Royal Little Lambs

Geosafari Laptop

2012-05-29T06:17:00.000-06:00

I had found this Geosafari Laptop a couple years ago with lots of pages in various themes. Elizabeth never cared for it. The girls are now old enough to use it without too much help and they love it! We did some I Spy pages and science pages that went along with what we’ve been learning with our botany calendar time and Apologia Land Animals.

The girls took turns playing some pages and then played against each other. They thought it was more fun to compete. It also encouraged them to read the questions and answers. I helped with some of the more difficult ones.

Here’s an updated version. Ours is older, but it was a great deal! If you find one at a curriculum or yard sale, snap it up. You can order the extra pages on eBay and other places.

Worms in the container?

2012-05-28T12:23:00.001-06:00

Alex will be 26 months old on Friday!

I cut up pipe cleaners and gave Alex an empty Parmesan cheese container. He loved it! He called them worms and put them through the holes. He could unscrew the lid himself and dump them back out and I think he enjoyed that more than putting them in!

Alex still is not very interested in printables, but we look at lots of books together and his favorite thing to do is to point out colors and letters he knows (pretty much all of them). He recently started counting items and that is thrilling. He loves the DK animal book and even takes it to the potty! He still loves cars and planes and motorcycles and exclaims that any orange vehicle is “Bubba’s”. He loves playing games on the iPad. His favorites are still Toca Boca and Starfall.

I plan to incorporate more of the Tot Printables and use them in more kinesthetic ways and let him draw on the board. I need to set up his little work area to be more “Bubba-friendly.” Look for a post on that soon.

The Notebooking Publisher

2012-05-24T08:04:00.000-06:00

We’re very excited about this new notebooking opportunity! We love using notebook pages for history, science, biographies, and Elizabeth’s new reading notebook. Visit NotebookingPages.com to learn more about their memberships
and their new web-app, The Notebooking Publisher™
Hurry! The Treasury Sale ends soon!

Look for an update on our reader notebook soon and a post on how we use notebooking pages with Tori and Katie! Say goodbye to worksheets and allow more freedom with notebooking!

Thankful Thursday

2012-05-24T05:47:00.000-06:00

I am so thankful this week. My heart is just full.

So grateful that the tummy virus went away after about 24 hours. So far, only Liz and Tori got sick. {crossing fingers!}

Elizabeth gets confirmed at church this Sunday and it’s Pentecost and it’s Memorial Day weekend and there’s an air show on base and my husband has to work. busy busy busy weekend!

Elizabeth has been mentored by two lovely ladies from our church for her confirmation and they’ve gone through this binder of information about the church and Christian living. It has been such a wonderful experience for her. I’m so proud of her! The youth are in charge of the Pentecost service at church this Sunday. It’s sure to be interesting! Elizabeth is playing piano and doing all the readings.

We go to the dentist today. Last year, Liz had FIVE cavities. I pray we all have healthy teeth this time.

I think Elizabeth’s legs and feet are healing with ASTYM therapy and stretching and her new rigid soled shoes with orthotic inserts. I am so thankful. I pray she won’t have to get surgery. But we’ll do whatever is best. I just would rather do everything we can to heal her rather than surgery.

Tori and Katie are reading whole books from the easy reader section of the library. Katie is really reading so well! Tori is still rather timid and gets tired more easily and begs to quit. Aaron says that she’s a whiz at math, so she may be different than Liz and Katie and me with reading. Maybe. And that’s ok.

Thankful for all the military who made our freedoms possible. Sorry for all the wars and conflicts that have occurred to ensure those freedoms.

Our VBS is 3.5 weeks away at our church! I am the preschool VBS director. I get to wrangle preschoolers through Bible readings and Missions teachings and fun crafts and science experiments and snacks. I need prayer. Lots of prayer. I am really excited!

Peek A Boo

2012-05-23T06:13:00.000-06:00

Katie in a big box, hiding from siblings to play the iPad. Lovely!

Top Ten Homeschool Sites I Use

2012-05-22T19:39:00.001-06:00

10. Lots of great printables. Sometimes I just get ideas and make my own based off their pages.
9. Fabulous preschool and geography printables here for cheap!
8. Some great ideas from a lovely lady with kids of various ages. A great Friday preschool link-up. LOTS of wonderful free printables on many subjects.
7. I love Carisa’s Tot School and Preschool and Kindergarten printables! Used them with Tori and Katie and will use them with Alex (hopefully).
6. Montessori ideas and links
5. I love this blog and it reminds me every week that I didn’t do our nature study justice. Or at all. Well, there’s always next week. Or month.
4. I love notebooking. There is nothing more to say.
3. We love history so much and this curriculum encompasses history, Bible, and language arts in miraculous ways. I heart them.
2. Some very well-done notebooking printables. With a fairy. Awesome.
1. Pinterest. Um, cuz it’s a plethora of ideas.

Katie’s Chick-Fil-A birthday

2012-05-22T05:43:00.000-06:00

Katie has an obsession with cows.

What better place for her birthday party than Chick-Fil-A?

Katie was greeted by

The Cow.

Oh, how I love her hair bow!

Cow Hugz

Cow Rompz

Bubba loves Chick-Fil-A too

He loves their food

Big Cow Little Cow

Ice Dream!

No Cow cake. This is the next best thing.

Candlez

Bye Cow. More Hugz

It was really an awesome party. And I love the price: I paid for food. But we had balloons and a reserved eating area. Our own partee planner. And The Cow. Wow

I do love Chik-Fil-A.

Ever heard of a Pizzly Bear?

2012-05-21T05:54:00.000-06:00

We learned this week in science that the offspring of a grizzly bear and polar bear is a pizzly bear. Which means there is one somewhere. Like the wholphin in Hawaii. And there is a zedonk which is the baby of a donkey and zebra. What this means is that animals of the same kind can mate and produce babies. Our Apologia Zoology book teaches us that Noah took 2 or 7 pairs of each kind of animal onto the Ark. Not every species of feline or canine and other genus that we know and love. Natural selection made all the species we see now from those kinds of animals on the Ark. Awesome. I love it.

So, our experiment this week…

Did you know polar bears have black skin? Their fur is clear.

We learned that dark colors absorb more heat than light colors.

Two plastic bags: black and white.

Reading the experiment to Tori and Katie so that they understand what we’re doing.

Two thermometers to read temperature.

Placing thermometers under bags and securing bags with rocks so they don’t blow away.

Waiting. Do you hear the Jeopardy theme too?

The next morning (we wanted to see the high and low temps) we checked our bags and the black bag had a high of 47 degrees and the white bag had a high temp of 45 degrees. Celsius.

So, after looking up the temp chart on the ‘Net, that means the black bag got really hot, lol. Almost 117 degrees.

Probably not the most accurate experiment. It was supposed to be done on a sidewalk. I thought there would be a bigger difference.

But the girls loved it and told Dad all about it, so it was worth it, eh?

At the Carwash…

2012-05-19T18:31:00.001-06:00

How could I refuse when the kids begged me to get supplies for them to wash the car?

They all had so much fun!

And they did really an amazing job!

They’ve promised that this will be a weekly activity. Yes!

Tot School–Finally!

2012-05-19T05:52:00.000-06:00

Alex hasn’t been exactly cooperative this, um, month or so with doing anything that remotely seems like school. Until today. He happily sat on his work mat and poured his beans in his bowls and back in his pitcher.

He also liked playing Toca Boca Doctor on the iPad.

And he’s into posing for pictures. Such a fake grin!

He enjoyed some of our nursery rhymes that Liz led this morning. I bought some fun felt sets for Katie for her birthday and everyone loves them. Alex is doing the motions to “This is the way we wash our hands” from “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush.” He liked this time.

He got out his matching textures all by himself and impressed Mama by matching all of them up without any assistance! He showed the sets to me and stacked them up.

I was so excited that he finally got interested in these textures! He did so well at matching!

Here is Alex clapping for himself. Such healthy self esteem! haha!

Alex is still obsessed with cutting paper. He has no interest in writing or coloring yet. He seldom will sit still long enough to finish a story. He knows the whole alphabet and all his colors. His favorite thing is to point out the letters in books and the colors of cars.
He is rather fascinated by the movie Matilda. He has some scenes memorized!

Fun with Felt

2012-05-18T06:08:00.000-06:00

I bought some felt sets for Katie for her birthday and everyone loves them! Elizabeth has started our school day with felt stories. I bought some nursery rhymes sets and kids’ stories in felt. We’ve had a Bible felt set for a while now, but it hasn’t been used much.

The girls are singing, “Here We Go ’Round the Mulberry Bush.” Aren’t the wings a nice touch?

“This is the way we wash our hands…”

Liz told the story of Jesus’ birth with our felts. It went with our Bible studies this week about the angel’s announcements to Zechariah and Mary and how we should trust God.

Even Alex joined in on listening to Lizzie!

So, the felts were obviously a wise purchase and I’m glad everyone likes them.

Anyone have any great storage solutions for felts and felt boards? They’re all over the place and getting mixed up and it’s driving me crazy!

Thankful Thursday

2012-05-17T06:10:00.000-06:00

I wonder what I’ve been teaching my kids!

During our Bible lesson, I asked Tori and Katie what their blessings from God are. Tori answered that we’re blessed when we do what we’re told.

I’m so upset! Is that what I’ve somehow taught them? Do they equate obedience with blessings?

I asked them about their toys, clothes, health, family, etc. Were those blessings? They answered in the affirmative.

I asked them if they were disobedient would they not get food or have clothes? They knew they still would eat and have clothes. I asked them if God loved all His children? Yes. Does God even love the bad people? Yes. Do Mama and Daddy love them even if they disobey? Yes. (And Katie so wisely added: God loves us more. Yes, Katie, God loves you more, even if you disobey.)

Now we’re getting somewhere!

I asked them if God allowed bad people to be healthy or rich. Yes. Are obedient people also healthy and rich? Yes. Does obedience seem to matter with blessings? No. (Example: Job.)

So, we should always be thankful for our blessings and we should try to obey. We try to obey not to receive blessings, but because we love God and want to please Him. Yes.

So, now I know I better really watch what and how I teach and be sure they understand so they don’t get confused. I wonder if they got this idea from me or children’s church or Sunday school? Do they transfer being punished (by having a privilege taken away) as having no blessings?

So, I hope I cleared this up in their minds. I hope they understand now. God’s love is not conditional. Mama’s love is not conditional. Daddy’s love is not conditional. I must do better to demonstrate this.

Are blessings just arbitrary? How do you explain this to your children?

It’s That Time of Year!

2012-05-16T05:43:00.000-06:00

Our first watermelon this season.

The kids loved the warm weather, blue skies, and delicious treat!

Reader Notebook

2012-05-15T05:45:00.000-06:00

I saw this on Pinterest…and I love the idea. I had started this with Elizabeth a couple years ago and it rather fizzled, but I think she was too young then. We were using Ambleside Online and it worked for a while.

I also did this with my gifted 8th grade students years ago. (They’re graduating from college this month – wow!)

I think this reader notebook is beautifully done.

I plan to start a reader notebook again with Elizabeth now that she will be entering 7th grade. She needs something more with her reading. We use Tapestry of Grace and she reads lots with that, but I still feel like we’re missing some great literature and she needs to learn how to analyze it. Before, I’ve given her so much freedom with her reading. And that was good. She loves to read. Now she will love to analyze it. Yes, she will.

She may not love it, but she’s going to start notebooking with a classic novel or reading unit each month. I plan to include Shakespeare, poetry, and later on, in about a year: To Kill A Mockingbird and The Diary of Anne Frank. I plan to let Elizabeth choose some books too. She has great taste in reading and I think she’ll be thrilled that she has finally reached a stage where she can finally read some mature content. I can hardly wait to read Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451, A Separate Peace, and Orwell in a few years!

I have a binder set up with dividers. The 5 dividers are

character analysis
narration/summary (by chapter or act or section)
vocabulary
literary analysis (minilessons we will do together)
reader response writing section (I will assign thinking questions based on reading and minilessons – these could turn into larger writing projects at the end of units)

I plan to include notebooking pages in each section to make it fun and interesting. Elizabeth already has a reading minioffice and we have reader response bookmarks. I have journal topics too. I’m excited to get started on this!

We’ll have a Monday conference time to discuss expectations and schedules. We already do this with Tapestry of Grace work. I will check back in on Fridays or Saturdays to see the progress. I know it will take some hand-holding and organization and explanation in the beginning. Elizabeth is very clingy with new things. After the first unit and the first month, I hope she gets the hang of it!

Elizabeth chose to read Where The Red Fern Grows as her first book. I actually have never read it, so I’m excited to get started this week!

Naomi and Her Daughters book review

2012-05-14T06:37:00.000-06:00

Melding biblical accuracy with imaginative detail, Wangerin explores themes of love, faith, grief, and community. While the widow Naomi mourns the deaths of her two adult sons and the shocking murder of a beloved adopted daughter, she ponders the plight of her Moabite daughters-in-law---and makes a decision that will change the course of history. 288 pages, hardcover from Zondervan.

I found this book refreshing and delightful. I loved the interwoven stories of Naomi, Milcah, Boaz, and Ruth. The Bible characters were quite brought to life and given vivid personalities that personified their circumstances. Of course, Naomi is the central character and I immediately loved her and sympathized with her all through the book.

The title focuses on Naomi’s relationships with Milcah and Ruth, both adopted daughters who bring Naomi great comfort and joy. I love the title “Hakamah” meaning “singer” that describes Naomi as a teller of the Bible stories so they were learned and passed down orally through generations.

The liberties the author has taken with the events and characters surrounding Boaz and the other kinsman-redeemer are humorous and add such a humanity to a well-known and beloved Bible story.

It certainly makes one think about how these people would have reacted to the events in their lives. I love how the author portrayed them. Makes a great discussion.

I received this for review purposes from Zondervan publishing.

Baby Animals! Squee!

2012-05-12T05:47:00.000-06:00

For Katie’s birthday and just ‘cuz…

We went to our town’s Baby Animal Days. It was run by our local 4-H and they were awesome. For the exorbitant price of $25 per family, we could see a handful of cows, sheep, goats, pigs, geese, ducklings, chicks, 1 mini horse, bunnies, and turkeys. The kids loved it.

I’m so glad I had a $10 off coupon. They also charged $2 extra per kid for the rock climbing wall, little train ride, and mini golf. And I was mean mom because I wouldn’t pay $8 for a 2 second train ride or $6 for the rock wall. We came to see baby animals, no?

Katie is rather obsessed with cows. For her birthday today, she received a cow bank from my parents, cow Webkinz, a Sandra Boynton cow CD and book, and a little cow vacuum to suck up table crumbs. And she already has quite a cow collection. So seeing these cute little guys made her day.

Unfortunately, they were all huddled together in fear and we didn’t get to pet them, but they sure were cute!

Fun pics! The kids made animals sounds for the first one and buzzed like bees for the flower pic. Funny!

Alex loved petting the sheep…until the sheep turned around to face him and check him out and he stumbled back so fast it was hilarious!

Then we found The Tent. Baby chicks and ducklings and bunnies! That you could hold and pet! Hurry!

Liz loved on a muddy duckling for about a second. It was wet! ew! But we wanted to take one home and name it Henry, like in The Little Duck.

Baby chicks were much cleaner and softer. Cuteness!

Tori really loved the chicks.

Alex LOVED the bunny.

There were sweet gray bunnies with their mama.

It was a nice time, but rather disappointing for the money. I guess I had high expectations. So, next year, I hope we can make it to the really amazing (so I hear…) Baby Animal Days up in Logan…

And I plan to use this as nature study! There will be notebooking next week! ah ha!

1st track meet

2012-05-10T05:50:00.000-06:00

Tori and Liz had their first track meet this season. It was just an inner-squad meet, but it was fun!

Tori got 2nd place in the softball throw

Tori ran the 200 and 400.

Liz ran the 400 and 800.

They didn’t do as well as we’d hoped, but it gives them a base to start from. Liz started ASTYM therapy for her legs yesterday and we hope that helps her pain. Tori is young and has years to improve!

Talent Show

2012-05-09T09:34:00.001-06:00

We had a ladies event at church last Sunday. We had a tea/coffee and talent show.

Elizabeth played piano and Tori and Katie sang, “God is so Good.” I got all choked up.

Elizabeth played a solo piano piece. She did it perfectly.

Elizabeth

2012-05-04T21:49:00.001-06:00

Elizabeth is 11 and she is too seldom a subject in my posts! I need to change that.

We’ve recently been seeing doctors for pain in Elizabeth’s legs.

The pediatrician referred us to an orthopedist. That doctor said she needed surgery on her ankles and wanted us to buy some $300 custom-made braces in the meantime. wow

I asked for a second opinion. This doctor referred Elizabeth for ASTYM therapy and recommended rigid running shoes with a UCBL orthotic insert. That will probably work since she has already improved with the stretching and yoga I’ve been encouraging her to do. If these treatments fail, then she needs surgery on her ankles and legs. He said the ankle surgery would be worthless without the other one. So glad I got this second opinion!

On a happier note, Elizabeth is being mentored by two older ladies at our church. It has been wonderful for all involved. Mrs. Carol is teaching Elizabeth to sew with a sewing machine. They even plan to make a quilt this summer! Mrs. Ginger is into cake decorating and art. She even used to own an art gallery! Mrs. Ginger plays piano for our church and she plans to work with Elizabeth in her music studies. I love seeing Elizabeth have these relationships. I’m almost jealous that I can’t get in on the fun.

I’m pleased that Elizabeth is finishing up First Form Latin. I have Second Form on the shelf, ready to go. She also wants to learn Greek and French! I have those, but I think it’s too much right now. She has such a talent for language. She loves to read and we really enjoy the selections from Tapestry of Grace. She struggles with math, but Singapore math has been a pretty good fit. It moves quickly and she sure doesn’t get bored. She hated the 6-month stint when we tried Saxon a couple years ago. We’ll begin Singapore Developmental Math this fall. We’ll also begin Apologia General Science in the fall. I can hardly wait! The seventh grade workload is going to be much more than we’re used to – I hope we can manage!

Thankful Thursday

2012-05-03T15:54:00.001-06:00

A week ago today, the entire family went to get in the van for track practice and a picnic dinner.

I opened the car door to see the entire console emptied into the driver’s seat. I thought the kids had been playing in it, but that’s unusual. They said they hadn’t touched it.

I couldn’t find my iPhone. My Coach wallet wasn’t in my purse. My Coach purse was still in the passenger floor of the van. My Tic Tacs were empty. Weird.

My husband pinged my phone. We have this neato GPS thingie. Thank God.

It showed the phone was located several miles away in an area I have never visited.

Our van was broken into. In our garage. All they stole was my phone and wallet. And they ate my Tic Tacs?!

I am so thankful. It could have been so much worse.

My keys were in the ignition. The garage door opener was on the visor.

The police thought the GPS signal on our phone a wonderful thing. They visited the house immediately and it has a known gang member in residence, nineteen years old.

I doubt I will ever see my phone or wallet or the contents again. But my family is safe. Thank God.

I have spent this week replacing all my IDs, credit and bank cards. We had to get a new checking account. We had to notify credit bureaus. I had to take the Utah driver license test. I got a 100%. My eldest daughter and I had to get new military dependent IDs. I had to notify the county library and get new cards for myself and Katie. All those #$%^&* store discount and rewards cards are…gone. I had a full punch card to Savers, lol.

Then I have to update all my online accounts. I have to update all my auto payments at the bank. I have to update Amazon, PayPal, etc. - anything affiliated with our old accounts. It’s a hassle trying to remember it all.

Our bank has been amazing and helpful through the whole process.

Renters’ insurance pays for my phone and wallet and its contents, down to the replacement value of my driver license and library cards and that restaurant gift card I was going to use this week.

I am so thankful that the van wasn’t stolen. I am so thankful that they didn’t come into the house. It seems like a kid prank in a way. Or an initiation since it was such a small theft. Our neighbors are rather horrified. This neighborhood doesn’t shut things up or lock doors. It’s been so safe. Until now.

Praying that the thief or thieves see the error of their ways and repent. If it is gang-related, I pray they can seek a better life. I forgive you.

Here Birdie, Birdie

2012-05-02T06:27:00.000-06:00

Reminds me of Garfield…

The Messenger review

2012-04-30T23:48:00.001-06:00

I’ve read Siri Mitchell books before, but The Messenger was quite captivating.

It told the story of a Quaker girl, Hannah, and a Patriot tavern owner, Jeremiah, who conspire together to plot the escape from prison of Patriot soldiers during the Revolutionary War in Pennsylvania.

Of course, the love story.

It’s really not the typical love story. The girl is quite firm in her Quaker beliefs. She is challenged and forced to rely solely on God and not her religion’s rules and regulations. The man is prideful and bitter from previous war wounds. It doesn’t even really come together until the last chapter!

I very much enjoyed learning about Quaker beliefs and ways. I also was surprised to learn so much about how poorly the English thought of the colonists, even the Loyalist ones. I haven’t read much along those lines before. So many minor characters were fascinating and made the story really come alive. I absolutely love Doll, the slave woman who accompanies Hannah about town, for her protection. It offers a glimpse into that ugly world of slavery and how poorly equipped the nation was after the Civil War for the new freedoms.

The author’s notes were sweet and explanatory as to how she researched and began to form this novel.

I received this book from Bethany House to review.

The Humanity of Jesus

2012-04-30T23:30:00.001-06:00

I just read The Jesus We Missed by Patrick Henry Reardon. It is quite remarkable to think about Jesus as a man and having human weaknesses. Reardon very intelligently describes Jesus as the sinless son of God while growing in knowledge about his own divinity.

He backs up all his claims with scripture. I love his command of language and the translations into Greek and Hebrew to better understand the scripture and nuances of why certain words were chosen over others.

I really love how Jesus’ mother, Mary, is portrayed and examples of their relationship are explained in human and spiritual terms. He discusses the events of 12 year old Jesus in the temple during Passover in Jerusalem and the wedding at Cana. Mary grows in her faith as Jesus grows into a man and learns about his calling and ministry.

Jesus had friends and favorites. Reardon mentions Lazarus and certain disciples and Jesus’ interactions with them to show his personality and humanity while he ministered here on earth. Jesus experienced human emotions, but never sinned. It helps us to know that Jesus was sad and angry at times. Emotions are good.

Jesus is, of course, an example to us all of how to be good Christians. Reardon uses Jesus’ temptations, disciples, and prayer life to exemplify Jesus’ relationship with his Father God and modeled for us how to overcome temptation, disciple others, and pray.

I really like contemplating how Jesus was as a man and how his mother might have reacted to her Son. I love historical and even fictional accounts of these events. The Scriptural references here add credibility to the claims and there is little speculation or opinion. A very intellectual and academic book, but easy to read.

I received this book from Book Sneeze to review.

Radical Together book review

2012-04-30T23:09:00.001-06:00

I’m pretty blown away by some of David Platt’s teachings. He really is radical and he calls others to be radical Christians too. His book Radical Together calls churches to pursue a calling to actually do what Jesus taught, even though it goes against the mainstream. It might be uncomfortable. It might make churches lose followers.

David Platt refers again and again to James 2 and how it changed the way he lived and thought of church.

The theme of Radical Together seems to be that the “gospel that saves us from work also saves us to work.” Platt exemplifies two kinds of people: those who strive and work to get to Heaven and never can do enough for God or church and those who live however they wish and trust in faith alone without ever experiencing a desire to do God’s will.

Platt models his own church in Alabama after Jesus’ commandment to go and make disciples. This is not optional.

This book isn’t just for pastors or ministry leaders. I think everyone can benefit from the teachings and really think about living radically for God and changing the way church is approached.

Live intentionally for God.

I received this book free to review from Waterbrook Multnomah.

Red Butte Gardens

2012-04-30T09:47:00.000-06:00

Happy Arbor Day!

We took a trip to our local botanical garden. It was cold and windy and we didn’t have coats, but the flowers were lovely. It was almost 80 yesterday! We even saw snowflakes. brrr

We rode the train and bus to be all green and the kids were ecstatic to finally ride that train downtown!

We were quite fascinated by this Dwarf Cedar of Lebanon

Tori, Katie, and Alex tried out all the swings in each little garden exhibit. This was in the herb and medicinal garden, which was probably my favorite area.

The children's garden was fun and cute with snakes and lizards all over the place!

This lovely little grotto offered a much-needed respite.

We walked as far as this waterfall and then headed back to eat some lunch and head home. Oh, how cold they look!

We really loved this paperbark maple. It was just budding out and the trunk with that bark is so lovely.

So many different kinds of daffodils, narcissus, jonquils, etc.

a beautiful flowering crabapple

We definitely want to go again, when it’s warmer and the roses bloom and to see some of their new exhibits that open this summer!