Homeschooling from the Heart

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October 3, 2007 - In search of some more pets....

Actually, we need to wait awhile before we get more animals. We have a long trip to Hawaii coming up in December so we will not be adding any new pets until after we return. At the moment we have 2 dwarf hamsters. We've been planning on getting a dog or a puppy after we get back from Hawaii for awhile now. The other day we were out shoe shopping and next to the store we were in is Petco. So we went in to look around and Josiah fell in love with the ferrets. We're going to do some more reading and Jo is saving up money in a coffee can for his ferret fund. He now has $7.06 in loose change. Only $323.00 to go!!!

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August 31, 2007 - FIRE camp 2007

We have the blessed pleasure of attending a wonderful homeschool family camp each year that is organized by a dear friend. This year we were inspired by the wisdom of Mike Riddle from Answers in Genesis. Our whole family has learned so much about the glory of God's creation and also about the absurdity and deception of the evolutionist religion.

Some highlights from the week:

1) The Dino Dig at the beach! There were two versions and each had their own challenges. The one that took the longest was digging up several sets of wooden dinosaur bones that were set in plaster and then chipping the plaster away and finally piecing the bones together. JD worked on the pteranodon.

Here a couple of pictures.

Here they are trying to get this rather large piece of plaster out of the sand.

Here they are busily chipping away plaster from wood with mallet and chisel.

Here they are with the finished pteranadon and a couple others in the background.

The other version of the dig was digging up painted wooden piece not set in plaster. This was supposed to be quick and easy but a few of the spine pieces were never found! Oh well, it makes it more like a real dinosaur dig that way! lol

2) Meeting new friends and reuniting with old ones. It is always neat to see the families from previous years as the children grow up and new babies are added. I really consider the people at this camp as a part of my own extended Christ family. It was hard to leave knowing that we have a whole year to wait for the next camp!

3)Making beeswax candles and gleaning wisdom with Kathie from Turtlebee Honeytree farm. I just love to hear what God has to say through this woman of God, and I love the smell of pure beeswax!

4) The Talent Show. Last night was the very first fire camp talent show. JD got up to tell a few jokes he's learned recently. MD did a couple of hula hoop tricks. They both did great. There were also a few dance routines, singing, guitar playing, a ventriloquist, a bull whip trickster and more.

5) Canoeing and Paddleboating on the lake. We took the kids out in a canoe for the very first time. The lake there is full of wildlife and plants that are interesting to look at including a flock of swans.

    Those are the high points of the week. The only thing that went wrong for us was when MD fell off the top bunk in the middle of the night (on Tues I think it was). Thankfully, she only has one bruise on her cheek and she barely remembers it. It nearly gave me a heart attack!

    We are eagerly looking forward to next year when the theme will be Biblical Holidays and How They Point to Christ. This is a topic we've been interested in as a family for several years and it will be nice to learn more at camp. I'll post info on FIRE camp 2008 as it gets closer to time to register, which will probably be next spring some time.

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August 22, 2007 - More Pictures

This is what Anthony and JD are up to right now. They are building a GI Joe puzzle on our recently uncovered hardwood floor.

This is one of MDs new favorite activities. This was taken before our hardwood floors were revealed! (And in a living room needing a clean up....)

Here are JD and MD on the Ferris Wheel at the County Fair.

JD recently learned to ride without training wheels and was rewarded with this new bike. He can go for miles now!

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August 20, 2007 - Tools for Learning

    We were out and about today. We had a long,rainy day today and since it was dh's day off we decided to see what was playing at the dollar theater. We went to see Evan Almighty, which dh has seen already and gave a thumbs up for the kiddos. It was very funny, with a nice message that God loves us and knows what's best for us. We all ate way too much yummy, buttery popcorn (that was lunch). Later, MD saw flooding on the news in some other suburbs by us and she remembered seeing it in the movie.

    Afterwards, I had to stop at a grocery store for something and Big Lots was right next door so dh and kids went there to look for things we might need for upcoming FIRE camp. I met them over there when I was done and we browsed the store for awhile and found some nice, inexpensive learning tools. They have some Hooked on Phonics sets for $5.00 and we got one for MD. She has been so insistent on 'doing school' lately and the HOP looked like something worth trying for a fun way to help her learn more letter sounds and recognition. She had to get started right away when we got home, but then got bored or discouraged pretty easily! So we'll probably be using this for 10 minute at a time as she requests.

    JD and LZ each got something useful to them as well. They had some Leapster games and JD got a Schoolhouse Rock grammar, and LZ got a couple of Wiggles dvd's which were only $4.00 each!

    Those are the highlights of our dreary day. We're ready for some sunshine around here but it doesn't seem likely to happen in the near future from what I hear.

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About Me

I am a Christian wife and mother of 3 in Michigan. This is where I will be sharing our experiences in homeschooling our children. I welcome comments and look forward to hearing from my readers!