• Jan. 10, 2007
What have we been up to???

It seems we have had the longest break!!!    We went to visit family for almost two weeks and then there was Christmas, birthdays and New Years... and FINALLY a slow down and life was back to normal.  We started school back this week and are having a ball!  The break was just what we needed.   Back the basics of math, reading and beginning our study on the country of CHINA.  This should be a lot of fun!  Both my kids have found a love for Chinese food, thus the reason Ethan picked China to study.  Makes sense, huh? 
Today we made glow in the dark sand critters, what fun that was.  Can I ever pick an activity that does not include a huge mess?  The kids pretended to be mad scientists,

so rather than having neatly layered sand people we have a mixture of all colors from bottom to top.  They mixed, stirred and swirled the sand for almost an hour and when they felt it was properly mixed and they finally put a cork in it.. literally.  :)   Both pictures are of their best "mad scientists" face. 
All in all our 2007 year is off to a great start!  I hope everyone is having a great year so far! 

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• Dec. 6, 2006
Baking Cookies with the Kids...

Okay, so we are taking it a little lax the month of December.  We did our math lessons, and Ethan read a book to me for his phonics/reading lesson and then we baked cookies.  I do this every year and every year I swear we will not do it the next!  It is the biggest mess..

but this year I got smart; I covered the table with wax paper and that helped tremendously! Once were were through I threw the dishes in the sink and picked up the paper and VOILA the table was clean!  The kids have SO much fun baking cookies.  Although they would never win a prize in a cooking contest they are making special memories for the two of them. 

We talked about the real meaning of Christmas and The book we are following had a great lesson on Christmas baking and teaching kids about Jesus being the Bread of Life. Did you know that long ago people did not eat anything on Christmas Eve so that they would be REALLY hungry on Christmas morning for their Christmas Day Porridge!  So now the kitchen is clean and we have two plates full of Christmas cookies...YUM! 

As you all prepare for your holiday baking remember that Jesus is the Bread of Life and that he offered himself for us.  Ephesians 5:2 reads:  "Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God." 

May God Bless all of you this Christmas! 

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• Dec. 1, 2006
Back on Track..

We are working on getting back on track.. but it seems the "BUG" just does not want to leave my house!  I did not think I was being hospitable to the "BUG", but it seems he wants to take up permanent residence!  (The bug is a stomach virus, but I forgot to make that clear earlier)  Luckily, he did leave during the week of Thanksgiving and everything went well.  We had family in from Tennessee and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins!  They only get to see each other a couple of times a year but they get a long so well you would think they played together all the time!  We had our BIG thanksgiving at my Granny's house and that is always fun.  We finished up our pilgrim book marks and then did not give them out!

I think I will keep them for mysefl!  :)  They turned out really cute if we could just get the glue to hold them together! Ethan followed the picture exactly and Scarlett just made sure all the pieces were on the pilgrim in some form or fashion!  She alwasy has her own way of doing things, but her pilgrim turned out, really cute, too! 

The holiday season has begun!  I was one of the fools in line at Toys R US at 5am the day after Thanksgiving... WHY??? I am not sure there was nothing specific I needed!  We are starting our study on Christmas around the World!  This looks like it is going to be SO MUCH fun!  I have enjoyed reading all the different customs and traditions of other countries, I hope the kids enjoy it too.  We are also going to follow The ADVENTure of Christmas by Lisa Welchel this year and I hope this really helps to solidify the true meaning of Christmas to our kids.  I want them enjoy the fun and wonder of the season but also understand the true meaning and reason we celebrate.  The book has a lot of great ideas and crafts, I would recommend it to anyone that celebrates a traditional Christmas, but wants to tie in the true meaning of Christmas to our traditions. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

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• Nov. 21, 2006
Thanksgiving Break..YOO! HOO!

Okay, well I was going to have Ethan continue school this week after being sick last week.. but you know I decided that he is doing so well, and I figure he is not behind we might as well enjoy this week, and it has taken me all day today to try to get everything organized and cleaned for our company.  The kids Nannie (my husband's mother) is coming to spend Thanksgiving with us.  The kids are so excited to see their Nannie D.  Their aunt, uncle and cousins are coming, too.  Ethan and Scarlett are working on Pilgrim bookmarks to give to their cousins when they get here.  Ethan said that would be "a great idea".  

Ethan has started talking very adult like.  I guess that is part of growing up.. but it is making me sad!  Yesterday after we went to the grocery store I was bringing in the groceries and here he came outside, pushing his sleeves up asking, "so, you think you might need some help with that?"  He sounded just like his daddy!  Which is good on most days.  Later last night  he was looking at pictures of Scarlett when she was a baby and he said, "I just love her!" it was so sweet, but then he followed it with "I just loved her when she was a baby and was still good!". 

So, we know Scarlett can be a bit of a handful.  Today she has tried to help me clean as long as it involves spraying and wiping.  I have taken away everything she could possible spray! I have a bed that smells like Apples and Cinnamon air freshener, because it was throroughly sprayed and wiped. She wants to be right at my side helping me  until I mention her picking up her toys and immediately "she does not feel good".  Is that an age thing or am I just in for a treat???  Anything from her finger to her toes can and will hurt if the mention of her picking up her toys comes into the conversation.   I need to take a picture of her room after I have picked up the toys and then 30 minutes later...she comes through like a tornado! 

Okay, I guess my cleaning break is over.  I have had out the power tools but now I must go back to my washing and folding.  UGHH! 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Remember to tells someone you are thankful for THEM.  That would make their day! 

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• Nov. 17, 2006
Give Thanks!

PSALM 100

A psalm of thanksgiving

Our house is finally back on its feet and I think (or at least I hope) the "bug" has decided to move on!  We have been so off schedule and our week was so messed with all the illness that we have not accomplished too much in the way of school.  We have talked about the First Thanksgiving, The Mayflower, Pilgrims, etc and the kids have enjoyed the lessons.  We painted fall suncatchers on the day/night we talked about the harvest.  That was a lot of fun, and my window is now going to be happily decorated with five little mini masterpieces!  :) 

and then finally today all the previous and current sleep deprivation has caught up with me, so what do you do to entertain two kids?  Build a fort in the living room!  We talked about Squanto and the Indians and their involvement in the First Thanksgiving and then we built our very own TeePee out of a comforter, two chairs and a broom!  The kids have sat in their teepee all afternoon, eating popcorn, playing house, and currently they have a battle going with the Star Wars Light and Dark side.  Okay, well, just as I think "Ahh, this is the life".. Ethan asks me for the tape gun to tape his sister in the box! 
Hope everyone has a safe and blessed weekend! 

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• Nov. 14, 2006
Our First Sick Day..

I knew it would happen, but was not sure if we would manage to get anything done or just completely take the day off.  After being up all night I decided the day off would be the best thing for all involved.  Turns out our hay ride in the nice crisp air of fall may have brought on Ethan's croup.  He has had croup probably twice a year since he was a baby.  Fine during the day, up all night coughing and wheezing.  We have not taken him to the doctor for croup since he was a baby, but this time it was  hanging around after a day!  I pack Ethan up and head out to the doctor for her to look at his ears, nose and throat and proclaim he is FINE!  I knew that and I knew that would be the answer but somehow it is always better to hear it from a "qualified" professional!  So, we have actually had TWO sick days!  I am getting ready to go to bed at 7pm to try and catch up on lost sleep. 

Pray for us!  and pray for a quiet "croupless" night.  If I do not get some sleep I am likely to go crazy!  :) 

Have a great night.

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• Nov. 11, 2006
Thank a Veteran Today for your FREEDOM...

How wonderful it is to live in a country where we are free to choose to homeschool, how lucky we are to have the ability to raise our children in the manner we see fit.  We often forget that women and men fought and are still fighting to protect our rights and our freedoms.  Many paid the ultimate sacrifice.  So today on this Veterans Day 2006 say a prayer for those that are currently fighting and if you see or know a veteran say Thank You to them and their families.  Leigh Ann, when you read this, Thank you for your unselfish sacrifice of Derek's time away from his family and thank Derek for fighting to protect our freedoms. 

Last night we "hosted" our November Sunday School get together and we had a bon fire and hay ride.  It was so much fun!  The rain tried to ruin our time, but we manage to make it back outside for some smore's and the hay ride.  We had nine couples and their kids..WHAT FUN IT WAS!  I tried to take some pics.. but trying to get three boys to pay attention to a camera was a TASK!  This was the closest I came to getting all three to look at the camera.  We are very blessed to be a part of a church that has such a great group of young married couples and a church that I have been a part of for almost thirty years!  Hard to believe! 

I have the house to myself for the time being.  I am part of the football widows (and mothers) club today.  My crew left out of here calling the HOGS!  WOOOOO PIG SOOOIEEEE! 

We had major wardrobe malfunction and could not find the bloomers to Scarlett's cheerleader outfit, ever convince a "total diva" three year old that "Yes, a red/white striped diaper cover would be okay!" not EASY!    So, if she does not look happy in the picture.. she is still mad about the bloomers! 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Thank you to all our veterans!  and GO HOGS GO! BEAT UT!

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• Nov. 9, 2006

Hard to believe that this past Sunday we have been homeschooling for TWO months!  There are days that I feel like we have accomplished very little and then other days I feel very proud of all we were able to accomplish.  This past couple of weeks we have mostly focused on math and phonics and did a lot of playing and talking about the fall.  We ordered some free brochures and stories about Arbor Day and planting trees in preparation to plant our acorns. 

I am thankful more and more everday that I took the time to do all the research and read every book possible.  The most useful has been the books on learning styles.  It has been so helpful to know just how different two kids can be, it has helped me to adjust my teaching and lower the frustration level at times.   Ethan is a numbers kind of kid!  He sails through his math lessons,  and everything for him is based around a specific time or measurement; for example, you can not just tell him 15 minutes; I have to look at the clock and tell him what time it will be when we are leaving, etc.  Which is great, if only my mind constantly thought in a "numbers" kind of way!  I  love literature, poetry and art; creativity is my love...MATH is my nemesis!  :)  I am learning daily how to embrace and strengthen Ethan's learning style. He is a spatial, hands on learner.  Two phrases you would probably never use to describe him would be abstract and random, which are my strengths. So, yes, it has only been two months, but I have learned a LOT!  I hope Ethan has learned as much. 

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• Nov. 3, 2006
Just a couple of cute pics of the kids in costumes..

I tried to resist the urge to show a pic of the kids in their costumes, but finally gave in!~  The kids were Minnie Mouse and a Storm Trooper (Star Wars) for Halloween. 

We did go out Trick or Treating with my brother and his wife and kids.  The kids could care less about the candy, I think they just like walking around the neighborhood with each other and laughing, talking and running!  We rehearsed the kids prior to going to be sure and say "Trick or Treat" "Thank You" and "Happy Halloween" when leaving.  They remembered most of the time, but BATMAN (aka Corey) remembered everytime! 

and everytime he would come running back from the house and say "See, Mom!  I told you I would say it..I 'membered..."  Isn't it wonderful to see your kids learning and remembering the values and lessons you teach them on a daily basis.  Something so small, but he remembered and was proud of himself for remembering and you can bet his mom was very proud of him!  After Trick or Treating we went to the care facility I work at to visit a couple of the residents.  Most all of the residents I take care of are bedridden, but they have the nursing staff put candy out at their bedside table for the kids.  It is great to see a smile on the faces of some that have very few visitors and this year it was Ethan that really wanted to go see the residents.  All in All it was a great family night out!  :) 

Hope everyone is having a great week! 

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• Oct. 31, 2006
Love like no other...

In reading the Bible recently I came across a verse that really inspired me.  Jeremiah 31:3 reads, "...I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.  With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself."  How amazing it is to have that unconditional love to know that no matter what we are loved and will be forgiven if we just ask.  That is what I am striving to teach my kids.  I want them to know that they are loved wholly and completely and that no matter what they will always be loved.  Some days are a struggle to show them the "unfailing love" as I deal with little ones that WILL not mind, the sibling fights and other issues throughout the day, but as I feel self pity and doubt creeping in, I am reminded that I am their example of unfailing love and forgiveness.  If I don't show them unconditional love, who will? So, why homeschool?  For my husband and I, it was a choice, one that was made out of everlasting and unfailing love for our children.  I hope they are able to see that love.   

Now off to the good stuff.  Guess what?  We took a day off on Monday!  My nephews were out of school so they spent Sunday night with us and we went to the park and played ALL day!  I thought I felt outnumbered some days with just two kids, well, with four kids I was quickly overtaken!  :)  Scarlett is the only girl on my side of the family, so she has learned to jump in and be just as rough as the boys.  She was having a ball playing on her own until I ask her to come over to the slide so I could take some pics.  Can you tell by the pout face that she did not want to play with the boys?

After taking the first few pics, she decided it was not the worst thing in the world to play with the boys and she relented and finally started smiling for some of the pics. 

We had a wonderful day and both kids were sound asleep by 9pm,which is unusual at my house.

Today we plan to get back to the books and hopefully start working on some new things.  Our acorns are finally ready for planting.  The kids are excited about this!  The website said to plant them after the first fall rains, hard to tell what is the first fall rains.. since it has been raining almost daily for two weeks.  We have watched these acorns develop for almost two months, the kids love to take a look at their acorns daily and check for any changes.   Scarlett's acorn was the first to begin showing a root.. so in her eyes SHE WON!  :)  I will post some pics of our "tree planting" day. 

UPDATE:  Thank you for praying for my coworker and friend.  She had her surgery (radical double masectomy) on 10/25 and was able to come home the next day with the doctors report that they were "almost" 100% positive they were able to get all the cancer!  Praise God it had not spread to her lymph nodes.  She is doing well and recovering at home.  

Hope everyone that celebrates has a safe and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  For those that do not celebrate, have a great day! 

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• Oct. 29, 2006
Faces of Scarlett and more random things going on ...

Scarlett has a face for EVERYTHING!  She has even named them all and I finally managed to slow her down enough for me to take pictures of a few of them.  Before you ask.. no I did not fix her hair like that, she fixed it herself and was very proud of her job!  She took it very seriously running to the mirror after placing each clip in her hair to make sure it was in the the proper place. (One of many reasons I don't take beauty advice from a three year old!  Ha ha!)

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• Oct. 19, 2006
Rain Rain Go Away!...

It seems like it has either been raining or is about to rain every day this week!  Today is no exception it is raining yet again!  It did manage to quit raining on Tuesday for us to go to the Pumpkin Patch.  We go every year with my mother's Pre-K class, and the kids LOVE it!  It had rained all day on Monday.. so you can imagine what we looked like leaving the Pumpkin Patch!  You literally sank in the mud while trying to pick a pumpkin!  Ethan and Scarlett quickly picked a pumpkin and were ready to hop back on the wagon for the hay ride! 
We talked about the life cycle of a pumpkin and we have pumpkin seeds in the window sill in some water... we are tracking how long it takes for them to sprout!  We have had acorns in our window sill for almost a month and we finally have sprouts!  Ethan was so excited to watch the acorns bust open and a small sprout begin to peak out!  Let's see if our pumpkins take as long! We retrieved our pumpkin seeds while we were making our Jack O Lantern.  Ethan wanted a scary face.. but it seems the only thing I can carve is a big ol' smilin' pumpkin! 
The majority of our pumpkin seeds were toasted and the kids have enjoyed eating them!  They "tossed" the seeds in butter and salt and VOILA! Ethan has decided his daddy would be so proud to eat them for dinner!  I think I may have to cook a littler something to go with them?  What do you think???
We then made our own jack o lantern puppets! That was a lot of fun!  I messed up and ran out of glue sticks.. so we had to use the squeeze glue and the concept of a "little goes a long way" is not quite understood!  Can you tell?? They still turned out really cute and the kids are enjoying playing with their puppets. 

Our actual school work is coming along great.  We have finished up the short vowel A reading books and work sheets and are now working on the letter E.  It amazes me how fast Ethan has started picking up on reading and sounding out words since I have quit stressing about it and put the "work books" down  and closed up the lesson plan book and have just started letting him read a loud with me and figure words out on his own.   Thank goodness for refridgerator alphabet magnets!  Those seem to work perfectly. 

Thank you all for stopping by and checking our progress!  I hope you are having a wonderful Fall! 

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• Oct. 13, 2006
I wouldn't have it any other way...

Every fall as the leaves change to a golden color I think about the Robert Frost poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay".  I absolutely love the poem! 

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

It reminds me of fall and the changing colors of the leaves and the beauty that last only a moment.  It is so worth it to be around to see the beauty and enjoy the outdoors!  As we were playing numerous different games in the backyard today, once again that poem came to my mind as I watched the leaves rustle and the wind softly blow.  OH!  how the meaning has changed!  Today I quickly thought of my kids and how quickly they are growing and how precious this golden time is I am able to share with them.  How blessed I feel to be able to spend this time and be able to enjoy the beauty that last so short.  I definitely would not have it any other way. 

So, what did we do in the backyard??? We played Duck Duck Goose, Red Rover Red Rover (which is hard with only three people), soccer, basketball, we built dinosaur island in our sandbox.  Scarlett mowed the yard with her bubble mower.

and then she raked the leaves and grass.

and when she was all done, she promptly retired to her throne for an afternoon nap. 

So, did we have school today? Sure we did, we played HORSE at  the basketball goal with words such as Ran, Sun, Fun and more.  We added and subtracted scoops of sand in the sandbox while building out dinosaur island.  It is amazing how much kids learn when they are having fun! 

Here is todays bit of humor:  I have become a big lover of Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte (Thank you, Michelle!) and being that I do not live near one I settled for the Pumpkin Spice Coffe grounds.  So this morning I was making my coffee and Ethan is begging for some coffee, so I pour about 4 oz milk to 0.5 oz coffee and he is throwing a fit, he does not want milk in his coffee!  I explain that is the "way to do it" and he ask "...does my daddy drink it with milk...".  I say "when he drinks coffee" (meaning to imply that he rarely drinks coffee) and Ethan stated, "what does he do when he just looks at it???"

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

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• Oct. 11, 2006
My favorite time of the year...

I love the fall!  I love the wind blowing and cool nights.  I guess it reminds me of high school and Friday night football games.  Ethan and Scarlett always start getting excited this time of year, too.  The weather has been perfect for playing at the park!  But instead.. guess where we went...the CEMETERY!  Mt Holly Cemetery is home to some famous Arkansans and each year one of the local high school's act out their lives and give a tour of the cemetery.  The have titled the event "Tales of the Crypt" and it is meant to be educational and not spooky.  The kids LOVED it.  Ethan was really interested in a couple of the stories he heard (i.e. John Ross, Cherokee Chief and the Trail of Tears) and so we are looking up more information on some of the details about the persons life.  If you want to read more on Mt. Holly Cemetery here is a link:  http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=49.  After our tour we went to eat dinner and Scarlett was eye balling a piece of chocolate cake, she had her nose stuck to the glass for quite some time.  The ultimate chocolate cake was the desired item.  She stood up after what seemed like forever, reached into her pocket, walked to the counter and handed the lady a QUARTER, and stated she wanted cake!  As usual, Scarlett got her way and the lady gave her the cake and let her keep her quarter.  We tried to pay for the cake but the lady said "No way".  So of course, Ethan had to have chocolate cake, too; and what did we get????  two happy and WIRED kids for the rest of the night. They both thoroughly enjoyed their cake as you can see by the chocolate on Scarlett's nose!   :)  Notice the queen sized fork Scarlett is using to eat her cake.  She told me in the car that she was a princess, and I said that was great because I was the queen and that meant I was the boss.. so she quickly decided that "No, she was the queen and I was the princess". 

We have started talking about Halloween and the origins and such.  There is far more history regarding Halloween than I knew.  We have enjoyed reading about the roots of "God Bless You" when you sneeze and learning about spiders and bats. The kids made their own spiders yesterday to put on their ghost they had made.  Our house is starting to look a bit spooky!  :) We ended up with pink, purple, red and black spiders. 

We have had a bit of a slower week, Ethan's math lessons were teaching the kids to count to twenty.  Ethan laughed at that and told me ".. if he could count to 120, he knew how to count to 20!"  Can really argue with that! 

Hope everyone is having a good week!  

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• Oct. 8, 2006
Rest and Relaxation!

How I managed it I do not know.. but finally my family had a nice relaxing weekend with lots of time at home to do NOTHING!  It was nice.  We are excited to start out new week!  Ethan read his first book.. or at least most of it, I had to help him with a few words.  The Dorling Kindersley easy readers, such as Pat the Cat, Jen the Hen, were just perfect for our short vowel lessons.  He is doing really well.   For now we have scrapped the Sing, Spell, Read and Write and we are doing lots of reading and spelling and he seems to be learning much better this way.  Maybe curled up on the couch reading a book feels less intimadating than a workbook and lesson plan at the kitchen table.  I am just happy that this seems to be going well.  We go the library every Tuesday so he gets excited about picking out new books for us to read.  We finished talking about leaves and made a mini book about Leaves.  You can tell by Scarlett's book that you never know if she is going to feel like joining us and participating.  On the day we did the covers for the books, she did not feel like taking part in the coloring.  Her favorite excuse is "I'm too tired, you do it for me.  I am very sorry". 


On a more serious note, October is breast cancer awareness month.  Recently a dear co-worker of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer.  She has avoided her mammagrams for years and doctors say the cancer has probably been present for some time.  She has two different types of cancer and will have a double masectomy on 10/25/06.  Please remember Janet and her family in your prayers. 


*1 in 8 women have a chance of developing invasive breast cancer in their lifetime.
*all women are at risk; approximately 90% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history. 
*3 million women in the US are living with breast cancer .  2.3 million have been diagnosed  and an estimate 1 million do not yet know they have the disease. 

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• Oct. 5, 2006
"There she blows..." and other fun stuff...

The kids worked so hard on their volcanoes and today was the day!  Today we completed our volcano and went outside to watch it erupt.  The vinegar and food coloring was all set and all we needed to do was pore in the baking soda...so on the count of three.  1...2...3...KABOOM~ ha ha~  Not quite.  Ethan had already taken off running across the yard before the baking soda was poured; (I think the story about Mt. Vesuvius destroying Pompeii had him scared); but none the less we did not have a big eruption, but more of a mild, running of lava that was enjoyed by the three of us. 

We played for almost an hour pouring and mixing and erupting the volcano again.  We talked about the four layers of the Earth and how volcanoes are formed.  Ethan learns so much more with hands on activities.  We read a great book about volcanoes (Volcanoes:  Natures Incredible Fireworks)  and then Ethan drew his own picture of the Earth and its layers and I helped him label it.  He quickly tied together that  Mantle and Magma started with "M" so that helped him remember that magma is found in the mantle.


Scarlett and him really loved the volcano experiment.  The volcano also ended our tour of Mexico in our Galloping the Globe study.    I think we are going to wait until the beginning of the year to start another country and just enjoy learning about Christmas around the world, and the first Thanksgiving. 

Last weekend we took full advantage of the free musuem day and went to the Museum of Discovery which is currently exhibiting GROSSOLOGY:  The (impolite) science of the human body.  Sounds bad, huh?  You learn all about the ugly things our body does! Ethan has appropriately used that knowledge this week to remind us that burping is normal and something the must occur to let the gases escape his body.  His favorite is to talk about what he learned and saw regarding runny noses..but I will spare you those details. 

We played Monopoloy Jr all afternoon and you would be surprised at what a great math lesson that was!  Ethan had to add and subtract his own money and figure out how to pay for the items he wanted to buy.  Monopoly JR uses areas around the board in $1-$5 increments so they are just perfect for young kids.  He even got down and tried to explain adding and subtracting the money to Scarlett and just like her momma.. she was great with the adding money.. but subtracting money??? Not from her purse!  :) 

Have a great night everyone!  It's FINALLY FRIDAY!!!  YEAH!  That means I have made it through one more week of homeschooling and I think I can speak for all of us.. We are still loving every minute of it! 

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• Oct. 4, 2006
SOME DAYS I WONDER...

if it gets any easier?  Will I ever be able to feel like I am on a schedule, and that I am sticking to a schedule?  It does not seem I get everything accomplished during the day that I intended to get done.   I wonder if I will find that magic potion and everything will fall into place now that I am mother, wife and teacher? For now, we are enjoying the ride, even though it seems to be going uphill this week!  :)  Ethan has had his moments this week where he simply wanted to play, he did not care about school, he was not interested in learning the "leap frog" letters, the "short vowel song" or any bit of information that I had to offer.  So you know what we did?  We closed the books and headed to the park.  That is the joy of homeschooling, we can take a break!  and you know what?  Ethan's attitude was much better after he was able to play. 

He is a whiz at his math, and he loves doing his math worksheets.  Imagine that!  I would have a kid that loves math!  We are finishing up Mexico and at the moment we are working on our volcano.  What a dreaded mess that will be.. but the kids are so excited to see it erupt.  Today we read "How to make an apple pie and see the World" and instead of just reading it we acted it out.  You should have seen us hopping a steamboat, stowing away on a banana boat and more.  (That was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone for their kids!) 

 This ended up being a really great way for both of the kids to participate and to enjoy story time.  We then made our own apple pie and a apple picture.  What fun!  :)  You can tell Ethan is enjoying him self, pretending to mill, grind, crush, core, blend, and bake!  The pie was enjoyed by all in our immediate family.  I would never serve something the kids made to a guest, I am not sure they would appreciate my kids cooking style. :)  Which is occasionally something like stir, lick the spoon, stir, and lick the spoon some more.  :) 

I must go to bed because the kids are planning to get up early and they have already put their order in for breakfast!  Ethan made this on the pretend griddle and came to me and said, "hey mom, do you know what I think would be just great?" and of course I said "no", so he showed me the griddle and said, "..if you would make this for breakfast, it would be just great".  So, I am starting to think I have played with their food a little too much!  They are starting to expect me to be creative at every meal. 

Lastly, I have shared this with several people today, but thought it was funny, and I want to remember it.  :)  Here is a conversastion Ethan and I had today. 

I have hung posters and different things in our back hall area and we have one in the hallway of the solar system.  Ethan began asking questions about the planets this morning and if other people lived on any other planets, etc. 

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• Sep. 29, 2006
A-Z ready to read we will be...

Are they sure?   That would have been my question on Thursday.  We finished up learning the alphabet sounds and learning to write the lower and upper case letters.  Ethan knew all the sounds, all the letters, and would sound out words and then give me a completely off the wall answer.  For example, we had B-A-T on the board and he sounded out B-b Ball- A-a- Apple- T-t Tail just like he learned with his phonics program and then I said "...great now put all the sounds together...", and he came up with SACK!  Nothing anywhere near any of the sounds he had sounded out.  I think the Lord was testing me! School had been going so well and I had slacked on my prayer for guidance and wisdom while teaching my kids; and yesterday brought me to my knees!  I had to pray quickly for patience and then I had to pray for guidance and wisdom and to remember that my child is so young and things will be done differently and at his own pace!  I tend to push too hard and expect too much.  Today I  came in with a much clearer view and knew that it would be a long road to reading and I was ready to take it.. and guess what??? First off Ethan went to the refridgerator magnets and spelled CAT, then I started calling off words and he was able to spell everyone one of them. We went through a list of almost 40 words, such as cat, hat, mat, ran, tan, sand, band, land, run, fun, sun.. etc.. and if  I spelled it out and he read it, or he spelled it out when I called off a new word...it WORKED!  He knew the words!  You should have seen his face when I told him how proud I was of him and how proud I was to be his mommy, and he was proud of himself.  That was such a better feeling than the look of frustration he saw from me yesterday, it broke my heart to think that just 24 hours ago my attitude could have affected my child's desire to learn!  Thank you Lord for giving me a second chance today and guiding me through the day!  The moral of this story:  If you have those days where nothing is going right, and everything seems wrong with everyone around you.. CHECK YOURSELF the problem could start there, I know mine did!  

Now on to the fun stuff!  We continued to learn about Mexico and we read about the Aztec Civilization in Mexico.  We made our own Aztec sun.  That was such a fun project!  We rolled out the salt dough, added any kinds of decoration around our original circle and then baked it in a low heat oven for almost three hours.  Once it was baked,  we painted and sealed them and now they are ready to be hung outside.  How fun is that! 

We made leave rubbings after a nature walk yesterday and you should have seen the kids face when they would rub their crayon across the paper and the leave would magically appear; they loved it.  We dug around in the dirt and grass and dissected a mushroom and then got out the dictionary to look up the word FUNGUS to find out exactly what the definition was and why mushrooms were classified as a fungus.  Lots of FUN outside!  We have started our nature journal which has been a lot of fun.  I will upload pics of it next week.

Today in the mail Ethan and Scarlett received their first letters from their penpals!  They were SO EXCITED!  They each have a penpal that is their same age and surprisingly shared many common interests!  They each drew a special picture for Ethan and Scarlett and they proudly hung them on the refridgerator.  We have been slow completing our letter, but now that Ethan knows some special things about his penpal.. he has something he insist on getting done prior to sending his letter out!  So, if you read this.. your letters are coming, we have not forgotten you guys! 

We are headed off to the Museum of Discovery in the morning after Ethan's soccer game!  I can't wait for the start of next week as each day proves to be a new adventure!!

Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend! 

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• Sep. 27, 2006
What to do with forty pounds of APPLES..

Did you know that September 26th was Johnny Appleseeds birthday?  Me neither, but it was and that was the day we planned a trip to the apple orchard.  I guess you could say our trip to the apple orchard was a success.  We came home with forty pounds of apples.  Have you ever seen what forty pounds of apples looks like.. well it is a lot. But for two small kids loose in an apple orchard with empty bags to fill it was priceless! 

They had a lot of fun picking apples, and enjoyed learning about Johnny Appleseed.  Ethan wondered if we would see Johnny Appleseed, which can be blamed on me for skipping over the part about Mr. Appleseed dying while reading the stories to the two of them.  I just have a real problem with saying the word

D-I-E-D to my kids.. I think probably for fear of the questions;  I know they will not always be able to think life is wonderful and always grand.. but just for now it seems okay to let them believe that it will.    The nice lady at the orchard let them try different kinds of apples before picking and explained to them how to pick the best apples.   After trying all the varieties it was decided that the STELLAR apples tasted the best and we picked a LOT of them. 

Having so many apples has brought amusement and a quandery to our household.  What to do with so many apples, we have scoured the recipe books, asked for advice and had a few ideas of our own.  We came up with this list that can be sung to the tune of  "The 12 days of Christmas". 

What to do with fourty pounds of apples my dear kids brought to me...

Twelve pounds to Nana, eleven caramel apples, ten apples baking, nine apple fritters, eight apples bobbing, seven candy apples, six apple crisp, FIVE APPLE PIES...four jars of (apple)sauce, three pounds of (apple)butter, two gallons of (apple) juice, and ONE lonely apple to eat. 

A little goofy, but it was fun thinking of things to do with apples.  We have not, and probably will not do all of that.. but we have made caramel apples, baked an apple pie, gave some to Nana, and do plan on making applesauce tomorrow.  The bobbing for apples is Ethan's idea!  I'll definitely be taking some pictures if he "bobs" for apples. 

Hope everyone is having a great week!  Thanks for reading. 

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• Sep. 25, 2006
"It's just like "'casso" (aka Picasso)!...

This wonderful fall weather has gotten me excited!  It has finally cooled off here for the past couple of days and I hope this trend continues.  We have started to talk about APPLES and plan our trip to the apple orchard to pick apples.  We drew apples trees on Friday and as Ethan drew his he told me, "Look mommy, it is just like 'casso!" (aka Picasso) and of course I had to ask "how and why" because in all my infinite wisdom I was not seeing the connection.  He explained to me that it was just like Picasso's drawing because he saw the apple trees differently, too.  His drawing did not look like my apple tree.. but that was the way he wanted to draw it!  I had a "proud mommy" moment!  He was paying attention and getting some of this "stuff" I was teaching him about art, the Picasso exhibit and he was understanding that not all art is going to look the same and that it was a matter of taste and style.

I was able to have "me time" on Saturday night.  Myself and four of my girlfriends loaded into "the mini" (mini van) and went out to dinner and for coffee.  It was so much FUN!  We have all been friends since elementary school.. so that would be over 20 years, which means we are far older than we feel!   We talked, laughed and laughed some more.  Some laughter was at the expense of others ,  but most was just good girl talk.    We decided that we had so much fun we would do it once a month.  Thank goodness for husbands, dads and grandparents that are willing to help us girls out!  It is such a great thing to have long and lasting friendships!  Thanks girls for all the great memories!

Tomorrow we are going to a homeschool kick off carnival for one of the local homeschool groups.  I am so excited to meet other homeschool mom's and hopefully meet some kids Ethan's age.  It should be a lot of fun! 

Happy FALL to everyone! 

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