Jul. 3, 2008 - What we have been up to
Today has been a very productive day so far.
I currently have yogurt incubating in my new Yogourmet yogurt maker, dinner is in the crock pot, my dishes are in the last rinse cycle in the dishwasher, my laundry is almost done in the washer, the little girls are nappping, the boys are outside playing, and I have had a quiet time today. I sure am grateful for appliances in this day and age.
This is the yogourmet maker I bought at Amazon.com.
It is one of those days where I am really glad I get to be a stay at home mom. I had a semi plan of what I wanted to accomplish and so far all is well. The good news is that even if something should come up my house is tidy and dinner will be ready.
May. 27, 2008 - Family Goals (part 2)
This is a continuation of my year in review for the children, from this entry.
Sam
age 7 1/2
Sam just completed the equivalent of his 2nd grade year. I say that because there is no way I could have done, nor cared to do, what his peers in public school completed. He did what I thought was appropriate for him. Therefore he learned more about addition, subrtraction and the beginnings of multiplication. He is one sharp boy. His command of the English language is astounding! We tease that he should major in "wit" when he grows up.
Anyway, the number one item that Sam completed that we consider a prerequisite to true fulfillment in life is a relationship with God. Sam accepted Jesus into his heart and then followed through in believers' baptism! WooHoo! I truly hope and pray that Sam can use his gifts to honor the Lord and glorify Him. Sam has been created to direct great and mighty things! He is one of those kids who always has an answer or an idea that would work better. If I can swallow my pride, Sam's idea is usually really good.
Another of one of Sam's gifts is foreign languages. He works on the Rosetta Stone program in Spanish and is picking up so much vocabulary. His pronunciation is hysterical but I know that will come.
This year I want to continue to encourage Sam in his Spanish, nuture his debate skills 
, teach him good chore habits, continue to explore multipication and maybe division if he is ready, casual letter writing (so Grandma Joyce can get some more mail :)), first time obedience, and a love of reading.
Austin
age 9
Austin has had a trying year. He has soared in some areas and struggled in others. We are working on a full evaluation to help him best, both academically and socially.
In this past year he has created some awesome star wars lego creations, designed intricate treehouse drawings, mastered the art of cooking scrambled eggs and french toast, enjoyed composing his own musical pieces, tumbling at gymnastics, and winning at Scrabble. He is my artsy child. If it involves design Austin wants to be a part of it. 
My goals for Austin this year are to teach him compassion and empathy, build his confidence in reading, encourage him to try new activities, show him how to cook more breakfast foods, facilitate his piano lessons, show him how a microscope works and show him the world through the globe I am going to buy.
May. 23, 2008 - Family Goals 2008-2009
It's that time of year again. I have been looking back at what our learning looked like and how well we accomplished our goals.
I'll start from the bottom up.
Rachel:
1 year old
She learned to sit up, crawl, pull up to standing, then cruising, and now takes a few steps unassisted! She loves to be read to, in a slightly unbabylike way. She can sit still longer than the others, except Austin as a baby. She is very curious and an explorer at heart. Baby, Daddy, Mommy, Bye, Bye, and Bubba are her newest words. I am still her prime source of nutrition, as she still thinks food is optional. :) She has got to be the pickiest baby I know. She tolerates food, she just chooses not to eat what she doesn't like. And what she likes changes every other day!
Anyway, my goals for her are to encourage her in her quest to walk, teach her alternatives to biting and pinching, sorry to all her Sunday school friends 
, and to introduce her to all sorts of new foods until we find what she does like.
Lily:
almost 3 years old
I have seen Lily transform from a pesky, troublesome toddler into a precocious, helpful preschooler. There is light at the end of the tunnel! There have been days when I thought about selling her to the gypsies! She got into more trouble than I remember the boys ever getting into.
About the time she was fully potty trained, at about 2 and 9 months, she really blossomed. She is a pleasure to be around now. She is more aware of what is going on around her and not stuck in that toddler oblivion. Her language skills perked up at about 2 and a half too. She is so cute when I hear her fuss at Austin about leaving his shoes out. Of course with this new change comes the independence struggle and I hear "I can DO IT!" more than I care to. She thinks she can do everything all by herself. There are many days when her entire outfit is on backwards and her shoes are on the wrong feet and the busy good mom that I am I let her stay that way.
She is my best helper now too. She can't wait until I call her to help me do some chore. If only that attitude would span the ages to come.
I will follow her lead this year and see what interests her. Right now she wants to do whatever Katie is doing.
Katie:
Katie is such a treasure. She is 5 and half and is all girl. She has learned so much this past year. We read lots of great books, visited the library for mom and Katie dates, and went on some field trips. I hate to admit this but somehow she learned without me sitting down and teaching her. Maybe Sam did it, but all I know is that she knows all of her ABCs, she can read small words, she can count to 15 or so, she can write the numbers to 10 and understands the counting concept. I find it amazing that she knows what most Kindergarteners know by the end of their school year. I tend to lean more towards unschooling with the kids, with a few workbooks thrown in for good measure. It is refreshing to see it working! We really do live to learn! It isn't a separate part of our lives.
I do hope to nuture her love of reading and help her learn more phonics rules and keep her excited about learning. I plan on having her cut and paste, paint lots of paintings, play dress up and pretend for hours on end, and lots of field trips to "real" places.
Ok, I will end it here and come back to blog on the boys' accomplishments and future goals.
May. 18, 2008 - Daytime goals for this week
Monday-Friday:
Sequential spelling with boys every day (Austin did it 3 times and Sam did it twice)
Read to kids for 45 minutes (Try and finish Caddie Woodlawn and Big Red)
Have quiet rest time for 1 1/2 hours in afternoon for the kids to read and play quietly
Work with the kids to get chores done before lunch (They were to lazy)
Do one item on each boys' cub scout list before supper each day
Finish one book this week for me
Take bags of clothes to Goodwill
Hang 2 kid art pictures in laundry room (I couldn't find the art!)
Return some library books
Call and order missing piece from wardrobe
Jun. 27, 2007 - Our goals for the new school year
This is day one of my blog but we have been homeschooling for a year and a half now. Our two oldest kids, Austin and Sam, came home January 2006 from a less than desirable public school environment. I took a laid back, get to know my kids again, approach until that Fall. When they entered 1st and 2nd grade I spent some time choosing the right curriculum and the right books for them. I had a blast organizing and setting up their school year. We school year round, sort of. I believe that they are capable of learning no matter what we are doing. I also happen to be a book junkie and I am always checking books out at the library and buying books at www.bamm.com. I love learning myself and hope to rub off on the kids. Right now we have five curious and crazy kids. Two boys then three girls. Our youngest just turned 7 weeks today and I was planning on starting school back up in July. Unfortunately we have had a medical crisis with baby Rachel and we will be taking it easy until August at least. I am looking forward to teaching and learning though. I have plans to teach American history using The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshal using lots of lapbooks. I have been pulling together an art history curriculum for them using, Discovering Great Artists by MaryAnn Kohl, postcards of works of art, large coffee table type books of artists and of course the library. I am so excited to start learning too! The boys are using Horizons Math in grades 2 and 3 and they are using AOP Lifepacs in grades 2 and 3. We have a book log that the boys keep to help track how many books they are reading. I look forward to the day when they read just because, but until then I am giving monetary incentives.
That's it for now,
Christine
