"For He is the living God, enduring forever.  His kingdom shall never be destroyed.  His dominion shall be to the end.  He delivers and rescues.  He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth."   Daniel 6:26-27

Scripture is such an amazing gift.  Here we have Daniel proclaiming truth that we can see in our daily walks with Him.  No matter the circumstances He is forever!

November was filled with glorious lessons for all.  Some were a bit more challenging than others!  If you haven't yet heard about husband's great November challenge, read here.  Thankfully, he is fully recovered!

Our school time began a major turning point for us that you can read more about here.  Before we got to that point, here are the highlights of our learning:

Bible (Judah Bible):

We began Theme III which is "The Kingdom of Israel: The People Want an Earthly King and Slavery".  We read about Samuel and examined the principle that "personal unrighteousness brings national disintegration", in other words, what the few do, affects the many.

"There is none holy like the Lord; there is none beside you; there is no rock like our God"  (from Hannah's prayer) I Sam. 2:2

We enjoyed another look at David and Goliath, bringing in the true armor of God, which was all David had to fight with, and is what we must take up every day.

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm." Eph. 6:13

Solomon and the Temple continued the theme and principle

"...and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in His ways and keeping His statutes, His commandments, His rules, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn."  I Kings 2:3

Reading about Elisha finished up our month. 

"He said, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." II Kings 6:16

It was wonderful to be reminded and to share with my son, how God reveals himself in His time, which is usually a time of seeming utter desperation, for either one or many, and cannot be defined as such by man, but only by God and His purposes.

We memorized all the verses above.

History

We finished off our colonial studies with Pennsylvania and William Penn. The time of the Great Awakening came and we really enjoyed looking more at John Wesley, George Whitefield and the Mathers.  "The Light and the Glory for Children" was our main reading for this period.  Son tackled "Chimney Sweep's Ransom" by the Jacksons, about John Wesley.  He finished it by himself, though it was a bit tiresome for him (I rushed him).  I'm not sure how much he got out of it, though he did narrate back to me.  He truly enjoys learning more about people who share about Christ, so we gave it a try.  I'll probably stick to reading the bigguns out loud for now.  He may enjoy them better.

This is a great time period for us and for our country.  It was awesome to know of how God drew His people back to Him.

We are now beginning to venture westward (expansion) as we learn more about the Mississippi River, the Indian Wars (just touching on them for now) and Pioneer experiences.

Our Astronomy time is still fun, but slowing slightly as we come to the end of the book.  We finished up the planets, including the (dwarf) planet Pluto!  Our balloon Solar System has about "fizzled" out and will have to come down soon.  We're thinking about a replacement.  Son has a glow in the dark model in his room, so we may make another one for the school room.

Math

Who would have thought that Geometry could be such a winner!  Boy absolutely loves it--particularly drawing using his board, T square and Triangles.  He's precise and doing a great job!  I'll have to consider further activities of this nature, as he wants to do them all the time.  Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Spelling and Grammar

We went into overdrive this month to try and get past our last year stopping point by Christmas.  We've done much more "grammar" than last year, so it's taking longer, but it's going well.  Son particularly enjoys creating his own sentences with his new words.  He "demands" I use them, which is fine with me as they are great.  He wanted me to be sure and share some of his sentences.  I think you'll see where his heart is!

far:  "I hope we are not far from the Lord."

told: "Jesus told the disciples He would be back."

new: "If you ask Jesus in your heart, you are a new creature."

block: "Block Satan from your life."

down: "When I get down, He lifts me up."

life: "What is life without God?"

hang: "The Lord will hang with you in all your troubles."

cast: "Make sure that Satan does not cast his shadow upon you."

perch: "God will perch on your heart forever."

left: "Left and right, Jesus is everywhere!"

Our "Thanksgiving" hymn of the month was "To God Be the Glory":

To God be the glory, great things He has done;

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,

Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,

And opened the life gate that all may go in.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,

Let the earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord, praise the lord,

Let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,

And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

Thanksgiving was full of many blessings for us beginning with a huge smoked turkey being delivered to our door.  Some really wonderful friends blessed us indeed, with this big surprise, and since we weren't expecting any company for the holiday, we dug in and ravished that wonderful bird ourselves!

Thanksgiving Day found us enjoying my Dad, his wife, my brother and sister in law, just an hour away.  This was a wonderful gourmet meal, as my Dad's wife is an incredible cook.  I'm trying to pick up tidbits from her, though cooking does not come naturally to me!  It was also special having SIL there, as this was her first Thanksgiving with us in ten years.  Her NEW job, with my brother at our family music store, allows her holidays off!  Hallelujah! 

Here's the official family portrait!  I'm the grown up with brown hair. 

As a last minute thought, we headed to my cousin's house, knowing several cousins would be hanging out there.  What fun!  Being all together made the day complete.  It was sad when the day was done and it was time to leave. 

Here I am with my cousins.  Two of which I grew up with.

October: It's the "I can't believe it's over" vs. the "I can't believe I'm still alive to tell of it" month. 

I've just spent an entire week either in bed, or pretending I'm not sick, when at times dreams of being in the hospital brought a smile to my face!  Thankfully, that has passed and I'm mostly recovered!  Thank you all prayer warriors.

Our month definately ended on a high note.  Tuesday, the 31st was our first "official" homeschool arts and crafts day.  In other words, the area of crafts which is sorely lacking in the day to day, now has a day of its own--the last weekday/schoolday of each month.  I've marked the calendar for the rest of the school year and hope to see it accomplished!

Jump ahead a couple of weeks and I still haven't finished this write up!  There is nothing like getting a little distracted with good things! 

Well, I still want to tell you about our October, so here goes:

Bible:

In Bible we studied the ten spies, the journey through the wilderness, the crossing of the Jordan, and Samson.  This was Judah Bible Curriculum (JBC) weeks 10-13 and we focused on how God prepares a people for Godly self-government and liberty: The beginning of the plan of redemption.  The principle(s): Intimacy with God is primary. Bondage is voluntary. Freedom takes Godly character to maintain. Civil liberty and success is consequential. (In other words...have a right relationship with the Lord and you will experience liberty and success as the consequence!)

I so enjoy JBC because of it's emphasis, not just on Biblical principles, but because it's scope and sequence (for lack of a better term) allows us to truly emphasize that the Bible is ONE story: HIStory, and the He (Jesus) is on every page! 

We do this by seeing all of scripture in it's entirety.  We do not emphasize OT and NT.  We always examine His providence in every chapter.  What was His purpose for the event, individual, nation, etc.  How did He prepare, provide, and protect, and lastly, what did He promise.  As son learns to ask and answer these questions, the lessons move beyond what we typically consider a "Sunday School" lesson.

Our memory verses included:

"For we walk by faith, not by sight."  II Cor. 5:7

"This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous and th you will have good success."  

Joshua 1:8

History:

We continue to progress with our Truthquest guide as we ventured, or should I say ADventured into studies of the Puritans, the Thirteen Colonies, and Native Americans.  We chose a few tribes to highlight, and as expected son enjoyed reading of the Cherokee and the biography of Segoyah and the written Cherokee language. 

Math

We continued with our multiplication and began our introduction to subtraction, using the skill of making change.   This made it much more fun for the boy!  The lessons are including more and more math games.  I've found it a bit challenging, for myself, to remember you can learn from games and that they are, indeed, part of the lesson!  Of course, son loves them.

Spelling/Grammar

Son continues to spell wonderfully.  He really "sees" words and their meanings when he spells them.  One of his favorite activities is coming up with sentences for his words as you will hear in The Complete November.

Geography

We have slowly but surely, continued the Beautiful Feet Geography Guide and reading of "Seabird", by Holling C. Holling.  Not enough can be said about how great these Holling C. Holling books are, however, I have found it a stretch to see this particular books use in teaching geography.  Teaching about whales and whaling, yes.  As much as we enjoyed "Paddle to the Sea", I think we'll be retooling our Geography studies soon.  Of course, we aren't done with it yet.  You never know!

Classical Music

We've stepped up our History of Classical Music studies and really, really enjoy them.  Adding more reading and more listening.  Son really loved reading about Handel, listening to the Classical Kids presentation of "Hallelujah, Handel" and understood how his wonderful "Messiah" could mean so much and glorify God so truly! 

Astronomy

We continue to learn all kinds of great things about the planets in our solar system.  The experiments are always easy and a thrill to the kids.  I promise to post pictures next month!

I do wish we could actually SEE the sky from where we live, but alas, we are stuck with pictures.  We do hope to change that at some point. 

Hymns

For our hymn of the month, we learned "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and for extra pleasure, as previously posted, "The Lord of the Dance". 

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Among other things we did this month, we enjoyed an exciting trip to the Children's Museum.  If you haven't read about the great explorer that we met there, click here. 

If you are interested in some "firsts" for us, read here.

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Both the children have enjoyed what are probably the last warm weather days of the year.  The time just flies by, as you well know.  Son is still reading a blue streak, while daughter is a wannabe reader!  I'm happy to report son is reading TO his sister.  Both enjoy this like it is a super-duper treat! 

Son just completed a week long campout in the guest room "tent"--sheets and blankets erected across the tops of chairs, etc.  His "nest" was quite cozy as I can personally attest, and it was great to be able to tell him he could camp for a week.  His sister, as was to be expected, went visiting each morning--snuggling in and somewhat reluctant to come out!  At my bedtime one night, I saw a light under the door, and upon checking, discovered his Coleman battery powered lamp still burning, son sound asleep...with a book clutched open in his hands.  Nice.  Unbelieveably, no camera was on hand.  Bad, bad Mommy! :)  But ohhh, to be seven!

My big girl (3) is snap, button, and zipper proficient.  The clothes thing is just about mastered.  The potty thing, too, is coming along.  You can read more about that great adventure here. 

Well, as I said, forgetting to complete this post has put me well into November.  I've saved all those little goodies though, so you can expect to hear more from us soon.  In the meantime, to all our family and once-a-month readers, have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving time. 

I actually started writing "Our Complete September" before I finished writing "Our Complete August", of which I was very late.  If you are my dear family just tuning in, don't forget to check out August, as I was sooo late, I didn't even make mention of it to you.  I apologize!

Boy loses his front teeth!

Now, on to September!

September had it's own set of fun-filled memories.  First there was daughter's third birthday on the 8th!

Our friend and the Birthday Princess!

Blood and glue and lots of swelling

Of course, we've had fabulous weather--relatively no tornado warnings--and a month with no A/C or Heat!  That's a good thing!

Hymn of the Month

I forgot to mention that in August, our hymn of the month was The Doxology.  The children loved it and continue to sing it regularly.  For September, we learned "Be Thou My Vision".  (My favorite version of all times was recorded by Ginnie Owens and I've lost my CD--drat!)  This was our hardest hymn to learn yet, as we memorized two verses.

This has been a good practice for us, and has helped add a bit of vocal training to our education.

Bible

Our Bible time this month was awesome!  A big highlight was our time spent on Moses, the Israelites and what happened when they hit the Red Sea.  Understanding from the verses in Exodus 14, how the Lord's presence was magnified, was tremendous. Here's this pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day.  The cloud leading the Israelites every step of the way with the army of Pharoah close on their heels.  They run into water and are apparently stopped (yea, I know you know what happens, but just wait!...). 

So the cloud moves from the front of the Israelites, to the rear.  Now, He is the barrier (protection) between good and evil.  And then we read that though He was light to the Israelites, showing them the way, all the Egyptians could see was darkness.  They could no longer see their prey.  One side light, one side not light (dark, absence of light).  We see the perfect demonstration of how light (God and His plan) can have nothing in common with darkness (evil, separates from God).  Choose a side, be separate, or be cut off! 

Son drew a wonderful picture of this event, with the 2-sided cloud: clarity for one side and darkness for the other.

Cloud

Then we moved on to manna!  Just when I thought the Red Sea lesson couldn't be beat!  We talked about all that grumbling going on.  Here the Israelites were free and rather than let God fight for them and be silent,

"The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent."

                                                                         --Exodus 14:14

they would have preferred slavery, because it was "easier".  Choices, choices!  We make 'em everyday! 

We talked about the exercise that God put before them of collecting the manna.  This "bread of life" that lay upon the dew of the ground (note: not directly on the ground which was cursed, but on the dew).  They had to be on their knees.  Hmmmm--on their knees...

"...for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."  --Romans 14:11

and it was tedious and time consuming.  It was work!  They weren't growing it, but they were still working for it! 

We laid out butcher's paper and coconut and the kids knelt down and "gathered" it into an omer (liter jar).  They quickly saw how long and hard that would be.  They tasted the "honey" and then...tasted some more :).  We talked of "gathering" and what else we are called to gather:  God's Words! 

"I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

--Psalm 119:11

We talked about Jesus--the Bread of Life--and memorized...

"For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."     -- John 6:33 

Yes!  That would be continuing our studies how Jesus is on every page of the Bible!  Interestingly enough, son has repeatedly "let me know", since our manna lessons, that he has been spending prayer time on his knees beside his bed. 

By the way, these lessons are from the outline used in Judah Bible.

Handwriting/Typing

Well, we took a plunge of another sort this month, and added a typing tutor program to the computer.  Boy can do this on his own and is really getting the hang of it!  His handwriting continues to improve mightily (he writes beautifully!).  It's kind of amazing when the Daddy can't tell the difference between boy's and Mama's writing! (Well, that only happened once!  I'm not sure if it was a good day for boy, or a bad day for me!) All this to say, typing will not be replacing handwriting!

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I will add that I have seen a big change in how he decides what to record for his notebook.  He has gone from fighting to write the bare minimum, to beginning to understand that it doesn't mean anything unless someone can read it and know what you are talking about.  This has been a major hurdle to cross and he's getting there!  It's fun to watch him blossom and see his own ideas come out. 

One example on this was when I asked him to draw a picture of "Seabird" for his geography notebook.  He broadly came to me later and explained that he needed to write the title of the book AND the author, so we would know what it was! 

History

Truthquest History keeps getting better and better!  This month we concentrated on the pilgrims.  I really tried to integrate our Principle Approach thinking into the lessons and we enjoyed the outcome.  I took another's idea of simplifying Katherine Dang's (PA Master Teacher) Key Sheets and made them into age appropriate questions with writing space for the answers. 

A major highlight included reading "William Bradford, Pilgrim Boy" by Bradford Smith (Childhood of Famous Americans--which, by the way, has been republished by Beautiful Feet).  We also enjoyed many of the other Mayflower and pilgrim books suggested by Truthquest!  There are a lot and I'm beginning to learn how to better separate the wheat from the chaf.

Literature

We finished our literary study of "Pocahontas" by the D'Aulaires.  This was strictly to focus on the literary elements of plot, theme, characterization, and setting.  Though I can see the benefits of learning and understanding these elements, I've come to the quick conclusion that it gets old fast!  We'll be focusing more on the reading and less on the break down for a while.

We've nearly completed "Bambi", by Felix Salten and it is really an incredible example of how writing can make a place and events seem real.  There is a scene where two leaves discuss how they have changed colors and will soon fall from the branches to meet their "fate".  It is wonderful!  We'll be watching the leaves a little more closely!! :)

Math

Math lessons are moving along splendidly.  Boy started multiplication this month and has really begun to put all his math principles to good use.  He was tallying Yahtzee scores just last night!  A neat treat for him has been the Schoolhouse Rock:  Multiplication Rock DVD.  He loves it and keeps telling me what he's heard on the DVD that is in his lessons. RightStart continues to be a great choice for us!

Spelling/Grammar

In our spelling we are up to list I-1.  We are incorporating more and more of the grammar activities provided in the "WISE Guide" since I began preparing the activities in advance, for boys notebook.  'Gotta love that MS Publisher!

Geography

We completed our "Paddle-to-the-Sea", though bittersweet!  What a great time we had with it and boy is not likely to forget it anytime soon!  My only regret is that in relying solely on the map for our activities, I neglected to include any notebooking.  Shame on me!  As we begin "Seabird", another Holling Clancy Holling book, I hope to plan a bit better!

Science

This month we covered Earth, the Moon and Mars, in our "Exploring God's Creation With Astronomy" book.  We make it a habit to pick up as much supplemental reading as possiblie, from the library.  These books can often be gems, and boy is going through them quite quickly.  Often reporting the many things he is learning, as well as any descrepancies he reads!  Gotta love that!  I'm particularly thankful that he is beginning to discern the truth! 

He read a book that he really enjoyed called "Buzz Aldrin: Reaching For The Moon" by Buzz Aldrin.  This picture-style book was up his alley!  Now he wants an astronaut outfit for dress-up.  Actually, he's always wanted one, but now he's very reved up about it!

Preschool

Little one was totally tickled when I presented her with her very own Kumon cutting book!  She went to town, too!  She finished the entire book in just a few short days. 

Miss Industrious!

The finished product

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For her birthday she received a tutu, ballet bar and a fabulous DVD called "I'm a Ballerina Now".  She is thoroughly enjoying them!  She is even learning the ballet terms and singing them to her Daddy!  She has a dancing heart!

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Fieldtrips

This month we were happy to get to the zoo and we had our first trip to the Eiteljorg--Indian & Western Art Museum.

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And finally I'll close with my favorite quote of the month from my now three year old daughter:

"I love Jesus! 

He's in my heart. 

Do you love Jesus? 

Is he in your heart too?!"

This August has been a true joy to us--spending our time away from the sweltering heat, and instead enjoying our lessons--though we have had our many moments of summer fun besides.

This month dear son lost his two front teeth and daughter began using the potty.  Son has mastered whistling (pre-tooth loss!) and daughter dresses herself.  Son and daughter both would rather have their heads under the water at the pool, than above!  It's been a big time!

Our Bible lessons using the Judah Bible scope and sequence have been awesome.  This month we began Theme II: The Plan of Redemption Begins.  We've read and studied Abraham and Moses.  Memory verses included:

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  John 10:27

Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am."  John 8:58

In history (Truthquest), we finished off our study of the early explorers and moved on to the Lost Colony--Roanoke, Jamestown, John Smith, and Pocahontas.  Highlights included "A Carving On The Tree," by Elizabeth Campbell, "John Smith," a Junior World Explorer book by Charles Graves.  We also read our first Childhood of Famous Americans book, "Pocahontas".  Pretty good, though I highly recommend adult supervision for younger children.  We added the D'Aulaire biography of "Pocahontas" for our literature study. 

We continue to see progress in our RightStart Math.  Son is actually enjoying timed tests!  I was in such shock the first time he took one and got all excited and giggly.  Imagine that!  He still enjoys the "thinking" process from the floor, rather than the chair, but he has moved out from under the table!! :)

We've doubled up on our spelling lists in the Wise Guide, having finished list F, by the end of the month.  We are also incorporating further grammar lessons.  We are putting the Word Bank (breaking apart each word by it's phonograms) exercise to good use and it is a great compliment to solidifying the phonograms in the spelling words.  

We've nearly completed our "Paddle To The Sea" and have so completely enjoyed it.  Though we haven't done the science part of the Beautiful Feet guide, just the map activities have been so much fun!  It's definately one of those things that will stay with us forever.  We're excited to see if the other H.C. Holling books are as good!

We continue to enjoy our study in the History of Classical Music (Beautiful Feet).  This month we studied Vivaldi and Bach.  We really like the Classical Kids series, thus far.   We have also resumed piano lessons--yippee!! 

In Astronomy (Exploring Creation with Astronomy) we completed studies of Venus and the Earth.  We only wish we were in an area where we could see the night sky better.  City lights do ruin that enjoyment.  But it has been a great study. 

We continued our evening reading time with "Mister Poppers Penquins".  What a great book!  We had so much fun reading it, we had to rush out and get it on tape to listen to again! 

Daughter is also enjoying hearing more books.  She is soaking everything in!  I handed her a Kumon workbook of beginning tracing and she went wild.  She completed the whole book, entirely on her own, in a week.  It's fun to watch how she does things different from her brother.  She is very precise with a pencil in hand and I see brain surgeon in her future! 

She has always been interested, and very good at puzzles.  The more complicated I get them, the faster she seems to master them.  I've noticed that she memorizes the picture and places the pieces according to that rather than the shape.  It's baffling and hilarious to me! 

Son has inherited his grandmother's ability to speed read.  He goes through a stack of books like lightening.  When I first realized it, I began quizzing him on content and he's retaining it, understanding it and thoroughly enjoying all the stories.  This is just another giddy delight of motherhood.  As my daughter says, "Thank you, Loorrd"!!

As August begins, it is necessary, though bewildering, to acknowledge the passing of July.  It was a steamy one, for sure--persipitating the need for school to start.  And how!  The time flew by and the heat was only effective upon the garden and our errand time, plus the occassional lapse in sanity drawing us to the pool.  And as we look toward the local schools starting, we smile contentedly, dreaming of fall and time spent loitering shamelessly in every wonderful, cozy, outdoor spot we can find!

The first weeks of school have been great!  Here's what we've covered:

In Bible, we've examined the principle of self-government (our choosing obedience to Christ) in the Garden of Eden through Noah.  Reviewing the fall of man and entrance of sin into the world.  We've also reviewed and paid close attention to what God has taught us regarding the jobs he's assigned us (stewardship) and the consequences of our actions. Our goal is to see son acting on his own regarding his helps (chores)around the house, without constant badgering.

In math, we've begun the Rightstart Level C and have been able to pick up where we left off without much difficulty.  I'm pretty sure we have successfully eliminated the "I hate math" tantrums--at least for the time being!

In history, we're truly enjoying our Truthquest adventures reading about many of the explorers who first ventured to and through North America.  The the motives of many seem less than admirable, it's so great to admire God's providence as we note each ones contribution to bringing settlers to these lands.

It's been interesting, as well, to check out so many books from various series, at the library and examine their value.  As you can imagine, many are not worth cracking open, but some gems--truly living books--are really enjoyable and informative.

Spending so much more time reading is very rewarding, but can be tiring.  I'm finding a need to choose more carefully and let son read some on his own.  Lessons in how to tell if a book is good or not, will be ongoing!

In Spell to Write and Read, we've spent a bit of time reviewing the phonograms and are seeing a definate change in how son views them now that he's a pretty fluent reader.  We've starting our spelling lists, hoping to move at a quicker pace till we closer to the level we ended at in the spring.

Our penmanship practice/copywork has been greatly aided by the use of our Smartwrite program.  Specifically, a more individually tailored line spacing.  Son writes better, smaller! 

The much anticipated and inspiring astronomy study is in full swing!  Having Jeannie Fulbright's Exploring Creation With Astronomy book has been a blessing!  Not only the Biblical creation viewpoint, but the readability is wonderful!  It is the most looked-forward-to subject to date. We bought the kit with all the little gotta-dig-for-'em things you need to do the experiments.  What a relief that has been   Fun too!  Burning chocolate out in the sun (and eating it!) has given the children a desire to set things on fire...hmmmm....  Well, there will be many more experiments and distractions, thankfully!

A true treasure has been found in our first Holling C. Holling book--Paddle to the Sea.  Using the Beautiful Feet Principle Approach guide for geography, we're loving our geographical trip through Canada and upper U.S. Following the journey of a carved Indian in his canoe as he journeys through the great lakes, rivers, etc., to the sea. 

We've found the map work particularly fun; keeping up with Paddle's journey!

We've added another Beautiful Feet guide--The History of Classical Music.  This will be a two year study for us, through many of the great classical artists and beginning music appreciation (which we have already experienced on a more everyday basis).  Hopefully, this will be combined with piano lessons.

Another gem we are enjoying is the short, yet sweet grammar/english lessons found in English for the Thoughful Child. 

Still to come are art and literature.

Both children are doing well.  Son is enjoying his new Greek Tortoise, Apollo--his desire to learn greek so that they can converse, has got us giggling :)

Baby girl is putting pen to paper and chalk to chalkboard with the beginning stages of writing her ABC's and recognizing them.  She is also enjoying a wipe off book with pen strokes. 

They have both turned into little fishies and are becoming quite the swimmers!  We'll have to join the Y now for winter! 

Son is now reading books to his sister, which is a joy and she is about ready to begin Before Five in a Row, a literature unit study using children's books.

Son's 7th birthday came and went quickly with a campout and fireworks.  Now legal in Indiana, the husband went a little bonkers!

Both son and husband play the occassional round of golf, with son excelling and thoroughly enjoying it!  This may be his "thing". 

Son is about to lose his two front teeth so I HAVE to get their pictures taken quick! 

So that's the month in a nutshell. 

Since we were on vacation at the end of April, the Complete April slipped by me.  I decided to just combine it with May, so here goes...

April and May...Finishing up so much of our schooling these last two months.  RightStart Lev. B is now a thing of the past.  I had promised boy a celebration for this miraculous feat.  That is on our summer wish list.  He has it all thought out.  Right down to the pizza and how it's cut--halfs, fourths...

We continue our Narnia read-alouds.  We have finished the first four, including the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  It is a favorite.  We still are enjoying the Focus on the Family Radio Theater presentations as a completion to each book.  Such a joy!  It's exciting to know that this is just the first time he'll read them.  Yippee!!!

We concluded our Abilgail Adams study and enjoyed learning a bit more about the times, the struggles for independence, and John Adams. 

Spelling, handwriting and grammar continue to improve.  I'm still amazed that the our days using Five in a Row (age 4-5), for about a year, have stuck with him so.  His favorite parts of books are still the literary devices he can identify--onomatopoeia (yes, I had to look it up to spell it right!), personification, and alliteration.  I'm talking myself into adding FIAR for my daughter's preschool time!  It was sooo great! (Though I don't typically enjoy "unit" type lessons)

We ALL truly enjoyed the learning that accompanied our recent Georgia/Florida vacation.  One big stand out was the Kennedy Space Center (where Mama finally discovered why it was called "Kennedy"--KFK---durrrrrrr).  With the eminent plan of beginning our Apologia Exploring Creation with Astronomy study, it was a perfect kick-off.  Boy wants to be an astronaut... :)

I'm holding fast to my resolution of NOT using the words "we are done with school" or "you're NOW in 2nd grade" or even "summer vacation".  Schooling has become such a part of our lifestyle, that I don't wish it "take a break".  I've strongly leaned toward dropping all reference to grade levels as well, but the Sunday School class wrecked that by "graduating" him to 2nd grade.  He can't stop telling people he's now in 2nd grade!  Oh well!

As for my girl...no potty training completed.  I've decided she is too busy learning other things to be interested in where the wet stuff ends up.  She just doesn't care a bit.  On the up side, she is learning quickly how to put on her own clothes AND pull ups, so hopefully, the potty won't be too far behind! 

They are both growing like gigantic weeds feeding on miracle grow (translation: it must be in the water cause Mama's a lousy cook!). 

I'll try to keep up with our "complete" reports throughout the warmer months and I'll even try to make them more complete.  No more post-winter brain fog!!! 

Following Connie at Wardssward's example, I thought it timely to list all of the verses boy has memorized for kindergarten and first grade.  This will be a good opportunity to look back and begin some type of a review of said verses. 

Many of the verse selections were from our curriculum and hind sight being 20:20, I would have, and now do, let the Spirit lead us more personally in our verse selection.  Some were really hard for a young boy to memorize.  I like Connie's idea of picking shorter, but no less meaningful, verses.  Of course, they are all God's truth, so we hide them in our hearts none the less!

Genesis 1:1--"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Genesis 1:28--"...replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion..."

Psalm 1:1-2--"Blessed is the man who..."

Psalm 16:8--"I have set the Lord always before me..."

Psalm 119:33--"Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes..."

Psalm 136:1--"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good..."

Psalm 139:14--"I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Proverbs 3:5-6--"Trust in the Lord will all you heart..."

Proverbs 3:7-8--"Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord..."

Proverbs 12:16--"Foolish people are easily upset.  But wise people..."

Isaiah 9:6--"For to us a child is born..."

Isaiah 40:11--"He will tend his flock like a shepherd..."

Matthew 6:9-13--"Our Father who art in heaven..."

Matthew 7:7-9--"Ask and it shall be given to you; seek..."

Matthew 19:14--"...but Jesus said, "Let the little children..."

Matthew 19:19--"...Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

Luke 2:11--"For unto us is born this day in the city of David..."

Luke 12:48--"...Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required."

Acts 2:21--'And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name..."

Romans 5:19--"For as by the one man's disobedience..."

Ephesians 5:30--"Giving thanks always and for everything..."

Ephesians 6:1--"Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right."

Phillippians 4:8--"Finally brothers, whatever is true..."

Phillippians 4:13--"I can do all thing through Christ..."

I Thess. 5:16-18--"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing..."

II Timothy 1:7--"...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power..."

II Timothy 3:16-17--"All scripture is inspired by God..."

Hebrews 13:17--"Obey your leaders and submit..."

I Peter 3:15--"But make sure in your hearts that Christ is Lord..."

I John 2:3--"And by this we know that we have come to know Him..."

Revelation 1:18--"I am He that liveth, and was dead..."

Revelation 22:14--"Blessed are they that do His commandments..."

Revelation 4:11--"...for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure..."

We use a spiral bound 5X7 index card book that we write our verses in.  We decorated the cover and it then sets up when propped open on our writing table.  Boy now writes the verses himself (in cursive!).  It will make a wonderful keepsake.

Boy also memorizes verses with his sunday school class, but I've not kept track of them. 

Do you have any special scripture memorization tips and tricks you use with your kids?

Once again we come to the end of a month and I wonder what happened to all the time!  Will this ever NOT be a mystery?!

With March, we said farewell to head colds, and hello to the puke-y-dos.  Thankfully, that didn't last long, but it's still a highlight as it was baby girls "first time" and she keeps talking about it!  Ahhh, youth!

Christopher Columbus is a thing of the past--pun intended!  I've said before, what a blessing this study was.  We look forward to the "next level" of Christopher Columbus study.  That is something I truly feel blessed with using the Principle Approach and the Chain of Christianity.  To get to cover each link in the chain of the westward movement of the gospel (also known as history/his-story!), every year!

Here is our Chain of Christianity: 

We have taken up the study of Abilgail and John Adams and absolutely love the Sowers series book, Abigail Adams, by Evelyn  Witter.  It is inspiring, and has incredible teaching opportunities in it.  Particularly, and this is at the beginning, etiquette for young ladies.  Though our little Princess is not participating yet, son has learned quite a bit from this as well.  There are many more worthwhile gems in this little book, but you'll have to read it yourself!  It's great getting to combine history and literature.  I believe we will be doing this more and more.

Math is almost a favorite subject!  (See below picture where he labels a picture of himself doing math as "easy"!)  Son can now make change and can't wait to get his hands on Grandpa's cash register at the music store!  Sorry, Dad!  We are sooo close to the end of RightStart Level B.  This will be greatly celebrated.  We're ready for a little math break!

Son informed me last night that spelling is now his official favorite subject.  This SWR (Spell to Write and Read) program is so wonderful.  It's amazing what we are experiencing from this "spelling" program (which is much more than a spelling program!)  Just making up sentences for his words has shown me the things on his heart. 

For instance, this week we had the word "shut".  He immediately said, "Do not shut your mouth when sharing the Lord with others".  The things of God are becoming more and more a part of his heart.  Thank you, Lord! 

We also had an exercise involving drawing pictures for the words.  Now, he doesn't really enjoy drawing, but he got into this!  Here is what he came up with:

Notice, he is shutting the door on Satan!  As in, "Shut 'de door, keep out 'de devil.  Shut 'de door, keep 'de devil in the night".  Hopefully, you know this little Sunday school song!

Here is Jesus OUT of the grave! 

In Bible we studied Daniel and his faithfulness and obedience.  Following our yearly theme of "conscience is the most sacred of property" we saw an awesome example of this in Daniel!  We used an unusual resource for the lion's den story, which you may have read about here.  We also really enjoyed our lessons on I John 3:15--

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear"

And, as we have begun our studies of the early church in Acts, and Pentecost,   Acts 2:21--

"And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Son was very interested in the strange languages that the disciples spoke after the Spirit descended upon them.  As we compared this to the Tower of Babel, we talked about how it was evident that without the power of God, there is no understanding. 

Another thing I enjoy about Principle Approach is that Bible "studies" are not just Bible "stories"! 

I dropped the ball, this month, with geography.  Part of the reason, I think, is that lapbooks are not for us at this time!  Boy doesn't want to do them, and I don't want to do them for him, so we will move on in April with our continent studies and return to our regularly scheduled notebooking.  Whew!

We are continuing with our reading of The Chronicles of Narnia.  We are on our 3rd book, The Horse and His Boy.  I've said before, this is not my favorite Chronicle and is not the easiest to read aloud, but we are getting there.  We have enjoyed the tradition, so far, of finishing a Chronicle and then listening to the Focus on the Family Radio Theater presentation of the book.  These are sooo awesome.  It makes the book come to life, where my reading aloud may have failed!  (By the way, all reading now requires reading glasses!  I'm OLD! :)

So, that about covers the school activities! 

Son is eagerly reading everything he can get his hands on.  Often five or six books a day.  This is so exciting, but I can't keep up with him!  I keep wanting to make lists, etc.  I imagine this will slow down a bit as summer approaches, but we'll see to it, that it doesn't stop completely!

My sweet girl enjoys pretending she is reading.  She is singing her alphabet song and counting to 12, which we get so tickled at!  She thoroughly enjoys singing her heart out at every opportunity.  She loves to draw/color and has play-doh coming out her ears--yeah, well...

Both kids are enjoying some educational computer game time.  It's still weird for me to see the baby doing this! 

We are eagerly anticipating our upcoming Florida trip..."are we there yet?"  We had a brief preview yesterday with 72 degree temps.  My girl is peddling away on the big wheel, and boy couldn't wait to get on his bike!  Sweet girl also tried her hand at T-ball, holding the biggest end of the bat!  This was quite humorous!!  It's cold again today--yuck!

Boy is about to lose another tooth and my girl is finally growing some hair.  All is good! 

Usually February in Indiana is an ice-cold, dark and miserable, make-me-want-to-move-to-Florida, kind of month.  This year, we had just enough warmth and sunshine to give us delusions of grandeur and cause numerous sinus/cold viruses!  Still we persist...

We continued our study of Christopher Columbus using the d'Aulaire book and Pilgrim Institutes Study Guide.  We are really enjoying this study and learning a lot! We've examined the character of Columbus, including his perseverence in his goals, patience with his crew, courage in the face of uncertainty, and unfailing devotion to sharing the gospel in new lands.  We will finish this study in the next couple of weeks.  It has been hard for me, mentally, to take so long on a relatively short book, but the rewards have been worth it!  Columbus, and his mission, have truly become a part of us!

For Bible, we have spent the month getting to know Elijah & Elisha, focusing on how God hears us when we pray; He's faithful when we obey.  Son's drawings, for his notebook, of different scenes in Elijah's life have been great!  He is really getting more confident in his drawing. 

We made true progress in math--yeah!  We did lots of review and didn't let math conquer us!  We focused on counting by 1's, 2's, 5's, 10's & 25's and switching back and worth, as in counting money.  We checked out some Greg Tang math books from the library and really enjoy them!  I never knew there were living books for math, but this great recommendation set us on the right path! 

We've begun adding more definitions to our spelling, which has been a nice change, but added a tougher dimension to our word review.  What son really enjoys with spelling is making up the sentences himself.  He's definately Mama's boy--usually thinking of song lyrics or poems, bible verses or family-ism's! 

We've stepped up our science with a study of Thomas Edison; more brief than I would have liked (but we'll get to that again!).  We also tackled friction.  Boy thinks it's hilarious when he wears holes in his socks.  That must be a boy thing! 

We have begun our study of the continent of Europe and are slowly planning our 2nd lapbook.  Our lapbook for Asia turned our pretty good for our first attempt.  Boy recognizes that so many of the people we have studied came from Europe and we usually end up talking about them, but that has been encouraging that he recalls and thinks so fondly of those we've studied like Martin Luther, William Tyndale, etc. 

For literature we began a study on William Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet.  This was in the Noah Plan curriculum.  After the intro of Shakespeare and the Globe theatre, which we enjoyed, we read the first pages of the play.  I decided not to continue with it.  I felt there were too many references to issues that are not appropriate for his age. 

Instead, we picked up The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which he'd been asking to read.  We flew through it, with son begging for more each day!  Conversation was great!  I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that he totally saw Jesus in Aslan.  We used the Roar book some, but mainly just enjoyed the book.  After we finished it, we listened to the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version.  Fabulous!  After son through a huge fit that the four Pevensies were not in the next book (which is really book one), The Magician's Nephew, I convinced him to give it a try and, of course, he loves it.  We're about half through.

We continued with our art/craft lessons, finishing up the elements of design.  Of course, this is a favorite time for both of us, though I'm severly challenged in this area. 

Baby sister has been promised her own "school" time, as I begin to prepare for including her more and having more "preschool" type learning for her.  She will be three in the fall and I don't know where the time has gone!  I plan to use the Stonebridge School preschool guidelines, starting her right off with the Biblical Principles.  I lament that I need to be more prepared, organized and scheduled (a work in progress).

For now, she is progressing with her Jump Start computer game.  She is enjoying more and more books every day.  I'm excited to have both my kids be such book lovers!  Hallelujah! 

Boy finishes up his first winter of basketball with questionable results.  Unfortunately, he missed the last couple of weeks with his pneumonia.  He learned a few skills, but still thinks of games as a free-for-all play time.  I can see how he would be confused--there hasn't been much order in the league he's been in.  He has learned some valuable lessons regarding sportsmanship, but he still has a long way to go for the whole picture.  I'm not eager to do more basketball for a while!  Sometimes it was just downright painful to watch!  But that's little kids for ya!  I know it will improve--eventually! LOL

Februarys come and go, but they always lead to Marches!  Onward!

Why "The Complete January"?  This is our monthly newsletter/update of our lessons using the Biblical Principle Approach.   "Complete" says it all...

According to Webster's 1828 dictionary...

COMPLETE, a.
          1. Having no deficiency; perfect. And ye are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2.  (italics mine!)
          2. Finished; ended; concluded; as, the edifice is complete. This course of vanity almost complete. In strict propriety, this word admits of no comparison; for that which is complete, cannot be more or less so.

COMPLETE, v.t.
           1. To finish; to end; to perfect; as, to complete a bridge, or an edifice; to complete an education.
          2. To fill to accomplish; as, to complete hopes or desires. 3. To fulfil; to accomplish; to perform; as, the prophecy of Daniel is completed.    

January has definately been a month to remember!  It has just ended with the loss of sweet boy's first baby tooth and the start of him tying his own shoes!  Here's how the rest of the month looked:

We got off to a slow start after the holidays, but managed to make it an eventful few weeks.  We read "Cinnabar, The One O'Clock Fox", by Margarite Henry and  a biography study of William Shakespeare.  Son's own reading is improving so rapidly that our bookworm climbing up our stairs, has ceased to be an issue.  He has so many books to add to it, it would go around the room in one day if we recorded them all!  Now that he sees how quickly and how much he enjoys reading, he's lost interest in the "worm"!  He also completed reading his entire Young Reader's Bible.  He will get to choose a reward for that this week!  He has begun reading nightly before bedtime and does not even protest about earlier bedtime so he can "indulge".  Of course, lights out time, garners many protests!  What's a mother to do? 

It's safe to say that his transition to cursive is complete and improving daily.  He is doing about 95% of his written work in cursive.  It is very neat and I'm wowed by that!  His spelling is still going very well, with grammar coming very naturally to him. 

Math, on the other hand, is still somewhat of a challenge.  He gets it, but he doesn't.  He can have absolutely ZERO distractions when concentrating on it (real easy with a two year old sister in the room!) and just doesn't enjoy it.  We're still trying very hard to incorporate his learning style into the lessons which is not always easy for me, who learns the opposite way! 

For Bible we have concentrated on the life of David and he has really enjoyed this more in depth study.  Needless to say, the story of Goliath was a favorite, but his understanding of what God was really communicating through David and how David so unswervingly trusted in the outcome, has been great.  He is truly beginning to reason things out for himself and communicate them well.  His notebook page of this story is great!  He drew big 'ole Goliath and little 'ole David with his sling....and someone else looking on!  God!  Gotta love that!

We then covered King Solomon and the Proverbs and son wrote had his first chance to write his own proverb:

Foolish men waste time watching TV.

Wise men don't waste time watching TV. 

They spend time helping God. 

Foolish children stay away from their parents.

Wise children play with their parents a lot.

That sound you don't hear, but would if you were here is me screaming and jumping up and down for joy!

For History, we began a unit on Christopher Columbus.  What fun!  We are using the D'Aulaire book and the Pilgrim Institutes study guide--really well done!  It will take us a while, but it is worth it!  I am amazed, once again, how little I was taught, or retained about Columbus.  What an incredible study of God's providence and look where we are today because of it! 

For Geography, we studied the continent of Asia and attempted our first lap book.  What a challenge--the lap book, I mean! :)  He enjoyed the study, and since we have a neighbor from India, is making "connections" in his head that are really good.  He sees that Christianity is not prevelant everywhere and he prays about this himself, communicating how sad he is that everyone doesn't know Jesus.  He has a growing heart for missions that he has inherited from his grandfather.  I must say, though, that it is rather contagious to the rest of us, as well! 

With the Asia study, as our first continent study, we enjoyed discussing God's principle of individuality and son got his first big look into cultural differences, differences in our physical appearances, as well as climate, industry, and animals. 

For Science, we have been diving into the study of electricity and it's origins.  We've covered some Ben Franklin, enjoys experiments of all sorts--many which did not work (love that!), and are starting Thomas Edison.  Of course, living in Indiana in the winter, the static electricity experiments went JUST fine!

Our sweet two year old daughter is doing very well "participating" with us in school.  She has learned what she can and can't do while we are studying and she is enjoying her new "desk" with her playdoh and coloring.  She also enjoys her little leap pad and her Daddy has taught her to use the computer, so she now plays Jump Start Preschool by herself.  Her small motor skills are amazing. She is "reading" books by herself now too.  Often to be found in her grandma's rocking chair with a book in her lap.  She is now enjoying listening to multiple stories as well. 

Son started up basketball again this month and is progressing as well as a 6 year old can!  He is having fun, which is the point!  He is also enjoying more kitchen (home ec?) time and begs for crafts--this is sorta new for him!  He hasn't always been that interested in them!  He also begs to have "art" daily.  We do projects and talk about a bit of art history.  He enjoys it immensely.

That about covers it!  January is done. 

What happened to December?  It's gone!  That was fast!  We're already half-way through January and I'm still asking myself, "Was that Christmas that just flew by?"  I do have vague memories of having school in December, but I mostly am encouraged by our time of advent and Christmas celebration that brought us many new things to meditate upon.

But today, I want to record some of our school memories for December.  The biggest milestone is how sweet son completed his lower case cursive lessons.  He is so excited and afraid, too.  He so wants to write in cursive, but is afraid something will happen to him if he does!  For instance, he'll grow up when he's not thinking about it?! Yikes!  Well, I've encouraged him that it is quite okay to write in cursive and that he can still print too, but will have to hold off on the growing up part!

We finished Pinocchio.  What a great lesson in having fools for friends.  We also concentrated a bit on Jacob and Esau's story and how disobedience often leads to separation from family as well as God. 

We continued our Bible and History lessons with the chain of Christianity.   Specifically, the beginnings of our Christian founding and God's continuing providence. 

I have felt greatly burdened in my lack of provision in the way of arts.  Everything in that area, music and piano, arts and crafts, has dwindled as we spent more time on other subjects.  Hopefully, I can get those subjects back on track. 

I'm beginning to see my two year old daughter in a new light as she becomes more and more interested in learning.  Our time will need to adjust accordingly as she blossoms.  We all have our work cut out for us!  Better get to it!

November is over?  Is it really?  Well, here's to month three of school!  For a somewhat shortened month due to time off over Thanksgiving, we still learned quite a bit. 

The big joke on me this month was during our Bible time on Jacob and his ladder dream.  I thought a fun activity would be in order so I decided to teach him how to do the Jacob's Ladder finger string thingy--you know the one.  Every pre-adolescent girl in the world knows how to do these string things and heaven knows I've done them a billion times, but no!  Total brain fart.  Couldn't for the life of me figure out how to do it.  Even step by step instructions baffled my mind.  I think this has something to do with JayfromCleveland's old people post.   So, I threw in the string and we had a good time reminiscing about our legos tower of Babel! 

We are continuing our ABC's of Using Money God's Way and are enjoying the application parts of learning about spending, saving and giving.  Son got a neat new bank with three compartments and still wants to fill the church side with all his coins.  His chore list, which we call a "helps" list is going well.  These things, such as bed making and tending clothes and toys are part of family and personal stewardship and do not receive money.  Then we have a list of "helps for Mama" that get are extra "value" and earn money.  They include putting silverware away, putting away laundry, putting away groceries, helping with cleaning, etc.  He totally understands the difference which is exciting.  The only thing about the ABC's book I'm not thrilled with is the emphasis on 10% for giving and 10% for savings.  I think 80% to spend at age 6 is way too much.  There is not much that he wants that he'd need to spend money on.  Not to say he's spoiled, by any means, but it's just not something I think is appropriate for his age.  We have emphasized a third, a third, and a third for now.  As he understands this and want's to put more in giving, we let him.

On to other things!  We started cursive this month and it's going great.  We'll probably finish up introducing the cursive letter formations this next week.  We're using Cursive First, though we didn't do cursive first.  The copy sheets are an unbeatable value.  It made a daunting task very easy!  Boy, he was so ready for the transition.  His impecably neat printing was suddenly becoming unruly as he tried to "get creative" with his penmanship!  And smaller!  I was tired of the "top line to bottom line" argument.  I finally realized he was ready to write in the smaller cursive writing.

We had a fabulous time this month with the Bible in English link on the Chain of Christianity.  Reading about John Wycliff and William Tyndale, not to mention Martin Luther was so awesome and inspiring.  Having grown up in a very missions oriented church and home, I was very familiar with Wycliff Bible Translators and couldn't wait to show and tell my boy about some the people I know translating God's Word around the world.  They also had some wonderful activities on their website, like a code-breaker activity.  But the most amazing part was how much son wanted to know about the people. 

My dear Dad sent me our old church missions directory with pictures and they fascinated my boy.  The whole "real people" thing boggled his mind!  He was so very interested to know where people lived that didn't have God's Word.  Needless to say we had great discussions.  The most touching part was when he stood up and announced to me he needed a few minutes to go upstairs and pray alone.  He picked up the directory with the pictures and went up to my room.  I was speechless. 

I'm in the process of adding a prayer corner to our map/globe area. I hope to put up pictures and pin stick places.  I think I'll hang a picture of praying hands as a reminder, and maybe a cushion or two for the knees.

By the way...when studying Martin Luther and his hymns, we used the Hymns for a Kid's Heart Vol 1 book by Joni Earekson Tada & Bobbie Wolgemuth.  It was fabulous!

We are reading the original Pinocchio by Carlos Collodi.  There are a few "woo, what was that" moments for me as I read, but we were able to discuss things appropriately.  The character development is just so extraordinary, I can see why it is recommended at this age.  We're enjoying making our notebook on it each day.  I'll keep you posted as we finish it. 

As for the math thing...it finally kicked in this month!  It was sometimes questionable whether we should be moving at the recommended pace, but he's getting it for now! 

We also did the Christian Founding of America link, skipping Columbus for the time being so we could do the Pilgrims lessons before and during Thanksgiving.  I have to say, it was probably one of our most thoughtful Thanksgiving times just knowing our heritage so much better than before! 

We're a bit behind in our French studies, but hope to pick it and science, which was on a brief hiatus, up next week.  We're also excited about starting geography and studying the continents and their individuality.  Did I mention first grade is awesome?!!

Well, this is supposed to be about November...Son has now mastered the first 160 spelling words in the Wise Guide and has picked up his pace to 40 per week.  We shall see how that goes. 

His reading continues to improve and I'm a bit harried in the scramble to find living books at his reading level.  I have to remember to take lists with me to the library! 

That pretty much sums up the month.  We've begun our new advent book, Jotham's Journey by Arnold Ytreeide and are enjoying it as we look to Jesus' birthday celebration! 

According to Webster's 1828 dictionary...

COMPLETE, a.
          1. Having no deficiency; perfect. And ye are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power. Col. 2.  (italics mine!)
          2. Finished; ended; concluded; as, the edifice is complete. This course of vanity almost complete. In strict propriety, this word admits of no comparison; for that which is complete, cannot be more or less so.

COMPLETE, v.t.
           1. To finish; to end; to perfect; as, to complete a bridge, or an edifice; to complete an education.
          2. To fill to accomplish; as, to complete hopes or desires. 3. To fulfil; to accomplish; to perform; as, the prophecy of Daniel is completed.    
I was blog-hopping and came upon the idea for each child to have a monthly newsletter.  I thought this a great idea to keep track of dear son as well as review, refresh and inspire ourselves regarding our daily pursuits.  So "COMPLETE" came to mind and being the good Principle Approach protege, I looked it up!  Wow!  So much is communicated in one word!  We rarely think of the words we use--we just USE them, but this truly struck me! 

Now, onto "The Complete October".... October blew in like a lion.  Lots of vim and vigor as we tackled month two of schooling.  School has taken on many changes this month, as have the family.  The thing that stands out foremost in my mind is that we decided to celebrate each day by having "the joy of the Lord" upon our faces!  Have you ever sat in church listening to a sermon on some profound Biblical topic such as the second coming, or the power of the Almighty, only to look around and see stern, serious faces.  No joy!  So often there is NO excitement about the second coming of Jesus or the power of the Almighty! No bouncing up and down on the seats that He's coming back for ME! Too often we forget that our joy is complete in Him--why not, then, express it?!  Show it to each other daily.  Rejoice in the hard daily tasks, the stresses, and the discomfort of learning something new.

So, that experiment has gone well.  We are having fun reminding each other to "show our joy"!  Such a simple thing.  It reminds me of the saying that laughter is contagious! We have transformed our schedule, this month, as well.  We took on the task of preparing our home to be used by the Lord for us, daily, and for those we might greet at the door.  In order to do this we have adapted a day for cleaning, organizing, and preparing our home to be a light to the world--just as we are preparing ourselves.  My sweet boy is learning how to do chores correctly and we are trying to teach excellence in all things.  He got to bake just this week and he loved it.  We are planning and praying up a plan for adding an allowance to the mix, but that will be for November.  This has been an interesting challenge, as it called upon us to "recycle"--"reduce" our subject matter just a bit--and "re-use" our time for a higher calling!  Once again, God supernaturally provided (there's that providence again!) the time we needed to get everything done (well, maybe not ALL the housework, but close!).  Of course, with our improved (work in progress) attitudes, we are "complete".

On to the subjects:  This month we tackled the introduction to the first three links on the Chain of Christianity:  Creation, Moses and the Law, and Jesus Christ-the focal point of History.  We most enjoyed the Mighty Works of God book, but also enjoyed incorporating new ways of handling our memory verse each week.  We have begun "sharing" God's Word by copying our verse for the week and choosing a friend to send the decorated page to (A Reason for Handwriting).  I'm now a totally "cool" mom because we are making tatoos in school.  We use scotch tape to draw or write a word from our verse to dwell on, and stick it on our hands!
We established our Grandma Kathleen Holden Memorial Art Gallery this month, with a picture of Grandma and our first art work neatly framed in poster frames (to be changed out as we "grow" in our talents!) and floating frames.  Grandma was quite the art fan, as well as an art "experimenter".

Grandpa and new Grandma got their first piano concert, which speaks highly of son's desire to learn.  So far, so good! We studied poetry and hymns and put Isaac Watts on our Chain of Christianity.  We particularly enjoyed his lyrical version of the Ten Commandments:

The Ten Commandments

Thou shalt have no more Gods but me.

Before no idol bow thy knee

Take not the Name of God in vain:

Nor dare the Sabbath—day profane.

Give both thy parents honour due.

Take heed that thou no murder do.

Abstain from words and deeds unclean:

Nor steal, though thou art poor and mean.

Nor make a wilful lie, nor love it.

What is thy neighbor’s dare not covet.

Isaac Watts

Son memorized the Lord's Prayer, which truly blessed me as I believe this to be a milestone in Biblical memorization. Math has been an up and down struggle this month.  Not being a math wiz at all, I am a bit baffled by some of the concepts, but have a great method (Right Start), so we are perservering.  This is probably the subject we most wanted to drop this month!

We introduced the spelling test this month and are having fun with it.  I'm thrilled that my son so enjoys coming up with stories from his spelling words. I'm enjoying using the 101 ways to re-enforce spelling words (posted separately) which keeps things fresh.  Son most enjoys making compound words.  He believes this is as fun as telling jokes!  We are beginning to go through the Ruth Heller books on grammar.  They are awesome, but I think I'm going to have to take notes--yikes!  I'm definately having to watch that I don't convey my confusion and horror at my poor education, to my son.  I'm the smartest person he knows--for a while longer!

I tempted my boy with science experiments, in the kitchen, over the past couple of weeks.  He starts out with an "ohhh, do we have to?"  then begs for more.  (Mama does know something!!)  Today, we blew up a balloon using baking soda and lime juice (yea, I know.  Lime juice!  No lemon juice to be found in the house--disgraceful!).  I was so pleased it worked--as you can imagine. A friend introduced us to Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  We had it already, but after reading Little House in the Big Woods, we were not anxious about another big read.  We have thoroughly enjoyed it, though--good boy stuff!

Other interesting stuff WE learned:
The "Thirty Days Has September" poem
Counting in French
Sword drills (as in find Exodus 24)
How to add four digit numbers on the abacus
All 70 phonograms
The silent final e rules--all five!
The elements of design All about matter & compounds

On a more personal note, sweet son is learning that baby sister wants what he wants.  This lesson has been rather costly, as he has had to let her play with him when he is so afraid she'll destroy his toys.  Being two, she thinks everything is hers (mine, mine!) and he believes she means it.  I have to remind him, she's a baby that doesn't quite understand everything he does yet.

Being four years apart, they share their milestones quite well.  Both are getting sets of molars and sucking on fingers--constantly!  I hope they get over this by flu season!  Both got mini bedroom makeovers this month.  Baby girl is now out of the crib and into a twin with beautiful butterfly decorations and quilt.  Baby boy got new mattress set and loves his cowboy blanket on it. 

Baby girl is saying her first AND last name, which shocked the tar out of us!  Our last name is not that easy to say, but she got it!  She says a lot of interesting things:  "Alright" is her favorite, followed by "What is it, Mommy?" and "What was that noise, Mommy?"  And how she loves to sing!

Book Reading Sam (as in book worm) is growing.  We started him in August and he is half way up the stairs.  My little reader is doing very well.  I believe it is just now occuring to him that he IS reading by himself!  Yeah!  Of course, he reminds me he still wants me to read to him the rest of his life--well, sure!  When we started Sam, we had the goal of reaching the top of the stairs.  Now, son wants him to not only go all the way to his room, but around the whole house.  Maybe not such a lofty goal!  I may hold him to it. 

Dear boy began basketball this month--his first team sport.  He is very excited and we are anxious to see how fitting practices and games into our lives is going to work.  As I sat through his first game, it occured to me that this was the first of about a zillion to come!  

So that about covers it.  October is complete!