In Whispers and Shouts

When Life Gets Busy

2015-11-06T11:29:00.001-06:00

Life got busy in October. We had two weekends in a row with out of town guests followed by two weekends filled with plans (and rain). Fortunately I was organized and ready for the month (as far as homeschooling goes) and we survived! We didn't even have to take any days off to play catch up! I minimized our field trips to give myself some more at-home days since we spent our weekends away from home, but everything else was pretty much the same.

And this, folks, is why I'm a stickler with staying organized. I've said it before-- I plan my plans and make lists for my lists. If I didn't, homeschooling life with 5 kids would be disastrous. And impossibly difficult.

As a bonus, Nora finally had a significant breakthrough with division. I bought her a DVD called Times Tales, which seems to have helped. This week, she did 2 division worksheets without crying. No tears!!! It was a big deal.

I'm currently working on a new way to integrate science into our studies. I do occasional week long unit studies, but mostly rely on field trips to Moody Gardens and the children's museum. I'd like to change this, but I'm finding it difficult to fit it into my day. So I'm developing independent study journals for the kids. If it works out then I'll make some for other subjects, too. I'm optimistic about it!!

Purpose-filled Planning

2015-10-16T14:57:00.000-05:00

We did a space science unit this week. The majority of their schoolwork was, of course, about space. But I planned the unit so that other subjects are also included. They read fact sheets which includes large numbers (which forces them to practice place value) and historical background information. They also had copy work with facts to complete. Narrating and notebooking (which includes art, storytelling and grammar) were completed after reading books on space and watching short documentaries on space.

We also had a field trip-- NASA's homeschool day! It was a great day of hands-on space learning.

Like the math unit we did a few weeks back, this separate week of unit studies gave us a break from the monotony of our everyday routine but still includes all the skill building that I'm currently focusing on for all their subjects.

Next unit study-- math. We'll work on measuring units and fractions by reading math stories, writing math stories, watching math videos and cooking. It'll be a fun week!!

What Homeschooling Looks Like: Weeks 5 & 6

2015-10-10T20:25:00.001-05:00

This week looked like some table-work and a lot of hands on fun! The weather has been gorgeous, so we took our work outside some. We took an autumn nature hike, did a space unit and even went to NASA's homeschool day. It was a great couple of weeks!

Book Review: The Gifting

2015-09-29T11:32:00.001-05:00

Author: K.E. Ganshert

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: In a future U.S. where religion is rare and regarded as dangerous and where anyone considered a burden on society is removed from society, a teenage girl is faced with a choice: ignore a manifestation of the supernatural and live a normal life or accept the supernatural as truth and have her life turned upsidedown.

Review: I almost gave this one a 3, but my inability to wait even one day to read the next book in the series pushed it to a 4 (I downloaded the next book and finished it that evening). The story is well paced and the characters are well developed. I loved Tess (the main character) and appreciated her flaws (perfect characters and overly-flawed characters are equally annoying). She is a misfit and though she tried to blend in, she can't quite do so. Her kindness and desire to have friends is endearing.

The supernatural elements were well done and well placed- not over the top or underwhelming. They didn't take up too much space in the novel, which left plenty of room for character development (the most important aspect of a novel, IMO) but neither were they too vague and confusing. Tess can't stop reacting to the terrifying figures that taunt her, but she's ridiculed because no one else sees what she is reacting to. Is she insane or are these terrifying figures real? On her journey to answering this question, Tess meets a boy who says he sees the same things. But is he just another hallucination? Can she trust him to figure this out together? Aagh! The suspense!! It really is good!

The only problems I had with the novel were the archetype high school figures. You know, the cheerleader, jock and nerd who can't break out of their molds. These were only background characters, though, so it was tolerable. The meeting of our hero and heroine was also a bit cookie-cutter. The dark, deadly gorgeous, mysterious boy and the self-perceived plain, mousy girl meet and sense an immediate connection. The author somewhat answers this dilemma of mine, thereby making it tolerable as well. Basically: I can get over the few things that I found off-putting.

I had to take a break from the series (housework and homeschool must be done), but I can't wait to download and read the third novel!

Book Review: Silver in the Blood

2015-09-26T20:10:00.001-05:00

Author: Jessica Day George

Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis: New York socialite cousins in the 19th century go abroad to visit their mothers' homeland. They expect a simple family reunion, but they instead get a life-changing adventure.

Review: I thought I was picking up a run of the mill werewolf novel (which I would've been okay with-- I dig werewolves). There were wolves (not a spoiler- see the cover) but not what I expected. I had no clue what I was getting into with each turn of the page!! I was as surprised as the cousins! Well, not as surprised-- I knew about the werewolves at least. They didn't know about any of it! I don't want to give too much away, but if you love young adult, fantasy, adventure romance novels then give this one a try!

What Homeschooling Looks Like: Weeks 3 and 4

2015-09-19T21:34:00.001-05:00

Last week looked like a lot of math! We had a math unit that also encompassed language arts. So it was lots of math games (card sorts and games of deduction), math journaling and math copywork. We even read some fun math books!

Cory had a major break through-- he volunteered to do schoolwork!! He's really been enjoying his alphabet journal and using his superheroes to practice letter sounds.

We ended the third week with a trip to Washington On The Brazos, where the kids learned about Texas history and how a farm was run in the 1800s. The whole family had a lot of fun!

This week we had a field trip to the children's museum. We did some free play and then we dissected owl pellets, which was really cool.

We also did more painting in the park. We've had a lot of field trips so far this year and the kids really love it. I do, too! I'm glad I opted for adding more in this school year-- it's definitely been worth the effort.

Creating Comic Books

2015-09-15T22:59:00.001-05:00

Collin has a difficult time with buckling down and getting his schoolwork done. It's one of many reasons why we decide to homeschool. This year, in an effort to make narration more appealing to him, I printed off blank comic book pages for him to draw his narrations on. Then he has to explain his comic book to me (which is essentially having him narrate- he just doesn't realize it). He really gets involved in his comic book and it's completely changed the toe of our homeschool days with him. He looks forward to drawing out what he just learned. And I look forward to his excitement! Definitely a win-win!!

Changing It Up

2015-09-11T09:28:00.001-05:00

If I were one of those bait and click bloggers, then this title would be something like, 'Why It's Not Always Good To Follow Your Homeschool Routine' or something ridiculous like that. Can you tell that I am tired of that nonsense? I no longer read those or the 'An Open Letter To...' Posts. Ugh. Enough.

Anyway, we're changing up our schedule next week. But JUST for next week. Well, at least until the next scheduled change. Yes, I said a scheduled change. I'm all about changing my schedule as long as its planned and scheduled! :) I don't want my kids to get bored with the same everyday routine, so I have several week long unit studies planned for us throughout the year. Next week is a math unit study week. The topic- measurements and place value. All of our language arts, social studies, notebooking and, of course, math will be about measurements and place value. The oldest kiddos will get to do all their work together, which should

make the day go by faster.

Our next unit study is science- the solar system. We'll go to NASA one day for their homeschool day. We're meeting up with some friends, so that should be super fun!!

Adventures in Camping {Lockhart Edition}

2015-09-09T13:16:00.001-05:00

We had a great time camping this weekend! We stayed two nights at Lockhart State Park. It has a pool and a playground, which was nice. There are also several scenic areas and trails. The bathrooms were fairly typical- not filthy, but not as clean as I'd like. We made the mistake of not checking on burn bans, though, and were unable to use the fire pit. The grill was small, but it worked okay for what we needed.

We also went to Jacob's Well, which was tons of fun. You have to go to their website and make a reservation due to overcrowding, but that's why we chose to go over Labor Day Weekend. The reservations ensured that it wouldn't be overcrowded like most places on Labor Day. There's quite a bit of walking involved, so be prepared if you decide to go. And the water is very cold, being spring water and all. The kids loved jumping into the swimming hole and slipping around on the algae covered rocks. We will definitely plan on returning!

After Jacob's Well, we went to Cabala's in Buda. It has an aquarium and lots of stuffed animals to check out. There's also a cafe upstairs that we grabbed a quick snack from.

These last three days were just the right combination fun and relaxation. The kids didn't get bored, we had time to fit in school work and we got a chance to just hang out. The view from the inside of our tent was one of the best parts- I got to listen to my kids talk about their day, what we'd do the next day, about the noises they heard outside and what they might be all while staring up into the night sky.

What Homeschooling Looks Like: Weeks 1 & 2

2015-09-05T10:55:00.000-05:00

This is what homeschooling looks like in our home. It's sometimes at a table and sometimes it's on the floor or at the park or in a bird sanctuary or at the beach or in my kitchen. Because, as a friend says, it's all homeschooling.

Adventures in Camping {with 7)

2015-09-02T10:53:00.002-05:00

We're going on our first camping adventures next week and I cannot wait! I've got my lists written (y'all know how I feel about a good list) and bags ready to be packed! We've decided to make our first camping trip a short one. Two nights. Why only two nights? Well, we can survive anything for two nights! If I fail to properly plan things, then at least we only have to endure my poor planning for two nights. Our next camping trip will be seven nights... it would be harder to endure seven nights! I can take what I learn on the two night trip and make the seven night trip fantastic!! (Though, to be honest, I'm counting on this shorter trip to be fantastic, too!)

Meals: I'm keeping things simple. Breakfast will be pumpkin chocolate chip muffins that I'm making ahead of time. Lunch will be simple foods like salad, sandwiches, crackers, etc. We'll be there for two suppers-- hot dogs the first night and BBQ baked potatoes the second night. I'm making the BBQ at home and will reheat it in foil packets over the fire. And I'm super excited about baking potatoes over the fire! Oh, and of course s'mores will be made each night. I think that's what my kids are most excited about!

Camping with 5 kids... what could go wrong?

Book Review: A School for Unusual Girls

2015-08-30T22:32:00.000-05:00

A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin

4 Stars!

Synopsis: In an alternate history, Britain is at war and Napoleon has been exiled. The girls of the beau monde who do not fill the expectations of society are sent to Stranje House to be reformed. Only, instead of being reformed for society they are reformed to aid Britain in their war efforts.

Review: There's mystery, intrigue, unusual happenings and, of course, romance. The heroine, Georgiana Fitzwilliam (named for a character from Pride and Prejudice), refuses to fit into the societal mold that her parents expect of her. Georgiana is not a perfect character, which I like, and. upon entering Stranje House, is suddenly forced into a fun, exciting adventure. I appreciated that the romance doesn't overwhelm the telling of the story, which belongs to the girls of Stranje House. Don't get me wrong-- I love a good romance story! But I don't read these types of novels for romance. I read this for a rip-roaring ride with lots of twists and turns. I want a strong female lead who walks the line of being a strong female without falling into the feminazi role. I don't want a cookie cutter heroine! I didn't get one in Georgiana, which is what bumped this novel from 3 stars to 4.

The hero also lacks typical cookie cutter attributes. I didn't know what to think about him at first. And not in a I'm-totally-confused way. More mystery than confusion. He was completely endearing by the end of the novel- as were the secondary female characters of Stranje House. It took a few chapters for me to place all the names, but a cast of that size can take some sorting. They brought an amusing and supernatural bent to the story. It's not hit-you-over-the-head supernatural (I was often questioning if it was supreme talent or supernatural), but I liked the subtlety.

All in all, I enjoyed it immensely! I'll definitely read it again and look forward to the next book in the series!

Book Review: Blood Ties

2015-08-27T13:01:00.000-05:00

Blood Ties by Nicholas Guild

4 Stars!

Synopsis: A detective (Ellen Ridley) is hunting a seriel killer in San Francisco. He's killing women in the bay area and she wants to catch him before he moves on. Her main suspect, Stephen Tregear, turns out to be innocent but connected to the killer. Together, they work to track the killer down before he kills anymore.

Review: I'm not one for murder mysteries- just not my favorite genre. But I love Criminal Minds and this sounded very Criminal Minds-esque. I'm happy to say that it was! Ellen Ridley is a new detective working with a veteran, and they make a great team. Not much can beat a good crime-fighting duo! At first glance they seem mismatched, but I quickly realized how well Guild paired them up.

Enter in Treagear: Ridley can't let him go, even though her partner tells her to. She's partially right-- he isn't the killer, but his dad is. Treagear is a retired navy code breaker who now contracts with the U.S. Navy. He's been hunting down his father for a while. The reader gets flashbacks into his history, which is a doozy. His childhood was anything but picture-perfect.

The book contains the right amount of mystery, gore, crime fighting and character development to keep me turning page after page. I didn't put it down until it was finished! I can't wait for the next installment!

Simplicity

2015-08-20T19:00:00.001-05:00

Simplicity- it's my keyword for this year of homeschool. When I'm looking through curriculum, planning our routine, writing out assignments, I ask myself if I've made things unnecessarily complicated or if there's anyway I can further simplify it.

Complications frustrate me and the kids- frustrated mama and kids cause arguments and tears. Arguments and tears make learning a horrible experience. My job is to teach my kids to love learning, so I see simplicity as a tool to ensure I can do my job.

Simplicity won't always keep arguments and tears at bay, but they can keep some of it at bay. And every little bit helps! Instead of laying out a full worksheet of addition problems, I give out a small worksheet of only a few addition problems. Instead of assigning pages of copy work for them to rush through, I assign just a few lines for them to take their time with. Instead of textbooks for science and history, we take field trips, read living books, watch documentaries and create our own 'text books'. It's simple. It's fun. But they're still learning.

My hope is that we have fun this year and that the kids get excited about learning each day instead of waking up to dread each school day. My hopes are lofty, I know, but I like a challenge!

Homeschooling: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2015-08-20T03:37:00.000-05:00

We finished our first full year of homeschooling. It was... an adventure for sure! I didn't know what to expect, so I went into our first year with an open mind knowing that changes and modifications would need to be made. For the start of this year, however, I at least have a better idea of where to begin. But I still have an open mind ready for changes!

So. Our year in review. I'll start with the ugly so that we can end with the good!

The ugly:

Getting my kids to cooperate with all that I intended for them to do each week was a nightmare. I was ugly. Nora was ugly. Collin was ugly. Once I did more research and realized that I was expecting too much out of them and backed off some, we did much better.

The bad:

Collin struggles with sitting and doing his work. I try to keep his more hands on but some things you just have to sit and do! The kid hates to write. HATES! TO! WRITE! It took weeks and weeks of struggling, but he'll now sit for a few minutes at a time without getting angry at me.

Nora struggles with math. Especially division. A lot. She could sit and do the steps if I prompted her step by step, but she totally shut down if I told her to try to do a problem on her own. I finally backed off of long division and found a new book to start us off with this year (Ready For Division). We used the same series for fractions and she did great. Hopefully she'll do just as well with the division book.

The Good:

I've learned that my kids love a little bit of every subject. Nora likes cursive, multiplication and history told in story form. Collin likes fractions, reading and also history told in story form. They also both love anything to do with science. There's not much I can do about the other areas of math-- they have to be taught. But at least I know that they don't hate all of math. Enjoying history in story form lets me know how to give them at least 1 fun subject each day. They might dislike spelling and math, but at least they have history to look forward to. I make that the bulk of our day and sneak language arts into it (narration, copy work, reading comprehension). And science... I can plan pretty much anything and they think it's cool. That makes for some fun science units!

So, there ya go. Our first year. Finished. I can't wait to see what the next year holds!

Modesty

2015-02-02T11:09:00.000-06:00

Modesty isn't something I just recently began to mull over. As a child of an Independent Baptist Preacher and now the wife of an Independent Baptist Preacher, who has been to her fair share of Bible conferences and church camps, modesty has been drilled into my skull. More recently, however, I read an article written to girls about how they affect boys that riled me up and made me want to write a few words of my own. While I believe that it's a good topic to discuss with your kids, I didn't appreciate this particular article's conclusion. You see, the responsibility was placed squarely on the girls' shoulders. Basically, it went like this:

Boys like girls. Boys like how girls look. Boys are easily distracted by girls and how they look. Boys being distracted by girls and how they look make boys sin. Therefore, girls, you should dress modestly.

First, I'll start with the good. I agree with the first three statements. Boys do like girls and they can be distracted by girls. The last two statements, however, are problematic. Here's why:

I never, ever, ever want my daughters to feel like someone's sins are their responsibility.

Now, don't get me wrong. I believe in the concept of the weaker brother. I think that, as Christians, we need to be concientious of other Christians' struggles. But to declare to the world, via your blog, that boys struggle with sexual sin because of the way girls dress does a disservice to those boys as well as those girls. Boys struggle with sexual sin because they're humans. A girl can dress in a sack cloth and he'll still have to control his wayward thoughts.

I read another blog post that admonished the female Facebook friends of the blogger's sons. Those girls were told that they would be deleted from her sons' Facebook friends lists if they posted pictures the blogger thought were inappropriate.

What a waste of great learning opportunity for the girls and for her sons!

Maybe, instead of pointing fingers at girls about how they dress, you simply show them love. And, if you feel burdened to instruct them, perhaps it would be better to teach them that acting out to get attention (which is, I believe, is the only reason girls dress provocatively) gets them the wrong kind of attention. It gets the attention of creeps. And no one likes a creep. Deleting them from your sons' Facebook pages doesn't show love or teach them anything.

Now, for the other half of this problem: Why are we only addressing the girls? I have two sons and I am actively teaching them about modesty and how to be respectful. Here's what I want my sons to know: some girls struggle with confidence issues. Society has taught them that in order to be liked by boys they have to present themselves in an over-sexualized way. Don't be creeps!! Don't take advantage of those girls!! And don't assume that girls posting those pictures are sending out a call for sex, even though it may seem that they are. Be their friend. Show them Christ's love. And if I see that you've posted an innapropriate comment on any of these girls' pictures then you're in big trouble!!

Don't think that I'm just planning on coming down hard on my boys. If my daughters posted inappropriate pictures, then they'd be in a heap of trouble! But not because they're somehow the reason that boys sin. They'd be in trouble because, as I wrote above, those pictures garner the type of attention that I don't want my girls to receive. So, what would I tell my girls? Respect yourself, respect your body and dress in a way that shows how much you respect yourself and your body. Boys can't read your mind. They can only see your outward appearance. If you don't show respect for yourself, then boys won't know that you demand it from them. And you do. You always, always do. This will go a long way in warding off the creeps.

My conclusion, then, is that you're responsible to God for your own actions and thoughts. Dress appropriately because you know it's appropriate and right, not because you have the burden of the world's nasty thoughts on your shoulders. And, boys, don't be creeps!! Respect girls! Always! No matter how they dress. Don't shun them or treat them like trash (no matter what society or other Christians say, people are not trash. ever. never, ever.) when they make poor clothing decisions. Be a friend.

To my daughters and my sons: be a Christian of a fallen world. Don't isolate yourself from the world. We are called to teach the world about Christ! We are called to help the helpless and love the loveless! We can't do that if we've put ourselves above the world.

Christmas 2014

2015-01-02T12:09:00.000-06:00

For once, we were home for Christmas this year! It was hectic, though. I think it's actually easier to be out of town to celebrate the holidays. Between cooking and cleaning and planning, I was exhausted!

Homeschool Day at the Tree Farm

2014-11-21T12:28:00.000-06:00

The tree farm we took family photos at has a homeschool day every year. For just a few bucks (parents were free), the kids were able to play with the barnyard animals, slide down hay and climb on bales of hay. We also took a hay ride with the farmer who showed us the different types of trees, what makes them unique and how to tell how old trees are. We also drank hot cocoa and apple cider!

I love discovering new homeschool days for the kids. Moody Gardens also has 4 homeschool days per year and they're free for us since we're members! I plan on taking advantage of those next year. I also want to take Nora and Collin to NASA's homeschool day next year. I think they'll love it!

Family Photos

2014-11-11T12:18:00.000-06:00

A neighbor took us to a Christmas Tree farm to have these family photos taken this year. I love them all! But here are just a few favorites:

WDW 2014!

2014-10-27T11:49:00.000-05:00

Our Disney 2014 trip has come and gone! We went with a large group this year- all 4 grandparents, 1 aunt and some neighbors. It was a good trip, but the new fastpass+ and construction (which meant heavily crowded walkways and unannounced ride closings) made things difficult. But it's Disney World-- a difficult day at Disney is still a prett good day! Here are a few highlights:

The Beach, Disney Store, Homeschooling and other Random Things

2014-07-23T11:43:00.000-05:00

Michael has Mondays off during the summer so we went to the beach this past Monday. It was a perfect beach day... blue skies, the water wasn't too choppy, the sea weed was manageable (it's been a high level sea weed year), the tide was out and we went early so there weren't very many people. The kids were great-- they usually are at the beach. They had a blast diving into the waves. Jane wanted to have a go at the waves, too, and couldn't understand why I wouldn't let go of her! I let her dangle her feet into the waves, but that's as far as she got!

After the beach we went home to eat lunch and clean up. Then we went to the outlet mall to check on some clearance sales (I got Nora a pair of shorts for 40 cents and Collin a pair of pants for 2.46 and a collared shirt for 2.60). They were one size to big for Collin, but we couldn't pass up on the deals! We'll stick them in a box for next year along with a few other hand me downs we've been given for him.

And, of course, a trip to the outlet isn't complete until we go to the Disney store. They have events every day at 2pm during the summer, so we like to go at least once a week to get the new button pins they give out to the kids for participating (they give out new character pins each week). Next week's pin is Olaf!!

I'm still working on getting ready to homeschool the kids this fall. I'm trying hard to balance proper expectations for the kids. I know that the first few months will be spent trying to adjust to the new schooling, so I don't want to set the kids up to fail by expecting too much. I also don't want to underestimate them by expecting too little out of them. The schedule I have set for them right now is a gradual incline... they'll start out with very minimal lessons that will gradually increase in pace and content. Fortunately, I have the entire year already mapped out for each subject so I can speed up or slow down as needed.

VBS is next week, which is super exciting! I'll teach the youngest class again, which means I'll have a super short lesson, an easy craft and then playtime! I'm also doing the welcome table (a table set up with crabs, shells, sand and coral) to keep the kids busy before VBS begins each night. It starts at 6:30, but there are always some kids there early and they end up running around like chickens until we begin. This year we're hoping to avoid that by giving them something to look at and learn about while waiting for everyone else to arrive. And then, of course, I'm doing the music. Which is fun, fun, fun!

Rain Forest

2014-07-14T21:58:00.001-05:00

We go to Moody Gardens a lot where they have a rain forest in a pyramid. They have birds, monkeys, lots of plants, butterflies and other cool stuff to see. I plan on taking the kids often as part of their homeschooling. What better way to teach kids about this stuff than by letting them see it?

Funny Face Friday

2014-07-11T11:48:00.001-05:00

I haven't done a Funny Face Friday in forever!! So I thought today would be a good day for it!

Collin's Kindergarten Graduation

2014-07-08T11:29:00.002-05:00

I don't think I posted any pictures of Collin's Kindergarten graduation. So, here ya go!

Kittens

2014-06-29T16:43:00.002-05:00

Merida had 3 kittens- two boys and a girl. Two of them are already spoken for but we have this last one to find a home for. They are adorable, of course, but I'll be glad when they're old enough to give away. Jane will NOT leave them alone but she isn't near gentle enough with them to be allowed to play with them, so that means I'm constantly chasing her out of my bathroom (where the kittens are). Not. Fun. A couple more weeks, I think, and they'll be able to go to their permanent homes!