Well, we finally got our stuff to start AW.  It's a hit!  I'm not going to do RTL for my 3yo, it doesn't meash with AW now that I see it together.  RTL teaches A,B,C, AW teaches letters in order to learn to read.  So she'll be doing AW and saxon K.  McRuffy's is a hit for oldest son, and a flop for DD.  I'm going to buy her FFL and WWE and AAS.  BJU math is good for DS, but we'll be switching to CLE when he finishes 1, around Christmas I predict.  BJU is a flop for DD as well, TT is on it's way.  I'm hoping she does well.  I'm going to miss teaching her math, but I hope it'll reach her better than I was.  DITHOR is going well for DD.  I'm so thankful that I homeschool and I can find what works for my DD, instead of pushing her through stuff that just makes her cry and shut down to learning.  I'm thankful I can accelerate my DS so he's not bored to death like her would be in school. 

I used a lot of codes.  Here's a key:

AW- Animals and thier world's by Winter Promise (WP)

RTL- I'm ready to learn by WP

FFL- First Language Lessons

WWE- Writing with ease

AAS- All about spelling

BJU- Bob Jones University

CLE- Christian Light Education

TT- Teaching TExtbooks

DITHOR- Drawn into the heart of reading by Heart of Dakota (HOD)

We're going to be using Winter Promise's Animal's and their worlds (AW). Oldest DD will be using the older stuff with the "Working on my own schedule".  The middle two will be using the younger part.  My younger daughter will also be doing "I'm ready to learn".  The baby, well, he's just being a baby  We'll also be using workboxes this year.  Below is everything we'll be using.  Our first day is suppose to be Tuesday.  I don't think our WP stuff will be here by then.  Or at least not enough to start.  We're egar to start though, so we may just kick it off with SL core 1 while we're waiting.  If it doesn't rain though, we'll be going to the "Not Going Back to School Party" at the park with other HSers.  I've never been to a group in this city before, so I'd like to meet them.  There's no official over head.  They just plan field trips, park days and get togethers on a yahoo group.  The other group in town does classes Friday, but I think I'm more up for just doing feild trips. 

DH is making us a chalk board.  I'm hoping for a desk too, when finances allow.  I bought a bunch of stuff for our room.  The kids want it to look like school this year.  I'll post pics. I'm not setting up til the night before the first day so I can suprise them.  Anyway, here's everything they'll be using.

Oldest Girl Just turned 8 years old, grade 3

AW

McRuffy's phonics and handwriting 2

BJU math 3

All about spelling

Drawn into the heart of reading level 2/3

Typing

Science (deciding between BJU and SL still)

Oldest Boy 6 next month, grade 1

AW

McRuffy's phonics and handwriting 1

BJU math 1

All about spelling

Heart of Dakota emergent readers

Science (deciding between BJU and SL still)

Younger Girl 4 in Dec. , K4

AW tag along

I'm ready to learn

SL LA K (loosely)

McRuffy's tracing books

Kumon workbooks

Younger boy 15 months

Learning to walk

Learning to talk

Wodden toys

Making everyone giggle

Mess making

Ah, it's that time again!!!  Where children are going back to school!  A certain commercial portrays how excited parents are to be getting rid of thier kids again.  Back to school they go!  A father joyously skips down an isle, dragging his miserable children on a couch.  He just can't wait for them to go!  Sadly, at a family get together last weekend, my cousins were talking about the commercial and agreed, they were happy thier kids were going back.  Actually, I am thrilled kids are going back to school.  I can take my kids out now without all the other PS'd kids there, with thier bad attitudes and making things busy, lol.   Parks will be empty, aside from a few wee ones.  Malls will no longer be over run with half dressed, foul mouthed children.  Ah, it's great.  It's just so sad that society feels so negatively towards children.  Towards thier own flesh and blood, the precious wee ones whom they once rocked lovingly in thier arms, they now can't wait to push out the door.  As I said in another post, the one about not fitting in, it's just hard for me to wrap my head around it. 

See, I'm thrilled that my kid's are 'going back to school'.  We ended up taking a break this summer and I throughly miss teaching my kids.  I miss watching them learn math and science.  I miss our projects and story time.  I can't wait to get back to it!  We'll be starting a new curriculum again.  If it ever gets here.  It's 'Animal's and thier world's' and "I'm ready to Learn" by Winter Promise.  I'm so excited!  My kids love animal's especially the oldest.   I'll do another post soon about what all we'll be doing this year.

For me, this is the most wonderful time of the year!  Homeschooling is such a rich and rewarding experience.  I wouldn't give this up for anything.  Watching my children learn, spending all my days with them.  Nurtruing them, guiding them, training them up in the way they should go.  This is exactly what I want to be doing with my life and I'm so thankful the Lord has blessed me with these great kids. 

I posted on this last month.  I now have over 100 swagbucks.  I'm saving up   I'm always searching anyway, and you probably are too.  So why not use me as your referal and we can both win?

http://swagbucks.com/refer/Mumkins

Feminisim.  I loath feminisim.  I believe kids have become so messed up because mommy wasn't home after school to take care of them, protect them and keep them out of trouble.  Out of guilt or foolishness, these children were given too much freedom and spoiled to much.  They grew up with a sense of entitlment.  And then they had babies.  And produced much of the same.  But not too many babies.  Too big of family interferes with how much time one has to thierself and how lavishly they can spend thier money.  I once had someone tell me thier daughter was only having one or two kids so she could pay for thier college.  Since when did children automatically become entilled to a fully funded post secondary degree?  Maybe kids would spend less time partying and out in bars if they had a part time job to pay for thier school.  Feminisim.  I think it's responsible for the rise in divorce too.  Women no longer accepting thier husbands as head in the family, honoring and respecting him.  Instead, they want to be incharge and they want to be the breadwinners.  No man's gonna tell them what to do.  Stay home and raise babies, keep a nice welcoming home and have a hot meal ready for thier man-  Forget  that!  And why raise babies?  Have thier 1.4 kids, shipping off to daycare and pursue thier 'real'l life.  The life that they spend thier freshest and most qumulative waking hours at.  Where they can feel rewarded with cash instead of hugs and kisses.  I like the song Free by Serene and Pearl "Cause I'm a woman, I'm not a man, I long to be just who I am.   Wanna show some feminine charm, hold my babies in my arms and be free".  I couldn't imagine working for some boss all day, picking up my kids from day care or school, throwing together a quick meal, homework at night before they run off to see thier friends and then they are in bed.  I couldn't imagine not being with my kids all day.  They are mine and I'm not giving them to government to raise by day, and to be influenced by other government raised children at night.  Kids always want to run of to play with friends.  That's where the real relationships are as that's whom they spend all thier time with by day, so naturally, they want to by night.  When my kids get together with friends, it's a family thing.  I bring all my kids, or they bring theirs.  I talk with the mom.  I also  blame feminisim for why it's so difficult for women to stay home financially. We've become a society that caters to two income families.  The lust of the eyes and flesh have it.  We see all we want, all we can have.  For those who have no issues with it, that's great.  But for a mom who just wants to be home with her kids, it's heart breaking.  Feminisim.  You might as well just hang up a sign that says "It's all about me, my wants, my desires and my goals".  I still think staying home is more easily attainable than most think.  What if you didn't have to live in such a large home?  Have that 2nd car?  Sattelite TV?  Starbucks every morning?  All the things you do cause you have to have a special woredrobe, nails, wordrobe, hair and meals out?  I know, sometimes, for some, there really isn't any other way.  I'm not saying every situation is going to be just fine on one income.  I'm just saying, if we truly value being home with our kids, we can do with a lot less than we think.  It's all about where your priorties are.  A good book to read is 'The Way Home' by Mary Pride.  I encourage all woman to read it.

However, I have totally lost what I came here to blog about.  I was just googling to see what was being said on the news as I heard Fox was at the door of the poor family I blogged about last month that lost thier baby during an attempted homebirth.  Well, I stumbled across a blog called 'No Longer Qivering".  It states "There's no U in qivering".  It's all about how she 'escaped' the quiverful and patriarhical minset.  And, sadly, how she even walked away from the Lord and doesn't believe in the bible.  It was written by men in a patriahical society (never mind it was God inspired).  It no longer applies today, in our society.  I read some of the comments, applauding her for 'escaping'.  About how others have escaped and found goddess worship.  Ugh.  You wanna know something?  I was wiccan.  I worshiped a goddess.  Maiden, mother, crone.  An harm ye none, do what ye will.  That kind of stuff.  When I became pregnant with my first, I remember studying up how to dedicate her to the goddess.  Near the end, I looked at my belly, seen the little foot stick out like a golf ball and slide to the other side.  I realized that this world had to be made by an all powerful God who could create life out 2 tiny things not even visible to the naked eye and create a tiny perfect human being.  Thank you Jesus for resucing me, for opening my eyes to see all that you have done for me. 

So if you get a chance, please pray for this woman That she comes back to the Lord with her 6 children.  I'm not too cure what her husband is up to now.  But she divorced him and is now a single mom.

So I thought I'd post this and hopefully get lots of people to respond.  I'm looking for ideas to do this summer in your own backyard or maybe inside too if it's raining.  Fun stuff to do preferably with stuff you have in the house or that you could buy for under a couple bucks.  Gotta love dollar stores!  Come back and link or LMK  if you've made a post on your own blog on summer activities.

1- Draw pictures or hopscotch with sidewalk chalk.

2- Waterballoon fights

3- Make a nature journal and draw bugs, leaves, flowers, weeds, etc.  that you find outside.

4- Make bubbles out of water and dishsoap

5-Make an obstacle course.  Use things such as jump rope, bounce ball 10 times, do 3 summer saults.

6- Make a relay race

7- Have 2 buckets or containers of water and one sponge per child.  Try to get as much water as possible from one bucket to the other.

8-  Ty die an old t-shirt. 

9- Jump through the sprinkler.

10- Press flowers and leaves in books.

I'll add more when I can think of any.  I'd love to hear what others can come up with!

I've thought and prayed and tought and prayed.  I know others have been praying for me too.  I appreciate that.  The rod is literal.  We are sinful creatures.  Yes, sadly even children are sinful creatures.  The rod of correction is what will restore peace in the home.  I have peace about this.  There is already more peace now that Mommy is not so wishy washy.  I feel strenghtened, praise the Lord. I feel hopeful.  I can't quite explain it, but I know it's good. I'm not going to look for reasons for why I can't trust what my bible says.  It's exactly what I dislike about the liberal Christians doing. It doesn't really mean we have to obey our husbands.  It doesn't really mean women are to be homemakers.  You can work and keep a home. I'm choosing to read my bible as it is.  Plain and simple.  And hey, if I don't understand, I'll ask my own husband.  :)

I'm open to any and all comments.  Just please be polite. 

About 4 years ago, I started googling for disicpline help.  I soon came across homeschooling and being quiverful.  On the quiverful digest, someone offered to send me a copy of TTUAC.  At first, I was horrified!  Then awhile later, I read it with different eyes.   Eyes that seen the love he has for his own kids.  To " Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.  Prov 19:18".  But during the same time, had come across "Grace based discipline".  Torn, I'm absolutly torn.  I've flipped back and forth so many times.  Though I've never been heavy on the rod like Pearl.  But I've wondered if I should have. Later I found rasing godly tomatoes.  It seemed really good.  But I keep getting sucked back to GBD.  There's this site  which breaks down all the veres into their original language and culture and says how we are not to use a rod or any form of punishment on our children.  The rod is figurative, standing for our authourity.  Not permissive parenting, but active parenting.  A site on that is called GOYB Get Off Your Butt parenting.   Basically, say what you mean and mean what you say.  If you say no, get up and make it happen if they don't obey right away.  Don't count to 3 or threaten to punish, just go make it happen.  It seems like the same as the rod side of things, just with out the rod.  Ok, I can get that. When 3 y.o. comes out of her room, just keep taking her back 10 times til she stays or 5 times with a spanking.  I go back and forth several times.  But then I started feeling like I shouldn't spank.  So I try to do the GBD thing.  My oldest child, almost 8, starts talking back to me.  Ok, I can't GOMyB and make anything happen.  It's attitude not physical.  Am I suppose to just verbally tell her, for the 9000th time to not talk to me like that and then give her the proper way speak to me?  I read horror stories from both sides.  Spank and your child will end up all and emotinal basket case that stuffs all feelings inside and will need meds one day.  Plus they won't respond to you anymore once they are to old to spank, so they'll rebel.  Don't spank and you'll neve have peace in your  home and they'll turn into delinquits and you'll need meds one day.   I'm told it's fake peace and it'll end when they are too old to spank.  So, my kids do respond to spanking.  It gets a lot more peaceful around here.  But I'm always afraid it isn't the right thing to do.  Both ways use the same scriptures to support thier beliefs.   It just varries in how you inturpret it.  I'm so frustrated.  I just want the truth!  Which way truly is the biblical way?  I've been praying for wisdom and clarity on his for years, but haven't got it.  One of my secret wishes would be to sit in on a debate between opposing site leaders.  I just need the truth.  I just want to do right by my kids.  I love them so much!  I want them to grow up to sevre God.  I don't want to put a stumbeling block before them, either by spanking them or failing to spank them.  Anyone got any advice?   ETA:  Fixed link.

I was sitting on MIL's couch.  I had come to stay at her house at 38 weeks as I wanted to have the baby there.  The kids had gone to bed.  I was flipping through channels.  Wondering when on earth everyone would be back.  SIL lived there too, who was also expecting her fourth 7 weeks later. I was wondering how on earth I'd be able to go natural as the 'false labour' was getting pretty intense. I'd been contracting on and off for days.  It was still 5 days off from my due date and I'd never gone a day early.  Contractions were coming on and off again.  They finally got home around 10pm.  SIL was waxing my eyebrows around 11 when she asked how often they were coming.  My lil guy arrived just after 2am, all 10lbs 14oz of him!  You can read his birth story here. Birth Story I can't believe it's my baby's birthday tomorrow!  It feels like forever since I've been pregnant.  My PG went by so fast. The year went by so fast.  I love him so much!  I'm going to post a pic of him tomorrow with all the wonderful details about him.

I just read that Anna Duggar is expecting!  I'm so happy for them.  I love watching the Duggars.  I just read thier book too.  I went googling for more info.  What a mistake!  The horrible, terrible things posted about them makes me sad.  They don't owe anything to anyone, they homeschool so the gov. doesn't even pay to school them.  They are good people who love the Lord and it saddens me the way people attack them.  My favorite quote is "The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing. But in our culture we apply for a curse and reject blessings. Something is wrong with this picture." By Doug Phillips.  Tonight, I went out for a mom's night with my best friend.  There was 6 other mom's.  All 1 child only, babies under a year. Everyone's jaw dropped that I had 4 children.   I have 4 WONDERFUL kids, not monkeys or puppies.   Most were teacher's complaining of how horrible schools are.  So I got asked if I'd have more, is HSing is hard.  Basically being made out as  a saint.  It's awesome I can do it.  They don't even think they could handle two, much less homeschool, yada, yada, ya.  On line, I see so many large families.  I often say, "I only have 4 kids".  Even in NY, where I was 4 kids was pretty standard and most families HS.  I wish people could accept large families, rather actual or by today's standards.  But, to lighten the mood a little, I'll try to link my favorite large family video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaD8xat6VDw

I definantly spent a lt less time on the comp this week.  I got every room of my house clean, at least once,  lol.  The main floor is a little messy again, but I bet I could have every room looking great with 45 minutes of work.  I'm caught up on laundry.  Gone through summer clothes.  I feel better too.  I'll do better this week coming up.  I still ended up going on line a bit during the day.  I need to stay focused on being a mom and wife instead of being idle on line.