Kid Junkie

MOVING MY BLOG

2010-04-13T15:27:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! Thanks for visiting my blog and I'm sorry for the inconvenience but I'm moving my blog to http://www.fruitloopd.wordpress.com/ Wordpress just gives me a lot more flexability for what I'm looking for. I hope you join me there as I will be able to expand on our Homeschool Adventure and my book reviews.
Blessings to you all,
ChildBlessed

Spring Has Come!

2010-04-01T17:17:00.001-04:00

We arrived home after a two hour car ride and the kids just refuse to go inside. I had to prop the door open while keeping a close eye on Cyrena while I toted everything from the car inside. As I'm walking back n forth from the car to the house it dawns on me that we should go for our first nature walk of the season. So yelling for Jake to keep an eye on Cyrena, I run around the house gathering up items I think might be useful on our walk. (List of items below) Cyrena had to carry her own tote which included: 1 baby, 1 baby outfit, and 1 book. She packed it and carried it herself.

This was the best idea I've had in a long time. We hiked through a rough path behind our house out to a huge field. The field had been cut a month ago and now the blades of grass were just up to Cyrena's tiny knees. She encountered a few scrapes along the path but they didn't seem to bother her until we got home. Thank goodness too because first aid kit was something I forgot.

I laid out our blanket and the kids jumped right on to it. They were hungry so I pulled out the bananas and water. Cyrena n I shared and Jake had his own. Afterwards, Jake remembered that banana peels make great fertilizer for the trees and it was nice not to have to lug those peels home with us. He put his peel on one of the trees and that made Cyrena have to too. He makes a great teacher!

We then laid down on the blankets and closed our eyes. We were listening to see what we could hear. Even Cyrena did this! Jake was the first to sit up and tell us what he heard, then Cyrena sat up saying "Bee Bee Bee". In order for me to really understand her, she starts pointing and I see a bee buzzing by.

I now pull out Jake's brand new sketch book. I have to tell him what I want him to do with it. I brought along some colored pencils for our first time, instead of charcoal or watercolors. I brought Cyrena a dry-erase board and some colored pens.

I had brought a couple books along to read; One Grain of Rice and The Grapes of Math.
A note to self: next time don't bring math books along.
Jake enjoyed the stories so much he wanted to practice doing the math in them right away. I hadn't brought along any regular notebook paper but Cyrena did permit us to use her dry-erase board for one math problem. I think I will re-read these books again and this time have some paper handy.

The kids decided to run off and play for a bit while Mom relaxed on the blanket. Just hearing their squeel's of delight rather than squeel's of frustration was calming to me. Being there, capturing a moment in time, just watching my kids be kids.... That's what makes it all worth it.

Looking at my pictures I know you will understand just how blessed I am.

{blanket, 2 water bottles, 2 bananas, 1 sketch book, 1 tub of colored pencils, 1 tub of dry-erase markers, 1 dry-erase board, 1 camera, 2 books, 1 baggie of wet ones, 1 diaper and 1 cell phone (only to use if emergency)}

eChildblessedf

Me Complaining

2010-04-01T16:08:00.002-04:00

Today was almost a wash for me. Thank goodness I remembered I'm a homeschool mom and can roll with the punches. Jake had a last min. doctor's appointment today and I could only read one book before leaving, not a problem I would just take a couple to read while waiting at the dr's office. The drive was an hour one-way, so I tried to have plenty of items of interest for them. They ofcourse, weren't interested in any of them. All they cared about was a beautiful day with gorgeous weather and they couldn't be out in it. We get to the dr. were the kids are finally content enough with the toys they find there and then the receptionist tells me that they no longer take my insurance and I will have to self-pay. Urrggh We are talking about a specialist here, no way can I afford that without insurance. I just told her I would reschedule until I can figure out what to do, which at this point I have no idea. This took ten min. to discuss with the receptionist and my kids are still engrossed with the toys.

As I stand there taking deep breaths, instead of screaming, a lady walks in. You can tell that she's upset and about to tell someone off. I scurry to gather the kids up just in-case it gets nasty, but they bulk and it takes a good effort for me to get them out the door. I can't help but overhear this women. She got stuck in traffic and was 17 min. late for her appointment. She called the office but no one answered, so she sent her mom in (she was there before me) they told her mother that she would have to reschedule as the dr.'s time was valuable and she wouldn't make room for this lady. The receptionist told the mother that if there was a cancellation, then this would could be seen by the dr. I had just cancelled mine remember, but instead of telling this women that she could have the opening, she told her that it was a shame and didn't this women know that she should leave earlier to avoid traffic accidents. At this point the women was boiling but I didn't stick around to hear what she had to say. The bad thing is that the dr office will charge this lady a fee for being late, standard policy now. I'm afraid I let the cancelled appt. and the news abt the insurance to spoil my mood on the way home. The kids must have picked up on it as they picked at each other all the way home. Now on to how I salvaged the afternoon.......
Spring Has Come!

eChildblessedf

Book Review ~ Secret of the Andes

2010-03-30T10:08:00.001-04:00

Topic 1 ~ Inca, Aztecs & Mayans

Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark

I really enjoyed reading this book. It received alot of mixed reviews in our home. For me it was beautifully written and it filled with exquisite imagery that made you "see" what Cusi's world was like. Samantha (18) thought it was dry and boring. She said it dragged on and on and on. Doug (DH) thought it to be dry and filled with adult vocabulary. Now, Jacob's review threw me for a loop. I thought for sure that he would also find it dry and painful to read but in fact, he gave it a 5. I was so shocked and thought I needed to explain what a 5 rating meant (again). (a five meant that other children would really enjoy it and it shouldn't be missed by the parents) He said "Yep, I know that. I still give it a five because it was so emotional and I really felt for Cusi. Other kids are going to want to also read about him trying to find his family. This was a good book, Mom. So, it needs a five." Well, there ya have it, this from an 8 year old boy. I guess I'm really shocked because all the kids reviews on amazon are highly against it. Some even say it was torture to read this book. Maybe the difference is in the twaddle that other kids have been exposed to before picking this book up, my DD included. Jake has mostly been exposed to living books most of his life. I won't be afraid to offer a good book to Jake again, ya just never know.
Ratings:
5 ~ Mom
5 ~ Jake
eChildblessedf

Book Review ~ Incans, Aztecs, Mayans

2010-03-29T20:00:00.003-04:00

Topic 1 ~ Inca, Aztec & Mayans

Incans, Aztecs, Mayans by John Holzmann

I absolutely love this book! I like that it has short topics with one or two comprehension questions following the reading. I love that it includes notes for the "Adults" and sometimes for the "Student". I liked it when he made a point about why we needed to study other cultures and that we learn from the bad things people do just as much as the good things. The best part was all of the Bible knowledge included and the constant comparison between their religion and Christian religion. The author made three seperate parts: Inca, Aztec & Myan, but compared each to the others throughout the book. My rating is a strong 5.
Rating:
5 ~ Mom
3 ~ Jake (8 years old)
eChildblessedf

Book Review ~ The Corn Grows Ripe

2010-03-29T17:33:00.001-04:00

Topic 1 ~ Inca, Aztec & Mayans

The Corn Grows Ripe by Dorothy Rhoads

I can see why this book is a Newberry Honor book. It had a great plot and a rich vocabulary. The only draw back for me was that the setting wasn't during the time period we were studying. The only tie-ins with our studies was the grandmother's recollections and their belief system. I'm glad we added it though as it was a great reader for my 8 year old son.

Rating:
4 ~ Mom
4 ~ Jake

eChildblessedf

Reedy River Falls Park ~ Field Trip

2010-03-28T23:36:00.000-04:00

The day dawned bright and beautiful. God had indeed answered our prayers for good weather and warm temps. As you will be able to see from the pictures, not a cloud was in sight all day. It wasn't t-shirt warm but it was perfect for the amount of walking we decided to do. The only hiccup to our outting was my sudden panic attack. Normally I'm not scared of heights, normally I'm not scared of bridges but as I learned the hard way a suspension bridge isn't like other bridges. I had only been on the bridge for a few seconds when I began to feel the first sway under my feet. I wasn't too distrubed as my husband was distracting me, I was taking pictures and I could still see land under my feet. Everything really began to change when I was half-way across the bridge. A huge wind gust gave the bridge a huge push and then the sway came. I almost lost my cookies right there. I just panicked at that point. I had to get off the bridge. My hubby took the camera from me and I began moving toward the opposite side. On my way I snatched up Cyrena and just kept moving. I didn't stop to think about how to get back across the bridge, or that we had parked way down below the bridge. Naw, my only thought was to get off as quickly as possible. My mom often tells me that fear is irrational and I understand that to a point, but boy did I feel humiliated. I didn't want to ruin anyones fun so I plastered a smile on my way too pale face and kept exploring the park. My hubby solved the problem of how to get back to the van, we just had to cross a much smaller steel bridge (no swaying) to get back across the river. Eventually, I did start to have fun again and the best part was when Jake compared the suspension bridge to the Inca bridge made out of grass in the video he watched. Love it when I know something has "sunk in". The pictures tell the rest of the story. Enjoy, we sure did!!!
Almost forgot, the cast of characters are:
My hubby Douglas
My 18 yr old daughter Samantha
My 8 yr old son Jacob
My 22 mth old daughter Cyrena
Me

Book Review ~ Lost Temple of the Aztecs

2010-03-28T19:00:00.001-04:00

Topic 1 ~ Inca, Aztec & Mayans
Lost Temple of the Aztecs by Shelley Tanaka

This book is easy to seperate into managable "bites". It's easy to read and comprehend. The images and little side notes add just the right balance for the text. When asking my son to rate this book for this review he flipped through and started narrating several pages to me. A week had passed since we read it so for me that's all I needed to give this book a high rating.

Rating:
5 ~ Mom
4 ~ Jake (8 years old)
eChildblessedf

My Trip Around The Internet

2010-03-28T01:00:00.000-04:00

Each week I log in countless hours browsing websites and blogs to get fresh ideas or to locate resources for my home and school. I thought others might be interested in where my travels have taken me....so I'm starting a weekly post that contains links to sights I've visited.... Here we go!

ABC Teach ~ This site has a ton of printables. The free are mixed in with the fee ones. This week I was checking out the U.S. History printables. Two of the best features of this site is that they list the age recommendation and give a brief summery of the printable before you have to click on it. Saves alot of my time.

I decided to participate in a Weekly Wrap-Up create by Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. After writing my wrap-up I decided to visit some of the others who particpated:
Agile Homeschooling ~ This was Tara-Seena's first time also participating. She did a great job and I hope she joins in again.
The Bluestocking Belle ~ Ellen is this blog's owner. It sounds like she had her hands full with a puppy named Jasper.
By His Grace ~ This blog has some amazing photographs. The blog owner is a great photographer and seems to be passing that trait on to her son.

I dropped by Today's Document from the National Archives to snag the Treaty of Ghent document for our War of 1812 study.

I checked out Prairie Girls' blog for American History Lapbooks. She has some great photos and lists the resources she uses. Makes me wish I had bought the Time Travelers CD's this year.

For just a moment I checked out the Digital History site. I thought about using some of their printable but found it all a bit dry and boring.

My search for more things about the War of 1812 led me to History Central. They have a good list of websites about this war but because of annoying pop-ups (some getting through my pop-up blocker) I couldn't stand the site and left. I returned again later and found this page that doesn't appear to have any pop-ups but I haven't checked out all the links from it yet.

I always visit Jimmie's website every couple of days. I love to see what new thing she's up to. This week it's Beethoven and Watercolor painting. If you do any type of Charlotte Mason study and don't know who Jimmie is then I would be shocked. She writes a ton of information on CM and yet she's learning like the rest of us. She's such an inspiration!

I didn't get to spend much time on Free Homeschool Resources and Unit Studies but I can't wait to go back and explore some more.

While looking for some printables on Thanksgiving I ran across this little site: Learning Treasures. She has the links for each theme already found for you, however some links are broken.

I took a gander at a review of LLATL Yellow book on Curriculum Choice website. I've already purchased this item but just wanted to know what others thought of it. While I was there I thought I'd check out the review on Winter Promise American Story 1. I'm thinking long and hard about getting this for our 2011 school year.

Since I am thinking about getting Winter Promise I decided to scoot on over to their site for a bit. I downloaded their catalog while I was there. This seems like a very expensive program for books and a teacher guide. I've already noticed the books are cheaper on Amazon but the teacher guide is pretty expensive alone. Oops, starting to run off on a rabbit trail and need to get back on track. :)

I found this gem of a site while looking for even more War of 1812 printables. This is a great site with a ton of information. Down on the left under activities is links to video's of the war. Great Find! Has a ton of more history pages I can't wait to check out. Don't miss the sound files!

This is a picture of the class ring my daughter wants for graduation this year.

Practical Pages will wrap up my internet sleuthing this week. This is a site not to be missed. She has a ton of notebooking pages she created and she gives them away for free! There is so much here I'm not sure I will ever get through it all, but it's worth the effort....

So this ends our first internet tour. I hope ya'll enjoyed it and found something useful.

eChildblessedf

Book Review ~ You Wouldn't Want to Be an Aztec Sacrifice!

2010-03-27T12:00:00.003-04:00

Topic 1 ~ Inca, Aztec & Mayans

You Wouldn't Want to Be an Aztec Sacrifice! Guesome Things You'd Rather Not Know by Fiona Macdonald
My son really enjoyed reading this book. I think he's going to love the whole series. This one is also a two page spread per topic. It is much more intense and I found quite a few things just plain gross. Ex. "The captives' skins are cut off and used to dress the god's statue" and "Your arms and legs will be eaten as a religious feast." While these things are "gruesome" it is what happened during that time. My son wasn't tramatized or even upset by these things. He just accepted that that was the way it was then. If you feel your child is sensative or hasn't really been introduced to death, then you might skip this one. My son has been introduced to sacrifices and death through the Bible, giving him a good foundation to understand what Idol worshipers can and will do to please their "gods".
Contents: geography, herbal remedies, warfare, plants of the desert, priests, sacrifice, religion, afterlife
Rating:
3 ~ Mom
5 ~ Jake (8 years old)

eChildblessedf

Weekly Wrap Up

2010-03-26T22:16:00.001-04:00

Home ~ I think one of my kiddo's must have read my weekly wrap-up post last week, as they all acted completely opposite this week. I had to have a tooth pulled on Tuesday (only to find out later it was a healthy tooth), so I had trouble reading but both of my older kids read for me without me asking them to. Not only did they help with JJ's schooling they also pitched in for our spring cleaning! On Thursday DS cleaned out from under my sink and today DD organized and put everything back. I just love it when they do these things. Makes me feel so guilty about ever feeling frustrated with them, almost. :)
We are going on a field trip tomorrow to Reedy River Suspension Bridge. It ties in with our Inca, Aztec & Mayan study. I only wish there was a bridge around that was made out of grass.

School ~

Monday - Struggled to get JJ motivated but after lunch he kicked in his brain, lol. I was able to read again!!! We had some good discussions comparing the Aztec, Inca and Mayan religion. This seems to fascinate JJ. He's the one who initiated the topic and I just let him talk. I love the book Incas Aztecs & Mayans by John Holzmann. It has alot of "Adult Notes" that has great facts and information that I wasn't aware of or had forgotten about. I would recommend this book to everyone. I'm going to look for more books written by Mr. Holzmann, maybe he has some more history books out there. JJ's favorite books for this topic are the You Wouldn't Want To Be: Incan Mummy, Aztec Sacrifice, and Mayan Soothsayer. These were a bit pricey but he pours over every detail on the pages. I think they were worth every penny and I'm glad I ordered one for just about every topic we have this year. He always asks to read these first. Here's a couple pics of JJ working on the Aztecs. We also completed all of his language arts.

Tuesday - Didn't go so well. I got all of the American History reading done in the morning but then I had to go to another dentist appointment. The reading was going much better now that I could reading again. JJ even volunteered to read some of it. We never made it to his language arts studies. So it was a so-so day.
Wednesday - Non school day. My mouth was too sore to read so he got the day off. He was completely bored by 3 p.m. Next time I've got to plan some activities for those times I won't be able to do school.
Thursday - Everything went really well today. We did all of the Topic 1 reading and had some great discussions on the Mayan marriage traditions. He learned what the Mayan's do after a baby is born. He thought that it was pretty horrific. This info wasn't even in his "You Wouldn't Want to Be a Mayan Soothsayer" book, instead the gory details were in the Incans, Aztecs, Mayans by John Holtzman.
Friday - It's been a wonderful day. We got caught up on all of his American History reading and finished all of the scheduled books. I didn't get all the projects done as of yet but I'm confident that we can still get to them.

I've decided to add in some additional books to our Topic 1 & Topic 2 studies. I'm such a shameful book junkie. Does anyone know of a book junkie addict support group? LOL

Don't forget to go read how everyone else faired this week at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

eChildblessedf

Book Review ~ You Wouldn't Want to Be an Inca Mummy!

2010-03-25T19:24:00.003-04:00

From Topic 1 ~ Inca, Aztec & Mayan's

You Wouldn't Want to Be an Inca Mummy! A One-Way Journey You'd Rather Not Make by Colin Hynson

My son loved this book. Each day he would ask for it to be read first. He was as fascinated with the pictures as he was the text. This book is broken down into very small managable topics (can you say Charlotte Mason), one topic per two page spread. The graphics are cartoonish but they still manage to hold your attention and provide some light humor to a serious topic. There are a few questionable items but nothing you wouldn't also find in the Bible. Ex. The Sapa Inca's wife is also his sister. The sacrifice of children on the last two pages could easily be skipped.

Contents: society, crime and punishment, warfare, daily life, religion, after life

Rating:

4 ~ Mom

5 ~ Jake ( 8 yrs old)

eChildblessedf

The Start of Spring Cleaning

2010-03-22T23:59:00.002-04:00

It's that time of year again. The time when I can't stand to look at my dirty cabinets one more day. The time when I hear about other women who have figured out the perfect organization plan for their homes. Something that seems to elude me year after year! It's time to purge purge purge. I hate clutter but almost all of my family members love to surround themselves with "things". They feel cozy and comforted by it. Me, not at all. I find my skin crawling and feel like I can't function. I can't think and I feel disorganized. I've tried to compromize over the years. I let my daughter have her room the way she wants as long as it's not dirty, ya know, no food, drinks or trash. My hubby has his garage, even though I had to help him clean it out to fit his project car in it last fall. I have claimed the rest of the house, or tried too. Right now it doesn't look decluttered or even organized. I can't stand it, soooo, that means it's time. Time for me to reclaim my house. Time for me to put my foot down and say "No More".

I started last Friday and we got all of the food cabinets cleaned and put everything out on the counters. That was it for the whole weekend. Wasn't too bad, because we got to eat out since I couldn't even find my stove. Then I got to go ShoPPing! Not something I normally enjoy but I put it in my head to just have fun and be open to new organization ideas. My hubby joined in by buying a new cutlery set. On the first day I bought a new media storage tower, plastic storage trays for my spices, and a rack to hold my skillets. On the second day of shopping we went to Bed Bath & Beyond. Love It!!! I wanted to buy everything so instead I just bought a spoon tray and a small spatula. I don't know why I do it but when I see alot of things I want normally I can't buy anything. I have a bad habit of putting items back on the shelf before check-out after I've already had them in my cart for an hour. It drives my mother crazy. It's not that I don't have the money for them, it just feels like I'm being selfish or overspending if I have too much in my cart. My hubby doesn't have this problem at all. At BB&B he bought a $15 dollar plastic 16oz cup. It had a "Panthers" emblem on it (he collects anything with Panthers on it) making it worth it to him. I didn't mind and encouraged him to purchase it. He doesn't often get a treat with 4 kiddo's that come first.

So, where am I at now in my spring cleaning?

Well, the short answer is that the counters are almost cleaned off and most of the cabinets are organized.

The long answer is that above the stove, the inside of the fridge (oh, what horrors await me there), above the fridge and under the sink are all waiting to be cleaned and organize. My kiddo's are already tired of helping and are hiding somewhere in there rooms, trying to come up with a good excuse as to why they can't help tomorrow. We also still have the floors and outside of the cabinets that need washed too, and that's just the kitchen.

Cyrena must have my organizing genes. I found her in my bedroom putting my hubby's CD collection into some empty CD containers. I've had the containers for a couple months now but never got around to putting the CD's in them. She somehow figured out what they were for, even though they weren't sitting close to each other. Such a smart baby (22 months).

Here's some pics so you can see just how bad my kitchen looks!

eChildblessedf

Weekly Wrap Up

2010-03-19T17:54:00.002-04:00

     The word for the week has to be: frustrating. Everyday I've allowed myself to become frustrated over something. Yesterday, I found alot of people posting about spring cleaning and how good their houses are looking. I felt that tug, started looking around and decided I seriously needed to declutter and get organized. It didn't dawn on me until about 30 min. ago, after pulling every item out of my pantry and putting them all over the counter tops, that this might not be the best weekend for a decluttering marathon. My DH is on call for work this weekend and that means all family life ceases. Getting to the store for supplies or dropping of items at a local charity is going to be tough. But this is the end and I need to go back too the beginning....
Let's see....

     Monday started off a little rocky. I overslept and as most of you mom's know, oversleeping always leads to everything running behind for the day. I couldn't even start thinking about school until 1:00 p.m.. For some reason my kids don't think to get breakfast unless Mom's awake. It's not that I fix it for them (Cyrena is the exception), it's just that they hid out in their rooms until they hear me moving. They all do this. They think if I'm not awake they can get by with watching t.v., playing video games, playing on the computer or just sleeping in. It's like they have no responsibilities until I tell them they do. I'm not talking about young kids either, mine are 19, 18 and 8.
     My 19 DS played this game of hidding out and was almost late for work. When I got up and told him to empty the dishwasher, he told me he couldn't because he wasn't ready for work yet. This was 10 min. before he had to leave! I asked him what he had done all morning and he said (with a huge sheepish grin), "Playing video games." Can you say "frustrating". He's definitely my most challenging child. Constantly pushing the limits and me. :)
On a more positive note; my DH and DD read JJ's American History books to him over the weekend, so we were completely caught up on Monday. Thank you sweeties!

     Tuesday & Wednesday went smoothly for the most part. My DD read my DS's American History books everyday to him. We got behind on his worksheets and projects but I figure we can always do these in bulk if we have to. The frustrating part is that since I'm not reading to him it's hard to engage and talk about it with him. Believe it or not I don't know everything (gasp) and ancient Aztecs (this weeks topic) is not something I can just pull out of brain cells and have an engaging discussion about. So I really should have taken the time this week to read his books and that way we could atleast have some good discussions.

     Thursday was frustrating because my DD had to work during the day (rare thing) and I didn't have anyone to read to JJ. My DS was supposed to come home by 3 and read but he never showed, in fact I didn't even see him until 11 p.m. that night. I did have some good moments on this day. JJ and I did a ton of the American History projects and found that he really enjoyed the coloring sheets that I printed off for him. Now, this is a child that used to cry anytime I set the crayons on the table. The only difference this time is that I told him we needed pretty covers for the different sections in our notebook and it would be nice if he would color the pictures of the Inca and Aztecs (Mayans next week). He did a wonderful job and no tears!

     Today, Friday, is a bit frustrating because I now have a ton of pantry items all over my kitchen counters. I simply ran out of time to put them all back. I'm going to look at this as a blessing, it's a mess already so I'll just take my time, buy the right type of containers and such and organize it my way. I know if I wait too long my DH (thinking he's doing me a favor) will try to put everything away, without washing the shelves or organizing where to put everything. Essentially, putting everything back just the way it was. LOL

    I've got to try to correct my mindset and not get so discouraged about the "little" things. I'm going to go read other peoples "WEEKLY WRAP UP'S" and maybe grap a laugh or two. See ya next week!!!

eChildblessedf

PS check out my squidoo lens' for our American History topics

End of the Week ~ Almost

2010-03-12T14:38:00.001-05:00

This hasn't been the best week for us. On Tuesday I had some major dental work done and I've felt rotten ever since. Dr. Ruth put me on an antibiotic which makes me very ill every time I take it (ever 6 hrs). I think I've found just about the only negative thing about following the CM approach; if your mouth hurts too much to read your homeschool comes to a dead stop. So this is how our week has gone so far:

Monday I've already posted about. Would say it was a total success!!!
Tuesday's run down:

Spelling: He practiced the two words he was unsure of. We have always used the See-Say-Spell-Write method of learning spelling words. He practiced these for a bit, then I told him to practice saying the whole passage, including the punctuation. He was still unsure of the semi-colon when we stopped.
Grammar: We worked on Lesson 1:2 A-F working on proper nouns
Handwriting: He is doing great with his handwriting lessons. He did the letter a and practiced connecting it to the letter c.
Vocabulary: He loved the workbook. He only had a few questions to answer but he loved doing them. Amazing how for one child a workbook is drudgery and means lots of tears and another child just finds them fascinating.
Science: We read the first few pages in his Astronomy book and discussed what we read.
American History: We read The Corn Grows Ripe Ch 1, The Secret of the Andes Ch 2, Exploration and Conquest P 6-7, You Wouldn't Want to be an Inca Mummy Ch 3-5, and Incas Aztecs Mayans P 19-28; we finished assembling the map of Cortez and Coronado, it took some work as we couldn't figure out how to get the little boat to move. It's still not working as well as I had hoped. for the next one I plan on glueing it to cardstock first to make it more sturdy.

Wednesday I took the day off. Jake read the book The Planet Hunter The Story Behind What Happened to Pluto. I still haven't had a chance to ask him what he thought about it.

Thursday's run-down:

Spelling: He thought he was ready for his dictation, so I had him practice once more before starting. I read each line and paused for him to write. We did that for all five lines. He did great. He did write the letter "m" instead of "n" in the word can but that was more of a typo than spelling it wrong. He knew that it was an "n" but often gets these two mixed up when writing them.
Grammar: We completed Lesson 1:3 A-F practicing his spelling words
Handwriting: Still going good here. He worked on the letter "d" today. Then practiced connecting it to the letter "a", coping the word "dad" several times.
Vocabulary: He breezed right through exercise two.
American History: As I was still in pain I had my oldest DD(18) do all the reading and we skipped all the planned projects saving them for another day. DD read The Corn Grows Ripe Ch 2, The Secret of the Andes Ch 3, Exploration and Conquest P 8-11, Inca Mummy Ch 6-7, and Inca Aztecs Mayans P 29-40.

Friday's run-down:

Grammar: We did Lesson 1:4 A-E practicing punctuation in a telling/declarative sentence.
Vocabulary: We did exercise three and he had no problems.
Science: My DD helped out by reading the rest of Ch 1 for me.
American History: Again my DD helped out by reading all the literature and we postponed the projects for another day. She read The Corn Grows Ripe Ch 3, The Secret of the Andes Ch 4, Exploration and Conquest P 12-14, Inca Mummy Ch 8-10, and Inca Aztecs Mayans P 40-47. JJ watched the rest of the Ice Mummy movie and really enjoyed it. He wanted to watch the Ancient Inca movie but the tape was damaged. He was disappointed but I told him I had one more to watch later on.

Because I was feeling ill again today, we skipped his handwriting and spelling lessons. Both of these are at your own pace type of lessons so skipping them won't impact the schedule. For American History, Grammar, and Vocabulary, I'm planning on having lesson on Saturday to keep us on track.

That was our week. Not as promising as I had hoped but most of the work got done and more importantly JJ learned alot and enjoyed every bit of it. My DD says The Secret of the Andes book is a dud. She says it's very boring.

eChildblessedf

End of a Day

2010-03-08T21:07:00.000-05:00

First day has come to a close. Big SIGH! Everything went better than I had hoped but could use some improvements. Less interruptions would be a blessing. JJ is letting his mind wander alot during his independant work. I can tell because he wants to share every thought that comes into his head and almost all of them have nothing to do with his work. On a very positive note; the books chosen for our first Topic in American History are all terrific. They all held JJ's attention and he was able to recall the majority of everything we read today. He cut out the timeline pieces and part of the Cortes pocket while I read to him. At first I wasn't sure if it would work for him. I thought it might prove to be to distracting but he did very well. In fact, when he was done cutting and just listened, I noticed he started to get antsy, so I stopped reading and instructed him on how to glue the pieces he had just cut out. I then went back to reading the rest of the book. We had a visitor and had to stop for a few minutes but he stayed right on track. When he found out I had a movie on Ice Mummies, he insisted we watch it today. I told him only if we had spare time. We did, so we got to watch about half of it. It's a bit long and drawn out but the mummies are fascinating to see.
So here's a run-down of the subjects covered: {Not In Order}

Spelling: (Using Spelling Wisdom) I told him how the program worked and what I expected of him. We first added up how many words there were, 5, then I asked which ones he didn't know. He told me he didn't know 1 but I told him he had to be completely sure of a word before we counted it as him "knowing" it. He changed his answer to "2". I told him how I wanted him to study the words: see it, say it, cover it, spell it and if completely sure, he could write it. We practised together for a few min. then he copied the complete phrase into his notebook.
Grammar: (LLATL Yellow) We just opened up the teacher book, I didn't order the student book, as I see it as an almost duplicate of the teacher with one minor difference, and started. 1A was me reading a passage to him and then he had to copy it into his notebook. He became distracted at this point, it's beautiful outside and very warm. Both of his sisters were out playing and he wanted to join them. It was almost lunch time, so I had him continue until I had lunch ready and then gave him a break. After lunch, he did great and finished in no-time. He then did 1B and wrote the spelling words into his notebook.
Handwriting: (HWOT) Things went great here. I even made the Magic C bunny with a paper napkin. I'm still not sure what to do with it but JJ liked playing with it. He struggled with the placement of his paper and spent all day trying to correct it. He kept curving his hand the way a left hander would do. Until today, I wasn't even aware he had a problem with how to hold his paper and hand.
Vocabulary: (Wordly Wise 3000 bk 3) At first I had him reading all the words and their definitions but soon realized he was struggling with reading the words. After three or four words, I started reading the definitions and then having him narrate the definition back to me using only one sentence. He had a lot of fun with this. At first he tried to give a description for the word but when I wouldn't accept that he started challenging himself to come up with only one sentence. I was so surprised. JJ hates narration and I thought I would have a battle on my hands. SURPRISE! It must have something to do with challenging him by telling him how I wasn't sure it could be done, go figure. Whatever works, right, hehe.
American History Unit: Topic 1 Incas, Aztecs & Mayans

Read 1 Ch Secret of the Andes
Read 3 pages of You Wouldn't Want to Be an Inca Mummy
Read pages 3 - 5 of Exploration and Conquest
Read pages 9 - 19 of Incas Aztecs Mayans (I think I'm in love with this book. I love the "Adult Notes" and JJ even enjoyed the short passages and learned two knew words; despotic and benevolent)
Listened to Chapter 1 Track 3 of the Story of the World
We did the review questions and JJ wrote a breif narration after listening to this.
JJ cut out all timeline images and pasted them into his timeline book (we didn't discuss these yet)
He cut out and glued the Cortes fast fact sheet and the pocket image from the History Pocket book. He glued them onto colorful paper and later we will add these to his notebook. He also colored this while I was reading to him.
He cut out the map for Cotes and Coronado from Interactive 3-D maps. He's already excited about this project and can't wait until tomorrow to finish it.
JJ begged for the Ice Mummies video, so we ended up watching half of it, even though it wasn't scheduled until Thursday.

So, that sums up our homeschooling for the day. I would say that I'm looking forward to tomorrow BUT I have to have some major dental work done in the afternoon and I have no idea how to get all of school done. Wednesday is looking bad to, as I'm not sure how well I will feel. Thank goodness hubby is taking half a day off for me. I have the best husband in the world!
~~ChildBlessed~~

Our 2010 Homeschool Year Plans

2010-03-06T20:20:00.005-05:00

Since day one of our homeschooling journey, I have always started planning and buying our school year curriculum in February. It's the time of year that we have the most money all at one time. We then usually start that school year in April or May and school year round. This year I'm trying some new things and everything I've ordered (one of the biggest orders I've ever had) has come in right on time. So this coming Monday, March 8th, will be our official start to 2010.

One of the new things planned for this year is a small summer vacation. Last year we took one week off in March and then a day here-n-there throughout the year, plus holiday weeks. I'm thinking maybe 3 or 4 weeks off, soaking up the sun, taking a trip to Ohio and doing a long weekend at the beach. Ahhh, sounds so relaxing already.

Another new thing is the choice of curriculum that I'm using this year. I'm eclectic again, but I'm adding a ton of notebooking and living books, with a twist of charlotte mason and lapbooking. Here's my complete list of curriculum choices and daily schedule.

Subjects	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri
Math:
Teaching Textbook 3	R	R	R	R	R
History:
Early American History	R	R	R	R	R
Science:
Apologia Astronomy		R		R
Spelling:
Spelling Wisdom	R	R	R	R	R
Vocabulary:
Wordly Wise 3000 Bk 3	R	R	R	R	R
Penmanship:
Handwriting Without Tears	R	R	R	R	R
Grammar:
Learning Language Arts Through Literature	R	R	R	R	R
Bible:
Rod & Staff Bk 2			R		R

In addition to the above table we are reading extra "living books" as we find time. I'm in the process of posting our American History curriculum on squidoo by topic. I also plan on blogging weekly on what we do daily. The Math curriculum isn't available for purchase until April, so we won't have that resource right away. It's such a good program that I don't mind waiting for it to come out. I'm nervous and yet so excited about this year. I've been homeschooling for 14 years and yet I have quivering butterflies like it's the first year all over again.
eChildblessedf

Which HS Style?

2009-11-19T10:19:00.000-05:00

I get so confused. Just when I think I have everything figured out a new thought enters my head. One that makes me question everything I'm doing and the way in which I'm doing it.

I really like the Charlotte Mason (CM) approach but I also like doing unit studies. Which are totally against the CM phylosophy. I also like lapbooks and notebooking too. One would think after 14 yrs of homeschooling it would be easy to figure out which approach to do. First I have to consider Jake's learning style. Second, I need to take into account my own teaching style and weaknesses. Third, I need to figure out how to fit it into our lifestyle.

Right now we are eclectic. I have textbooks from Rod & Staff and Horizons, a bought unit study on the Human Body, a self-created unit study on Leonardo Da Vinci, CM grammar, writing and literature aproach (Pippi Longstocking), a bought hands on geography course and a bought living history curriculum.

In the past I've tried using lapbooks. Jake enjoyed cutting them out but hated coloring in anything. His handwriting really suffered using them. Just writing one or two words onto the cut-outs and/or writing without using lines made his penmanship illegible. I loved having a beginning and an ending to the topics. It was great for creating a portfolio to show others his work. I also liked that he would "touch" each piece of info that a subject contained. The drawbacks for Jacob was the handwriting, the craftyness of it (I enjoyed this part), and retaining the knowledge. He really had trouble recalling the facts later on. This troubled me and is the main reason I stopped doing lapbooks.

We haven't really tried notebooking until recently. We have been using this approach for his CM studies. As a place for him to write his literature prompts and grammar lessons. So far, he is doing well with these items. After reading his literature book, he does narrate back to me. I don't document it though, which is an area I would like to improve on. He then picks one of his writing prompts, dictates the sentence to me (which I write down on a regular notebook page), then copies the sentence into his writing journal. We also try to fit in a grammar lesson a couple times a week. I have created these very simple lessons with a small topic per lesson. He then uses his literature reading selection for his grammar lessons. His handwriting is getting back to where it was before lapbooking. He's also not frustrated with running out of room to write (another complaint against LB's).

Over the last couple of days we've been trying to use the CM approach with his textbooks. I've been having him read his Bible reader from R&S and then narrate it back to me. He had trouble remembering the order of the events. He was finally able to tell me the whole story but he needed lots of prompting. It still feels like we should have done something "more".

This is getting long, so I'll close my thoughts here and continue later.

I'm "FLYING"

2009-10-28T19:43:00.001-04:00

   Whew!!! I did it! I am now a flybaby.
   That's right I completed all the first days baby steps. I made my bed when I got out of it, I got dressed, and I have just finished shining my sink. It looks awesome!!! I am officially a flybaby and it feels good. Next time though, I really should do the dishes before I shine the sink. LOL!!!
I tried an experiment with the sink. On one side I followed all of flylady's instructions and on the other side I didn't soak the sink in bleach for 1 hour first. I have to say the side with the bleach is a lot shinier than the other. So next time, no skipping the bleaching part. It's alot liking trying to shine your nails without cleaning them first.
   Tonight I am going to begin working on my Control Journal. I am so excited and can't wait to get started. It feels really good to know that something even just one thing got completed before bed. Actually, three things...lol!

God's Plan

2009-10-27T14:34:00.004-04:00

We are late getting started with school this year. We tried out K12 and what a disaster that was. We are still trying to send everything back. I feel that they lied to me or at the very least mislead me. I had a ton of questions before I started and the answers given to me were that it was very much like homeschooling only easier because the lesson plans were already written. They also told me that Jake could work at his own pace and basically set his own hours and what he accomplished each week. They said whatever he didn't get done today was fine that the online planner would just advance it for me automatically. How wonderful do that sound! Now for what they didn't tell me: if he didn't have 30 hrs each week we would get a demerit, if he didn't get a certain amount of lessons done each month we got a demerit, he had to meet an online teacher each week at her convenience and time to do evaluations, if he didn't do as good as she thought then he had to meet her two more times that week (1 hr ea.), I had to submit a monthly form that contained extra time away from the computer, things I had to come up with and keep track of (swimming, tennis, basketball, etc) and the very last straw was that if he already knew the material I was told we could just skip ahead, but come to find out every lesson had a written or online evaluation in addition to the lesson/worksheet and if this wasn't completed was another reason for a demerit. So, let's just say, if I had continued I would have had 10 demerits the first month and been kicked out anyway. Jake has speech therapy Mon. morning and that happened to be when this teacher (who gets paid for all the work I do) wanted to hold her classes with Jake. When I told her about the scheduling conflict, she informed me that this was a public school and not homeschooling and how she wished people would get that straight before they signed up. She then started talking about what I needed to do to quit doing the K12 program, no help with rescheduling or addressing any of my concerns at all. I was relieved that I didn't have more of a confrontation with her. God sure does knock down doors when your following HIS will. So now we are running a bit behind with getting this started but God has rejuvenated me and now I know I'm on the right path - GOD'S path. I think as my general rule of thumb from now on will be - if it's going too rough or seems to be too overwhelming, then I need to examine whether it's God's path or my own. This sure has shown me how good it can be to just let God handle everything. How wonderful it feels to know HE is in charge. How humble it feels to know he even comforts and protects me when I have failed to follow His path. HIS way is perfect, so why do I need to constantly re-learn this?

Raising a Daughter

2009-07-16T16:38:00.002-04:00

Not sure why she thought it would be okay for a teenage girl to go to a boys house alone. Still have yet to talk with her but I fear for her. She doesn't seem to have self-preservation. I feel like I've sheltered her from the world too much. Like she doesn't even see the ugly world out there. I also don't want to destry her innocence but she needs to understand that she is the one who has to protect herself. I get really angry with her and then it just deflates like a big balloon. Will need to have a long chat tonight...

Long Day

2009-07-09T10:25:00.001-04:00

I was going to post this last night, but by the time Cyrena finally passed out, all I could do was fall into bed....

Dev ticked me off yesterday. Mid day, Jake went up to Mam & Pap's to hang out and see if Hunter was home. It started to rain 15-20 min. after he left. About an hour or so later, he comes through the front door dripping wet. He even had rain coming off his eyelashes making them all spiked out. He looked so cute. I asked why he was out in the rain and he told me that Deven had kicked him out and made him come home. I questioned him further, wanting to make sure I had all the facts. The more he talked the angrier I got. Deven's friend had shown up and Deven wanted it to be just the two of them, even though Jake was not misbehaving or interfering in their fun. I question myself constantly where Dev is concerned. How could I have failed to teach that God and others come first before self. I feel Deven is only going to learn things the hard way and his life is going to be full of hard knocks.

There was so much I had on my mind yesterday, but it's all slipped away during the night. Cyrena didn't get to sleep until 2:30 a.m. and then she awoke at 3:40 a.m. and again at 7:10 a.m. Thank goodness, I have sissy here today, even though she goes in to work later tonight. She always brightens my day and seems to make it go faster. The nurse told me that the iron I'm giving Cyrena would give her more energy and we would see results right away, however, the pharmacist pamphlet said it could take a month to see any results. Instead of having more energy she has been sleeping alot more but it's been during the day. At night she is still getting up every two hours or so. Now that we are aware of her restless legs, we can easily spot it when they start twitching. The neurofibromatosis is still pending. She's not being treated for it nor will she be tested for it until she's 2. Even then, Doug and I have talked about not getting her tested. If she's not having physical or developmental delays, then why put her through the brain scans which could cause those problems. If or when we have to deal with it we will face it, but even the neurologist told us not to treat her any differently and to just love her and just wait and see. My mind still isn't fully functioning yet, if I drank coffee I would have a tall mug of the putrid stuff right now. :)

2009-07-07T17:42:00.001-04:00

Tuesday's Blog Hop

2009-07-06T23:14:00.009-04:00

This should be interesting.... I'm always up for trying something new....

My husband and youngest daughter learning to bond. There's just something beautiful about a father and daughter pic.

Blog Launch

2009-07-06T17:49:00.000-04:00

Our new blog is up and ready for action! There are a few things I would like to add yet, but all-in-all it's ready for viewing by others.

Jake and Sissy had to go to the dentist today. It was for just routine cleanings but the dentist found some cavities. Sissy has 6-8 cavities, mostly all itty-bitty except one that needs immediate attention. Jake came out the winner with only one cavity. They both have to return next Monday for fillings. I'm so glad that we switched dentists. There were no tears today, Hooray! Thank goodness we have such a loving God that he answers even the smallest of requests. If only I could remember to go to him in prayer first, before I make choices I will later regret.

Cyrena has been sleeping a good bit these past few days. The nurse said the iron supplements would make her more active but the opposite has been happening. Her appetite has decreased as well and I've decided now would be a good time to jot down how she's responding each day. Her stool is a lot thicker and is now pitch black. She's had a few tummy aches but nothing major.

Doug has been very helpful with the kids over the weekend while I recuperate from having one of my tooth pulled. I am doing better but am still really groggy. I think the TMJ is complicating things and making it take longer than it should for the pain and swelling to decrees. I have got to learn new ways of coping with stress and learning to let things go. This blog is going to be one of those ways. :)

Sissy went and got her first checking and savings account today. this must be going to be a year of first for her. Her first job, her first date, first checking account, first savings account and (hopefully coming soon) her first drivers license. I am so very proud of her. She is striving to live a Godly life and from what I can tell she it doing a tremendous job.

Doug is fixin' his famouse spaghetti tonight but it might be late as he had to go out on a call. We all love his spaghetti and I might even convice him to turn it into a bake covered with melted cheese. Yum!

Deven came back from Ohio on the 4th. We all met up in Easley for the fireworks. They were very enjoyable this year. Surprisingly, Jake was scared of them. He said they were too loud and tried to hide in the corner of a building. I convinced him to sit between on the step in front of Deven, between his knees. He stayed there through the whole thing and eventually came to enjoy himself. Cyrena did very well and didn't fuss or cry. She watched the people around us more than she watched the show but atleast her first time wasn't tramatic for her.

It's great that Dev is home now. We really missed him but he is house sitting for Mam & Pap while they are in Ohio, so we still aren't seeing much of him. Lady's been getting sick all over the house and I pray there is nothing seriously going on with her.

This blog is defiently going to help me download and get things off my chest. Now I just need to make time for it... ;)