Just our thoughts on everything from weight to homeschooling to children to parenting to politics to midwifery to blog memes. Please come and visit my website and other blog, http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/ en-us Homeschool Blogger Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:21:00 -0500 Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:21:00 -0500 I have moved all of the posts about The Hidden Art of Homemaking and have finished reviewing the rest of the chapters on my new blog - thotsofamom.blogspot.com Don't forget to sign up to receive notices when I update the new blog. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/597025/ Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:21:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/597025/ We love these things! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592787/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:44:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592787/ If we don't follow the morning routine, the afternoon is even more unproductive than the morning was. K learns best in the afternoon, so we have to work around that. The computer is a HUGE time waster, but an amazing tool!  BALANCE! I believe W is an auditory learner!  Loves, loves, loves music and rhythm. Less really is more. I miss my family; don't really realize that until I find out they are coming for visit and I get sooooo excited. If my kids were grown, I'd join the volunteer fire dept. with my DH; I love it as much as he does. I'm weird and I'm okay with that. In less than 8 weeks (hopefully), I'm going to have FIVE, yes, 5, children ages 7 and under! There is value in keeping my mouth shut. A lot of times I have something beneficial to share. I like teaching preschool; the older the children get, the harder the organization seems to be. Don't forget that I've moved over to the other blog, including finishing The Hidden Art of Homemaking chapter reviews there. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592750/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:57:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592750/ This is another song linked to our son's life and death.  My DH though distraught with pain and grief wrote a piece about how he related to this song.  I still cry when I hear it.  I love to hear this song sung acapella best.  I love to hear the male voices join in harmony.  What a beautiful, beautiful song. I have two other links - one on the history and a blog post that includes the sad ending of Horatio's life.  First, here's the song. It Is Well With My Soul Some History the blog post For more Then Sings My Soul posts, visit here. Have a blessed day! I am slowly moving over to a new blog - thotsofamom.blogspot.com/ http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592747/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:21:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592747/ Amber In Norfolk (Flickr) I love a yellow kitchen!  I found this searching for kitchens.  I am starting to think about the renovations of my kitchen, not that they are coming soon, but thinking just the same. For more Exposed, go to Munchkinheads. I am slowly moving over to a different blog.  I think I'm going to like it better.  More editing options and such.  Please come check it out (reposting some posts from here) at Just Our Thoughts at Blogger. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592726/ Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:23:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592726/ Good morning, Blog readers! We've been doing some reading this week!  This week's preschool theme (M's homeschool work) is Jungle. Eight Silly Monkeys.  Similar to Five Little Monkeys, but with a twist!  Very nice book.  Brand new at our library; who doesn't love brand new books???  I've discvered that W loves rythme.  This book holds his attention as does the nursery rhyme one (mostly the Itsy Bitsy Spider) but with his love of music and beat I should have expected that! Betsy-Tacy and Tib.  This is our "read-aloud"; we read chapter one last night before bed. Rumble In The Jungle.  A well used book from our library.  A lovely poem about the animals in the jungle. The New Baby Calf (again)  We need to get more books by this illustrator (Barbara Reid) because the girls were quite intrigued by her plasticine pictures. My Bedtime Book of Favorite Nursery Rhymes (again)  I think I may have to get us a copy of this book!  W loves loves loves it.  Well, they all do.  It's been well read and very very well treated! Hug  K can read this book.  But I think there are a total of 10 different words in the whole book. Maisy's Favorite Animals.  A chubby board book.  W was looking at it. Doodle Dog in Space. I didn't read this one to them.  I think CJ was looking at it at rest time one day. My Truck Book (again)  Another one I need to buy for W.  He loves this book too. Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories - Two Pockets Please.  The girls loved this story.  It's a story about a little boy who wore out his pants and in his bedtime prayer, prayed for a new pair of pants, with 2 pockets please.  I love how short they are and that they get a lesson across quickly.  The girls always want me to read more than one! Totally Amazing Spiders - CJ, our resident bug person, was amazed at some of the pictures in this book.  There is a lot of information and I don't often sit down and read these types of books to the girls but they love to look at the pictures and have me read the captions for the pictures. Popcorn (again).  This is just a fun halloween story! My first ABC book.  K told me one day that a book we had in our collection had 27 letters in the alphabet!  I was very confused!  So she went and got this book and counted and re-counted the letters at the beginning of the book.  The first time she did get 27 but then she got the 26.  This is a big book!  The pictures are bright and colorful with a wide range of items for each letter. Next week the preschool theme will be kittens, so I'm hoping our books come in to the library on time.  I am moving on with The Hidden Art of Homemaking and The Five Love Languages of Children.  I don't  usually read two books at once, but I think I can handle these two.  They are pretty light reading. I hope you find some good reading here and if not at least are a little bit aware of what we are reading! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592325/ Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:50:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592325/ It's a little hard to see, but in this tree we have a snake!  Yes, a snake; a paper chain snake. It's long.  I hardly helped with it at all.  I got it started; gave M a job (feeding the paper through the hole) and gave K the job of stapling.  CJ was busy with the kitten.  I drew the face and put it in the tree.  It's long!  K said, "I bet it's as long as you and Daddy on top of each other, Mom!" http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592053/ Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:32:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/592053/ The love of learning.  I love how learning just happens.  I'm sitting here listening to my children play together.  They are working together on making a paper chain snake.  The preschool theme in our home this week is jungle - and in that we are learning about green.  So we made a snake.  They are loving it.  They are excited about it. We are learning about working together to get the house chores done.  We are working on a new system (see here and here) and it is working well so far.  Well, it's not totally new, just revamped and adding another routine.  We are a team, a family and we all have our part to do.  (and as a side, having set chores for each child helps with behavior - you behave or you'll do so and so's chores today!) We love learning and are thankful that we have the love of learning! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/591886/ Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:50:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/591886/ Harris Family Chore Chart Really hoping this is going to work for us.  Today went slow but very well.  As the chores become routine it should move faster.  Just have to stick with it. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/591883/ Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:45:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/591883/ So, we named our newest addition. Tweety! http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/591875/ Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:29:00 -0500 http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/justourthoughts/591875/