A New Year Coming

Each year about this time, people and the media start talking about two things. One, they think about the year in rewind and two they think about the future and what they want to change in that future. I have never been a resolution kinda girl. Its a little too cut and dry for me. A list with numbers down it of things I should do and hope to check off but then I don't do. I don't think I've made such a list in many a year. I am however in the midst of something transforming. So instead of resolutions, things I must do, I am going to focus this year on things I WANT to do, not things I need to do. I've spent the better part of the last 15 years thinking about what I need to do. I need to make good grades in college, I need to learn to cook, I need to learn how to take care of a baby, I need to have a 30 minute quiet time everyday, I need to sweep the floors and finish the laundry. I am going to listen to my heart and soul more and follow them. I don't know what this will look like. I can't make a list of where my heart will lead. That would most certainly defeat the purpose. I'm going to let go and just be...and enjoy what that brings. Yes, there is a new year coming.
Sheryl

Recent Adventures in Photographs

Deep South "Snow"

Forgotten Cabin

A Lonely Walk

Beneath a Covered Bridge

A boy and a bridge

Sketch Tuesdays

I have decided for us to participate in something called Sketch Tuesdays. Each week we are given an assignment and then we go off and sketch something related to the assignment. This week we were supposed to sketch a favorite zoo animal. Princess Poodle chose an owl..some zoos have them. Triple H chose a moose...I have never seen a moose in a zoo but he wouldn't change his mind for anything. We went to the library and they checked out a book and used a picture to look at in order to sketch. The weather here is a warm December day and we enjoyed doing this outside, beside a beautiful water fountain. Here are the results of our first Sketch Tuesday.

Triple H (4 years) Moose
Princess Poodle (7 years) Owl

"Wordless" Wednesday: Random Pics

Triple H tree climbing.
Triple H during our Chrismtas pics

Princess Poodle and Triple H clowning around. This is not posed I just caught them this way and called to them so they would look up. I just love it when they play together.

My newest nephew at one years old.

Review: Disney's Our World

I received this book a few days ago and have finally gotten around to looking through it. The hardcover book is full of bright, beautiful color photographs of the people from each country. The book is divided into continents/regions and then subdivided into countries. I have chosen around 18 that I want to cover for next year. Each country has a section that talks about; Who we are, Our country, Our communities, what we eat, what we study, what we do for fun, holidays and celebrations, and then another section that changes depending on the country of study.

I believe this book will fit nicely into our countrie/cultures geography study next year. My only concern about the book is that it focuses on the beauty of each country. This is wonderful but the book does not show the plight of people in our country and other countries around the world. I really want both for my dd. I want her to see the beauty in other cultures and places but I also want her to see the hardships that exist around the world. I don't want to depress her with info that is too heavy for her young heart but I do want to open her eyes to the whole truth around us. I will have to supplement in order to fill in these gaps. Also the book covers most of the topics I want to cover for each country with government being the exception. I understand why they didn't go into governments in a book for elementry students, but I would like to be able to teach my dd about other types of governing that exist. I believe that this is important for many reasons but one being to help develop an appreciation for democracy and the freedoms God has allowed us to have.

I am excited to use this book next year. The whole geography/science/art/music lesson plan will be connected as much as possible and this book will be a part of that. Its starting to take shape. I want to start next year a little more prepared than this year. I want to have my copies made of the flags to color and the maps. I want to have my living books list narrowed down. I want to have a recipe for each country on hand and activites planned out. I want to have the artist focus planned for each country (this won't be for all countries) and an art activity ready aka The Usborne Art Treasury and Discovering Great Artists. I thouht I was planned out this year and to a degree I was but I really want to be more prepared for next year. I think this book will help. If library books fall through and don't come in on time I will have this book to read. It will be on my shelf and well used by the end of the year.

Countries, Cultures, Biomes, Artist, and Music Outline of Lessons

Potential outline for year:
July: Nighttime sky/space
August: Intro to geography/maps/globes etc Europe: England
September: Spain , France
October: Italy, Holland
Nov. Russia (Tundra), Antartica/Artic
Dec. finish arctic
Jan. Asia: China, India (mountains)
Feb. Asia: Japan
March:Africa: Kenya/S. Africa
April: Australia (coral reef) start: North America: Us. Canada
May: finish North Am. , South America: brazil and Mexico
June: Break


Spines: books that will be used on several occasions
Atlas
Disney's Our World
A Life Like Mine
Usborne Art Treasury and Discovering Great Artists
Wild Places
Wee Sing Around the World


Geography Intro: ( 1 week)
DOW: pages:
Atlas: pgs. 8-9
Living Books: Katy and the Big Snow, How to Make an Apple Pie and see the World, Somewhere in the World Right Now(timezones)
Activities: make a paper mache globe
Wee Sing: Hello to all the Children of the World

Continent: Asia Disney Our World (DOW) pgs. 42-43
Altas: p. 26-29
Country: China Science Focus: Mountains (2 weeks)
Disney's My World: pages 44-47
A Life Like Mine: pages
Wild Place : mountains: pgs. 2-32
Living Books: Kite Flying, Ruby's Wish, Lon po po, The Empty Pot, Laterns and Fire Crackers, Good Morning China, The story about Ping, The Moon Lady, Moonbeams, dumplings and dragon boats, In the Sun, In the Snow, , A little Tiger in the Chinese Night, Tikki tikki tembo, the Chinese Mirror, Little Pear, The year of the Panda?,
Recipe: fried rice,
Activities: color map, color flag,locate on globe, make a dragon out of cereal boxes, make paper lanterns,
Artist Focus: Shen Quan, activity: Chinese cat painting

Music/Composer Focus:
Wee Sing: Fong Swei


Country: India Science Focus: mountains (1 week)
DOW pages: 48-51
ALLM: 124-125
Living Books: A Little Princess (IR) , Binya's Blue Umbrella (IR) , Gandi, Little Black Sambo, To the Top, The Story of Little Gagaji
Activities: map and flag, make flat bread,
Wee Sing: Anila, Anilae
Country: Japan Science Focus: seas/oceans (2 weeks)
DOW pages: 64-67
ALLM:
Wild Places: 2-32
Living Books: Grandfather's Journey, the Bicycle Man, the Wise old Woman, Two Foolish Cats, Crow Boy
Artist Focus: Hokusai, Activity: sea print
Cultural Experience: japanese grill or aquarium visit
Wee Sing: Ame, Ame

Continent: Eupope Disney Our World pages: 105-107
Atlas: 22-25
Country: England (1 week)
DOW pages: 140-143
ALLM pages: 42-43
Cultural Experience: English Tea
Living Books:
Artist Focus: Damien Hirst (activity: spin painted plate)
Joseph Mallord William Turner (activity: stormy seas)
Music: Wee Sing: Lavender's Blue
Country: Spain (1 week)
DOW: pages: 132-135
ALLM:
Living books: The story of Ferdinand, Isabel saves the prince,
Artist Focus: Picasso (fractured friend, clown collage)
Wee Sing: Mi Burro
Country: France (2 weeks)
DOW pages: 112-115
ALLM:
Living Books: Adele and simon, Antole, This is Paris, The cat who walked across France , Joan of Arc Step into Reading, Look what came from France, Giraffe that Walked to Paris, Bon Appetite Berite, Mirette on a High Wire, Madeline, Glorious Flight, Joan of Arc, Tour de France
Cultural Experience: go bike riding and have a mini-tour de france
Activities: map and flag, make crepes
Artist Focus: Monet (read Linnea in Monets Garden, Layered lilies project)
Manet? (melted crayon painting?) booK:
Degas (pastel dancers, chalk on cloth) booK:
Wee Sing: Frere Jacques
Country: Italy (1 week)
DOW: pages 124-127
ALLM: pages
Cultural Experience: Italian Venician carnival
Living Books: papa piccolo, St. Francis and the friendly beasts,
Activity: map and flag, make Italian Ice
Artist Focus: Michelangelo (Activity: paint on paper placed on underside of table while lying on back) Di Vinci : book: Di Vinci and the flying boy
Activity: map and flag, make Italian Ice
Wee Sing: Mio Galletto
Country: Holland
Dow: pages:
ALLM: pages: 108
Living Books: Boy who held back the sea, the hole in the dike, the cow who fell in the canal, The little Riders, The Gret Tulip Trade?,
Acitivities: map and flag, tulips
Artist Focus: VanGogh: activity: swirly landscape books:
Wee Sing: Alle Eedjes
Country: Russia Science focus: Tundra (study in Nov. ) ( 2 weeks)
DOW pages: 128-131
ALLM:
Artist Focus: Kandinsky Art: project: color contrast concentric circles
Living books: Sasha and the Wolfcub (IR), Peter and the Wolf (story and music) ,Another Celebrated Dancing Bear, The Peddler's Gift, The Fool of the world and the Flying ship, The cat and the Cook, the mitten, One Fine Day, One Small Square: Tundra,
Activities: make pretzels? maps and flag
Music Focus: Tchaikovsky and the nutcracker

Continent: Africa (living books: Ashanti to Zulu, A country Far Away, Jaffa's Journey, Koi and the Kola Nuts, Africa Calling , Wee Sing: Tue Tue, African instruments
Country: Kenya Science Focus: Grasslands (2 weeks)
DOW: pages: 22-25
ALLM:
Artist Focus: African masks Project : cardboard mask
Living Books: Growing Up Massai (some chapters as IR), Masai and I, Moja means One: Swahili counting book, One Small Square: Grasslands,
Wee Sing: Kanyoni Kanja
Activities: map and flag
Country: South Africa (1 week)
Dow Pages: 34-37
ALLM: 52
Listening for Lions? Akimbo and the Elephants?
Food Experience:
Activities: map and flag

Continenent: Australia/Oceania
Country: Austalia science focus: Coral reefs (2 weeks)
DOW: pages: 94-97
ALLM: pages: 62
Living Books: Big Rain Coming, Koala Lou, Wombat Stew, The Very Bratful Kangaroo, The Pumpkin Runner,Colors of Australia, One Small Square: coral reefs , Down Under Down Under Artist Focus: Johnny Bulunbulun (activity: scratched animals)
Wee Sing: Kookaburra
Activities: make pavlova dessert?
Continent: North America DOW pages: 173-175

Country: U. S. Science Focus: Deserts? (2 weeks)
DOW pages: 180-187
ALLM: pages: 96, 120
Wild Places: Deserts: 65-95
Living Books: One Small Square Deserts, Granberry Valentine, When I was young in the mountains, Lentil, yankee doodle, The story of the Statue Of Liberty, First Flight, My Great Aunt Arizona, Oxcart Man,
Activities: map and flag, make a flag from graham crackers, white choc. chips, frosting
Artist Focus: Mary Cassatt (activity: tempera monoprint/mother child paintings) book:
Georgia OKeefe : (activity: petal collage and painted flowers) book:
J. M. W. Turner:
Wee Sing: UHE BASHO SHO, patriotic song
Country: Canada: Science Focus: River and Lakes (1 week)
DOW pages: 176-179
Living Books: Morning on the Lake?, Very last , first time, Prairie Boys Winter, The Flight of the Union, Chesters Barn, One Small Square,
Activities: map and flag, make snowshoes our of cardboard and yarn
Wee Sing: Going over the Sea

Continent: South America/ Latin America Dow: 147
Country: Brazil Science Focus: Rain forest (2 weeks)
DOW pages: 154-157
WIld Places: 33-64
Living Books: Ond Day in the Tropical Rain Forest (IR) , From another World?, One Small Square: Rainforests, The Great Kapok Tree, Rain Forest Adventures,
Activities: map, flag, rainforest mural (see internet link for pics) , make a miniture rainforest in a fishbowl,
Cultural Experience: play soccer
Artist Focus: Henri Rousseau (not born here but painted many rain forest scenes, activity: jungle scene)
Wee Sing: Ciranda
Country: Mexico (1 week)
DOW pages: 162-165
Living Books: Alejandro's Gift?,
Wee Sing: Pin Pon
Artisti: Freda Kahlo
Cultural Experience/Food:
Continent: Antartica Science Focus: antartica (January) (2 weeks combined)
Living Books: Mr. Poppers Penguins (IR), A trip to antarctica, A for Antartica, Polar Wildlife,
Continent: Arctic:
DOW: pages:
Living Books: Little Polar Bear, Take me Home?
Activity: make an igloo; 3 cups of flour, 1.5 cups of salt, 3/4 cup h2o gradually, knead until ball is formed, Press into ice tray and freeze 2 hours,

Review: The Usborne Art Treasury Part Two

I thought I would like this book and that it would be a good resource for next year so I purchased it from Amazon. The book arrived yesterday and I love it. Its a beautiful hard cover book with lots of color inside. There are artists from many countries which will work well with my geography unit next year. Off the top of my head I remember artists from France, U. S., Norway, Africa, Holland, China, Japan, and I know there are others. I was also impressed with the projects that relate to the artist and his/her work. They are unique projects and Princess Poodle is already begging to start them! She can't wait to creat a wave print that resembles the wave of Housakai, or to make a foil man figure, or to recreate Degas' dancers with soft pastels.

For each painting there is a background on the work, a background on the artist, and directions for the project. I am at heart a simple girl and this book is simple and will be easy to implement. As for the materials needed, they are listed in the front of the book. For my overseas friends, if you are interested I could email you a list of what is needed and then you might be able to determine if you can get the supplies.

The only thing I feel is a good supplement to this book would be another book that contains other pieces from the artists. I am seeing the benefit of my daughter and son seeing many pieces from one artist. They are starting to recognize the style of the artist even if they don't know the name of the style etc. We were in the library the other day and we always stop to look at the pieces of art by local artists. Princess Poodle pointed to one and said, "Mommy it looks like a Cezanne" and it did!! Something about the style was very similar. I have a book that showcases a piece of art for each day of the year. Many of the same artists' works appear in each book. For those that do not I will probably use the internet or library books to showcase other pieces from an artist we are covering. I will also use projects from Discovering Great Artist to supplement more artists for a country or use when we just feel like doing more art.

My Final Review: If you love art and you want your kids to appreciate art, if you are a hands on mom that enjoys projects, and if you can't wait to feast on Degas, Monet, Matisse, Roussao (bad spelling I know) then this is the book for you. If used properly this book will allow your kids to see, hear, and feel good art. As for tasting and smelling..well I'm in search of a good multicultual cookbook and I'll let you know when I find one.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sheryl

The Usborne Art Treasury

In thinking about a direction for next years studies I have been searching for "spines, books that I will incorporate throughout the year. I came across a book by Usborne that I am truly excited about. It is the Usborne Art Treasury. The book contains around 20 artists and a picture of one of their famous works. Information on the artist and the piece is given and then a project for the students is laid out that is representative of the artist's work. I have been using a book similar to this from our local library (Discovering Great Artists). This book has great info on the artists and wonderful projects to create but fails to have examples of the artist's work. I went ahead and ordered the Art Treasury book..I feel that good about it. The kids seem to truly enjoy our art studies and I don't have many art books on hand. I am going to use this one woven into our cultural studies next year instead of getting the next Artistic Pursuits book. I ordered it off of Amazon and it should be here in a week or so. Yeah!! When I recieve the book I will go about organizing the artists according to their location, into my geography studies. I think they even include a famous artist that made African masks...so exciting. I will use the Art Treasury in conjunction with Discovering Great Artists projects. I also plan on having arts/crafts that we will make that revolve around the various countries of study as well.

I also want to focus on various composers for the first time next year which will mean purchasing some classical cd's and fitting these around the regions/countries we study. I hope to keep this simple. The kids and I listen to music during the preparation and eating of our lunch and sometimes in the evening. We have been gradually replacing the tv with music and they don't seem to even miss the lunch time cartoons. There is also a Wee Sing Around the World cd which I may purchase as well. The kids have truly enjoyed learning the songs from the Wee Sing America cd this year.

Thats all for now.

Review Galloping the Globe

I recently checked out a copy of Galloping the Globe from our library. I wanted to preview it before I purchased it and I'm thankful that I did. The book didn't have as much meat as I thought it would. The planning tips were very general and many quite obvious. For example, an activity listed for a certain country might be, Color the flag of Kenya. ..my thoughts were, "Well of course". I did enjoy reading the literature list however and plan on using many of the books listed. The science was almost entirely animals and although we will talk about which animals live in certain regions or terrains I want to focus more on types of environments such as rain forest, desert, corral reef etc. The Bible recommendations simply give scripture that relates to a certain topic. I really don't like to say that I was underwhelmed by any book. Someone worked very hard at putting it together I"m sure; but it just wasn't what I was looking for in terms of depth. I'll take some ideas with me and keep moving. Also, it was linked to the My Fathers World curriculum...I'm not sure why someone would need both of these. My Fathers World has a county and culture program themselves.
My final decision has not been reached for next year. Usborne has a potential curriculum guide but most likely I will end up cooking this one up myself. I think I can without too much effort formulate a plan for the different continents and countries. Usborne does have many books I am interested in such as; Usborne Art Treasury, World Geography, Wild Places and Living World Encyclopedia. I could order these, add in Dinsey's Our World and Tales from Around the World , Wee Sing Around the World, for example and have a great starting place. I will continue to search for the right fit.

"Plugged In"

I remember reading somewhere that you should always unplug your small appliances even when not in use. It said that even when not turned on the appliance is still using up energy from the outlet. I'm not sure if this is entirely true or not, but it got me thinking.

Am I that "plugged in" to Jesus? Am I so plugged in that even when I am off, when my Bible is not open, when my eyes not closed in prayer; that I am still pulling energy from Him..that I still remaining in Him?

With my horrific sleep problems and diagnosis of them I am finding each days' work to be overwhelming. Grocery lists, shopping trips, bathing the kids, teaching the kids, cooking meals...such simple things but with so little sleep and my energy failing me I can't help but need Him more. I think so many things in my life God has allowed to happen because I have a tendency to lean on myself, believing that in my own strength I can get it done. Well now I have no strength. I'm not writing this for pity or anything like that. I just realize how important it is to be really plugged in to our Savior. How necessary it is on a daily basis to be remaining in Him so that even when we are turned off He is still filling us up.

So I want to be like my toaster...turned on everyday, used every morning, meaning in His word everyday and in prayer, but also when I am "turned off" I am still soaking up energy..still bringing Him in. Like my toaster does with electrical power... Oh God let me be like my toaster!
Sheryl

Guess the Masters

This week in art I let Princess Poodle choose a famous piece of art that she would attempt to recreate in her own way. Triple H refused to paint the painting she chose so he flipped through our art book and chose another painting. I even attempted this project. I didn't get the art genes in the family, my loving sister Jojo got them, but I really enjoyed this project!!! I painted them same painting as Princess Poodle.

Can you guess the two famous paintings below? Let me know your guesses.

Hazel"nut" Academy Update

Here are some pictures from yesterday's colonial day activities. It was our family plus some dear friends that also homeschool and happen to be covering American History as well. The day was a success in terms of hands on learning and good fellowship.

We made quill pens out of turkey feathers we found in the woods. We used store bought ink (cheated on that one) and the kids wrote letters. When they dried we sealed them with red wax and they got to use a signet with the letter H on it to seal up their letters.

Here is Princess Poodle at our mock signing of the Dec. of Indep.

Triple H taking his turn.

This is the craft we made. It is a Game of Graces. We decorated the hoops and painted the sticks. The kids had fun tossing and trying to catch the hoop. We also played marbles which didn't quite work out like I had planned but that's ok. Triple H and his buddy lets call him Monkey, mostly enjoyed rolling the marbles all over the house. On our Colonial Day we also made butter, took a nature hike, and ended the day back in present day at a local Mexican restraurant. hee hee

In other news,

We have completed 14 weeks of Writing With Ease as well as some added dictation because Princess Poodle is ready for this.

We have completed almost 50 lessons in Saxon 2.

We have enjoyed learning about the explorers of North America, the mystery of Roanoke, the first settlements, some on how it was in colonial times, and now we are geared up for the Revolution!!

We have learned about mammals, insects, and spiders. We have taken several nature studies including going to a local animal preserve twice this year. Our most recent adventure is in a post below. We have added many entries to our nature journals.

Princess Poodle is working on her fourth poem for memorization. I will try to post her reciting these soon.

We have added in cursive to Princess Poodles handwriting. We are going to go slow and practice alot. Handwriting is not her favorite thing in the world and never has been . Reminder to self: do not push this to hard!

Triple H is doing so well with his phonics. He is working his way through the single consonant tickets on the Ferris Wheel song and his blending of three letter words improves a little at a time. He continues to learn how to write his letters properly. He is counting well to thirty and by 10's to 100. He loves art as does Princess Poodle and we will continue with our art just taking a break from AP and learning about some artists and their work.

Our second quarter seems to be off to a better start due to some prayer and some added flexibility. Instead of daily folders labled and filled with each days work, I changed the labels to reflect subjects etc. This will work as long as I don't let math slip and have to do three lessons in a day or something like that. I just like that I feel free to do stuff each day as we want and as life leads still making sure to get the basics in of course.

Have a wonderful weekend! I'm so glad it is Friday. And I'm glad that its noon and I'm still in my jammies, and Im glad that Princess Poodle is in her room strumming her guitar making up some kind of song and that Triple H is downstairs writing another quill pen letter. I better go check on him to make sure ink isn't everywhere.

Sheryl

Wordless Wednesday Take "2"

Wordless Wednesday

DD First Grade self portrait in ebony pencil: she hates it, but I liked it...thought it had a neat feel to it.

A Secret Garden

Have you ever wanted a secret garden..a place to hide away from things..well a place to hide from all things but God of course. Because I find that He is most present in our secret places...or perhaps it is just there we hear him better. Well today I got to venture into a secret garden. It isn't mine but I am thankful that Mr. Steven is willing to share it with us from time to time.

Here is a bit of what we experienced on our first adventure into this secret garden.

We saw hundreds of ferns growing in a greenhouse; rows of them in the moist heat, beautiful swans with graceful necks, his art studio full of amazing paintings, his wood work shop where he was working on making magnificent bowls out of stumps of wood, a bamboo forest that reached up to the skies like giant vines that only Jack would climb..I could go on and on. I can't wait to go back to see each season as it shows its beauty in this treasured place. I have always loved the book The Secret Garden. I have always wanted a secret garden of my own. I am hoping that as we develop our backyard here at the house that I can carve out a little secret spot to call my own. I know now as a grown up that I can't step through a wardrobe into another land but I do believe in secret gardens and the power that they hold. I hope you find your secret garden.

Here are some pics of the callicara americana we found decked out in its finest with the most beautiful berries as well as the kids history diaromas of a keeping room they made as part of our colonial studies. The picture at the top of the blog is the secret door that leads into the garden we visited today.

Hope you enjoy.

Book Review: Facing The Lion: Growing Up Maasai

I read this book as one of many that I am reviewing for next year's Geography study. The Maasai, a beautiful people group, are from Kenya. My dh traveled there several years ago on a mission trip and we have wonderful pictures and some items he brought back with him. After reading the book which is one man's experience of growing up a nomadic Kenyan..I believe it will be a little much for dd who will be 8. One chapter focuses entirely on the ritual of circumcision and although it is not overly graphic I feel it might be too much for her. Other chapters are excellent in describing the relationships of the people and the importance of hunting and lions. So my final decision
1: Check it out from the libray and read certain chapters to her for discussion
2. Explore the wonderful photographs that depict the real character of the book.

I will look for some picture books related to Kenya for ds and will also use my husbands scrapbook that I made him on his return from the mission trip.


As for Material World: I must have this book for the pictures alone. It covers a specific family and how they live in a certain country. Beautiful photos that if one takes the time to see the details will gather much information on the condition of the families etc.

That's all for now. Off to make pancakes and start what I hope will be a wonderful week of school. I'll be back to posting school updates, pics, etc. this week.

Sheryl

A Need for Pink

I am a blue girl. I always have been; The sky, the ocean, blueberries, and blue hydrangeas..I was never a pink girl. I have found a way to tolerate pink. God gave me a pink girl. My princess Poodle is all pink. But today or should I say tonight I am feeling fond of pink. Grandma's funeral was today. She loved pink. She even had a pink bathroom..toliet, tile, tub..all pink. Her funeral flowers were like paintings...splashes of pink everywhere; roses, gerber daisies, lilies that O'Keiffe should have painted. So tonight...I am a pink girl. I turned the blog pink in honor of Grandma. At the funeral today they spoke of her community service, her founding of our county, her place of honor in this town, but I sat and thought of different things. I can feel even now how it felt to hold her 92 year old hand. I can see the softness of her beautiful white hair that I remember kissing. I can see her standing on her front porch as the kids and I drove away after a visit as if she had to watch over us; When it was all she could do to stand. She wasn't my grandma until I married her precious grandson. But she took me in and through her love taught me what a grandmother should be...what a grandmother could be. And I think because of her I will forever have a fondness for pink.


And as for the picture at the top of the blog..thats my pink girl..dancing. And I think that is what Grandma must be doing now in heaven before the Lord. It could only be from God that in such sorrow a spirit can dance. Do you feel like dancing with me?
I love you Grandma!

bittersweet but God is Good!

Life here has been hard and surreal. At one point we had both my mother in law in ICU, my father in law in surgery and my grandmother in the hospital all at the same time..same hospital. We are tired and emotionally drained. Praise God that my mother in law is now home and doing well, my father in law came through his surgery and is home doing well. We did lose our grandmother and tomorrow is the funeral. For those that read this and pray please pray for my husband as he will be doing the funeral. He was very close to his grandmother and is exhausted to say the least. I am looking forward to school starting back next week. A dear friend wrote on her blog today about the joy of a groove...our groove has been shaken and although there I times I want it to be shaken right now I need our routine. I need groceries and library trips and school time and early bedtimes and smores on the back porch fireplace. God is very good. He has blessed us this past two weeks beyond measure. I will write more about our sweet grandmother in the coming days. Oh what a precious lady she was! But in all of this...family crisis, death, even election results that were not the results we wanted..God is good. God is unchanging. And He is present. Breathe Him in today.

Sheryl

Random Thoughts on School and Life

While at Disney our family got chosen as the dream family for the LIghts Motor Action stunt show. We got to sit REALLY close and even got to introduce the show on the big screen. We all felt very special and the kids loved the show. Just another snip it of our special trip. I'll stop bugging ya'll with it soon I promise!

I have decided to start slowly adding cursive into our routine. We won't officially start until Princess Poodle finishes Spelling Workout A...which should be before Christmas break. Right now I plan to start showing her how to form the letters on my small handwriting whiteboard. Maybe she will want to practice on the whiteboard too. I'm going to work this into our Morning Meeting and it will be very light hearted to start. Come January I plan to use Abeka Cursive First Grade and move slowly. I also have extra Abeka paper to practice. At some point we will pick up Spelling Workout B...not because I like it but Princess Poodle likes it and enjoys being able to do it independently. Latin will be held off until third grade so thats not even on the radar at this point. I am still considering REAL science for next year because I havn't found anything else that strikes my fancy and I like focusing on one thing at a time. Bob Jones skips around alot and that will drive me crazy. I am in search of a simple book that gives activities on the human body. I will use these along with a spine I have and some library books and that will be our human body science that we will do in the dead of winter. Colonial Day with a homeschooling family is coming up a in couple of weeks...I need more turkey feathers, ink, marbles, coke bottles, baby food jars for making butter, a thimble for hide the thimble, and a few other things. I think it will be a fun day. The American Revolution will soon follow and Princess Poodle keeps begging to learn about it. How strange is that?

Other thoughts...making doll clothes is harder than I thought but I will do it, I found a rug on clearnance at Target that makes me smile and I bought Princess Poodles' Christmas dress. It is dark velvet green with cream ribbons running across it....so pretty. I hope to find Triple H some dark green cords and a cream button up. I alos went ahead and bought some Christmas presents. I'm crazy I know but I needed somthing as meaningless, fun, and lighthearted as shopping after the week we have had.

The kids are up too late and I must go. Things are looking up today. My sweet mother in law is doing much better and I can't wait to get her home and love on her and get her help with the doll clothes. lol

Hopefully some pics of school work this week now that we are starting back.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy Halloween 2008

Oh my sweet princess Sleeping Beauty..any magic spells that will keep her a little princess forever?

Here is my Pouting Peter Pan.Maybe Captain Hook got the best of him or maybe he just didn't want to grow up. Either way I love this little guy...he's a lover and a fighter!

Happy Memories

Our Resort The Coronado Springs Resort

Kids in the hammock that they loved to play and rest in.

Me and my best friend; we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on the trip.

Sad News - Happy Video

It has been a very difficult week for us. Mom, my husband's mother, was put in the hospital and then moved to ICU for breathing difficulties. She is on a respirator and unable to breathe on her own. Needless to say we are worried, concerned, and worn out. Each day I find things that make me miss her. Perhaps it is strange that Mom and Dad are in a way our best friends? But they are. Please pray for her to recover and for Dad to remain strong throughout this trial. I am posting a video below that is happy. I needed to do that today. I also made brownies with Triple H..I needed brownies. Below is a video of Princess Poodle's birthday celebration at Chef Mickey's in DisneyWorld. There is singing, dancing, and lots of smiles. I needed to smile. I hope it makes you smile too.

Back to Hazelnut Academy

Fall Break was what I needed it to be. We started back today with a good review in all the basic subjects. We will continue our review this week as well as enjoy some fun halloween stories and crafts. Our trip to Dinsey was once again so much fun. I really couldn't put it into one post. Seeing my kids who often argue holding hands in the park with one another. Riding Soarin which was the most amazing experience. Seeing my 4 year old light up at the sight of donald and mickey and chip and dale. I have to say Epcot was a bigger hit than I expected and I am starting to see the benefits of homeschooling. My kids enjoyed the educational rides as much as the others. I remember asking a man at lunch about a certain ride or two and he said he recommended not to do them because it would bore the kids...but it didn't! Even my 4 year old boy loved seeing vegetables grow outside of soil and the fish hatchery. The show, The American Adventure, was well done and captivated both of them. Our resort was beautiful and we enjoyed watching the sunset over the lake and the giant waterslide was a hit with the kids. THe Halloween parade, show and fireworks were unbelievable. The headless horseman kicked off the parade by riding through main street in the magic kingdom. So cool!!! I hope we can save our money to return next year. We made the kids no promises but did talk to them about how working together to save our money would give us a better chance.

As for school it is a new quarter. I have spent so much time in prayer asking God to help me with patience and gentleness. Today was a great day. We are off now after rest time to go on a nature hike on one of the trails in our neighborhood. Who knows what we might see today.

Also on my thoughts are choices for next year. I seem to do this sooner each year..its not even November yet. I am looking into a science curriculum for the first time. R.E. A. L. Science (read, explore, absorb. learn). I believe we will do earth science and space next year. So much fun!!! I am continuing to look into a geography study for next year instead of the second half of American history. Also I plan to start some intro to cursive in January with Princess Poodle. I ordered Abeka and hope I like it.

Ok...really off to go outside now. Have a wonderful week.

FALL BREAK!!!

Fall Break has officially begun. We will not have school for two weeks. Princess Poodle will still do random math fact sheets ...I don't want to lose our progress in this area. She is also finishing reading Squanto Friend of the Pilgrims and will read Thanksgiving on Thursday while we are on break. Apart from that the only educational things will be the ones will get while at Disney. Epcot appears to have alot that is educational but the trip is for fun and education will come second on this trip.

I am in more need of this break than I ever have been before. It's not homeschooling, its me and there is so much I need to talk to God about, so much "breathing" I need to do, and even though we will be active for half of the break while on vacation I plan on my spirit being still. Soaking up the blessings God has had mercy on me to give and loving on the three special blessings that I call my family.

Transparency is needed more often between believers and to those believers that are reading this post please know that you are not alone when you have a down spell. This past quarter has been the worst so far of our schooling. Not the learning but my attitude. I have raised my voice, spoke in harshness, felt like staying in bed all day instead of loving on my kids...I have snapped at my husband,threatened public school on my daughter and I have disliked myself and I feel somewhat lost. But our God is a God of forgiveness and so I will accept this gift he gives and pray for a spirit that is more in tune with Him, a more obedient spirit, a more joyful spirit. And I pray for sleep because I feel the lack of it is playing a crucial role in my attitude and weakness.

So Fall Break here I come. As a little girl I remember catching falling leaves with my sisters that fell from an old tree in front of my Mamaw and Papaw's trailer. We believed that if we caught one in the air and made a wish, the wish would come true. I guess as I have gotten older I have come to believe in prayers more than wishes. But for this two weeks, not putting sound theology aside but maybe just on hold for a bit, I will become like that kid again and believe in wishes and wishes come true.

A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes! Disney here we come!

Sheryl

For Mary

Mary, you left a comment on a post I have about First Grade Curriculum. I couldn't figure out how to respond to you so I thought I'd leave a message here in the hope's you would get it. I did do Ancients with my dd for Kindergarten. History is her favorite subject so she was enthralled. My suggestion is however, if you plan to do SOTW I feel that the early modern is a bit much for a 6 year old. I decided to use only the chapters that had to do with American History. I came up with a history plan that I used to have posted here but took it off because I never found the time to update it. Basically I used a spine, living books, videos, and projects, all which I found on websites, book lists etc. If I could do it over again I would start Kindergarten/First grade with a geography/culture year; I am thinking about Galloping the Globe for next year. I think this will be good for a foundation before starting into ancients and I think that it is easily made interesting for young learners. Then I would go into Ancients after that. I do remember last year during Ancients my daughter saying things like, "When are we going to learn about our country" etc. I guess "home" is more tangible to young kids than far off countries thousands of years ago. lol....Thats the great thing about doing a geography/culture year...when you come to the continent of North America you can spend as much time there as you want. You could even go into learning about your state etc. You could learn some basic early American History before you move on to another continent. I'm all about tweaking. So with my kids my "plan" is this.
2009/2010: PreK(5) and 2nd grade: Geography//Culture (GAlloping the Globe?)
2010/2011 Kinder (6) and 3rd: Ancients
20011/2012: First grade: 4th grade: Middle Ages/Ren.
2012/2013 2nd grade 5th grade Early Modern (American History time as well)
2013/2014 3rd grade 6th grade Modern

This would put the cycle staring back at Ancients when my dd is in 7th and my ds in in 4th.
I haven't thought yet about state history or what if our adoption of a third child comes in etc. To be honest now that I have typed this out it is freaking me out because the thought of my baby boy in 3rd grade and my sweet little princess in 6th grade is pretty scary!!!! I hope this helps and I hope you see this post. For everyone else that had to muddle through it I'm so sorry!
Sheryl

Hazel"nut" Academy Update

Language Arts: Princess Poodle continues to work on her Spelling Workout A independently. It is really too easy for her but I didn't want to skip it. I am not sure if we will continue on to level B or not. Spelling is a subject that baffles me. Writing with Ease Level One is going well with a little tweaking. Princess Poodle is getting better every week at picking out the most important parts of a passage and turning these thoughts into a narration. She is also doing well on very simple dication that we do a couple of times a week to prepare her for next year. I have let poetry memorization slide and thus far this year we have only learned two new poems. Mental note: put new fervor into this. We will be picking back up with FLL when we return from Fall Break. It correlates with WWE and is easy to implement along side it.

Math: Saxon 2: We are still working on math fact drills, the most recent being the plus nines. Princess Poodle is thriving with her facts now that the timer is gone. I must admit that this is not a very fun subject to teach.

History: American History has been a big hit around here. We started the Mayflower/Pilgrims this week. We have made Pilgrim puppets, read lots of living books, and watched a video on William Bradford. We are using some elements of History Pockets for this unit. I believe the kids will like having a pilgrim history pocket to pull from and play with when we are done.

Science: science is on hold for now except at her co-op where she is learning about cells.

Theology/Bible: I am impressed with the kids ability to learn the catechism questions and answers and I know this is an important foundation. I feel something is lacking in this area of our schooling. Papa was supposed to handle this but the demands of his work, SS class, and other responsibilities has this being pushed out. The kids do learn verses for Awana each week but something is missing. I am praying about this. Is it virtue education, is it modeling, or perhaps it is just the fruit of the Spirit that seems absent from school too often.

PreK: Triple H has learned his letter sounds. Is just about finished with the pre explode the code series. I have him learning the Ferris Wheel song from SSRW which should help with blending in the future. He can sound out some three letter words but not with great consistency yet. Today I took him to storytime at the library while big sister was in co-op. I also feel something is missing here. He joins in for science and history and therefore gets to do projects etc. Am I just worrying too much. I mean he knows his letters,his sounds, his shapes, etc. what need is there for a pre-K program. I just want to teach him to read ..when they can read everyones job gets easier and more fun. But I can't help but feel something is missing here too. Perhaps it is more storybooks. I keep saying that I will pull out my FIAR and do a book a week with a couple of activities for him but when would I do this? Next year I plan to do a geography study with the kids for history and I know how these books will work in then. But for now I have a blank. I am seeing a genuine need for a curriculum that can be multi-age in nature. My history plans for this year as well as my science plans accomplish this fairly well.

Myself: I am making the effort to read more. I have recently discovered Augustine's Confessions. Wow! Beautiful..soul searching stuff. I can't believe that I have in 33 years somehow missed reading this. I am also reading Andreoloa's Charlotte Mason Companion. So far it is a great read and is reaffirming something I feel God has been calling me to. I have this ever present struggle between creating a rigorous yet gentle learning environment. This book is addressing the gentle part of the equation.

Homeschooling Train of Thoughts: latin next year?,, I want to I want to. Cursive handwriting...I don't want to but I need to. Galloping the Globe for our geo/cultural studies...I think this might work along with tons of living books and some world art and cooking books. Fall break is needed. Sleep will make homeschooling better. Nature study needs to be more often. This week we will go on Thursday as long as it isn't lightening. Moving Triple H from letter sounds to blending..when will the lightbulb go off for him? Princess Poodle is more emtional this year. Balance challenge and victory.

Sleep Study: The Results

The sleep study results are in. For a little background information, I have had trouble sleeping for the past 15 years. It started in highschool. I would wake up often in one night's sleep. This has continued through the years. Some nights I wake up 4-5 times, other nights its double that. This leaves my body feeling fatigued, my emotions are snappy and easily set off. The everyday pace of life can seem daunting. Now to the results. I do NOT have sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, low oxygen levels, or snoring problems. That is the good part according to the clinic. However, they see horrible sleep architecture. Everyone while asleep goes through several phases of sleep. This starts off in a light sleep phase, progresses to a deep sleep phase (the most important), and then moves into the REM sleep or dream phase. A person will cycle through this many times in one night. According to the doctor the normal person will spend around 50 % of their total sleep time in the deep and REM stages of sleep. My total was less than 15 % and the majority of that 15 % was spent in REM not the deep sleep stage which is so crucial to restorative sleep for ones body. According to the doctor I am somehow skipping the deep phase of sleep and moving from the lighter stages into the REM stage where I then wake up. This is not good!!Its why I feel like a mac truck has hit me everyday. Now for my reactions to the study. One the positive side I feel validated. There is a reason I feel like I do and it is not in my head. I havn't somehow mentally convinced myself I am sleeping bad..I really am. There is relief in knowing you are not crazy. THe downside is that the doctor told me on the phone that they are baffled. Usually someone that has such poor sleep architecture will have one of the above mentioned problems that I don't have.

Where to go from here. I have an appointment with the neurologist at the end of the month. I know they want to run some more tests to rule out other health issues that could be causing this. After that I am not sure what the treatment options will be.

I don't want to pop a pill. And I am making small steps to better my nutrition, cut out sugar, caffeine has obviousley been cut out and to increase my exercise. (This is on hold due to an injury but will hopefully be going full force soon. I am going to seek my chiropractor's advice as well as look into a really good vitamin supplement. With that said if I can take some type of medication Temporarily! to help me until the above mentioned things start helping I will. And I'm going to pray.

Sleep affects everything. It affects your attitude, your ability to function well, it affects your memory, your performance, your mood. Lack of sleep makes everything more overwhelming than it really is. Lack of sleep makes it dangerous to drive, kills another kind of "drive", and makes one more prone to temptation and sin. Lack of sleep can even lead to major health problems. Lack of sleep is dangerous.

I know that God is aware of my sleep problems. I know that He has forgiven the sins that I give into so easily with little to no sleep. I need to believe more that He cares enough about me to help me.
I wish I had some great words of wisdom that related to this. This sweet lady named Ali in GA writes so well about life and somehow manages to see God's gentle reminders in all of it. Right now I guess I'm all out of wisdom. I have no answers and at this point I don't really know why God has allowed this to go on the way it has. I pray God gives me a spirit of obedience, a spirit of perserverance, and a spirit of hope. I need all of these things to get through this.

I know this post has little to do with school so thanks for bearing with me.

Sheryl

Hazel"nut" Academy Update

Today was the first day of Co-op as some call it. Its really a private Christian school that has classes for homeschoolers on Tuesdays. Princess Poodle will take History (SOTW), Science (biology), Art, and Music. She had a wonderful first day. Princess Poodle can struggle with being "shy" when she feels out of place. She really is quite the talkative, inquisitive, often corny little girl but if she feels on the outside of things she closes up completely. I pray she will come to feel comfortable there on Tuesdays. Today she came home telling me all about Spanish Conquistadores and told me that history is her favorite subject.





Last night Papa, Princess Poodle, Triple H and myself went bug hunting. We used a white sheet and a massive work light to create a bug haven. We were after moths mostly but ended up with moths, grasshoppers and one big black cricket! Triple H fell in love with this one old, slow (he would just sit on his hand)brown grasshopper. He reminded me of some granddaddy grasshopper. Slower, wiser than the little green "teenage" grasshoppers that dart around and are afraid of human hands. Maybe this "granddaddy" grasshopper has been in his share of nature studies and knows he won't be hurt. The kids loved the nighttime bug hunt. It made me miss camping and long to take them.







In other school news: Math: Saxon 2 is going well. Nothing too exciting but we are getting it done. Princess Poodle seems to be making progress with her math facts now that the timed portion of the drill is gone. I am really liking Writing with Ease and consider it a winner so far. It includes copywork from good literature, narration exercises from portions of stories, and I add in a few things like picture study and creating a simple story based on the picture, as well as dictation of a simple sentence. We are leaving science for a bit except for our nature study on the changing leaves etc. and will be starting Native Americans and Pilgrims in the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow we will make spears and read in our history encyclopedia. I think the kids are going to enjoy this segment of American History. I hesitate to say we are in a groove because life always has a way of changing that groove but we seem to be doing well most days. I am already looking into possible direction for history/culture study next year. I am considering Winter Promise Children Around the World but then again that is a long way off. I have so many things running around in my head I apologize if this entry has been choppy. Thanks for stopping by.






Oh and Autumn is in the air. I can feel it coming. The leaves are losing their vibrant green color. The air has a hint of coolness in it. I planted my mums. And my heart is beating a little faster. Autumn does that to me everytime!


Sheryl


Countdown to Disney: 18 days!

Fieldtrip: Nature Study

What an amazing homeschooling day. We went to a nature preserve with another homeschooling family and the day was so enjoyable. We saw a black bear, many owls, a red fox, a cougar, a playful river otter, a nervous coyote, two agressive bobcats, many birds of prey, snakes, turtles and bison. There were farm animals and nature trails and lots and lots of smiles and laughter. A pleasant picnic, active kids, conversation with a sweet friend that gets where I'm coming from...what a good day. I thank God for each day but I must admit I send Him a little extra grin at the end of days like today. Here are some pics of the trip and the animal friends we made. Enjoy a peak into this day of Hazel"nut" academy.

KIDS ARE GETTING OLDER :Caution: controversy ahead

I read an article today in a Christian parenting magazine. It was about something known as "age compression". It spoke of how 10 is the new 13. How kids are trading in their toys at age 6 for video games and celebrity icons. How children younger and younger are into fashion and want the latest trend in clothing.

I hope this post will not offend anyone that reads it. I seem to stand quite alone at times even in circles of believers on this topic. I do believe in age compression and I believe it is a scheme of Satan that is being led by the media and marketing divisions. The idea of kids getting older younger is even a marketing term they use to market older items/icons etc. to younger children. They are making 8 and 9 the preteen ages that were once 11 and 12.

So here are some rambling thoughts of mine. First Hannah Montana, High School Musical, etc. I have watched these (by myself) I have researched online as to their purity factor etc. Both of these rank high on Christian websites as good clean fun to watch. However, both of these shows/movies are about HIGHSCHOOLERS. I feel people seem to miss that. As good and clean as Hanna Mon. or Highschool musical are ...they contain boy/girl "love" relationships/crushes, they contain at times emphasis on clothing etc. And I don't believe even these things are bad..but they are not appropriate for a six year old, or five year old...they really should be for Preteen and preteen used to be 10-12 years old. And yet most parents meaning well, wanting to enjoy some time watching something good together have opened this preteen world to their very young girls. Could this be harmful? ? Could it led to a bedroom filled with pop-culture icons instead of ponies, stuffed animals, dolls or sports..maybe. I don't know. What I do know is that a mom recently told me that her 12 year old had outgrown Hannah Montana. What? What comes after that!! I think that these shows are good pure entertainment that is meant for the 9-12 year old group of girls. I'm truly not against them. But are we pushing age compression on our kids? Are we unwillingly setting them up to feel older than they are and thus lead to feelings of inadequacy, wanting to dress older... ( I chose these two Disney dynasties to talk about because they are in essence good. I won't even go into all the crud out there)

The article also talked about the age of video games and how this too is being pushed on kids to young. How there is danger with some kids that these video/computer gaming systems is taking the place of age appropriate toys and creativity. I thought about this alot to. Now he has a leapster and plays this on long trips in the van or at the doctors office. And I let him play educational computer games while I teach harder subjects to my dd for school. I have a blog. I'm not a technophobic. But there has to be a limit. My 4 year old son wants a WII for Christmas..he played it at a friends house. He won't get it. Not because its bad, not because I can't be disciplined and limit his time on it..but because it isn't necessary. He is four and he can play with cars, balls, trains, action figures, and well DIRT. So I guess my kids might be slightly disappointed this Christmas.

Halloween is approaching and I am so thankful that my 7 year old will be wearing a princess costume that she chose because she loves it. Already I love to see her twirling in it. And that my 4 year old will be Peter Pan complete with swashbuckling dagger he totes around the house. I am thankful that I don't have to buy one of those blonde Hannah wigs....at least not for a few more years.

What are your thoughts on age compression? I welcome them . I know we all have different views on society, culture etc. I am just one brainstorming mom that wants to fight in the battle to protect my kids. Sometimes I may be too extreme and make mistakes..other times I might be right on. Its a journey and I'm learning as I go.
Sheryl

Wordless Wednesday

Me..sick..very sick. After two trips to the ER, 4 shots, and a round of antibiotics plus a few weeks to forget this ordeal I finally felt I could make fun of myself and post this pic. DD6 took it while I was sick. And yes that is a frozen bag of corn on my head! lol...aren't I pretty? ha ha ha

I Smell Like Tobacco and other thoughts

I smell like tobacco. I don't know why. It is baffling me. I have been to Snip-Its for Triple H to get his twice a year hair cut. We went to CHildren's Place for fall pants and tops on sale. We went through the drive in at Chickfillet for kids icecream cones. Where is the tobacoo smell coming from. It reminds me of one of those stores at the mall that sold pipes and old pictures of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. I know because I bought such an Eastwood picture for my husband back when we were dating. I smell like a Tinder Box. Strange....And Princess Poodle just said that I smell yummy..even stranger!


Bugs...In science we are learning about insects. Today we painted butterflies, read about butterflies and moths and their differences, and watched a Magic School Bus and Bug City about the insects. Tonight we go moth hunting. All it takes is a big white sheet and a bright flashlight. Well really all it takes is a porch light but I'm trying to make this fun here. Keep that curiosity flowing.

School went much better today. I dropped the timed portion of our math drills. Such relief. The funny thing is I think she did them the fastest she has ever done and with no timer on. My sweet little girl..wished I had dropped the timer long ago.

In other school/Hazel"nut" life news: Brownies was a big hit. So is softball. But with everything plus church on Wed. night something has got to give. I keep telling myself that it is only for a few more weeks. If I have to pull into a fast food place one more time to feed my starving kids cause practice is at 5:30 and they don't want to eat much at 4 and I don't want to cook at 7 then I am going to scream. I think I even saw two little golden spikes coming out of Princess Poodles head the other day.. I THINK she is growing golden arches.

OH and to our delight Fall Break and Family Vacation is only 4 weeks away. YeaH!!! Disney world here we come.

Fieldtrip to a nature preserve with great animals later this weekend. Pictures to come! And hopefully I can write about Tales from the crypt..oh I mean from the sleep lab. I'm already a little spooked about spending the night there! They said to pack light..I hope that includes my big Bible, my torn copy of Pride and Prejudice and my cell phone!

Have a great day everyone!

Update on Woodland Fairy Bedroom

Here is a pic of the mural so far. I used Wallies for the fairies and then I painted on the branch to make it look like they were sitting on the branch of a tree. I used some stencils to look like "fairy dust". I have a metal bistro table and chair set my sister is handing down for free and we should get that at Thanksgiving. I'll put it under the branch and hang some sort of lantern/light above it. The perfect tea party table for my little girly girl.

I'm TIRED MOMMY ; superhero extrordinaire

I am soon to be an official lab rat. After 15 years of bad sleep..and I mean the wake up 10 times a night bad sleep...after focusing on two babies, a husband with RA , and everyone and everything other than myself I am trying to find out why the heck I can't sleep. So I'm off in less than a week to be hooked up to wires, but in a bed thats not my own, and have my brain monitored while I sleep. Does this mean that they will be able to read my dreams..oh I hope not!!!If they could they would surely send my to the nut house.

Life has gotten busy with Brownnies, softball coaching, church Awana, co-op and homeschooling. And I"m exhausted. My kids hear me say it way to much. My poor husband has heard me say it for way too many years. I'm not super mommy ...I'm TIRED MOMMY...its written on my cape. My superhero symbol is two very large eyes half shut and droopy. If you press a button on my left hand (thats made of plastic of course I'm an action figure here) a big yawning sound comes out. TIRED MOMMY...able to do all of the days functions wit her eyes half shut and half her memory missing. I even lay out a cereal bar, SCISSORS, and a cup of ice for my son to get himself breakfast before waking me up. The ice melts overnight to make a nice cup of water. And I do cook breakfast later in the morning so don't call defax on me just yet.

I just need some sleep. I need rest and I need joy and some of these things I must chose to take because God is handing them to me. And for the sleep thing...well maybe these doctors will figure something out because I'd really love to change my superhero status!!!!

Thanks for stopping by...off to make breakfast, teach school, go to Brownie, drive a car! and more all with my eyes half shut!

A rough outline of our schedule

Another homeschooling mom asked to see our daily schedule. So for Ali and anyone else interested here is a rough outline of our days. This is for a first grader dd6 and pre-K ds4. My son will have another year of PreK after this one. We plan on holding him back a year due to a late summer birthday and not wanting him to be the youngest in his class.


Monday: no later than 9:00 start time : Morning Meeting: This is where we sit down together and cover various topics. Examples: work on memory of theology questions and answers (kids catechism), work in skip counting, counting by 1's for ds, telling time, counting money, sometimes we do math problems on our small hand held whiteboard, we also say a morning prayer and each child choses someone we know to pray for, we say the pledge each meeting and also work on any songs we are learning (right now it is the Star Spangled Banner). This meeting is ususally about 15 minutes or shorter if the kids end up laying on the floor. Alot of work gets done in these first few minutes.

After Morning meeting we do TABLE TIME. I start my dd on her copywork from Writing With Ease or Spelling Workout A (I keep an eye on this as she works so I can catch any mistakes. ) While she is doing copywork I work with ds on his worksheets from Get Ready For the Code. He can pretty much do these on his own at this point and I mostly read directions, check his work, and help him with his letter formation. After he finishes his "table time" I take him up to the computer and he plays on Nick Jr. Playhouse Disney or PBS Kids or Starfall. While he is working on the computer I tackle either Saxon Math or Writing With Ease/Language Lessons for the Well trained Mind with dd. I pick which subject needs one on one without brother that day to do first. If she needs a break after this we take a little break. DD is very good at staying on task and we tend to finish work quickly. Some days math can include little brother and he joins us.

Books are often read throughout the day, during lunchtime, on the couch etc. This time is pretty non-structured. DD loves to read and some weeks she reads what she chooses (right now it is Charlottes Web) and other weeks she must read a book I choose. Next week she will be reading excerpts out of CHristian Liberty Nature Reader that correlates with our science.

Tuesdays: DD goes to a co-op where she takes science, history, music and art

Wednesday: Basically the same as Monday but with some Awana verse review thrown in.

Thursday: The first half of the day is the same as Monday. We use Thursday afternoons to do science or history. I have worked myself into a month on science, a month on history and so on. I will have some months that overlap but when they do the science will be less so we can fit in our American History.

Friday: This day is our different more relaxed school day. Library trips, field trips on some Fridays. We use Fridays for our Artistic Pursuits lessons, science lessons and history lessons. If we have fallen behind during the week due to illness etc. Friday becomes a make-up day. I anticipate having to have math on Friday some weeks in order for us to finish our curriculum near the end of the year.

Most homeschool days we finish all our basics work by 10:30 or 11:00. This doesn't include reading stories etc. at or after lunch. And of course on Thursdays we have an afternoon session for history or science. With younger kiddos you might need more breaks and might find during little one's nap time to be a good time to teach. My dd is really quite the little machine when it comes to school work. Her focus and comprehension amaze me. My son will probably need more breaks between subjects etc. as he gets into the heavy schooling.

To be honest I am a person that craves reason in my day but I also grant myself flexability. If something grand comes up for science and it is a Monday then we spend our day doing nature study etc and move the basics to Friday. I really try to keep to the basics first because if I don't then my science/history loving 6 year old will let her favorite subjects take center stage.

For curriculum THIS Year I use with my first grader:
Saxon Math 2
Writing with Ease (Susan W. Bauer)
Language Lessons for the WEll trained Mind (wise) I correlate the lessons with the writing with ease and we won't do ALL the lessons.
Language Lessons for the Very Young (picture study/story telling lessons onlywhich could be done with a great art book instead)
Spelling Workout A (easy for her and independent at this point)
Science: a variety of sources with a focus on our nature journals: covering mostly animals this year
History: We did sotw 1 last year and loved it. This year we are doing American History which I have pieced together using a variety of sources. We will not be going into the Civil War this year.
Artistic Pursuits Book Oone

My ds4 is using Get Ready For the Code , Get SEt for the Code etc. and he will be doing some work from Sing Spell Read and Write K level. We also do songs, games etc.

I hope this helps Ali. My youngest just turned 4 and this year is easier than last year. Plus my dd6 is reading quite well and this cuts down on how much she needs me for her work. We are trying to adopt from China and if that ever happens then I will have a little one again and I don't know what I'll do! lol

Photos and school update

My Serene little girl..something about this photo captivates me.
A sister-brother Hawaiian tea party...really that's what it was. These moments are so nice though not as often as I would like.


School Update: We are in Week Six of our new school year. So far the curriculum choices are a good fit. Get Ready for the Code and Get Set for the Code are great for Triple H because he can do them on his own with little to no instruction and this is nice for me. It is reinforcing his letter recognition and sounds and we are starting to work on reading three letter words. Today he read the word "big" all by himself. I also like Writing with Ease. Princess Poodle likes to hear the classic story excerpts and I like the open and go format. I am also using First Language Lessons for the well trained mind which I work in quite easily. Saxon 2 is a good fit. We are still in the review stage of the lessons but I think after too long of a summer the review is nice. Princess Poodle is getting the hang of adding two digit numbers with carrying and I'm so proud of her. She is also making progress in the ever dreaded math drill sheets.
We are on a break from history for one month so we can focus on science. I find it a little much to do these two subjects together so we have somewhat created a every other month rotation and it is working out nicely. Next year I may look into a science program or maybe not. I would like to do a couple of months on the human body and don't think we will get to that this year. I also want to hit the earth sciences sometime. I really need a long term plan but I work best from year to year. This week in science we are studying insects. We will talk about grasshoppers and crickets this week. Our science is pretty much a pieced together curriculum including Christian Liberty Nature Readers, some science spines, lots of library books, Magic School Bus videos, Animal Atlas videos, nature study and some experiments. Both the kids love their nature journals and take great pride in showing them off. I'll post some nature journal pics very soon.

Hope everyone is having a great school year.
Thanks for stopping by.

Some Pictures of Princess Poodles First Grade Work

This is a picture from Language Lessons for the Very Young. Princess Poodle studied the picture and answered some questions about it. Then she got to create her own story based on the picture. I wrote her thoughts exactly as they came out. I thought her story made sense and followed a logical sequence.

Here is Princess Poodle's landscape from our Artistic Pursuits curriculum.
And here is her still life. We used watercolor crayons on both of these.

A New Attempt at Chores

I am notorious for good ideas that I don't follow through on. Its a bit of a personality flaw I have. Even with my projects..I often get just done enough to enjoy the immediate results and then I have trouble finishing the project once I have that initial satisfaction. So I have tried the chore thing with the kids and it stopped because I didn't follow through.

Well I am trying again. I don't want lazy kids and see some bad habits developing already.

We are going on our family vacation to Disney in October. We are beyond excited. I know everyone looks forward to a vacation; a break from the normal routine. But somehow I think for a homeschooling mom and kids that anticipation is magnifide. We are home ALOT. I work really hard with school and get very little time to myself and Papa works very hard at his job and church activities and we don't spend as much time with him as we want to. So with the week to Disney coming up I developed a chore chart and the reward for a day's chores done, DISNEY DOLLARS. I made up pretend ones and the kids can earn one a day if they complete all their chores for the day. List of daily chores are as follows; make bed, get dressed, brush teeth, pick up downstairs toys that have lingered and have room clean before nightime room check. The kids are really doing well and I'm sure the incentive is part of that. Hopefully some habits will be developed in this process. The kids can also earn dollars for extra chores like helping me on bathroom cleaning day, dusting for me, or if I catch them doing something really good for no other reason than doing the right thing. The Disney dollars they earn will be what they use for buying fun things at Dinsey like a Micky doll or light up sword. Here's hoping for some better habits this fall and maybe to knock some of that laziness out of them.

Thanks for stopping by.

A Picture of Me if the kids get their chores done!

A Picture of me if they don't....ha ha ha.