Well I told you in my last post how we came to know this sweet homeschool family with 4 young boys. It wasn't too much longer until two other events took place that continued us down the course of considering homeschooling as an option.
The first instance came through close friends who had a elementary student. This family became aware that a counselor was coming into the classroom and teaching their child things that they did not agree with, and when the mother came to sit in on the class, she realized that she was really not welcome there. They eventually were able to have their child excused from those sessions.
The second instance was when a child of some friends, came home and informed her parents, that she her teacher told her, that she did not have to complete tasks the parents ask her to do. Both of these families are upstanding families that I know personally. They posed no threat to their children.
Well these instances further increased our desire to do something different, when it came to schooling our children.
Even though this all sounded like a neat idea...I had no clue how to go about this.
Next...how we got started...becoming one of the leaders of our local homeschool group (as a newbie)...starting a meal co-op with friends...and morning sickness.
Monday, June 25, 2018
Funschooling....A New Way to Engage My Children and Promote the LoVe of Learning
We are trying a few new things this year....You would think after 23 years of homeschooling, that I would have tried all of the curriculum options out there...Well not quite. :)
I have tried to "change it up" through the years as my children as have grown and developed new interests. I love teaching them together when I can, especially when it comes to bible, history, read alouds, and even art, so this year I am planning on using the Genesis Curriculum with my 3 youngest ,and in the process of researching this material, I stumbled upon The Thinking Tree Journals. I am so excited to incorporate them, and I will show you why!
My 1st review is on Spelling time. This one is for ages 10+. They also have similar journals aimed at younger children. Check out the links to the right.
Each group of words includes an animal, an instrument and a country.
On this page, you would use your gel pens or colored pencils
and color in the letters of each word. I think this is a great activity to really
get you thinking about the letters included in each word. At the bottom of the
page, you list the animal and research 5 five facts about them.
Creative writing
Stay tuned for more Thinking Tree Reviews!!!I have tried to "change it up" through the years as my children as have grown and developed new interests. I love teaching them together when I can, especially when it comes to bible, history, read alouds, and even art, so this year I am planning on using the Genesis Curriculum with my 3 youngest ,and in the process of researching this material, I stumbled upon The Thinking Tree Journals. I am so excited to incorporate them, and I will show you why!
My 1st review is on Spelling time. This one is for ages 10+. They also have similar journals aimed at younger children. Check out the links to the right.
Do-It-Yourself
Master 150+ Advanced A Spelling Words
Animals & Instrucments
SPELLING TIME
by
Linda Janisse
This book not only teaches spelling in a thorough and fun way,
but also incorporates creative writing, research skills, while learning
about animals,instruments, countries and map drawing skills.
Each group of words includes an animal, an instrument and a country.
On this page, you would use your gel pens or colored pencils
and color in the letters of each word. I think this is a great activity to really
get you thinking about the letters included in each word. At the bottom of the
page, you list the animal and research 5 five facts about them.
Theses books have great pictures to color, that
go along with the lesson.
Next you fill in the missing letters in each word
and look up the definitions for a couple of the words.
Your child will then learn some facts
about the instrument listed, and choose
if they would like to draw a picture
of the instrument or the animal.
about the instrument listed, and choose
if they would like to draw a picture
of the instrument or the animal.
They will go through each set of words in this manner
and then later in the book there will review pages.
You will find a sample of the review pages below.
This page has you make new words using the spelling words.
On the page opposite this one, is a list of the words
and on this page you list only the descriptive words in the list.
There are also pages similar to this one, in which you list
all of the verbs, or all of the given names,
or it asks you to list all the words of different
There are also pages similar to this one, in which you list
all of the verbs, or all of the given names,
or it asks you to list all the words of different
lengths (all of the 6, 7 or 8 letter words, etc.)
You will also be circling all of the words that you can
spell and listing out the ones that you still need work on.
There are many pages of fun review included!
Word searches
Creative writing
The girls and I are excited about our find, and each one has enjoyed picking out the journal
that they are interested in.
Please consider using the links provided to make your purchases.
* If you are viewing this on a mobile device, please visit the full website of my blog to find Amazon links to purchase a variety The Thinking Tree journals.
If you use my Amazon links I may receive a small commission from the sale of the book.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
Motherhood
Motherhood...
Many years ago when I became a mother, I knew that I had landed my dream job. This is what I had always wanted. A sweet little baby...to rock to sleep, to care for, to enjoy. OK, so it wasn't all bliss, there were the sleepless nights, the messy diapers, the cries of teething, and the demands at both ends, (morning and night) when child number two arrived and stayed up half the night, while child number 1 loved to spend early mornings playing with mom. Then my third child arrived, and life got crazy, but I still loved what I was doing, and the fact that these sweet little ones were mine to care for made me tremendously happy!!
Then my oldest turned 4 and I was forced to think about sending him off to school.....I had not really given much thought to this part of growing up before then...I mean that is what everyone does, right?? That's is when God placed a sweet family with 4 little boys in our path. My brother, who lived in a different state, had some friends who were traveling though on their way to a wedding, and needed a place to pull in with their motorhome for the night. Well that situation right there was out of my comfort zone!! My husband was gone for the evening and I was not very comfortable with the thought of entertaining this family by myself. Well as it turned out, they arrived late in the evening, said a quick hello and headed back to their motorhome, while I sat inside feeling rather guilty. It was early spring and rather cold in our neck of the woods, with the wind howling and was I feeling like I should invite them in, but my husband still wasn't home and we had a carpeted floor they could have slept on, but no extra beds. Well Kent soon arrived home and assured me that their lights were already out, and that they would be fine.
Well the next morning came and we invited them in for a visit...well little did I know that our visit would vastly change my life! They were such a nice family, their little boys were so sweet and well behaved, they all had such a caring demeanor and I was wowed!! Then I learned that they homeschooled!! Homeschooled...hmmm, up until this point, I am really not sure that I had considered that as an option. I was aware that there was another family at our church that homeschooled, but I didn't really know them very well, and this was back in the early/middle 90's, it wasn't as popular or widespread as it is now. Well after lunch we said good-bye to our new friends, and they were on their way, but boy had they left an impression on me!
I am sharing all of this for a reason. God has done much in my life since that time, and I am ready to share my journey. I have learned many things along the way. God is faithful and by my side, even though I can't see the big picture and have let myself get easily overwhelmed at times....I am a work in progress, and that is not a bad thing....God can use me while I am growing. Homeschooling is NOT the saving grace, but an awesome tool to use for the process. You think diapers and crying babies will stretch you, just wait until your teens want to fly to the ends of the earth or minister on the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras...then you will wish you were back to the days of scheduled bedtimes and play dates!
Well I will be posting more here in the days to come. I am looking forward to this journey back in my past, a journey that doesn't seem like it could have possibly been but a few short years ago....but that little first born, a son is now 27, married, and will soon have a son of his own. Cherish the moments that God's blesses you with...because soon they will just be a memory.
Many years ago when I became a mother, I knew that I had landed my dream job. This is what I had always wanted. A sweet little baby...to rock to sleep, to care for, to enjoy. OK, so it wasn't all bliss, there were the sleepless nights, the messy diapers, the cries of teething, and the demands at both ends, (morning and night) when child number two arrived and stayed up half the night, while child number 1 loved to spend early mornings playing with mom. Then my third child arrived, and life got crazy, but I still loved what I was doing, and the fact that these sweet little ones were mine to care for made me tremendously happy!!
Then my oldest turned 4 and I was forced to think about sending him off to school.....I had not really given much thought to this part of growing up before then...I mean that is what everyone does, right?? That's is when God placed a sweet family with 4 little boys in our path. My brother, who lived in a different state, had some friends who were traveling though on their way to a wedding, and needed a place to pull in with their motorhome for the night. Well that situation right there was out of my comfort zone!! My husband was gone for the evening and I was not very comfortable with the thought of entertaining this family by myself. Well as it turned out, they arrived late in the evening, said a quick hello and headed back to their motorhome, while I sat inside feeling rather guilty. It was early spring and rather cold in our neck of the woods, with the wind howling and was I feeling like I should invite them in, but my husband still wasn't home and we had a carpeted floor they could have slept on, but no extra beds. Well Kent soon arrived home and assured me that their lights were already out, and that they would be fine.
Well the next morning came and we invited them in for a visit...well little did I know that our visit would vastly change my life! They were such a nice family, their little boys were so sweet and well behaved, they all had such a caring demeanor and I was wowed!! Then I learned that they homeschooled!! Homeschooled...hmmm, up until this point, I am really not sure that I had considered that as an option. I was aware that there was another family at our church that homeschooled, but I didn't really know them very well, and this was back in the early/middle 90's, it wasn't as popular or widespread as it is now. Well after lunch we said good-bye to our new friends, and they were on their way, but boy had they left an impression on me!
I am sharing all of this for a reason. God has done much in my life since that time, and I am ready to share my journey. I have learned many things along the way. God is faithful and by my side, even though I can't see the big picture and have let myself get easily overwhelmed at times....I am a work in progress, and that is not a bad thing....God can use me while I am growing. Homeschooling is NOT the saving grace, but an awesome tool to use for the process. You think diapers and crying babies will stretch you, just wait until your teens want to fly to the ends of the earth or minister on the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras...then you will wish you were back to the days of scheduled bedtimes and play dates!
Well I will be posting more here in the days to come. I am looking forward to this journey back in my past, a journey that doesn't seem like it could have possibly been but a few short years ago....but that little first born, a son is now 27, married, and will soon have a son of his own. Cherish the moments that God's blesses you with...because soon they will just be a memory.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Fathers Day
OK, so today I am playing catchup today with my posts.
This is our new fashion statement.
At least at the bowling alley!
We hardly ever go bowling, although when we do
we sure have fun!!!!!!
I have a hard time thinking up new things to do that
will appeal to all of our ages . . . I wanted us to do something special to celebrate Father's Day,
because Kent is an awesome Father!
Bowling was a hit with everyone.
I love spending time with my family!
The score at the end turned out good too. :)
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Family
We are having another busy weekend, but aren't they all. My nephew and his wife and little daughter are here this weekend. We always enjoy having them visit, and my children along with the rest of us love playing games with them. They always bring some new ones to teach us and some of them are way over my head. :) At least with the number of hours of sleep that I usually get.
Thursday we did lots of baking for the weekend. (Garlic bread and cake for church, and food for entertaining. We also did some deep cleaning.
Friday was finally sunny, but windy and rather chilly. My nephew and his family stopped by in the afternoon and played a game. Kent came home from work a little early and then we tried our skill at the new game we had learned. (Forbidden Island)
Satruday we spent all morning cooking and baking cinnamon rolls for our May Baskets. We love our May basket tradition. Even though it falls on Sunday this year, we are still going to go ahead and deliver our baskets. In the afternoon we went to a local farm that is designed to operate like the Joel Salatin farm. He had some sheep, chickens, calfs and a rather intimidating llama. Then my nephew and his family, along with my parents came over for supper, and of course a few more games. :) We had our favorite meal of burritios, with homemade tortillas, guacamole, hummus, sauted onions, sour cream, lettuce, homemade salsa, seasoned meat and jalopenos. Yum, Yum! Of course we had some baked goods from my sweet little bakers. Katelyn loves to bake and does so daily if I let her. She gets up at around 6:30 does her chores, school and by late morning she is asking what she can bake for breakfast the next day. She is heaven sent!!!!!! She made us some wonderful chocolate chip cookies and Rachel made some whoopie pies. They turned out great!
I so enjoy spending time with my family. Even though we spent much of the day in the kitchen, I can honestly say it was fun. We were all out there working toghether. Even Jacob helped us out making the tortillas, start to finish.
Thursday we did lots of baking for the weekend. (Garlic bread and cake for church, and food for entertaining. We also did some deep cleaning.
Friday was finally sunny, but windy and rather chilly. My nephew and his family stopped by in the afternoon and played a game. Kent came home from work a little early and then we tried our skill at the new game we had learned. (Forbidden Island)
Satruday we spent all morning cooking and baking cinnamon rolls for our May Baskets. We love our May basket tradition. Even though it falls on Sunday this year, we are still going to go ahead and deliver our baskets. In the afternoon we went to a local farm that is designed to operate like the Joel Salatin farm. He had some sheep, chickens, calfs and a rather intimidating llama. Then my nephew and his family, along with my parents came over for supper, and of course a few more games. :) We had our favorite meal of burritios, with homemade tortillas, guacamole, hummus, sauted onions, sour cream, lettuce, homemade salsa, seasoned meat and jalopenos. Yum, Yum! Of course we had some baked goods from my sweet little bakers. Katelyn loves to bake and does so daily if I let her. She gets up at around 6:30 does her chores, school and by late morning she is asking what she can bake for breakfast the next day. She is heaven sent!!!!!! She made us some wonderful chocolate chip cookies and Rachel made some whoopie pies. They turned out great!
I so enjoy spending time with my family. Even though we spent much of the day in the kitchen, I can honestly say it was fun. We were all out there working toghether. Even Jacob helped us out making the tortillas, start to finish.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Journaling . . .
I have decided to "try" and journal. I have realized that I am a terrible blogger, but perhaps that I can journal. We will see. :)
This past weekend we went to the Peoria Homeschool Convention (Kent, Faith and I). We had a much needed break from routine and although tired, we had a nice little get-a-way. The speaker was John Stonestreet and his talks we on World Vision. He was a good speaker, representing Summit Ministries in Colorado. They have a world vision curriculum that we are considering doing with the children. We were gone from Friday morning until Saturday evening. This is the first break we have had in about 2 years. We really needed it. :)
Monday morning started off a little slow, with my sister bringing some pants for Michelle to hem up. The sewing machines didn't want to cooperate and it took most of the morning. It was probably was God, reminding me that life doesn't go according to my schedule and I need to relax and let life happen according to His plan. Here I was just back from the homeschool convention, ready to really implement MY schedule. Of course with having a baby and a 18 month year old at the begining of the school year, nothing has really gone as planned anyway. In retrospect, I wish there was a way that I could have just skipped school this past year and taken more time to enjoy my two little ones. Summer is upon us and I am going to soak in as many carefree summer days with all of them as I can!
We recently accquired 50 chickens to raise for meat. So far we have just lost 1. Not too bad. The one that died was one of the largest ones and Jacob thinks that maybe its head was too big to fit into the feeder and maybe it starved to dearh. Poor thing! We took care of that problem A.S.A.P. The chicks are a little over 2 weeks old.
Then
Now
Friday, December 3, 2010
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