Hey all, I have just a minute (well, not even that really, but...) and wanted to share a fun, encouraging video I found on the Math-U-See web site. Now don't think this entry is just for those who use that curriculum or that it's about math. It isn't at all. It's about surviving and enjoying this school year. Please take a few minutes to watch and be encouraged. When you get to the page, scroll down to the entry entitled "You Will Survive". God's blessings to you all!

This week marks national Lightning Safety Awareness Week, and NOAA wants you to know how to keep yourself safe during thunderstorms. If you hear thunder, you are within striking distance of the storm. NOAA’s safety motto, “when thunder roars, go indoors,” should be heeded at all times. To help keep you and your family safe, NOAA’s Lightning Safety Web site offers useful safety tips and education resources such as posters, coloring pages, and games.

“One of the most common mistakes people and animals make is they huddle under trees and other structures to stay dry during thunderstorms. This can be a deadly mistake,” said NOAA lightning safety expert John Jensenius. “Lightning can strike from a storm that is as far away as 10 miles, so if you hear thunder, you need to get inside a building or car immediately.”

I love visiting blogs I've never been on. I found this web site called Mother Styles on Mikki's blog in her June 5 post. On it you take a short quiz to determine what kind of mother you are.  Mine describes me pretty well (except for when I get sidetracked )! Here's my results:

Your type is: ISTJ  —The “Responsibility” Mother

“I have a serious love affair with to-do lists. I could sit for hours reading, organizing, and rearranging my weekly calendar.”

• The ISTJ mother has a highly developed sense of responsibility: for work, home, family ... particularly her children. Whether she’s overseeing daily baths or insisting on a 10 p.m. curfew, her efforts are largely focused on providing her children with order and routine. She wants them, regardless of age, to be able to count on her and the structure she provides.
• In carrying out her commitment to her responsibilities, the ISTJ mother is organized, industrious, and detail-oriented. Because her focus is the day-to-day realities of life, her children are likely to feel secure and well provided for.
• The ISTJ mother also sets a good example and provides her children with practical guidance on being a productive, responsible individual. Still, with all her seriousness, she may delight family members with her quick wit and observations about the details of life.

Funny thing is, as long as our routines are done I can be spontaneous. To me, that's the joy of having "everything" done; now we can play! Actually, that's very Flylady -ish. That's probably why her routines work for me. It fits my style. (BTW, right now Flylady has some great summer fun ideas posted. They're free or affordable, fun, and educational ideas; how can you go wrong?Check them out!)

How quickly it starts! "I'm bored." "I don't know what to do." Ohhhh, my sweet little children, I have things you can do! We all needed a break from school, but that doesn't mean we do nothing. I have already given my children the "God has nothing good to say about laziness in His Word" lecture. The next step in training my children to not be lazy sloths during the summer months was making a list. So here it is (for starters anyway - it'll probably morph as the summer progresses): The first group (red) will be their first choice; notice they're not so fun chores (this is in addition to their regular chores). Then they may choose from the blue group which are mostly educational but I also included things that might be considered chores but I'm hoping they'll see as privileges. Then, they may choose a fun activity from the yellow group. Again I "hid" some educational activities in that list, hoping they'll enjoy them. I certainly don't want them to lose a year's worth of education over our summer break!  So, if I hear the "B" word, they'll immediately have 3 things to do! Ta da! Boredom no more!

Clean the basement stairs, wipe baseboards,  sweep: entryway, front porch or deck, clean interior doors, declutter 10 things from your bedroom (give or throw away), put 5 of your out-of-place things back in their place.

Read: Bible, library book, book you own, do a page in an activity book or your devotional, gardening: pull weeds, water flowers, nature journal,  bird watch, write a letter to: God, a relative, or a friend, write a story: real or pretend, ask Mom if you can help cook dinner

Play a board game, play with toys, practice skills: sewing, measuring: linear, liquid, weight, counting: money, skip counting, minutes and hours, months and weeks, go outside: play in tower, ride bike or scooter, swing, make a mini nature home, art: paint, crayon, chalk, clay, play dough, draw, listen to music, call a friend to come and play or just to talk to. Note: I saw the cutest fairy home on Melissa's blog which is where I got the idea for the mini nature home. My daughter will love doing that!

So off we go into a productive and playful summer!

Yesterday was  my son's last soccer game in his first soccer season. He played hard, did his best, made his team (not to mention his parents ) proud, and excited all the team parents. He scored all 3 goals for his team!! It's so precious to see and hear his humility. He never bragged; he was just as excited that the ball went in the goal as the rest of his team.

His coach gave every player a trophy, not because they won anything (at this level they don't even keep score officially). He gave it to them just for playing all season and having fun.

As we were celebrating his great season later over ice cream, Elijah said, "This trophy is my treasure, but God's treasure is my soul." AMEN, little brother!!

My hubby and I then shared with our children that whatever they do, they should do it to glorify God. And remember that in all you do, you are God's treasure.

What a blessed night my Elianna and I had! We are officially finished with school and are on summer break!!! I told her that since she's now through with 3rd grade she is an official 4th grader.  To mark her accomplishment, we attended Alliance Girls tonight for her first time.

Alliance Girls is a ministry at our church for 4th-8th grade girls. The purpose is to learn about missions, hear missionary speakers, learn about other cultures, pray, and support missionaries. We loved it! Tonight a precious saint who served in Irian Jaya (now West Papua New Guinea) for 20 years shared her testimony with us. As she encouraged the girls to seek someone to disciple them and what that means, I felt like I was being discipled by her right then and there!

We had a yummy traditional dinner that the Dani tribe would eat. It would traditionally be cooked in a pit lined with banana leaves with hot rocks. Layered into the pit would be sweet potatoes, green beans, sometimes corn, spinach, and to top it off a whole split pig! This would be covered with more banana leaves, sprinkled with water, and covered with more rocks. It would be left for 3-4 hours and then uncovered and eaten! Obviously we didn't have ours cooked in a pit, but it was delicious anyway. Oh! The fun part was HOW we ate it. We sat on the floor as the Dani do (except we were on a plastic table cloth), used napkins for our plates instead of banana leaves, and ate with our hands! It was a unique experience watching 8 girls and 5 women eating on the floor with their hands! Loved it!

My sweet girl and I look forward to this new chapter in her young life and I'm tagging along for sure!

Haven't been here in a while. Sorry. Just trying to finish off the school year, although the learning never stops, right?

Elijah is officially done with Saxon Phonics 1 as of today. Yea! He has also completed First Language Lessons for  grade 1. Elianna finished Math-U-See Beta last week - yippee! And together they've completed Story of the World, vol.3.

I've decided that it's ok, really, to not complete a text in one year. However, I am a stickler for finishing them. So, next year Elijah will finish Math-U-See Alpha and Elianna will finish Prima Latina and Rod & Staff Beginning Wisely English 3. I looked through the end of these and the next books really do build on the previous books. So on we go...

For summer, I can't handle official summer school. I have never gone myself (public schooled) and my mind is made up - summer is all about play! However, learning never stops. So, I have some fun workbooks that my children have agreed they'll do with me or without me when they get bored. Anytime that "B" word comes out of their mouths, I know what I'll present to them as a boredom buster (or maybe a chore I really need help with  ). Really, they are cute and they've done some of them already and enjoy them. They are published by School Zone. I discovered them last year and they've been quite useful for extra learning pages or for a break from regular textbooks that we use, but my children are still learning the same concepts.

Elijah will complete School Zone First Grade Scholar Deluxe Edition next week and is excited to do the 2nd grade book. He's also used pages from Language Arts 2 Deluxe and Math Basics 1. Elianna has used Language Arts Deluxe 2, Time, Money, and Fractions 1-2, Math Deluxe 2, Summer Scholar 3,  Math Basics 3,  Story Problems 3-4, and Multiplication Facts Made Easy 3-4.  (I didn't link all these titles because the School Zone site is very easy to navigate by grade, then by subject.)

What I really like about them is the publisher notes to the teacher/parent to take the grade level loosely. Use whatever book will meet your child's need. Teach the child, not the grade. I love having that choice as a home school teacher.

Other fun learning I'm planning on this summer is more nature study. They have plenty of space in their nature journals that we're all excited to fill in. I think I need one of my own. I keep asking them if I can draw or add notes in theirs! Elianna uses My Nature Journal by Adrienne Olmstead and Elijah uses My Nature Book by Linda Krantz. They're very different, but I like them both.

Some of our end of year outings got rained out but one we did get to do was the local arboretum. My children were asking to return before we even left the first time. And it's FREE! Yes, we'll be there plenty this summer, as well as our local nature santuaries. With the price of gasoline, we won't be traveling far from home, but God has blessed us with a great place to live. We'll definitely be appreciating our beautiful bluegrass this summer!

I love discovering new resources so I just had to share. I got my e-newsletter from homeschool helper online.  The monthly topic is chores and allowance which I've been researching so I can have a plan for my kiddos. I think their plan may help me.

I decided while I was on the site to look at their free lapbooks. They have one for chemistry so I ended up linking to some cool web sites for science.

The science web sites are created by Andrew Rader Studios and are similarly named "science"4kids. These are great with kid friendly definitions, very helpful for parents, online quizzes, and LOTS of info and pictures. I'm still exploring but here's the links for you to check them out yourself: biology, chemistry, physics, earth science (physical geography), astronomy.

I haven't checked to see if there's evolution content. The bit I saw didn't mention anything like that. I didn't see any mention of God either, so it's probably secular. But, as a Christian parent, I am responsible to teach my children that everything exists because GOD IS CREATOR! I haven't found a Christian published science curriculum that follows the classical 4 year model of biology in 1st grade, astronomy in 2nd, chemistry in 3rd, and physics in 4th. So, I constantly talk about God during our science to be sure my children understand that God makes it all possible. I'll be ordering a book from Rod and Staff that I hope will further assist me in this. It's titled The Biblical View of Science. Have fun exploring God's world!

Andrew Rader also has a new site for math. It also has definitions and quizzes. It seems like a fun alternative way to get students to practice math. In addition, the book Beyond Numbers is a parent resource to help you teach math from a Biblical perspective.

Worship God in all you do and teach!