"I believe each child learns a special way. God wants us to teach them like he made them. I have 3 kids and 3 different ways they learn different subjects! But God gives grace everyday and they learn and learn and learn!" http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:40:00 -0600 Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:40:00 -0600 Ahhh...with Thanksgiving upon us, Christmas will shortly follow.  I am the ultimate Christmas fan, restraining myself from decorating already!!!  I am listening to Christmas music already and I LOVE it!! And of course...I have already heard the pleas from my dear children "Mom! I want that for Christmas! No, that, or maybe that...yes that!!" What is comforting about it is my kids know they only get three gifts for Christmas. Yep, we started this last year and the kids love it!  Jesus got three "known"  presents from three kings/wisemen and so we had come to the conclusion of "why should you get more than that?"  We have always tried not to indulge the kids-and this helps.  Each gift we give them represents something, just like Jesus's gifts did for him. For Jesus, gold represented that He was a King,  frankinsense represented that He was the Son of God and a holy man, and myrrh signified that He would die (His purpose).  So we tie these facts into the kids gifts each year.  They get a "gold" gift-this is the fun gift, a toy and we hide it and send the kids on a scavenger hunt complete with clues.  They get a frankinsense gift which represents a talent they have and since this year everyone has enjoyed reading so much, they are all getting a book of some sort.  Myrrh is their purpose/talent gift. So this gift will represent something they are good at, such as drawing, puzzles, or it could be a game to "share" for when a friend comes over.  DO MY KIDS LIKE THIS??? The answer is a resounding YES!  Now, last year when we started this they were sort of like 'what? okay, mom and dad are nuts.'  BUT, once we explained the reason behind it, they couldn't argue with the fact that to get more presents then three on a day that is NOT your birthday did seem well...selfish!  So this year, they tell me "Mom, for my gold gift can you get me......"  hee heee...But, I dont feel the pressure to satisfy every desire they have, for we have this common understanding of the importance of three very special gifts. Plus, this year they have even shared this idea of what we do with others and why we do this-so it is turning into a great evangelistic tool as well!!  Ho Ho Ho..what do I do about the big guy??ahh...yep.  Well, how I handled it was they could believe, but if they asked me if he was real, I'd say "No." Some I know disagree with me, but my thought is, if I lie to them and tell them "Oh yes, Santa is real"....and then they find out he isn't...will they believe that Christmas being about Jesus is real?? Or worse yet...that Jesus is real at all???  So at this point none of my kids believe in Santa (thank goodness) and you know what? They don't seem to bothered by it either.  Now, we do read a book about  the true St. Nicholas, because he was a REAL person who loved God and wanted to do good for others and then we can talk about how we can model that to others, all the time and not just at Christmas. It also shows the kids what the world has done to Christmas as well. Also it gives me a chance to explain to the kids how special Christmas truly is. You know in the bible Jesus never tells us to celebrate His birth, only to remember His death, but for me, personally how can you celebrate what Christ did, without celebrating His birth and all the wonderful things that God did through that?? These are the things I want my kids to focus on at Christmas. Yes, we will have fun and watch silly Christmas shows at times but when it comes right down to the nuts and bolts of it, CHRIST needs to be the focus. Lori http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/747113/ Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:40:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/747113/ At bedtime our current new read aloud is Stories of Beowulf - Told to the Children by, H.E. Marshall.  We started this last night, more out of my own fascination than anything and everyone (inlcuding hubby)loved it so much we read through 4 chapters!  Woo Hoo!  What an awesome story too, and okay, even though it may not be the most perfect bed time story since there is an awful ogre in it named Grendel who meets his fate with Beowulf...the way it reads is absolutely beautiful!  Beowulf is a very noble warrior (actually he is royalty), but he is a very strong and smart warrior first and foremost.  He is unmatched in strength.  Some if it is written in English prose, but you know what? Once I explained some of these unfamiliar words to my family they were still like "more mom!!"  What was very noble about his battle with Grendel was that Beowulf did not use his armor or weapons even though this Grendel was a monster!  Beowulf used his strength only so it would be a "fair" fight being since his opponent did not have any weapons or training in them. I won't give it away as to how Beowulf slew Grendel, but all I could say was "hokey pete!"   My family loved what they heard me read last night and so I told them we would read more tonight (such applause!)....but hubby said "please wait for me to come home too!"  So I said..."Ok, but bedtime is at 9pm sharp!"  What a wonderful read this is!!  ~Lori   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/746664/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:20:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/746664/ In her free time this week Em drew and wrote these and I wanted to share them with you.  She has been working on making her penmanship very neat and I was suprised that she did so "outside" of school time! Even if some of the grammar or spelling is wrong it does look very neat!  First Up:  GIRAFFE pg. 1 pg 2. Next Up: RUDOLPH: pg. 1 (she did an awesome job making him look "furry") pg. 2   ~GOOD JOB MISS EM!! Love, Mom   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/744741/ Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:10:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/744741/ Miss Em completed book 6 of Explode the Code today!!!! WooHoo!!  She was so thrilled!  Six books down, 2 to go!  We love this phonics program soooo much!!  Here she is with her completed book and bestest friend Mooch...doesnt he almost look as happy as she is?? CONGRATS SWEETIE!!!  LOVE MOM!! ~Lori http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/743885/ Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:01:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/743885/ You know the word don't ya? SOCIALIZATION.  Don't you just cringe when someone puts that in your face all because you homeschool?  Not because you think they are right, but because you know better.  Here is a link to an article written by a homeschool dad about socialization.  I thought it was pretty good.: http://www.homeschooltoday.com/news/111/30/Socially-Thriving-vs-Socially-Depriving.htm  Plus the fact that it was written by a dad and not a mom says a lot to me. I recently had a conversation with a non-homeschooling person about this "dreaded socialization" thing.  And this dad summed up a lot of what I said.  Yeah!  Enjoy the article and let me know if the link does not work. ~Lori http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/743508/ Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:04:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/743508/ I have always wanted to nurture talent as it appears in my kids, not just passing fancies that they have, but true desires that I see in them that are truly a part of who they are.  Emily has started private art lessons with a local artist and she loves it.  He is focusing on drawing with her and he is very impressed with her work and he should be because she has a talent for it!  Drawing is a passion of Em's and has been since she could hold a pencil properly, it is a part of who she is.   Tyler, has a love of the game chess.  He is just learning it, but the problem is only his dad knows how to play it and schedule-wise it doesnt always work out to play together.  So, Tyler is starting a homeschool Chess Club this Monday.  It meets once a month, unless the kids want to get together and play outside of club.  He is so excited.  The way it is set up is that older kids who are more experienced in chess, teach the younger ones.  Tyler is excited for 2 reasons-he gets to learn chess and he will make more friends.  Tyler's talent is applying methods.  I mean he actually likes to methodically plan strategies in different games such as checkers, battleship, even go-fish if that is possible.  So we will see how the chess club goes.  What is amazing is that a boy who at times can't sit still, can sit very still for a couple of hours playing this. So cool!! ~Lori http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/743028/ Sun, 8 Nov 2009 06:22:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/743028/ Remember reading this book as a kid?  Monday we are starting a 3 week unit study on this book.  It is our current "read-a-loud."  I found a free unit study for it here:   http://www.homeschoolshare.com/stuartlittle.php   My kids are really excited about this book.  Obviously we won't do everything the unit study offers, but it will give us some good ideas to really enrich the understanding of such a wonderful story!  My kids have not seen the movie so they have no previous ideas on which to base the story (except that it is about a mouse-why would Mom choose that book?...see the post below this one!)...ha hahaha.  No, I had this study planned long before that happened....God just has a sense of humor!   ~Lori   http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/742840/ Sat, 7 Nov 2009 07:02:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/742840/ Some mornings it doesnt pay to get up does it?  I got up at 5:30am this morning, which is pretty typical for me.  Hubby is usually just on his way out the door and I get an hour or so to myself and I love it.  Well, I went into the bathroom after I awoke to you know...go.  I did not turn the bathroom lights on cause my eyes were not quite focused yet and the lights from the kitchen do nicely.  I happened to glance over and look into the tub and saw something dark in there.  I thought it was one of the kids tub toys.  I got done, washed my hands, and thank GOD I turned the light on before I reached into the tub!  I turned on the light and there was a mouse in my tub!  Yeah, you laugh! Go ahead!  At first, I thought it was dead so I called Tom in to pick him up and dispose of his vermin, flea-carrying hide only to hear Tom say "Sweetie, its not dead."  UGH.  I HATE, and I mean HATE mice!  It wasn't dead folks! It was sitting at an angle and so I thought it was dead, well apparently one of our two cats must have injured him, lost him and the mouse scampered up a towel that was laying over the edge of the tub and slipped into it.  Well, "Jerry," which is the name I give to these creatures (because they are always getting killed by Tom) must have been listening cause he started running around the tub...eeeik!  Talk about the hibbijibbees!  {{Shivers!}}  My son came in at that point and wondered what was going on and I said "wanna take a bath Ty?" To which he replied after looking in the tub. "Nope."  Well, Tom did kill Jerry  (funny heh??)  I'm just glad he was still home to do it.   At any rate I was awake after that! ~Lori http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/742713/ Fri, 6 Nov 2009 17:30:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/742713/ I am so thrilled about something that I am doing.  I am attempting to read through the bible!  I just recently treated myself to a new bible on the Walmart clearance rack last month. Woah! YES! I treated MYSELF! (Did your mouth hit the floor?)    It is the NLT version (New Living Translation).  It reads like a wonderful story!  I know there are debates out there about which versions are the best, but that is up to each individual person to decide. I have already read through Genesis and now I'm starting the book of Exodus-I have learned so much that I never "caught" before!  I have many versions here in my home (KJV, NKJV, NIV)...but to read through them as a "story" is difficult.  I always get a little concerned about versions and so I checked this one out thoroughly against my other ones and it holds water as the rest of them do so off I go on a wonderful reading adventure!  I actually look forward to reading it everyday and sometimes twice a day!!!  AND GET THIS!  I read it to my kids and they actually like to sit and listen to it!!  That has never happened before because of the language of the other versions.  I've always loved the bible since I became a Christian 16 years ago, but it always eluded me when people would say "its the most wonderful storybook cover to cover...."  I'd be like HUH?  How is that possible with all the...okay...I'm gonna say it..... archaic language?"  So anyways I am just thrilled at my new bible and what God is showing me, in the words of my kids  "IT IS SOOOOO SWEEEEEET!" Happy Reading!! ~Lori http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/742258/ Thu, 5 Nov 2009 07:42:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/742258/ Two of my three children are sick. At least we are on break this week, thank you God for that favor (He is always so good to us!!)   Em is on the mend, praise the Lord and hopefully today Ty will turn the corner too!  They started with these complaints of headache/sore throat...then a few days later low grade fevers of 99-100.  Then they each have had a day or two of fevers that wen up to 102.8!  I know that according to doctor standards that is not HIGH, but to a mother's heart .... it is. Tyler even had the chills, you know the kind where they shake and shiver and even have chattering teeth?? Their little cheeks and lips get soooo red!   Woah.   Is it H1N1? Who knows. Its viral whatever it is. I had just stocked up on ibuprofen and tylenol too (good planning Lori!!)...   What seems to linger after the fever finally breaks is a cough, not a continuous one, but one of those annoying ones that attack you like when you laugh too much?? Then it sounds like they are smokers or something.  Amazingly enough Claire has not come down with it....yet.  She seems to have a great immune system and I praise God for that.   Em's temp stayed normal all day yesterday!! WooHoo!  I think Ty's fever broke last night.  I checked on him around 12:30am and he was drenched in sweat! I mean his hair was sopping wet and he was sleeping so peacefully. He is still sound asleep this morning at 8:30am...unusual for him, but I am letting him rest, his little body needs it. I love this painting of this mom tucking her kids in.  Its called Mother's Little Angels, by Normal Rockwell.  I love his paintings, they are so true to life, not that I dress like the mom in that painting (nope), but you can see the love in that painting that she has for her "little angels."  Love it.   Hope all of you and yours are staying healthy!! ~Lori http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/741960/ Wed, 4 Nov 2009 07:34:00 -0600 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/henhouse/741960/