• Jan. 13, 2007
computer crash
Our computer crashed, and so I haven't had a chance to blog for a while. Homeschooling has been difficult these past 2 months. The girls are fighting and are disobeying terribly. I am ready for spring. I think we need more sunshine and fresh air. I have decided to go back to school myself. I am taking a writing class one night a week. At this time, I am planning on earning my nursing degree. It will take 3 years. Time will tell what the future holds for us. I just pray that the girls will settle down and get back to learning without all the fighting. This next week we will make sticker charts to encourage cooperative behavior. Please pray for us. Thanks!
• Nov. 28, 2006
Snow day
This morning it snowed again. It is so beautiful! We watched the flakes go from small to very large, and then small again. There was a 2 hour late start for public school, but we started before 8AM at home school, as usual. The girls quickly finished all their work, and bundled up in long johns, snow bibs, coats, gloves, and caps. They headed outside for P.E. I put our 3 thoroughbreds in our new round pen my wonderful husband recently finished building. The girls are out there sledding in the pasture, as I type. It is a good thing that last night I made sure I had all the makings for hot chocolate! It is a hot chocolate day! Meanwhile, our son, who is a senior in high school has recently applied to the Naval Academy. He is also in the Delayed Entry Program as a Navy Fleet Diver. I know that it is difficult to get into Annapolis, but I am glad he is checking out his options. He is an amazing young man and will do well wherever God places him.
• Nov. 26, 2006
Attendance
I know that I need to keep attendance records for accurate transcripts; however, I haven’t been keeping very good records. Today I decided to come up with a better way to record attendance. I made a spreadsheet calendar that covered the complete school year. I will make a line through the days each child is present, and circle it if they are absent. I will put a V for vacation day. I think this will help in my record keeping.
Here is a sample of the 1st 3 months. They have borders around each # though:
2006-2007 Attendance Calendar
M T W R F M T W R F M T W R F
August September October
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
• Nov. 15, 2006
Schedule Changes
The other day I was feeling pretty discouraged. One of the other bloggers recommended www.titus2.com. I checked it out and was encouraged by what I read. I redid our schedule. The main change was that the children don't all do math at the same time. I changed it so that I can help one with math while the others do their easier tasks. Wow! What a difference. Another big change was adding a devotional reading with our teen again. We started reading Preparing Your Daughter for Every Woman's Battle. She enjoys reading aloud together about such a special topic. She is 13 this year. She has told me what a difference this makes in her day, when we start her day discussing God's ways. I am so glad I got back to homeschoolblogger and connected with you all again. You make a difference in my life 
• Nov. 3, 2006
Progress
Thanks for your encouragement! We have started reading a classic, Little Women. The girls and I are really enjoying this time together. I am delightfully surprised that even our little 6 year old is listening and enjoying. I don’t have any grand expectations about her sitting still, so that helps. The girls talk about their own personalities compared to those of the characters in Little Women. They are so darling! Another thing we have accomplished is that my oldest daughter and I went to the gym to work out together, weight machines and swimming. It was fun. My mom will be watching the 2 little ones twice a week so we can go swim, or whatever, together. OH, one more thing, we joined the Children’s Museum again. The girls did some fantastic art work there the other day. The little girls created scarecrows on construction paper with material, while the oldest wrote her name really big and covered it with odds and ends. They enjoyed the time with the glue. :) Now, we have finished the 1st quarter of the year and I am catching up on all the grading, so I can make sure we are on track.
• Oct. 31, 2006
October
I have been busy blogging at another site, and so am sorry I have been gone so long. Here we are at the end of October and I am feeling so disorganized still. This year I am home educating all three of our girls, grades 1st, 3rd, and 7th. It feels so chaotic! Maybe we need a stricter schedule. Last year with the kindergartener and 6th grader, it went so smoothly. Now I feel torn. I run from child to child trying to answer their cries of “Mommy, I need help!” I am tying to keep it simple, however there is so much more I want to incorporate. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE homeschooling. It is a huge blessing and know this is right where we are to be. I guess I just want so much for each of them. I want to teach them and share so much with them. I feel like I can’t fit it all in, but I know we aren’t doing too much. My goal for this week is to develop a new schedule and incorporate some of the other activities we want to do: Reading some classics aloud, swimming, and going to the children’s museum.
• May. 25, 2006
The Cay
The girls and I are still reading The Cay, aloud. We are enjoying it. It is about a boy who becomes stranded on an island with a man who ends up taking care of him. It is just the kind of adventure my daughters and I were looking for, a great read!
• Apr. 28, 2006
Went to the library today and picked up The Cay. It was recommmended by a friend. It looks like another good adventure.
• Apr. 15, 2006
For our next adventure, we got out a Childcraft book and read a short story about Davy Crockett at the Alamo. When I finished reading, and showed the girls the picture of the Alamo, my 8-year-young daughter asked, "Can we go there today?" lol We live far, far away from the Alamo, but that would be a grand adventure wouldn't it?! The next time we get to the library we will be looking for Sword Song by Rosemary Sutcliff. I don't know much about it, but will look. Another book we are currently reading aloud is Hind's Feet on High Places, the children's version. our 5 and 8 love it!
• Apr. 13, 2006
Tree House
Excitedly, I told the young gal at the video store that I was renting the movie Swiss Family Robinson in follow-up to reading the book, and in preparation for a trip to Disneyland. She then reluctanty informed me that it was not longer Swiss Family Robinson's treehouse, but now Tarzan's Treehouse. 
I was disappointed, but now am determined to find another adventure to read about. Any suggestions? <>< kas
• Apr. 12, 2006
Tree House Book
The version of Swiss Family Robinson we are reading is a condensed version. We are nearing the end. I haven't told the girls exactly why I chose this book. I chose it because we are going to Disneyland soon! It will be a surprise for the 2 younger girls, unless an older sibling tells them about it. I am so excited! 
I remember seeing the movie when I was young and going to Disneyland to climb in the real tree house. I am looking forward to sharing this adventure with our girls! <>< kas
• Apr. 7, 2006
Ordering for next year
For the past couple of days I have been making my shopping list for what curriculum I want to order from A Beka. I have a mentor friend I called to discuss curriculum and books to have the girls read next year. I just got an email letting me know that there is free shipping for A Beka in April if I order online. I was so excited! I placed a huge order and feel like a kid waiting for a surprise gift. Wow! I am so excited to look through all the books I ordered! Some of the readers I ordered are Pilgram's Progress, Elizabeth I, Flood and Flame, and Benjamin Franklin.
For now we are reading through Swiss Family Robinson.
• Mar. 31, 2006
Curriculum Calendar
This is our 1st year of homeschooling. What a journey we are on! What an adventure! This year I have been homeschooling our 5 and 12-year-young daughters. Next year, we will add our 8-year-young daughter. Our son is 17 and in public school. He does well and loves it. He is a wonderful young man. Meanwhile, my thoughts are on finishing this year, and planning for next. I am excited about finding new curriculum and ordering for our 3 daughters.
I use a chart for annual curriculum planning, a spreadsheet. I break the year down into 4 quarters, 4 columns. I have rows of subjects to be covered. In the fall I look at each book to be covered and fit it into the year. I decide what pages we will cover each quarter and put it on the chart. It is spring now, and time to check to see how we are progressing in each subject. I may need to make some adjustments. I think we are ahead of schedule in most subjects. I suppliment with 4-H and electives. Growing up we had an extensive library, which I am blessed to have in my home now. This has been great for our little homeschool. <>< kas
