A Day in the Life of Homeschool Mom - Homeschool Blogger

Almost Bedtime

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 21:07:00 -0500

Well, the day is almost finished, and it has been a busy one. I have cleaned all day. The kids went with their friends and another homeschool mom to the mall and movies. We had company this evening. Afterwards, we all went to my mother's house and helped pick up the pieces of a tree that had fallen earlier this month. We are now getting in and getting our showers.

My son performed with his band last night for the first time at our Oneighty youth center. He is the drummer. They did a Hawk Nelson song for praise and worship time. I was so proud of him. He had been looking forward to this day for many months, and they did such a good job.

I love the summer nights here in Tennessee. We live on the lake and it is beautiful at night. I can look out my back doors across the patio and see the moon shimmering on the lake..It is beautiful!

Have a great evening!

Good Morning!

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 07:11:00 -0500

It has been quite a while since I have blogged. This year has been like a fog. I feel that we have not really accomplished much. We will be doing school through the summer. I have planned to do Grammar, Math, and Science. We are working about 3 days per week.

My father passed away last week. He was at peace, and passed away gently at home. I will miss him, but I know he is in Heaven and I will see him again. He was very good to his grandchildren, and they all loved him so much.

I have to register the children with our Umbrella school next week. We have chosen Berean Christian School in Knoxville. I think this will be best for High School. They seem to be very well informed and helpful, and I need all the help I can get. I am still trying to choose our curriculum for fall. I have chosen Sonlight for History, Literature, and Bible. Math U See for my daughter, Saxon Alg 1 for my son, Apologia Biology for my son. I have not chosen Science for my daughter, and am still undecided about Grammar and Composition.

I will be back soon to update you on what I chose...

Blessings,
Beth

The Science Experiment

Wed, 5 Apr 2006 07:17:00 -0500

My son

Wed, 5 Apr 2006 07:15:00 -0500

My ds, the drummer>>>>

New pics

Wed, 5 Apr 2006 07:09:00 -0500

My dd

Good Morning!

Wed, 5 Apr 2006 06:58:00 -0500

Hi everyone,

It has been a while since I have blogged. We had to do standardized testing in March, and I am finally catching up. We have decided to school year round this year. We will take a few breaks in the summer to go on vacation, but we will continue to work through our math and language arts. We are not nearly finished with these texts and I feel the need to finish them this year.

We now have an official school room upstairs. It was my computer/office room and I move the kids desks in and all of our homeschooling materials. We had our first day upstairs yesterday. It went so much better. I feel so much more organized with everything in one place. Before, we had school stuff all over the house. Since the kids are getting older, I feel they need more structure and need to learn to keep everything in one place. My dh has our camera with him at work, but as soon as I get it back, I will take a pic of the school room and post it on here. I am going to put new pics up today and try to keep up with my blogs.

The kids have went through so many changes this year. Michael is still skateboarding, but at Christmas he wanted a drum set and we bought one for him. He caught on pretty quickly to it, and now is drumming for a band. It consists of him and 2 other homeschooled boys. They are writing a song to perform at our Coops year end event. Kari has taken up the guitar and still is working on writing her book.
They both are on the drama team at church, which has been asked to perform at the National day of prayer in Knoxville TN. They are working on a couple of new routines right now.

I am still studying transcription, and I am so close to the end. I cannot wait to have it completed.

My husband runs the soundboard at our church and works full time as a realtor.

That is what is going on here..
I will keep you updated..
Beth

I'm a bad blogger!

Tue, 14 Feb 2006 10:45:00 -0600

It has been over a month since my last blog! I have been so busy studying and keeping up with homeschooling. The kids are doing great and I am finishing my transcription course. I cannot wait to be done and be working. I know I will enjoy working from home.
It snowed over the weekend here in East TN. We still have snow on the ground. The temp is supposed to be up to 47 degrees, so it will most likely melt today. The forecast for Thursday is a high of 60 degrees. Wow, snow one minute, spring the next. Gotta love Southern weather!

Schooling is going well. We are using Easy Grammar Plus, and it has made life so much easier for us. I love language arts, but some of the curricula out there is just downright tedious, with way too much busy work. Easy Grammar is straight to the point and fun to each. The kids like it, because Grammar doesn't take all day and they know they are learning. We are still moving along in Rainbow Science. We do 2 lessons and an experiment per week. It is also easy and fun. Math, as usual, is always a struggle for us, mainly because I am not a math person. We have used every kind of curricula available for Math, just to come back to Saxon, which I wished we would have stuck with in the first place. I feel Saxon is easiest to teach and keeps the math concepts fresh in their minds with the constant review of concepts. Michael is in Alg 1/2 and Kari is in 7/6. Michael does his through the Coop and has a wonderful teacher. I am teaching Kari. I plan for both of them to do Math through the Coop next year. They also do History and Spanish through Coop, and some other extra curricular studies. This has worked great for us this year.

I have some pics of the snow to show you. I think you will enjoy them.
Happy Valentines Day!
Beth

Getting back to normal..

Fri, 30 Dec 2005 08:03:00 -0600

We have been on Christmas break for 2 weeks. We are finally winding things down, and I am getting ready to start school back on Monday. We had a good Christmas and we are looking forward to the New Year.

My brother that was in the accident is now in a local Nursing home here in town. He is getting physical therapy and is doing better physically. Mentally, he is still having problems. He cannot remember things, and cannot read anything. He is still not absolutely sure why he is in the nursing home.

I have not blogged in a while. I joined the local gym and have been working out everyday for an hour. I am feeling a lot better. I just wish I had a friend to work out with. I am taking today off and try to get everything ready for next week. I cannot wait to get back to a schedule, and get the kids back on track. I love having time off, but it seems like things are chaotic when we are not in our daily routine. The kids want to stay on the computer and the phone all day long, and it drives me nuts with all of the other kids calling. I will be glad when school starts. I will be glad to have some structure back in our days.

My husband starts a new job today. He is a Real Estate agent and will be working for a local office. He is very excited about this, and I am very happy for him. I am still studying transcription, and hope to have my course done by February. I will enjoy working from home. I plan on working in the late evenings, so it will not interfere with our school time.

Happy New Year!
Beth

Christmas Decorating Kit

Thu, 15 Dec 2005 08:00:00 -0600

"Christmas Decorating Kit"

Zoe Elmore
Proverbs 31 Speaker Team Member

Key Verse:
Luke 1:11-12, "Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (NIV)

Devotion:
Each year as the Christmas season approaches I look for ways to balance the duties and distractions of Christmas while keeping Christ at the center of our celebrations. This year I'm committed to finding a spiritual application for items I might use in preparation for this holy and wonderful holiday. Let me illustrate this idea for you in what I call my "Christmas Decorating Kit."

As I prepare to bake our favorite holiday treats, I will need my cookbook. What a wonderful reminder that the Bible is my cookbook for life. It gives me the ingredients and instructions for fruitful living.

When I cover my clothes with an apron I'm reminded that the blood of Christ covers me and keeps me from being stained by sin.

My kitchen timer ensures that nothing is under or over baked, in the same way the Lord times out every situation in my life perfectly.

As I bake holiday treats to share with family and friends, I always use sugar. This is my reminder to share the sweetness of Christ's love with others.

The measuring cups and spoons I use provide exact amounts of the necessary ingredients for my recipe. Think about how God always provides an abundance of His love, His mercy and His grace in our lives. Aren't you thankful that God's provision is not limited to measuring cups and spoons?

When I add spices and flavorings to my foods I'm reminded of Christ's words in Matthew 5:13, "You are the salt of the earth" (NIV). I should be adding flavor to the lives of others.

I have many different cookie cutters in my collection, and as I bake our favorite Greek cookies I'm reminded that, just as my cookie cutters are all different, each one of God's children is unique and wonderfully different.

In setting the table with my Christmas china I am reminded I must feast on God's Word each day for spiritual food and I should be reminded that Christ is the "Bread of Life."

When I pull out my artificial Christmas tree I like to place a nativity scene between the branches. When I see the tree I am reminded of why we celebrate this holy season. Christ was born in a manger, but He came to die on a tree for our salvation.

Christmas music holds a very special place in my heart since I am a former singer. Songs that tell the glad tidings of Christ's birth are a wonderful reminder to proclaim this joyous message to all those we encounter during this holy season and throughout the year.

I like to decorate our home with lighted garland and lots of candles. This is a perfect picture of Christ coming to be "The Light of the World." This year I hope everyone who visits my home and yours will know that it is decorated in honor of Christ's birthday

My Prayer for Today:
Father, Help us to remember that Christmas is not about the gifts, or the twinkling eyes of children; it's not about a Christmas tree and special cookies or families gathering together. Christmas is the time to celebrate the fact that Your Son became man to enable man to become Your sons (and daughters). I pray our focus will be Christ alone as we celebrate this season. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

My brother was involved in a serious car accident

Thu, 15 Dec 2005 07:55:00 -0600

On Dec 5 my brother was involved in a serious accident and suffered serious head trauma. He is still very weak on one side of his body and was in intensive care until Dec 15. Please pray for physical and spiritual recovery for him.