What!? A blog about us? Hmmm, this could be interesting.

May. 6, 2008
Changing the Plans

Posted in School

OK, I'm sure some of you out there are very similar to me and like to have every thing all planned out and in order regarding your schooling. Well, I did. That is until last Tuesday.

What is so special about last Tuesday you ask? Taylor took her yearly test as required by law in the wondeful state of NC. Now, we as parents are allowed to administer any nationally standardized test to our own children, but I really wanted some insight into Taylor's learning strenghts and weaknesses from a person on the outside looking in. I've tried to figure this kid out for 7 years now and she still completely baffles me.

The test itself wasn't any big suprise to me. She's above average in reading, below average in spelling and right at average everywhere else. I could have told you that without a test. What WAS very helpful was a couple of subtests that were administered. These tests really helped to see what learning modalities Taylor used best. There was a story recall section where Taylor listened to a story that was read and had to see how many details of the story she could remember. Otherwise known as narration in the world of homeschooling. Well, Taylor scored at almost a 5th grade level in that. Before my head starts to swell with pride, let me remind myself that the tester told me that this was above average for public schooled children, it was only right at average for homeschoolers. And my bubble is deflated. Not really, but we all like to imagine that our children are budding geniouses, right? As a side note the tester said that the reason homeschool students do so well in this part of the test is that they have constant interaction with us. In other words, we talk to our kids. She said that on average a child in a classroom only has 5 minutes a day (it could have been less) of face to face, one on one time with the teacher. To me, that is astounding. This story recall test was also a good test to see if Taylor was an auditory learner. She compared the results of this test with the next one which was called understanding directions.

Now at times Taylor and I have made a game of how many directions I can give her and she can follow without forgetting anything, but she amazed even me in how well she did on this test. I certainly could not have done it. The tester could only read the directions one time, but the difference between this test and the last is that this one had a picture to look at and Taylor had to use her finger to point. It started out fairly simple- touch the cat, then the tree, then the boy that's behind the car. But by the END of it she was doing things like- do not touch the boy who is not holding a ball and the bird that is in the biggest tree after you touch the girl who is coming out of the school and the two ducks in the pond, unless there are 2 cows in the field. Phew! like I said, I wouldn't have stood a chance. But she did great! She out performed even her story recall score.

After all of Taylor's testing was done came the part that I was most looking forward to and forked out the big bucks for -the parent meeting! Hoorah!! She was so helpful. I only wish I had brought a tape recorder. Especially since I was feeling so terrible. She gave so many great ideas and now I can't remember a lot of them. John, my husband, said I should have recorded her with my phone. If I had thought about it, I would have. Anyway, I do remember some things. She said that Taylor is a visual-kinisthetic learner. A lot of those quirks of Taylor's that just drive me absolutely insane during school (like hanging upside down in her chair, wanting to be surrounded by stuffed animals, bouncing up and down on the couch, ect) are just part of how she learns best. Now I'm not saying that I won't still struggle with this and that I won't still lose it at times and demand that she SIT STILL, but I will make a concerted effort to let her be who God made her to be and not to try and fit her into MY mold of how I want her to be. Deb (the tester) told me that if Taylor is sitting still, looking at me, with her hands neatly folded, then her mind is a million miles away and she is not listening to a word I say.

A lot of things we do already- like having Taylor draw or color or play quietly while I'm reading out loud to her. We both love to do project learning. I teach math using manipulatives. So at least I had some things right. We have been using Bob Jones math successfully for 1 1/2 years now. It was the only curriculum that I was certain of when planning for school next year. But Deb told me that starting in 3rd grade they really phase out of the manipualtive learning that Taylor needs. She highly recommended that Taylor use Moving with Math. The really funny thing about this is that Moving with Math is the very first program I was going to buy when Taylor started Kindergarten. I didn't buy it because it was so expensive. Then we proceeded to buy 3 different math programs just her Kindergarten year! I should have just bought it in the first place. Now I have a Bob Jones 3rd grade math sitting on my shelf and a Moving with Math Level B set sitting beside me.

I found this Moving with Math last night at AGAPE's used book sale and saved a good bit of money. But, I'm still going to hold on tho the BJU math until I'm sure that Moving with Math will work for us.

Wow, this post is getting really long. You'll have to tune in later for part 2 of figuring out Taylor and how to help her learn. He he!

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/character_lapbook.php

May. 2, 2008
Character Lapbook

Posted in Lapbooks and Notebooks

Sorry I haven't been blogging this week. I am so behind, but I am sick, sick, sick. Hopefully I'll be better really soon, but until then I just had to share this new free lapbook from Homeschoolshare. It's all about character traits. There is a section that can be used for any trait and there is also individual sections about lots of different character traits. I particularly liked the character quotes. They would make great copywork.

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/civil_war_lapbook_templates.php

Apr. 29, 2008
Civil War Lapbook

Posted in Lapbooks and Notebooks

Would you like to see something really cool? I have been working with Ami over at homeschoolshare and we have put together some really cool templates to make a Civil War lapbook. Please go check it out and then leave me a comment to let me know what you think. I've never done anything like this before and it was really neat to see it coming together. Thanks Ami for making the books look so great and thanks Charity for making the handouts.

http://www.aop.com/homeschool/Resources_DailyFocus.php

Apr. 24, 2008
Patience

Posted in School

"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,"

Eph 4:1-2

That was the verse in the online devotion I read this morning. Patience- whew, now that is one I struggle with. But only where it concerns my family. The very ones who I love the most. Am I leading a life worthy of the calling that God has given me? Am I always humble and gentle and (gasp) patient?

Let's take yesterday for example. Taylor, Isaac, and I were sitting on the couch. They were coloring while I read from Story of the World. When I get to the comprehension questions (which I know is a weakness of Taylor's), I ask her something along the lines of - 'What other city have we learned about where the people choose the laws and the leaders instead of having a king? Remember, it was a democracy.' OK, so we have talked about this city pretty constantly for the last 2 weeks and I'm certain that she knows the answer. What is her response? She shouted out, "Romulus and Remus!" Hmm, what part of CITY did you not understand? So I gently try to ask the question again only to have her respond with, "Democracy!" This goes on for a couple of minutes with me giving her all the hints I could think of and her answers were still always off the wall answers that could have never possibly been the answer to the question I was asking. Needless to say, I did not end with the patience I should have exhibited.

Was I making allowance for her faults and weaknesses because of my love for her? I'd have to answer no. For those of us who know that homeschooling our kids is a calling straight from God, this verse is aimed right at us. I pray that I will hide it in my heart today and let God's Word do it's work in me.

If you're interested in getting free homeschool devotions sent right to your email each morning, here's the link. Right above today's devotion is small grey letters that you click to subscribe.

http://www.homeschoolwithindexcards.com/LapNotebook.html

Apr. 23, 2008
LapNotebooking

Posted in Lapbooks and Notebooks

No, that wasn't a misprint. LapNotebooking is putting together lapbooks and notebooking so that your whole study is in one handy book. I find myself merging toward doing our lapbook mini books onto cardstock that is 3 hole punched instead of an actual lapbook base because you have full sheets to work with instead of small sections. That gives you more options for how you want to lay out your mini books. Plus this way, you can keep the lapbook in the regular binder that houses all the rest of your kid's work for the year.

Molly at Homeschool with Index Cards has come up with another great combination for LapNotebooking. She is attaching a regularly folded lapbook base onto one of those cheap 3 pronged folder thingies that you can get at Back to School Sales for 5 cents each. Here is a link to her blog post about them. She has taken pictures of each step so that you will have no problem putting your own together!

http://www.hands-onteachingtips.com/newsletter/current.htm

Apr. 22, 2008
The "Socialization" Delusion

Posted in School

I came across this article via a newsletter I receive from Homeschool in the Woods . I thought it was outstanding so I got permission to share it with you. If you would like to sign up for Amy's free newsletter packed full of free hands-on teaching tips, please visit http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com. Also, here is a link to the current newsletter.

Enjoy!

The "Socialization" Delusion...

By Amy Pak

We, as homeschoolers, have most likely encountered at one time or another, the burning question, “What about socialization?” Or in other words, “What about the social skills you are depriving your child of so they can be a normal, functioning person who understands life in the world beyond your driveway, rather than children who will only emit grunts when addressed and will hide behind your denim skirt afraid to engage in conversation with anyone outside your family circle?”

When we began schooling in the mid 90s, most people knew little of homeschooling, and most did not know anyone who “did that to their children.” I used to have to brace myself for family gatherings, neighborhood get-togethers, even church functions (!) and collect an arsenal of answers to the ever-constant bombardment of questions. Funny, I don’t remember many of them taking that much of an interest in my children before…I think it was a morbid curiosity as to “why” I would do such a thing to my children, and was I prepared for the mess I would most likely make of their lives because, after all, I wasn't even qualified, let alone certified! I had no teaching degree (besides the fact that I had been teaching my babies since day one how to speak, how to act, how not to eat dirt, and so on). I felt the need to defend with good, reasonable explanations, and win over their approval. Ugh! If only I’d known then what I know now. And if only their ignorance had kept them silent until their questions could be sensible enough, backed by some modicum of thought!

Dictionary.com defines socialization as the following:

so•cial•i•za•tion (noun)

1. a continuing process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior, and social skills appropriate to his or her social position.

2. the act or process of making socialistic

(Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006)

We'll leave the second definition for another day! As for the first definition, WHEN, exactly, does a homeschool child not acquire a “personal identity” during their homeschool adventure? If anything, HOW does an institutional school child develop one so readily? For the most part, they are too busy being told what to wear, how to act, whom to listen to, and what is popular! They are dictated to by other “social peers” as to what is cool, who is not, and what they need to do to “fit in”…whether it’s legal or not. If they choose to be different (or to listen to their parents over their all-knowing classmates), they are labeled—branded in a way that can leave scars for life. I know several old friends who in their adult years, although many now successful, still harbor painful memories and struggled for years to climb out of the pit they wound up in, whether it be drug related, depression, or other negative effects.

As for the “norms, values, behaviors, and social skills,” let’s take a seat on the average school bus and observe these behaviors in action. Children left to their own devices can breed every kind of misbehavior! My oldest son got through 2nd grade in a Christian school before we pulled him out. He learned his first swear words while just a kindergartner on that bus. My nephew, a quiet, wonderful person, suffered humiliation as he was regularly shoved down on the walkway of the public school bus with his face held to the filthy floor. He had his backpack taken from him regularly. Not only is torment and teasing often on the list of “ways to entertain” on the drive to and from school, but so is outright wildness. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a bus, but I also remember the amount of drugs that were done there—high seats make for great shields, especially when a bus driver has to focus on the road. From what I hear, things haven’t changed much—only the children are doing many of these things so much younger anymore.

And how about that lunchroom? One son of a homeschooling friend of mine shared with me one of his public school scenarios, how he was forced to cover his food while he ate, leaning over it to guard it from being tainted with spit and other nasty things propelled in its direction. He also shared more serious stories, but let it suffice to say that it is a sorry affair when ambulances are involved due to the bullying action of the “higher social powers” at work. One of my nieces told me that to observe the lunch room is to see these social classes at their utmost. The tables are socially divided; the upper hierarchy with headships, nobles, and the occasional "fool" for entertainment scorning any of the peasants of the lower class that might attempt to sit even near them. Unfortunately, most lunch room monitoring has little effect on the masses.

Turn on the T.V. and you’ll see sitcoms and shows galore that glorify this “feudal system” of the school social ladder. They portray the different “classifications of student,” whether jock, prep, stoner, geek, emo, punk, goth, nerd, Jesus freak, right down to teacher’s pet. All show acceptance by their group, but generally rejection by the others. It can be hard to change groups, as you must have the right connections or move to a new school district. Is this the social position the definition (not to mention those who question us) refers to? And don’t even get me STARTED on values! Within the public school, the values taught by a system that won’t even acknowledge God? That will pass out condoms and teach of how to have relations safely and the option of abortion, but rarely teach of abstinence and will not even discuss the moral issue of abortion? I remember a teacher in 9th grade science class who told our class as he prepared to begin the topic of evolution, “This is where what your parents have taught you remains outside the door. Here is where REAL science takes place.” I was not a Christian at the time, but even I sensed that if my father heard what that teacher said, he would not be pleased, whether he agreed or not! A teacher that usurped parental authority? Unfortunately, it happens all the time.

One other note—I’ve heard many use the Biblical “salt and light” excuse for sending their children to school. I have yet to find a scripture showing how Jesus sent out children to be salt and light. His disciples spent time walking and talking with him, growing in their knowledge of Him and even waiting until the anointing of the Holy Spirit before they hit the roads alone. It takes a long time for a child to learn to strengthen his spiritual legs! Even Corinthians 13:11 differentiates between how a child thinks and an adult thinks. Can they ever minister? Oh, yes! Don’t get me wrong! But as a person trains for a new job, so a child trains to be salt and light by living under those who teach them HOW to be salt and light. Have you ever tried to build a fire? It starts with a spark on dry grass or something similar. From there you add small pieces of tinder. All along, you cover it, and blow on it slowly to nurture a flame. When it has finally caught well, the sticks get bigger until it can handle the logs. Children learning to tackle the world and become that light is much like that flame! Their light is not under a bushel, but a small light can snuff out so easily. Children are still so young and moldable—subjecting a child to the wolves to “minister” is like playing Russian roulette…many times the odds will stack against them. Perhaps that is why the percentage is so high of children of Christian families who leave the faith by the time they graduate! In fact, Bruce Shortt, author of The Harsh Truth about Public Schools, claims that a 2002 Southern Baptist Convention study puts the percentage leaving at 88%.*

What I haven’t given attention to is the so called “lack of socialization” that our children supposedly experience in homeschool. Here is my observance over the last 12 years:

1) Children of homeschool families tend to develop an amazing bond overall with their siblings. I was told this would happen before we made the choice to homeschool—it’s hard to explain, but boy, have we experienced it.

2) Homeschooled children generally develop better communication skills with their parents and a deeper trust, as you can’t help but get to know each other inside and out when you are together this much! It's been a natural tendency for them to come to us FIRST.

3) Homeschooled children are exposed to ALL age levels, from grandparents to younger siblings as they help instruct them—not just peers their own age (which does not reflect the ‘real’ world once outside of ‘school’).

4) Homeschooled children do not develop a cast system identity, but instead a well-rounded character that spans not just academics, but also training in moral thinking, compassion, respect, and responsibility. They participate often in co-op groups, church groups, and build friendships that are more selective due to parental supervision. In other words, as these young lumps of clay take shape, parents—and those closely chosen to assist—are the ones helping mold the clay. It is protected from destructive outside forces.

The very children I fought to defend against the accusations at the beginning are the ones the skeptics (family included!) are now acknowledging as level-headed, mature, respectable, good-hearted young adults. They are confident and secure in who they are, and usually called on first when a trustworthy person is needed. They have strong friendships of all ages. They are hard-working employees who have open invitations to return to jobs they have left. And they are not unusual! Most of the homeschool populace is like this! They may not be perfect, but their relationships are healthy and their self-image intact. It’s difficult to protect that self-worth when you have to attend school and maneuver through the halls like a mine field. That same self-worth only grows stronger when you are brought up in a loving environment by those who only want your best and help guide your choices—including friends. And after all, isn’t that the true socialization we should strive for in our children?

*Statistic from HSLDA Home School Heartbeat: Exodus Mandate. View the article at http://www.hslda.org/docs/hshb/55/hshb5501.asp

Apr. 18, 2008
Civil War Co-op Class 5

Posted in School

- . .-.. . - -. .-. .- .- - ..... ...

In case you're wondering, all those dots and dashes are Morse Code for telegraphs- which is what we learned about in class this week. Did you know that telegrpahs were used for the 1st time in the Civil War. And the president himself did not even have a telegraph in his office. He had to go across the street to receive his messages.

You can find directions for this project and all the others we've done at the WOWIO website. Just download the free ebook.

The kids in grades K-5 also got to make johnny cakes and hardtack. We have developed compassion for those poor soldiers who had to eat that nasty, dry food!

The teens also got to make real working cameras. I'm not sure how their pictures turned out yet because they couldn't find a room dark enough to develop them at the co-op. Annita, their teacher for that project, took them home to develop.

Apr. 14, 2008
Greek in a Day

Posted in Home Life

This past weekend John and I attended a Greek ina Day class at church. I can't say that I have mastered the Greek language, but I do know a lot more than I did on Friday morning! We learned the Greek alphabet, how to write the letters, and the sounds each make on Friday night. Here is a video from Steve Demme (Yes, he's the same guy who does the MAth U See program.) This is the best way ever to learn the Greek aphabet!

Can't you just see a group of adults (and 1 kid) doing all these silly motions to learn the alphabet! It was lots of fun.

On Saturday we spent time learning Greek grammar and learning how to use various tools to aid in translation. Our pastor made us this wonderful CD Rom full of useful aids such as E-sword, Greek fonts, practice pages, parsing software. My goodness, there is too much to mention. If we work hard and get lots of practice, we may be able to read the NT in it's original form. How cool is that?! I can't wait to get started.

Apr. 14, 2008
Elephant Self Portrait

Posted in Just for fun

When we were at the Knoxville Zoo, we saw some paintings done by elephants for sale for $50. They were pretty much just where an elaphant had taken a paintbrust up and down several times on a piece of paper. Pretty cool, but nothing to pay 50 bucks for.

When I mentioned it at church someone pulled this up on their laptop. The video last about 8 minutes, but it is amazing! If I didn't see him painting, I would have never believed it. I'm sure these sell for much more than $50.

Apr. 7, 2008
Family Vacation

Posted in Home Life

We took a 3 day, 2 night family vacation to Pigeon Forge, TN this week. We haven't stayed in a hotel room for at least 4 years so this was a real treat. The hotel even had an indoor pool which was very handy since we got quite a bit of rain.

Originally we had been planning to go to the Asheboro Zoo with our support group, but with rain coming we didn't want to drive that far and get rained out. So at the very last minute we decided to do this instead.

Here are a couple of slideshows. You'll see pictures of us at Pigeon Forge riding go-carts, gem mining, and swimming. But most of the pictures are from Saturday when we drove to Knoxville and went to the Zoo. We have a membership at the Nature Center here in town that has recipricol membership to zoos and science centers across the country. It's an excellent deal! Our family would of had to pay 60 dollars to get in to the Knoxville Zoo, but with our membership, it was absolutely free!

In the slideshow, you will see pictures of 3 rhinos. Their names are Molly, Polly, and Mondo. Mondo is the male. He is off by himself and the girls are lying together. Mondo is 48 years old! Isn't that amazing. The girls have him beat. They are both 50 years old and they have each had 10 babies (fathered by Mondo). The lady we spoke to about them said that they weigh as much as 3 cars put together. Wow! The whole day I stood in amazement at the greatness of God's creation.

We saw red panda bears, which I have never seen before. We actually got to go in the same space as them without anything separating us. Another animal I have never seen that was pretty cool was a beaver. Their tails are very cool. They look like leather. One beaver came right up to us and stood up at the glass. The kids each got a small stuffed beaver as a souveneir.

But one of my very favorite animals is the river otter. They are so playful and fun. They love to show off! We also saw giraffes, lions, elephants, and lots of other animals common to zoos. I can't wait to go back!

(3 Howdies So Far!) ( Say Howdy!) (Permanent Link)

Apr. 2, 2008
Civil War Co-op class 4

Posted in School

I got to be in the preschool class at the last co-op! That was nice because it gave me a chance to get some pictures of the little ones. Usually the PreK class has 9 kids, but several families were sick this week so there was only 5 preschoolers. My own sweetie Isaac was one of them. I loved watching him interact with the other kids. He wasn't much for sitting down and learning his letters or numbers. What a surprise. But he did enjoy making a boo boo bunny and playtime.

Now THIS is the way we should learn our numbers!

Everyone loves Mrs. Amy!

Boo Boo Bunny

Puppet Stage

The older kids were making periscopes and dog tents and lean-to's.

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/blast_2008_guide.php

Apr. 1, 2008
Homeschool Share's New Contest

Posted in Lapbooks and Notebooks

Homeschoolshare is one of my very favorite online resources for homeschooling. They offer tons of literature based unit studies and lapbooks all for free. Each unit study or lapbook is created by Moms just like you who are willing to donate their work to help serve other homeschoolers.

If you've ever thought that you could come up with a unit study or lapbook, now's the time to do it! They are offering great prizes to winners in several different categories. I can't wait to see all the new lapbooks!

Click here to find out more information.

Mar. 31, 2008
Feeding Fenzy

Posted in School

We had a small field trip to the Nature Center on Thursday for a class called Feeding Frenzy. That was really quite funny for a name because there was only one or two animals actually interested in eating!

We did get to touch several different reptiles and amphibians and learn come cool facts about them. For instance, did you know that an American Toad uses his eyes to help him swallow? How cool is that? And frogs don't really zap insects flying by with a really long tonque. And I always thought the cartoons had it right!

A lot of our group had to miss the trip for various reasons, but here are some pics of those of us who did make it

This is Isaac petting the toad who was not at all interested in eating his crickets. One of them escaped off of the table much to the dismay of one little girl sitting in the front row.

Here is Taylor petting a corn snake. The animal keeper tried to feed him a dead mouse, but he wasn't hungry- even with the keeper running the mouse all along his body. Luckily the next snake gave us a bit more action. It was called a black rat snake (I think.). And he was VERY interested in eating. It was very cool to see him strike at the mouse and eat the whole thing. It was the highlight of the day.

Now you might think this would really gross me out, but I had a much more harrowing experience already that morning. I was at the kitchen counter making sandwiches for our picnic lunch when I heard the cat come barreling into the kitchen through his kitty door. I didn't think too much of it since he often comes through in a hurry. But then I heard some noises that didn't sound as familiar- mostly thumping. As I turned around I saw feathers flying everywhere! He had brought in a bird! It wasn't even all the way dead yet. Now I don't really have a weak stomach, but this was too much for even me. I went directly to the bedroom to wake up John. He had only had a few hours sleep, but there was NO way I was going to deal with that bird. If John hadn't been there, I would have loaded up the kids and left until he came home. There is just something about a bird being killed in my kitchen that set my stomach to churning. So needless to say, the mouse was no big deal at all!

Here are some other pics from the field trip.

Mar. 30, 2008
Mom's Easter Visit

Posted in Home Life

I love my Momma! I miss her so much now that she has moved away and I hardly ever see her. That makes visits like this one all the more special to me. Tiffany had grown up so much that when I opened the door I actually didn't even recognize her for about 2 seconds. Mom, if you're reading this, I sure wish you'd move back home.

I'm just going to share some pictures and add commentary where it's useful!

Little sis Tiff and big bro Josh

This was Isaac's first real Easter egg hunt so we left several eggs on the grass in plain sight and told the girls to leave them for Isaac. Well, it turned out that he was a much better egg finder than we gave him credit for. He found twice as many eggs as the girls!

Counting the eggs.

Resurrection morning!

You see how big she is! She's almost as tall as me!

I hope you all had a great Easter with your families! I know I did.

Mar. 20, 2008
Easter Lapbook

Posted in Lapbooks and Notebooks

Just in time for Easter Taylor has finished her Easter lapbook from In the Hands of a Child. This is only the 2nd lapbook that I've actually paid for. HOAC is my very favorite lapbook company. She did all but 2 of the mini books. She did them almost all by herself too! She would cut out 1 or 2 books a day while I read from the research guide and the Bible. Then we would review what we read and she would put her answers in. I did some of the writing, but she did a lot of it herself. I was very proud of her. This is the most independent she has worked on a lapbook yet!

My camera batteries did not charge correctly so I only got a few pictures. Hopefully you can see good enough to tell what the books are. We had a big empty page so I found a cool Resurrection game online. It's simple enough for Isaac to play also, but I make it a little harder for Taylor by having her say what each symbol means or reading the verse that goes with it.

Also, Jamin has a really cute Resurrection lapbook over on her blog.

Mar. 20, 2008
Nature Walk Scavenger Hunt

Posted in School

The weather has been beautiful around here lately and we wanted to get OUT. Not to mention I needed to get some exercise. So I decided a nature walk would be fun. But not just any nature walk. Oh no, we had to have a scavenger hunt. So I looked up some free clip art of things the kids might be able to find outside. (Just words would have been fine for Taylor, but I really couldn't expect Isaac to read yet.) Then I copy and pasted the pictures into a word document and printed them out. They each took a crayon and a plastic bag and set to work.

We had fun and were even joined by one of the neighborhood boys. One of the challenges of homeschooling is getting the neighborhood kids to understand that just because Taylor and Isaac are at home doesn't mean that that are always available to play.

Isaac had an especially good time. He isn't allowed off the deck usually and he's never allowed out of the front yard. So getting to walk all over the park was a real treat for him.

After we were done I even managed to get all 3 kids and myself to pick up a ton of sticks that were in the yard. It wil be time to mow before we know it! Plus those sticks will make great kindling when we go camping!

Mar. 18, 2008
Civil War Co-op class 3

Posted in School

Whew, I am so behind in updating! Sorry about that. Life has been happening all around me! I will endeaver to catch up over the next few days before the busy Easter weekend.

OK, co-op classes from last Friday were about the Underground Railroad, dolls, quilts, and uniforms. That's a lot to cover in one morning!

The kids learned about what the underground railroad was and how it was used. They learned that lanterns were used a signal to runaway slaves. If the lantern outside the house was lit, it was safe to come inside. If it was not lit, that meant there was danger and the slaves needed to move on. Then of course the kids got to make lanterns.

Next we learned about dolls that were popular during that time period. Mrs. Charity demonstrated why the rag dolls were also called church dolls. They could be dropped without making a lot of noise! Did you know that the moms would sometimes stuff the head of the doll with sugar to be used as a type of pacifier? The K-2 girls were going to make rag dolls, but it was going to be too difficult for them to sew in the alloted time. So we made a hybrid doll. It was made like a corn husk doll (also popular in that time) but made with rags instead of husks. They actually turned out VERY cute and the girls loved them.

The boys K-5 all made forager caps. The teen gys were supposed to make actual uniforms but we couldn't find jackets at Goodwill being this close to Easter. So instead they learned about signal flags and Wig-Wag.

The girls 3rd grade and up made quilt squares. This was also a difficult task for such a short time frame and they had to use every minute. Quilts were used during the Civil War to raise money for families who were having a tough time financially. All the women would work together to make the quilt, sell it, and give the proceeds away. Isn't that great! Making a quilt is tough work. What a great model of a servant's heart!

Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the finished products but my camera batteries went dead and my back up batteries died also. Sigh. Thank you Jill for taking pics for me while I was helping the girls!

*****Edited to add*****

A friend read my blog and sent me some missing pictures. Here you go!

Mar. 12, 2008
Beef Barley Soup

Posted in Recipes

This is another recipe that I haven't tried, but wanted to get recorded so I could try it later!

Beef Barley Soup

Serves: 8

Vegetables, barley, and beef make this soup a full meal in itself.

INGREDIENTS
4 cups water
2 beef bullion cubes
1 medium potato, cubed
1 medium onion, cubed
1/2 bag frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic powder
1/2 pound boneless beef cut into cubes
1 cup quick cooking barley
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
cracked pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. In large pot add water, beef bullion cubes (dissolved in a small amount of the water, heated in separate cup), and all the ingredients except the barley. Cook approximately 30 minutes at a minimum heat, or until meat is fully cooked and potatoes are soft.

2. Add the quick cooking barley and cook another 15 minutes. Serve hot. Add salt to taste.

NUTRITION INFO
Calories: 222
Fat: 3.4 g
Carbohydrates: 35.7 g
Protein: 13.8 g

Mar. 11, 2008
Turkey Burgers

Posted in Recipes

I would be very interested to have some healthy recipes that you use that are great tasting and family friendly. Cheap to make is good too! Is there such a thing out there in this great big world? Please leave me a comment if you have one to share!

One of our favorites has been turkey burgers.

1 lb. Ground Turkey Breast
1 Cup Chopped Fresh Spinach
1/4 Cup Chopped Green Onions
1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs, Plain
2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
Separate into four patties.
Grill until no longer pink in the center. (Or you can use just a pan on the stove).
Makes Four Servings. To add some extra flavor try mushrooms, 2% cheese or both on top before serving!!

This is really good on a wheat bun. It is 5 points with a light wheat bun and 2% pepper jack cheese.