Smith Lighthouse Crew -"Train up a child in the way he should go..." Proverbs 22:6

Field Trip to the Vineyard

less just a couple short years.


They began with CatholicFamilyGifts, an online store based out of their basement.  Then they bought the Vineyard Catholic Books and Gifts Store in Rockford, and moved the online store headquarters there.  They've now got several other online stores for specific products like the Red Plate and Catholic Saint Medals

Heck, Steve has thought of pulling out his own set of jangling jeys when our kids won't go to sleep!      Thanks Chris and Elaine!  ENJOY!

King Arthur Meets Star Wars - Tour of Great Britain

from Disneyland(Christmas 2008) and the adventure really began!     First things first - here is the travel brochure and the Saint Edmund Campion bookmark.


Here is our fearless King Arthur...

and here is a pic of the re-enactment...



And here is a pic of King Arthur with Queen Guinivere...



And of course, being the huge Harry Potter series fans that Steve & I are (and the kids will probably be when they get to read them) - I *HAD* to make Treacle Tart...


it was okay - if I make it again I *won't* use blackstrap molasses, just a mild molasses and I think it will be better.  Otherwise, it was like pecan pie without the pecans - very rich!  Had to eat it with vanilla ice cream to cut the richness (and the blackstrap molasses flavor, geesh it was only a tablespoon!)

Oh!  And I cannot forget the post-presentation Jousting demo with light saber swords (of course), and pillow shields (which pleases Mommy!)...


Next we're off to Nigeria.... ENJOY!

St. Valentine's Day & Homemade Pizza

.  So we took advantage of smaller crowds, and went to Applebee's for an appetizer and dessert, then to Barnes & Noble for an hour of browsing.

So we spent St. Valentine's Day with our little loves, making heart-shaped, homemade pizza and watching Charlie Brown's Valentine DVD.  (Do you like my handiwork on this picture in picture below?  I am so proud of myself for figuring out how to do this using GIMP all on my own!)

ENJOY!  (We did!)

California Christmas

Here's some pics of our visit...

This is one of my favorite - after a long, chilly but FUN day at Disneyland, during the 20 minute drive back to Dennis & Kris' house..


Would have been a great Christmas card picture if we hadn't already sent them out!

Couldn't resist drawing the WWME symbol in the sand and taking this picture.  It just might appear in the WWME 2010 calendar! 


Letterboxing at Huntington Beach with two of my nephews, roland and Devin as guides...


Beach fun between cousins...

ENJOY!

Italy

Beware the Black Olive!    This costume

that we served over pasta, along with some yummy ,multi-grain bread and dipping oil.  (We actually presented Peru & Italy together - interesting mix of foods for one meal - plus lots of birthday cake!  It was a marathon day with the presentations following Isaiah's birthday party.)  Our bookmark is of St. Thomas Aquinas.  ENJOY!

Peru and Inca Gold

For his costume, Noah was a piece of Inca Gold.  He enjoyed reading about the Incas and the Conquistadors - though it is a rather sad part of our world history.
I tried my hand at Ceviche and it came out quite well. The bookmark was of St. Rose of Lima, the First Saint of the Americas.  ENJOY!

Uganda and Kitzito, Boy Saint

Also made a big pot of rice, just in case!     ENJOY!

More Letterboxing

Letterboxing in July

(probably because it was finally over!  heehee)
This was our first stop, and for the first box - Ring Necked Pheasant.  It took me 20-30 minutes to find the box in the trees behind this bench. The clues said, "Look for the tree with two more growing from its base..."  There were LOTS of trees like that!    But, happily and with much relief, I did manage to find the first box.

This awesome hollow oak was part of the clues for Box #4 - Wild Turkeys.  I think we all could have fit inside this oak together, if we could have squeezed through the opening - it was that BIG!

Here are the stamp images we were rewarded with, upon finding each Letterbox of the "Creatures on the Trail".   ENJOY!

Adler Planetarium Field Trip

We ventured into Chicago this past Tuesday for a free admission day at the
Adler Planetarium.
Noah's Science lessons, Behold and See 3 by Catholic Heritage Curricula

have been on our solar system, and since we've not been to the Planetarium yet...
We saw two shows: "One Sky, One World" with Big Bird and friends (good for ages 2-5 for sure, but a bit slow for our two oldest.  Isaiah liked it though!)  and
"Fly Me to the Moon" which was a 3-D (thus the glasses) animated story about the first mission where an American walked on the moon - Apollo 11.  Three little flies (yep, insects) go along for the ride.  They all liked that show too.
Here's Isaiah trying to "see what Galileo saw of Jupiter on four different nights."
Then, there was a free activity to learn about how craters are made by dropping rocks of various sizes into a huge pan of flour.  (Glad it was their mess!  hehe)
Next we discover that Miranda isn't just an adorable, sweet little Smith girl
- she's a moon of Uranus too!
There were so many activities to try, the kids really enjoyed themselves.  They even said "Thanks Mom, this was a great day!" as we were leaving!! 
This activity demonstrated a way of identifying a black hole.  Did you know you can't just "see" a black hole, and point to it and say, "There's a black hole right there?"  Black holes are sometimes identified by the stars rotations.  When there are stars clustered together, and the ones in the center have a faster rotation than the ones on the outer edges, that is one indicator that a black hole may be present.  Miranda is turning a crank that brings up some ping pong size balls that are released at the top, then spin there way down the black funnel.  When the balls get closer to the middle of the funnel, they spin around faster and faster, just like the stars in the sky do when there is a black hole present.  (Yep, Mom learned lots too!)
The last activity of the day was in the Shoot for the Moon exhibit where Noah & Miranda tried out the Lunar Jump activity.  They were actually lying on their backs and pushing off with their feet.  This is what I saw on a projector screen
 (thus the poorer pic quality too.)  They also got to see themselves on a screen
like this while they were "jumping."
I guess our day trip into our universe was quite exhausting, as Isaiah promptly fell asleep in the car, but only after setting up his own system for shading his eyes from the afternoon Sun!    (Okay, I'll admit - we were ALL tired.  But geesh - we got up at 6:30 am, and left the house by 7:30am for the two hour trek into Chicago.  Normally, Isaiah is the ONLY one who WAKES UP at 7:30am, the rest of us roll out of bed after 8:00am.  Okay, okay - 8:30am for ME!  Natural sleep patterns are very important - just read Dr. Sears' Sleep Book.    ENJOY!

Who Needs a New Vacuum?

8:59 AM, Oct. 25, 2008 .. 0 comments .. Link

Doesn't this look sleek and capable?  lol  That was my initial thought when I first saw this picture.  Head on over to The Secret is in the Sauce to find out how you can have a chance(s) to WIN this Healthy Home Vacuum by Bissell.

We are always looking for more ways to be healthier.  The features on this vacuum should help.  Now - whose turn is it to vacuum on the Chore Chart?   ENJOY! 

Holy Cow - India!

8:13 PM, Oct. 21, 2008 .. 0 comments .. Link

Yep - you guessed it - Noah finished his second country tour in his Social Studies unit (Tour the Countries - by Catholic Heritage Curricula). And - you guessed correct again - he has a sense of humor.  Grammy M. brought over a clown costume on their last visit, PERFECT for Noah, eh?    Here he is dressed in my impromptu sari (if anyone would like to help with , ahem, 'better' costumes for this child - please be my guest!  lol)

And here he is giving his presentation before a dinner of Bombay Chicken & Rice (only used 1/2 the curry because I like my tastebuds just the way they are - heehee - Oh yes, and never cook rice in with the casserole!  *I* learned a valuable lesson too! ), Chiapati and Kheer.

This is the invitation and postcard front, postcard wording and bookmark(the image on the bookmark comes from the book A Year with God, distributed by CHC)...

And here is his Travel Brochure (front and back)...


ENJOY!

September Field Trip

7:38 PM, Oct. 21, 2008 .. 0 comments .. Link

On a beautiful Fall day in September, we took a field trip with several other homeschool families to Royal Oak Farm & Orchard in Harvard, Illinois. 
The field trip included an informational presentation in this teepee,



then a hay wagon tour of the orchard,

picking five apples each (the first time for all of us Smith crew!),



a small jug of apple cider and an apple donut and some play time visitng a small petting and the fun play area.
Apple Fact: Did you know that the number of seeds an apple has, indicates the humber of times a bee visited the apple blossom of that apple?
ENJOY!

Daily Prayer Chart

12:50 PM, Oct. 12, 2008 .. 0 comments .. Link

One of Miranda's activities for Religion lessons was creating this Daily Prayer Chart.  Of course, *I* had to paper-craft it somehow!   She loves the ribbon on this, and had fun gluing things together and then hanging it up in her room.  Each day of the week directs her to one of the four types of prayer, which can be remembered as ACTS: A - Adoration, C - Contrition, T - Thanksgiving, S - Supplication(or petition.)  These are encouraged through memorized prayer, free from prayer, acts of kindness and singing.  ENJOY!

Can I Do a Lesson Today? & I Can Ride My Bike!!

12:34 PM, Oct. 12, 2008 .. 0 comments .. Link

Our youngest avoided sitting with us in the first part of the year in a demonstration of extended concentration and ability to play by himself for hours!  LOL   This school year he started out by hiding in his room with a Magnadoodle and drawing letters - I didn't know he knew how to write any yet!  Now he asks a couple times a week if he can do a lesson!  YOU BETCHA!  Here he is tracing squares I drew for him.  He also has computer lessons with a Reader Rabbit Preschool cd-rom.   And then I have several workbooks left over from the older two - so he works on grouping and object identification too.  He's not yet interested in writing letters he doesn't already know, but his interest in coloring is picking up. 
After trying several times this Summer, to no avail - just last month Isaiah decided he was going to learn to ride his bike (with training wheels).  In less than two weeks, and with the patient help of his sister, he did it!  Woohoo!  Just another short week after that he didn't need a push to get started, and now he cruises along at a nice little pace considering his little legs.  Kudos to him and his patient teacher (not me! lol)  Of course, they ALL had to be in on the picture - I guess big brother provided moral support with "woohoo's" and "Go Zay"s.     ENJOY!

Oh Canada!

12:01 PM, Oct. 12, 2008 .. 1 comments .. Link

The Catholic Heritage Curricula 3rd Grade Social Studies program is called "Tour the Countries".  I really like the CHC Social Studies programs so far.  First Grade is "Being Part of a Family" and looks at virtues and behaviors that are necessary to be a member of the family God gave you.  Second Grade is "Tour the Continents".  I believe Fourth Grade is "Tour the States" - we'll know for sure next school year!

The country unit is four weeks, during which the child researches the country using books and maps and creates a travel brochure for the country.  The unit ends with a presentation on the country, including a costume.  The travel brochure is below...


We did a Dinner & Presentation so we made invitations for that, as well as a bookmark favor of the saint chosen from this country.  We also made some information postcards that we sent out with a bookmark, to some relatives and a few other homeschooling families.  We used rubber stamps - of course! 
Noah chose a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, as Canadians also celebrate this holiday, though earlier than we do AND because he loves pumpkin pie!  I also did a recipe search via GoodSearch.com (our charity of choice is Wordlwide Marriage Encounter, Algonquin, IL) For his costume, he chose the Native American Hurons, and we made it out of cereal box chipboard and colroed construction paper.  Here is a closer up view... (the hat was my favorite!) 
He did a GREAT job on his first ever presentation!  Now we are preparing for his presentation on India...so stay tuned... ENJOY!

Painted Lady Butterfly Garden

11:37 AM, Oct. 12, 2008 .. 0 comments .. Link

Our oldest received a Butterfly Garden Kit from his godmother for his birthday, and we sent away for the larva right away.  We didn't get to watch the larvae double and triple in size because they were already full size when they arrived.  Within a few days, just two i thin, they began creating cocoons and becoming chrysalides.
This was such an interesting process to watch - probably more for me than for them even!  lol  We had to wait for all five caterpillars to morph into chrysalides in their cup, before we could transfer them to the "Garden" mesh container.  Unfortunately, I managed to kill on trying to detach it from the 'silk thread' spun to keep the chrysalide hanging in place.  Not all the chryslaides were suspended, but they still 'hatched' either way, except the one I inadvertently killed.  I was quite upset!  The directions sounded like it would be so easy to remove the chrysalides and it wasn't!  Aahh - I need to let it go... 
Noah noticed the first butterfly to emerge.  We kept the Garden on our table, which is also where we do our lessons.  He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked over to see the butterfly shedding it's cocoon.  He got all excited and called us over to witness it too.  I got to see another one emerging the next day while I was eating lunch.  It was so interesting and cool!
Noah kept notes each day in his Science Journal - you can see it "under" the butterfly in the above picture.  This was our first butterfly to emerge.  The little corner of a paper plate you see in the picture had a crumpled piece of tissue soaked with sugar water on it.  We all enjoyed watching the butterflies drinking with their probiscus - which is like a really long, thin, red tongue that unrolls for use then rolls back up.  We let all four butterflies go on a warm September day, wishing them well and hoping to see them again.  And since we had these Painted Lady Butterflies, which none of us had noticed in our environment before, we began seeing them eveyrwhere we went!  We hope you enjoyed our little butterfly pictorial/science lesson.  THANKS Godmom Jamie for a fun extra to our curriculum this year!  ENJOY!

St. Mary Lighthouse of Whitley Bay, UK

7:09 PM, Sep. 23, 2008 .. 1 comments .. Link

I was looking for some free lighthouse pictures to try to create a new blog banner.  I found some beautiful ones over at www.freefoto.com  I am posting it here - first to give credit where credit is due (which is part of the agreement to use the pic free) and so I have a url address to add it to my blog template.  If you'd like to find out more info on this lighthouse, go to the St. Mary's Island site.  ( Well the new banner pic is there and this is as good as I can do without really knowing what I am doing!) 

I chose this particular lighthouse pic because I liked that it was named with Our Lady's blessed name.

I, personally, have always liked lighthouses.  However, they gained a much greater significance after Steve & I were asked to Presenting Team for Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekends.  The lighthouse is a symbol used in Team training - basically, that our marriage, our Sacrament is a beacon of light and hope of God's true plan for His Sacrament.  We, as a couple, can be one of His lighthouses.  When God's love and light shines brightly through our couple love, we are again helping Him create life - His Grace - the life in our souls.  We serve God and He guides other couples safely into His Harbor.

You can find out more about Worldwide Marriage Encounter by clicking on this title.

 If you happen to live inthe Rockford, IL or Madison/Milwaukee, WI areas - go HERE for more information.

WWME = Making Good Marriages Better!

ENJOY!

Welcome to Our Homeschool Blog!

11:20 PM, Sep. 18, 2008 .. 2 comments .. Link

I had been thinking about doing this since we began homeschooling just 9 short months ago.  Then Sarah happened upon my StampinJewels Blog and left a comment.  So here I am, a few hours of blog surfing later, setting up our homeschooling blog!    Here's a fun picture I like to call, "What homeschooling looks like.."
Heehee! Don't you just love it?! 

Here's a little background on us - we are a Catholic homeschooling family, and we began in January 2008.  Steve & I have been in Sacrament with each other for 14 years this year.  We have five beautiful children - Noah (pictured) is 8, Miranda is 6 1/2, Isaiah is 3 1/2 plus two in Heaven - Quinn Michael and Dominic Gabriel (both 2007.)  I am blessed to be a SAHM, as well as having a home-based business as an Independent Demonstrator with Stampin' Up!.  I enjoy paper-crafting, and am on the design Team for CreativePlayStamps.  We currentyll use Catholic Heritage Curricula.  Steve & I are part of the Presenting Team for Worldwide Marriage Encounter  for the Rockford/Madison/Milwaukee area. 

We hope you enjoy the glimpses into our homeschooling journey, and the insights they offer.  ENJOY!