In The Potter's Hand

Too Long

2011-06-20T15:40:00.001-04:00

Wow...my blog has been neglected for a long time. Life has taken over this past year and blogging had to be dropped. I hope to pick it back up again. I miss keeping a record of our school and family adventures. I will be updating soon.

Kim

Strawberry Jam

2010-07-24T10:58:00.001-04:00

Gardening has become a great hobby for us. Each year we expand and try more. Our second year of gardening we also started canning. James’ grandmother canned everything. I don’t remember my grandmothers canning that much, but I’m sure they did. We want our girls to leave our home knowing how to grow and save their own food. I am going to share our experience of canning strawberry jam.

We always begin any canning process by sterilizing our jars and lids. The water needs to reach 180 degrees.

First, wash the strawberries and cut the stems and any bad spots off. Don’t they look yummy!

Second, smash the strawberries. The was James’ job this time.

Next, add one box of Pectin to 4 cups of strawberries. We also added 1/4 tsp. of butter. Bring to a rolling boil.

Then add 7 cups of sugar and boil for exactly 1 minute.

Finally fill jars and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. The result is yum, yum, yum!

So far this year we have canned 72 quarts of green beans, 24 half pints of strawberry jam, 9 half pints of blackberry jam, 14 quarts of tomato juice, 3 pints of pickles, and 5 pints of banana peppers. They are beautifully placed at the top of my cabinets.

The Homeplace

2010-07-06T12:14:00.001-04:00

There is a really cool place at Land Between the Lakes called The Homeplace. I highly recommend visiting there if you are interested in pioneer days. You can tour all the buildings at your own pace. There are people their in costume doing activities from that time period. This is what we were hoping the Laura Ingalls Wilder house would have been like. The girls were able to play lots of games that children would have played in pioneer days. Someone actually stays there and lives off of the food from the garden and livestock. They have pens for pigs, chickens, sheep, cows, oxen and horses. The buildings on site were living quarters, the kitchen, smoke house, and several barns. It was a great day of learning and exploring.

This lady was working on quilt squares. Lulu really wants to make a quilt. She was explaining to her how to make a simple nine square quilt pattern. Another girl was knitting a dishcloth. The girls were telling her that they know how to knit.

Lil really liked this doll. There were cornhusk dolls in on of the rooms as well. They had clothing that kids could dress them up in. All three girls had such a great time here. It was a really nice experience.

This is the kitchen area. Lots of cast iron pots. James wanted to sneak some of the home with us :)

Lil was pretending to knit while she was sitting by the fire.I cannot remember the actual name of this game. The girls want James to make them a set though. Basically you have a hoop, like an embroidery hoop, that is wrapped with ribbons for decoration and two pointed sticks for each person playing. You cross the sticks inside the hoop and pull your arms apart quickly to send the hoop flying off your sticks to the other person. The girls practiced this for a really long time.Lil and James ready to carry water. Our kids have it so easy today. These were very heavy empty. Lulu and Monkey gave it a try as well.

James would love to live like this. I really enjoy camping and trying to live more simply, but I don’t think I am ready to live this simple.

My prairie girls!

Of course Lil had to see what it would be like to be a young lad as well.

I like this picture of James and his dad. We had a great visit with him and his wife. The girls stayed with them for a few days after James and I came home. It was a nice break for all of us but I sure was glad to get them back home.

Trip to Branson, Missouri

2010-07-03T23:22:00.002-04:00

Our vacation spot this year was Branson. We wanted to go somewhere different than the beach. We stopped by St. Louis on our way. Our library has a really great section of education DVD’s. James found one on the building of the St. Louis Arch. We watched the video with the girls before our trip. So when we stopped at the arch we all had a greater appreciation of structure. It is still amazing that no one died while building it.

Lil and Monkey enjoyed putting their toes in the Mississippi River. We read Minn of the Mississippi this year by Holling C. Holling so that made it more special.
Our resort in Branson was nice. We did a lot of swimming, a little fishing, a little shopping, and lots of relaxing. It was probably the most restful vacation we have taken. Our big night out was to the Dixie Stampede Dinner Show. James and I went to this in Pigeon Forge on our honeymoon. The girls loved it!

If you know us, you know that the girls and I love Little House on the Prairie. On our way to James’ dad’s house from Branson we passed Mansfield, Missouri. This is where Laura and Almanzo lived in their later years of life. We stopped to tour their house, the rock house Rose had built for them and the museum. I have to say we were disappointed in the experience. They were very hands off and I couldn’t take any pictures inside the houses or the museum. I am pretty sure Laura would not approve. The girls did not enjoy the house, but did like the museum. They have many things that Laura and Mary made, i.e. clothing, knitting projects, toys, etc. Pa’s fiddle is on display and they even take it out once a year to play it. I am glad we took the time to stop, but do wish the mood would have been more inviting.
Overall we had another great vacation. On our way home we stopped at James’ dad’s house in Western Kentucky. We had a nice weekend visit with them. While we were there we went to The Homeplace. I will share about that in another post.

The Roller Coaster is Almost Over

2010-06-07T07:38:00.000-04:00

Summer is supposed to be a time of relaxing, right? This year it has begun with constant scheduling for us. We went on vacation two weeks ago to Branson, MO. The weather was great. The girls had a great time swimming every day. I have lots of pictures I want to share. We took them to the Dixie Stampede Dinner Show. James and I had seen it before on our honeymoon twelve years ago. (Happy Anniversary Babe!) They loved it! The preshow was much better this year - a juggling comedian. He was very talented. One morning James took the girls fishing. We stayed right on Table Rock Lake.

On our way back from Branson, we stopped to visit James' dad and stepmom. They moved five hours away over two months ago. All three girls stayed with them from Monday to Thursday. I cried when we left and missed them the whole time. It was the first time we had been away from them for that long.

Now Lulu and I are getting ready to leave again. We will be heading to Dallas, Texas in a few days for the National Junior Bible Quiz tournament. James will be staying home with Monkey and Lil. I am looking forward to some time away with just Lulu, but an really dreading that drive. I am sure I will have pictures to share when I get back.

Soon after we return we will all be gone again for some camping. And shortly after that Lulu and Monkey will be going to church camp for a week. I will have lots of time with Lil, just me and her. She knows it is coming but I'm sure she doesn't realize that her sisters will be gone all week. She will really miss them.

Once camp is over I think we get to stay home for awhile. I'm sure we will have more camping trips, but nothing major. I have started reorganizing the school room for next year. I am probably half way finished. I won't be able to finish it until I get back from Texas. Once again I will have pictures when it is complete.

So what are your plans for this summer?

Nearing the End

2010-05-20T08:35:00.000-04:00

Our school year officially ends tomorrow. It has gone by so quickly. Looking back I see many things I am glad we did and many things I wish I would have done differently. Next year we are switching to My Father's World. I am very excited about getting started on it. We will be taking a few weeks off and then returning to a very light schedule for the summer.

As for summer it is starting up with a bang. We have a trip to Missouri planned, a trip to Texas for the National Junior Bible Quiz tournament, a three day stay for the girls at their Papaw and Nana's house, a camping trip, and a week at church camp for Lulu and Monkey. I am tired already. This is how the past two months has been as well. I am looking forward to the excitement that each one brings though, especially church camp. The older girls cannot wait.

It's a Social Parade

2010-05-06T08:37:00.000-04:00

This week is Google Friend Connect Round Up!!

If you would like to participate in the Social Parade go to Smart & Trendy Moms. Be sure to follow my blog. It's in the tab box in my sidebar.

2010-2011 Curriculum

2010-04-24T02:44:00.000-04:00

I went to the Midwest Homeschool Convention (awesome by the way) in April with three wonderful friends. I purchased all of my curriculum for next year. It feels really good to know that everything is sitting in the school room just waiting to be explored.

Lulu and Monkey will be doing Exploring Countries and Cultures from My Father's World. I am very excited to be making this switch. I love Charlotte Mason's philosophies and unit studies to teach every level together. I just struggle with finding the time to put it all together myself. MFW will do this for me. Bible, Geography, Science, Art, and Music are all taken care of with Exploring Countries and Cultures. For English we are moving to Rod and Staff. Lulu will be doing Following the Plan. Monkey will be doing Beginning Wisely. Lulu will do Saxon 6/5 for math. Monkey will switch to Saxon and do Saxon 5/4. Another new choice for us next year will be All About Spelling. I've heard so many great things about this program over the past several months. I started reading up on it. I looked over everything at the convention and bought the first two levels. We are going to start this program in a few weeks. I hope to get my struggling speller on track over the summer.

Lil will be in Kindergarten next year. She will be doing My Father's World from A to Z. This is a complete package for kindergarten. I may add RightStart Mathematics and All About Spelling to her schedule after we get into the year.

I also am excited to introduce Workboxes next year. The organization of our day is a constant struggle. I really hope this system gives our day a boost as it seems to have done for so many other families. I know that I will not implement the system exactly the way Sue Patrick suggests. I just don't have the space. Once I have all the details fixed I will blog about how we plan to implement the boxes in our day.

EXPO 2010

2010-04-24T01:08:00.002-04:00

Tonight was our annual EXPO at co-op. There are several categories in which the students can enter to compete in their age group. Lulu entered photography, spelling bee, crochet, and Legos. Monkey entered photography, casseroles, sewing, and painting. Lil entered photography, printing, and Legos. The girls did a great job working on their projects.

Lulu built a farmhouse with Legos. She had a trundle bed under the big bed. Her horses had their own barn.

Lulu took this picture at the zoo. I would love to have it blown up. It's beautiful.

Monkey did a great job on her painting. She found a picture from a book of scenes at Red River Gorge.

Monkey also took her picture at the zoo. We happened to be in the reptile house during feeding time. We were able to watch this snake begin to eat the rat. Rather gross, but rather intriguing. Her picture was a hit tonight...especially with the boys.

Lil used potatoes to do her printing. I cut the shapes out for her and she went to town. I have to admit she gets her systematic side from me. I probably would have done everything in rows when I was 5 too.

One of Lil's most favorite things is Monster Jam. She has gotten to go on two dates with her Daddy to see them live. She was building a garden with her Legos for EXPO. The older girls and I were in the school room doing our work. She came into the room to ask for help finding a special Lego piece. When I went into the living room her garden was gone and she was building trucks. Too funny!

Lil took a picture of Daddy's bass guitar for her photography entry. Last year her picture was of a monster truck.

I am very proud of the hard work the girls put into their projects. They had a blast.

Homemaker in Training

2010-04-21T02:30:00.002-04:00

James had a jacket that needed some mending. He asked Monkey if she thought she could take care of that for him. Her face beamed as she went and got my sewing basket. She was proud to be able to help her Daddy.

My New Home

2010-04-20T01:32:00.000-04:00

I finally decided to make the switch. I am in the process of moving my blog material over from Homeschool Blogger. The past several months I have neglected my blog all together. I hope to start updating on a regular basis again. Here is the link to my old blog until I can get all my posts moved: In The Potter's Hand.

Excitement Around Here

2009-10-15T02:00:00.000-04:00

The past two months we have been working on remodeling our kitchen. It is looking so great. I can't wait for it to be completely finished. Here is a before shot of the cabinets, counter top and appliances.

Now here is a pic of my new counter top and cabinets.

It is so much prettier. I love it! We still have to replace the floor and get a new table set.

James and I like to include the girls in what we do when that is possible. They obviously could not help put in the cabinets and appliances, even though they wanted too. So to let them be involved we purchased three canvases and paint. Here is my artwork for the kitchen.

Lulu's is first, then Monkey's, and then James/Lil's. They did a great job.

And here are my girls for their first day of co-op. We are having a great year so far!

Need More Hours in a Day

2009-10-02T01:59:00.000-04:00

Life has been moving full speed ahead for us the past few months. I am wondering when it will slow down a little. I have all these great intentions of posting about our school days, special events we are participating in, and all the funnies that occur each day. Then I look up and it is time to go to bed.

Our plate is overflowing as a family right now. Back in August our church launched a new Saturday night service. James and I both joined the ministry team. He is on the worship team and I am directing the children's ministry for Saturday night. We both also teach class on Wednesday night at church. James started a Bible study for the men back in the summer. They meet twice a month. The ladies started meeting twice a month also. The girls and I have really enjoyed this. We all, minus Lil, know how to knit and crochet now. Co-op started back in September. I am on the board this year and coordinating the Teacher's Lounge each week. Add school each day, chores, work... the plate is overflowing!

So that is why the blog is suffering. I do intend to get back at it though. Lulu wants to get her blog going again too. We changed the background and some other things a few weeks ago. She posted a story she wrote for her writing curriculum. She has another story ready to post when we get a chance. You can read her story here.

Lulu and Monkey have their first JBQ match of the season tomorrow morning. They are excited about quizzing. Lulu is in A league this year. That means her age group will quiz on 10 point, 20 point, and 30 point questions. Monkey is still in B league. They quiz on 10 point and 20 point questions. Lil spectates :) I was asked if Lil would want to quiz on C league, even though she is four. I just don't think she is ready to sit quietly at the table and only buzz when she knows the answer. Too much energy still bottled up inside her.

Our plate is full, but we would not have it any other way. We stay busy, but it is all things we do together as a family (for the most part). James is not off doing his own thing, me off doing mine, and the girls in different directions. We are together. And what God has called us to do, He will give us the grace we need to accomplish it.

My Future Worship Leader

2009-09-15T01:58:00.000-04:00

Lil's most favorite thing to do is sing and play church. I hope you enjoy this "Lil Original".

Water Balloon Fight

2009-08-27T01:57:00.002-04:00

To celebrate the girls' first day of school, four weeks ago, James filled up water balloons. They had a blast getting each other soaked.

After the balloons were gone, the hose came out. Building memories is so important. I don't remember all the toys and gadgets I had as a kid, but I do remember the people that poured love into my life.

My prayer is that my girls will remember that we got dirty, we got wet, we dropped things in order to spend time with them, we made sacrifices, we loved them.

Embroidery in Colonial Times

2009-08-21T01:56:00.000-04:00

The past two weeks we have been finishing up our study of Colonial Times. Lulu, Monkey, and I have been going to church twice a month all summer to tack knitting and crocheting classes. We have all three really enjoyed this time together. It's one of the things I regret not having my grandmother teach me when I was younger. Anyway, when I gave the girls a list of activities to do for Colonial times I knew the choice would be an easy one. They both wanted to knit a pouch and do embroidery. We have not gotten to the pouches yet, but they have finished their embroidery. (Lulu even done an extra one on her own)

Don't you just love the way Monkey 'sits' in her chair.

Lulu finished hers very quickly. She is serious at embroidery.

Lulu loves horses. She also chose to add buttons to her work.

Monkey was proud of her finished product as well.

The girls did a great job. I am really proud of them.

Physics

2009-08-21T01:55:00.000-04:00

We follow a four year cycle for science. This year our studies will focus on physics.

Several years ago James and I purchased six Scienceology kits: electricity, magnetism, flight, land vehicles, lights/colors/optics, and radios/phones/telecommunications. I am finally going to make good use of them. There are around 20 different experiments within each kit, as well as an instruction manual. I think they will make a nice intro into physics.

Today we started our study using the Magnetism kit. The girls wrote definitions and complete two experiments. They made a 'metal detector' and tested various materials to determine whether or not they were magnetic. Then we learned about induced magnetism. Lulu and Monkey had a lot of fun making their magnetic sculptures.

Student Photos - Not Back-to-School Blog Hop

2009-08-15T01:53:00.000-04:00

My students were very excited for their first day a couple weeks ago. I missed the curriculum sharing week so I am going to combine it with this week.

First up is my fourth grader. How is that even possible?

Lulu is becoming quite a young lady. She has a big heart and wears it on her sleeve. Her personality is very giving and compassionate. She rejoices with others and also cries for them. She has often wanted to pray about something for a friend. I am so excited to see what God has in store for her.

Her individual work is listed below:

Bible - An emphasis on personal devotion
Math - RightStart Mathematics Level E
Spelling - Spelling Wisdom (copywork and dictation approach)
Grammar - Daily Grams 4
Writing - Writing Strands Level 3

Next up is my third grader.

Monkey always has a smile on her face. She loves to laugh. She has been determined from day one to do her own thing. Monkey loves the Lord and she will not be swayed. I know that God will use her in a great way. During prayer time I can always hear her saying her prayers right along with me. She is a hard worker and is not afraid to get dirty.

Her individual work is listed below:

Bible - Reading through the New Testament
Math - RightStart Mathematics Level D
Spelling - Spelling Wisdom (copywork and dictation approach)
Grammar - Daily Grams 3
Writing - Writing Strands Level 2

Lulu and Monkey do a lot of work together as well. Here is their combined work:

History - We are going to use a unit study approach this year. I started out with the four year Classical cycle. Last year I switched to Ambleside Online and our cycle got a little off. I am going to try to get back on the four year cycle this year with unit studies. We are starting out with a small unit to finish up the Colonial period. The girls are preparing individual reports and one together. I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Geography - Minn of the Mississippi and Paddle to the Sea (Both books are by Holling C. Holling. We read three of his books last year and the girls loved all of them. They were excited to start Minn this week.)

Literature Readings - Robinson Crusoe, Kidnapped, The Incredible Journey, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Paul Revere's Ride, and Rip Van Winkle (Selections taken from Ambleside Online)

Biographies - Poor Richard and Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution

Science - It Couldn't Just Happen (Give facts that support creation and disprove evolution) and a focus on physics this year

Spanish - Let's Speak Spanish workbooks

Poetry - Alfred Lord Tennyson, Emily Dickinson, and William Wordsworth

The girls will also have gym, art, Keepers of the Home, creative literature, science units, and choir at our co-op.

Last, but not least, is our preschooler.

Lil adds a lot of spice to our family. She is Lulu and Monkey all mixed into one. She has qualities that link her to both her sisters. Lil wants to learn so bad. She complains that I don't have enough planned for her to do and her sisters complain that she gets more free time than they do.

I am planning to do a mixture of things with her this year. We did not finish our ABC notebook last year. That's first up. And then we will see. I had wanted to have more planned out for her by now, but it just did not happen.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great year.

Our School Room - Not Back-to-School Blog Hop

2009-08-09T01:52:00.000-04:00

Our school room has changed some from last year. James made us a new table and computer desk! The girls and I are very excited about this table.

It's a marker board table. We all four have our own spot at the table with two shelves to store our books. The girls have their pencil box, abacus, ruler, etc. on the top shelf. The bottom shelf houses their basket that holds their workbooks, notebooks, and binder. And we get to write on it :)

I have not had a chance to redo our bulletin board for this year. That is on my list, my very long list. The white cabinet houses all our art supplies.

The brown bookshelves, which bugs both James and I now that everything else is white, house all our curriculum, resource books, storybooks, and manipulatives. The white shelves house my office supplies and help support the new computer area. Della, our cat, is a regular at the school table.

This is such a space saver. I am so thankful that my husband is talented in building. He blesses us with so many wonderful things.

Thanks for visiting our school room.

"Bacontoad's" Wig

2009-06-12T01:51:00.000-04:00

I purchased 'Beethoven's Wig' for my girls as a fun intro to classical music. I always start the year with good intentions of incorporating classical music and, as to date, fall short. Upon request from a good friend, thanks Amie, I purchased the first CD. My girls love it! We will definitely be getting the other CD's in this series.

The funny part to this story, and the title of this post, is that Lil cannot say Beethoven. She says "Bacontoad". It is hilarious! I laugh every time she says it.

The Garden is Growing

2009-05-08T01:50:00.000-04:00

Last year was our first attempt at planting a garden. We did pretty well. This year the garden has more than doubled itself. I think James would till up the entire backyard if it were not for the girls. We have already enjoyed lettuce and a copy strawberries.

This year we are going to try our hand at canning. I'm very excited about that. I never did it as a child. No one around me canned, either that or I never paid attention if they were. Some friends at church gave us three boxes full of jars. That was a blessing! I'm not sure how many more we will need. I guess we will have to wait and see once we start the whole process. I am going to try to keep my eyes open at yard sales.

Annual EXPO at Co-Op

2009-04-25T01:49:00.000-04:00

Tonight was our annual EXPO at our co-op. The girls have been working on their entries all week. Lulu and Monkey entered the science competition together. They built two greenhouses out of a crate. They planted herbs. One greenhouse received light 24/7. The other greenhouse was lit for 12 hours and then off for 12 hours. Their questions was, "Do plants need time without light?". The result of their experiment was no. The herbs that received constant light sprouted faster and grew much larger than the herbs that received less light. It ended up being a really great project.

Lulu also entered the spelling bee, a drawing, and a Lego creation.

Monkey entered a painting and baked a hot fudge cake. This cake is very neat. She added the mixture for the cake to the pan first. Then she topped it with the hot fudge mixture. I poured the boiling water over the cake. When it bakes, the two layers switch places. The hot fudge is under the cake. Very cool!

Lil entered a painting, a Lego creation, and photography. Her photography entry was from Monster Jam, of course.

I am very proud of the hard work the girls put into their projects. They were extra excited tonight since Ms. Lana came to see all their items on display. Thanks Ms. Lana!!!

Mom's Getaway

2009-04-21T01:48:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday I left town with three other homeschool Moms. We headed to Cincinnati for the Midwest Homeschool Convention. It was a great trip. I really enjoyed my girl time with three awesome ladies. They love the Lord and their families. It is so great to have like-minded women in my life. We laughed until we could laugh no more. We got very little sleep the first night...to the tune of about an hour . The sessions were very informative and some were even convicting. The vendor hall was stocked full of curriculum.

We have already made plans to go back next year. I can't wait...

Poem Memorization

2009-04-21T01:47:00.000-04:00

The girls are really enjoying our poet for this term, Christina Rossetti. They each picked three of her poems to memorize. Here are the recitations.

Our Nature Bag

2009-04-11T01:46:00.000-04:00

I am slowly incorporating more of Charlotte Mason's teachings. Nature study is one area I have struggled with. I want to do it...I'm just a little intimidated because I don't know much about this area. I cannot tell the difference between trees and plants. We are outside all the time and the girls have nature journals, but we still do not do nature study.

Well as spring is approaching and we are anticipating the many weekends camping, James and I decided to put together a nature bag. Our bag is actually a soft sided cooler. We chose the cooler over a backpack so that it could get wet and clean up easier. Inside our nature bag are the following:

3 drawing pads
3 fishing nets
3 observation bowls (reusable Ziplocs with lids)
colored pencils
pencils
homemade crayons for rubbings
tube containers of various sizes
2 magnifying glasses
2 pairs of binoculars
hand sanitizer

It is so nice having everything in one place. We are looking forward to the many advenures we plan to have with our nature bag. When we are sitting around camp and the girls need something to do....just grab the bag and go explore!

Today's April 7th, Not April Fools

2009-04-07T01:45:00.000-04:00

There is something wrong with this picture. Can you guess what it is?

Lil's Date with Daddy

2009-04-04T01:44:00.000-04:00

Lil had a unique date with Daddy. They headed out about 2pm on a Saturday. Their first stop was the children's museum. Not any real unique about that.

This is Lil's favorite exhibit at this museum. She loves babies.

Their next stop, and the real date event, is where the term unique comes in. Lil went to Monster Jam. She was excited for two weeks when James told her where she was going for her date. She could not wait to get out of the house. Around 10:20 that morning she even had her shoes on. That is amazing for Lil!

If you were paying close attention to her clothing, you noticed the change. She picked out a Grave Digger t-shirt. Girlie looking, but still cross bones.

Lil's favorite truck was Black Stallion. Anytime it came out on the floor she would hold up her toy truck of Black Stallion.

That's one happy girl!

Lulu's Zoo Trip

2009-04-04T01:42:00.000-04:00

James and Lulu went to the zoo, just the two of them. The girls have really enjoyed getting to have a special date with Daddy.

Lulu took a lot of pictures of the animals.

She told me that while they were eating lunch a peacock backed up to her chair with his feathers all fanned out. A nearby squirrel took their leftover pieces of their peanut butter sandwiches. It licked all the peanut butter off and left the bread.

Lulu had a wonderful day with her Daddy!

Monkey's First Backpacking Trip

2009-03-28T01:41:00.000-04:00

James and Monkey went on their first backpacking trip last week. She, well...they both, have been looking forward to this trip since last year. They went to Red River Gorge and hiked to Grey's Arch.

He's such a good Daddy!

Monkey hiking with her monkey, Lollipop, in tow.

Monkey with Grey's Arch in the background. She is a strong hiker. Her Daddy said she only stopped twice on the hike in.

Their home away from home for the night :)

She even sat the table. Monkey chose spaghetti for their dinner.

Best Daddy ever! He is planning to take Lulu on the next trip. Lil wants to go as well...but he may just take her to the campground for a night.

And no trip to the Gorge is complete without stopping by Miguel's!

They had a really great trip, just the two of them!

Nature Day

2009-03-22T01:39:00.000-04:00

Friday we spent the afternoon with friends at Salato in Frankfort. We love going to Salato. They have fishing ponds, picnic selters, an indoor nature center, animals native to Kentucky, and hiking trails. Did I mention that it is FREE! We love free!

Lulu and Monkey doubled up on their work throughout the week. All they had to do on Friday morning was Bible, spelling, math, and phonics. Then we packed our lunch, grabbed our nature bag, and loaded in the van. Our friends are fairly new to our area so they had never been to Salato before. We had a great afternoon.

Lil and her buddy, MD!

And we finally were able to get some nature study in! The kids caught some bugs and observed them. They did leaf rubbings. They drew pictures of the bugs. It was lots of fun.

Lulu, Monkey, and friend E

Now that's cool!

Lil drawing a centipede. She did a great job. It really looks like a centipede!

S and MD looking at the fish.

Another great day spent at Salato!

Conquering the Monkey Bars

2009-03-21T01:37:00.000-04:00

Monkey has officially conquered the monkey bars! She is so proud of herself.

This was Monkey's first attempt. Right after this shot she crashed to the ground.

But that did not stop her. Monkey was right back up there for a second go.

She's working hard...holding on tight.

Almost there...

Sweet victory!!!

Preschool Activities in a Bag Swap

2009-03-20T01:36:00.000-04:00

I hosted an activity bag swap at our co-op this week. This is the second year we have done the swap. Just like last year, I came home with many activities for Lil to enjoy. We now have over 30 bags for her to learn with.

Fruit Puzzles, Hidden in a Bottle, Sort-n-Pour, b or d?, ABC-123 Match, Clip It, Cut -n- Collage

Tissue Collage, Trace-n-Erase, ABC Puzzles, Bag O Beads, Stringing Straws, Foam Pattern Match

Lil's favorite so far is Trace-n-Erase. She loves using the dry erase board. We have been working on letters and numbers all year. So this is great for her. She enjoys tracing them.

If you have preschoolers, I encourage you to find other Moms to do a swap with. It is a great way to come home with a lot of different activities. And you only have to make one of them! We used Preschool in a Bag Book 1 and Book 2 for our swap.

Esther - week 9

2009-03-12T01:36:00.000-04:00

I finished my study of Esther last week. It was very good. I highly recommend Beth Moore's Bible Studies. She speaks to the heart of women. You will grow and learn, that's for sure.

In chapter nine of Esther we find out that they Jews are defending themselves against those in the Persian Empire that want to destroy them. God gave them victory over their enemies.

Great quotes to me in week nine are:

"When Satan has much to gain, he also has much to lose. His every scheme against a child of God is a gamble." Beth Moore, pg. 202

"No matter what life - or Satan himself - hands us, the favor God has on His children causes that "lot" to tumble out on the table in such a way that, instead of destruction, the child will discover that her portion turned into destiny one trusting step at a time." Beth Moore, pg. 208

"Getting the credit is the wrong reason to do the right thing." Beth Moore, pg. 213

That last one goes right to your heart. It did mine anyway. This last week spoke to me about motives. What are my motives for doing the things I do? I pray that I act with the right motives. I know in the past I have not always done that. I don't want to do something for an earthly treasure that will one day rot away. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:19-21:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Trip to Indy

2009-03-07T01:35:00.000-05:00

We went to the children's museum in Indianapolis a few weeks ago. It was a great trip away. The night before we had loads of fun at an indoor waterpark. The girls really enjoyed the museum. They have a great exhibit on Ancient Egypt. This would have been a wonderful addition to our study a couple of years ago.

There are five levels to this museum. It sounds like a lot, but there was only two or three exhibits on each level. Right now they have a big Lego exhibit. It is a knight theme. The girls enjoyed playing in there for awhile. James was exciting in the comic book exhibit because they had one of the batmobiles that was actually used in the movie. He was very tempted to go back right before closing and go under the rope to touch it. He was good, though, and self-control won out.

Another really cool thing was the dinosaur world. Of course, since this is a state museum, they tote the millions of years garbage. But the displays were wonderful. They even had a section on dragons. One of the models of a dragon's head is what James and I envisioning Leviathon looking like. The girls sat at drawing boards and tried to draw the head. Lil's was pretty good.

It was so nice to get away for a couple of days. We were glad to get back home though.

Geocaching Again

2009-03-04T01:34:00.000-05:00

Several years ago when Monkey was a baby we stumbled upon a really cool activity called Geocaching.

Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS unit can then try to locate the geocache.

Last night we reintroduced Geocaching. Lulu remembered most of the other caches we had found. Monkey was too little to remember any of it. It was Lil's fist time. We all had a great time, even though it was a little cold by the time we finished. We found two caches and were planning to come back home. Lulu and Monkey begged to find some more. We ended up finding five caches.

Geocaching is a great family activity. The only cost involved is your GPS. You can find them pretty cheap now. You don't need a fancy one. Once you have a GPS, go to the website and create your free account. Get your coordinates and start hunting. You will find some really neat places in your area that you did not know were there. Take a picnic lunch and make a day of it. We are looking forward to the warmer weather so that we can camp and geocache!

The Groundspeak Geocaching Logo is a registered trademark of Groundspeak, Inc. Used with permission." Please make the "Groundspeak, Inc.

Esther - week 8

2009-03-04T01:33:00.000-05:00

Chapter 7 of Esther ends with Haman being hung on the gallows he had built for Mordecai. Things seem to be looking up for the Jews. But the reality is that the law has not changed. Persian law could not be changed. And even though Esther begged Xerxes to change it, he would not. He gave Mordecai the signet ring and told them they could write another law. So Esther and Mordecai give the Jews the right to defend themselves when the Persians attack them.

God wants our all to be about Him. He is a jealous God and desires to share us with no one. There are times in our lives when we ask for it all to just go away, the pain to leave, the memory to be gone, the situation to be fixed....now. If we never face these moments we will not be able to see God's hand at work. He wants to work through us so that we know He did it. Not someone else. God was not going to allow Xerxes to fix things for the Jewish people. He wanted His people to know that He fixed things for them by empowering them.

Another thing that spoke volumes to me from this week's study was being prepared to act. Mordecai and Esther had fasted and prayed before she took action against Haman. When Xerxes said write the new decree, they had to act now. There was no time to wait and see what may be. Their actions had to be swift. What would have happened had they not already been fasting and praying? The outcome could have been very different for them. We, as children of God, must be ready. We do not know when our trials will come. We just know they are coming. If we are serving God and doing our best to live holy before Him, we know trials and tests are coming. Satan wants to see us fall flat on our faces in failure. The trials are coming. Be ready. Be reading God's Word. Continue growing. Learn from others. Sometimes we watch those we care about go through trials only to find out years later that we too are facing the same trial. Be prepared to act!

And remember God can take anything negative in our lives and turn it into something positive. The Jews in Persia received the decree of their destruction eleven months before it was to take place. They had to live with that over their heads for a long time. But in the end God turned that around for their good. Only He can turn our doubt into faith, our brokeness into wholeness, our bitterness into praise, our sadness into joy.

Esther - weeks 5, 6, 7

2009-02-11T01:32:00.000-05:00

I have gotten behind on updating. Facebook seems to have taken over. Anyone else have that problem?

Week 5

Satan uses the fears we have to cripple us. He knows that he cannot fully destroy us because we are God's. So he does what he can to make us uneffective. Don't let him use your fear against you.
God does not call us to be perfect or to execute the things we do perfectly. He only calls us to be willing. He uses broken vessels to do great things. Give what you have to the Lord. He will make it great, not you.
My favorite quote from week 5: "Discontent with selfishness and weary of ego, we finally become willing to lose ourselves to something greater. In doing so, we find Christ as we've never know Him and, there, pooled in the reflection of His eyes, startle to discover that a part of ourselves resembles Him." Beth Moore

Week 6

God is always at work for His people. He has never walked away. Even when it seems there is no hope, He is in control.
Haman finds himself in a low place in chapter 6. He is going to Xerxes to ask for Mordecai's immediate death. When he arrives Xerxes asks him what he would do to honor someone. Haman, of course, thinks Xerxes plans to honor him. So he tells of the elaborate way to honor someone (Esther 6:6-9). The irony of the matter is that Xerxes then tells Haman to do every last detail for Mordecai the Jew. Haman hates Mordecai and now has to parade him through the streets giving him honor. Isn't God good! He will even have our enemies show us honor.
Live life for God. If we do something good and receive honor, fine. If we do not receive honor, fine. Let's not exalt ourselves to a place we do not belong and cannot stand. We are only setting ourselves up for a fall when we do. When I fall, I want to be falling before God's throne. He is the only one whe deserves honor and praise.

Week 7

Esther reveals to Xerxes and Haman that she is a Jew. But she is very careful with her words. She accuses Haman without also accusing Xerxes. Xerxes is just as guilty as Haman. He okayed the annihalation of thousands of Jews without blinking an eye. Esther knows that she cannot make him feel guilty though.
Be careful to not seek greatness. "Every one of us who embraces the glory of God as our purpose will end up doing great things precisely because we do God-things". Beth Moore
We are called to follow. Simply follow!

Esther - week 4

2009-01-28T01:32:00.000-05:00

God is really doing some amazing things around here. I can see His hand at work in so many areas of our lives right now. It is pretty amazing!

As for my Esther study this past week, well, God is continuing to teach me. And challenge me. That is one of the great things about Him. He does not leave us where we are. He always desires to move us forward towards Him. I know that I am a work in progress. I'm just thankful He is willing to work on me!

In week 4 of the study Beth Moore makes this statement: "He'd use their enemies to turn His people back to Him." The Jews in the Persian Empire made the choice to stay instead of return to Jerusalem when Cyrus allowed them to go. They had become so accustomed to Persian life that most had lost their 'Jewishness'. Sound familiar to our world? God used the enemies of the Jewish people to wake them up. When Haman's decree went out that all Jews in the Persian Empire would die, they remembered their God and became repentant before Him. So, yes, God will use our enemies to wake us up if need be. Sometimes things happen in our lives to remind us of who we are supposed to be serving. (Disclaimer: I'm not saying that all bad things that come our way are because we have sinned and are away from God. We all know that is not true. We live in a fallen world where bad things happen.) There are times, though, when what we are facing is because of our own actions. God always offers us forgiveness, but, that does not mean that the consequences of our sin will disappear.

Another great nugget from this week was the reminder that I am royalty! I hope this blesses your spirit as much as it did mine.

"You are in the most literal sense possible the daughter of the universe's King. You have royal blood in a way that even Esther did not. The crimson bloodline of Christ flows through your veins." Beth Moore, Esther: It's Tough Being a Woman

How good is that!!! Remember who you are! You are God's if you have accepted Him. He always chooses us. We also have to choose Him.

Have you done that? Have you made Jesus your Lord? If not, please give Him a chance. Check out this website for more help. Or email me!

Esther - Week 3

2009-01-19T01:31:00.000-05:00

Several things stuck out to me during this week of Bible study. The first thing was a parallel theme from the book of Daniel. Beth Moore makes the connection between Mordecai and Joseph. Mordecai would not bow before Haman even though this was a command from King Xerxes. He had made up his mind beforehand that he would bow, even to save his own neck. In Genesis 39 we read about Joseph's encounters with Potipher's wife. She tried her best to seduce Joseph, but he would not give in. He, too, made up his mind before he was even put in that position. The same thing is seen in the book of Daniel. We have to make our mind up before we are put in compromising situations. Know where your line is and do not cross it!

Prejudice is the driving force behind chapter 3 of Esther. Haman hated the Jews. When he found out Mordecai was a Jew, his plan for destroying all Jews in the Persian Empire was set into motion. We have to be so careful to not allow prejudice to set in our hearts. I can remember hearing slanderous statements about certain groups of people as a child. I thank God that He did not allow those things to take root in me. We are all ONE RACE! Every person on this planet is related. One group of people is no better than another.

Lastly, this week I was reminded of the fact that God is in control of my life. Times when it may seem like things are out of control, when everything seems to be falling apart, when there seems to be no end in sight...God is on the throne. He sees all, knows all, and controls all. He is watching and waiting for His timeline to be executed. God's time is not like ours. He is never late. He is always right on time!

Preschool Activities in a Bag

2009-01-13T01:30:00.000-05:00

Last year I organized a Preschool Activities in a Bag swap at our co-op. We are doing it again this year. These activity bags are great tools to use in keeping your preschooler occupied.

Each activity, with the exception of a few, is placed inside a gallon sized ziplock bag. The activity may involve sorting, lacing beads, matching, cutting and pasting, hand-eye coordination, etc.

This year I am putting together an activity called 'Bag O' Buttons'. After the swap I will post about all the great new activities. If you have a preschooler, go check out the site.

Esther - Week 2

2009-01-13T01:29:00.000-05:00

I love the book of Esther! This study is only reinforcing that fact. Most days I do more than one lesson because it is so good.

Esther won the favor of those she met. So that had to include the other women. And in some circles that is huge! We women can be our own worst enemies at times. In Esther we see that we can be liked by others and still love God. Sometimes Christians get so caught up in being 'Christians' that they have no earthly value. I hope I am not misunderstood here. It is important for us to live holy lives and do what we know is Biblically right. I guess the thing we have to be careful with is self-righteousness. I hope I never forget where God brought me from. Who I am today is only by His grace. It has nothing to do with me.

On the flip side of that, though, is the fact that we cannot be so earthly minded that our Christianity is hidden. Peter tells us that we are 'aliens and strangers in the world' (I Peter 2:11). If someone can look at our life and not have the slightest idea that we are a Christian, something is wrong. We need to be different. Strangers do not blend in to their surroundings. They stick out.

So this week I am praying that God will help me with balance. I want to be different from this world. I also want to be effective in this world.

Bible Study

2009-01-10T01:28:00.000-05:00

Last year I completed my first Beth Moore Bible study. It was awesome. I did the Daniel study with some women at my church. I have always liked the book of Daniel but through her study I really fell in love with it. There is so much to be learned in those 12 chapters of the Bible.

After Christmas I purchased the Esther Bible study to do on my own at home. I started last week and it is so good. I am going to post what little treasures I gleam from the study. Mainly for my future benefit, but I hope it blesses you in the process.

In the first chapter of the book of Esther we learn about the 180 day feast King Xerxes hosts. It is basically a drunken free for all. At the end of the 180 days there is another 7 day feast. Queen Vashti is having her own feast for the women. Xerxes decides to show off his beautiful Queen Vashti and sends for her. Vashti refuses to come. Big mistake. She is banished as Queen and most historians believe she was executed. One reason she is banished is because the other men are afraid that all women in the Persian empire will begin to take rank above their own husbands. They wanted to make an example of Vashti for all women to see.

Two statments Beth makes during the week really spoke to me. The first one is:

"God is never more present than when He seems strangely absent".

That really blessed me. There have been many times in my life when I have felt like He wasn't near. He is always near! I may have walked a few steps backwards, but He has not moved. In the Daniel study I learned that sometimes God will allow you to be in a fire in order to set you free.

The second one is the first statment about women:

"It's tough being a woman in another woman's shadow, but sometimes, there in the hiddeness, God builds a woman she'd never otherwise become."

Wow! How often do we women compare ourselves to one another. For me, I have done this my whole life. I have always felt a little less than those around me. It's a battle God is winning, but I still step back in the battle for myself at times. That's when I begin to suffer defeat. The battle is not mine....it is His. I will win if I let Him fight for me. So when we feel as though we are in 'her' shadow, let's vow to remember that God is building us into a woman that we would not be able to become if we were not in 'her' shadow.

Good stuff!!!

Happy Birthday Lil and Daddy

2009-01-06T01:27:00.001-05:00

My Lil is 4 toady! I can't believe my baby is 4....

James and I thought we were finished having kids when Monkey was born. When she was 2 we lost a baby to an ectopic pregnancy. Our hearts were changed. And we were blessed with Lil. She truly is a blessing, as are our other two girls. Lil is one of a kind for sure. Those of you that know her know that she is full of energy. She never stops. Her mind is full of creativity. She can be the sweetest and the 'stinkerish' all in the same moment. Had we stopped at Monkey, look what we would have missed.

Lord, thank you for Lil. She is delight in our home. Her joy and energy give us all a boost. Give me all that I need to be her Mommy and teach her. Grow her into the lady that You desire her to be. Help me to guide her in Your ways and not my own. Amen.

Today is also James' birthday. He received the best birthday present four years ago. I will never be able to top that gift! Happy Birthday!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-24T01:27:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! I hope you have enjoyed the entire Christmas season. My girls have watched "The Nativity Story" many times already. It is fabulous. I love the part at the end when the shepherds come to see the baby. The old shepherd puts his hand out to touch Jesus and then pulls it back. Mary looks at him and as she is lifting Jesus toward him says, "He is for ALL people." The shepherd touches Jesus.

Oh if those that I know who are hurting this year would just put their hand out and touch Jesus. He is for ALL people. No matter what our sins are, no matter where we live, no matter what our past contains, no matter what our current problems are....Jesus is for us ALL. He came into this world as a helpless baby. He was fully man and fully God. When the time was right He willingly went to the cross for my sins and yours. We deserve the cross. The Bible says that our righteousness is as filthy rags compared to God. There is nothing righteous about us. But God's love is greater than our unrighteousness. He made a way for us to be righteous. We have to accept that Jesus took our sins upon Himself on the cross. We have to believe that His blood paid the price for our sins. We have to believe that He died, rose again on the third day, and is sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Jesus will return again to get His bride, those who have accepted Him as their Savior. I look forward to that day...to see my Lord and Savior face to face.

I pray that you are looking forward to that day as well. All of the above is what Christmas is all about!

Lulu is 9

2008-12-23T01:26:00.000-05:00

Where does time go? It just seems like she should still be that curly-headed two year old....

Lulu is turning 9 today. Happy birthday Sweetie! I love you very much. The Lord blessed me when he chose me to be your mom. I cannot think of a better Christmas present here on earth. There were some scary moments when you were born. But God gave Daddy and I peace. We knew you were going to be okay. And look at you now!

Lulu had her birthday party a couple of weeks ago with her friends. She had a winter theme. The girls had a great time. So today is just the five of us.

Fun Times

2008-11-26T01:24:00.000-05:00

We have had a lot of fun the last month. First up was our Family Fun Night at our church last month. We had a chili/pie baking contest. The kids can dress up if the want to. Of course....most kids want to! Lulu made two chocolate sundae pies. They were yummy, yummy. She won a prize they were so good! It was a great evening of fellowshipping with our church family.

Lulu went as Princess Leonore from the Medieval Dinner Show.

Monkey went as Padmae when she married Annikan.

Lil went as SuperGirl!

Three very beautiful little girls if I do say so!!!

Next up on our fun list was a night out bowling. We had never taken all three girls bowling before. This was Lil's first time ever. They all had so much fun. Their Papaw is a big bowler and James used to be as well. So needless to say they liked it. They told their Papaw last weekend when James and I were away for the evening that they wanted to go bowling with him.

Last week we had our annual Thanksgiving Feast Day at co-op. We love our co-op. God has blessed our group with a terrific leader and with wonderful Christian families. It is a strength to me to know that I have women at my fingertips that I can go to with questions and for support. Anyway back to Feast Day... this year's theme was prairie days. Since my girls love all things Little House on the Prairie this was perfect for them. I managed to come up with dresses, aprons, and bonnets for all three. (Not the best aprons and bonnets, but I tried) We have several stations set up for the kids to travel to and learn about different aspects of living during that time period.

Lil was practicing a leaf rubbing. They also did potato prints.

At this station the kids learned about living without electricity and all the luxuries we live with today. They listened to a story. How sweet that Lil is in Lulu's lap!

Here is Monkey at my station. We talked about how hard it was to get food. The kids got to crack corn, grind applesauce, and crack nuts. Thanks to James, some of the boys even got to try their had at using flint and steel.

I hope everyone has a very blessed Thanksgiving. I know that I will. I am already extremely blessed.

Couple's Retreat....Well One Couple Anyway

2008-11-23T01:23:00.000-05:00

Friday night was a couple's retreat for our church. Well, it was supposed to be anyway. We had plans to go to Natural Bridge State Park and spend the night in the lodge fellowshiping with other couples. Due to various circumstances the other couples could not attend.

James and I have not been for a night away since Lulu was born. That's nine years in case you were wondering. The only time we have spent the night away from home without the girls is when I was in the hospital giving birth to the next one. So we were not about to cancel our plans. The girls were spending the night at Papaw and Nana's house, going out for pizza, and bowling. So we could not have told them plans changed either. They were very excited about their night away as well.

So off we went. As soon as we left our van started sputtering. It has been doing this for awhile now. But this time it was much worse. We kept driving and contemplating turning around. James pulled over and looked at it. Once we started driving again it had quit. So away we went.

We had a great time just the two of us. Yesterday morning we went hiking. I was very surprised at how many other people were out hiking in the snow too. We found Grey's Arch. We had looked for this arch three times. When all the leaves are on the trees it is hidden unless you know where it is.

Happy Birthday Monkey

2008-11-06T01:22:00.000-05:00

Monkey is 7 today! My babies keep growing and growing. Her birthday starts the two month spread of all five of our birthdays.

She was excited because she got the day off school. We ran errands and went to the dentist. Two fillings is probably not the best birthday present she ever received ! She is used to them unfortunately. Monkey chose chicken pot pie for her birthday meal. Her daddy brought her home a little cake for us to enjoy after dinner. She is having her party tomorrow night with all her friends. I will update about the party with pictures sometime this weekend.

Happy birthday sweet girl! I love you!!!

Time Passes So Quickly

2008-10-11T01:21:00.000-04:00

Life sure gets in the way sometimes, doesn't it? I have so many things I want to share but can never seem to find the time to post. I have also wanted to change the style of my blog around for awhile now. I am not sure if I like this new design yet. I will leave it up for a few days and see how if it has grown on me at all. There are more changes I want to make.

Anyway...on to the updates. School is going really well for us this year. I am seeing big results this year. Monkey has busted forth with her reading abilities. She took a reading assessment test this week and scored a reading level in the 9th month of 4th grade. I am so proud of her! Monkey is in 2nd grade at home, but she is only 6!!! I have not given Lulu a reading assessment for a long time. I will try to do one with her next week and she where she scores.

Both girls are doing really well in math this year too. Lulu is sailing through multiplication. She began division this week along with a more in-depth look at fractions. She finally likes math. RightStart Mathematics is a great program.

Lil can recognize A and M. We are learning E this week. She knows 1, 2, 3, and 4. School is a lot easier with her this year. And I am happy to be able to say that she is not spending her time watching movies. She is either working on something in the schoolroom or playing with her toys in her room. I have seen so much growth, dare I say maturity, in her over the past few months.

I have lots of pictures to post soon. I had planned on doing that tonight, but my computer will not recognize my SD card at the moment.

We Won!!!

2008-09-05T01:20:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited right now! And so are my girls!!!!

Last month I entered them in a drawing for a FREE American Girl Doll. They have really gotten into American Girl in the past few months. Lulu got the Julie series for Christmas from Poppy and Georgia last year. She is reading through them now. So her favorite doll is Julie. Monkey likes Molly. She has one of her books and checks the other ones out at the library. Lil says she likes Julie...I wonder why?

Anyway....back to the FREE doll. For those of you not familiar with AG dolls, they are expensive. $105!

The lady called me from the bookstore just a little while ago to let me know that we won the Kit doll. They were running the contest around the opening of the movie. I hope it goes to the dollar movies soon. I'm sure the girls will want to see it for sure now.

So I'm guessing that school will go smoothly for us today. They have a great incentive for getting done quickly.

Now I just have to be in much prayer. How do three little girls share one new doll?

One Week Down

2008-08-24T01:19:00.000-04:00

We just completed our first week of school! The girls had a good time this week and so did I. It was nice to get back into a routine. The routine still needs some tweeking and a few things added to it but nice none the less.

Monkey flew through her week of phonics. She is reading so much better. I really think all the reading for fun over the summer did it. Now for Bible her and Lulu have been taking turns reading our selection for the day. Lulu reads from the Old Testament one day and Monkey reads from the New Testament the next. It is working out really well. Math also went well for both girls.

Lil has been wanting to do her school work each day too. She has done some of her activity bags, a sequencing page, painting, and handwriting. Last year when I would try to get her to do some pre-writing worksheets she would just scribble on them. She had no desire to follow the dotted lines. This time, though, she did really well at tracing the lines. She is very excited about her work. This week we are going to start on the letter A. I want her to be able to recognize the letters and their sounds. Lil is going to be making an ABC Notebook this year. She is 3 1/2 so all of this will be done as her desire stays with it. If she does not want to or looses interest we will put it away for another day.

JBQ will be starting soon for Lulu and Monkey. They are looking forward to it this year. We have just briefly begun to review the 10 point questions. Lulu will also be learning 20 point questions this year. We have to really get started on those. Their first match will not be until the first of October. So we only have about five weeks.

I hope everyone has a great start to their school year.

Three Girls and a Boy

2008-08-12T01:18:00.000-04:00

Last week my niece, B, went home and her brother, Junior (as my husband lovingly called him all week), came to visit. The girls hated to see B go home. Lulu told her she could just live with us and be her big sister. It was sweet. But as much as they hated her leaving, they were equally excited for Junior to be here.

The first thing they did to the poor boy was do his hair. I was very proud of him. Not many 13 year old boys would let three little girls put hair bows in his hair. Junior just sat there with the occasional "Ouch". To protect his coolness I won't post any pictures of the outcome...although I do have the pictures for the future if necessary!

We were able to take the kids to the Louisville Science Center. When we got there we were happy to find out that the Car Art Festival was going on right outside the science center. There were some pretty crazy looking cars there. My favorite one was the red telephone. It was really cool on the inside too.

When we left we saw this great mirror wall. It was concave in shape with lots of mirrors attached. The results were some neat echoes and really cool pictures.

This past weekend my Dad and his girlfriend came to visit. When they left on Sunday they took Junior home with them. The girls, once again, hated to see him go. He and his sister do not start school until the 26th, so they have two more weeks of summer left. But while my Dad was here their hotel had a pool. My girls are really improving on their ability to swim. Lulu has gotten the freestyle technique down. She is doing really well. She also loves to go underwater. Monkey is the doggie paddle queen. She is starting to do the freestyle but only with one arm. She also loves to go underwater. This is huge for her. Only about a year ago and she would have a fit if water got on her face. It was very fun washing her hair the first 5 years of her life! Then there is our fish....Lil. Lil can swim the whole length of the pool with no help...at 3 years old. She loves every aspect of the water. She has her own technique. I'm not even quite sure what to call it, but it works. They had a great time.

Our Curriculum for 2008-2009

2008-08-02T01:37:00.005-04:00

Lulu is in 3rd grade this year, Monkey is in 2nd grade, and Lil is in Preschool. We will be using Ambleside Online for our History, Literature, and Poetry readings. I want to implement more of Charlotte Mason's way of doing things. I really hope to do more nature study, artist study and composer study. What changes I have made so far the girls really seem to be responding well to.

Curriculum For All

Bible - The girls do their own readings each day. Lulu is currently reading through the New Testament. Monkey is starting in the Old Testament.

Artist Study - ~~Van Gogh~~, Michelangelo

Composer Study - ~~Beethoven~~, Mozart

Geography - ~~Tree in the Trail~~, Seabird

Chemistry Experiments - Molecules

Science - ~~Pagoo~~

Nature Study

Parables from Nature

Poetry - ~~Walter de la Mare~~, ~~Eugene Field~~, James Whitcomb Riley

Shakespeare

Handicrafts - Spool knitting, crocheting, knitting, painting, etc.

History For All

This Country of Ours

Our Island Story

A Child's History of the World

Trial and Triumph (Church History)

Lulu's Curriculum

RigthStart Mathematics Level C / D

Daily Grams 3

Copywork - Cursive

Spelling Workout Level D

Touch Typing

Monkey's Curriculum

RigthStart Mathematics Level C

Saxon Phonics 2

Daily Grams 2

Copywork - ~~Print~~, Learning Cursive

Spelling Workout Level B

Lil's Curriculum

Rod and Staff Preschool Books

ABC Notebook

Felt Stories

Preschool Activities in a Bag

Updated 1-31-09: We are having such a good school year. We are really enjoying the readings from Ambleside. I feel inadequate at times with what we do. But I know we are progressing and I hope to do even better next year.

Our Curriculum 2008-2009

2008-08-02T01:18:00.001-04:00

Our Curriculum Choices for 2008-2009

Curriculum For All

Bible - The girls do their own readings each day. Lulu is currently reading through the New Testament. Monkey is starting in the Old Testament.

Artist Study - ~~Van Gogh~~, ~~Michelangelo~~

Composer Study - ~~Beethoven~~, ~~Mozart~~

Geography - ~~Tree in the Trail~~, Seabird

Chemistry Experiments - Molecules

Science - ~~Pagoo~~

Nature Study

Parables from Nature

Poetry - ~~Walter de la Mare~~, ~~Eugene Field~~, ~~James Whitcomb Riley,~~ Christina Rossetti

Shakespeare

Handicrafts - Spool knitting, crocheting, knitting, painting, etc.

History For All

This Country of Ours

Our Island Story

A Child's History of the World

Trial and Triumph (Church History)

Lulu's Curriculum

RigthStart Mathematics Level C / D

Daily Grams 3

Copywork - Cursive

Spelling Workout Level D

Touch Typing

Monkey's Curriculum

RigthStart Mathematics Level C

~~Saxon Phonics 2~~

Daily Grams 2

Copywork - ~~Print~~, Learning Cursive

Spelling Workout Level B

Lil's Curriculum

Rod and Staff Preschool Books

ABC Notebook

Felt Stories

Preschool Activities in a Bag

Four Girls in Tow

2008-07-27T01:17:00.000-04:00

The past week and a half my niece has been visiting with us. B is twelve years old. The girls have really enjoyed having her here with us. It is funny to see reactions and the tone when people ask if they are all mine. People usually mistake my age to be younger than I am. B is almost as tall as I am. There has often been a little relief on their faces when they find out only the three youngest ones are mine.

We went to the local children's museum yesterday. The girls had a good time. They had a couple new exhibits. Afterwards we walked across to the civic center to visit the chocolate store. Always a favorite for my girls...

Our Garden

2008-06-24T01:15:00.000-04:00

This is the first year we have put out a garden. We tore down our old shed and put up a new one. We decided to turn the ground where the old shed was into our garden area. It has worked out great. We (well...mainly James) planted potatoes, various tomatoes, red onions, white onions, radishes, carrots, corn, watermelon, peppers, and strawberries. So far we have enjoyed some onions and radishes.

We decided to plant some herbs as well. James and Monkey, with a little help from Lulu and Lil, built a bench to sit our pots on. Lulu and Lil, with a little help from Mom, planted lavender, basil, mint, aloe, oregano, and thyme. I really like how it all turned out. It looks really nice on my patio.

The girls have been catching fireflies each evening. They put them in their bug boxes they made with their Daddy last year. Each night they ask if they can keep them. But we open the lid and watch the all fly away. It's fun to watch our kids enjoy things that we enjoyed when we were young too.

More About Vacation

2008-06-05T01:14:00.000-04:00

Well tomorrow is finally here. I am seeing that summer is going to keep me very distracted from the computer. That will be a good thing though.

While we were on vacation we went back to Waccatee Zoo in Myrtle Beach. The "zoo" was birthed from one family's collection of exotic animals as pets. It is very inexpensive and you can get really close to the animals. Most you can feed too. The girls really enjoyed the zoo two years ago and this year was no different.

Notice the big "CAUTION MAY BITE" sign. No fear for this Daddy and Lil. Several times she had her hand all the way through the fences to either feed or touch the animals. So far she has never gotten bit. Except for the neighbor's dog!

We went to Barefoot Landing one day. They have a store called Teddy Bear Circus (I think). It is like Build-A-Bear. The girls had to jump in order to stuff their animals. Lil would not do it so Monkey jumped for her.

Lulu adopted a zebra named "Lulu". Monkey adopted a giraffe named "Ginger". Lil adopted an elephant named "Dave".

We also went to Alligator Adventure at Barefoot Landing. We all really enjoyed this place. There were over 1,000 alligators and crocodiles. Kind of creepy at times.... Everywhere you walked you were surrounded by them. Monkey even got to pet one during one of the demonstration shows!

After that we went to see them feed the alligators. Two girls walked out a little bridge and began tapping on the side. The alligators began swarming that area. They feed them chicken. They would jump up out of the water to snap the chicken. It was really cool to watch.

After the feeding they all swam back off. James told Lulu one was looking at her. Thought she might be a nice snack! There was even a crocodile there who had been born without a tail. It was so funny to look at. Unfortunately I got away without taking a picture of "Bob".

Another highlight of our trip was an evening we spent at "Surf's Up". All five of us played laser tag. I carried Lil the whole time with my vest and gun. Needless to say I was hot, sweaty, and out of breath by the end of it. The girls really enjoyed it though. As did Daddy! They also had a rock climbing wall there. Monkey and Daddy climbed the wall. It was Monkey's first time. Now she wants to start rock climbing. Lulu has decided that she would like to give it a try as well. Here are some pics of Monkey making her first climb.

I have some pictures from the Medieval Dinner Show we went to but they are on my other camera. I have not loaded them yet. When I get to it I will post those photos as well.

After this weekend I am sure I will have some more fun family photos too...

Vacation Photos

2008-05-29T01:12:00.000-04:00

I promised some vacation pictures and here they are. I made up travel binders for the girls again this year. It works really well for them. The have their activity sheets, coloring pages, pencils, and extra paper all in one place. We are very fortunate that all three of our girls have always rode well in the car. My family is four hours away from us, so I guess that helps. They have traveled since they were born.

Here they are snuggled up and ready to hit the road.

Lulu and Monkey had even more fun on the beach this year than last year!

We enjoyed watching this little guy for a long time. He kept coming in and out of his hole.

Putt-putt is always a big hit on vacation!

This is the first peek into our trip. I will have more pictures tomorrow of rock climbing, alligators, and more.

Can you tell who the photographer is in our family? The only picture of me is on a boogie board riding a wave. That picture will definitely not appear here ! I would hate to scare you....

We're Home!

2008-05-26T01:12:00.000-04:00

Some of you did not even know we were gone, did you? You just thought I was slipping back into my old habits of never blogging. Well....I was at the beach!

We went to Holden Beach, NC again this year. The weather was great all week. The girls spent lots of time digging in the sand, jumping in the ocean and exploring together. James and I loved watching them spend time together with no other friends around. It let us see just how much of friends they are. And that was a great thing.

We did a lot of cool things this trip. The girls really enjoyed Alligator Adventure, Medieval Times Dinner Show, putt-putt golf, laser tag, jumping on a trampoline while hooked to bungie cords, the list goes on. Monkey and James even had their first go at rock climbing. She did great and was only a few climbs from the top. They are going to try to find a place locally to start doing it more often. Lulu has decided she wants to try too. James is hoping that they will like it enough to one day start climbing at the Gorge. That sounds fun but a little scary for this Momma to think about her babies climbing on the side of a mountain.

As I get time this week I will start posting some of our pictures. It was a great trip and we are thankful that God allowed us to go once more.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-05-14T01:11:00.000-04:00

Little Man is getting Monkey....and she is loving it!
Now if that had been Lil pulling her hair
it would have been a totally different story.

First Campout of the Season

2008-05-10T01:10:00.000-04:00

We were finally able to go camping! Everyone was really excited.

We got everything set up Friday and then the rain came. Praise the Lord our new tent worked out well and we stayed dry all night. It continued to rain until Saturday afternoon. James made the girls ponchos out of trash bags. They worked out well. I guess that is one more thing we need to add to our list of camping supplies.

James has been receiving emails from Todd Wilson, Family Man Ministries. He is really enjoying Todd's writings. His catch phrase is "You da' Dad". Well...James was "da' Dad" this weekend.

He cooked us our favorite Mountain Man Breakfast on Saturday morning in the rain. The result of his work in the rain was delicious.

When the rain stopped on Saturday some of our friends came down to go hiking with us. The girls really enjoyed getting to show their friends around.

They shared hiking sticks and had a great time.

This picture is of Chimp Rock. It is pretty cool to see in person. We took pictures from Chimney Rock.

Lil loves all animals, including bugs. She is not afraid of them and will pick them up, hold them, squish them, whatever. Here she is rescuing the worms from all the puddles.

She also found a millipede on the trail. Into her hand it went!

On Sunday before we left it had warmed up enough to get in the creek a little.

Our plan is to start a scrapbook this year of all our camping adventures. I have tons of supplies from when I was gung-ho about doing scrapbooks for each of the girls. Unfortunately Lulu has about nine pages and Monkey has maybe four. Oh well, maybe one of these days. But we have a book that we can use for camping and I think if we all get involved with it we should be able to keep it up. James and I would like to be able to see all the wonderful things God placed within the Gorge area.

Packed in and ready to go home....well, packed in anyway.

Nature Day at Salato

2008-04-28T01:09:00.000-04:00

Join in every Monday for the Homeschool Highlight Meme.

Write a post about a highlight from your past week of home learning. Here are some ideas: an accomplishment, an event or outing, a fun learning experience, a new educational product your family enjoys, an unexpected teachable moment. You can also use the Homeschool Hi-Lights graphic, if you want to.

I took the girls to Salato last week for an Earth Day activity. They were making pinecone birdfeeders. We have done these at home before. Lulu had testing for three days so this was a treat at the end of it.

After they were finished we went inside the nature center. The girls love looking at the fish, snakes, and animal habitats. They had a pretend stream set up inside with rocks the kids could turn over and see what kind of wildlife might live there. Lil really enjoyed that. Monkey tee-heed when she found out what the "scat" in the jars really was.

We went outside to look at the animals when we were finished inside. I was able to get some really good pictures of the girls.

And a playful one too!

Pacies Have Left the Building

2008-04-28T01:08:00.000-04:00

Lil has become really attached to her pacifiers over the past few months. She started out only having one at naptime and bedtime. Then she began begging for them during the day as well. We tried lots of different tactics to get her to give them up. Nothing was working.

We are putting out a garden this year. Lil loves strawberries. James asked her if she wanted to plant her pacies with the strawberries to help them grow. She went back and forth for a few days, but finally decided to plant them.

She was very proud! And it only took about three sleepless nights to get over the withdrawals.

Cincinnati Zoo

2008-04-25T01:07:00.000-04:00

We had a great time at the Cincinnati Zoo last weekend. All five of us love the zoo. The girls really enjoy the gorillas, polar bears, and penguins. I hope you enjoy the slide show of our trip.

Some extra special things I wanted to highlight are below. We were able to see baby birds being fed by their mommy. Monkey asked why her body was moving back and forth the way it was. She knew that the mommy bird chewed the food up for the baby, but she did not realize that the mommy actually eats the food and vomits it up for the baby. They were able to watch this first hand. They were very thankful that I did not have to feed them that way when they were babies.

Lil loves penguins. She could not wait to go see them. She ran up to the glass and starting giving them names from a movie she has, "Scamper the Penguin". She also tried to tell everyone else that they could not look at her penguins. We had to have a little discussion about sharing...imagine that. She also told me when we were watching the gorillas that she wanted to live with them instead of us. I said, "OK, but you will not get to watch Little House if you live with the gorillas." She decided she would come home with us.

There are always lots of peacocks roaming around at Cincinnati Zoo. Lil was chasing them while we were eating. She wanted them to eat our of her hand just like the goats do. I was waiting for her to get pecked. Anyway, we were able to see a male trying to show off for a lady. She ended up running off so it didn't work.

This young male was trying to show another young male that he was the stuff too!

We had a great time and cannot wait to go back.

Homeschool Hi-Lights

2008-04-21T01:06:00.000-04:00

Ellen at Fun Learning is hosting a Monday Meme titled "Homeschool Hi-Lights". Each Monday we are to "write a post about a highlight from your past week of home learning. Here are some ideas: an accomplishment, an event or outing, a fun learning experience, a new educational product your family enjoys, an unexpected teachable moment."

Last week was our annual EXPO for our co-op. The girls have been working on some of their projects for weeks now. Lulu and Monkey entered a science experiment together.

Lulu also constructed a jet out of an Erector set, created a paper mosaic, and entered the spelling bee.

Monkey painted a picture with watercolors.

Lil also painted a picture.

All three did a great job. Lulu and Monkey even had interviews with a few of their projects.

On Saturday we went to the Cincinnati Zoo. I'll share more about that later.

First Time For Everything

2008-04-19T01:05:00.000-04:00

My Not-so-Wordless Wednesday

The other night I was trimming the cats' nails. I left these on the bathroom counter in order to remember to trim Amidela's nails the next morning.

I realize now that I should have known better. I often 'forget' that Lil lives in our house. The next morning Lulu comes running for me. Lil was in the bathroom. And this is what I saw!

She cut her hair with cat nail trimmers!!! My first two girls never cut their hair. They never flushed their panties down the toilet. They never played in the toilet. They rarely colored on their bodies with markers.

The Lord is teaching us so much through this little girl. Apparently we needed a lot of work in the patience area because that seems to be His theme with Lil!!!

I'm just thankful that she did not cut a more noticeable chunk out of her hair. It is right at the top in the center. She is letting her bangs grow out so I usually pull it up. Now I have to pull it to the side because if I pull it up in the center....she has multiple twigs sticking up right in front!

JBQ State Tournament 2008

2008-04-09T01:04:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was the girls' State Tournament for JBQ! They did awesome. It is a very intense weekend. Quizzing on Friday night determines what division you quiz in on Saturday. Lulu and Monkey were on different teams for the first time all year. Lulu's team went undefeated Friday night which put them in the Gold division. Monkey's team was made of three 1st graders with this year being all three's first time quizzing. They made it into the Bronze division.

On Saturday Lulu's team only lost one match. They did great! They day ended with us being tied for 1st with two other teams. In JBQ when there is a three way tie places are determined by overall points. They announced 3rd place...not us. Then they said the last two teams tied in points so 1st and 2nd place would be determined by who won in the match between those two teams. We won in that match so........Lulu's team took 1st place in the Gold division in the State of Kentucky!!! We were very proud! In individual scores Lulu took 5th place. She did really well. (Go here for more details on JBQ.)

Monkey's team hung in there and did their best on Saturday. It is a very intense day for the younger ones. They ended up taking 4th place in the Bronze division in the State of Kentucky! In individual scores Monkey took 13th place. We were also very proud of her.

With JBQ, there is competition. But James and I continually tell the girls that they are learning God's Word and that is our main focus. They know details about the Bible at 8 and 6 that a lot of adults do not know. They study hard and God blesses!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-04-09T01:03:00.000-04:00

Make-shift Potty on the Trail!

Finally a Hike

2008-04-07T01:02:00.000-04:00

We had beautiful weather yesterday so after church we jetted home, changed our clothes, and headed out to do some hiking. We were all very excited about it.

We went to Salato for a picnic lunch and some hiking. We love Salato! Unfortunately yesterday the educational center was closed so we did not get to see the animals. This place is a great resource in Kentucky. It is FREE! You can see all kinds of fish and wildlife that are native to Kentucky. They have a ton of information. Again...it is FREE!

Even though we did not get to see the black bears, wildcats, buffalo, etc., we had a great day. We did get to see the deer and a rabbit on the trail.

Some of our great nature finds were raccoon/deer/rabbit tracks, fungus, grapevines, and signs of spring.

James made some grapevine crowns for his little princesses. They were pretending they were Arielle and Belle. Lil would not leave hers on long enough for me to get a picture.

Monkey was very proud of the wild onions and flower she found.

It was so muddy we did not let Lil get out of her pack on the trail. She was set free at the end though.

Another great adventure for our girls. I feel so blessed to be married to a man that loves spending time with his family. Most of the things that we get to do are because he initiates them. For that I am thankful!

Looking Forward

2008-04-05T01:02:00.000-04:00

What are your goals for home education? What do you hope to instill in your children? Are you planning any changes to how you educate your children?

My goals for home education are pretty simple.

1. I want my girls to know Jesus as their personal Savior.

2. I want them to be knowledgeable in the Word.

3. I want them to have a servant’s heart.

4. I want them to know how to learn, how to find the answers they are seeking, and how to ask for help.

5. I want them to love learning!

I hope to be able to teach my girls what it means to be a godly woman, modest, humble, and submissive. It is my desire that my girls will desire to be a help meet to their husbands and stay home with their children. I pray that they will see those two things as their main ministry.

I am planning to implement more of Charlotte Mason’s teachings. I have been researching different ways to accomplish a CM education. It will mean lots of changes for us next year. I am stumped right now about history and science. I like the four year cycle from WTM. So I still have decisions to make. Remember, this is not easy for me!

In Their Own Words

2008-04-04T01:00:00.001-04:00

Share your children’s home education experience in their own words. What have they said about their education? What are their likes and dislikes? Share some stories, some quotes, or turn your blog over to your children for the day.

I gave the girls a writing assignment for this one. I told them to write about why they liked being homeschooled. They posted their responses on their blogs.

Lulu(8) said: "I like homeschooling because I'm taught what's right and not what's wrong. I get to spend time with my mom and my sisters. The last thing I like is that my mom is there to help me whenever I get confused on something."

Monkey(6) said: "I like homeschool because you get to be with your family. It is fun. My teacher is my mom. It is fun. I like to do school with my sister and my mom. My mom is the best teacher. I like my mom and my sisters."

Lil(3) said: "I like to go out in the rain." Once again, I'm not too sure how her brain works...

One day we were heading to the grocery store because a big ice storm was headed our way. We went in the middle of the day while public school was supposed to be in. As we were sitting at the light school buses drove past us. I said, "I guess they went ahead and released the kids from school." From the back seat Monkey says, "Does that mean we don't have to finish school when we get home?". My response was, "Yes, you have to finish school!". Monkey says, "That's not fair. I wish I was public schooled today." Too which I replied, "Yeah, but you would not wish that at 6:00 in the morning when you would have to get out of bed."

Show and Tell

2008-04-03T01:00:00.000-04:00

Show off those talents. Share a story, a special moment, a piece of artwork. Any accomplishment, great or small, is fair game.

I had a very special moment when I was senior in high school. I went to Washington, D.C. to work in soup kitchens feeding the homeless. It was an amazing experience. There were so many people pouring into the places where we were helping. I remember seeing "kids" that were only a year or two older than me and they were homeless. I was so thankful for my family at that moment. I knew in my heart that I would always have a place to go if I needed help.

One afternoon, instead of working in the homeless shelters, we went to help at an after-school program for elementary aged children. It was heart breaking for me. I have always loved kids. I started babysitting when I was 12. I remember helping them with their homework and playing games with them. They loved the attention. I know from their faces and some of the things that they were talking about that their home lives were not what God desired for them. I broke my heart to know what they were seeing in their moms and dads and whoever else was around. But even though it was a sad moment, it was precious too. I knew that God would take those little seeds we were planting in those kids and do a mighty work that only He could do. I am thankful that I went.

Recipe for Success

2008-04-02T00:59:00.000-04:00

It is also National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day! So share a recipe…figuratively, as in two parts love, one part creativity, or literally, as in a super quick, nutritious meal your kids scarf up. Think about what you do in the day, what helps keep it organized and you sane (or how you got past that need for organization and saneness!), and curriculum materials you find effective.

My "recipe" for an organized, sane day calls for:

1. A full serving of the Word of God. If I miss this, my day will not be "organized" or "sane". But if I have my serving and have it to the fullest then my day will fall into place one way or another. It may not always happen the way I think or plan for it to, but stuff gets done. The Lord knows what stage of life we are in. He knows that we have many different plates to serve throughout our days. He is gracious to meet us where we are. I may not always be able to work in my local soup kitchen, help with that great new ministry at church, volunteer at the hospital, cook meals for friends, etc., etc. Right now my number one ministry is to my husband and my girls. I can do those other things as time allows, but only when it does not take away from my main ministry. God ordained the family before the church. Sometimes we get that out of order. And we have all heard well meaning people say, "But you're home ALL DAY." They do not understand and that's okay. We know in our hearts that we are doing what God has called us to do.

2. The ability to say "No".

3. Labels, labels, and more labels. I do not feel like I am not really that organized. However, I do have lots of labels on tubs, drawers, and notebooks.

4. Fun!

5. Lesson plans. I used to plan day by day and it drove me crazy. I am now to the point where I make up my lesson plans a couple weeks at a time.

6. Be flexible. Even though I do the lesson plans I do not stress if the plans get rearranged or even canceled.

7. Fun!

8. Last, but certainly not least, PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

When all of this is thrown in the pot it usually produces happy children and happy parents. We have our days like everyone else. But overall our family is a blessing to each of us.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-04-02T00:58:00.000-04:00

Lobster Children!

April Fools

2008-04-01T00:58:00.000-04:00

And we have likely all felt the fool in one way or another. Share your greatest challenge. Or one of those terrible, horrible no good, very bad days where the only thing there is to do seems to involve moving to Australia.

My greatest challenge is decision making. Just ask my husband. I am a pleaser. I constantly second guess my decisions. There is such great curriculum out there. I am always afraid that I will make the wrong choice. And we all know that we are not supposed to compare ourselves to other moms but I do. I feel like I am improving in this area though.

So the next time you ask me something, don’t feel bad if I respond with one of the following:

It doesn’t matter to me.

I don’t care.

Wherever is fine.

My husband has been hearing these responses for years.

Profiling Home Educators

2008-03-31T00:57:00.000-04:00

Describe yourself, your family or one of your children. What is it like to be home educated in your family? What is “normal” for you?

We are a Christian homeschooling family of five. My husband, James, is the leader of our home as God intended for him to be. We will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary this summer. He has entrusted me with the education of our girls. I do the research and decision making for what curriculum we will use. I always run things by him, especially price, before I purchase. He trusts my decisions in this area though and usually says go ahead a buy it.

Lulu is eight and finishing up 2nd grade. She is a very bright little girl. She started reading at four with very little instruction from me. It just clicked with her. She loves books! She also enjoys art -- drawing, painting, crafting, whatever. When it's warm outside you will find her camping, swimming, and riding her bike. She is very sensitive and loves to please others. Lulu is also very good with Lil. She watches out for her and gives in to Lil's demands way to often.

Monkey is six and finishing up 1st grade. According to her age she is actually ahead one year in school. She loves math and science. She improves daily on her reading skills. Like Lulu, Monkey loves all forms of art. She is right next to Lulu when it's warm: camping, swimming, riding bikes, swinging, etc. Monkey is a very determined little girl. She knows what she wants most of the time and also how she is going to get it. She is not easily swayed from her opinions. I see now this as one of her strong character traits.

Lil is a very active, very vocal, and very curious three year old. She is always into something.... sometimes good, sometimes not so good. She is very sweet too! Her little voice and eyes will melt your heart when she sings and dances. She loves to be moving and has a hard time sitting still. She wants to do school like her big sisters but only lasts for a few minutes at a time. Like Monkey, she is very determined and independent. I began to see this as a positive in Monkey around age five. I prayerfully only have two more years to begin to see it as a positive in Lil too!

A "normal" day for us is somewhat structured. We have a basic daily routine that we follow without time scheduled in. Most days we get ready, eat, and do our chores before starting school. The bulk of our schoolwork is completed before lunch (if we get started early enough). After lunch Lil takes a nap and any unfinished work is completed. The girls has computer time most days. They are very excited about recently starting their own blogs. (Lulu, Monkey)

One of the greatest benefits of homeschooling for us is the ability to be flexible. There will always be another day if something does not get done today. If today is a hard day and tears are being shed, stop. Go outside and play. Come back and try again later. Or stop for the day. The world will not end if my lesson plans are not checked off on the correct day. My girls will still learn. And we are all happier learning without tears....

Looking Back

2008-03-30T00:56:00.000-04:00

Share your personal history…before you were a home educator. What was life like? Think about things you miss and things you and your family have gained.

Before I became a homeschooling mom I worked at an equine adjusting company. It was a fun job and very interesting. I was able to assist on claims for animals belonging to Joe Montana and Michael Jackson. I had horse claims come across my desk worth millions of dollars. When I was home there were no thoughts of curriculum, art supplies, schedules, etc. I would sit down at the computer and think, “What can I look up?”. Now my list of things to “look up” never seems to end.

Since I have to name something that I miss I will say the interaction with other adults. I am so thankful to have a great co-op, but once a week is not the same as every day. I suppose I should say I miss the extra paycheck. But in reality we spent it all anyway.

My family and I have gained so much more than we miss by making the choice to homeschool. We have gained being with each other. I love being with my girls. I would not change our lifestyle for a six figure income. I would not change it for fancy clothes. I would not even change it for a bigger house. For some of you, I know that is hard to believe. You know how much I desire a bigger house. But all of those things will one day pass through the fire and be burned up. The time I take now to sow into my girls’ lives with never burn up. God has promised me in Proverbs 22:6 that if I train them in the way they should go, when they are older they will not depart from it. I stand firm on that promise.

Oops…back to what we have gained. We have also gained so much knowledge. I am excited about the things that I am learning…again. It is so rewarding to be able to watch the light bulb go on in my girls’ minds. I also really love being home and having the time to keep the house picked up, being able to greet my husband when he comes home from work, being able to take the day off if something comes up at the last minute… The list could go on and on. But the main point is the gain far outweighs the loss.

Home Education Week

2008-03-27T00:55:00.000-04:00

Dana at Principled Discovery is having Home Education Week March 30 - April 5. Here are the details from her blog. I hope you will join her.

Please consider the following as writing prompts, not assignments. The ideas I list aren’t meant to restrict the topic in any way, but only to offer a starting point. Feel free to participate in as many or as few of the prompts as you like! I’ll have a Mr. Linky thing set up with each of the posts to make it easier for everyone who chooses to participate to share their posts. Also, since I can easily write most of these posts ahead of time, I will likely set them to publish the night before around 9PM central time.

Looking Back

Sunday, March 30

Share your personal history…before you were a home educator. What was life like? Think about things you miss and things you and your family have gained.

Profiling Home Educators

Monday, March 31

Describe yourself, your family or one of your children. What is it like to be home educated in your family? What is “normal” for you?

April Fool’s!

Tuesday, April 1

Recipe for Success

Wednesday, April 2

Show and Tell

Thursday, April 3

Show off those talents. Share a story, a special moment, a piece of artwork. Any accomplishment, great or small, is fair game.

In Their Own Words

Friday, April 4

Looking Forward

Saturday, April 5

What are your goals for home education? What do you hope to instill in your children? Are you planning any changes to how you educate your children?

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-26T00:54:00.000-04:00

We are SO ready to be doing this...

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-19T00:53:00.000-04:00

Sweet, sweet memories!

Since the Cutting of the Cord

2008-03-18T00:52:00.000-04:00

Probably not the cord most of you are thinking about......

We have decided to put out a garden this year. One more of our feeble attempts to "homestead" in town. We are very blessed to have a big backyard. We have been saving up compost all winter. James began tilling last Thursday. Unfortunately our cable cord for our internet was also "tilled" in the process. But we are up and running now ! Instead of doing several posts, I am going to do one long post.....

First up is our snow pictures the weekend before last.

The girls had a blast, until one got hit in the face with a snowball and one got cold. Our little trooper, Lil, would have stayed out all day if Daddy and I had. I could not believe the other two wanted to go in so quickly. When I was a kid my Mom had to make me go inside.

The girls painted water bottles to keep their water in. Their Daddy has a new halogen bottle and they always want to drink out of it. James thought if they had their own special bottles they would leave his alone . We will see how well that works. The bottles look great though.

Next up is an afternoon at the park. Always great fun! The weather was so nice. We finished up our school work early, packed a lunch and headed out. This is one of my most favorite perks about homeschooling. When we want to pack up at the last minute and head out...we can!

Add a birthday party in the mix for pure excitement. A friend at church was having a super hero birthday party. There is a newer show on PBS called "Super Why". Lulu went to the party as Princess Presto and Monkey went as Alpha Pig. Lil went as Super Elmo...not a real super hero but, hey, she's 3. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately these great friends of ours are moving out of state this weekend. We will miss them.

And finally (in photos anyway) we end up back where we started....the garden. The girls are really excited about planting our own garden. I hope this will encourage one of them, ahem Lulu, to eat more vegetables. They worked hard and, as always, there's more where that came from.

I also wanted to say what a blessing Nancy Carter is! She came and spoke at our homeschool group recently. She did awesome! She spoke on grace in our homeschools. Her humor and sweet spirit is a delight. If you ever have the opportunity to meet her and listen to her speak, you will not want to miss it.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-12T00:49:00.000-04:00

Our sweet boy, Annakin!

Homeschooling Under Attack

2008-03-05T00:49:00.000-05:00

There was a court case recently in California involving homeschoolers. The court ended up ruling that homeschooling was illegal in California. HSLDA was not involved from the beginning because the family was not a member. HSLDA heard about this case after the ruling. It is being appealed. They have a petition on their website that ALL parents, especially homeschoolers, need to sign. Please click here and sign the petition.

If you read my blog because you know and love our family personally, please go sign this petition in support of Lulu, Monkey and Lil. I have heard it said before, "As goes California, so goes the rest of the U.S." Parental rights are under attack in this country. There are many people in Washington that want to be able to tell parents how to raise their children in every aspect of their lives. And the really sad part is that it all has to do with money. If our children are not in the public school system they are losing money.

So.....please sign the petition! You do not have to be a homeschooler for this to be important to you as well.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-05T00:48:00.000-05:00

The price we pay for beauty....

History and Science Fun

2008-03-05T00:47:00.000-05:00

In history we have been looking at the Wars of the Roses. The Lancastrians (red roses) and the Yorks (white roses) were part of the same family in England. They fought over which family would sit on the throne of England. When Edward IV died, his 12 year old son became king. Edward V was too young so his uncle Richard was to rule in his place until Edward V was old enough to rule on his own. Of course, once Richard III assumed the throne he did not intend to give it up. Long story short, Richard III put Edward V and his younger brother in the tower of London. They eventually disappeared and there was no threat to the throne. The boys' bones were found many years later but we still do not know for sure who had them killed. Anyway....here is a project the girls did while they were learning about all of this.

Now for science.....while studying two of the gas giants, Neptune and Uranus, we did an experiment to make clouds. The girls filled the jar half full of hot water, I struck the match and dropped it in the water, and the girls covered the jar with a bag of ice. The water vapor rises and cools when it hits the colder air that is coming down from the ice. This cooling causes the water vapor to become liquid again, creating a cloud. This is the same process that happens on the gas giants. The girls really enjoyed this experiment.

Heart of the Matter Meme

2008-02-29T00:45:00.000-05:00

For today's meme we are to post our thoughts on the following quote:

“The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.”

~Tom Bodett

All through the Bible we find examples of how God tested His people. I believe that is when we grow and learn the most -- during the times of testing. I know personally I have learned many lessons through my times of testing. And those lessons stick with me. A wonderful benefit of homeschooling is that our "school" is just another part of life. To our kids, life and school go hand in hand. They are not separate. It is simply our family routine. Another lesson God is teaching me!

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-28T00:43:00.000-05:00

I hope you went outside last night with your kids. The lunar eclipse was great. Even in town, we had a great view. My Dad just recently sent us a telescope. We were able to get a closer look with it. James even got a glimpse of the rings on Saturn, which is very cool because we are studying Saturn this week. I was even able to teach him something about Saturn that he did not know. (That is a rare occurrence. Even though I have a bachelor's degree...he is much more a wealth of knowledge than I am!)

We took a ton of pictures. Some of them were pretty blurry. We have digital zoom on our camera, but the pictures taken with regular zoom turned out better.

I am still amazed at how God placed each planet, each star, each moon right in the perfect place. And all of them are for our purposes. They protect us and keep life on earth as He planned it. What a great God we serve! He did not leave out any details.

I would love to see your pictures if you have them. If you want to link your pictures to this post, sign Mr. Linky!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-02-27T00:45:00.000-05:00

Silly fun in the sun!

Last Minute Getaway

2008-02-25T00:44:00.000-05:00

We had planned on going to Cincinnati this past Saturday. When James got home from work Friday afternoon we decided to go ahead and spend the night. It was fun to get out of the house for the night. The girls always love staying in a hotel. I think their favorite part is being able to watch Animal Planet. We went to the Children's Museum on Saturday. If you are in a few hours drive of Cincinnati you should definitely take your kids. Right now they have The Human Body exhibit. James and I would like to go up sometime just the two of us and see the exhibit. It is 2 hours and a bit pricey to take the kids through it. We did get to see the Human Body video at the Omnimax theater though. We all really enjoyed it. And I was very excited that there was only one reference to evolution. They were showing babies swimming underwater and made reference to their ability to hold their breathe. The movie said it is a reflex babies have and "probably was left over from us coming out of the water". We immediately told our girls that God gave babies that ability. Overall we were very impressed with the video. And it actually gave support to God's hand created our bodies, even if they never said that.

I will post pictures soon.

Black Death Doctors

2008-02-20T00:42:00.000-05:00

The girls had another lessons about the black death yesterday. We use SOTW for history. In the activity book there is a craft to make the bird mask doctors wore to, they thought, protect themselves from the plague. Here are some doctors that survived....

I don't think there were Cinderella doctors in the 1300's.

My Dad's Cooler Than Your Dad

2008-02-18T00:41:00.000-05:00

Last week we saw a preview for a new TV show that is starting soon -- My Dad's Better Than Your Dad. Kids go on with their dads. The dads have to do all these crazy competitions. Well, of course, my girls immediately said their Daddy would win! And this weekend he proved, yet again, that he would most definitely win a show called "My Dad's Cooler Than Your Dad".

The past two summers we have really gotten into camping. All of us enjoy it a great deal. These past few months of winter have really made us anxious to start camping again. So this weekend my girls were able to go camping.

He moved furniture and set up a tent in our living room. He has done this before. But each time the excitement is full force!

This one turned out blurry. They were only pretending to be asleep anyway.

I would have to agree with my girls. They have one very COOL Daddy!

Working Hard

2008-02-18T00:39:00.000-05:00

Last week we put aside our normal phonics, spelling and math lessons. The girls did some fun Valentine's Day lessons instead. I was really impressed with how many words Lulu could spell from a Valentine's sentence. She filled up her entire sheet with no help. We did some "living math". (I implemented some ideas from Cindy) I gave each girl a bag of Kissables. They estimated how many of each color (pink/white/red, of course), sorted their piles, and made a graph of the actual amount. Then they found the difference between their estimations and their actual amounts. It was a lot of fun to add something different in for a change.

We also learned about Jupiter. I think after we finish all the planets I am going to have the girls pick one planet to do a presentation on. I'm open for ideas as to what all I could have them do for this (1st and 2nd grade).

In history we started learning about the bubonic plague. When I was reading about the rats, their ears perked up. Lulu said, "That's what happened in Little House on the Prairie."

Lil started a number book. She is learning to recognize 1, 2, and 3. She also played with counting bears. She is very good at sorting!

Where Do You Homeschool?

2008-02-15T00:38:00.000-05:00

The Heart of the Matter has asked that we share our school room this week. We do not have a lot of extra space in our current home. We used to school at the kitchen table with supplies all over the house, literally! I finally got tired of running back and forth from room to room to collect everything just to get started. At that time Lulu and Monkey shared a room and Lil was still in the smaller room by herself. We decided to move all three girls into one room and use the smaller bedroom for our school room. For now it works out great! (having all girls made it easier)

I have two bookshelves that I keep all our curriculum, notebooks, manipulatives, files, etc. on.

I use the closet door, the bedroom door and all the wall space to display artwork, lesson helps, poems to memorize, scripture to memorize and whatever else needs to be in sight. I use the white cabinet for all our art supplies.

Lil even has her own little desk...which she does not use very often! She is usually on the run and does not have time to sit at her desk. Maybe one of these days......

Missionettes

2008-02-15T00:36:00.000-05:00

We have Missionettes and Royal Rangers at our church on Wednesday night for the kids. They are both really great programs. My husband is a commander for 3-5th grade boys and I am a leader for the Friends Club, 6-8th grade girls. We had an awards ceremony this past Wednesday.

Lulu and Monkey are in the same class this year, Prims. They have a different unit each month. They earn their badge by going to class, memorizing scripture and doing their class work. The girls love this program. Next year Lulu will graduate to Stars. They have both graduated from Rainbows and Daisies with honors. We are really proud of them.

Lil is in Rainbows. This was her first awards ceremony. She was so excited to get her animal badges. I can't wait to see her smile when she sees them on her vest.

It was a busy night. We also had our Valentine's Day parties in our classrooms and our annual Hop-A-Thon. The girls get sponsors to raise money to help pay for all the badges and charms that they earn throughout the year. We play music and the girls see how many times they can hop in 15 minutes. I have a picture of Lil hopping. I have to alter one of the older girls and then I will add it.

It was a fun night. We love our church. God has really blessed us with some wonderful men and women in the Lord to help shape and teach our children. We are very thankful for each one of them.

Love Letter to Jesus

2008-02-14T00:56:00.000-05:00

Dear Jesus,
Thank you for loving me when I was and am unlovable. You chose me when I was not worthy of choosing. Your love is not something I deserve, not something I could ever earn. You give your love to me and anyone who will accept it... for FREE! All I had to do was accept your choice of me and do my best to live my life for you. Because you love me, I can love others. You have given me so much. I have a husband that loves me, three beautiful, healthy girls, one sweet baby in heaven, family, church family, friends, etc. The list goes on and on. Your hand is always at work in our lives. I'm so thankful that you revealed yourself to me. Thank you for saving me out of the pit I was in. Thank you for creating a new legacy for my children. Thank you for breaking generational curses in me. I love you Lord. I fail daily and yet you still love me. Please never stop working in me. Change me continually to be more like you.
I love you, Kim

If you want to participate in this Blogger Friend School, visit Nancy at The King's Kreation.

Our First Good Snow

2008-02-13T00:35:00.000-05:00

We woke up to our first decent snow of the year yesterday. The girls were excited! It snowed a little last month, but not enough to play in. Yesterday it was kind of an icy snow, but we played anyway.

I need to buy new snow bibs for the older two girls. They were a tad bit short!

Sliding is much more fun of an icy slide!

Snow angels are a little difficult too...

It started raining while we were playing. So they only were out for about 20 minutes. It helped to ease the pain of having to do school work when public school kids were not. I'm not going to tell them that school was canceled today as well!

Blogger Friend School #13

2008-02-13T00:33:00.008-05:00

My friend Nancy is now hosting BFS. This week's assignment is to introduce you to my Bible.

How old is your Bible?
My Bible is 18 years old.
Why did you chose this Bible?
It was a Christmas present from my parents.
Do you highlight/mark passages in your Bible?
Yes, I do both.
If so, what is your system for marking passages?
I mark passages that are special to me, that speak to me when someone else is teaching, that friends give to me for certain circumstances, all kinds of things.
Do you have notebooks to record things?
I have kept notebooks in the past. I do not currently have one that I take to church with me. We have a note taking section in our bulletin that I use. I keep a prayer journal at home that, as I get time, I copy the notes into.
If so, how many and what do you record?
I have about 7-8 from years past. I recorded sermon notes mainly and some notes from personal devotion times.
Where is your favorite spot to read your Bible?
I read at the kitchen table out of necessity in the mornings. I would love to someday have a special little area where I kept all my devotional materials.
Are there any special thoughts about your Bible you want to share?
My Bible is battered and torn. The leather binding is torn and cracked all the way down it. There are a lot of memories with this Bible though. I have things marked in there from my youth years til now. I would never throw it out because it reminds me that I too am battered and torn, but God still loves me and has a placed prepared for me.

Thanks Nancy for heading this up. I hope I can keep up with all the assignments.

VALENTINE

2008-02-07T00:32:00.000-05:00

My aunt sent me this in an email. I really liked it and thought I would share it will all of you.

"For God so loVed the world,
        that he gAve
            His onLy
          begottEn
                  soN
                     That whosoever
        believeth In Him
           should Not perish
        but have Everlasting life."

                         John 3:16

Pretty cool, huh?

Safety in the Storm

2008-02-06T00:31:00.000-05:00

We had really bad storms last night. A friend of ours called us around 1:30am to make sure we were awake. We were not. The only noise that wakes me is a crying kid. I can sleep through anything else. Once we did wake up we heard the tornado sirens. James and I got all the girls out of bed and into the hallway. He watched the news and we were right in the path of tornadoes. After about 10 minutes it had passed by us. Praise God we were unharmed. The girls were a little stirred up and had a difficult time going back to sleep. It was still storming. We have old storm windows so it always sounds like they are going to rattle right out into the floor. We were not in bed for two minutes before Monkey came strolling in.

So if you needed one more good reason to homeschool -- it is not having to get the kids out of bed early in the morning when you are awaken in the middle of the night and lose sleep due to tornado warnings. I did, however, forget to put our dinner in the crockpot this morning. Frozen pizza anyone?

Olympus Mons

2008-02-01T00:30:00.000-05:00

We are loving our Astronomy study this year. We are using Exploring Creation with Astronomy by Jeannie Fulbright. I love this book. The past two weeks we have learned about Mars. For our project, the girls built a model of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system.

They had a blast working with the salt dough. After the model was dry, they were ready to make 'er blow.

Lil thought this was pretty cool too! The side trough is not part of the actual volcano. The girls wanted to add their own personal touch to God's creation.