I've started a couple of new things with the kids this week.  The first one being scripture memorization with a purpose.  In the past I've somewhat tried to get them to memorize scriptures but haven't stayed diligent with it so it never worked.  This time I'm teaming up with a couple of friends who have kids in a Christian school who are learning specific scriptures every week.  I figure that will help keep me on track and the kids can practice with one another and spur each other on.  So for the next 4 months we're memorizing all of the scriptures related to the birth of Jesus so that come Christmas time, the kids can recite the entire Christmas story back from scripture!  How cool is that?  After the new year they'll be learning scriptures relating to the death of resurrection of Jesus so that come time for Easter they'll be able to recite back all the scripture about the meaning of Easter.  Anyways, it doesn't sound that exciting the way I'm describing it but I'm actually REALLY excited about it!  I've been wanting to get more of the word in my kids but haven't been successful and I think this is the vehicle that will help me stay diligent.

The second thing I'm incorporating is a treasure box.  How it works is my kids will earn tickets for doing specific things.  I've set out a list of things that I want to see my kids doing or things that I find I'm always on them about and want to stop nagging!  Things like putting the toilet seat down, not asking me for gum, candy, etc. while out shopping, practicing their piano, setting and clearing the table, emptying the dishwasher, etc. 

So they earn a certain amount of tickets depending on what the job is.  For example, practicing the piano is worth one ticket, saying something kind to a family member is worth two tickets, memorizing a bible verse is worth 4 tickets....you get the idea.

The treasure box is full of stuff that I know the kids will like.  Things such as dates with Dad, ice cream, 1 hour worth of computer time, etc.  I've assigned various ticket amounts for each item so the kids can decide whether they want something for only 5 tickets (like 5 candies in a ziploc bag) or if they want to save up their tickets for a big ticket item such as the date with Dad. (Which will cost them 20 tickets)  I think it'll be a great idea for teaching the kids the value of saving as well as help them learn habits that I want to see like the toilet seat getting put down!  Oh, they also lose tickets by fighting with siblings. 

I found the idea from this blog:http://koinoniacommunity.blogspot.com/2007/09/im-bringing-back-treasure-box-hip-hip.html   Check it out.  She does a much better job of explaining it.

I read this in a resource book which I thought was great.  It has reminded me that I need to stay focused on the strengths and interests of my kids and the giftings/talents God's put inside them rather than forcing them to learn everything that the 'world' says they need to know.

"An old story tells of the creation of a school for the animals.  In this school, everybody took the same four courses: flying, swimming, climbing, and running.  Among the students were a duck, a flying squirrel, a fox and an elephant.  These four were highly motivated and wanted to get good grades so they all tried very hard.

The duck did fantastically well in swimming and flying but he lagged behind his classmates in climbing and running, so he focused his attention on those two subjects.  However, his feet became so sore from trying to run and his wings were so bedraggled from trying to climb that by the end of the year he not only failed both those subjects but made C's in swimming and flying, which had once been his two best subjects.

At the beginning of the school year, the squirrel was first in his class in climbing and running and was second only to the duck at flying.  But as the months wore on, he missed so much school from catching pneumonia in his swimming class that he failed everything.  To make matters even worse, because the squirrel constantly squirmed and chattered in class and had difficulty paying attention, he was diagnosed with a learning disorder.  The squirrel eventually was placed in remedial classes and had to be medicated in order to continue with his school work.

The fox was a natural in his running class and scored well in climbing and swimming but became so frustrated at his inability to get good grades in flying that he began assaulting his classmates.  He even tried to eat the duck.  His behavior was so disruptive he was expelled from school.  He fell in with a rough crowd and eventually wound up in a center for animal delinquents.

The elephant, meanwhile, developed low self-esteem because he could not do well in any of the subjects.  When he sank into clinical depression, his therapist persuaded him to try a different school that focused on subjects such as lifting and carrying.  The elephant was disappointed because careers in lifting and carrying were not as prestigious as careers in flying, swimming, climbing or running.  Even though he always felt inferior, he managed to make a decent living and support his family."

We now have 3 butterflies!  Two are still left to come out of their chrysalis.  I noticed after the first and second ones were already out and drying but the kids and I got to watch the third one emerge and unfold it's wings.  It's very cool.  I've gotta' go...just wanted to blog that. :)

...apparently. :)  It's been close to a month since I've written anything!  Now that the weather is nice we've been out biking, playing soccer, mowing the grass (yay!), landscaping, building birdfeeders and generally having fun getting out of the house!

For a while there I was searching every little swamp I could think of looking for frog eggs.  They're hard to find!  I ended up going to the RedDeer River with a friend and found a bunch of toad eggs.  Yes, there is a difference!  (What you learn when you homeschool)  The toads lay their eggs in long chains.  They looked like really long tapeworms or earthworms lying under the water. (They were in a little swamp/pool part of the river)  When we picked them up out of the water, here it was filled with rows of eggs.  Really neat.

I took some and brought them home and they hatched within 24 hrs. here.  They will hatch and develop faster the warmer the water is so it happened quickly in my house!  Well, I followed the instructions to the tee (according to www.allaboutfrogs.com) but they kept dying!  argh.  I was very frustrated.  The only thing I can figure I did wrong is that I didn't start feeding them as soon as they hatched so some died right away and started polluting the water which then in turn killed the rest.  I was changing the water once a day, though so that shouldn't have mattered!  Maybe I wasn't supposed to change the water that much...I don't know!  sheesh.  Anyone else have any luck with growing tadpoles from eggs?

We've got five chrysalids on the go.  (For those who may not know, a moth comes out of a cocoon and a butterfly comes out of a chrysalis.)  So we got 5 caterpillars and were able to watch them transform into chrysalids.  What an amazing thing!  They don't just spin a web around themselves to make the chrysalis;  They actually shed their skin and turn into the chrysalis!!  I always thought they spun the chrysalis/cocoon around themselves and then morphed into a butterfly within the chrysalis/cocoon.  That's not the case!   I can see where their 'feet' were because it's part of the chrysalis.  Check out this website:  http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/monarch/ChrysalisFormationLPB.html to see more.

Our chrysalids are going to turn into painted lady butterflies instead of monarchs but the process is pretty much the same.  I think I'm having more fun than the kids with all these things but I'm sure they're learning something too! :)

Ok, I couldn't come up with a title for today's blog so there you have it.

I actually saw buds on the trees yesterday!!!  WOW!!  It's been raining for about 3 days now but it's wonderful!!  Goodbye snow!

I was at Value Village yesterday (yes....I am a Value Village fan :) and I found a perfect, complete set of Junior classics for kids for 99 cents each!  They've got Charlotte Mason written all over them!!  (not literally....lol)  I read a couple of the stories out of one to the kids already.  They now know the real reason as to why the sea is salty.  Has anyone found that mill at the bottom of the sea yet anyway?

Tomorrow we're going to ride the live version of 'Thomas the train' in Calgary.  woohoo!  I tell you, what people miss when they don't have kids! :)

We're having turkey for supper tonight.  Mary and Bob are coming over (my Aunt and Uncle) for supper to go over houseplans, etc. with Randy.  Randy's framing a house for them up at Gull Lake at the end of June so the kids and I are going to spend a couple of weeks up there at my Grandma's house while he's building it.  We're looking forward to that.

Well....I'm off to play 'Doctor' with Jaeden.  TTYL

A friend (Thanks Gabrielle!) sent me a link to which I found this website: http://www.amblesideonline.org/New.shtml

I have been looking for something that would sum up exactly what I've been wanting to do with regards to schooling my kids.  I've looked at different curriculums, etc. but this past year of schooling Ethan, I've learned that he does not learn best by sitting down and having to work through workbooks.  I also don't want to be 'confined' to a workbook but am not very creative at coming up with games, etc. that would help Ethan learn new skills.  So I've had a bit of a struggle trying to find something that would suit all of these needs.  I really enjoy reading books to the kids and they seem to enjoy listening to them.  Jaeden seems to like it more than Ethan but Ethan doesn't mind if it's a subject he's interested in and if he can play with his legos or trucks while listening.  (For a while that really annoyed me and I'd make him sit and listen but I've learned from different sources that some kids learn best while in motion!) 

Anyways, this curriculum is totally free (Bonus #1) and it costs very little to do it! (Bonus #2)  I didn't know much about the Charlotte Mason method until I read through some of the FAQ's on this site so now I know a little more about what Charlotte Mason stood for.  I tend to agree with a lot of her philosophy and am going to try this out for the next while.  If it works, I'll stick with it!

I think every homeschooler to some degree or another struggles with the constant question, "Am I doing enough?  Are my kids learning enough?  Am I spending enough hands-on time with them?  Maybe I should be doing more......etc, etc."

I think one of the biggest fringe benefits of homeschooling is the time in prayer that I spend with God.  It seems I'm always praying and asking God, "Should I be doing more?  How do I handle this situation?, etc."  This past week I was reading in Psalms and came to Ps. 62.  I was reading in the Message Bible and this is what it reads:  "My help and glory are in God - granite strength and safe-harbor God - So trust Him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for Him.  God is a safe place to be.  Man as such is smoke, woman as such, a mirage.  Put them together, they're nothing; two times nothing is nothing."

Basically, to me it says that if I'm trusting in man for something, I'm trusting in nothing.  I need to be trusting God for everything! 

So I prayed and I asked God to show me where I was trusting man instead of Him and immediately the thought came, "In schooling your kids."  I knew what He was talking about because I'm always looking to the school system thinking, "Ok, kids in grade one are doing this....reading at this level, adding/subtracting at this level, etc."  So I'm looking to man's standards of education and judging my kids' education according to that standard.

I thought about it and said, "But I want to be sure that my kids are well-prepared for adulthood so that whatever they want to be, they won't be limited because of their education.  I don't want them to be lacking in anything."

God immediately replied once again and said, "If you trust in ME and place your standards according to MY standards, your children will lack NOTHING.  In fact, they will be so much further ahead than they ever could be if you measure their success according to my standards and put Me first."

How cool is that?  I find it SO amazing when God speaks.  How amazing is it that the Creator of the entire universe - a universe that the greatest scientist can't even comprehend or find the end of - this amazing God speaks to ME.

My kids love playing with playdough and I like them playing with it!  I think it's a great outlet for creativity and a great teaching tool for letters, numbers, adding, etc.  The usages are endless.  However, I can't seem to be able to keep my kids from eating the darned stuff.  I make homemade playdough which consists basically of 1 cup of flour, water, food coloring, oil, cream of tartar and 1/2 cup of salt.  The salt is the thing that my kids love.  SO...I've tried adding a little bit of cayenne pepper thinking that the heat would keep them from wanting to eat it.  Well that didn't seem to work.  They ate it nonetheless.

Yesterday I made a new batch and figured I'd put in as much cayenne as I did salt.  That way it would surely be too hot for them to want to eat it.  My friend and her kids (3 and 5) were over and she thought it might not be a good idea if they happened to rub their eyes or anything with it.  I thought about it and came to the conclusion that I didn't think the cayenne would be that strong to hurt their eyes or anything but it might help convince them not to eat the playdough.

Well....about two minutes into playing with the playdough, my friend's 3 year old promptly called out, "Juice!  Juice!"  At first we just thought he was thirsty but then remembered the playdough and asked him if he'd ate some of it. "Yeah" was his reply. 

I was thinking, "Ok...this is good.  They're going to learn that eating the playdough tastes bad." but then about another two minutes later Ethan started crying that his eyes were hurting and then he got louder.  I promptly got him a wet cloth to hold over his eyes and we packed up the playdough.  He settled right down after I gave him the cloth but now I'm back to square one. 

Does anyone have ANY suggestions on how to make the playdough taste gross without compromising the texture and safety??  :)

I've noticed Jaeden (my 4 yr. old daughter) is really good at learning new words and using them in different contexts.  For example, we were at the park a couple of days ago and Jaeden had met another girl the same age as her so they were running around the park.  Jaeden stopped and looked at the other girl and said, "Are you swift?"  The little girl looked at her not really sure how to answer so Jaeden asked her again with the same response.  Jaeden then explained, "Swift means fast so are you swift?  I'm very swift." and off she went running again.  It was so cute!

Yesterday Ethan and Jaeden were making some pictures using glitter glue but the tubes were almost empty so it was very hard to squeeze the remaining glue out.  Jaeden was explaining the meaning of 'stain' to Ethan but it wasn't really what it meant.  (I can't remember what her explanation was, though.)  Anyways, I proceeded to tell her that the word 'stain' means: something that's very hard to get out.  She then proceeded to tell Ethan, "Yeah, so this glue is called a stain."  as she's struggling with every ounce of muscle in her to get the rest of the glue out.  :)

Whew!  I didn't think spring was EVER going to come!  We have thoroughly enjoyed the few days of warm weather we've had so far. 

Jaeden has remembered how to ride her bike again.  :)  (She learned how to ride it on two wheels at the end of last Summer but then was very leary about doing it this year since she hasn't done it all winter.)

We have neighbour kids across the street and behind us so they all congregate at our place to play.  (I don't mind that at all because at least I can keep an eye on what's going on!)  So Ethan and Jaeden have had almost a week of playing with friends outside.  It's been a fun spring break.

I've come to the conclusion that you can't keep your kids from experiencing certain things even though they're homeschooled.  I've kind of had the thoughts that as long as my kids are homeschooled they'll be 'safe' from rejection from other kids, bad language, peer pressure, etc. I'm not really sure how I figured that was going to happen besides keeping them locked up and only allowed to go out after dark.   :)   

 I guess the question is how can I prepare and equip them to respond correctly when they are called names or taught bad habits or not icluded or hear words they shouldn't or ......well, I think you get the point.  By responding correctly I'm not just talking about how they're going to talk to or respond to the other person but also and most importantly how are they going to respond within their heart? 

My method of 'schooling' my kids up to about a month ago has been to sit them at the table and work through books or worksheets before they can do anything else.  I've found it very difficult to think 'out of the mold' concerning teaching my kids and so I've stuck with the way I was taught which was to sit and fill out workbooks or pages. 

The thing is, it worked ok for me in school but it has NOT worked for my son.  I've found it an increasing battle getting him to sit and do the work and I've noticed 'fruit' that I'm not liking whatsoever such as having a lack of desire to do anything because he knows he's going to have to do 'school work' first.  It has had me very concerned as to how I'm going to work through it. 

I started reading different blogs and books that really challenged the way I view 'school'.  I've decided that I'm not going to worry about whether he's reading and writing out words on paper or able to answer a math problem on paper.  If I make learning fun and enjoyable it's going to come naturally!

So today I traced a bunch of handprints of both Ethan and Jaeden on different colors of paper, cut them out and wrote different letters of the alphabet on each of them.  I then went around and stuck them to the wall with sticky tack in one room and made a game with the letters.  I called out the letter name or the sound it made and the kids had to run and put their hand on the correct letter.  They loved it!!!  In fact, Ethan asked to play it tonight before bed again.  He's learning and having a blast doing it.  Go figure.

So I'm now not worried about what he's learning so much as whether or not he's interested and having fun.  I figure if he's having fun doing it, he's learning at the same time.  (I know you're probably thinking, 'duh!') :-) 

I've been studying into the teaching/understanding of spiritual authority.  It seems (in my life anyways) that satan is trying to get people to believe that they shouldn't have to submit to or obey spiritual leaders that God has put over them.  The argument that comes up varies in different ways from "I don't have to submit to that person because they've done *this* and that's not Godly!" to "I don't have to let someone else tell me how to run my life" or "I follow God, not man", etc, etc. 

The thing is, I almost got sucked in to this lie of satan's as well.  It actually surprised me how cunning he was at doing it, too.  It's so amazing how he can wrap the lie all up with a lot of truth.  Underneath it's still a lie, though kinda' like a fish hook wrapped up in a worm. 

God clearly says in Heb. 13:17 "Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you." 

What is does NOT say is "Obey those who rule over you as long as they do all the right things, say all the right things and are sinless."  Pastors are not put in their position because they're sinless.  Rather, they're there because GOD put them there.  Therefore, we are to obey them and submit to them.

Notice when we don't submit and obey the end of the scripture says, "...that would be unprofitable for you."  How so?  Let's turn to Isaiah 1:19-20.  "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword."

Let's note the beginning of the first sentence.  'If you are willing and obedient..."  Willingness deals with attitude.  If your attitude stinks, you're going to be devoured by the sword!  That's what God's word says!

Some people may ask, "Where do you draw the line, though?" 

Only If your Pastor is telling you to do something that goes against God's word, you are not to obey BUT you are still to submit.  Can you submit without obeying?  I believe, yes. Off the top of my head, obedience is an action that you carry out.  Submission, on the other hand, is an attitude of the heart.  So if my Pastor was requiring something of me that went against God's word,  I wouldn't obey meaning I wouldn't do the action he was asking of me BUT I would still 'honor' him as my Pastor by not speaking out publicly against him, not slandering him, etc. etc.  Take for example Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo.  Nebuchadnezzar make the decree for everyone to bow down to an idol but the three men knew that went against God's word so they refused to do it.  However, they still showed a submissive attitude when confronted by the King.  (Dan. 3:16-18)They referred to Nebuchadnezzar as "O King" or as NLT states, "Your Majesty." 

They didn't go behind the King's back and try to talk others into why the decree was wrong and why they shouldn't follow the King's orders.  They didn't speak out against the King whatsoever.  When they were confronted, they politely and respectfully stated to the King why they weren't going to obey. 

The reason why I'm writing this is because I've learned such a valuable lesson in regards to this very issue and it's so heavy on my heart right now.  It's so easy to get sucked in to satan's lies that say we have rights, opinions, rights to choose, etc.  I now know how church splits happen.  It's so amazing to me because not so long ago I would hear of stories where people got together behind the scenes and started talking about the leadership of their church and their Pastor and how 'such and such' wasn't right and should be changed, etc. and the church ended up splitting because of it.  I would look at those people and think, "How in the world could they do that and call themselves a Christian?"   I now know how easy it is to be sucked into that trap.  You may have the best reasons in the world why things need to be changed in your church but that doesn't make it right for you to have a bad attitude or disobedience towards leadership or the Pastor of your church!  It will NOT go well with you.....

Yesterday we read through the story of 'David and Goliath' and then acted out a play of it for Dad when he got home.  It was fun!  Ethan acted David's part, Jaeden was a sheep and I was Goliath as well as the bear and lion.  We used a broom handle for the shepherd staff, a slingshot for the sling, and three small rolled up pieces of paper for the smooth stones.  Here's how our play went:

Act I, Scene I:  David is watching and tending his bleating sheep. (I had to convince Jaeden to bleat...)

    Enter bear.  David sees the bear and attacks and kills it with his bare hands.  David returns to sheep.

Act I, Scene II:  David is watching and tending his bleating sheep.

    Enter lion.  David sees the lion and attacks and kills it with his bare hands.  David return to sheep.

Act II, Scene I:  (I tried to convince Jaeden to be David's brothers but she didn't want any part of the play except for the sheep so we had to cut out details.)

Goliath is standing in front of Israel. (Jaeden)  "Who dares to fight me?"

David enters.  "God has helped me kill a bear and a lion.  Surely he will help me kill Goliath!"

David picks up 3 smooth stones from the floor, places one in the slingshot and fires.  Note:  Whether the 'stone' hits Goliath or not, Goliath falls to the floor as if he......er....she.......has been hit in the forehead.

END SCENE

Applause, applause.

Randy liked it anyways. :)

It's interesting to read the account of Moses when God appears to him in the burning bush.  This is the most dynamic meeting recorded in the bible and yet it wasn't 'real' to Moses.  Moses comes up with excuse after excuse as to why he can't do what God's asking of him.  Take Noah, on the other hand.  That was a very small encounter between God and Noah that was recorded in the bible and yet it was VERY real to Noah.  God told Noah to build an ark and then God disappeared for 100 years and Noah built the ark while putting up with abuse, insult, condemnation, etc. from people around him!  Now THAT meeting was very real to Noah.

Moses's problem was that his sins from his past life were more real to him than all of God's powerful demonstrations.  His self-doubt was stronger and more real to him than what God was telling him.  His stumbling block was that he knew himself too well to think he could be used by God.

The same goes for us, I believe.  Our greatest stumbling block to serving God and fulfilling his call on our lives is what we know about ourselves.  God is not asking us to do superhuman things.  He's only asking us to do what is humanly possible and He will do the rest.  I need to remember to keep my eyes on God whenever I feel 'out of my league' or not capable of doing what He's asking of me.  That's all He asks.

Ethan & Jaeden noticed that Dad's truck was really dirty and so they thought, "It would be great to wash Dad's truck for him!"  So they found a pail of water in the garage and a couple of sponges and away they went happily washing Dad's truck.  Well....you can imagine what the truck looked like after a 6 and a 4 year old 'washed' Dad's truck.  There were streaks of mud down the sides and handprints all over the side of the truck including the fenders!  They probably even scratched the paint up using the dirty water and rubbing the mud around.  Keep in mind this is our company truck which has lettering and phone number decals on it.

Randy got home and saw the truck and thought, "Oh man.....my truck!"  He could've gave the kids heck for it or pointed out to the kids all the spots they missed or even gotten out the sponge himself and cleaned it up but he didn't.  He knew that they were so happy and excited to be 'blessing' Dad by washing his dirty truck and making it so 'shiny' for him that he left it just the way it was.  See, to Randy it's not about how good a job they do;  It's about where their heart is while they're doing it. 

How much so is it with God?  When we do something for God He's looking at our heart.  He doesn't care how shiny or how perfect you execute your act of worship or prayer or whatever you're doing for God because He sees your heart.  How awful it would be if He expected us to do it perfect before He would accept our praise or worship or prayers!

Organization, orderliness and cleanliness to some degree has always seemed to have gotten the best of me.   I have had some trouble keeping my place quite up to 'par' according to my standards.  It seems like no matter how hard I try the bathrooms are always dirty, the table always has dried-up food particles from the night before stuck to it, the sink is full of dishes and every available space has a stack of odds & ends from loose paper to toys that never quite finds a home.  Usually what happens when someone phones and says they'll be there in 5 mins. is I'll RUN through the house frantically gathering stacks of things and shoving them in a big bucket and then RUN to my bedroom, close my eyes and chuck it in quickly shutting the door before I open my eyes.  My husband hasn't been too keen on this method.

Well a couple of weeks ago I found out about a website that 'teaches' you basically time management skills; how to keep your house clean and organized with little time doing it.  It has been an amazing help to me so far and I've only done a couple of the 'tasks' they suggest.  The website is: www.flylady.com

I now have my dishes done most every night and my bathroom is cleaned every day which only takes about 2 mins. to do with a process called 'swish and swipe'; a new term added to my vocabulary in the last 2 wks. :)  I still haven't gotten a pair of shoes to wear in the house but I'll look into that......you'll have to check out the site to find out why I would want to do that!

I just found out about letterboxing!  I will fill you in for those of you who don't know. (As I'm sure most of you don't!) 

It's kind of like a 'treasure hunt' but clues are found on the internet and they can be anywhere in the world. 

"Letterboxing is said to have started in England in 1854 when a Dartmoor National Park guide, James Perrott of Chagford, left a bottle by Cranmere Pool with his calling card in it an an invitation to those who found the bottle to add theirs. Eventually, visitors began leaving a self-addressed post card or note in the jar, hoping for them to be returned by mail by the next visitor (thus the origin of the term “letterboxing;” “letterbox” is a British term for a mailbox). This practice ended in time, however, and the current custom of using rubber stamps and visitor’s log books came into use." (Excerpt from www.letterboxing.org)

There's a number of them right in Alberta so I hope to get out to some of them with the kids this summer!  Maybe we'll even plant one of our own!  Check out these sites to find out more:

www.letterboxing.org

www.atlasquest.com

When Randy and I first thought about and decided to homeschool, the main motivation behind our decision was that we wanted our kids to have solid Godly values and morals to base their decisions on so that they wouldn’t be swayed by other kids who were making bad decisions.  In order to do that effectively, the word of God needs to be the main focus but I’ve found it very hard to incorporate scripture throughout the day while I’m trying to teach Ethan letters, sounds and math.  I tried starting our day out dancing and singing to worship music for 15 mins. or so and then we’d sit down and read a devotional out of the kid’s bible and talk about what it meant in their lives. 

It was good but not good enough.  It wasn’t following Deut. 6 where it says we’re to talk about them when we sit down, when we get up, etc.  We talked about it in the morning but then that was it.  The kids never thought about it again unless I’d think of some way to incorporate it into the day.  I was finding it very frustrating because it seemed like learning to read and solve math problems was more important than the word of God because that was our main focus throughout the day. 

Well....I found something that I am SO excited about!  I was browsing through this website: www.homeschoolreviews.com and came across the ‘SOW curriculum’ which stands for ‘Student of the Word’.  Every subject except math is taught using the word of God.  I can’t wait to get into it.  The testimonies from people who have used it are very encouraging.  It’s the tool that I’ve been looking for that will help me disciple my kids.  I can’t wait to see the fruit from it!

I'm back FINALLY.  I switched high speed servers from Telus to Primus and in doing so, Primus messed up and neglected to tell me that I should've called Telus right away to notify them of the change so that they would have time to do whatever they have to do by law before I could switch.  (Don't ask me......) 

So, I was without internet access for a week and a half.  sheeeeeeeesh.

Whew!  I made it through my son's first 'official' birthday party where we had a bunch of kids (9, in fact) over to play games and celebrate for three hours.  Wow.  I'm not sure what I had in mind as to how it would turn out but it was WAY more work than I expected!  My son turned 6 so his friends that came ranged in ages from 4 to 6.  What made it difficult is that with those ages, attention spans vary greatly and so I found that the older ones wanted to continue doing the game that I had set out while the younger ones were bored and wanting to move on to the next thing on the agenda.  After the first hour I realized my error of telling the parents not to come back and get their kids for three hours!  :)

All in all it turned out good.  My son and all the kids had a great time and I kept them occupied up until the last 20 mins. before the parents got there.  They decided to have fun popping all the balloons and then have a competition of who could pick up the most balloon pieces!  Hey...as long as the mess gets cleaned up after, I'm all for it! :)