What does this picture say?
To me it says: Its not easy being little bro.
October 26, 2007
M. I .C. K. E .Y...and a little school
Our 10 year anniversary trip to Disney World was wonderful. I think I want to make an October vacation a family tradition. After homeschooling July, August, and September I find the break a perfect fit and now I have the energy to push through until Christmas Break! Disney lent us its usual magic and fairytale dreams and we in return lent them alot of money (ha ha). I really can't say enough about the trip...so needed, so wanted, so appreciated! We did manage to work in some school before we left, we read a Magic Tree House book about China while there to wind down at night, and we even took some pictures that were meant to represent India which we studied not that long ago.
The rest of this week we worked on just the basics, reading, spelling, and math. Next week we will be studying Ancient Africa and all the Anansi stories..what a perfect fit for Halloween week: Spiders! For all of you that enjoy the jack-o-lanterns and goblins I'll simply say "Boo to You" from the Hazel"nuts".
Thanks for stopping by.
October 15, 2007
A Look Back Oct. 15-19
Another zany week at Hazelnut Academy but here goes the weekly report. Sorry no time for pics!
Language Arts: Princess Poodle is working on color and number words and moving right along with her reading. I have this gut instinct that we are about to hit another breakthrough...I wonder what this feeling is and if there is any merit to it? Triple H is doing so well with his capital letters but argues with me when I show him the lowercase letters. He says "No Mommy...that is not a T" for example when he is shown a lowercase t. I'm not sure what to think about this or what this says about him? He is also learning to write his name and is doing well considering I haven't really been teaching him at all. I just threw in a couple of lowercase letters to see what he thought but I haven't really been teaching him anything poor guy. In fact everything he is learning he has picked up on his own. Not sure what this says about me?
Math: So far Saxon 1 is still too easy for Princess Poodle. She's going to go nuts with this so I am speeding us along a bit and have skipped a few lessons. I know it will get harder we are only on lesson 38; hopefully she is gaining alot of Math confidence which can't hurt I guess. So we forge ahead with addition facts and measuring in cubes (my 3 year old can do this math)
History: By far our subject of choice and I have to discipline myself or I would spend all our time on History. What does this say about me? This week we are learning about Ancient China, the Yellow River Valley, Pictograms, and the many inventions that we can thank the Chinese people for. I had no idea; a compass, wheelbarrow, kite ...the list goes on and on. This week we read The Story About Ping; Princess Poodle did an oral summary which I wrote down for her. I like her summaries but am still uncertain what I am supposed to be looking for. All this learning about China has me missing our daughter...is she born yet? Is she warm and cozy and well fed? The adoption process from China has gone topsy turvy this past year and we got stuck in the middle of it. So what we thought would be a 10 month wait is turning into a potential three year wait. I keep reminding myself that God's timing is perfect and that He will bring the little girl to us that He wants us to raise and love. Sometimes my impatience wrestles with my faith.
In Art Princess Poodle has been learning about Claude Monet and in Music at her school she is learning a hymn each month. I will try to get her to sing America the Beautiful and put in a video clip. It is precious.
Memorization: Princess Poodle has her Awana verses each week and I don't want to stress her out but I am hoping for one Psalm and one poem by the end of the year. I picked the psalm and when I read the poem The Swing to her she loved it as I did so we will hope to have both of these ready for her Kindergarten graduation party this spring.
Thought this week: Getting Old... Scary or Sacred
My dh grandmother is 91. She fell a couple of weeks ago and is in rehab. The kids and I are going to visit her as much as we can. She is so strong. Grandaddy died more than 30 years ago and she has been living alone in her home all these years. She still volunteers at our local hospital. I have been thinking about getting older..the fears I have. But I have also been able to look at her along with the many others in the rehab facility/nursing home for some, and see something beautiful in it. We come into the world completely dependent..we gain independence and with it pride, arrogance, selfishness etc. and then we become dependent again. Almost as if God knew we needed this step to wash away the years of pride and reliance on self. I pray for a long life..a chance to see my children live, learn, laugh, cry. And I pray that I age gracefully and I don't mean in appearance but in heart. And I pray that each day I might become a little more dependent on God than the day before and a little less focused on myself. Is it possible to age before our time and find wisdom there? Is it possible to be humble before the "fall"?
And now we are off to Disney World...a chance to laugh as a family, a chance to be herded like cattle along with the other million people I am expecting to be there, a chance to see something other than the walls of our house, but most of all a chance to be a kid again and get swept up in the magic. Thanks for the past 10 years sweet Papa Bear. I love you and more often than not you make my heart smile.
Language Arts: Princess Poodle is working on color and number words and moving right along with her reading. I have this gut instinct that we are about to hit another breakthrough...I wonder what this feeling is and if there is any merit to it? Triple H is doing so well with his capital letters but argues with me when I show him the lowercase letters. He says "No Mommy...that is not a T" for example when he is shown a lowercase t. I'm not sure what to think about this or what this says about him? He is also learning to write his name and is doing well considering I haven't really been teaching him at all. I just threw in a couple of lowercase letters to see what he thought but I haven't really been teaching him anything poor guy. In fact everything he is learning he has picked up on his own. Not sure what this says about me?
Math: So far Saxon 1 is still too easy for Princess Poodle. She's going to go nuts with this so I am speeding us along a bit and have skipped a few lessons. I know it will get harder we are only on lesson 38; hopefully she is gaining alot of Math confidence which can't hurt I guess. So we forge ahead with addition facts and measuring in cubes (my 3 year old can do this math)
History: By far our subject of choice and I have to discipline myself or I would spend all our time on History. What does this say about me? This week we are learning about Ancient China, the Yellow River Valley, Pictograms, and the many inventions that we can thank the Chinese people for. I had no idea; a compass, wheelbarrow, kite ...the list goes on and on. This week we read The Story About Ping; Princess Poodle did an oral summary which I wrote down for her. I like her summaries but am still uncertain what I am supposed to be looking for. All this learning about China has me missing our daughter...is she born yet? Is she warm and cozy and well fed? The adoption process from China has gone topsy turvy this past year and we got stuck in the middle of it. So what we thought would be a 10 month wait is turning into a potential three year wait. I keep reminding myself that God's timing is perfect and that He will bring the little girl to us that He wants us to raise and love. Sometimes my impatience wrestles with my faith.
In Art Princess Poodle has been learning about Claude Monet and in Music at her school she is learning a hymn each month. I will try to get her to sing America the Beautiful and put in a video clip. It is precious.
Memorization: Princess Poodle has her Awana verses each week and I don't want to stress her out but I am hoping for one Psalm and one poem by the end of the year. I picked the psalm and when I read the poem The Swing to her she loved it as I did so we will hope to have both of these ready for her Kindergarten graduation party this spring.
Thought this week: Getting Old... Scary or Sacred
My dh grandmother is 91. She fell a couple of weeks ago and is in rehab. The kids and I are going to visit her as much as we can. She is so strong. Grandaddy died more than 30 years ago and she has been living alone in her home all these years. She still volunteers at our local hospital. I have been thinking about getting older..the fears I have. But I have also been able to look at her along with the many others in the rehab facility/nursing home for some, and see something beautiful in it. We come into the world completely dependent..we gain independence and with it pride, arrogance, selfishness etc. and then we become dependent again. Almost as if God knew we needed this step to wash away the years of pride and reliance on self. I pray for a long life..a chance to see my children live, learn, laugh, cry. And I pray that I age gracefully and I don't mean in appearance but in heart. And I pray that each day I might become a little more dependent on God than the day before and a little less focused on myself. Is it possible to age before our time and find wisdom there? Is it possible to be humble before the "fall"?
And now we are off to Disney World...a chance to laugh as a family, a chance to be herded like cattle along with the other million people I am expecting to be there, a chance to see something other than the walls of our house, but most of all a chance to be a kid again and get swept up in the magic. Thanks for the past 10 years sweet Papa Bear. I love you and more often than not you make my heart smile.
October 12, 2007
Under a Tree, Princess Party, and Hero home from War
This week has been our Fall Break. What a blessed week it has been. I have been able to do more sidewalk chalk, storytelling under our one little tree, and cooking a decent breakfast each morning. Tonight is Princess Poodles Princess party. We will eat a lite dinner and then go see Beauty and the Beast at our local theatre. She is very excited as are her three little friends. On Saturday we go to welcome home our Uncle Tater from Iraq. He served 9 months driving a humv with men and supplies across Iraq. He is our hero!
Next week will be interesting. We jump back into reading, Math, and history. Ancient China will be a blast as we are in the process of adopting from China. On Thursday we leave for DISNEY WORLD! I am so excited about this trip. For those of you that don't know my dh was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at 32 years old. It has been a very difficult last year learning to deal with this disease. We need this vacation and any prayers would be appreciated: that dh can hold up on the trip and enjoy being with our kids.
So not a great weekly update but it sure has been a great week!
Thanks for stopping by.
Sheryl
Next week will be interesting. We jump back into reading, Math, and history. Ancient China will be a blast as we are in the process of adopting from China. On Thursday we leave for DISNEY WORLD! I am so excited about this trip. For those of you that don't know my dh was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis at 32 years old. It has been a very difficult last year learning to deal with this disease. We need this vacation and any prayers would be appreciated: that dh can hold up on the trip and enjoy being with our kids.
So not a great weekly update but it sure has been a great week!
Thanks for stopping by.
Sheryl
October 10, 2007
October 9, 2007
Little Girl: Wise Soul
Today is my dd's 6th birthday. How could this be? Why do they grow so fast? I long to slow down the clock but I know I can't. My tears over her growing up are in vain..well maybe not. Let me take some time to tell you about my little Princess Poodle.
She was born to us while at seminary. My husband working and schooling full time. I was in NC away from family, friends, church..and God brought this little miracle into our lives. She was a hard baby...colic, reflux, crying and more crying. She didn't sleep through the night until she was one! I saw early own that this little girl was special. Ok..all moms think that but its like she has this aged soul. She is wise beyond her years, she feels deeply, reacts emotionally, loves whole heartedly, carries burdens far too heavy for such a age. She is a princess and a pirate all rolled into one; sparkles and swords and usually both of these at the same time. She is a moral compass already at the age of 6. She yearns to learn and is amazed at cultures and places and times past. She is a performer and is shy, she is young but she is old, she is a laugher and a crier; she loves company but relishes solitude. She is in alot of ways me.. and this makes me smile and scares me at the same time.
I am so grateful that God has given the task of rearing her to me and her Papa. I'm not sure if I'm up to such a task...something tells me God will use her in ways I cannot fathom. I fail often as a Mommy. I lack the optimism she savors. I lack the patience she needs. But I know that the Lord knew my flaws even when He entrusted her to me. I know she is not mine forever. She is His child and I only pray that I can in some way be a blessing to her and a tool God uses to help form her.
For those of you that know this little hope of our family...I think you will agree and for those of you that don't know her thanks for taking the time to read about this little person. Happy Birthday Sweetheart!
October 4, 2007
A Look Back Oct. 1-5
On Monday we journeyed to ancient India. We discussed the importance rivers played in ancient civilizations. Princess Poodle and Triple H enjoyed making mud bricks much like the people of the ancient Indus River Valley. We continued working in the double vowel/silent e reader and Princess Poodle read it with more fluency this week.
On Tuesday Princess Poodle went to Art/Music class. During this time Triple H and I got to spend some time alone. We played on a rope swing, played with Ninja turtles in the dirt and read books together. It was a great Mommy and Son moment.
On Wednesday we read two tales from India; Once a Mouse and One Grain of Rice. Here is Princess Poodle's dictation/summary for One Grain of Rice. Tell me what you think as I am not sure what to look for in dictation.
When I asked her to tell me what the story was about:
"Once there was a very greddy Raja. He didn't keep his promise. But a very smart woman had a great smart brain. The Raja rewarded her for bringing back some of the missing grain. She had 1 grain of rice, then 2, then 4, then 8 and it kept going on and on. That story teaches us that you should not be greedy and you should keep your promises."
Some elements were left out but all in all I think its pretty good.
The rest of Wednesday was taken up with Flu shots and church activities.
On Thursday we had our book club meeting for A Cricket in Times Square. The kids seemed to really get the meaning of the book and did a great job of discussing the setting, characters. etc. We watched a live webcam from Times Square, made a pet cricket, and watched the short animated movie.
Next week is Fall Break and I need the mental and emotional downtime. It has been a good week but a strange one. Math seemed too easy this week so we took an assessment and skipped some easy lessons. Princess Poodle still doesn't love phonics but likes to read and history is still the subject of choice.
As as for me....I'm dealing with a lot lately. I can't help but wonder what God is trying to tell me. Next weeks slow down will be a good thing. A time to be still and seek His face.
Have a wonderful weekend and thans for stopping by.
On Tuesday Princess Poodle went to Art/Music class. During this time Triple H and I got to spend some time alone. We played on a rope swing, played with Ninja turtles in the dirt and read books together. It was a great Mommy and Son moment.
On Wednesday we read two tales from India; Once a Mouse and One Grain of Rice. Here is Princess Poodle's dictation/summary for One Grain of Rice. Tell me what you think as I am not sure what to look for in dictation.
When I asked her to tell me what the story was about:
"Once there was a very greddy Raja. He didn't keep his promise. But a very smart woman had a great smart brain. The Raja rewarded her for bringing back some of the missing grain. She had 1 grain of rice, then 2, then 4, then 8 and it kept going on and on. That story teaches us that you should not be greedy and you should keep your promises."
Some elements were left out but all in all I think its pretty good.
The rest of Wednesday was taken up with Flu shots and church activities.
On Thursday we had our book club meeting for A Cricket in Times Square. The kids seemed to really get the meaning of the book and did a great job of discussing the setting, characters. etc. We watched a live webcam from Times Square, made a pet cricket, and watched the short animated movie.
Next week is Fall Break and I need the mental and emotional downtime. It has been a good week but a strange one. Math seemed too easy this week so we took an assessment and skipped some easy lessons. Princess Poodle still doesn't love phonics but likes to read and history is still the subject of choice.
As as for me....I'm dealing with a lot lately. I can't help but wonder what God is trying to tell me. Next weeks slow down will be a good thing. A time to be still and seek His face.
Have a wonderful weekend and thans for stopping by.
October 3, 2007
October 2, 2007
Next Year Already?
Ok.,... I am a nut. I'm already thinking about next years curriculum. I know we will be doing Story of the World 3 along with Princess Poodles School. I will also be doing science along with what the school is doing. I will move her on to Math 2..saxon, horizon,...I don't know. Maybe a combo plan. I am thinking twice about First Language Lessons. I like Trivium Academy's idea of incorporating parts of speech into copywork etc. What about writing..creative writing...maybe some fun spanish. So many ideas. I know I will increase her copywork and memorization of poems. HOpefully Papa Bear will tackle the Kids Westminster Cat. with her. Sorry for the rambling...so many thoughts. Any ideas? Thanks for stopping by.
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