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At Home With Jesus!
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
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
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
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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Monday, October 26, 2009
We're okay
We're still surviving.
Paul is on the mend. He's feeling much better, except for his wheezing/coughing
(which is mostly due to his asthma at this point.)
Unfortunately, all 4 kids have also been 'hit' with the flu. Over the weekend they all had the fevers, aches and chills...now their energy is back, but they also have a residual cough, and sniffles.
As for me, Praise the Lord, I haven't been hit... yet.
I have been taking vitamins, drinking OJ, gargling w/ Listerine, and spraying everything with Lysol several times a day. I am monumentally behind on laundry, dishes, and school....but I guess those things can wait.
We didn't go to church this weekend, and I am not going to send the kids to their extra-curricular activities this week. Hopefully by next week we'll be back in full swing.
On a lighter note...here's a funny exchange that happened between Joseph and I this morning....
Joe: Mom what is a mullet?
ME: It's a hairstyle where your hair is short in front and long in the back.
Joe: - (stares blankly at me)
ME: Why?
Joe: My math book says, "If 18 mullets were swimming and a shark ate 5, how many would be left?"
ME: Huh? What?
(goes off to Google 'mullets')
Did you know that mullets are also a fish?
Because *I* sure didn't! ![[image]](http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k131/ellisrelocation/smiley%20codes/giggle2.gif)
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Thursday, October 22, 2009
Happy Birthday, Julie
My beautiful, amazing daughter turned 12 today.
TWELVE! ....(As in...one year away from becoming a teenager!  )
It seems impossible, and yet just looking at her, she is in every way becoming a young lady.
It breaks my heart, and yet at the same time I am excited for this new season in her life.
This is the age when my own mother and I became best friends, and I have high hopes that Julie and I will share that same, special bond.
One of the gifts that we bought for her for her birthday was the Max Lucado book
The Oak in the Acorn.
 If you haven't read this book....you MUST! (although I must warn you...if you're anything like me, have a box of tissues handy, because I was a sobbing mess by the end!)
It is a beautiful parable about knowing when to 'let go' and let our babies grow into exactly what God made them to be. I thought it was very fitting gift for Julie, as she enters into this next chapter of her life.
Due to Paul's illness, we had a very 'low key' day today.
I gave the kids a vacation day from school, and we relaxed around the house this morning.
Julie also opened her gifts Among other things... she received her book, a Webkins, and her 'traditional' birthday gift from Paul and I - a figurine from the Precious Moments 'Growing in Grace' series for her collection.
She was very pleased with them all, but perhaps her best gift this year was just a simple hug from dad...who happened to feel well enough to get out of bed long enough to watch her open her gifts.
 Everyone else gave her lots of hugs, too...
Then, Paul headed back to bed, and so in order to give him a chance to get some sleep we headed out for a birthday celebration/lunch at.... Chuck E Cheese.
Oooops... I mean....
Yeah - not my favorite place, but that's where the birthday girl really wanted to go.....
So....
We ate
We played
  
We
went to the car and used a gallon of hand sanitizer
had a great time.
This evening we had a quiet dinner at home and watched home movies from when Julie was a little bitty baby. Oh....what a bittersweet walk down memory lane.
Julie helped bake her own cake this year, and she completely decorated it all by herself!
Didn't she do a wonderful job?!!!
Happy birthday sweet, Julie.
We love you forever!
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009
What a day....
Yesterday, Paul started feeling thlike he was 'coming down with something' so he stayed home and rested all day.....Good boy. ;-)
But today, despite his requests to reschedule meetings he was asked to come in.
I worried about him the entire time he was gone, and when he walked in the door this evening, he was ashen. He begged me for tea and LOTS of blankets because he was so cold.
brought him the blankets, and he was breathing really fast - like he was hyperventilating.
I took his temp...it was 103.8 !
He was coughing , and having a hard time catching his breath (he is asthmatic) and when I called his doctor, they said to get him to the ER and to call the ambulance if I needed to.
We live less than 5 minutes from the hospital, so I figured we'd be quicker than an ambulance - BUT....maybe I should have called because once again.... we were stuck in the waiting room. 
We waited (with DH burning up and hacking up a lung) for two hours before he was seen!
(The triage nurse gave him a couple of Tylenol.... ...but c'mon!)
Finally he was seen and diagnosed with 'the flu'
They said the state won't let them test for H1N1 so they have no idea which strain of flu it is.
He doesn't have pneumonia - but they said that could develop in the next couple of days so he has to be extra vigilant about resting and watching for signs of that..
They also said NO work until he is fever free for 24 hrs. (I know he has another meeting scheduled for tomorrow - but I'll duct tape him to the bed if I have to! He's not leaving this house!)
I'm supposed to give him asthma and fever meds round the clock for the next day.
And speaking of the next day..... I have a prayer request....
Tomorrow is Julie's birthday.... 
Paul had to travel last year on her birthday, and he promised her that he would be here this year for her birthday...and while he is technically here..... 
She's taking it pretty well though....she just wants her Daddy better.
Thanks once again for your prayers.... I sure can use them!
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Wednesday, October 21, 2009
rude awakening
After being up most of the night 'hovering' over poor Paul, ( who I'm pretty sure has the flu,)
I had quite a scary awakening this morning.
Joseph came into my room screaming, crying, and covered in blood!
Thankfully, I quickly figured out it was 'just' a nosebleed.
But...45 minutes later it was still bleeding. 
So... the doctor wanted to see him right away.
Of course 'right away' obviously means something else to the medical office staff,
because they made me stand at the front desk and sign paperwork/scan my insurance cards, etc.
for 10 minutes and then sent us to
a) a waiting room where we sat for another 10 minutes and
b) an exam room - [which wasn't really an exam room - it was the room where they put casts/splints on - because all of the real exam rooms were full...] and there they made us wait until a real exam room was open (another 20 minutes)
and, of course, once we got into the real exam room we still had to wait even longer, until the doctor finished up with the patient 'next door.'
The good news is... by the time we actually did get to see the doctor, (about an hour after I called,) his nosebleed had slowed to a trickle, and they didn't end up having to cauterize it.
The doctor told us to get him some nasal spray for allergies, because it will help constrict the blood vessels in his nose, and to put a humidifier in his room.
After a wake-up call like that, our school day got off to a very slow start.
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Jericho and the inner ear
How's that for a vague title - LOL.
In today's Bible lesson, Katie and I read the story about Rahab and the spies.
Katie did an art project in which she 'made' the walls of Jericho.
We made 'mortar' out of shaving foam and glue -
and then she hung a red rope in the window...just like Rahab.
(And Annabelle made one, too. Her project was more or less a 'sensory experience' though. )
Julie learned about the parts of the inner ear, and how they work, in her science this week.
We used the MFW resource "The Body Book" to make a paper model of the inner ear.
 
I am also giving praises to God for leading me back to Rod and Staff science for Joseph.
It has been such a blessing! He is no longer stressed about having to keep up with Julie, and I think he enjoys the subject matter a lot more, too.
I'm not as stressed either - because MFW discusses 'the birds and the bees' in a few weeks,
and while I think it is time to have that talk with Julie...
I'm not quite so sure Joseph is ready for it yet.
This way....I'll be able to spend more time on that delicate subject with my pre-teen daughter,
while Joseph can stick to topics like earthworms, astronomy and magnets.
It brings such joy to my heart when I find that right fit.
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Monday, October 19, 2009
My 'Roman' princess
I'm not 'into' Halloween, but one nice thing about this time of year is that we find a lot of fun clothes to re-stock our dress-up box....and this year we found something extra special!
We were at Goodwill this weekend and sitting right there on the costume rack was the most gorgeous 'Roman Princess' costume.
Julie's eyes glazed over dreamily and she was drawn right to it, and she begged,
"Mom...this would be perfect for our 'Roman Feast!"
(MFW: RtR plans a big feast in week 13 to celebrate the end of the unit on Rome.)
So I gave her the usual reply.... "Ask your Dad" 
And she was so ecstatic when Dad said "Yes!"
We have one very thrilled young lady....
 
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Thursday, October 15, 2009
My Hubby's a WINNER!
My husband, Paul, drinks Mountain Dew like it's going out of style.
And he likes to play the 'game' on the bottle caps where it says - "enter code for prizes."
He's won a few T-shirts and baseball caps in the past...
but last week he was checking his email and he burst out laughing.
Apparently this time he was a "Grand Prize Winner!"
I was giddy with excitement as ideas raced through my mind....
a vacation for two to Hawaii?
a new laptop?
even a Wii would be nice!
So Yesterday his package arrives....
Hmmmm...well that's the wrong size for a laptop or a Wii....
and it's too big for vacation tickets....
What could be inside?
 
Ummmmm
Okaaaaaay.....
So....I guess I could always get him snowboarding lessons for Christmas - huh?
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009
A cold hike
As I mentioned...it snowed here this week.
The temps have been in the 30's-40's, and very windy all week.
We had really hoped that we would be able to see some geese at Horicon Marsh before they made their long journey south...but I think they must have felt winter coming because there were hardly any there.
We saw a few beaver and muskrat lodges
 A heron
 And a wide open, cold, empty marsh.....
The older two didn't have their winter jackets (I hadn't dug them out of storage yet because we typically don't need them until November)... but they wanted to hike, so the kids wrapped the extra blankets that we keep in the car around them, and we set off on the trail through the marsh. (It was 36 degrees!)
 
Julie decided maybe that wasn't such a good idea.
Joseph made the best of it
After a couple more 'photo ops' we called it quits and went back to the car...where we blasted the heater all the way home.
 
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