Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish you all in blogland a Very Merry Christmas! Enjoy this time with your family and friends. Cherish every minute of your blessed time together!

Merry Christmas!!

Still busy

Yes we are! The kids are doing great. DS is having to work a little harder on his math this year but he is doing pretty good.

Currently we are reading a book called, "The Story of Rolph and the Viking's Bow". They are really enjoying it. This is for history as we are studying American History and are now with the Vikings.

Science we are in the midst of the universe and stars and moving right along to planet Earth. We did get up the other night and lay a blanket out in the drive way and watch the meteor shower. That was neat and kids enjoyed it.

They are both doing great with their language arts. I've been very pleased with DS's writing. It has improved so much over the last 2 years. I'm amazed. DD's spelling is already improving since we started having a spelling list every week. (Last year she kept a dictionary of words she had a hard time with but knowing there will be a test she is doing GREAT!)

Well, that's about it for now. I've started a new blog over at http://www.homesteadblogger.com/mommy22ss you are welcome over there anytime.

Cruising along...

That's what we've been doing. The kids are doing great on their work. They get right to it and get it done without much fussing. I'm really proud of them. We've been having fun. They like doing their history and science together. We all gather around the book, or computer or whatever we happen to be using that day and do it together and they enjoy it. Me too.

How is your school year getting started?

Tomorrow is the day!

We will start our official homeschooling. We spent about week last month working a little but didn't have everything we needed so we put it off. But now we are ready to start. We are going to start this week with just language arts and math. We'll start out slowly as we have a lot of extra stuff going on this week so this will be perfect for us.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Well, I have purchased just about everything we need. I just need to wait on it all to arrive and then we are ready for the year!

I'm really rather excited about it. We are really only going to Science and History together this year and I've been really planning them out. I think we are going to have a lot of fun and learn a lot.

They will be each be using a LLATL in their grade for language arts and then their own math. DS is going to do Algebra this year. What a wonderful challenge. I'm even looking forward to it!

I hope everyone's planning is going well.

Purchasing curriculum

Well, this weekend I've been ebaying like crazy and I think I have got a few good items pretty inexpensively too. I'll tell you more after I get them and look them over. We are trying to go a little simpler this year. So far I've only spent about $30 but I know that DS's math will be more expensive but since I've saved on the other's that's okay.

I hope you are all finding you need too!

Well, we may go ahead and start up school after this next week. The kids are so bored and are starting to watch toooo much tv. We'll probably just do a little and work slowly back up to it.

DH is leaving town for a while and so it will be the perfect time to start working. I still have to order some... well most of our curriculum but I have a few things right now that we can start with slowly.

How are your plans coming??

Busyness

I read a devotional about this this morning. It was called Busy, Busy, Busy and it made me think of several my friends. Lately I've been hearing a lot of them talk about how busy they are and how tired and even sad it makes them. They are rushing their children here and there trying to keep them active.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against this at all if it's what you want great, but I have to say, it's not for us. My kids don't like being too busy or having things to do all the time. They like having home time~ family time. The friends I'm thinking of don't homeschool so they also have to contend with school and homework on top of the extra. They tell me how nice it must be to not be so busy but they don't want to let go of anything. They are tired and burned out. I feel bad for them.

But I even see lots of homeschoolers in this same predicament. Sometimes it's even worse for them because they feel like they have to make up for NOT being in a "real" school so they are constantly running to this homeschool group or that or this lesson or that and so on and so on.

I have to say that I love how simple our life is. We don't keep our kids from joining things but our kids don't want to join EVERYTHING either. They enjoy being at home. I guess what I'm saying is you can do TOO much, and it's a lot of pressure on everyone, the whole family. We enjoy a slow life and I like it.

DS

Well, DS has found a new hobby. He is enjoying archery. We got him a nice recurve and a couple of hay bales and he is having a ball. We even have him in lessons! He loves it is always outside with it. I imagine that it won't be long before DH will have one too! He loves it too.

Save on Dave Ramsey's finance curriculum for kids

The Homeschool Buyers Co-op has launched a Group Buy for Dave Ramsey's finance curriculum for kids.

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By purchasing as a group, we will all save at least 15% and as much as 35% depending on how many items we order as a group. Have more than one student? No problem - we all save 40% AND 50% on Add'l Student Add-on Items!

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And... it gets better! We each get a FREE Total Money Makeover tote bag with ANY purchase of $50 or more!

The bigger our order, the more we all save, so tell your friends and homeschool groups! To take advantage of this special offer, you must place your order no later than 06-19-2007 at 11:59 pm Eastern.

Interested? Click here...

Happy Birthday Dear Daughter!

Our Garden

You can check it out here.

Learn to play the Piano by ear...

I just found this great ebook. It's only $4.95 for both a teacher's guide and student book.

"The "Little Homeschool Library"
presents How to Play the Piano By Ear: A Simple Home Study Course
Learn to Play your Favorite Songs on the Piano..."

Click here for more information and to order.

Another neat website

Here is another neat website from our friends at Homeschool Radio Shows. This one has videos and my kids are loving them! Go check them out at Great Homeschool Videos. You'll really enjoy them. We do!!

This week

has gone pretty well so far. They worked in a fairly timely manner and done well on their work.

DD has decided she needs to study ancient Egypt so she has been off on that and is having a wonderful time too.

DS is constantly reading military books. He also has a new taste for some science. We've been watching a lot of the Discovery Channel's Planet Earth. Both of them are really enjoying that.

Tonight DD has a little play at church and she loves the music and has a nice line in it too. She is so excited that DH will be home to see it.

DS is back in JR Rangers this time as a level two and he is really enjoying it.

I've been looking at what I think our course of study should be for next year and I have a rough plan. I need to get it narrowed down and on paper though.

This is just a quick update. I'll be back with more later.

DD's latest project...

Here is DD's Nine Patch Pillow. We got the pattern from a Little House Sewing Book. She picked the fabric and did most of the sewing. I did a little but she did most of it. She is very proud!

Just curious....

Are there any other homeschoolers out there that are United Methodists? I've met one. I know there have to be more. Calling all UMC homeschoolers!!

Are you out there? United Methodist Homeschoolers shout out!

A good day...

Well, I wasn't sure how good it was going to be but it has turned out alright. DS never makes life easy for me or for him either for that matter. It took him until almost 10am to even get started on his school work but thankfully he has now finished it all.

Today for our together "work" we listened to NBC University Theater's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Then they both made pages to add to their Mark Twain Notebooks. We really enjoy listening to the stories on "old time radio".

DD started a new notebook for books she has read. She almost always draws pictures of books she reads as she is reading them or afterwards and so I figured she needs a place to keep them.

Now they are both outside playing in the nice sunshine (when it's not hiding behind a cloud). I'm sitting out on the deck with my computer plugged in out here typing away to you all, as I watch them play.

We've got to run to the store in a few minutes so we have milk for breakfast in the morning. We were just there yesterday, I wish I had realized then that we needed milk! I'd rather not get out unnecessarily. GAS IS TOO HIGH!!! I wish I could get by without ever having to drive my car!! If gas doesn't get more affordable soon we may have to give up the library, grocery shopping, dance, and church!! They are all too far way to walk to and with no sidewalks around here it makes it even harder! I would attempt to walk more places if had them but... we don't and people drive like maniacs these days too so...

Okay, off the soap box! I hope you all are having a nice a day as we are.

I guess it's been awhile...

Sorry about that. We've been busy as usual. I think that somehow we have started sort of unschooling. It was not intentional at all, it just kind of happened. We enjoy it though. The math happens no matter what. I don't think it can be unschooled. It just has to be taught.


We've been listening to a lot of Old Time Radio lately. I think I've mentioned before the HomeSchool Radio Show. We really enjoy the shows they send us and have even purchased a few of their collections. They have "Living Books for the Ears". We also go to an Old Time Radio Show website and listen. The kids LOVE "Father Knows Best" and "The Great Gildersleeve". We have a lot of fun with them.


DD read a Children's Classics version of "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott and loved it. All she talks about is Jo this and Jo that. So, today we listened to a radio version of it with Katherine Hepburn as Jo. It was really pretty good and she thoroughly enjoyed it.
This is what she drew and colored as she listened. I think it is wonderful!! She is such a little artist. She is constantly amazing me. ( She just informed it's not finished.)


She is also working on "Laura's Nine Patch Pillow" from the Little House books. She is loving it!! It's almost finished. She has already made, "Ma's Needle Book". She is having a ball sewing. She's a natural. (I wish I was!!!)


She has made me want to find time to work on some projects I've had in the planning though. Maybe, I just will.


DS, well, he's just DS. It's like pulling teeth to get him to do much but he has started writing (on the computer he hates pencil and paper) a book. It's really quite good and very entertaining.

DH is currently in the Middle East for a couple of weeks. YUCK, but we are handling it remarkably well and are keeping busy. The first day or was awful but we have rebounded quite well.


I guess that's about all the update I have for now. I need to go get somethings done. Have a wonderful evening homeschooling friends.


PS. If you and children enjoy stories you should really consider checking out the HomeSchool Radio Shows site I mentioned above. They are lots of fun and full of learning.

Question....

Okay, first let me say this. We do not homeschool for religious reasons. That actually had nothing to do with why we homeschool. I originally thought about homeschool because I worried about negative influences, bullying, drugs, violence and because I wasn't ready to let go, but I did.

When we finally started homeschooling 6 or 7 years later, it was because something terrible happened to my son at school. We don't know what, he still won't talk to us about it, but it was bad enough that when you mention him going to that school for just a few hours for a test, he has a panic attack. So we pulled him out and now DD has joined us and it's wonderful.

Don't get me wrong, our religion and beliefs are often brought up in our homeschooling but that was not the "purpose". I love that as we read ancient history, the kids will say, "Hey! That's in the Bible!" or "Hey! We have a story like that in our Bible!" when we are talking about other people's legends or myths. They probably would have noticed this in public school too but wouldn't have had a Bible handy to go and find it and reread it there too. I think that is very neat. And of course our values are always being covered one way or another but they were before we started homeschooling.

So it does influence our homeschooling a lot but that's not "WHY" we started and it's "WHY" we continue either. It's an added bonus.

That being said, has anyone tried the Heart of Wisdom Teaching Approach? I'm very curious about it. I wish I could check out the book from the library but they don't have it. Anyone want to loan me theirs??? ;o)

My only thing is that I want the kids to get to see all sides of things and issues. Yes, I will show them evolution and they already know what the Bible says too. I want them to be exposed to it and other things too so that they can be educated enough to make their own conclusions based on the Bible, science, history, and all of it.

So that being said, I can't decide if the Heart of Wisdom is for me. But it seems very interesting and seems to be a wonderful way to teach. So... has anyone tried it? Is anyone using it? What can you tell me about it? What do you think?