As a child...

Dad isn't doing well. Each day we visit him in the nursing home, something about him seems different. One day he may not be breathing well, another day he may be slurring his words, or sleeping so soundly it's almost impossible to wake him. Some days it's all of that put together! He can't always keep his food down and his chest is constantly filled with fluid. He doesn't look good and we are waiting on the Lord to call him home.

All that said, Dad is a fighter. He will often surprise us once in a while and have a really great day. Also, by God's grace, he still knows who we are!!! The Alzheimer's disease has totally destroyed his memory, but when we walk into the room to visit with him, his face still lights up and he calls us by name...even when it's difficult for him to get the words out. He is more like a child now than ever. He is totally dependent on those caring for him, and he has no idea how to do things for himself. He doesn't know how to chose his words and often finds it frustrating that he doesn't know how to say what he's thinking. It's very sad to see.

Because of Dad's condition, I can't help but think of the Scripture passages that say:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

Dad's favorite verse is I Corinthians 2:9 "However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." God is definitely preparing a home for Dad. As soon as it's ready, Dad will hear the call.

We are now praying for the Lord to call him home quickly and peacefully. Please continue to pray with me for Dad. Thanks!

Awesome school supplies

Since it's almost the middle of August, I'm sure many of you are already thinking about school. If you homeschool like us, you may have already started. If you don't, I'm sure you're heading to the store soon to purchase much needed school supplies. I'm not only a book-a-holic, I'm also a school-supply-o-holic. Is there a club for people like me?!?

Well, Crayola has the coolest crayon and marker sets ever!



We used to have a rotating pen/pencil/marker holder, but it was size specific, so you could never add pens/markers that were thicker. These new holders not only come filled with crayons and markers, they are also wide enough to put other size writing instruments in it if you desire! The best part? They're collapsible and they look awesome!



Lionel and Sweet-Pea each got a set. Mind you, they weren't cheap ($14.99 each), but they were SO worth it for us. We used to homeschool at one large table, but this year we decided to separate them with their own desks since Lionel is now doing high school. There's no fighting over supplies, and best of all, you can refill them if they run low! If you're like us and your kids have lots of school projects to do, or they simply love to draw/color, go grab a set before they run out! We bought ours at Target a week ago, and they were the last 2 sets in the store.

Happy shopping!

End of summer fun

School was done for the day and since the kids were anxious to get outside for some fun. It's starting to get a bit cooler here, but it didn't stop the kids from wanting to get wet! I thought they were nuts, but they had so much fun playing on the Slip 'n Slide and going in the pool! I suppose I was the same way when I was young. No matter how cold it was, I'd jump in the pool without a care in the world!

Lionel attempted to run onto the Slip 'n Slide with a pool raft. It worked out well until the raft got stuck on the mud and brought him to a screeching halt. Ouch! I told him he's going to have a sore belly today after running and jumping on it so much.


Sweet-Pea decided that she was too 'lady-like' to run and flop on the ground, so she decided to dance on the Slip 'n Slide instead. She had a blast because the end result was the same...she got wet!



Cody watched on the side-lines secretly hoping he could run in the house and lay down on his nice cozy bed. I don't blame him...I was tired all afternoon too!!


It seems as if summer is coming to an end around here. Stores are having their back to school sales and kids are starting to whine and complain all over the neighborhood that they soon have to go back to school. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am because of it though! We totally enjoy the peace and quiet when kids return to school. Even though schools go on field trips, we enjoy heading out during September and October when there are hardly any school groups anywhere, the weather is gorgeous and the leaves start turning their brilliant colors. It's my favorite time of year and I'm so excited!!!

Wordly Wise 9 list - Lesson 1

Want to learn a few vocabulary words with Lionel? Here's your chance. Of course you may know most of these words, but it's always nice to review them now and then...it keeps our brains young!!!

bewail: to express deep regret or sorrow over

destitute: without resources or possessions, lacking

detract: to take away, especially from the value, beauty or importance of

emancipate: to set free from slavery; to liberate

extol: to praise highly

flamboyant: excessively showy; unrestrained

impetus: a driving force; anything that causes an action, increased activity resulting from a driving force

insuperable: incapable of being overcome or defeated

intermittent: not continuous; happening at intervals

maxim: a general truth or rule of conduct; a short saying

obligatory: required or demanded

plumb: to measure the depth of water, reach the deepest part of, understand by examining closely; to solve

vagabond: a person who wanders from place to place

visage: a face, especially one that expresses feelings

wheedle: to coax by using sly persuasion or insincere praise; to gain by using sly persuasion or insincere praise

Photo Hunt #122 - Dark

I had no idea how 'dark' this photo would look when I took it. Lionel and Sweet-Pea are posing in the monument on Little Round Top in Gettysburg, PA.

Bringing Geography to Life

This week in geography (Bible geography) we are studying all about the Fertile Crescent - in the Holy Lands. We are specifically learning about Abraham's trip from Ur to Egypt. The kids both created their own Fertile Crescent 3-D maps out of salt dough.

What exactly is the Fertile Crescent? It is the land which completely engulfs the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The soil is very deep and rich, making it the perfect place for people to settle and live off of. Their only other choice are the surrounding dry desert lands. The Fertile Crescent is the bright green section on the map.

The kids had a blast mixing and kneading their dough.





Once the dough was all mixed, they formed it into the Fertile Crescent shape (as best as they could - the dough was pretty sticky!!)



Lionel's map:


Sweet-Pea's map:


Once they are dry, the kids will mark the major cities and other geographic areas.

Recipe for Salt Dough:

• 2 parts flour
• 1 part salt
• 1 part water

We used 3 cups of flour, and 1 1/2 cups of both salt and water. Simply mix the ingredients together. If it seems crumbly just add more water. Sweet-Pea colored hers green with food coloring, but Lionel is going to paint his once it's dry.

I'm really proud of how well they did. In fact, I'm really proud of how well things have gone this school year already. This week went by very quickly, and both kids worked very hard which was evident from all we got accomplished.

My little sleep-walker

Sweet-Pea scared me last night! I was in the school room when I heard someone come downstairs to use the bathroom. At first I thought it was strange because we have 2 bathrooms upstairs, but still, I didn't think too much of it so I didn't bother to check it out. About 10 minutes later Lionel came downstairs to ask me something and he said "Do you know Sweet-Pea is on the couch sleeping?" Huh???

Well, apparently she came downstairs and used the bathroom - while sleep walking! She then walked into the living room and lay down on the sofa as if it were her bed. The scary part wasn't only that she was sleep walking. It was that she came down a flight of stairs while sleeping! She could have gotten really hurt!! I carried her up to bed and asked her about it this morning. She doesn't remember any of it! The weird thing is that she talked to me when I tried asking her why she was downstairs. She seemed as if she were awake, but obviously she wasn't. Any of you have children who sleep walk? Got any advice?

This may have been a one time event due to her being so sad and upset about the baby bird falling (see previous post), but I'm going to keep an extra close eye on her now! Great, just one more thing to cause sleepless nights. Calgon, take me away!!

Another sad story

Yesterday while Edward was outside trimming the wisteria plant on our trellis, he noticed a bird's nest inside! It was a small nest, but the mother bird was there. She obviously got scared so she quickly flew out, and as she did so, her little tiny baby fell out and landed on the pavement! She did NOT push him out like some birds do. It was a total accident and we were heartbroken!! He must have been only a day or two old!!

Here he is on the ground after he fell:


Here is the nest - notice there is an unhatched egg still there:


Fortunately though, the little bird had a very strong will to live. We carefully put him back in the nest (without touching him directly) and stood watch for his mother to return. This website explains that it isn't harmful to the bird, especially since we did not touch him with our hands. Fortunately the mother bird did return, and she has been sitting in the nest ever since with the unhatched egg as well as the little baby who fell.

Edward, putting him back in the nest:




We don't know if he was hurt at all, but we're hoping that he'll be fine. His mother will care for him, and if he's hurt, she will push him out of the nest as all birds do to their sick or hurt young. I know they're 'only' animals, and it's how God created them, but it just seems so sad.

Here's a video clip of the bird on the ground. You can see him struggling to move. He must have been so scared!



If we notice anything I'll update it here, otherwise, assume all is well and the bird is doing fine. Pool little guy! Can you tell we love birds? After studying them last year in school with Sweet-Pea, our love for birds has only grown. She stood there crying as the bird fell to the ground - we all saw it and it was quite disturbing to see!!

For my Dad

Even though he can't see this, it's for my Dad!

My comforter, my all in all!!!

I'm not a huge fan of singing worship songs in church, mostly because they get monotonous after a while when the chorus is sung over and over and over and over...you get the point. I guess I'm a bit old fashioned because I still love singing hymns! There is one song that I absolutely love though..."In Christ Alone". I love it not only for the music, but for the words. Read them and see what you think...

"In Christ Alone"

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.
~Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend~

My favorite version is sung here on YouTube. I couldn't find this version on GodTube, sorry. I like it because of the musical style and how it's sung - not because of the video itself.

Anyhow, I just wanted to share it since I've been listening to it all evening. My Dad is not doing well, and I know that God will soon be calling him home. Of course I'm sitting here getting all emotional while listening to the song, but it's also giving me such comfort. God is good and I know that Dad is in His will. When the time is right, Dad will finally be 'home' and one day I will get to see him again for all eternity!

Are we really that strange?!?

School begins in the morning. I know, I know...I already blogged about it, but I am just so excited!!!! People think I'm totally nuts. At church I was telling everyone how we 'get' to do school in the morning. They looked at me like I had a disease. That makes me laugh! They don't get it, so I just ignored their strange looks. They don't realize how fun school can be. Why do we love homeschooling?? For those of you who don't understand why, here are a few reasons out of hundreds......

• It's fun to see the kids 'get' a new concept.
• We love to wake up in the morning, eat breakfast while doing devotions together, then walk 10 feet into our school room in our jammies, to do school...no, we don't wear jammies every day - but we can if we want to and you can't do that in public school!
• I get to learn things I 'thought' I learned in school already but never truly did. I call it the 'duh factor'. ("Oh duh, why didn't I understand that when I was in high school?")
  
• Daddy is home from work in the middle of the week and we get to spend the whole day with him, sometimes going on day trips - just for kicks!
  
• The field trips are awesome - as a family or with close friends - we plan 'em all.
  
• Christ is the center of our classroom - try that one in a public school!
  
• Going out during the day (while kids are 'in' school) is easy since there are no crowds.
• Time - we get so much more time together as a family.
• Learning is actually fun because we are having fun while learning.
• Socialization (gasp!) - homeschool kids are generally more social with people of all ages!! They actually enjoy spending time with adults. Our children love being with friends, but would choose to spend time with family over friends...that's huge!
• Books...books...books - need I say more?
  
• We know our children better than anyone, and we know how they learn best.
  
• Knowledge is great (they get that part) but they also learn morals, values and work on improving their Christian character...which is so much more important than book smarts!
• No peer pressure! I had that when I was in school and back then (waaayyy back then) it was hard - I can't imagine what kids go through these days!
• Our children get to learn at their own pace, not at the pace of the school system - which tends to dumb things down and give lots of busy-work that isn't necessary.

I could go on and on...but you get the idea!

I love this quote by William Butler Yeats: "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." We want our children to love to learn! We want them to explore concepts and ideas on their own...to pick up a book and read it, just because. We want them to be good examples to others around them. We want them to be the best they can be - for Christ!

Many people assume that we keep our children home for school because we think the schools are unsafe. Yes, that's a bonus, but to be completely honest with you, that really never crossed our minds 10 years ago when we made the decision to began our journey. Our children are not locked away all day or kept in a bubble. We can honestly say that we are doing what God wants us to do - educate and lead our children at home. We chose to homeschool in obedience to the Lord for the sole purpose of raising and training our children in Him. We want them to be smart, but we want even more so for them to be wise, and to always keep Christ in the center of all they do and say.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Isaiah 54:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the
peace of thy children.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Are you feeling my excitement yet?? I am...and if I don't get to bed soon, I'll be too tired to start fresh in the morning. Have a wonderful day!!

One more thing...my intention in this post is NOT to make those of you who have children in public or private school feel bad. I respect your choice for their education completely. Many public school people I have spoken with tend to think that we homeschoolers are very judgmental about school choice. It's the total opposite in fact! We choose to homeschool for us and do not think it is for everyone or that everyone should do it!! So breathe easy...your decision is totally yours and it's none of our business...I just wanted to share my excitement for our choice to homeschool with you.

Photo Hunt #121 - Clouds

God sure is quite an artist! I don't have any extraordinary cloud photos, but I've seen how beautiful they can be!

Our curriculum for 2008-2009 (Read below)

Yeah...I know this pages is very outdated....I will update it before the school year is over!  ha ha Thanks for being patient! In the mean time, read about some of the curriculum we've enjoyed using in the past:


As I mentioned in an earlier post, our school year is going to start on Monday, August 4th. I am beside myself with excitement. Sweet-Pea decided tonight that she was going to share my joy, so she pulled out one of her books from last year and started doing a few pages. She cracks me up sometimes!

Since we use a large variety of curricula, I thought I'd post it all here to share with fellow homeschoolers. If you have questions about any of them, please feel free to post a message and leave your email address. I'll be glad to respond and help in any way I can. Here goes:

GEOGRAPHY:
We fell in love with Geomatters a few years ago. Their Trail Guides are the best! We always get the complete guide and CD-Rom that cover all 3 levels - Primary, Intermediate and Secondary. This way I can teach the same basic material to both my daughter (primary level) and son (secondary level). They each fill out their own geography notebook and fill in their own giant maps. We are very excited about studying about Bible Geography this year. We covered both U.S. and World Geography the previous 2 years, so this was a nice change.

The Trail Guide is for all levels, the Student Bible atlas is for Sweet-Pea (2nd grade) only since it's a simplified book. Lionel (9th grade) gets the Atlas of the Bible Lands. The Bible maps then and now book is just for fun, and the time line we will do together throughout the year. We have a great time line background for it on our wall all ready to go. With Geography Matters (also known as Geomatters), there are great books to read that go along with their curriculum. Sweet-Pea will read Heaven's Heroes, and Missionary Stories with the Millers. Lionel will read The Bronze Bow.



MATH:
Sweet-Pea will be once again using Horizons for Math. She did Horizons grade 1 last year and really enjoyed it. She likes the colorful books and Edward (who teaches the kids' math) enjoys the way it's taught. Lionel will be completing his Saxon Algebra from last year. They started it earlier than they needed to, so this year should be a breeze for them. If they finish it before the year is 2/3 of the way through, they'll just go ahead and begin geometry. Fun fun! I love watching Edward teach the kids, it's a great time of bonding for them and it helps Daddy really get involved in our homeschooling. That's huge!

HISTORY:
This is my absolute favorite subject of all time, and this year tops them all!!! We have always loved the Beautiful Feet curriculum for History. Learning with living books is so much more exciting if you ask me. No more memorizing those 'oh-so-boring' dates, names and places the hard way. You'd be surprised what kids pick up when reading books that bring the whole thing to life!! Lionel will be using the Medieval history senior high pack this year. He will be reviewing some of what he learned in the intermediate Medieval history 2 years ago, but this will get more advanced while using a lot of great classic books! Some of the books include: Joan of Arc, Ivanhoe, the Magna Charta, Scottish Chiefs, Luther, Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare's King John and Henry VIII and many more! The time line is fun to color and fill in, and the teacher's guide gives you lots to do besides read if you want. Sweet-Pea will also be using Beautiful Feet once again. Last year she studied Early American History, but this year we're venturing into a new territory...the History of Horses!! I'm SO happy to have found this for her since she loves horses. I was going to use another one of Beautiful Feet's literature packs, but this one grabbed my attention right away! Not only will she be reading some great classics, but she will watch great videos about horses, learn to draw them, and learn all about the animal - how to care for them, how they are bred, and more. She will learn about their blood lines from the 1700's to the 1900's. Pretty impressive huh? The books she got are simply wonderful. Some include: Album of Horses, The Black Stallion, Misty of Chincoteague, Draw 50 Horses, Justin Morgan Had a Horse, Handbook of Horses and more!

SCIENCE:
This is my 2nd favorite subject. Although it's getting a bit more challenging with Lionel, Sweet-Pea still is learning about the basics which is a lot of fun. This year for Sweet-Pea we are studying all about astronomy! We will be using the Jeannie Fulbright book put out by Apologia entitled "Exploring Creation with Astronomy" from the Young Explorer Series. I highly recommend all of the Young Explorer books. They are only $35. and they are filled with awesome photos, great information and all from a Biblical point of view - something that is important to us. I bought all 5 of Jeannie's books and put them aside for Sweet-Pea. There is one on Botany, 3 on Zoology and this Astronomy one. I only wish they were out when Lionel was doing science in the elementary grades. Lionel will also be using Apologia for his science. He has completed the General and Physical Science books, so now it's onto the big stuff...Biology! I'm a bit nervous about it, but it should be interesting. We have our microscope all set to go, and are anxiously awaiting for the chapter in the book where we get to dissect a few creatures...a frog, a crayfish, perch and an earthworm. Gag! I'm sure I'll be posting photos when the time comes. The great thing about Apologia's high school science books, are that they come with extras online for free, and for a small price ($15.) you can get a multimedia companion cd-rom, and/or the audio companion for the book. I also think they just came out with the whole book for the computer, but honestly I like reading it together, so I passed on that one.

WRITING/ENGLISH:
My least favorite subject to teach, simply because I'm not very good at it. I'm sure as you've read through my blog you have noticed I'm not the best with grammar and proper language. The poor kids will also suffer from it unless I work on this area with them a great deal. Lionel has used WriteShop in the past. We did not complete the 2nd book, so that is our goal for this year...to complete the last 10 weeks. It's a wonderful curriculum with a ton of online support if you need it. The books are a little difficult to understand at first, but once you get the hang of it, they're a breeze! You just need time to prepare ahead of time so when you go to teach it to your child, they'll understand it. Lionel caught on before I did in some areas. Smartie-pants! The instructions are pretty cut and dry though, so if you read through them, you too will understand how this curriculum works. I wish I had this when I was young so I was better prepared for college! I also purchased Wordly Wise 3000 for him as well as Word Roots...just for some extra practice. He's pretty good with vocabulary, but it never hurts to keep reviewing. Sweet-Pea will be doing a few different things. She will be doing Abeka's Writing with Phonics - cursive. She did cursive last year with Abeka and did quite well. After this year, we will stop with formal handwriting. I just want to polish it up a bit, plus they have her writing in a journal this year for handwriting, and that is a plus for me. She also will use Abeka's Language 2 and Letters & Sounds 2 books to help her with her phonics. She's learning to read better, but she does need work. It did not come naturally to her like it did with Lionel. He was reading before he was 4!! She is 7 and it's just clicking now. No matter...they always catch up. I think she'll be my avid book reader though. She loves being read to and she's always got some sort of book in her hands.


FOREIGN LANGUAGE:
A few years ago when we were looking for a good foreign language curriculum, we had already heard of Rosetta Stone, but we thought it was too expensive. So, we found something else and we actually grew to love it even more than RS. We use Learnables. It's put out by International Linguistics Corp. Lionel absolutely loves it. He finds that the drawing photos are a lot funnier to look at than real photos. Of course that's not what is important, but it does help. He has learned useful phrases and sentences, not simply words like you do in most foreign language classes. It's the type of learning an adult could relate to as well as a child, plus it's useful the way it's taught! This year, in the 3rd level, he will learn the grammatical side of it all, so it will flow and fit together better. By the end of the 3rd book, he should be able to read and understand the language fully without worrying about translation. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school and it got me no where. Lionel is learning so much more at his own pace. He does it all by himself on the computer and in his books. I only grade what he's written, and the answers are all in the back, so it's easy for me. Good thing!

BIBLE, ART, TYPING & SPELLING:
We haven't really studied art that much, but my kids know quite a bit from visiting several local art museums. I believe that learning is not just in the classroom, so we go out as much as possible so they can learn what's out there. When we are home and have 'extra' time, we like to use the How Great Thou Art books for our art classes. Recently Lionel took a career assessment test online and we found that one of his top areas of interest is graphic art...so...it looks like we may have to pursue art a bit more than we have in the past. I think we'll throw in a few good books on famous artists and use the How Great Thou Art books this year. Lionel will also be learning to type this year by using the Mavis Beacon Typing Instructor CD. We also will be reviewing some spelling with Spelling Power. That's a great book which is very user friendly.

We also have Bible studies together which is of the utmost importance in our home. During the school year, the kids and I sit at the dining room table for breakfast and they eat while I lead them in devotions. I have my coffee which is enough to get me going! ha ha We have used several different books in the past. Some include: Keys for Kids, Hymns for a Kid's Heart, Mission Adventures, Kay Arthur's Discover 4 Yourself devotional books, Four Paws from Heaven and The Thinking Toolbox (fun book!). Of course the Bible is our number one resource, especially when Lionel is doing quiz team at church. This year they'll be studying the book of Luke.

Well, besides music lessons and dance, that about covers it. Phew!! Lionel will continue with his violin lessons. He's in his 5th year already and we're so proud of him. Just last month he started in book 7 already - quite a feat for any violin player. He is now playing Spring from The Four Seasons. He loves it!!! Sweet-Pea is also going to continue with her ballet lessons, but that will probably take the back burner to her flute lessons. I will continue to teach her the flute since I've played for ages and used to teach it up until she was born. That will definitely save us some money. She is already practicing quite often and is getting pretty good for being only 7. I still enjoy watching her dance and hope that the new studio she attends will keep her love of dancing in her heart!

Sorry about the long post, but honestly there was no other way to post all the curriculum we're going to be using this year. I did leave out a few of the extras we throw in, but I've written enough and I'm tired. Have a great weekend and remember, pop me a message if you have questions about any of the curricula I've mentioned. I'd love to help if I can.