Here's a Little "Good Fruit" For You

Today in art lessons the girls painted a still life in oils, like the artist Paul Cezanne. I'm not good at getting good photos that don't have light splotches but you get the idea. These were done on 8x10 pieces of canvas so I am going to frame them for my kitchen or dining room.

Rachel's is first and Mary Evelyn's is next.

Choosing Curriculum...oh the joy

Looking at curriculum is fun...unless you can't make up your mind. Then it makes your head spin.

I think I need a different math curriculum for Mary Evelyn. What we use now is a good nuts and bolts program that is actually written for classroom use. (as in the very average kid) It's fine for Rachel as long as we throw in some math fact practice. But Mary Evelyn learns differently...she does better with GAMES and MANIPULATIVES and much REPETITION!

What I can't figure out is if we need a new curriculum or if I just need to be more creative (which makes me want to take a nap right now). I have looked at Singapore Math, Right Start, Making Math Meaningful, Moving with Math, Time4Learning, and something called Geoblocks. I have probably looked at more but just can't remember right now.

I also have this book on my online wishlists.

Of course the ones that interest me most are the crazy expensive ones. Okay, enough stalling, off to read more math curriculum sites. I'll be sure to let share the joy if I ever make a decision. I'm sure you can't wait for that announcement.

Thoughts of Spring

Did you know that Daylight Savings Time begins on March 9th this year? So we'll have that extra evening sunlight a little earlier. And Easter comes early too. For us, Spring brings three birthdays (Rachel, Mary Evelyn, and Jason) and maybe even a big end-of-tax-season party. That's only an idea right now, but our wheels are definitely spinning. This has been a hard tax season so far so we will definitely need to celebrate when it's over! This spring will also bring our 15th wedding anniversary. Fifteen years? Is that possible?

Spring also brings a bit of spring fever as far as school goes. I counted up how many days of school we have left and after today we have 56 days to go for this school year. (Our state requires 180 days total.) We'll finish up late May unless we need to take some some sick days or something else unexpected happens. School has gone well these last few weeks so I am praying we finish strong rather than just muddle through. I'm so excited about next year's plans that I am having to be extra disciplined just to teach these remaining weeks of THIS year!

Mary Evelyn is most excited about spring because she looks forward to ladybugs and caterpillars and bees on clover, etc. She tends to repress memories of mosquitoes and other pests. She found a couple of bugs yesterday and picked some of my very few flowers. Ugh...another sign of spring...Mary Evelyn picking the few flowers that we actually have.

One other sign of spring...my parents can't be still. This year they are going to Spain. But they'll be over there wishing they could make it to our big end-of-tax season party, I just know it.

PJ Day at Bruster's

If you have a Bruster's near by, you might want to check and see if they are participating in pajama day this weekend. If so, you can have a free single scoop waffle cone this weekend if you show up in your jammies. We've gone the last couple of years and the girls LOVE it! Check your local store because I can't tell from their website if it's Saturday, Sunday, or both.

Yum!

Art Lessons

The girls are enjoying their weekly art lessons at another homeschool family's home. Today they made watercolor birds. Betsie always gets to participate even though she is not officially in the class. She thinks she is though! Here are some pictures from today's lesson.

Betsie using the big eraser

Rachel adding some yellow to her eagle
Mary Evelyn paints her eagle.

Rachel's finished eagle...I think she did great!

Another great painting, this one by Mary Evelyn

Betsie the Photographer

Yesterday I was taking pictures of Betsie sitting in her rocking chair. She kept getting up and wanting to see each picture as I took it. (Life is different with digital, isn't it?) Then, she decided she needed to take pictures of some of her stuffed animals. So I held the camera and she pressed the button. She thought this was great! Here are the results of our silly little photo shoot.

My First Guest Blog

Jason's a tad busy these days with tax season. (That is so understated it's not even funny.) Anyway, he's finding it a little hard to devote any time to his business blog. So that's why I am the guest blogger for him. It's not because I know anything about small business or taxes or other boring stuff like that. (kidding!) My perspective is simply from living with a guy who loves all things entrepreneur and business for close to 15 years. If you want to read it, you can visit here. But the really good post is the mushy one right under mine that Jason wrote on my birthday. Now that's some good bloggin'!

Valentine's Day/My Birthday in Pictures (so far)

(Looking rough, I know)

My curriculum came today!

Read Aloud Time

I love the Little House books. We are almost done with These Happy Golden Years when Laura and Almonzo are engaged. But tonight Jason is reading to the girls. I can hear them giggling like crazy in their room. Jason keeps reading Almonzo's name as "Alfredo" instead of Almonzo. He's totally butchering a good love story. I fight back the tears at the shy, romantic ways of young Laura and Almonzo. Jason presents it in his silly way and has them in stitches.




And that is one difference between moms and dads.

Good Week/Bad Week

The bad part is that I have had a cold. The good part is that I am getting better. The other bad part is that Betsie has it too. She still feels terrible and is super clingy and snotty...love that combo. She is kind of pitiful with her cough and runny nose and watery eyes. I hope (and pray) that she feels better soon. She is napping now or there is no way I could get this typed.

The other good and fun part of this week is that it's my birthday tomorrow! Yay! (I still like my birthday.) I have already received many blessings. My friend Hollie brought me some goodies last week. She spoils me. Then I won a little door prize at my homeschool support group meeting, a mug of candy and a Starbucks gift card. Jason was happy about the Starbucks card.

Sunday I checked my email and had an e-gift certificate to Amazon from my mother and father-in-law. It was spent before I finished checking email. Can't wait for that package to arrive. One thing I got was a John MacArthur book I have been wanting but I'm too cheap to buy for myself (library doesn't have it). It's called Twleve Extraordinary Women. It is about 12 women in the Bible. I got a few other goodies too.

Last night my parents took us to a Japanese steak house for my birhday. Betsie didn't feel great and she was pretty scared of the fire and all that showy stuff. My parents gave me some great gifts though. I got a Vera Bradley purse. (I've browsed before but never bought one!) I also got the softest, warmest lay-on-the-couch and watch a movie blanket. My girls have been warned that it is not a fort-building blanket. There were a few other treats too, but those were my favorites. The girls got little Valentine gifts from my parents too. (new webkinz for the olders and a beanie baby for Betsie)

This is Rose wishing she had my cool blanket. Sorry Rose.

And tomorrow I will be getting some kitchen shears and knives from Jason, but I am not supposed to know that, so shhhhhh. I know it doesn't sound like the typical Valentine/birthday gift, but it's what I asked for so I will be happy! (Assuming they shipped on time to get here. But I know nothing about it of course.) Also, Jason is very busy at work, but he has been trying to be home a little earlier in the evenings to spend a bit more time at home this week. That is a real gift for sure.


And God has blessed me with a huge peace about the direction of our homeschool. What a gift! The conference I went to last weekend was spectacular and I am very excited about the co-op we will be involved with and the new curriculum we will use.

So the good definitely outweighs the bad. Happy Valentines Day to all of you!

Forgot one huge thing: Betsie has used the potty THREE times this week! And I'm not even potty training her yet!! (Waiting for warmer weather so she can wear little dresses to make it easier) Did you hear us cheering for her and doing the happy potty dance? Go Betsie go! (And one of those times was when MARY EVELYN took her after "doing school" with Betsie, which consisted of Mary Evelyn writing the alphabet on the whiteboard and making Betsie repeat all the letters after her. Hilarious.) Good stuff!

More Curriculum for Sale

After doing a little more planning and digging and solidifying future plans, I have a few more things for sale. All are used but in great shape. I prefer a check for payment and you can email me, leave a comment, or if you are on the FIAR boards you can PM me if interested. I still have two items for sale from a previous post.

First is First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise. My name is in the front cover in pencil but after skimming through a couple of times, I didn't see any other writing inside. Very good shape but typical shelf wear. It sells new on Amazon for $24.95 and I would like $15 ppd.

Next is the teacher's manual for the kindergarten level of Modern Curriculum Press Mathematics. It is in very good condition but I made a few notes in the margins of some lessons. It retails around $44. Rainbow Resource carries it for $32.95 plus shipping. I would like $20 ppd.

Below is the level C (approximately 3rd grade) teacher's manual for Modern Curriculum Press Mathematics. It is in very good condition. I didn't see any writing in it when I skimmed through. It retails for about $44. Rainbow Reource sells it new for $32.95 plus shipping. I would like $20 ppd.

Next is the teacher's manual for Easy Grammar level 4 by Wanda C.. Phillips. Those things sticking out of the top are post it notes that will be removed! I saw one magic marker scribble on a blank page near the front. Otherwise it is in great condition. It retails for around $27. Rainbow Resource carries it for $21.95 plus shipping. I would like $15 ppd.

Next is the Five in a Row Christian Character and Bible Study Supplement by Jane Claire Lambert. It accompanies volumes 1-3 of Five in a Row. It is in like new condition. We usually do other things for Bible study. It sells new for $25 plus shipping and I would like $15 ppd.

Thank you!

Seven Things About Me

Jill has tagged me. I have to tell you seven things about myself and then I am supposed to tag seven others. I'm just going to do the list and you can consider yourself tagged if you want. Although, I'd love to tag my sister Laura.

Well...

1. My birthday is Valentine's Day. I'll be 35 this year.

2. I always thought I'd have sons. I couldn't be more thankful for my beautiful girls though. Maybe they will have boys and I can have grandsons.

3. In real life I am kind of quiet and shy. I have actually offended people unintentionally and made them think I didn't like them because of this. Clearly it's an area that I need to be mindful of because I don't want to hurt others, even if it is my nature to sit back and let Jason do the talking. Now I'm not unfriendly, just not all that outgoing. I am definitely an introvert.

4. I taught in a public school for three years before having children. I thought homeschoolers were, well, odd...and maybe a little misguided. Then I met a few joyful homeschoolers with smart, outgoing, and normal children. I am thankful for those families.

5. I won the first grade jump rope contest at my elementary school for jumping 126 times and had my picture in the paper. Very exciting for sure. I didn't even mess up; I just quit because I got tired.

6. I was a summer missionary between 11th and 12 th grade. I worked with other high school and college age missionaries in the inner city of Houston, TX. I was away from home for 10 weeks. Jason and I fell in love by letter writing that summer. Neither of us had email or cell phones of course (it was 1990). I think we had one real phone conversation the whole summer. And my dad wrote me every day I think...he definitely wrote me the most, even if the letters were brief. I remember a first class stamp was 25 cents.

7. I have no clue what I want to be when I grow up (meaning when my kids grow up!).

Having a Ball

This ball went to the beach with us last fall, but I found it recently (forgotten until now) in the front pouch of Mary Evelyn's suitcase. We even forgot about it at the beach.

Does anyone know of an inflatable globe this size that I could order?

Something is gonna get broken.

My Father's World

I mentioned that I am planning some changes for next year. And then I had some curriculum for sale. So I guess it's obvious that our biggest change is that we will not be using Five in a Row for the older girls next year. I have been using Five in a Row (FIAR) since Rachel was a 4 year old. It is wonderful! Very gentle and easy to use and also very rich in what it covers. I am hanging on to my manuals and all the lovely books I have collected over the years because I assume we will still pick it up and do a unit every now and then. I also assume I will use it with Betsie.

My original plan was to continue in FIAR with Mary Evelyn next year and have Rachel use Beyond FIAR, which is the next step up. It uses chapter books and the units take several weeks instead of one or two. However, I decided I really want to teach the girls together. Yes, I could put them together with FIAR, but Mary Evelyn really isn't ready for Beyond, and Rachel needs to move on. Teaching them separately leaves little time for anything else...unless I skimp on someone's school work. I don't think this is a FIAR problem because I see many people on the boards and through their blogs using it at different levels just beautifully...and I am impressed. However, Jason and I have decided that we want to try something else next year.

Though a few friends I have discovered My Father's World. There is a strong group of homeschoolers in my area that use this curriculum. There is a yahoo group and even a new co-op starting in the fall for those in our area using MFW. I am going to a conference at a local church this weekend to hear the authors speak!

Some of what draws me to My Father's World:

1. Missions focused curriculum. The program we will use next year is called Exploring Countries and Cultures. We will focus on World Geography and in the meantime will pray for various people groups around the world and read through the book of Matthew. We'll also study some of the great Christian heroes like Nate Saint and Amy Carmichael.


2. Keeping the girls together!!! After first grade, My Father's World keeps siblings together who are between 2nd and 8th grade. Ways to adapt the program are right there in the curriculum.


3. A schedule! Some people hate schedules and I used to. I liked planning it all out for myself. However, I think at this season of our homeschool journey, I could use the help! The curriculum is broken into 36 weeks and we will focus on one week at a time. Fridays are scheduled very lighly to make time for catching up or field trips or just life. With art lessons and church activities and occupational therapy, etc., I know this will be very helpful. The schedule doesn't look as heavy as another popular curriculum that totally intimidates me. MFW seems to have a nice balance...a relaxed schedule, if you will.


4. It's a unit study. This means many of the subject areas are integrated. (Five in a Row is also a unit study approach...love that approach.) I mentioned that next year we will be exploring countries and cultures. Our Bible study will focus on people groups and missionairies. We will study geography of course and learn about maps and globes. We will play games to learn how to identify the countries on the map and there will be plenty of hands on crafts and cooking and working on our notebooks. Science will be centered around the various habitats around the world and will correlate to the area we are studying. Nature journaling is also part of the program.


5. Chronological history. I don't think it's necessary to cover history chronolgically to understand it as long as you have a timeline of some sort. But I am excited to know that if we stay with MFW for the next few years we will cover creation to modern times with (and this is very important to Jason and me) a BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW. Eveything I have seen on their website and in their forums leads me to believe that our world view matches theirs. This is a relief!


6. Everything is included...supplemetary book lists, the schedule, the books that make up the main part of the curriculum, read aloud suggestions, scripture memory verses, and more. This will be helpful to me. My friend assures me that there is little prep time involved.

I am not trying to sell this curriculum to anyone who reads this (many are my FIAR friends and they are using an AWESOME curriculum...actually we are still using it for the time being as well). I am just sharing what our plan is. (Family reads this too and I want them to know what we are up to!) I told a dear friend yesterday that I feel so much peace about this decision and I am more excited than I have been in a long time. I was wondering if I had what it takes to homeschool long term. I feel like this is an answer to prayer.

The plan for Betsie is to use a combination of Before FIAR (their program for 2-4 year olds), letter of the week, and some preschool activity bags I have.

I can't wait!!!

For Sale

I'm doing a little cleaning out and hoping to build up my homeschool budget at the same time by selling a few things. If you see anything in this post that interests you, either email me or leave me your email address in the comments.

Next is The Big Book of Questions and Answers by Sinclair Ferguson. It can be used as a family devotion book. It is good from about kindergarten through around second grade. It sells new for $12 and I would like $9 ppd. (It's pretty big and might be kind of funny to ship...I'll take a little less if you are local and can pick it up.) By the way, this is a paperback book.

Below is The Little Girl's Book of Prayers by Carolyn Larsen. It is a hard cover book and in good condition. There are a few pencil scribbles on the inside cover and possibly on a few pages. (Don't know which one gets the blame for that!) It sells new for about $11. I would sell it for $6 ppd.

No shipping outside of the continental US, unless you are willing to pay extra and not hold me responsible if anything gets lost. I can take paypal (I think...I'll get Jason to help me with that.) or I can take your check.

Remember Ellie?

She needs your prayers again friends. You prayed for her adoption to be pushed through so she could get proper medical help. She made it home with her new bothers in record time. And now she needs you to pray for her as she faces very serious and complicated surgery. Here is what her mom, Denise, wrote to our homeschool group.

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I've been asked to explain what Ellie's condition is...here goes:Ellie has Potts Disease. It is basically a name for TB of the spine. Ellie contracted TB while in Liberia. TB can go to the lungs, the most common form of TB, and the contagious type. OR, after it goes to your lungs, it will leave the lungs and go to a bone. This is the Non Contagious type. (Ellie is non contagious.) It is what the hunchback of Notre Dame was said to have...just some trivia for you. The TB eats away at any soft tissue around the bone. In her case, since it's in the spine, it has eaten away at the tissue between the bony discs of the spine. Not only has her spine collapsed at the point of the TB, but it has grown(and here is the miracle, seriously, a miracle) to compensate. Bad thing, it has grown inward in a v. Some kids with this have their spine grown outward in a v.

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Ellie's biggest problem is that the area is so high up on her cervical spine. It's right where the "nerve" center is for paralyzation of the legs....bowel, bladder, etc... happens.

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Ellie will have to be in traction in a halo as an inpatient for a week, then the following week she'll have two surgeries at the same time. She will have a neuro surgeon, the orthopedic surgeon (Dr. Mooney) and a Cardio Thoracic surgeon (someone that they'll bring in) to do the surgeries. They will go in the front of her neck(up around the lungs and the heart) and take out the TB from her spine, then they'll do the reconstruction through the back of her neck/spine.

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We'll know so much more after our pre op appt. As soon as I get dates, etc... we'll be updating. Here's the truth, and I ask that you ONLY share this with your children if you're SURE they will not say anything to my younger children about it. Ellie may come through it and live a very normal life. Ellie may be paralyzed. Ellie may die.

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We knew this going into her adoption. We are resting in God's plan and purpose for not only Ellie's lives, but our lives, the surgeons' lives, the nurses' lives, our friends, family, the World wide web...anyone.

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Am I scared, yep. Do I trust God? Absolutely. I can't trust myself. I can't trust Greg, the surgeon, etc... God's sovereign hand brought Ellie to the USA. Am I asking that she'll be healed, oh yes. We ask that you pray for her, and put her on every email loop, yahoo group, address batch, church website, etc... We grow to love her more and more everyday, but God loves her eternally more than we can ever imagine. Ellie's birthmother gave her up only for this physical reason. There was no hope for her in Liberia. We pray that her mother knows Christ, and that someday we'll be able to meet her when Ellie is an adult. Her birthmother loved her so very much.

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Please pray for Elliana Horrocks. Ellie is 3. She'll be 4 in May. Copy and paste, forward this, or send people to my blog please? Thank you so much!!!--Love,Denise

What a Good Little Helper

Jason got some toys out of the attic today for the girls. (We rotate some of their things or we'd be overtaken by their TOYS!) We found a toy vacuum cleaner and Betsie is really enjoying it. I had forgotten all about it and even thought about getting her one for her birthday...guess I don't have to now. (Maybe we should have saved it for her birthday...duh!)

It's That Time of Year...

Second semester. January and February blahs. Counting the days until the spring. What do I do to get over this hump experienced by homeschool moms around the country? I start planning next year! Why we do this, I do not know. But I KNOW I am not the only one. Message boards and yahoo groups and blogs are a buzz with questions about what children will be learning NEXT year...nevermind that our school year won't be over until the first week of June. More on next year's plans in a later post. There are still decisions to be made, but I am getting VERY excited about a few new things I am considering.







For the rest of this year, Rachel and Mary Evelyn will be enjoying volume 4 of Five in a Row together. This splitting them into two levels is for the birds. I can't keep up...so next week they will enjoy Snowflake Bentley together. I doubt we'll be fortunate enough to have more snow to go with this study, but at least we have recent snow memories. AND...at Michael's I bought some snow! I don't know what it is exactly, but supposedly if I mix it with water I will have a gallon of snow. This will have to do for now. I bought 3 boxes of it so each girl can play with her own little gallon of snow. (Betsie joins us for the fun stuff, of course.)

Also, for the remainder of the year my girls are taking ART LESSONS! They are loving it! And wouldn't you know it, the lady who is their teacher lives waaaaaay out and has chickens among other animals. So we do the art lesson and then feed and chase chickens. Do you think Mary Evelyn is loving that or what? It takes us half an hour to get there, so there is some good car schooling going on as we listen to books on tape.

School Is Messy

Here are a few pictures from this morning. We have three tables in our school room. And all of them always have a ton of "stuff" all over them. No matter how hard I try.

The first picture is Mary Evelyn doing her math at our official "seat work" table. It is a folding type table that we got for Christmas last year. We keep all the workbooky things here, plus pencils and erasers and that sort of thing. I try to straighten it every day but as soon as we do school again, it is right back to one big mess.

The next picture is Rachel drawing. We all call this the "school table" even though we never do school there. We used to and that is why we call it that. Before it was a school table, it was the kitchen table (in our other house). I gave up using it for school because my girls draw All. The. Time. There was never a cleared off space for school work. So I gave up and got the folding table above for that. We keep crayons and markers and and other messy stuff at the "school table." A regular chore for the girls is to clean up this table and the floor underneath.

This last picture is Betsie at the table known as "the little table." (Ignore the fact that she is in a bathing suit and it is 38 degrees outside. The heat is on, okay?) We got this for Christmas when Rachel and Mary Evelyn were itty bitty people and I will never, ever get rid of it. It is still as sturdy as ever and my grandkids can sit at this table one day! I think Betsie was getting ready to play with the Funtastic Frog manipulatives. She probably sat there for all of 30 seconds before she moved on to another activity. This table is never as messy as the other two, but it does get used a lot.