Nov. 30, 2009 - the best gifts are usually free
Last year, my oldest dd had a brainstorm when her dad cut the bottom off the Christmas tree. She saw the disk that emerged and, knowing her mom so well, realized that Mom would love this as a coaster.
So, she wrapped it and put it under the Christmas tree. Sure enough ! love it and wanted to start a tradition:
We got this year's tree over the weekend and dh kindly asked the guys preparing the tree to trim off an extra disk which they were happy to do.
On the back we add the year. It is a slow way to gather a coaster set but the funnest way I have heard of.
If you haven't bought your tree yet, feel free to borrow our tradition. That is the whole reason I even started this blog.....I have borrowed SO many ideas from others that if I can help inspire a few people in return it will make me happy!
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Nov. 25, 2009 - New Thanksgiving Read
We love special read alouds for the holidays. Our newest Thanksgiving read aloud is Eating the Plates by Lucille Recht Penner.
This is a Pilgrim book about Food and Manners. It is an enjoyable read. The kids already asked if we can read it again next year!
Thanks to the Five in a Row ladies for another great recommendation!
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Nov. 25, 2009 - Princess Ceremony
We joined with some special friends for a wonderful closing ceremony for our Princess and the Kiss (purity) study this week. All the ladies were committed to making it a meaningful ceremony and it is one we will remember for a long time with fond memories!
Decorations included photos of our girls at different stages:
We started out with prayer and the reading of the book, Princess and the Kiss.
Joy played More Precious Than Silver on the flute, accompanied by one of the moms on the keyboard.
After a brief introduction of why we were together, the girls worked on some short worksheets that one of the moms had prepared asking for their favorite verses, a picture of how they felt when their mom spent the devotional time with them, and filling in the blanks for some of their memory verses. As they shared their answers, they were presented with matching headband/bracelet sets.
Next, we had a craft time, making roses with twisted paper:
It was then time for the focal point of the day -- blessing our little princesses! One of the mom's explained the meaning of the Princess Prayer Box Necklace Then, one by one, we put a tiara on their head, shared encouragement to live a life of purity, and prayed God's blessing on them, put the necklace around their heads and gave them a fresh rose.
My first princess:
My second princess:
As we closed, the girls signed bookmarks as "witnesses"
The ladies went all out to prepare special baskets filled with goodies to take home:
-mini bibles
-stationary and pens
-large candy kisses
-journals
-sweets
-My Heart, Christ's Home for Children booklets
And what is a princess party without some fancy snacks?
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Nov. 2, 2009 - girlie craft
We did this craft in Kid's Klub for the kids to give to their moms. I thought it would be a good craft to do at our Princess and the Kiss Closing Ceremony. The instructions were from www.arteflorale.com
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Oct. 30, 2009 - Jumprope Competition
We had a blast on this past Saturday at Guam's 3rd Annual Jump Rope Competition. Attending was Lee Reisig, 3 time world champion jump roper!
The girls both got a gold and a silver medal. I was presented a medal for 3rd place for speed, but found out later the tally was wrong and I was actually 4th. But, hey I am still pretty excited seeing as the division was 15 years old and above. 
Sarah took first place in the Freestyle with a beautiful routine set to My Praise by Philips Craig and Dean. She also took second place in speed:
Joy jumped for 8:08 non-stop with no mistakes to win the endurance.
She also took second place for her Freestyle routine -- a fun routine set to He Came to Give us Life.
Here we are with Lee Reisig:
Not sure how long the online pictures will stay up but for now they are here:
Pacific Daily News
My girls appear in pics 8, 12, 13 (in red shirt/jean shorts + aqua shirt/brown-aqua plaid shorts). There is a great shot of Lee upside down in pic no. 5
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Oct. 23, 2009 - Healthy, Edible Centerpiece for Autumn
Okay, well it is just rainy and dry seasons here for us - this being rainy. But, nonetheless, we are enjoying decorating with pumpkins, fall leaves and the like.
Check out this fun centerpiece that really isn't hard to make at all. The idea came from Country Woman magazine:
Sarah helped me put it together and Joy made some fondant leaves (that we decided look more like petals). What do you think, does it look like they enjoyed this break from the books?
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Oct. 20, 2009 - Pretenders
In our neighborhood Kid's Klub this week we talked about wearing masks and pretending. Man looks at the outward appearance and we can sometimes fool people, but God looks in our hearts and we can't fool Him. He created our hearts and He knows what is really going on.
Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive yourself, do what it says. ~ James 1:22
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Oct. 12, 2009 - Thunderbird Show!
We had the privilege of viewing a show by the Thunderbirds this past week. The show was postponed from the previous week due to a typhoon threat (but we were spared!), and on the postponed date we had a bit of a wait for the low lying clouds to break a bit, but it was worth the wait:
Notice the Rainbow!
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Oct. 6, 2009 - Jumprope Pamphlet
Inspired by our jumprope class, dd1 chose that topic for her assignment to create a pamphlet about a topic of choice. Her final product came out really nice. Check it out at the link at the end of this entry if you like. DD wrote the script and Mom edited it with her. She then, typed it out and designed the pamphlet complete with photos and clipart which she organized and placed in the pamphlet. We did this over several days and it was quite a learning experience!
Click here for the document.
cover, back and page 1,6
pages 2,3,4, 5
Since the layout was done on a program many might not have , I published it to a pdf file. You will have to take note of the page numbers which aren't in correct order because of this. It was created on legal size and then folded but that layout doesn't come through in pdf.
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Sep. 25, 2009 - God's Encouragement for me this week
The Beyond Five in a Row Christian Character and Bible Supplement recently led us to this verse in Deuteronomy 29:29 which has been a huge encouragement to me of late!
"...the secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever!" Deut. 29:29
Wow, just think about it! God has revealed secrets not only to us but to our children. It amazes me to see a child that has accepted the Lord at times possessing nuggets of wisdom that older people who do not know the Lord miss. Is that not remarkable!? God certainly works in unexpected ways!
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Sep. 12, 2009 - latest nature study
After giving a little talk to the homeschool group about nature journaling, I have had a few people check how it is going. A little accountability!! 
Our latest simple activity idea came from our Nature Friend magazine. We separated the pigments in some plants by mixing them with acetone (finger nail polish remover) and letting them sit for a few hoursw with a strip of absorbant paper inside. Due to the chemical reaction, the colors come out in layers.
I took my picture before the labels were added - but the first one is guava leaves, the second a bright red hibiscus flower and the third a purple orchid. By the way, these are all from our yard -- we are blessed!
Simple and fun experiment for a nice addition to our nature journal! What nature studies have you been up to?!
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Sep. 10, 2009 - great articles to ponder
Here are a few really great blog entries that have inspired me lately:
Keeping the Home in Homeschool
Growing your Children's Passions
Do You have a Dream?
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Aug. 21, 2009 - applications for nature journaling
Besides the obvious science and art lessons that can be pulled out of nature walks, here are a few other things we have used it for:
*language: spelling practice, handwriting practice, dictation, notebooking, paragraph construction, labeling, vocabulary, poetry, abc's, descriptive language, list-making
*math : figuring dates (incubation dates, growth rates), measuring circumferences, weights, lengths, graphing of types,
*geography : indigenous species and use of field guides when travelling, how and from where an invasive species came, flora and fauna of a region
*art: photography, making crafts with nature, drying flowers, blending of colors, various art mediums
*science: weather, plants, animal studies, flowers, insects, senses, animal classification
My other blog entry with ideas for getting started
To read an inspiring nature blog by Jane Claire Lambert, Writer of the Five in a Row curriculum visit:
Jane's Nature Notes
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Aug. 18, 2009 - New for our School Year
Well we dove into our new school year recently week and so far, so good!
Here is what new things we have added this year:
I decided to try a curriculum called Vocabulary Vine My intention isn't so much for vocabulary as it is a supplement to reinforce spelling in a fun way. So far, so good - they enjoy it so far. An index card system is created day by day, with the roots/prefixes and sample words.
A second addition this year is Daily Geography since we love that subject! It is already a strength, especially for older dd but it adds a spark to the school day for us.
Lastly, for mom's organizing help, I am trying out Homeschool Skedtrack and so far it is helping tremendously with my planning and will help with record-keeping as well. I am one of those who is trying to move away from paper as I get bogged down with too many papers and no place to file them! So, this online system may be just the trick!
What is new in your homeschool this year?
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Aug. 14, 2009 - Available to borrow (Guam Homeschoolers)
Available to borrow for those on Guam: (email to: degregso@hotmail.com
Beyond Readers (vol. 1): Betsy Ross, Homer Price
Very Last First Time
Papa Piccolo
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening
Lentil
Who Owns the Sun?
Another Celebrated Dancing Bear
Cranberry Thanksgiving
Glorious Flight
Wee Gillis
They Were Strong and Good
Ferdinand
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car
The Giraffe that Walked to
Owl Moon
The Little Red Lighthouse and the
Truman’s Aunt Farm
Andy and the Lion
Andy and the Circus
The Wild Horses of Sweetbriar
Amber on the Mountain
Climbing
The Dutchess Bakes a Cake
Paul Revere’s Ride
The Bee Tree
The Gullywasher
Snowflake Bentley
The Hatmaker’s Sign
Mailing May
Babar to Duet or Not to Duet
Roxaboxen
The Raft
Arabella
Big Green Pocketbook
Blueberries for Sal
Jessie Bear, What will you Wear?
I am an Artist
If Jesus Came to My House
Caps for Sale
http://www.homeschoolshare.com
Crawdad Creek
Apples to
The Day of Ahmed’s Secret
Bobbin Girl
I Love you the Purplest
Aunt Flossie’s Hat (and Crabcakes Later)
Baby in a Basket
The Mitten
Mama, Do You Love Me?
Masai and I
The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush
Hawk, I’m Your Brother
The Big Snow
The Gardener
Meeting Trees
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
Wilma Unlimited
Daisy Comes Home
Penny in the Road
When Agnes Caws
Flat
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Aug. 3, 2009 - No Greater Joy!
My mommy heart was blessed recently to see my little "disciples" applying God's Word to their lives. It was the last Sunday of the month when there is no children's church in order to allow the kids to sit with their families and put into practice what they have been learning.
Being a homeschool teacher at heart I had made a sheet to help my kids actively listen to the service.
It looks like this:
Sermon Notes:
I was rejoicing to see how one dd accurately listed the key words to the sermon and had a personal application of needing to change her attitude from what it was in the morning before she went to church (when she and mom had a bit of a spat).
Second dd didn't seem to be listening very intently and didn't put much into her notes but several days later she had her own personal application that blew me away!
I have no greater joy than to see my little ones having their own personal walk with the Lord!
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Jul. 25, 2009 - I have a mamulan!
We girls are part of the Guam Skipjacks Jump Rope class and if I understand correctly, mamulan is the adult stage of the tuna fish. Pictured here is our coach along with Joy and Naomi (and her mom). Both girls have achieved the "mamulan" status by jumping for 10 minutes nonstop (which is the equivalent of 30 minutes nonstop jogging). Coach Brian had a celebration for us at a local park. Sarah and I are still in the tatika tiyu (spelling?) stage -- more like little kids! Joy gets to help lead with coach and Mom is her student! 8>)
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Jul. 25, 2009 - neighborhood VBS
We hosted our yearly VBS outreach at our home last week and it was a great week! God was faithful to provide good weather, lots of kids and workers. It was a great time of fellowship with our church friends and a privilege to be able to bring VBS right to the neighborhood kids who otherwise would never have made it to a VBS at one of the local churches.
For a scrapbook of our Serengeti Trek visit:
http://www.thegregsons.org/scrapbook/serengeti.pdf
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Jul. 23, 2009 - Partial Solar Eclipse on Guam!
We were able to see the eclipse through some safe eclipse glasses as well as through a filtered telescope. The sun being SO strong and bright here, we really didn't notice much of a darkening. It was pretty much what a slight cloud cover would cause. What we did notice, though, was that it wasn't so hot in the direct sun as usual this time of year. My dh took these photos through the telescope:
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Jun. 12, 2009 - More on Cake Decorating
At our final neighborhood Kid's Klub recently, Sarah and Joy put the cake decorating skills they had learned to use and taught the kids how to decorate cupcakes:
Sarah showed how to put the icing on
and Joy showed how to make a fondant flower.
It was a little nutso with such a large group but it all worked out. The Kid's Klub kids always love it when they make their own snacks so we try to do that every now and then.
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