different math curriculums. Thus saving the expense of buying and not liking. It looks like two curriculums might work for us. I want to try Singapore with Grade 2 but Math-U-See appears like it might work also. Got to see other curriculums and ruled out that several won't work for us. So it was well worth the trip. I also borrowed a book that uses literature to teach math. This might be the greatest assest from this chat. Afterwards, I looked at some science books that the host had and might have found some science for Jess to use after we have exhausted Magic School Bus and Andrew Lost. Talked about the co-op also and FIAR. Many of the women there are also doing FIAR. About half the group was from the local Charter school and listening to them reinforced that I am not doing Charter at this time. We are definitely going to R4. Anyway, Wednesday I was really tired after two very busy and long days. But I am a happy homeschool mom as both days were very much a plus in our homeschooling journey.
Till next time-Christina
I love the nightime! Everyone is sound asleep and I can do whatever I want. Most times it is getting something done regarding homeschooling but I actually get some reading done just for me. Last night I was up for a very short time. While up, my youngest daughter was talking in her sleep. She told Jessica in her dream,"Give me the green one because it's my favorite color." Green sure is Angelina's favorite color. Another thing that I really enjoy doing in the night is watching my family sleep and thanking God for each and everyone of them in my life. It's hard to believe that Angelina is already 3 years old. I remember that cute little one sleeping next to me. She is still cute and sleeping next to me but now I get a leg thrown over my stomach or a foot in my back and sometimes even a foot in the face. 
That youngun is all over the bed at night! At times, I miss the infant years but I also look forward to seeing my beautiful daughters growing up into beautiful young ladies. So there are my thoughts about last night. Enjoy the children while they are still children-they grow up quickly.
Been real busy trying to organize our curriculum for this next year. I would love to be able to do everything but it is just not possible. The girls will be doing gymnastics for September and part of October. This Saturday we are exploring various ballet classes as both are very interested in doing this. Alot of our focus is going to be doing a curriculum that I put together for traveling around the world from our seats. We are going to be using Five In A Row(FIAR), Story Stretchers, and lots of other stuff that I have found. We also have Daisy Girl Scouts for Jessica with Angelina tagging along in the activities. Twice a month we will be going to our Teh Homeschool Group. We are doing American Girls workshop, Magic Tree House workshop and I am doing a 45 minute workshop once a month. The topic is going to be different each month-Andrew Lost, Magic School Bus, or Preschool-Grade 1 games. In September we are doing King Tut as we have tickets to the King Tut Exhibit in Los Angeles for October 10th. Mark will be taking the girls to the garden twice a week. They will be doing worksheets 2 hrs a week. Or maybe I should say "homework" as Jessica calls it. The girls will also been playing games that have to do with learning letters, phonics, word families, math, etc. Jessica will be reading with Mark 3 hrs a week. She really wants to learn to read! Thank goodness we are raising children who love books!!! Anyway, it looks busy but when isn't it in our house? 
Jessica is doing Kindergarten and Grade 1 work. She's already keeping us on our toes! Well, it's time to head home to the family and enjoy them for the evening. God bless to all-Christina
Thank God for our Teh. Homeschool Group. We had so much fun this Monday. My good and supportive homeschool friend Deb let me do a summer day camp at her home. We were immersed in Egyptian times for 4 hours. 11 kiddos and several parents were there. We made Egyptian clothing, bracelets, and necklaces. An Ancient Day Salad was connocted by the kids. Many of them tasted it but mostly the parents ate it up. The grapes were a hit though. The children also made mummies and a snake game. All left with papers showing how to write their names in hieroglyphics, who are the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, and inventions/skills of Egypt. Our girls enjoyed their day very much and their Mommy was exhausted with going non-stop for 4 hours. We are so grateful for finding this homeschool group as it has been a great asset on our journey.
Well, it has been a very busy work day and I'm looking very forward to going home to see my family. A good homeschooling friend of mine suggested that I do this. I hope that it will be used, read and enjoyed by all.
Let me tell you about my darling daughter's (Angelina) trip to the emergency room this last Sunday. Our family was at the garden and enjoying the sun. I was being very lazy and sitting under a tree. Mark was working hard in the garden. The girls were playing in the playhouse-we thought until we heard the scream of big ouch from Angelina. Mark went over to the playhouse and Angelina is crying on the ground. After much discussion and lots of tears, we find out that Angelina is saying her tummy hurts. Jessica is saying that she didn't push her sister but that they both climb up on the roof of the playhouse. Angelina wanted down but couldn't get down on her own. Big sister, Jessica, says, "Jump, I'll catch you." Jessica tells Daddy, "She was too heavy." End result.....trip to ER to make sure that Angelina is not seriously hurt. 4 hours later.....Mommy is tired, Daddy is tired, Angelina is just fine and wants ice cream! Kids will be kids. Parents will be tired but very grateful that all is well in the Harris household.