My Favorite Four Plus One!

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Saturday, August 28, 2010

Books!

Life has certainly changed in my house!  I am changing, my kids are changing, the way I think is changing....I love that God knew all this before I did and is probably smiling :)

One major observation that I have noticed is this:  Homeschooling mothers and children love to read, love books, love to go to the bookstore. 

I come from a family where my mom and brother (and now my dad) love to read!  John and I are not "born" readers...I don't know why, maybe its our factual/hands on/scientific brains...its hard for me to sit and read about something that is fiction...I admit it..it seems irrelevant to me in the grand scheme of things.  But I have an awesome mother and an awesome friend that are always giving me ideas for great books...I texted my friend one day about a year ago and asked her for a recommendation of a good book (I knew she would have one) and the list was so long, she couldn't text it to me...she had to email me a list x 2!  It bothers me that I haven't been good about giving my children a wide span of literary knowledge...I just didn't get it.  I have tons of books in my house but they are mostly children's picture books and we read them here and there but then when Emily got old enough...I didn't lead her to GOOD books....I let her pick ones that were "o.k." but not Awesome ( like Tinkerbell chapter books)..I really just didn't know.  I don't have a lot of book knowledge myself.  When I was having bad days with the kids over the summer, we started reading at night and it has been a huge blessing.  They love it and it makes for a great end to a sometimes trying day.  These books that I have started reading are GOOD books....fiction but stories that I can enjoy with my kids...

I also started reading more myself...on my own time.  I will read during our rest time and read at night.  The TV comes on very rarely around here anymore and in many ways we have "broken" a strong addiction in that aspect...there are some days where it doesn't come on at all....

I have read (and finished!) No greater Joy Vol 1 and 2, Confessions of a Prayer Slacker, Getting Started in Homeschooling, In Grandma's Attic (with the kids), Managers of their Homes, and have started Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit, Understood Betsy (with the kids), 100 top curriculum picks, and the Well Trained Mind.  This may not seem grand but I am such a starter and NOT a finisher of books...so I am proud.

Emily and I are in a book club that just started.  We had our first meeting this week.  I was surrounded by about 5 other moms that LOVE books and read all the time from what I can tell...I was a little intimidated to be honest..they all knew about the books and what they were about and had read some before...NOT ME!  Silly me even asked if we were all staying on the same chapters together and they explained to me that the goal is to finish the ENTIRE book in a month.....which is doable but that wasn't even on my radar...I'm just so "behind."  But all that to say I am totally excited about becoming a lover of books...we have visited 2 bookstores this week and the library.  I like the peacefulness that I feel when reading.  I like the unity that it creates between my kids and me.  I like hearing the other women talk about the books and their love of reading.   I like the smell of books.  We are reading the following books for our book club:  The Hundred Dresses; Island of the Blue Dolphins; Charlotte's Web; Misty of Chincoteague; and The Pied Piper of Hamelin.  We may also read Baby Island.  I can't wait to read these books and be able to eventually list all the books that we have read this year on paper....It really will be a BOOK YEAR!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Great part of the day!

One of my favorite time of the day is REST TIME!  Yes, after reading much on this subject....my new take on this is that it is a GOOD THING for all of us to have a rest time! 

Molly of course sleeps in her crib and if John is off, the big kids have to be in their beds for one hour.  If John is in his "work stretch"....then he is in the big kids' room asleep in what we call the CAVE.  So for our rest time, I let the kids be in my room.  I have a big cedar chest at the end of my bed that I have all kinds of blankets and throws in.  They can pick two, grab a pillow, and make a nest on my floor AWAY from each other.  They have to be totally silent, read a book, look at a book, color, or sleep.  I actually like having them in there...it's peaceful and most of the time they do fall asleep...at least for a little while.

Things I don't want to miss!

Today was one of our first, maybe second, day where we haven't had ANYTHING going on..no where to go, no where to be...in which I am thankful.  I am getting to see how our real day will look....I'm going to post what our day looked like, what we have done...

First, I had my Bible and Prayer time in which I am finding is so valuable...(duh..how long have I been doing this Christian thing?)  Waking up by myself and being alone in a quiet house is so nice...it makes me so much happier throughout the day!  This morning, John had to be out the door really early so I was able to make him lunch and coffee...and he had cereal...

Then the kids woke up:

Breakfast
Reading through the Bible...Genesis
Get dressed
Math which included adding and subtracting flash cards, 100 chart, counting by 3s, measurements with ruler and yard stick and how many inches in foot, feet in yard, inches in yard, practice on meanings and words like addend, subtrahend, minuend, difference, factor, product.  Hours, seconds, minutes, days...we did a timed speed drill, and Emily did a work sheet and measured 6 things in the house and had to write them down.  We also reviewed 0 times tables and 1 times tables..and worked on some problems.

Then we read our Missions book Hero Tales about William and Catherine Booth.  The kids really like this book!  We found China on our map ..(where the previous "Hero" had been a missionary)

English which included phonics and special sounds review, Emily read a story out of a reader about Ben Franklin and she wrote down three vocab words in her vocab notebook.  Then she looked up the words and wrote out their definitions.  She answered some comprehension questions about the story verbally...She then read a poem out of the same reader in which she used to do copy work (her VERY BEST WRITING). 

After that we went outside and took apart a bird nest that had fallen from a tree in the front yard.  They put on their yard gloves and picked through it which was very interesting...there were many different ingredients in the making of this nest...hair, sticks, leaves, moss, tape, netting from a construction zone, and paper.  Emily then wrote a paragraph about it. 

We have also been doing great on chores...my new found freedom in asking the kids to do more is wonderful.  John Daniel did a whole load of darks while I did school with Emily.  He did it all!  They only thing I did was to check before he started the cycle to make sure he had not stuffed the machine too full.  He had to finish the load from start to finish (dried) He also went out and took care of the chickens and gave them treats. After lunch, Emily vacuumed all the carpet and even did some baseboards and corners. 

Side note:  The past two days....Emily and John Daniel have taken EVERY SINGLE stitch of clothing out of their drawers and closet and we have tried on, made stacks, given away, and organized!  Emily even organized her side of the closet into dresses, skirts, sweaters, jackets, blouses...ITS WONDERFUL! 

After chores, will be our Young Peacemakers study about making and keeping peace and solving conflict.  I read a little of the chapter each day.  They are long chapters.  They have things to do like role playing and stuff.

And that is it for school for the day!  We have two errands and rest time (my favorite).  I made a point to not turn on the computer, check my phone, or answer calls all morning.  The kitchen is clean as well.  All of this makes me happy and I know everyday will not be like this.

Things I still have to add are music and art appreciation, more science, history, geography, and timeline stuff..(I still have to buy this curriculum) but I read a blog by a homeschooling mother of 11 who has graduated 4 or more kids by now...she said, "work on doing a few subjects really good and then add some a little at a time."  She made the point that a lot of times moms want to get in so much that they sporadically hit subjects a little here and a little there....I could see myself doing this if I wasn't careful...so I'm trying really hard to concentrate on Language Arts and Math and when something "falls" out of the sky in front of us (the bird nest) we use it to teach another subject....I want SO bad to do art and music appreciation and thought about just listening to the music in the morning...some Bach or Handel or whatever...but haven't done it yet. 

We are reading Understood Betsy at night which we love already! 

So back to the reason I titled this post, things I don't want to miss....

Last year, I really didn't know what Emily was doing or liking or disliking...I mean I did her homework with her so I knew what they did in math and practiced spelling with her, but other than that....I really had only very small glimpses of what she was studying in science or writing about or geography....I've really enjoyed SO MUCH getting to know her in this setting....knowing what she likes, loves, dislikes, struggles with, excels in....for instance...she loves looking words up in the dictionary...she is really good at it!  She recognizes the words when we then read them.  Math work sheets are not her favorite but she loved going around the house measuring things.  She is not as inquisitive as John Daniel but she is soooo imaginative.  She is great at making up games, expressing herself in a story or writing.  She flies through the language arts but gets stumped on simple math at times...she loves working with these demonstration clocks that my mom got us to practice with.  These things I would not have known.  Its so nice because I see her "smarts"....where as before when we were sitting at home doing a math work sheet for homework every night....I got so frustrated because that is all I saw of her "schooling."

Another mom gave me some ABEKA 5th and 6th grade history, science, and test books.  I was going to pass them along because I didn't need them and John Daniel saw the book in the bag for giveaways.  He asked if he could have the 6th grade Science book.  I said sure and I am glad I did...for two days, he has carried the 5th grade science book around....has looked through it page by page.  He even took it to the Tractor Supply store with him yesterday to show his friend Cooper.  Cooper and John Daniel went with Daddy to the store to buy chicken feed and hay.  All day he says, "look mom!" and shows me something cool.  He loves space!  Loves rockets and planets!  Today, he looked at the Chemistry chapter and sat there for 1 hour looking at the elements and all the pages on the periodic table....found out that Fluorine is in our toothpaste and its a halogen!  John Daniel is more inquisitive, wants to know how things work, why, and how.  ANY machine interest him...even the sewing machine! 

These are things I don't want to miss out on!  How could I know all of this and share these little things with them if they were away at school all day...These are just my thoughts for today...no big revelation...just thankful for the little things!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Home Economics

At least that is what I'm calling our sewing class...

I bought a sewing machine back in the Spring on sale and have wanted to learn to sew for quite some time.  I think the kicker was the church's poodle skirt Father/Daughter dance...a lot of my very talented friends had made their daughter's poodle skirt..and said it was easy.  So that made me want to sew...

I had called around to different sewing stores and they didn't have what I was looking for.  I had almost signed Emily up for a week sewing camp that was $100 but they cancelled it last minute...no one had exactly what I was looking for.  I wanted to learn with Emily...do a project together so it could be something we learned side by side.  The fabric stores said she was too young, not big enough, etc.  We have many women around us that know how to sew including my grandmother and aunt but I felt like we needed a formal "class" where someone was dedicated to our time to teach us at a specific time every week. And I knew that I needed that consistency as well or we'd never get anything accomplished...

So I put out an inquiry on the ever so helpful "HOME SCHOOL LOOP"...the Tallahassee Christian Home school Forum and asked for advice, help, suggestions...and my need was answered.  First, one mom and her 18 year old daughter offered to show Emily and I the basics...how to turn on the machine, thread the needle, how to get started, etc.  She said that I could pay her what I felt led and come to her house for a couple of quick basic lessons.  We went and she was great.  In about 2 hours time, she had us sewing a little "sewing supply bag" with a drawstring to keep our stuff in.  She let me have fabric, some pins, and such to get started.  They were so gracious!  Her younger daughters (she has 5 daughters) even watched Molly for us while she taught Emily and I how to sew.  To pay her, we were able to barter.....some quick sewing lessons for a free CPR class that John was offering to the home school community...(how cool is that!)

Next, we got hooked up with an elderly woman named Mrs. Richards through another home school mom.  Mrs. Richards does private lessons and goes to student's homes to teach them to sew and other wonderful Christian life lessons!  Along with another friend and her two girls we set up lessons in my friend's house for  us and the three girls. Mrs. Richards only charges $45 per girl for 5 lessons of 3 hours each.  This included meeting at JoAnn's Fabrics for a tour and explanation of tools.  Mrs. Richards is 70 years old, mother of 5, grandmother, and one of 12 children herself...which is good with chaos all around us when we are trying to learn.  She teaches the three girls, my friend, and I all with 2 toddlers and 2  5 year old boys running around.  She is good about letting us deal with the little ones, while she is working with one of us and then she switches...its amazing that she can split up her time between the girls and two grown women so well.  She teaches responsibility, proper use of tools, safety,manners, delighting yourself in the Lord, measurements, joy, etiquette, reading your manual....all while teaching us to sew.  We have all now bought fabric, prepared our fabric, learned how to thread the bobbin, thread the machine, trimmed the fabric, pinned the fabric, and now are working on sewing a hem for a sweet little blanket....The girls each picked out their own fabric and are working on sewing straight lines.  Mrs. Richards was worried that we were confused after our first class and even made a special trip to each of our homes on separate days to check on us and review...

She says she does this as a ministry and she just loves to sew (It would have to be for only $45 and for the amount of time she runs around when she lives in Monticello)!  We are VERY pleased with what we have learned so far and Emily is doing great...even remembers details that I don't.  Mrs. Richards LIKES details...she is very particular which is good because we will have a strong foundation.  I think John and John Daniel might be getting matching flannel pajama bottoms for Christmas :)  Emily and I have already picked out the fabric and Mrs. Richards said she would even help if needed...no extra charge :)  What a blessing.....plus I have my grandmother and aunt who I know would help as well....

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Meal planning, grocery shopping, and recipes

I have ONE stack of papers on my printer that need to be dealt with (Fly Lady would say it's a hot spot I guess and yes I am bragging that it is one little stack) but then there is all my recipes......and there are many...copied from the computer, ones that friends have given me and tons of magazines....

I've said before I like to cook and I get several magazines thatI love to flip through and find fun new recipes...We really have no more room for "hard copies" so John's idea was to scan them all once I go through the magazines and find the ones I want to keep and then put them on a file on the computer...I said to him, "Do you know how long that would take?"  He said, "Do 10 a night."  So I guess this a good idea but then what do you do when you are cooking...run to the computer when you need to look at the recipe?  If I print it out then that is defeating the purpose.  Still thinking on that one!

One of a Mother's biggest jobs has to be meal planning, grocery shopping, and couponing (if you do that).  I have never figured out a sure fire way to be organized in this department but here is my newest venture.  I wrote down every meal I could think of that we make.  I came up with 40 meals in all.  That makes for about 8 weeks worth of 5 meals/week.  I only like to plan 5 meals per week because we end up eating leftovers or doing a grill cheese or eating out.  I organized them by weeks and then googled on the computer and found a great meal planning calendar that I printed off.  It has meals listed on the left side and then the shopping list for those meals listed on the right.  So I wrote out our 8 weeks of meals and the ingredients needed for those meals on 8 calendars for 8 weeks.  Every weekend, I will get out the week's calendar and write down the ingredients that need to be bought on the weekly grocery list and then hang the calendar inside the kitchen cabinet...we will rotate through the 8 weeks worth of meals and I can add or change as necessary.  I use a magnetic notebook on the fridge to put the everyday kinds of stuff that we run out of (PB, toilet paper, jelly)...so adding the weekly meal ingredients will make for a hopefully, quick trip to the store.  And I don't have to think about it everyday...it's already planned out. 


So then I wondered how couponing and sale items would fit into all this.  Well, my plan (I've only been doing this now for a couple of weeks) is to continue to coupon for things we buy often and look for sales and BOGO items that I know we will eventually use...so then if Pork Chops are on the week's menu, I may have them already frozen...and wouldn't have to purchase that for the week.  I haven't quite conquered the coupon thing...it takes a lot of time which I don't seem to ever have enough of.  Still working on this!  For right now this is our plan.

Friday, August 20, 2010

The lonesome Kayak

I've said before on this blog that my mom is a teacher...of 30 years and she is pretty creative.  I think I am appreciating that more since starting to home school.  I think I have a little of it in me...I hate to admit it but I may just be a little like my mom...except she talks WAY more than me...I just talk in the blog...side note...maybe my mom needs a blog!  But she isn't so computer savvy...hmmm...I probably would have been a teacher if I didn't choose nursing because I like a lot of the aspects of teaching...I just don't want to be around other people's kids that much...so I chose nursing!  I digress...

So my mom read this article in the Tallahassee Democrat about a lost Kayak and thought it might serve for a good science/geography lesson...and IT DID!

We read the article as a family which went something like this...A man and his Kayak were boating off the shores of the Cayman Islands when he got caught in a rip current and was thrown out of his boat.  He had to swim for 2 hours to get back to shore and away from the rip current.  Meanwhile his Kayak took a 6 week journey...It went north of the cayman islands, to the west of Cuba, got caught in the gulf stream, and ended up in Key Largo in the Florida Keys.  When it was found, no one knew who it belonged to.  The coast guard searched and finally the brand name of the kayak led the team of rescuers to its owner.  Apparently the brand of Kayak is only sold in two stores and when they tracked down those stores the retail owners did not recognize it but put some info out about the lost Kayak on their website.  A friend of the Kayak's owner who lives on an island off the coast of Madagascar saw the ad and called the store and said, "my friend that lives in the Cayman Islands lost his Kayak."....Mystery Solved.  The Kayak was surprisingly in great condition except for a few barnacles.  After six weeks of floating in busy waters, shipping yards, the Gulf Stream...the owner and the Kayak were reunited.  So the kids and I found the Cayman Islands and we traced on our map where the Kayak had been...John also looked up info on Rip currents and the Gulf Stream and we read and explained that info.  We also found Madagascar on the map.  Funny enough, their favorite part of the whole learning experience was learning about Rip Currents.  John printed off this cool map showing how rip currents form and what you have to do to escape them...they were really into that.  Thanks mom for a great experiment. 

Thursday, August 19, 2010

The truth be told...

So it is out, I am homeschooling and now everyone at church, work, friends of ours, friends of the kids, John's work, etc know we are homeschooling...how can I keep it a secret..school is the buzz right now.  When we decided to home school I got my firing squad ready, put on my big girl panties and was armed and ready to defend my stance and our new "weirdness"...but guess what....the reaction was much different than I thought!

Instead of "oh really, what about socialization?" or "why would you want to do that to your kids?"...I've instead gotten..."Oh, how cool, I wish I had the patience to do that," "oh my goodness, how can you do all you do," or (this one is my favorite)..."you're perfect to do that!" 

So I will vent now...all of the above is very flattering but I have to say that it is so untrue!  I just want to be different and do what God wants me to do with my family...all that other is crap and I believe that God is going to use this to change me more than I will ever know and understand.  I hate people thinking I am something I am not.  I am NOT perfect.  I yell at my kids, I am soooo impatient, I have OCD tendencies, I let the little things get me out of sorts, I yell at John, and the list goes on!  I actually had someone in the supermarket two days ago tell me in a loving/joking manner, "we are all going to start a support group for those of us that aren't as together as you, Kathryn!"  Oh please!  I'm barely hanging on most of the time....by the time 2 pm nap comes, if I don't get some peace and quiet, I will snap...

All this super woman talk makes me nauseous and all I'm trying to do is regroup and do something out of faith to better our family because I just couldn't keep up last year with the pace that "the normal" people keep. I'm scared to death.  I have doubts everyday!  I worry about it all!  We want to travel, play piano, learn to sew, etc and most importantly teach our kids that the Bible is God's word and we are to love people...and I just couldn't get it all in..I got tired of being in a hurry all the time...and my previous posts about all the organizing and tools to keep us on track...well it will not last or work everyday...it just helps me keep my insanity!

I started seeing that we could do this at home and set our own schedule and our own priorities....our time could be our own time...that is all...NO SUPERWOMAN HERE!  I just want to make our home a peaceful, atmosphere of learning where everyone here can be safe and happy! That's all folks! 

The Wild Card

Or should I say Wild Woman!....Molly is certainly the wild card in my latest attempt to be organized, perfect, all together...etc...I seriously don't think you can do all that with a 1 year old!  She throws a wrench in everything, its a cute wrench but a wrench nonetheless.  She is into EVERYTHING!  She wants my attention, has decided not to take naps the past three days, and messes up all my organizing!  We are learning and I know that MANY women before me have had one year olds in the home and still have a successful day!  We are still learning and doing a lot of praying!

getting a rhythm going.....

So our first day of me teaching out of the teacher manuals was a little rough...it took us only like 5-10 minutes but I was stopping and starting and reading the directions as I went...Emily was funny..she just waited so patiently!  But now I think I have a rhythm and a rhyme to it...at least with the English and Math.  You just have to get use to the way the book wants you to teach or read something...I like to figure out how the book wants me to do it and then I add my own spin...

I also wasn't sure where or how all the pieces would fit together and where you put everything, etc.  I've got it down now..

First, I have two bins that our "Today's lesson" stuff goes in.  That way I fill it the night before and its all there to pick up and take to the table...that way I don't have to keep running to the bookshelf in my bedroom..(oh to have a school room!!!)  Anyhow, I have a folder for "teacher materials"...stuff to have ready..flashcards, things written out for us to do together (I write things out on paper that teachers would write on a chalkboard).  That way I can grab it out of the folder quickly.  I have a folder for work that needs to be "graded" by me.  When she completes a work sheet or math sheet, she puts in in there for me to grade, punch holes, and file.  I also have a folder for unfinished work or work that needs to be corrected.  I put all of our books, readers, teacher's manuals, worksheets, etc into the daily bins and bring them out for school time.  They usually sit on the table during the day and when we know we are done, they get taken back to my bedroom where I have my home school shelf.  I am trying desperately to keep kids OUT of our bedroom.  It IS our office as well but also Mommy and Daddy's space!  Can you tell I like everything to have its own home?  I'm a freak!  I admit it!  Emily also has a nature/science journal that is ongoing and today we started a vocabulary notebook.  For instance, she read a story today out of a reader and there were three hard words.  I had her write them down and look them up in the dictionary and write out the definition...(got that idea from my friend Ann!).  The vocab notebook will be ongoing.  When work as been checked and hole punched and we are done with it, I have two HUGE binders that everything will go into for the year...divided into language arts, math, science, history, Bible and geography.  This is the work we will show our evaluator in the end...These are our files!  I also date stamp everything!  The pioneer woman gave me this idea...she said she loved a date stamp and so do I!!!!  Everything we do is then stamped with a date...saves some time and writing!  I also have weekly plan logs (not sure I will keep this up but I like it right now)...because I am using someone else's teacher's books..I cannot write in them so I have written weekly plans...basically which lessons or chapters we do do everyday and when we don't do any...I leave it blank and when we go to sewing class, I write sewing class!  I found the weekly planner on the Internet...just saved it to my desktop and print one every week!  I think that is it right now!  I love being a teacher so far! 

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

One teacher's trash....

is another teacher's treasure!  I make fun of my mother's pack rat personality but I have to say that it is nice having a mother that #1 cares about me and the kids, #2 saves everything, and #3 has been teacher for over 30 years!
My mom has brought me some GOOD stuff lately!  We have two new BIG maps, a really cool old globe that talks and tells all kinds of cool info about locations, some nice dictionaries, lots of hands on learning stuff, manipulatives, and so on....most of this she saves from years past or is stuff she has picked up along the way and passes on to me!  I've turned in to a frugal mom for the most part so this is really nice!!!!
We put these maps in the hallway...out of everyday site but a place where we can get to them easily (I wasn't sure I wanted maps in my dining room).  Whenever we read a book or know of a family member traveling, we will find and place the locations on our map!  At least that is the plan!
John Daniel loves this dictionary!
Today I found John Daniel using his dictionary to find words that he could then spell in the fridge word wammer...smart boy!  He would then sound them out and put them on the fridge.  This was HIS idea!  Here are all his words!

New Decor

Some of our new school decor...not really decor but additions since our new adventures...I've been on a huge organizing kick as you can tell...actually you will be hearing a lot about my new organizational tools in the next few days..mostly just because I want to document it...it may be boring, I will go ahead and warn you! 
My homeschool book shelf

Our schedule up for everyone to see

Our expectation board (basically so the kids know what to expect during the day and I don't have to answer a million questions!)

Emily's new desk that we got 50% off on sale!  This is where she will sit to do desk type work and where we will leave our "everyday" stuff to work on.  I couldn't stand the idea of having papers and books all over my dining table all the time (my personality shines through).

Spelling!

I am not the greatest speller (maybe not that bad but I type super fast and I get caught up in typing) so I just want to say, sorry when I spell things incorrectly...I forget to proof because I am writing these posts so darn fast...BUT I have noticed a new spell check on this blog site that I will try to remember to use....For You MOM!

More first day of school!

Of course I forgot to mention a few things...the outfit Emily is wearing is her "first day of school outfit."  Just the two of us went to Target and I let her pick out any outfit she wanted...just for kicks!  We also enjoyed some Astronaut Ice Cream after our nature hunt...it had nothing to do with our day but it was a fun and refreshing surprise after getting hot and sweaty!  I had been saving it for awhile for something special!












Our First Day of School






I called it our first day of school because I wanted to go ahead and kick it off but we haven't quite had a "full on" "get every subject in" yet...I've had to start slow with reading, writing, arithmetic, and grammar and hold off on the science/history/geography because we haven't purchased the books yet....its coming but I figured I can do a lot of the science, history, and geography on my own anyways...

Our first day looked like this:

Mommy and Emily did our Quiet time and prayer journal
We all ate breakfast and got dressed
Everyone loaded up in the van
We drove to Dorothy B.Oven park and had some special time outdoors. I love that park because it is free and beautiful!
I spread a blanket out and we prayed and thanked God for the freedom to choose homeschooling for our family. We thanked him for our freedom and special moments that we will have as a family. Then I gave the kids a treasure hunt. There were 10 things they had to find. They also got a special book that I am calling their nature journal that we will take whenever we go outdoors! They had to find the 10 things and either draw them or write about them. They each got a set of colored pencils. They loved this. It was fun exploring and Molly walked all over as the big kids found their special places to draw or write. After they finished, we got out what I am calling their Heroes of Mission book. It is a book of true stories from the lives of Christian Heroes such as Martin Luther, Dwight Moody, Harriet Tubman, John Wesley and so on...We read about Gladys Aylward, a missionary to the Chinese. She took over 100 children over the mountains near Yangcheng China by herself in 1940 to safety into the next province after she was told that she was not "qualified" to be a missionary!

We said goodbye to our park and came home. Molly slept while the big kids and I did our "peacemakers" study. After that John Daniel colored while Emily and I did language arts and math which only took us about 15 minutes. I learned 2 things...I need to gather all materials and have them out and organized for our time together and that in the beginning, we can do more than one lesson...except Math work sheets. Emily gets tired easily doing Math worksheets..I think I need to get some hands on stuff for her in math but she flew through the language arts in like 5 minutes. We probably could have done 3 lessons. I feel privileged that I am getting to know her strong points and her weaknesses...and mine for that fact. I have learned over the past month, for example, that I am a very visual learner...need to do something hands on before it clicks! So we had a successful first day...second day of school ended up being home EC with sewing classes and then today was Math and then Swim party with John Daniel's class...tomorrow will be a long school day...oh the flexibility!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Because I'm such a slave driver....

one more quote...it makes me feel better about working my poor children to death!

"Mothers who are maids raise lazy children."

Lindafaye

In light of my new schedule...

I really like this quote from another blog I recently read by a mother with 11 children....

"Spontaneity is more appreciated when it doesn't occur on an hourly basis."

Cheaperbythebakersdozen blog

Our sphinx moth






We found these amazing caterpillars on our tomato bushes about 1 month ago. They looked like part of the leaf and were huge! They kept chomping away on the bushes and we ended up finding like 6 of them. We took the biggest two and put them inside my mom's butterfly cage. John looked them up on the Internet and found out they were sphinx moth caterpillars called a green horned caterpillar. They were really amazing. John found out that they bury themselves when they are ready to go into a cocoon so that was a little harder to accomplish inside the butterfly cage. We put some soil down in the bottom and they immediately started digging down in the soil. I really wasn't sure that they would do but to our surprise this morning, there was a big brown sphinx moth hanging on the side of the netting. We were all so excited. Our work with feeding them more tomato leaves and putting soil in the bottom had paid off. Now to let Mr. Moth go....First science project complete and all the info and pictures go into our science book!