Nov. 24, 2009 - Grrr...How do I get my picutre to post?
I am trying to post a picture, but it does not seem to be working. Any tips?
• 3 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Nov. 24, 2009 - School Room
Today has been fairly productive. One of those days where everything gets worse looking before it gets better.
My husband recently cleaned out a house that a realtor was putting on the market she paid him $200 and let him have everything in the house that was left so he could sell it. When we went in one of the upstairs rooms it was lined in matching black (nothing fancy) book shelves. I was thrilled!! 
I knew as soon as I saw them I wanted them for the school room! Well, today we cleaned them up and put them in the school room. They are perfect! 
These are not very clear pictures due to the room being too small for the camera to focus.
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Nov. 23, 2009 - Random
It's been a while.... Well let's see...hmmm...Well in the last few minutes Lulu has giggled more than any one should be allowed to giggle. Caders just told me that he and his friends had some kind of secret and so Ty says "Caders don't you know you can't have friends you are an unsocialized homeschooler that is not allowed to have friends." Ahhhh, the sarcasm!
I have let things get out of control here. We are entirely too busy. It is time to put the brakes on things. I don't homeschool so I can jump to everyone's beck and call. I have run a few too many times lately.
Have you ever gotten to a point that you just can not figure out where all the hours in the day go? I used to be able to get school done, cook, go to karate, visit with friends, and still be able to get the kids to settle down early after having their baths. SO, WHAT HAPPENED? My life has turned into chaos. Maybe I hear accountability calling..........Yes, that's it. Accountability!! I will now use this blog as my accountability blog.
I will be on here more often now. I am going to give a once a week report of what we have accomplished in school and as a daily account of what we are doing with our days.
Why do I let life get in the way of LIFE? Wow, amazing!
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Sep. 15, 2009 - Sweet Spot
I have been reading "Cure for the Common Life" by Max Lucado...well slowly reading. I had not picked it up in about a week and this morning I picked it up and read a quick bit. The book is about finding your "sweet spot" or where your everday life, your strengths, and God's glory all come together. It's been a slow process for me because I have a tendency to force my thoughts into the process by just deciding this is what my gift is..... Well I have been waiting and it all came together today! My gift or my sweet spot is.........drum roll please.........making something out of what seems like nothing! LOL I know that sounds strange but that truly is it! When I look back I excel whenever our money is low. People come to me asking me how to save on their light bills. I can feed a family of 5 with a yummy meal when it looks like there is nothing in the cabinet! I can make a curtain out of that scrap piece of material. I love doing it, I am good at it, and I help others with it. I always looked at our financial struggles as a horrible thing when in actuality it was a gift! YAY!
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Sep. 1, 2009 - In Full Swing
We started school on August 10th. This is our 4th full week of school! Wow it has flown by so far! Things are going great!
The first week got off to a great start. Then on Wednesday Lulu started with a headache and then a fever came. Friday I took her to the Doctor and they tested her for the flu and strep throat both came back negative. She kept a fever all the way unitl Monday. During that we only missed one day of school but by Tuesday we caught up. Well, the following Wednesday Tyler started with the headache and fever so I took him in on Friday and he had strep throat. We missed one day that week also, but quicky caught up. The next week on Tuesday my mother in law came so we missed that day also. The amazing thing is that it is now Tuesday of the 4th week and we are actually caught up.
This year we are doing "Learning Language Arts Through Literature" (LLATL) and Mystery of History. We absoutely love both of them! LLATL is a wonderful change for us. It's so simple yet full of information. The kids are learning so much more due to the fact that they do not feel weighed down! Mystery of History has also been a blessing for us. The kids are loving all the great activities along with the timeline! The only subject we are struggling with is math. We are going to be getting a new math curriculum soon and we are hoping this makes it flow much better.
All in all I guess my report is that things are going much better than expected and I am truly feeling blessed by homeschooling this year!!!
• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Aug. 3, 2009 -
Ok so we are down to the wire...Public school in our county starts Wednesday...We are starting on Monday the 10th.
Of course being the wonderful procrastinator that I am, I still have lots to do! Let's see......HMMMM
1. Put calendar up in school room
2. Finish first 9 weeks planning...well it's planned in my mind I just have to finish putting it in writing
3. Pray my last 2 books come in Wednesday like they are supposed too
4. Set up a daily schedule for getting up, chores, school time, etc.
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jul. 29, 2009 - Planning
Good Morning. It's supposed to be a rainy day today, but as of right now the sun is out. This morning my mind woke up just fine yet my eyes did not want to open.
Well I think the planning bug has finally hit me. I went to our local teacher store yesterday and bought 3 planners. One for each child. I at first was going to use Homeschool Tracker but, to be honest I am not patient at all when it comes to the computer so I decided on paper would be my better planning route.
I have 2 books to order. Ty and Lulu are both going to be using LLATL (Learning Language Arts Through Literature) and I need to order the workbooks that go along with them.
I know this post is short and ends kind of abruptly but, the dog is whining to go out so I must go.
Have a great day everyone!
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jul. 14, 2009 - Defining Moments
It's absolutely amazing how God can address our stress in the smallest most subtle of ways.When we are at the end of our rope He gives an extension. Today I found out what this is all about today.
Ty my oldest son is at camp this week. Well this has ,of course ,changed the dynamics of our family. My little Lulu has told me about 10 times today that she misses her bubby! We sent him a letter tonight and Lulu asked me to tell him that she missed him, she wanted him to come home, and she was ready for family night. Each morning when Caders wakes up the first thing he says is "Where bubby?" (How sweet!) This is awesome!
Another wonderful thing happened today. Due to Ty being at camp I have been doing his chores. This morning the little ones and I were outside feeding the dog and rabbit, while we were outside we were letting Luna (the dog) run. While we let her run Caders was cutting a few flowers and picking up leaves. He then decided he was going in the house. When I asked him where he was going...(this is the good part) he said (4 years old) I'm going in to get the green book that has all the flowers and leaves in it and I;m going to see what kind of leaf this is....
There it was coming from my 4 year old. This is why I do this. This is the reason. This is the defining moment. This is what homeschooling is really about. It's about the wonder. It's about the curiosity. It's about knowing how to find the answer. It's about knowing that learning and discovering go hand in hand. Wow! All this time I have been putting pressure on myself and ashamedly on my oldest to prove my worth as a homeschool teacher/mother. Then my smallest child with the least knowledge of the world and the least "schooling" has learned enough just watching that he was able to turn it around and teach me. How amazing! I think the Lord is teaching me great things. I know this is one of the most used scriptures but it fits.
I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME PHILIPPIANS 4:13
Today has been a defining moment!
• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jul. 13, 2009 - Monday
Good Morning.....Ty left for camp yesterday which means I had to handle his chores this morning. I just got back from walking the dog. I still have to feed and run Luna ( the other dog) and feed Marlow (the rabbit).
Lulu is still in bed but , before she went to sleep last night she requested grits for breakfast. I just finished making grits. I was thinking I may need to wake her up but, Caders has been loud enough she just came dragging in the living room.
My dear husband did not get very much sleep before he went to work last night so, once he gets home today I expect he wil sleep most of the day away. I think the little ones and I will do some cleaning today, maybe an exercise video, maybe to Walmart for some water and bread. Not sure what the day will bring.
I do know that I am going to spend this week reflecting on my relationships and making decisions on how I am going to improve these relationships. Including mainly relationships with God, my husband, my children, and my church. I am looking forward to making some positive changes.
Hope you guys have a great day.
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jul. 10, 2009 - Decisions
Wow....I think I see sunshine and only about a 40% chance of rain today!
I have lots and lots ....and lots I need to do today. I am very excited. Yesterday at Target I found a $35 hammock for $8. We have a hammock stand that has been empty for a long time. I am very happy to be giving it a friend.
I am having a very hard time with attitudes at my house lately. Caders says at least, and this is no exaggeration, 60 times a day "I want to go to Mema's." In fact this morning he was laying in the bed with me and as soon as he opened his eyes he turned over and tapped on me and said....."Mommy, I want to go to Mema's house." Now don't get me wrong, I am very thankful that my child loves my mother and I am thankful that they are able to go over anytime.(They live in our neighborhood) But, seriously, come on who wants to wake up to and go to sleep to that and listen to it 60+ times a day!
Then we have Lulu who is in a constant state of grump, whine, and jealousy. As you can guess by that description she is the middle child. Ty is going to camp on Sunday so Mema decided he needed some new clothes to take with him. This almost drove Lulu insane, because it was not all about her. She has been begging for a friend from taekwodo to come over tomorrow but, has had the nastiest attitude lately. I try to explain if you want something then you act like you want it.
As I said Ty is going to camp on Sunday. This is his first week long trip away. He will be fine.(Question is ...Will I be!) We made him earn the money to go to camp mainly due to the fact that his attitude toward school, chores, and basically anything he doesn't want to do has been awful. These things have been to the point we did not feel he really deserved to go to camp. But, seeing as though it is church camp I wanted him to go hoping he would come back renewed. I pray this happens.
Well, all these attitudes mixed together along with the hubbies new schedule have had me at my wits end!! I am having a very difficult time feeling respected. I have really been thinking about my decisions. I feel as though deciding to homeschool is the worst decision I have ever made for my families realtionships. I took the kids on Thursday and made them try on school uniforms. Lulu cried and cried because she says she is afraid to go to school. Our school system is not that scary here but, I understand the fear of the unknown. We are not flourishing as a family right now. My true hearts desire is to homeschool and not have to battle everyday. I would love to keep them at home. Honestly, I have a very hard time being able to see this happening since I have talked to them for 2 years about the attitudes. I actually took them to try on uniforms and I am still getting such nasty attitudes. I am beginning to think maybe this just is not for our family. There are less than 4 weeks before school starts here. My decision still is not made. If I put Ty in public school he will be back in 6th grade due to the fact that last year we did not finish out intire curriculum because it was not a great curriculum and we did not enjoy it and due to the fact that this year we had a great curriculum but we started school last August and it is now July and we are just making it to lesson 56. This is how much of a struggle we have been having. I have to do what is best for my childrens education and unfortunately at this rate .....I don't think this is it!
• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jul. 9, 2009 - Time Management
I can hear the low rumble of thunder and it's raining a bit this morning.
The kids have already finished all their chores, breakfast is finished, laundry started, and lunch is in the oven. Woohoo!!! Now thats a great start.
The plans for today is to try to make the kids understand the concept of doing things in a somewhat timely manner.(hahaha) We shall see how this goes. We are going to start reading "Little House on the Praire" today. We made a great lap book when we read "Little House in the Big Woods".Hoping this turns out just as great! We really don't have alot of running around to do today. We may run up to Taekwondo and get Ty a Jahng Bahng so he can practice for his camp talent show.
I am now reading (again) "The Power of a Praying Parent." I am praying for peace on the decisions we need to make about school.
Hope you guys have a great day.....I need to get back to my monkeys!
• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jul. 8, 2009 - A Pitiful Plea.....I Want Friends
Ok I know this is silly sounding coming from an adult, but I want friends. I don't know exactly how to get friends on here but, I sure would like some!
• 2 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jul. 8, 2009 - Renewed Energy
Good Morning.....Today is supposed to be another rainy day in South Georgia. I am thinking that at least the rain keeps us from having major water restrictions.
This morning I am feeling extra thankful for renewed energy and Zyrtec-D. Hahaha I know that sounds strange but Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights I was out of Zyrtec-D so I took Benadryl for my awful allergies. Well, anyone who has taken Benadryl knows about the Benadryl hangover you have the next day. For the last several days I have been a zombie until well into the evening. So today I am very thankful for renewed energy because I took Zyrtec last night and I am highly funtionable this morning! woohoo!!!
I am going to do a bit of math with everyone today, and then I am going to get some planning done. Maybe a another trip to the library today. We went yesterday, our library has programs during the summer to go along with their Summer reading Program, and yesterday was "Be Counted." They explained and gave lots of info to the kids about the 2010 Census. It was a pretty neat program. The best we have seen this year has been either Fiddlin Dan the Mountain Man or Music Alive. You have to love the wonderful free programs the library offers. I was thinking yesterday that if I ever came into a fortune I think I would donate money to my local library!
I guess I need to finish up this entry, the kitchen is calling. Actually Caders is saying "Caders is hungry. Caders wants food." (He is 4 and speaks in the 3rd person all the time. He thinks he's cute when he does it. I have to admit....he is.)
Oh my last thing.....I refuse to be a Facebook Junkie today!!!!! I think doing this bit of blogging helped get those tendencies under control! HAHA
Hope You All Have A Great Day!
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jun. 24, 2009 - Follow Through.....
I did not post any last week because we had VBS. (Crocodile Dock) We had a great time, and it was absolutely exhausting! Also last week my DH started crazy new hours at work in which we are all having a hard time adjusting to!
This week is an extremely odd week. There is no Taekwondo, nothing going on at church, and my parents who live in our neighborhood are on vacation in Yellowstone. I had great thoughts of the wonderful things we could accomplish. I was so excited.....well it's Wednesday and you can just guess what we have accomplished. NOTHING. Hmmmm???? I obviously have issues with follow through!
I am now off to accomplish something........I think!
• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jun. 8, 2009 - What's on the Agenda?
Ok today is our 13th Anniversary! Thirteen years of wedded bliss. You know bliss, whats left when you take out all the craziness like bills, jobs, wild little ones, taking care of a house, and all that other stuff. I am very blessed to have a wonderful husband who has given me a wonderful family.
I will be going to have dinner with my hubby at his least favorite place to be...work! Now, besides that what's on the agenda for the week?
So far today we have taken a little "nature" walk or you could just say we walked around the block.The kids collected rocks as we walked. When we returned from our walk they decided they wanted clean rocks and proceeded to wash their rocks in plastic containers on the dining room table. That was quite a wet mess!
The rest of today will probably include some reading and an introduction of how to do a page in their Nature Notebooks. I think the week will be focused on how to set up entries in the notebooks and all the fun things they can do with these notebooks. Ty is going to start reading "Tree Castle Island" by Jean Craighead George today. Lulu and I are reading "Molly's Short Story Collection" (American Girl.) I read to Caders constantly as he is constantly bringing me books. In History we are learning about Rosa Parks and in Science it's going to be a discovery week....discover what you want to learn about each day as we walk around the neighborhood.
We have a bit of a schedule this week .
Let's see.....
Monday ....Anniversary
Tuesday....Tae Kwon Do (Ty will receive his red belt and Lulu will have her first class back)
Wedneday.....Homemade Ice Cream social with youth at church
Thursday...... Tae Kwon Do
Friday.....maybe the beach
Saturday......help Daddy at work get set up for his new adventure that begins on Monday morning
Well I am starving which makes me think that maybe the kids are getting hungry. So, off to make lunch. I'm thinking grilled cheese! Also the laundry waits.
• 1 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jun. 6, 2009 - A New Direction
My first entry on my "secret" blog. Well, I guess technically it is the second entry, but the first was by my 4 year old.
I have been doing a lot of thinking and research on what I think I want for our school. Just to give you a back ground my oldest went to a private kindergarten with about 10 kids in his class. We homeschooled for first and second. Third grade came around we had moved, and were being told how great the schools were. So, third and fourth grade he went to the local public school. His fourth grade year I was even the PTA president. Being around the school so much made me a bit unhappy with what really goes on there. When it came time for fifth grade it was also time for our middle child to go to kindergarten. We decided we wanted to keep her home and we decided to bring our oldest home also. Our fifth grade year I was looking for an economical curriculum choice. I came across Alpha Omega Life Pac. This was NOT for us. This past year was our sixth grade year and we went with Abeka for him and our first grade daughter. This was a better match for us, but we got bored!
So that brings us up to the present . Recently during one of our bouts with Abeka boredom we stopped a while and did a wonderful lapbook on "The Little House in the Big Woods." We loved doing this! We could all work together even with the gap in the childrens ages! (Ty 12, Lulu 7, Caders 4) I am beginning to think that I have built enough "Homeschooling confidence" now that I am going to go in a completely different direction. This direction being what I wanted all along, but was too scared to do.
Ty (7th)
Grammar - Easy Grammar
Literature- living books/lapbooks
Math-undecided
History- We will be reading short biographies and doing research on important people in our history. Including presidents, inventors, scientist, religious leaders, explorers, etc. We will be doing some timeline work and notebooking in this.
Science- Notebooking and research on the things we discover. Maybe even a few experiments and some projects.
Lulu (2nd)
Reading- books (lol)
Math- unsure
everything else along with Ty
Caders- PreK
Just getting him to sit will be a challenge in its self!
I am excited about the thought of change and the fact that I am going to be following my own feelings rather than following everyone elses patterns.
If you have ANY suggestions for any of these categories especially the important people in history. Please leave me comments.
• 0 Comments • Post A Comment! • Permanent Link
Jun. 4, 2009 - In the .nbv'[ty8l;uo,bhhyyyyyyyyyy;
