Mar. 28, 2008
Thank you God for this beautiful day
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God is so good to us! There is not a cloud in the sky today, and I actually went out of the house for a few minutes without needing my coat, gloves, scarf and hat! You can also see where the snow is melting off roofs, and trees...and it looks like it may finally be inching closer to spring in my neck of the woods. I'm sitting in my office (which was supposed to be a sun room, but I snagged it when we bought the house for me), the windows are all open, and you can hear the odd chirp from a bird in our yard... Kinda makes me sorry I complained so much about the weather. Nature is such a beautiful thing when you stop and actually look at what is going on around you. I am going to take the kids in the yard (no farther than the door, I'll lose them in snow) and just look around. I want to see if they will notice that there are actually buds on the crab apple tree... And after that, I'm going to sit and sketch the tree in all it's glory from pics I took last spring. Then prepare to paint it in oils...which I promise I will take pictures of, and share with y'all |
Mar. 27, 2008
Sunshine, melting snow and getting the message
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It's another beautiful day here in our corner of the world. Sun is shining, snow is melting, and it is all just making me feel so...well, confortable I suppose. I am also having an easy time teaching math facts this morning. Some of you already know what a challenge that is in our house. Well, when I subscribed to the TOS digital magazine, one of my gifts was Math Facts NOW! What a blessing this has been to us today! Don't ya just love our wonderful TOS staff? They are always finding us the good stuff. Thanks y'all!! So, I now have 2 kids working on math at the same time...one on the 'school' computer, and the other on Daddy's computer (and yes, I asked permission before touching his 'baby' LOL). There is no fighting happening. There are no cries of 'but Moooooooooom!!!' or sarcastic comments of 'I hate math' out of earshot (at least they don't THINK I can hear them...aren't kids supposed to know that Moms have eyes in the back of their heads, and super hearing???) Just very quiet, learning children. It's perfect. If only all of our learning could be this quiet. Hoping y'all have a great day! |
Mar. 26, 2008
More snow...but good news too!
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It's snowing again here in Gatineau...but the sun keeps trying to peek through the clouds. But it's all good...God made that snow, and gave it to us for a reason. Can anyone tell I read the Homeschool Minute from TOS today? I figure if I say this often enough, the fact that there is over 6 feet of snow in my back yard, with more to come, will come as a blessing instead of a hinderance. The great news is...I have completely update my website, and only have the store page to revise. I am hoping to get that done soon enough, but I have to review my priorities again first. I have procrastinated long enough on some things (like cleaning my house), and really should be doing that instead of working on the website. Sometimes I forget to ask God for guidance in planning my schedule each day, and it usually ends up with me not getting the important stuff done, before I accomplish the stuff that really could wait a little bit. So, now that I have bragged on myself for the website stuff, I'm going to go sit in my room with my planner, and God, and try and get some order back in my day. Sending snow-filled blessings to everyone! Steph |
Mar. 25, 2008
What alot of work...
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Wow, web design can be a lot of work when you don't do it often enough to remember the little things! But...the good news is that I only have 2 pages left to redo, and then update the store. Plus all the other work that needs to be done around here...I'm hoping to be done before the snow melts. Sometime around July at this rate. Thanks for your patience during this renovation period. God bless! Steph |
Mar. 23, 2008
We're renovating....
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Hey there everyone! Just thought I would drop you all a quick note to tell you that I am in the process of renovating our website. As far as I know (crossing fingers), everything is still in it's place, it's just very cluttered, and there is dust everywhere! As long as you don't mind the mess, please stop by for a visit...I will update here when each section is complete. If you have any questions, please let me know. I'll get back to you just as soon as I find the keyboard...and the keys to the new store room. I think one of the kids hid them on me again...HA! Blessings for everyone, and Happy Easter. Praising Him for our wonderful gift! Steph PS. The website address has not changed. It's still www.academieguertinhomeschool.com |
Mar. 19, 2008
Priorities, and listening to God's will.
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Ever get to the point that you have so much to do, and you are pulled in so many directions that you barely know which end is up? Yep, that's me at the moment, and I need to vent about it so I can try and get it organized. I went from worrying horribly about our financial situation, to finding something to do to help, to being totally overloaded with projects and assignments that I don't know which way to turn. Before taking on alot of these projects, I prayed to God for Him to show me his will, and He did. And I accepted. Then I thought, hey, if I just take on more and more stuff to do, I will really be contributing to the family. So I made some decisions myself. I took on more and more, hoping to bring in even MORE money for our family. This has gone totally haywire. I now have the projects I prayed about, and the ones I didn't, sitting all around me and I am stuck...stuck with too little time in the day, stuck not being able to spend time with family as much as I like because I have deadlines. Stuck with stress migraines because I'm afraid I'm going to let someone down. Just plain STUCK!!! So, my new lesson this week is learning to go to God with all things, not just some. Listening to His will in all that I do would have resulted in everything I do being for Him. If it's His will, He will let me know. If it's not, and I choose to do it anyhow, I have to deal with the consequences. I think I had better start listening... |
Mar. 17, 2008
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
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Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!! I am finally getting back to the swing of things after being so sick. Praise the Lord! This means alot of playing catch-up tho, with everything from housework to homeschooling to preparing for my preview chat...oh yeah, don't forget...the Ultimate Home School Expo 2008!! Please go to www.Ultimatehomeschoolexpo.com for more information, and a blast of a time with Cindy Rushton and friends! I am starting to wonder why I always feel like I never get anything accomplished. It's always the same guilty feeling...until I look at my to-do list, in depth. Then I wonder how I manage to get so much on there. There are the everyday things like caring for the family, chores, homeschooling, prayer...and then all of the other things I take on, like redoing my planner for the nth time, translating, article writing and the likes to help dh with the financial aspect of things...plus finding time for fun stuff like hobbies and time with the family doing interesting things... I officially declare we need more hours in a day....who's with me? LOL Well, break-time is over. Time to get back to those things that are calling my name... Steph |
Mar. 10, 2008
if it doesn't rain, it pours...or in our case, snows!
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I am official fed up with winter. Not only do we have record snowfalls here in Quebec, but the entire house has been sick for what seems like forever. Ok, so I shouldn't go that far...how about at least 3 weeks? There, that's a little more realistic. It all started when my wonderful, darling son came home with the flu. Not just any flu, but the one strain that was NOT covered by the flu shot this year. So, naturally, everyone else followed suit. The kids had it for about 4 days, with high fevers, chills..the works. Then hubby got it. His turned into a lung infection, and he is still home from work. At least he can work from home, and is not falling behind too much, and is still getting paid. Praise God for small miracles! Then...there's me. I was bound to get it. With my MS and my system being low most of the time, it was almost a guarantee that I would be the next one. That, and I was the only one left... The flu by itself was horrible for about a week. Just when I thought I was starting to feel better (Mom always said don't make assumptions...) I started spiking a fever again. Not a little fever like everyone else...no..that would be too easy. I spent 4 days with fevers ranging between 103F and 105F. I have never seen fevers that high in adults. So, here comes trip one to the hospital...not my fave passtime. Somehow, I have managed to get a kidney infection on top of it all. Not just one kidney, but both. Fun...NOT. Seeing as I am allergic to just about every antibiotic under the sun, they decide to take a 'chance' with synthetic penecillin. I do not like being a guinea pig...especially when it comes to medical stuff. SO..the first dose has to be done by injection...one in each hip. I have decided that giving birth is more comfortable than having injections in your hips...and I pray I never have to go through THAT again. This is followed by 10 days of super strength oral antibiotics...all in the hopes that I don't have a reaction to them. Enter more prayers...and lots of them. So, God saved me from any reactions...Yay GOD! Thanks so much. I finish the antibiotics, all the while not really feeling any better. The day after the meds were done, here is Mom in just as much pain as before, if not worse. Trip 2 to the hospital...more bloodwork (my veins collapse easily, so this results in many attempts to get enough blood, and horrible looking bruises everywhere) and various other tests. "Sorry ma'am...but your this and your that are coming up clean. There is something else wrong, so go home with this morphine, sleep for a week and the specialist will contact you. Oh, here..take this morphine before you leave though..." How comforting...no answers and more meds...I don't like this very much. Then comes more babble babble babble that I can't remember anymore, because now I am very loopy...and in comes the gravol so I don't mess up the car on the way home. There are more details, but all that will succeed in doing is reminding me that I feel horrid, I'm still loopy, and we still have over 5 feet of snow outside...if you don't count the snowbanks on the side of the roads. I want spring to get here quickly, but with my luck...we'll still have snow in June. Steph |
Feb. 6, 2008
More snow, and a breakthrough
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Well, it's snowing here...again. We have had more snow this year so far than I remember ever having. I'm really starting to get tired of winter. Winter ended up giving me an unwanted gift too. I slipped on a patch of ice last week, and my body went one way and my knee the other. So now, Mom is in a full leg brace for who knows how long while it heals. Just what I needed, huh? The breakthrough is enough to make up for that however. I changed math curriculum a few weeks ago for A, to see if we could find an easier method so she can learn. We went with Miquon Math, and Cuisinaire rods for just about everything...and by George I think she has it! Please pray that she finally realizes that she CAN do it, and do it well. She is still a little unsure of herself, but she is using her fingers less and less to count on, and that is such a sweet gift for me. So, the other good news is that my children LOVE Ancient History. We really starting in-depth Egyptian studying today, and they didn't want to do anything else. Every book, picture, notebooking paper, lapbook, anything we have with something Egyptian, is now spread all over my diningroom table... But for once I don't mind at all...they are WANTING to study this, and learn all they can. And ya know what? I'm gonna let them. Don't you just love homeschooling? Blessings in Him Steph |
Jan. 31, 2008
Homeschooling at the speed of life by Marilyn Rockett
Posted in Book and curriculum reviews
 What a blessing this book turned out to be! I must thank the Lord for leading me to such a wonderful book.Marilyn has given me tricks and methods that finally all make sense to me. Plus, the book comes with a CD full of wonderful information like forms and stuff. From the Getting Started chapter right through to Teaching Life Skills to Finishing Well, Marilyn has given us a fantastic, workable method to finally getting this very disorganized mom a place to start, and step by step instructions on how to get there. Definitely a must-read for chronically disorganized moms like me. Then again, it's fantastic for everyone, with a load of very valuable information. I know I will definitely be turning to it again and again. Thanks Marilyn! Stephanie |
Jan. 28, 2008
wow...how did I manage before?
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I am totally baffled by how much time I spent online before. Now that we have the new homeschooling methods in play, I have much less time to do anything online. I'm actually taking part in my kids' education instead of just handing them stuff to do on their own. They were NOT receiving a good home education to say the least. But now, we are watching educational stuff on tv together, we are having art studies and music composer studies, nature studies (even though it's really cold....did I mention I don't like winter?), my youngest is doing much better in math now that we use manipulatives, they are excelling in anything home economics related...and they finally like to read! My kids...asking for reading time...and the classics to boot! And all of this done before 1pm...I just don't believe it. That means they have all afternoon to do their chores, work on anything that they want to continue studying after our 'official' study is done...I just have to praise the Lord for answering my prayers. I don't hear as many arguments, K is really studying ancient history and especially anything Egypt, A hasn't called herself stupid in days, P has been working on his penmanship without me telling him, and even E is asking for work... So...now that I know what I need to do for each of my wonderful blessings, I realized that maybe the reason we had all the crappy stuff going on is because I was too busy with my stuff to help them with theirs. I guess it's time for me to grow up a bit so I can be Mom and Teacher and not the lazy lump that I have turned into. Blessings to you all. Steph |
Jan. 24, 2008
Meltdown of the year...and starting over again...
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Well folks...it looks like I pushed too hard. My youngest dd12 had the worst meltdown yet. She is ADHD/dysphasia diagnosed. I thought things were going peachy...until we tried to do some revision and her meltdown consisted of her saying what a loser she is, and how she doesn't want to even try to learn anymore because she is too stupid. I cried...I prayed...I came to a decision... We are currently making the decision to go back to the basics. Way back. And this time, we are going to use CM methods and stick to them. We just can't afford any other way, and I think that doing it this way, we can keep her doing some of what the others are doing, like science and history, literature and read alouds. Then she can go back to the 'easier' stuff in spelling and math. I'm going to have to ask for suggestions and help here. Please let me know what you have used and what works, especially if you have learning differences in your house. Any information I can get is sure to be a blessing in this very stressful time for us. Please pray comfort and peace over our darling little one...and sanity for me. Blessings, Steph |
Jan. 17, 2008
Getting back into the groove...
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I'm back again. This time hopefully for longer than a month or so before something comes up that I back out of blogging again. Since the holidays, I have been working on totally revamping our homeschool..from schedule to curriculum to method...hoping that we can actually accomplish something concrete without redoing the same stuff over and over again. I have been paying attention to Cindy Rushton as much as humanly possible. I have signed up for her "Just wish I'd known" and "Running on empty" seminars hoping to figure out where I'm going wrong. When I start questioning my calling from God, I'm in trouble. So, I thought I would let y'all know where I am at the moment. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth again. Just off the page of routine. So, I send y'all some blessings from the heart, and get back to what I should be doing... Steph |
Jan. 8, 2008
A new year...
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Well, a new year has begun, and with it some changes to our homeschool. I have decided to scrap everything and start over. We definitely need a schedule (we were working without a 'real' one), and we need a chore chart. Ever have the feeling that no matter how much your children know stuff needs to be done, they can walk over stuff on the floor, pile dishes on the counter instead of the dishwasher, and complain that they don't have their favorite shirt clean, but don't bother to start a load of laundry? That's what it's been like here lately. And it has to stop before it drives me nuts. So, we have added some extra time to our Christmas break (don't ya love homeschooling for stuff like this? HA!) so Mom can get organized, and come up with some ideas that will help this house run a little more smoothly. Any tips, tricks or ideas on scheduling will be greatly appreciate from everyone. I need all the help I can get on this one. I have already promised myself to listen once again to Cindy Rushton's scheduling seminar over again (www.cindyrushton.com), and I have been looking all over for more resources that might help. So, I covet your prayers that this new transition goes smoothly, and actually works. I'll keep y'all posted on the details. Lots of love and blessings, Steph |
Dec. 27, 2007
Last day for Stout Benefit
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Hi y'all! A belated Merry Christmas to everyone! I just thought I would let you all know that today is the last day for the Stout family benefit. Last call for you to get in on this wonderful giving opportunity, and receive your free gifts as a bonus! The website is: Stout Family Benefit I want to thank everyone who has donated so far. We have raised over $850 for this wonderful family! May God bless you for your kindness! Lots of love and Happy New Year! Steph |
Dec. 18, 2007
Oh boy have I been busy!
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Sorry I have been so quiet folks, but I've been busy busy. The benefit for the Stout family is underway, and will be until the 27th of December, 2007. Here is the link: Stout Family Benefit I'll be back with normal posting after the holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you! Lots of love, Steph |
Dec. 12, 2007
Benefit for the Stout family
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Hi everyone. I'm sure you have heard the Betsy Stout (www.notebookingnook.com) lost her house to a fire on Monday. Let me start by saying that everyone is safe! I am in the process of setting up a benefit sale for them, and I am looking for contributions of ebooks by different providers. If you have something you can offer for the sale, please email me at stephanie_guertin@yahoo.com Thanks for your help and support during this time. Steph |
Nov. 27, 2007
Another day...with more snow :(
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Well folks, it's snowing up a storm here in good old Quebec today. You should see the size of the snowflakes! They are HUGE! Today we will be starting our Advent/Christmas lessons. I am a little slow getting started this morning...the fatigue I have at this point is kind of putting a damper on my excitement of the holidays. But, when need be, we do our lessons with me either lying on the couch, or in my bed with the littles all around me. If this keeps up though, I'm going to need a bigger bed! Tonight the children make their First Reconciliation at church. They (and I!) are so excited. This is a big step for them in their faith journey, and I am proud of each one of them. We have decided to start our Advent studies today instead of waiting. When I was showing Kat all of the wonderful stuff we have to do, she turned to me and said (picture a 13 yr old girl, hands on hips...) "Mom, we are NEVER going to get this all done if we don't start soon...and when can we put up the tree?" So, I told her that if we get started today with our cleaning part of the Christmas preparations, we can put the tree up faster...which I thought would possibly make her get out of bed early this morning... NOT! Oh well, Mom's are allowed to hope, aren't they? Hoping everyone has a blessed day! Hugs from the North Steph |
Nov. 23, 2007
Sorry it has taken so long to post...
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I hope all of my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! Here in Canuck land, we have gotten several inches of that white stuff that I can't stand... Before I get into any news about us, please remember that today there are 2 (probably more, but these are the 2 I went to) Black Friday sales you just don't want to miss! One is at Hand of a Child and the other is at Homeschool Estore. Now, on to the news about us. All of the kids are doing well. The three youngest are getting themselves ready for their First Confession at church on Tuesday evening. This also means that Daddy gets to make some sushi, because our darling K 'volunteered' for him. Don't ya just love it when they do that? About myself, however...things aren't quite as good. I got my results from my MRI this week, and the news is not the greatest. They found, among other things, 5 new MS lesions. From what my family doctor said, I have about 6 months before the need for a wheelchair hits. This is NOT the news I prayed for. I have to wait until January now to see my neurologist, unless of course there is an emergency. If that is the case, then I have to go to the hospital, and they will call him in for a consultation if he is not on call. He is really good about that, so I am really lucky. So, I will be praying up a storm, hoping that God will keep in mind that I do have 5 children and a husband that need me, and keep me OUT of the wheelchair as long as possible. I really can't complain, however. I was diagnosed in 1991, and have stayed out of one this long...maybe it's just time for that part of my life. THAT is why I leave these things in His hands...where they belong. As for the other aspects of the exam, I am keeping the public details to a minimum until I get all the information that I can. If you have not heard all of it, please don't be upset. There are just some details that haven't been made completely public yet, and you will have all the details as soon as some key people have been informed. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and that I'll be able to blog more often than I have in the last week or so. God Bless Steph |
Nov. 13, 2007
Preparing for Advent/Christmas
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Today I begin the preparations for the next month and a half of schooling. I have found so many wonderful things to help with this holiday season, I thought I would share them with you. I have this need to make sure my children understand the actual meaning of Christmas. Things just seem to have gotten out of hand with the 'I want's, and yet nobody can tell me more than 'Christmas is the day Jesus was born, and we get presents'. I'm so ashamed! So, it's time to fix that...starting with my preparations today. Here is a list of great resources, in case anyone else out there wants to add more Christ-filled lessons to your curriculum over the next few weeks. 1 - Christ Centered Christmas by Cindy Rushton 2 - The Jesse Tree Devotional by Ann Voskamp, available here 3 - Heidi Jo Kemp's Holiday Panner (I don't know what I would do without this one!!) 4 - Amanda Bennett's Christmas unit study, which I got from www.homeschoolestore.com 5 - The Christian Christmas Story by Homeschool Learning Network, also available at www.homeschoolestore.com 6 - Jesus: The Promised One Devotional by Christian Perspective These are the best I have found so far. I'm going to be shameless here, and mention that I also have some fantastic Christmas packages at our ebook store. We have recipes, crafts, coloring pages and more. Don't be shy, come and take a look. Our ebook store I hope you all have a blessed day! Love, Steph |