Nov. 21, 2009 - Awesome giveaway!
5 Minutes for Mom is giving away an INCREDIBLE HP TouchSmart 600 computer for Christmas! Check it out here!
Nov. 21, 2009 - DONE!!!!!
The room is done! There is even some furniture moved in already. It came out great, a little bit smaller than we had hoped for, but GREAT none the less... The whole experience was great! The contractor was super GREAT! The workers were great! The project came in $600 under the proposal so we had some additional work done. Our contractor went out of his way to get us deals. He went two counties away to get us bamboo floors that were sitting in a barn~the leftovers of a business that had gone under. We got them for $1 a linear foot... They retailed for over $5 a linear foot. They are perfect!! He also looked our house over and found a few things that were in desperate need of repair and fixed them for almost no cost. Lets put it this way. Part of our home had to be jacked up because of a failing support beam. He did the job for $76~the cost of the beam and a little extra to pay for his helper. The mess was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be... So, you all want me to stop carrying on about how great it was and let you see the results for yourselves!?!?
Yeah! Well, this is all you are getting right now. The big reveal will be just after Christmas. This year we are giving no toys (except stocking stuffers) so that we can decorate the childrens bedrooms. I show you all the rooms once we have curtains and such.
In the meantime we will be painting the rest of this room. We decided to paint the floor insted of refinishing the wood becuase it is so costly if you have a professional do it. My dh has refinished two floors in our home, but it was a really grueling project and they have not held up as well as we would have expected. So for now we will paint this floor instead. We will need to do all of the trim work and no furniture can go on it for a week.
That is all for now!
Blessings,
Dawn
Nov. 22, 2009 - Sunday Song
Here is a chorus that I really like. It is short but very uplifting (Romans 11:30-32).
How Great is Your Love
by Mark Altrogge
No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
No mind has ever conceived
The glorious things that You have prepared
For everyone who has believed
You brought us near and You called us Your own
And made us joint heirs with Your Son.
Chorus:
How high and how wide,
How deep and how long,
How sweet and how strong is Your love.
How lavish Your grace,
How faithful Your ways,
How great is Your love, oh Lord.
Objects of mercy who should have known wrath
We’re filled with unspeakable joy.
Riches of wisdom, unsearchable wealth,
And the wonder of knowing Your voice.
You are our treasure and our great reward,
Our hope and our glorious King.
Have a blessed Sunday,
Saturday, November 21, 2009 - Little ballerinas
This was a very exciting week for Katie-Noel and Annabelle.
It was "parent observation week" at ballet class!
At the end of their class, the parents were called into the classroom to see all that the girls have learned up until this point. They even put on a 'mini-recital.' It was SO cute!
Of course...this would have to be the week that we forgot their shoes....
I love my ballerina girls!
Nov. 20, 2009 - Weekly wrap-up
Fridays seem to come by so quickly. The week just flies by and it feels like we have not done much. But, I guess we must have done something.
We have been following a schedule for the past 3 weeks so as to give structure to the boys and that has helped us keep things on going and on track.
One of the changes this week was to put his violin practice first thing after breakfast and before school. This has definitely minimized the complaining about having to quit his play to practice and has added regularity. Practice have been a bit of a struggle for both of us for the past few weeks but that's for a totally separate post. Today was a good day though, which has a lot to do with having prayed before we started.
Math has been going well. I am very happy to see that Zach has been enjoying Math even though he is not very happy about all the work involved, but he really likes the concepts.
English is going along as well. We finished grade 1 of FLL and have moved on to grade 2.
For reading, Zach has been complaining a bit; he does not really enjoy fiction, so it is a bit of a struggle, but we are making our way through. e only do reading twice a week since he does read a whole lot of other stuff at other times. Narration is going well. I am still to actually add more variety, but that has to do with lack of organization on my part.
Science is on track as well, we learnt about amphibians, reptiles and fishes this week.
History has been passed over for the past 2 weeks. Zach and I have been feeling pretty tired. No playdate this week either, instead, you won't believe it, but I set up my christmas tree. I know, I know it's early, but I totally love christmas trees. Next week, the baking will start.
We have also began to read Prince Caspian as our read aloud. We had read The lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe a few months ago.
Joho has been busy with playdoh, Super Mind shape puzzles, Math games, worksheets of all sorts.
So, that was our week in a nutshell. Sorry not many pictures this week.
For more weekly wrap-up, hop on over @Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.
Have a great day,
Nov. 20, 2009 - Featured Blogger ~ AmandaBennett
Why blogging is so great reason #5,287: You get to meet some of your favorite homeschool celebrities without having to attend a conference! Amanda Bennett has been blogging here at HSB ever since it started back in 2005. Blogging builds good business, but it also builds good relationships, and Amanda is very friendly and relational.
You may think that the author of numerous unit studies has her life perfectly organized and that all of her science experiments turn out with nary a problem. Not so! Even Amanda learns from her homeschool lessons.
This Christmas will be a meager one for many families. Yet we can still make it special. The first step is remembering what it is that makes the season so important to us, aside from Christ, it's family. Amanda shares a story about a tough Christmas she had as a little girl. Be sure to also read Christmas: A Study of Love.
As this week, and next, we are talking about Thanksgiving I thought this post, Thanksgiving Learning--Gratitude? would be of interest to you.
Next week there won't be a new Featured Blogger, so you get two whole weeks to explore Amanda's blog and wish her tidings of comfort and joy! (Such greetings aren't just for Christmas!)
Tia Linschied
Senior Editor of HSB
Nov. 20, 2009 - Special Words for Special Needs ~ Thanksgiving is Changing Around Here
Welcome and soon to be Happy Thanksgiving! Are you like me and still in need of that last minute run to the grocery store? I have a list that is huge but I hesitate to get it. Why? After all the big day is just days away!
This year has been rough on me physically. I am spending most of my day in a wheelchair now due to possible MS. I am use to being up and cooking for hours on Thanksgiving day. I wake up early and cook through the day making all sorts of special side dishes, baked goods and of course the big turkey. This year I physically can't do it.
How many of you also deal with these restraints? Maybe not a mobility issues but a fatigue issue. How do we accomplish this grand plan without leaving us useless or not able to finish? For me Thanksgiving has highlighted a problem that I have been ignoring for a couple weeks now.
I need to realize my weaknesses and plan accordingly. I tend to plan with high hopes and higher expectations of myself. If I don't reach those I can get discouraged and guilty feeling. This is not how the Lord wishes me to be. Paul exhorts believers to be strong and run the good race.
I now realize that my race may be slower than others. I chose to keep running. I chose to not stop. I need to learn to pace myself. This Thanksgiving may not be like we have had in the past. I believe it will be better!
If you are dealing with physical problems stop blaming yourself for the differences between your family and the "normal" family. You are normal, for you!
So join me in being thankful to the Lord for where we are right now! Blessings to you and your family! Happy Thanksgiving
Heather lives in West Virginia. She and her husband have been homeschooling their 5 children for 8 years. Due to a genetic disorder their children have multiple special needs. Living life to the fullest for the glory of God is their goal! Visit Heather's page at www.homeschoolblogger.com/gfcfmomofmany/ or at Special Needs Homeschooling.
Nov. 20, 2009 - The keystone cops chase
Around here things are always happening. Is it 5 kids? Is it curious homeschooled minds? No matter what it is I have children that must try everything for themselves.
That has meant gravity experiments off the front porch. 2kids+1gallon blue paint+not telling mom=blue foot prints through the house, streaks on the FRONT of my house and regretful but nonetheless excited giggling.
Recently I have had to spend most of the day in my wheelchair. Because my right leg and hip will go paralyzed at anytime, so I fall. It is safer in the chair. My house is two story and not handicap accessable at all.
Yesterday afternoon it stopped raining for a bit. The kids put on boots, jackets the works and all 5 went out back to stretch their legs. I had to walk out to check on them. I thought it would be a quick peek and done. When I went out the baby was in the garden playing in the dirt and holding the neighbors cat to her chest. The cat was not very happy about this. So I holler for the rest of the kids to help. Then the chase began.
The baby (okay she is going to be 2 soon so not really a baby) and the cat took off around the house. Then went the laughing 4 and 6 year old girls. I think they were actually egging Peanut on. Then went my 2 oldest trying to get to the baby. Last was me thumping along behind the mix trying not to fall over.
The keystone cops would have been proud. Secretly I thought it was a hoot and loved the happy laughing children.
When we caught the baby she handed over the cat. I am suspisous about that cat he stayed and rubbed all around Peanut's ankles.
Thursday, November 19, 2009 - How's violin going?
Sometimes a picture says it all.....
Thursday, November 19, 2009 - FIAR - Cranberry Thanksgiving
We thought we would take a break this week from our regular (CLE) reading curriculum to enjoy a week of 'rowing.' In honor of next week's holiday - we are rowing Cranberry Thanksgiving, by Wende and Harry Devlin.
This is a book that I have always wanted to row, for purely 'selfish' reasons.
(It is by the same authors as one of my all time favorite childhood books - one that I still have tucked away in my own box of 'special memories' from my childhood....) ;-)
But ...for this week...back to Cranberry Thanksgiving...
As usual, we found many wonderful resources at Homeschool Share
We learned all about cranberries -
And did you know that our home state of Wisconsin is the #1 producer of cranberries in the US?!
We found lots of great information - ( including a fun kids activity book!) - here at the website of The Wisconsin State Cranberry Growers Association.
We even had cranberries with our dinner one night this week - (2 out of 4 kids loved them!)
The rest of this week we have been learning about Thanksgiving,
and the history and traditions associated with it.
We made up a menu and guest list for a feast of our own
And discussed the true meaning of the holiday
We wrote 'Thank You notes'....to God
And we learned a traditional Thanksgiving hymn
I, personally, am very thankful for the opportunity to spend this time with my kids -
reading fun books, and making special memories. I am blessed.
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