Thursday, December 3, 2009 - A fun and productive week

Paul has been on vacation from work this week, and we have had such a wonderful time.
We are having a 'stay-cation.'

I'm still having the kids do morning school (MFW only - not the 3R's) but the afternoons have been filled with family fun.

Joseph has used a lot of his down time to work on projects.
He and Paul worked together to build a model ship. - His first one with glue! 
(We've used the snap-together kits up until this point.)  They did a great job!


Finished!  (although he still needs to paint it)


Joseph also decided to do a little woodworking.
First he measured and hammered some nails into a round board.

and then he started weaving colored string around them


He's still got a ways to go, but he's of to a great start!

His pattern came from this website 

The girls have also been busy.  They made darling little church ornaments, and helped decorate HUNDREDS of cookies, ( to give to local Army reserve units,) with their Pioneers troop.


I also feel like I've had a productive week.   Because we've been doing 1/2 days of school in the mornings, I am happy to report that....we'll be out of Rome by the end of the week!

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Sunday, November 29, 2009 - It's that time again!

Time for our annual - 'day of torture' ...
also known as ....
"Try to get just ONE decent photo for a Christmas card day!"  

And here are some of this years options....

We have your garden-variety 'eyes closed' poses

Or "Mom's finger over the lens" is always a winner....


Then there's the 'distraction' shot...

Cat on the floor (AND bonus eyes closed) shot

Awkward pose (and glowing eyes of doom)

And then things really went south....

It started with one

And spread from there


So if you end up with a 'boxed' card this year.... now you know why.  

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Thursday, November 26, 2009 - Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of today, Katie made her first lapbook called...Turkey Time!
(We used the project pack from In the Hands of a Child - although we 'tweaked' it a little' -
Yep.....I even tweak lapbooks)

Opening the folder

Originally the project pack called for the child to paint with popcorn, but
there was a darling poem called "Turkey In the Barnyard" on the first page,
so we opted to 'illustrate' that with a hand-print turkey instead.

This particular lapbook design called for  vertical flaps - I added 2.

If you flip down the first flap, you can see a page about what people eat for Thanksgiving - including what Katie plans to eat - (chicken, corn and mashed potatoes.)

And on the reverse side of the flaps is a 'turkey feathers' game.

Katie counts how many feathers each turkey needs, and pulls them out of the envelope

Before we glued them down  - she made sure they were all there - LOL.

Other activities include:

Counting popcorn
Matching colors

and foods that begin with "T"

Now we're all set to enjoy our own Turkey Time...
or rather...chicken time... ( my kids don't like turkey)

I pray you all have a blessed day!

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Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - Preparing our Hearts and Minds

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Aside from Thanksgiving, this weekend also marks the beginning of Advent.  
I had never formally celebrated Advent while growing up. 

Yes, my (non-denom) church did a wonderful job of celebrating Christmas itself, but since it was a Bible church - we methodically studied a book of the Bible verse by verse until it was finished - no matter what the time of year.  (I'll admit, I learned a lot that way!)  They also did a great job of celebrating the birth of Christ.  But in the weeks before Christmas, it was typically 'business as usual.'   (There is nothing wrong with that, and some people thrive in that type of church, but as someone who LOVES Christmas...I wished we would focus on it a bit more....)

Then I got married and changed denominations.
Our current church follows a liturgical calendar :  Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week/Easter, Pentecost, End Times...and then the cycle starts all over again.
I have found that I really love this cycle.

It  focuses on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus,
and it allows me to focus on what that part of His life meant
in terms of God's eternal plan for our salvation.

And now we begin the season of Advent. 
The time when we reflect on Jesus's birth, and we prepare our hearts and minds
 for the 'advent' of the long awaited Messiah.

We don't do an Advent wreath in our house, (burning candles and preschoolers - not a good combo!) but we do 'prepare' with other activities such as:
reading books about Christmas,
learning Advent hymns,
having special daily devotions,
and making a Jesse Tree

Some of my favorite books for Advent are:

One Wintry Night  (By Ruth Bell Graham) 
This book has beautiful illustrations, and goes from creation through the resurrection.  
It tells of our need for a Saviour, and why Jesus came.

Other favorites are
Mary's First Christmas, by  Walter Wangerin Jr.

The Very First Christmas, by Paul L. Maier
Another book that we have liked is  - Countdown to Christmas
It comes as a 'kit' and it has a daily devotion with a corresponding ornament for that day.
(We have a little table-top Christmas tree that we hang these on.)

But I think even more preferred over the above book, is making a Jesse Tree.
The kids really love doing this, and I think that having them draw the ornaments themselves makes it all the more special.  I really feel like we are not only preparing our hearts - but we are making wonderful family memories as well.

Here are a few links that I have used over the years for our Jesse Tree devotions
*(Note - I have NO affiliation to any of these churches/denominations - and so I am not sure about any doctrinal content on these sites.   We do use their Bible reading schedules, and some have printable ornament templates....just in case you don't want to make your own. )

This one is my favorite for younger kids
http://www.rca.org/Page.aspx?pid=1628

And I like this one for slightly older kids
http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html

This one has some ornaments to download/print
http://www.eriercd.org/jessetree.htm

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009 - Katie

I haven't blogged about Katie's progress in school for awhile - so I thought I'd post a little update on how she's doing.

Her neurological issues, are still present, although she is finding ways of coping with them better.   Thanks to her braces, her tiptoe walking has greatly improved.  She is able to go for much longer periods without her braces now, and only occasionally do I catch her up on her toes.  
Her tremors and speech are what challenge her the most now - and I think she is at the point where she realizes she is 'different'.  It has shaken her self-confidence a little.  I need to be extra patient and encouraging with her while she does her lessons, as she gets discouraged quite easily.    :-(

We've really been focusing on phonics lately.   CLE's Learning to Read program is going great, and Katie is reading several 3 and 4 letter words, and even sounding out a few simple sentences.

She is getting better at listening for beginning/middle/end sounds in a word, although it still poses a challenge to her.    Rhyming is also quite difficult for her.For further practice in decoding words - we are using Explode the Code.
Pages like this are frustrating for her, and it can take her several minutes to 'sound out' just one sentence.  :-(
I have recently discussed with her pediatrician the possibility of having her tested for specific learning disorders, so that I can better know how to help her with her work.

One area that she actually does very well in is penmanship! 
She loves to do her Handwriting Without Tears workbook, or write/draw in her journal.
(Quite the opposite of Joseph - LOL.)

(For her journal she narrates to me what she wants to say - I write it down - and then she copies it.)


She is doing surprisingly well in math.  We are using Singapore 1A right now.
I had thought about switching her to CLE math - but since she's doing so well with Singapore, I might just stick with it.

For our main program - we're still using Heart of Dakota's - Little Hearts for His Glory. 
We've slowed it down, and changed things a bit, due to our heavy focus on phonics, but the 'heart' of the program is still there.   (As with most programs - I'm not completely happy unless I tweak it a bit)
(I do love how these guides are laid out though!)

Katie really loves the art and science projects that LHFHG has scheduled.




Aside from school Katie has really developed a love for her baby dolls lately.
She saved up her own money to buy a 'diaper bag' full of doll care supplies, and she spends most of her free time mothering her 'babies.'  
(She even wanted a sling for baby-wearing!... How could I say no?)

If asked what she wants to be when she grows up - she replies,
"A mother."  
That's my girl.....

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Saturday, November 21, 2009 - Little ballerinas

This was a very exciting week for Katie-Noel and Annabelle.

It was "parent observation week" at ballet class!
At the end of their class, the parents were called into the classroom to see all that the girls have learned up until this point.  They even put on a 'mini-recital.'   It was SO cute!

Of course...this would have to be the week that we forgot their shoes....



I love my ballerina girls!

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Thursday, November 19, 2009 - How's violin going?

Sometimes a picture says it all.....

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Thursday, November 19, 2009 - FIAR - Cranberry Thanksgiving

We thought we would take a break this week from our regular (CLE) reading curriculum to enjoy a week of 'rowing.'   In honor of next week's holiday - we are rowing Cranberry Thanksgiving, by Wende and Harry Devlin.

This is a book that I have always wanted to row, for purely 'selfish' reasons.
(It is by the same authors as one of my all time favorite childhood books - one that I still have tucked away in my own box of 'special memories' from my childhood....)  ;-)

But ...for this week...back to Cranberry Thanksgiving...
As usual, we found many wonderful resources at Homeschool Share

We learned all about cranberries -

And did you know that our home state of Wisconsin is the #1 producer of cranberries in the US?!
We found lots of great information - ( including a fun kids activity book!) - here at the website of  The Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association.
We even had cranberries with our dinner one night this week - (2 out of 4 kids loved them!)

The rest of this week we have been learning about Thanksgiving,
and the history and traditions associated with it. 

We made up a menu and guest list for a feast of our own
And discussed the true meaning of the holiday

We wrote 'Thank You notes'....to God

And we learned a traditional Thanksgiving hymn

I, personally, am very thankful for the opportunity to spend this time with my kids -
reading fun books, and making special memories.    I am blessed.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009 - A 'failed' crochet project

I have this book on loan from the library, but I am going to have to buy this one - because I am in LOVE with the patterns in it.

It is called "Get You Crochet On" - Hip Hats and Cool Caps

It is full of 'fun and funky' hat patterns :
reggae caps, hip-hop caps, visors, caps with ear-flaps,
and my favorite - a very pretty, lacy, turban-styled head wrap.
I just think they are all so fun!

But I thought I'd start with something easy just to get 'warmed up'...so I made the bun cover.

I like to wear my hair up in a bun quite often, so I thought this would be something cute.


But...um....it it obviously for women with very thick hair,
(which I do NOT have,)  because it is huge.

I don't think I could ever have enough hair to fill it.

Not to worry though....Julie has promised to put it to good use....

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Monday, November 16, 2009 - Skeletons and Crabs

Julie's 'body model' for the week was a little too big to put in her notebook - so this one got hung up.

In addition to the body models, we are adding something new to our science activities:

Awhile ago at Heart of the Matter Online  (which, by the way... if you haven't checked out... you really must!   It is such a wonderful newsletter - full of encouraging devotions, articles and resources for homeschoolers!)

Anyways...over at "HOTM" they had a link for this wonderful lapbook

Since it fits in so well with our science from MFW , we have decided to use it.
(We are substituting it for many of the 'notebooking pages' - because it was repetitive, and to do both would have taken too much time.) ;-)


I'm not sure how long the download was available for (?) - but if you are interested,
this was the original link to the lapbook.


In other news....we have some new pets in our house.

Julie was given a gift card to a pet store for her birthday.  She had been wanting a 'small pet' for awhile - she just couldn't make up her mind what.  ( Beta fish, little frog, etc.)  
What she really wanted was a hermit crab, but Paul and I were unsure .
Julie bought a book on crabs, and read up on their care and feeding....
Paul and I were still unsure.

But then on Friday, Paul calls me and says 
"You aren't going to believe what I found at Goodwill today."
And when he came home - he walked in the door with a 10 gallon 'aquarium' full of ....crab supplies.


So this weekend Julie was finally able to go get her new pets:
Shell-y

and Caesar  (who is in the red shell - hiding in the dirt)

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