I haven't written much lately and thought I should update my homeschool blog.

We started The Mystery of History this week and are really enjoying it.  We saw how Lizzie's name would be written in both hieroglyphics and cuneiform.  We printed them off to go in her notebook.  I think we are all going to really enjoy this book/curriculum.  I wanted to add some more meat to our history...the Abeka is very weak in history in the younger ages it seems and quite honestly we were pretty bored with it.

We also received our Grow a Frog tadpole this past Saturday.  We are enjoying watching him swim around his little habitat right now and are anxiously watching for signs of the start of metamorphosis.  I need to find some online resources for some frog stuff to add to our little side study with our tadpole.  The kids love the hands on stuff. 

Not much else is going on this week so far.  Hubby is on his way home so I don't have much time to write just now but hopefully I will start to be more faithful in writing in this blog.  My other day to day blog is still over at Xanga:  http://www.xanga.com/mom2liznatesam

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Thought someone might be able to use this.  I sent for mine today.

http://www.georgewashington.si.edu/kids/order.asp

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Our pastor referred to a poem in his message on Sunday so last night I went searching for it online.  This is it...I thought it was appropriate for sharing this week.  So often I get bogged down in the housework and feel overwhelmed with all I am doing with the house, homeschooling, building relationships with my children and our church activities that I lose sight of all He has blessed us with.    I am not sure who wrote this but hope you enjoy!

Thank you for this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of food to eat.  Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry; we have plenty of nice clothes to wear.  And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds; they were so warm and comfortable last night. I know that many have no bed.  My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom, complete with all the splattered mess, soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory; they are so convenient. Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs defrosting so badly; it has served us faithfully for many years. It is full of cold drinks and enough leftovers for two or three meals.  Thank you, Lord, for this oven that absolutely must be cleaned today; it has baked so many things over the years. The whole family is grateful for that tall grass that needs mowing, the lawn that needs raking; we all enjoy the yard.   Thank you, Lord, even for that slamming screen door. My kids are healthy and able to run and play. Lord, the presence of all these chores awaiting me says You have richly blessed my family.  I shall do them cheerfully and I shall do them gratefully.  Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings, Thank you, Lord, that I can hear. There are many who are deaf. Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible, Thank you, Lord, that I can see. Many are blind. Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising, Thank you, Lord, that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden. Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, Toast is burned and tempers are short, my children are so loud, Thank you, Lord, for my family. There are many who are lonely. Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in magazines and the menu is at times not balanced, Thank you, Lord, for the food we have. There are many who are hungry. Even though the routine of my job is often monotonous, Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job. Even though I grumble and bemoan my fate from day to day and wish my circumstances were not so modest, Thank you, Lord, for life. LORD, THANK YOU !!!! In ALL things, praise Him

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I've been blogging over at Xanga for a while but have been reading alot of blogs over here on HSB so I thought I would move my HS blog over here. 

Let me introduce myself...my name is Jen...I have been blessed with a hardworking husband and four children thus far.  Elizabeth is our oldest at six years old, Nathan is four, Samuel is two and Lydia Grace is our newest blessing at just two months old.  We live in the beautiful mountains of Western MD.  This is our second year of "officially" homeschooling.  We are part of an umbrella group through a local church so we report to them instead of to the school board directly.  This worked well for us last year and it seems to give us a bit more freedom in regards to our schooling.  Before having children I was a teacher but am finding so much more joy in HSing my own children than I ever did in teaching in a classroom setting.

We use a variety of methods for homeschooling this year.  We do "bookwork" using Abeka in the morning.  The kids seem to enjoy the bookwork so far and it allows us to systematically tackle a few things that I know we want to cover.  Then when the bookwork is over we have time to explore other things that we are interested in...this is my favorite part of our school day.  Currently we are learning about Thanksgiving.  We've been reading alot of books, doing some crafts, etc... 

I hope to use this blog as a way to share and document our homeschooling adventures and sometimes our day to day goings on. 

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