At Home With Jesus!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Katie

I haven't blogged about Katie's progress in school for awhile - so I thought I'd post a little update on how she's doing. Her neurological issues, are still present, although she is finding ways of coping with them better.   Thanks to her braces, her tiptoe walking has greatly improved.  She is able to go for much longer periods without her braces now, and only occasionally do I catch her up on her toes.   Her tremors and speech are what challenge her the most now - and I think she is at the point where she realizes she is 'different'.  It has shaken her self-confidence a little.  I need to be extra patient and encouraging with her while she does her lessons, as she gets discouraged quite easily.    :-( We've really been focusing on phonics lately.   CLE's Learning to Read program is going great, and Katie is reading several 3 and 4 letter words, and even sounding out a few simple sentences. She is getting better at listening for beginning/middle/end sounds in a word, although it still poses a challenge to her.    Rhyming is also quite difficult for her.For further practice in decoding words - we are using Explode the Code. Pages like this are frustrating for her, and it can take her several minutes to 'sound out' just one sentence.  :-( I have recently discussed with her pediatrician the possibility of having her tested for specific learning disorders, so that I can better know how to help her with her work. One area that she actually does very well in is penmanship!  She loves to do her Handwriting Without Tears workbook, or write/draw in her journal. (Quite the opposite of Joseph - LOL.) (For her journal she narrates to me what she wants to say - I write it down - and then she copies it.) She is doing surprisingly well in math.  We are using Singapore 1A right now. I had thought about switching her to CLE math - but since she's doing so well with Singapore, I might just stick with it. For our main program - we're still using Heart of Dakota's - Little Hearts for His Glory.  We've slowed it down, and changed things a bit, due to our heavy focus on phonics, but the 'heart' of the program is still there.   (As with most programs - I'm not completely happy unless I tweak it a bit) (I do love how these guides are laid out though!) Katie really loves the art and science projects that LHFHG has scheduled. Aside from school Katie has really developed a love for her baby dolls lately. She saved up her own money to buy a 'diaper bag' full of doll care supplies, and she spends most of her free time mothering her 'babies.'   (She even wanted a sling for baby-wearing!... How could I say no?) If asked what she wants to be when she grows up - she replies, "A mother."   That's my girl.....

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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Little ballerinas

This was a very exciting week for Katie-Noel and Annabelle. It was "parent observation week" at ballet class! At the end of their class, the parents were called into the classroom to see all that the girls have learned up until this point.  They even put on a 'mini-recital.'   It was SO cute! Of course...this would have to be the week that we forgot their shoes.... I love my ballerina girls!

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

How's violin going?

Sometimes a picture says it all.....

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

FIAR - Cranberry Thanksgiving

We thought we would take a break this week from our regular (CLE) reading curriculum to enjoy a week of 'rowing.'   In honor of next week's holiday - we are rowing Cranberry Thanksgiving, by Wende and Harry Devlin. This is a book that I have always wanted to row, for purely 'selfish' reasons. (It is by the same authors as one of my all time favorite childhood books - one that I still have tucked away in my own box of 'special memories' from my childhood....)  ;-) But ...for this week...back to Cranberry Thanksgiving... As usual, we found many wonderful resources at Homeschool Share We learned all about cranberries - And did you know that our home state of Wisconsin is the #1 producer of cranberries in the US?! We found lots of great information - ( including a fun kids activity book!) - here at the website of  The Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association. We even had cranberries with our dinner one night this week - (2 out of 4 kids loved them!) The rest of this week we have been learning about Thanksgiving, and the history and traditions associated with it.  We made up a menu and guest list for a feast of our own And discussed the true meaning of the holiday We wrote 'Thank You notes'....to God And we learned a traditional Thanksgiving hymn I, personally, am very thankful for the opportunity to spend this time with my kids - reading fun books, and making special memories.    I am blessed.

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A 'failed' crochet project

I have this book on loan from the library, but I am going to have to buy this one - because I am in LOVE with the patterns in it. It is called "Get You Crochet On" - Hip Hats and Cool Caps It is full of 'fun and funky' hat patterns : reggae caps, hip-hop caps, visors, caps with ear-flaps, and my favorite - a very pretty, lacy, turban-styled head wrap. I just think they are all so fun! But I thought I'd start with something easy just to get 'warmed up'...so I made the bun cover. I like to wear my hair up in a bun quite often, so I thought this would be something cute. But...um....it it obviously for women with very thick hair, (which I do NOT have,)  because it is huge. I don't think I could ever have enough hair to fill it. Not to worry though....Julie has promised to put it to good use....

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Monday, November 16, 2009

Skeletons and Crabs

Julie's 'body model' for the week was a little too big to put in her notebook - so this one got hung up. In addition to the body models, we are adding something new to our science activities: Awhile ago at Heart of the Matter Online  (which, by the way... if you haven't checked out... you really must!   It is such a wonderful newsletter - full of encouraging devotions, articles and resources for homeschoolers!) Anyways...over at "HOTM" they had a link for this wonderful lapbook Since it fits in so well with our science from MFW , we have decided to use it. (We are substituting it for many of the 'notebooking pages' - because it was repetitive, and to do both would have taken too much time.) ;-) I'm not sure how long the download was available for (?) - but if you are interested, this was the original link to the lapbook. In other news....we have some new pets in our house. Julie was given a gift card to a pet store for her birthday.  She had been wanting a 'small pet' for awhile - she just couldn't make up her mind what.  ( Beta fish, little frog, etc.)   What she really wanted was a hermit crab, but Paul and I were unsure . Julie bought a book on crabs, and read up on their care and feeding.... Paul and I were still unsure. But then on Friday, Paul calls me and says  "You aren't going to believe what I found at Goodwill today." And when he came home - he walked in the door with a 10 gallon 'aquarium' full of ....crab supplies. So this weekend Julie was finally able to go get her new pets: Shell-y and Caesar  (who is in the red shell - hiding in the dirt)

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Sunday, November 15, 2009

More birthday fun

We Took Annie swimming at the YMCA for the afternoon. After that, there were Presents, Dinner at Texas Road House  - (and a ride on ..."the birthday saddle") ....  Yee Haw! And cake!   (store-bought...because mommy was just too tired this week ) Thank you to all of our friends and relatives that send gifts.  she appreciated every one of them! Annie, of course wanted to go to Toys R Us right away to spend her gift cards. But... Do you KNOW what Toys R Us is like at this time of year?!?!  (Obviously I had forgotten!)   Wow! I think we're doing our Christmas shopping online this year!

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Happy Birthday Annabelle

Five is ..... a hand full of fingers, the start of kindergarten, the point you become a 'big kid'.... So how on earth is it possible...that my BABY is FIVE?!!! The years just slipped away , right in front of my eyes...sort-of like this Happy Birthday to our dear, sweet Annabelle. Our princess, our drama queen, our little adventurer.... You make us laugh, (and sometimes cry.....) But mostly you make us eternally grateful that God chose to bless our family, by sending you... to us. (*I'm hugging Annabelle a little bit tighter this year, after reading about dear little Christian Drews... who was exactly one day older than Annabelle.   Christian's mother, Marsha, wrote an especially touching post about him today.  My prayers go our to his entire family.)

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

School Review

We've been working hard in school the past couple weeks, and we've made a few 'transitions' in MFW.  I think things are looking up. First of all, we have finally turned the corner from "B.C."  to  "A.D." The kids made notebooking pages with short summaries of Jesus' time here on earth. I was rather disappointed that we didn't cover it a bit more ...but I realize that this year in MFW is more about the establishing of 'the Church.' We also finished Augustus Caesar's World!  I have such a mixed review of this book. I really liked that it gave a lot of the background about the 'setting' in history into which Christ was born.   Why were the Jews looking for a Messiah, who was Herod, and why had he been made ruler of that region?   (It also gave us a LOT of insight about the festival of Saturnalia ...and where a lot of our "Christmas' traditions come from. I gotta be honest.... I've always LOVED Christmas, but after reading that...I'm a bit uncomfortable with some of the aspects of it now!)  As informative as it was...I am also quite glad to be done with the book.  There was so much talk of paganism/false gods, and it just got to be heavy and depressing to me after awhile.   Also - I must admit that while the book gave the historical reasons why a Messiah was needed - that author 'missed the point,'  biblically, in many instances - and I ended up re-wording a lot of the materials so that my kids wouldn't hear false doctrine. So now we have moved on.  This week we began Galen and the Gateway to Medicine. The kids really enjoyed the first couple of chapters...and I'll admit I did, too. We also began a new read-aloud - Twice Freed by Patricia St John.  The book is a work of historical fiction, based on the Book of Philemon.  Julie really likes it so far, but Joseph can sense the 'romance' aspect of it...and, as a 9 yr old boy,  I don't think he's quite thrilled with that -    Hopefully, that aspect won't be too heavy that it over-shaddow the 'message' of the book. In science this week Julie is learning about the skeletal system of the body.  we haven't made this weeks model yet - so I'll share her models from the past couple of weeks - the skin: and the eye: For music, we begin our study of Mozart this week. Unfortunately, as we did not buy the MFW 'deluxe package', and our library does not have the Mozart CD's we needed - we are sort of doing our own thing.   (It's okay though...I actually prefer it in this case)  ;-) We enjoyed the Opal Wheeler biography of Haydn so much, that we decided to read the Mozart one as well. We are also doing our own unit study on instruments/sections of the orchestra last week we studied the strings This week I think we'll learn the brass family of instruments, as well as a bit of theory.... I also bought this wonderful book It's sort of a more grownup version of the "Hymns for a Kids Heart" book that we loved so much a few years ago.   We won't be reading all of the stories in it, but I thought for sure we would focus on the Christmas ones during this upcoming season.   But since it's November, I thought this one would be a great place to start As for art - I have to admit - we've just sort of been doing 'crafty' things on our own.   Julie has been working on a latch hook kit, and beading; Joseph has been drawing 3-D pictures, and working on a picture of the Roman Colosseum; and the little girls have been having lots of fun sponge painting. (I also wanted to mention that Katie took her first Light Unit test for the CLE Learning to Read program....she got 100%)  It's been a productive week.

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Monday, November 9, 2009

Polly put the kettle on....

Probably not what they had in mind with those lyrics, huh? (and... as you can plainly see... these Pollys prefer Suisse Mocha to tea) Apparently it's time to round up my girls to pick up their toys.....

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Monday, November 9, 2009

We Are Thankful

As is the custom for many at this time of the year, we are reflecting on God's bountiful blessings to our family.   In years past we have done a  'tree of thanks', it's a project that we have enjoyed, but this year we are doing something just a bit different.... an 'advent calendar' for Thanksgiving. First, we made our own envelopes (one for each day of November,) and then we searched online for cute images and clip-art to decorate them. Inside the envelopes are small slips of paper that say, "I am thankful for...." Each day we will each write down one thing that we are especially thankful for, and then place it in the pocket for the day.  At the end of the month,(or perhaps at our Thanksgiving celebration,) we will all read our slips and share with one another just how richly we have been blessed. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29:13

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Thursday, November 5, 2009

Homeschool Mom Translator

This should be required reading for all homeschool dads is hysterical! Homeschool Mom Universal Translator (A translator for dads, so that they do not misinterpret what we mean when we are stressed out by homeschooling.) And it couldn't be more timely... considering my last post

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Thursday, November 5, 2009

the blahs.

Sorry I haven't been updating more....We all  have the 'blahs.' (It's too early in the year for this...isn't it?) Part of it is the weather - ( the cold hit early this year), part of it was the flu  -(that took a lot out of all of us!), but mostly... we're just not as excited about school this year for some reason.  The material is just as good, but we haven't found our groove and settled into a comfortable routine like we have in past years.  It isn't  MFW that's dragging us down this year - (Yes...we're all ready to move on from Rome, and I've been a bit frustrated with some of the readings, but in all I think that we've all enjoyed it....) It''s our core subjects that have hit us hard this year. Julie, especially, has reached a point in which her main subjects have increased quite a bit in the level of difficulty.  (She's hit the 'logic stage' for those who subscribe to the 'Classical' model.) Because they are more difficult, she often needs to spend more time on them. This frustrates her, (because she sees Joseph 'whizzing' through his work,) it frustrates Joseph, (because he has to wait for her so we can all do our MFW readings together,) and it frustrates me,  because we get further and further behind... (and this extends our time in Rome!) Also, Julie has begun her catechism work that she must take in order for her to become an 'confirmed' member of our church.  This is a very intensive Bible study course, and I think that doing two Bible programs (MFW and catechism) is wearing her out.  I'd hate to give up either one, though...as they both have so much to offer...  One is church history, and the other is Church history! Thinking ahead to next year already, I have already decided that - while I have really loved combining Julie and Joseph for Bible, History and Science these past few years...I did so because I thought it would make things easier and less complicated for me.  At first that was true, but now that they are at different levels of comprehension...this is proving to not always be the case.    So next year, I am pretty sure that each will have their own completely separate program for all subjects.   whether those are textbooks, or unit studies, or possibly even literature based programs - I haven't decided.    We'll stick it out for this year though, and who knows... once we're out of Rome - our whole outlook may completely change.

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Monday, November 2, 2009

Writing assignment

Joseph was assigned to write about a 'famous explorer' for language arts today. Thinking he might need help, I started listing off a bunch he could choose from: Columbus, Magellan, Drake, De Soto, Cortes, etc.... He said "No...that's okay, Mom.  I already picked one." "Great!" I thought.   He's starting to retain those important historical facts and figures! And then he handed me his paper... with a paragraph on..... Sigh.........  Oh well...at least it was a well written paragraph.

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Monday, November 2, 2009

Wooly Bear

We had a little friend come for a visit this past weekend. He was a bit shy at first (....you probably would be, too, in this situation). But he 'warmed up' to us quickly. He had some lunch Played a bit.... But soon was on his way.... We know where he lives though.... so hopefully we'll be able to stop by and see him again in the spring. I wonder if he'll have changed at all?

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Friday, October 30, 2009

Reformation Day

October 31st is this weekend. But instead of turning our attention to monsters and witches - we choose to focus on something more noble and worthy of remembering....Reformation Day. If you are interested in celebrating Reformation Day, too...here are a few ideas to get you started. 1. Read a book about Martin Luther (or some of the other Reformers: Calvin, Tyndale, Zwingli, etc) We'll be using this one http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Luther-Man-....6837721&sr=1-6 2.Listen to A Mighty Fortress is Our God http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/m/i/g/mightyfo.htm 3.Games/Activities: - Pin the 95 Thesis on the door - Throw the Indulgences in the trash relay race - Create a "fishers of men" fishing pond - Hold a "Mightiest Fortress" building contest- build a tower and see whose is strongest. - Participate in the "Diet of Worms" – (aka - gummy worm dessert: chocolate pudding, crushed oreos & gummy worms - YUM!)) - Have a "baptismal apple dunk" - Play “duck, duck, RECANT!” (aka - duck, duck, goose) - Play Reformation Pictionary with words like: theology, truth, 95 theses, A Mighty Fortress, diet, worms, Germany, Gospel, Law, grace, October 31, castle, monk, nail, indulgences, church and door. - color a picture of Luther http://www.teacherhelp.org/images/Martin%20Luther.pdf - Make 'stained glass' cathedral windows 4.Here are some more activities http://www.theholidayzone.com/reformation/art.html 5.Here are some word searches and puzzles http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialDays/Reformation/ReformersWordSearch.pdf http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialD....MazeYounger.pdf http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialDays/Reformation/ReformationMazeOlder.pdf Here's a link to the original 95 Thesis http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialDays/Reformation/Luther95.html And there are some more neat ideas here http://www.lovetolearnplace.com/SpecialDays/Reformation/index.html Here is a Unit Study on The Reformation by Core Knowledge http://www.coreknowledge.org/CK/resrcs/lessons/598Reformation.htm More info about the Reformation/Luther: http://www.sundayschoollessons.com/refday.htm http://www.sundayschoollessons.com/refles.htm http://www.sundayschoollessons.com/luther.htm http://www.stpaulskingsville.org/reformation.htm My good friend Daisy also has some great Reformation ideas over at her blog! Happy Reformation Day!

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

This little piggy

This little piggy can fly out of our house ANY time now....                         We are literally sick.....                                           and tired.....                                        ...of the swine flu.

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Lego club

Julie has violin and piano, and the little girls have ballet... but up until this point - we hadn't found an activity for Joseph.  He's not into sports, he's too young for band... and he was very disappointed when he just missed the cut-off for the local  First Lego League (not to mention...it was very pricey.) So after talking to another mom from our homeschool co-op that had a son in the same boat...an idea was formed....and last night we held the very first meeting of the Homeschool LEGO Club! We met at the local library - (they have 'meeting rooms' that any organization may use for free) I wanted this to be a very low-key, low-stress time for the kids to build, share, and have fun. (You know.....to " socialize".... ) We started off with show and tell All of the creations were very detailed and imaginative (Joseph shares his castle) After that we had 'free building' time - and we also had some Lego magazines and idea books available to browse for ideas And we topped it all off with a snack. I'm so glad that I had this special time with my son.

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Flu - round 2

Well...my best laid plans have been tossed aside. The fevers and coughs are back with a vengeance. Julie has croup... School can wait.

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Monday, October 26, 2009

Something for our music study

We have been focusing quite a bit on music lately, especially our composer study of Haydn We even found this wonderful little book at the library.  It is a nice little biography, with charming pen-and-ink illustrations, and the kids were really excited to see some of his actual music inside. If all goes well, we'll be back on track to jump into RtR: Week 9 next week....

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