It is my privilege to be a homeschooling Mama to our three extraordinary children -- DD'98 (S), DS'00 (J) and DS'07 (M)! Please join us on this blessed journey!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:04:00 -0500 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:04:00 -0500 Good week of school.  GREAT week in terms of our move to Sioux Falls, SD.  Went into contract, had the inspection on Friday, appraisal is tomorrow.  Things are progressing on that front just fabulously! We had gotten behind on our schedule because both kids had been sick for a couple of days.  So it was catch up with history and science (no new week started in our curriculums), and S and J simply proceeded with their math and grammar from where they had left off before their illnesses. The highlights of the week belong to my youngest, M DS'07.  When it came time for lunch one day, he came toddling into the kitchen and said, "Mama, (garble garble garble) butter jelly, please?"  I knew what he wanted....a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, his favorite right now.  It was the fact that he used his manners that threw me for a loop!  Now, he doesn't always ask for something this politely, but, hey, I'll take it!  It was very cute, melted my heart. The other highlight compliments of M was that he painted for the first time.  Set him in his highchair; gave him a blank piece of paper and a paintbrush; put some paint in a paper muffin cup, and let the creating begin!  He had a blast and S, J and I had a blast watching him.  A glimpse of that day:                                                      Anxious to see what next week has in store for us!! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/739186/ Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:04:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/739186/ Pretty good school week this past week.  Nothing out of the ordinary to report, either good or bad.  I guess that's good, right?? Lagging behind a bit with S's writing program.  She says she wants to be an author when she grows up.  So that kind of means she needs to learn how to write....right?  I can tell she isn't exactly ga-ga over her writing program (IEW, which stands for Institute for Excellence in Writing by Andrew Pudewa).  It's not my favorite part of our homeschooling day either, but it is the hardest to "teach", so I definitely need a formal program to help me out.  Will probably always be a struggle around here, but we simply need to persevere. J struggles to follow through with his Bible Study (he's doing Sonlight's Core 6 program with the spine being The International Children's Bible Field Guide).  I'm a bit stymied here.....he gets scripture exposure/memorization practice through AWANA, but that program really doesn't have him delving into God's Word too much.  That's what I want for my kids more and more as they grow older.  S's program is going famously, and she absolutely loves it (Explorer's Bible Study - The Early History of Israel; she's even keeping up with a Bible Study journal).  Again, perseverance is the key here.  I need to be more diligent in getting him to do it every day because it obviously isn't getting done of his own volition. Clearly our favorite part of the day, for both me and the kids, is when we settle in for a good read-aloud session with our latest historical fiction book.  The kids work on history projects or their history timelines, or if that's all caught up, then something of their choosing.  We have moved onto God King - A Story in the Days of King Hezekiah by Joanne Williamson; another gripping tale of Ancient Egypt, this one taking place in 701 B.C. We have a good flow to our days.  I'm staying pretty caught up on paperwork, which if left for even a couple of days, can seem insurmountable.  Trying to stay positive about this aspect of homeschooling.  It is so darn tedious, but it is essential to our success, especially as high school looms in the distance.  Nobody ever said that all aspects of being a homeschooling Mama were going to be hunky-dory!!  But I plaster on a smile, and I........PERSEVERE. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/735081/ Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:26:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/735081/ We finished The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw this week.  In fact, we finished it ahead of Sonlight's schedule!  Not so hard to do when it's a fabulous book!  The kids and I really liked this story of Ranofer and his hard life in ancient Egypt.  In the end, however, he's the hero and gets to fulfill his dreams as a goldsmith's apprentice (hopefully that's not giving away too much of the book!).  It was easy to root for Ranofer; he's a humble and gentle spirit.  The icing on the cake is the many details of Ancient Egyptian life that the author weaves into her story.  I highly recommend this book. It frees up our reading time to get back to The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty, which we have added into our curriculum because I've always wanted to read this to the kids (amibitious, I know)!  Another awesome book, beautifully written, with likable characters and more amazing details of the time period. All of the above is the good news.  The bad news is that Sonlight has us reading through The Story of the World at a very rapid pace, making it very difficult to do any of the projects that is contained in the Activity Guide (we read a chapter a day).  My kids love history projects; I do too because it's something they can do while I am reading aloud.  What do I mean by "history projects"?  I definitely mean something beyond the typical coloring page, which is in abundance in the Activity Guide.  It's easy to get bored by coloring page after coloring page.  A few here and there are tolerated, but my kids desire more most of the time.  For example, DS'00 made Joseph's colorful coat out of a brown grocery bag;  they also simulated ancient cave paintings by crumpling brown grocery bags and then drawing on them.  Those were manageable projects.  A lot of the others simply are too involved to get them done in a day, and I really don't like too many hanging projects.....they end up not getting done. So a lot of the time the kids get to choose some activity to keep them occupied while I read.  For DD'98 it's art-type stuff, like painting or drawing.  For DS'00 it's Legos.  Sometimes I get stressed that their time while I read absolutely needs to be filled with more educational activities.  But I think it's also important that they get to pursue their own interests and likes. I think we have found a good balance. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/732582/ Fri, 2 Oct 2009 09:34:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/732582/ I get anxious about a lot of things (again, just ask my husband).  I'm pretty certain that it's not clinical, requiring medication.  I do, however, have a hard time settling down and focusing when I am worked up about something.  So what am I worked up about lately?  Books.  Now, those of you that know me well, know that I absolutely love books.  Always have and always will.  I love everything about them:  the look of them, the feel of them, the smell of them (ahhhh....especially the smell), owning them, browsing through them at the library or Barnes & Noble, waiting for their arrival after I've ordered some through B&N or Amazon, getting recommendations from friends.  I positively love the hunt for a particular book; now that's an adrenaline rush!  And, yes, of course, I love to read them, too! I love books ABOUT books.  Now, how is that for obsessive???  I love books that give me ideas of what to read on a certain topic, or that give me ideas on books I can suggest to the kids.  In fact, this is how I discovered what has become one of my favorite mystery writers/books:  I was reading Honey for a Woman's Heart by Gladys Hunt (http://www.amazon.com/Honey-Womans-Heart-Gladys-Hunt/dp/0310238463/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253565030&sr=8-1), and I decided to choose my next book by randomly flipping open the book and pointing.  Well, I kinda cheated, but who cares???  I gave it several tries and settled on Booked to Die by John Dunning.  I went to the library and read it, and then had to read the others he's written with the same character.  I've even read Booked to Die twice!!!!!  That's rare for me! I recently checked out a whole stack of books about books.  I've recently read Raising a Reader by Jennie Nash (fun and light); Welcome to Lizard Motel: Children, Stories and the Mystery of Making Things Up by Barbara Feinberg (part memoir, part diatribe against the glut of "bummer" young adult novels that are out there); I am currently reading Hunt's Honey for a Teen's Heart (whether I want to admit it or not, S is almost there!) and Under the Chinaberry Tree: Books and Inspirations for Mindful Parenting (written by the women who are responsible for the Chinaberry catalog).  I also dabble in Jim Treleases's The Read-Aloud Handbook, which is the definitive tome on the benefits of reading aloud to your kids (and turning off the TV).  This is my second time through Trelease's book.  He's preaching to the choir, but I'm addicted to what he has to say and the statistics and studies that he uses to back up his thesis. So how could a love of something so sweet and pleasing to one's life be a source of anxiety??  Well, are you sure you want me to answer?  I get anxious about wanting to own more of them, but, of course, our budget would scream at me if I were to willy-nilly purchase books to satiate my cravings.  If I had an endless supply of money or knew how to grow a money tree, I would own more books.  I would probably become a collector, which means I would get to go on more book hunts!  Alas, a book bought here and there will have to suffice for now. One day I will own a t-shirt or a wall hanging that says, "Too many books, not enough time."  Yes, that's me.  This knowledge really sends me reeling sometimes.  We do own so many books, and I have a huge list of "want-to-reads" that when it's time to choose my next one, I don't know how to choose.  "But I want to read them all....right now."  Unfortunately, because of this, I have the habit of starting books and then getting part way through and then starting another book; and a lot of the time I don't finish the original book I started.  That's not so good. Lately, however, the greatest angst is generated from not having enough time to read aloud to the kids all the great books that I want to!!!  It's a good problem to have....really.  I know this, yet I can't stop the angst from rearing it's ugly head.  Along the same lines, I see the books S will read this year covering our history studies and I think, "But wait!  I want to read that TO you guys!  I want to participate and revel in this story." *SIGH*  Books are my passion.  Plain and simple.  For the short while, I will use that passion to do my best to foster in our homeschooling family a rich literature environment, one that I hope the kids will take with them when they fly the coop.  That's my prayer and goal in doing what I do. What will it mean after the kids have graduated from our homeschool?  Well, of course, there are the grandkids (I hope).  But I think there's something more for me in the world of books.  I can't feel what I feel about them and "only" be a buyer and reader of them. Time will tell.  In the meantime, I will continue to read, read, read......by myself and to the kids.  And I will take life one book at a time. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/729036/ Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:21:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/729036/ I've been thinking a lot about life lately.  I've been thinging a lot about my place in it.  I've been pondering who I am and what I'm about, and.....well, maybe it's a brain mid-life crisis, so to speak.  I've been sensing a shift in my life and everything in it.  We're entering a new phase here in our household, and it's cause for reflection.  But, don't worry.....it's all good. What invariably follows closely behind all these contemplations is the intense desire to write more.  Perhaps I've said that before on this blog.  If I haven't, well, I meant to.  I need to release these thoughts, and I really have no other place to do this.  I don't keep a journal (perhaps I should???), and for obvious reasons, Facebook isn't the venue for my ruminations. So, Folks, it's gotta be here.  If you visit this blog to get updated on our homeschooling life, you'll have to endure an occasional non-homeschooling entry.  I directly apologize to my friend Jenny for this; I know for a fact that she reads my blog, so she gets a personal "I'm sorry you have to suffer through this!"  A more general "I'm sorry" to you faceless readers. I've been thinking about why I DON'T write more.  I have a lot to say (just ask my poor husband!), and unlike Jenny, I do desire to write more.  I need to be less uptight about the formalities of writing, and just get down and dirty and do it.  Everything else will fall into place. And as I sit here and think about wrapping this up, I'm hit by the fact that you, the reader, will indeed be getting a glimpse into our homeschooling life, even though the most current blog entry may have nothing to do with the latest science project or what score the kids got on their spelling test for the day.  Who I am and how I live my life and "all that jazz" is, in fact, shaped and infuenced by being a homeschooling mama (I was going to write "mom", but I've never been called that in the 11 years that I have been one.  I am a Mama.).  Homeschooling is the screen through which I see life now.  Besides God and His Word, it is the Truth I live by.  It is the engine that drives this family forward.   And again I say, It's all good.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/728751/ Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:56:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/728751/ So, yes, we have started school for the year.  In case you've lost track (it's easy to do, given how fast time flies!), DD is in 6th grade and DS is in 4th this year.  Still technically elementary school, but a thought nags at me all the time in the recesses of my being:  it really is the last year before middle school for DD.  Good golly!  Enough to send me into a tizzy! We are doing Sonlight Core 6 this year for history (both kids are learning this together).  It is the beginning of Sonlight's 2-year World History program; of course, we'll do the second half next year.  Our list of read-alouds for the year, listed at the right, should convey to you the crux of the program:  learning history through good, quality literature (which, in my humble opinion, is the ONLY way to learn history at this age!  No boring textbooks!).  It is exciting!  So far, so good... They both continue with Rod & Staff for grammar and Wordly Wise for vocabulary.  In addition to Wordly Wise, for the first time they'll both be working through a vocab program that focuses on the ROOTS of words.  It's a program that they'll do alongside their Latin program, Latina Christiana I.  Also very exciting!  Well, that might not be their exact reaction to this...  For Science they're doing Sonlight's Year 4 program, which has them studying electricity, magnetism and astronomy.  Exciting (well, only if you ask DS!).  To ensure our completion of science on a daily basis, we do science first thing in the morning.  It works!!!  THIS makes ME excited!  Science always got left for the "next day", when we ran out of time on the current day.  But then, that's what was always uttered the NEXT day as well.  But not so this year.  So far, so good... Their first experiment was making a tiny light bulb glow with only a size "D" battery and a strip of foil.  They loved it!  So, of course, I loved it! They both continue with Saxon for math.  DS says he feels like a big boy to do this program this year.  He has his own, official text book, and gets to write his answers in a notebook, like DD has been doing for a couple of years.  He is thriving. DS'07 continues to make daily homeschooling life interesting.  He's a tad more independent, so that's good.  However, it is still a challenge to keep the older two on track and focused, all the while trying to keep the little one happy and out of trouble. The most important thing is that we are getting our work done consistently, and everyone is happy with the studies so far. What more could I ask for???   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/728291/ Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:43:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/728291/ "When you read you can have every adventure. In the pages of a book you can be anyone you ever dreamed of being . . . They can never tell you you're too young to slay the dragon because it all happens right here, where it's safe." — Janette Oke Love Comes Softly http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/708383/ Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:54:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/708383/ I'm starting to wonder if the reason I don't blog very often is because I get stressed about what to "Title" each blog.  Like this one, for instance.  Nothing witty or pertinent is coming to mind; that almost prevented me from blogging tonight.  Now, that's silly.  So I'll keep writing, and maybe something will come to me. I can't believe it's stinkin' July already!  That is the overwhelming thought for me these days.  I have allowed a little rest and relaxation to be the rule around here, but then I blinked, and WHAMMY!!  I lost June!  [AHA!  The blog title just came to me.  Not very witty, I know; but, hey, I'm out of practice]  I think, though, that we all needed some carefree days.  We have been very busy traveling to tournaments on the weekends for my daughter's softball team.  Then we come home on Sunday night, exhausted, a little sun weary, a little dusty.  I scramble to get all the uniforms and fan apparel washed the following few days, and then we do it all over again on Friday. I have wanted to get a few things academic in nature done this summer, though; finish up some lapbooks, work through our science curriculum, piano lessons, finish the Latin program.  And, of course, there's the whole summer read aloud list that we put together, all excited, anxious to plow through it like it was a gigantic ice cream sundae.  We're on Chapter 3 of our first read aloud...."The Hobbit."  *SIGH* So I battle these conflicting issues almost on a daily basis:  the desire to really say we're done, let's relax, enjoy the rest of the summer, not to mention the projects and personal reading I'd like to get done this summer (besides, we're done testing, so that screams "We're done", right?) VS. the little voice that keeps saying,  "Keep the kids' brains sharp!", "Soon you'll be hearing "I'm bored!"", "They watch too much TV!", "We have to finish our lapbooks!"  Again *SIGH*! Not sure which will win out.  I take it day by day around here.  In the end, it will all be good.....whatever we decide to do.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/704655/ Thu, 2 Jul 2009 22:48:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/704655/ My homeschooling friend Jenny has implored me to start blogging again so that she may be inspired to get back to blogging herself.  Good Golly!  Where has the time gone?  Well, Jenny, here is my feeble attempt to get you....and me.....going. I have guiltily thought of my blog over these past several months.  I have thought about it as I sat poring through my friends' Facebook pages.  Yes, I have been sucked into the Facebook quagmire.  That has garnered more of my attention than this homeschool blog.  That isn't an easy thing to admit.  The Bible says in Matthew 6:21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  So where has my heart been these past several months???  What have I been treasuring?  I think you can figure that out. Don't get me wrong....I don't sit for hours on Facebook while my kids clamor for my assistance with their schoolwork.  It isn't that bad. However, my blog has sat here untouched, un-updated, dormant, neglected.  I started it so that my family in MN could keep abreast of our homeschooling doings after we moved out of state.  Well, as far as they know, we don't homeschool anymore!!!  Well, I exaggerate, because, of course, I talk to them often so they know we are still plugging away.  But you get my drift, I think.  Meanwhile, I daily post my "status" to my Facebook wall.  Something funny will happen and I think, "Oooohhhh....that's gotta go on FB!"  Hmmmmmm......... I know my blog is an inanimate thing.  It does not breathe, or grow, or live as we human beings do; at least, not on its own.  But it is animate inasmuch as I make it so.  So, by golly, it needs to be a living thing again.  It needs to be resurrected as a mirror of our lives as homeschoolers.  It needs to be at the head of the class, at the wheel driving this car; it needs to be at the forefront of my updating efforts.....not my wall on Facebook.  Yes, Facebook has its place, and I value it for what it is...a place to reconnect with high school, college and law school classmates, old neighbors, friends, etc; a place to share amusing daily happenings or thoughts.  And I do like peeking into my "friends'" lives from time to time; I like reading the snippets of what their life is like on any given day.  But do I want it to be where my treasure is?  Where my heart is?  I can figure that one out. So, there we go, Jenny.  Your turn.  Let's keep each other motivated.  Nothing grand.  Daily homeschooling status updates.  Keep it simple.  You can do it.  I did.    http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/704365/ Wed, 1 Jul 2009 22:50:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/704365/ No, the kids aren't learning Greek!  I feel like I just had a beginner's tutorial in Greek.  Updated our reading list to the right.  But, brilliant me, instead of saving all the html codes from last year's list (that's too easy!) and just replacing the book titles, I had to go and delete the whole thing.  So I just recreated code, etc., to make it look pretty.  Computer language really is rather quite fascinating, though.  Confusing, but fascinating.   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/652600/ Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:07:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BooksRUs/652600/