Fall Break

Lest my "Just Say No" post from last week make it seem like it's all-academic-rigor-all-the-time at our house, I thought I'd describe our week this week:

Monday- School Holiday. In honor of Bethany's 13th birthday, all students and teachers have a holiday. Every year we take a day off whenever one of the students or faculty has been born or has given birth. It makes birthdays all the more eagerly-anticipated for all of us! In the evening Bethany had guitar and musical theater class and Kyle had golf class.

Tuesday- A Day to Get Over The Birthday Celebration. The only subject to truly get done was Awana, and bit of reading aloud. I got caught up on Awana administrative work that didn't get done during The Birthday Celebration. Kyle had swimming at the Y. A friend came by on his bike and the kids enjoyed a visit. We rescued a stray turtle (the second one this week!) and returned him to the lake.

Wednesday- Field Trip! A huge homeschool group outing to play laser tag. Fun! For Bethany the afternoon will be spent finishing work (science, writing, Texas history, literature) for Thursday's co-op (that she does with her best friend). Kyle will spend some time reading his literature and about 15 minutes working on his math facts with the Flashmaster.

Thursday- Bethany goes to co-op, Kyle and I will read science and history and play a math game. Cousin's birthday party that evening.

Friday- who knows? We may rest. We may read. We may enjoy a walk the cooler weather. We may go rent a movie. The kids need to run around outside in the 70-something degree weather. Mom needs to breathe.

I'm calling this week our "Fall Break" even though there is a bit of school sprinkled in. We have six good weeks under our belts, so a light week won't hurt and will definitely help. I'm using some of the time this week to go through their work, average some grades, and make some planning adjustments accordingly if necessary.

So.. it's "fall":
Field trip
A day off for a birthday
Laser tag
Lighter schedule!

"To everything there is a season..."

TGIFunny

I think we've ALL been there...

Have a good weekend!




Taken from The Official Book of Homeschooling Cartoons Vol. 2 - by Todd Wilson www.familymanweb.com

Just Say No!

Has it really been six weeks since we started our school year? A quick look at my "year-at-a-glance" schedule in my planbook says it has. Wow. I look at how infrequently I have blogged lately and I can see evidence of how school has "taken over" for now. But, it's as it should be, and we are really clicking along. Everything that needs to get done is getting done, and look at me... even having time to blog after all!

A piece of advice I read a few years ago in a homeschooling book has struck a new chord with me this year. (Actually, it started resonating with me last year.) It was honestly a new thought to me when I read it. It was this: "Stay home." Hm. "Well, that must be for people who don't really have many involvements or who can't handle too many outside commitments," I thought at the time. I went along, continuing our fully-scheduled, frequently-mobile, gone-most-days life for a couple more years. At the beginning of last year I realized that God was impressing on my heart that WE needed to "stay home." As in HOMEschooling. At home. We have, over the years, enjoyed various co-ops, frequent field trips, and getting together with friends at a moment's notice. Mostly, if I am honest with myself, because of the "s" word. (Homeschoolers know this is the word "socialization." As in, "are they getting enough.") Last school year I took every single one of our organizations, co-ops, teams, social commitments, etc. off of our plate. Then I prayed for the Lord's guidance as to what to put back on. No co-ops went back on. That was a hard one, and I made difficult phone calls to some friends with whom I had enjoyed several years of "co-op"ing. (And who totally understood our decision!) We opted to not do sports teams for a time. (Note that we didn't opt not to play sports or enjoy physical activity-- just no organized teams and all that they entail.) Those were the two biggies. No Girl Scouts. (Okay, that was a big "whew" for me. Just being honest here.) Then I decided not to sign up for too many field trips. As I reflect back on last year, I realize that although I felt behind, mostly because of traveling, we were academically on our way back on track, and covered more ground than I could've dreamed. And the kids both had full social lives and plenty of outside experiences. It worked! Imagine!

This year is much the same story. We've been at it about six weeks, and I have closely guarded our days at home. It struck me this week that each day we spend at home is a "no" to something else. Literally. Every single day there is something else we have been invited to do, or an outside opportunity or class is offered somewhere. Even when we are at home, the phone will ring. There is an opportunity right there for at least one of us (usually me) to become involved, at least momentarily, in something other than school. That's not to say that we spend our days chained to our desks. In fact, time on task actually affords us some margin to say "yes" when I feel like it or have a lighter day. It reminds me of Psalm 16:6, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places." It's nice. There's freedom.

It's hard, though! I remember reading a few years ago in Genesis 15 about when God was about to make His covenant with Abraham. Abraham carefully prepared his sacrifice according to God's instructions, exactly the animals God had specified, cut exactly the way God had said, laid out just as God had directed... and then "birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away." (Gen. 15:11) It wasn't the birds' fault, they were just doing what birds of prey do, looking for a meal! But it was Abram's job to carefully guard what he had set before the Lord. It reminded me of my life, in a way. So often I can be seen, flailing away (usually figuratively, but sometimes literally!) at the "birds of prey." God has directed me to set aside this time with my children. Like Abram, I was asked to leave the familiar. I have left the familiar territory of a career and of public school life, and ventured into this land of stay-at-home-momhood and homeschooling. In preparation I have meticulously prepared our days, to the best of my understanding, according to God's instructions. But I must carefully guard what I have brought before the Lord. If someone plans a park day or a field trip, that's great! For someone. But not necessarily for me. Or not necessarily today. If my phone rings I am certainly free to talk to that person, but maybe not right now. Today's technology actually affords me the opportunity to find out who it was, what they needed, and call them back at a more opportune time. The co-ops, classes and teams that are available are wonderful opportunities for many families, but maybe not for our family. None of it is inherently bad or wrong, most of it is good, in fact. But not all of it is best. My "birds of prey" are not necessarily someone else's "birds of prey." What might be a distraction now might be a welcome diversion another time.

So, we have our school days at home. We have 2 days per week when we do have outside involvements- afternoons only. Currently if we are gone one day, we stay home the next. If I'm out one night (for a meeting or whatever) I'm home the next night. We spend more days home each week than out. The subjects that I feel are "key" are touched on every single day. There is much more consistency and predictablilty, and I am... calmer (though frequently flailing and flapping at those birds!) The kids are thriving, social, learning, and happy.

A "no" to something good is often a "yes" to something better. Don't be afraid to say "Just say no!"

So long, Pluto

Well, we're a little sad this morning. Pluto's no longer considered a planet! I guess we'll have to learn a new jingle to memorize the planets,replacing "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas." For now the kids have decided to change "Nine" to "Nerds." No Pizza. Hmph. One of the articles I read said that Pluto will have to be effectively "airbrushed" out of textbooks now. There are officially only eight planets in our solar system. What was agreed upon in the scientific world and taught as "fact" to generations... is out. Every science textbook in every school at this very moment... has some wrong information in it.

Interesting.

We still love ya, Pluto.

Finding the Junk Drawer

Remember when you moved into your current house or apartment? All of the boxes labeled "kitchen" were stacked in the kitchen and it was time to decide where everything belonged. I remember standing in the middle of my empty kitchen deciding where it "felt" like the potholders should go. Where do I want my plates to be? Which drawer should be the silverware drawer? (Most importantly, which drawer will be the junk drawer?? In my current house I gave myself two!) If you're like me, there was just a certain "feel" to it. There are usually some commonalities (like putting silverware in a drawer rather than in a cabinet), but pretty much when you moved in you put things where it felt best for them to go, and where they would be accessible to you in your daily "kitchen life." Maybe you put things where they were in the house where you grew up (or maybe your mom was with you helping you unpack and she put them there!) just out of habit, but since all kitchens are different you had to make changes to fit your style and your available space.

It occurred to me this week that setting up a homeschool schedule (or "routine" if "schedule" is the other "s" word for you!) is much like moving into a new kitchen. As we've moved into a new year of homeschooling and have begun "unpacking" our new curriculum, I've been getting a "feel" for where certain subjects should "go." Math in the morning? History after lunch? Science twice a week? When should we read aloud? Does art have to go on Fridays? Wouldn't it be fun to start Monday morning with an art project? There's no right or wrong time to do those subjects, so it's simply what "feels" best and works in your daily "school life." And, just like in your kitchen when you put things out of reach or hidden away, they don't get used. (I have certain platters I haven't seen in years!) Poorly timed subjects simply don't get done most of the time at our house. If I tuck something away for Friday afternoon, I may be so tired by then I decide it's not that important after all. That subject becomes a poor, forgotten Christmas platter...

I've gotten other family's schedules before and tried to implement them in our home, and they just haven't worked. Some of them I haven't even had to try to know they wouldn't work! (Starting school at 7:00 AM? Notgonnahappen.) Sometimes I have loosely based our routine on how I used to schedule my public school classroom. Other times I would try out schedules I saw on the Well-Trained Mind boards (this is prime season for schedule-sharing!) But I've always ended up either altering them beyond recognition or simply abandoning them and coming up with something completely new. Do a Google search on "homeschool scheduling" and see what comes up! You can find as many sample schedules and suggestions as there are homeschool families out there. But, our families are as different as our kitchens. For you to replicate my routine would be like me telling you your potholders should go in that drawer under your oven. (What? You don't have a drawer under your oven? Exactly!) Additionally, while it is true that as a homeschooler I have the same kids every year, I also have different kids every year. Each year they are different ages, have different abilities, growing maturity levels and changing preferences. It's practically a new kitchen every year!

So... this week we have begun moving in. We started math, language, reading, writing and history. We'll add foreign languages and science next week. God-willing, we'll be cooking on all burners by the week of Labor Day. I'm praying God's direction for you as you begin unpacking your year and stirring up school!

Back to School!

It's "Back to School" day at our house! We've been doing a little bit this summer (though not for the past three weeks or so) but today each of them begins their new grade level. Fun! I made a back-to-school basket for each of their desks, which they will find waiting for them when they go into the school room. I thought they turned out pretty cute. And it's all stuff I picked up at Dollar Tree!

I like to pray through Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Parent, praying one prayer each day corresponding to the day of the month. Well, today's prayer (chapter 14) was "Instilling the Desire to Learn" which couldn't be more appropriate as we begin our school year. (It's written for an individual child, so I have rewritten it to include both my kids):

Lord, I pray that my children will have a deep reverence for You and Your ways. May they hide Your Word in their hearts like a treasure, and seek after understanding like silver or gold. Give them good minds, teachable spirits, and an ability to learn. Instill in them a desire to attain knowledge and skill, and may they have joy in the process. Above all I pray that they will be taught by You, for Your Word says that when our children are taught by You they are guaranteed peace. You have also said, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7). May they never be fools and turn away from learning, but rather may they turn to You for the knowlege they need.

I pray they will respect the wisdom of their parents and be willing to be taught by them. May they also have the desire to be taught by the teachers You bring into their lives. Handpick each one, Lord, and may they be godly people from whom they can easily learn. Take out of their lives any teacher who would be an ungodly influence or create a bad learning experience. Let them find favor with their teachers and have good communication with them. Help them to excel in school and do well in any classes they may take. Make the pathways of learning smooth and not something with which they must strain and struggle. Connect everything in their brains the way they are supposed to be so that they have clarity of thought, organization, good memory, and strong learning ability.

I say to them according to Your Word, "Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge" (Proverbs 23:12. "May the Lord give you understanding in all things" (2 Timothy 2:7). Lord, enable them to experience the joy of learning more about You and Your world.

Amen.

Now I'm off to make chocolate chip muffins for my class. Have a great back-to-school... whenever you begin!

Grade 5

EDIT: When I originally posted this, I left off Handwriting Without Tears. For both our sakes, I hope it lives up to its name... ;)

I've put together Kyle's grade 5 work to fit the year using a spreadsheet like I did for Bethany's. Here's what he's got coming this year:

Math: Math-U-See Epsilon (possibly transitioning to Teaching Textbooks if grade 6 is released mid-year)
Science: BJU Science 5
Critical Thinking/ Logic:
The Fallacy Detective (fall semester) read aloud
The Thinking Toolbox(fall semester) read aloud
Revenge of the Riddle Spiders cd rom
Mind Benders cd rom
ELA (English/Language Arts):
Spelling: Abeka- Spelling, Vocabulary and Poetry 5 (fall)
Grammar: God's Gift of Language B (spring)
Writing: IEW- Student Writing Intensive A
Literature: BJU Pages in My Head, Selections from Veritas 5
Foreign Language:
Switched On Schoolhouse Elementary French
Latin: Latina Christiana
History: Story of the World 3 (Late Renaissance, Early Modern)
Supplements:
Money Matters For Kids (fall semester)
Greater Health God’s Way (spring semester) read aloud

While he is going through the IEW course this fall, I have only scheduled spelling during that time. We will be going through the Abeka spelling course, doing two lists per week in the fall, simply going through the book together doing some of the activities orally and spelling them aloud as well. Andrew Pudewa (of IEW) suggests doing spelling orally if possible since it is a sequential skill. I never realized that was why Kyle has wanted to spell his words aloud for years, and I just realized that was why! I am sort of adapting Pudewa's spelling approach using the Abeka book, since we already had it. (Kyle is a very strong speller anyway, and I've always liked Abeka's challenging words.) Depending on how the IEW course goes, and given the intense English grammar that is covered in the Latina Christiana courses, we may drop the Abeka grammar altogether. As it stands, I have scheduled Language B for spring, to be completed mostly orally.

We'll see how it goes!

Works-for-me-Wednesday

Homeschooling works for us. It just does. It has made our life easier. It just has. I was the biggest skeptic about homeschooling (in general) and my own ability to do so (in particular). I would've never thought I would (or could, or even should) homeschool. We live in a great district with top-notch schools and wonderful teachers. But for us, educating our kids at home isn't about what the schools aren't, it's about what homeschooling is. There is plenty out there on the internet (and on this blog) to read about what, specifically, homeschooling is, or can be for your family. I just wanted to post on WFMW, as we enter our 8th year of it... that homeschooling works! When I first began praying about school choices for my daughter, all of a sudden homeschooling (which I'd never even heard of, muchless considered before) popped up everywhere for me- articles, TV, people I met, blurbs in the newspaper, online... Maybe, just maybe, you clicked this post today because you should at least consider it, too. :)

It may not work for everyone, but it works for me!

For more great tips from some really smart moms, visit: Rocks In my Dryer. Have a great Wednesday!

Academic Aroma

Back in the day, when I taught school, we could burn candles in our classrooms. I understand that's not allowed now (for good reason, I'm sure!) but I enjoyed it at the time. Third graders, especially after recess in the Texas heat, have a certain... aroma. I had a specific candle that I ALWAYS burned: Yankee brand "Spiced Apple." Once I came home to be a fulltime mom I would burn it once in awhile, and it always made me think of school. Well, when I began homeschooling, a Spiced Apple candle was as essential to me as a planbook and a cup of coffee. Each school day I would light our "school candle" in the schoolroom. Last year I went to Linens n' Things to pick up another candle and found out that that particular scent had been :::gasp!::: discontinued. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't imagine. I supposed I would just have to put the kids in school and be done with it, for I didn't think I could actually teach without the aroma of "Spiced Apple" filling the air. Not just any old spiced apple, either. Yankee. It had to be Yankee. I looked a couple of other places and couldn't find them, so I ordered the three I could afford off of Ebay and decided I would just make them last by burning them v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. Maybe only one day per month until the kids graduate.

I happened to mention it one day to my sweet friend, Debbie. If there's anything hard-to-find shoppingwise, she can find it. And at a good price. We all tell her our homeschool curriculum needs and she'll sniff them out. (Most recently she found me my Rosetta Stone French at a ridiculously bon prix!) One night at Awana, a couple of weeks after I had mentioned my candle conundrum to her, she handed me a small gift bag. In it was... a Yankee Spiced Apple candle! I was so excited, I actually jumped up and down. Well, she told me, there was more... In the back of her van, she had sack after sack of them. She had gone to the Yankee store and a few Hallmark stores and had bought all that they had. Big and small jars, votives, tarts... I was in heaven! I have enough to last until the kids graduate and go to college, and Bethany told me she wants me to save her a tart, so she can always remember the "smell of school."

So each day during our school year, I light our candle for awhile in the morning and the scent lingers the rest of the day. Today is a major day of planning for me, so I've lit my school candle in the room where I'm working, just to get myself in "school mode." However, the candle now holds added significance for me because it is the scent of school as well as the fragrance of friendship.

Tax-free Shopping, TAKS-free Teaching

"It's the m-o-o-o-st wonderful time of the ye-e-ear!" I remember that Staples commercial a couple of years ago, where the parent danced through the aisles buying school supplies while the glum-faced kids stood looking on... Well, to me this is one of the most wonderful times of the year. Ecclesiastes says there's a "time to gather." Well, this is it! Tax-free weekend! Back-to-school sales! ::::sigh:::: Folders! Paper! Jeans! Socks! Fun!

As we're preparing for an afternoon of gathering certain items tax-free, I've been thinking of the other spelling of the word: TAKS. For those of you not in Texas, the TAKS are the state-wide achievement tests, which have (unfortunately) increasingly begun to govern what teachers are able to teach. I haven't been in the classroom for some time now, but how well I remember that feeling of having a great teaching idea, or coming across a fun activity I'd love to do, only to realize that I really shouldn't because it didn't have test objective tied to it (especially in the spring). Every spring, CPA's have their "tax season," well Texas Public Educators have their "TAKS season" at the same time. (I never noticed the correlation until today!) It took me several years after I quit teaching to not have the test dates firmly implanted in my mind. (In our state, homeschools and private schools do not take the TAKS.) Ahhhh, freedom!

This weekend we have the freedom of shopping for clothes without the added burden of state sales tax. It's not that we don't have to pay for what we're buying, or that we don't have to pay taxes on anything, but eliminating the extra cost of the tax on certain items is... nice. As a homeschooler, I have enormous responsibility in teaching my kids, but eliminating the extra requirement of state testing is... nice. In fact, it's wonderful. Now, the TAKS isn't all bad, just like taxes aren't all bad, both accomplish a measure of common good. Extreme taxation, though, is stifling (just ask our founding fathers!) and many schools suffer from extreme TAKSation. I'm glad to be free from both. Just like our nation still seeks a way to balance taxation, there are many schools and teachers, I'm sure, who have found a way preserve the joy of learning amid the test requirements.

This isn't an "in-your-face" nya-nya to anyone, but just the observation of one lil' ole homeschooler from "deep in the heart," who's gearing up for another year of TAKS-free teaching and heading out for an afternoon of tax-free shopping.

Yee-haw!

Missing Pieces

Oops! I left some key pieces out of the 7th grade planning puzzle!

For Bible we will be using her Awana Trek 27-7 curriculum. It's new this year and looks great! We will also be incorporating the Sonlight Bible 7 books for 7th and 8th grade.

For Art, which they do together, we have loved Atelier. It is video-based, which helps me, and it is a very thorough sampling of the various branches of art. The kids have done some wonderful projects the past two years that we used it. I highly recommend this program for those who need some structure and "oomph" in this area like I do.

Last year she really enjoyed taking violin lessons, but this year she's interested in guitar. There is a guitar class starting at our church this fall which I think we'll put her in for music. The three of us are still working through some recorder curriculum my mom-the-awesome-music-teacher put together for us. I also have been reading through Usborne Introduction to Music with them. It's been a good overview of the types of music, along with internet links to go to and listen.

She takes gymnastics and also helps teach tots gymnastics one day per week as part of her P.E. but I also require them to do at least 30 minutes of something physical each day. I have a bucket of jump ropes, balls, etc. if they aren't sure what to do, but they usually ride bikes, walk/run on the treadmill, do an exercise video or do something with our little set of hand/ankle weights. I'm thinking we may start taking a walk first thing in the morning 3 days a week this year. I want to be sure we all get outside more each day.

Good grief, all of this seems like a lot. But I think homeschooling is wonderful because it has given us the gift of time. There is time to do what we need to do, and it gets done if I am diligent and disciplined with our time. But, that's another post for another day... ;)

Sleepover Logic

As I've posted recently, we're reading through The Fallacy Detective and we're really enjoying it. This week we've been discussing "red herrings," introducing an irrelevant point and avoiding the question.
Kyle was invited to spend the night with a friend tonight. This particular boy is a really sweet boy of a family who goes to our church. He's never spent the night at this boy's house, and really hasn't spent much time at all with him in the last few months (the boy goes to public school and they don't see each other all that much) but he was excited to go spend the night. I was giving him my usual before-sleepover speech about manners and acceptable movies, and I mentioned that he needed to be sure not to get involved in any inappropriate conversations (since I haven't been around this boy in awhile, and since 10-year-old-boys will be 10-year-old-boys...) I said, "So, if something inappropriate comes up, you know to change the subject, right?" to which he replied, "Don't worry, Mom. I'll call it, 'Operation: Red Herring!' "

The Planning Puzzle

Time to put it all together and see if it fits! I'm currently working on Bethany's (grade 7) plans. I have all of the teacher editions, worktexts, etc. spread out and I'm deciding how to divide it up for the year. (Remember "::::Gasp!:::: Textbooks" ? Well, here they are!)

Math : Teaching Textbooks Pre Algebra
Science :BJU Life Science 7
Critical Thinking/ Logic:
The Fallacy Detective (Fall Semester)
The Thinking Toolbox(Fall Semester)
Critical Thinking Book 1 (Spring Semester)
ELA (English/Language Arts):
Grammar- Prentice Hall Writing and Grammar
IEW- Student Writing Intensive B
Literature – Abeka Of People, Selections from Sonlight 7
Foreign Language:
French 1- Allez Viens (Holt) 1/2 this year, 1/2 in 8th grade, Rosetta Stone
Latin- Latina Christiana , The Book of Roots Book 1
History :
Texas- Celebrating Texas: Honoring the Past, Building the Future (McDougal Littell) -ch. 1-15, ch. 16-30 next year in 8th grade since she'll be studying world history concurrently
World- Story of the World 3
Supplements:
Money Matters For Teens (Fall Semester)
Greater Health God’s Way (Spring Semester)


I created a spreadsheet in Excel, with the "week of" down the left side and the subjects across the top. (It's still "in-progress", so that's why much of it's blank.) I blocked off the main subject areas in different colors so as I'm planning the days I can make sure they are evenly distributed throughout the week. It helps me to visually differentiate between the main subject areas. (I'm very visual!) The light blue are the ELA courses, green are the math and science. I didn't create a separate column for Critical Thinking because we just read through the books together with no set schedule. (The same applies to the Health and Economics books we'll be reading together.)

I'm planning a total of 39 weeks, although we'll take time for travel (God-willing!) when we can and I may have to bump some things into next summer. If we don't travel and actually stay on schedule we'll be finished at the end of May. As I posted a few months ago, one of her goals this year is to finish her work, to have a clear-cut beginning and end to the year so I'm making sure she's able to see where she needs to be in each book in order to finish in May. It looks like a lot, but it's very doable the way I've got it laid out.

Last year I began doing all of my planning on the computer, which I loved. My previous plan books had been full of circles and arrows as the inevitable adjustments were made throughout the year. It was much easier last year to simply copy/paste/delete/move things, then print out the week and put it in my binder. I made my own plan book last year, 3-ring style, so I could customize it the way I wanted. I don't scrapbook, but I had a bunch of the "stuff" so I made a bright cover sheet for one of those view-through notebooks. This was partly so it would be cute and fun, and partly so I could find it in a pile, LOL. I looked up all of the scriptures I could find with the word "plan" in them, then designed it on the computer with all of the scriptures in different fonts. I added a few stickers and, voila! The main verse in the center is kind of my little joke to myself. Obviously, that's the Lord talking, but I had to chuckle at how many times I have written in my plan book thinking that to myself. Yeah, right.



Inside the notebook there is a section for each child individually, plus a separate section for what we do together. Each section will have a yearly overview (above) as well as a hard copy of our weekly plans. At the front I have our weekly schedule (another Excel creation) and the local public school schedule printed out from the internet so I'll know what weeks the rest of the world is out of school. (Sometimes that helps me plan when/ when not to schedule field trips, LOL.) I downloaded some planning forms from Donna Young's site, tweaked them to my liking, and that's what I use on my laptop for my weekly planning. I usually print the plans out for the upcoming week sometime on Friday the week before, or on the weekend if I work on them then. I'll post more about my weekly planning another time... I'm looking at the "big picture" at the moment. :)

Well, this is the part of the "puzzle" I'm working on at the moment. I guess these would be the edges and corner pieces. Once I get the "framework" done and begin my weekly planning, I suppose those would be like the middle pieces of the puzzle. Hopefully at the end of the year it will look at least a little like the picture on the box (what I've envisioned in my head!).

But I'm not "gluing anything down" just yet, though...

I'm sure I sounded like an idiot...

...but what else is new? We were at Wal Mart the other day and they had the big cardboard display thingy where you could pick up your school supply list for your specific school. We always grab a couple just out of curiosity (or so that we can feel like we're really getting away with something buying a rolling backpack in a no-rolling-backpack-school-zone, LOL). Anyway, our district assigns your school based on where you live. In the sea of people grabbing lists, and with rows and rows of school sheets on the display I was trying to get the kids to hurry up and get out of everyone's way. So, amid the moms and kids I said to my kids, "Oh, it doesn't matter guys, just pick any school. You can just pick any school you want!" A couple of the moms looked at me as if to say, "Um, you can't do that..."

Aaargh... Good Reading, Matey!

I received my Veritas Press order a couple of weeks ago. This year I ordered these books, recommended by VP for grade 5. They are better than I expected! All three are beautifully illustrated, with nice, glossy pages. Truly quality books. Great stories, too!

With the current "Pirates of the Caribbean" craze, a pirate-themed book will capture most 10-year-old boys' imaginations!

Blackthorn Winter
"Set on the eastern seaboard in the third year of the reign of good Queen Anne, this pirate novel contrasts righteous behavior and foolishness. The story follows the service of fifteen-year-old Thomas Ingle on the Prudent Hannah under the honorable Captain Monroe and then their unfortunate tour on the Lady Constance. Treasure, financial hardship, and pirate mystique all add to the cleverly woven tale. Kid's won't put it down, and you won't either." Kyle discovered it the day it came and started reading it immediately. I managed to pry it away from him and put it away for school, though.

Here are the other titles we bought, along with the description from the catalog:


Susan Creek
"Sequel to Blackthorn Winter, yet clever enough to stand on its own. Wilson's further venture into historic fiction once again captured the discerning interest of our four boys and will captivate your students, too. Set during the Great Awakening, this story provides inimitable opportunity for proving how godly boys become godly men. "


Squalls Before War
"Using extensive research and the actual logs of her tour of the colonies from 1768-1772, a tale is spun about the Royal Navy's smallest schooner. The Boston Massacre, the Great Awakening and even George Washington play a part in this account of colonial life. It's as close to being there as is possible without a time machine!"

Kyle will be reading these this year, along with some selections from Sonlight, usually sequenced according to this helpful booklist. From the looks of it, though, the above books will be a highlight!

We have Contact...

We saw these wooden chalkboard bins at Target a couple of weeks ago and thought they were cute idea, but they ranged in price from $9.99 to $24.99 apiece, which was more than I wanted to spend. Plus, being wooden, they were pretty heavy. That same week at the Mardel sale, I bought a roll of chalkboard Contact paper, just because I thought it was pretty cool! Last week at Dollar General I found some bins that I liked for $2 and $3 and copied the idea from Target:


These are for the kids to turn their work/ daily binders in each day to be checked/ graded. I've always done Bethany's "stuff" in blue and Kyle's in green, so I can know at a glance whose is whose! I like having chalkboard on the bins so I can write fun notes of encouragement or reminders.





I have two shelves designated for all the teacher editions and extra resources that correspond with their respective curricula. These smaller bins hold the thinner, soft cover books really well, I think.


When we saw how cute the chalkboard-Contact looked on the boxes (and how easy it was to write on!) we looked around for other places to use it.



They each have one of those skinny Rubbermaid organizer carts (with the wheels off) next to their desks. Those have proven very useful and versatile over the years. Well, with a little chalkboard-Contact they are also a bit cuter! We've used it on these particular areas where the contents sometimes change, so a fixed label wouldn't be as useful.







We are having fun getting our school room spruced up with a few inexpensive touches. We've been doing a bit of summer school each day, but doing some new things to the school room is getting us in back-to-school mode as August approaches. (Next week!)

Star Crossed

**As is so often the case, life-lessons and school-lessons have "intersected." I posted this today on my other blog. If you read both, I apologize for the "cross"post. :) **


Last night, our teaching pastor delivered a message entitled, "Stars." The focus scripture was Psalm 19:

"The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they display knowledge." (verses 1 & 2)

If, he pointed out, "day after day they pour forth speech," what are the stars saying?

1. He is God. (verse 1)

2. That we are not. (Isaiah 40 :25-26)

3. We are loved. (Psalm 8: 3-4)

It was an excellent, excellent message (and very timely for us as we are studying astronomy!)

As I listened, I was reminded of a similar message I heard a few months ago by Louis Giglio at a Chris Tomlin concert. There was a certain photo he showed that absolutely took my breath away, so I stayed up late last night searching the internet for it. I found it at the Hubble Site:

This image of the core of the nearby Whirlpool Galaxy, was taken with the camera on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It shows a striking , dark "X" silhouetted across the galaxy's nucleus. The "X" is due to absorption by dust and marks the exact position of a black hole which may have a mass equivalent to one-million stars like the sun.

What this looks like to me, is a reminder that "we are loved." (NASA can call it an "X" if they want... the Greek letter "chi" is a common abbreviation for "Cristos" in some New Testament manuscripts.) I love that it's due to "absorption by dust" and marks a massive black hole. My punishment was absorbed on the cross, and my sin may as well have disappeared into a black hole. What a glorious thought!

Our pastor quoted from the book, The Privileged Planet , that "Earth is located in the prime place for life, but also observation." From that he highlighted the fact that "God gave us the best platform to observe and know Him." According to the NASA website, "the [Whirlpool] galaxy is spectacular because it is tilted nearly face-on to Earth, allowing for an unobstructed view of its bright core."

Face-on.

Unobstructed view.

The best platform to observe and know Him.

This morning I am reminded afresh that the cross of Christ is a "face-on, unobstructed view" of the Father's love for us. It is the "platform by which we may observe and know Him." The cross is there, for those who will find it. And it is there to be found.

Don't forget to schedule playtime!

I read this article today, a great reminder for me as I'm thinking through our daily school schedule:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13957025/
Good news for kids: Doctors advise more play
Youngsters between 5 and 16 need to be active for 1 1/2 hours a day

"European and international health experts say a new study makes the most convincing case yet for the benefits of children being active. They say the research may lead to new guidelines saying youngsters between ages 5 and 16 need to be active up to 1½ hours a day."For some parents, that might be accomplished simply by showing their children the door.

Now, that doesn't mean that we need to now enroll all our homeschooled kids in structured PE classes. To the contrary:

"For some parents, that might be accomplished simply by showing their children the door. “Just making sure children play outside will double the amount of physical activity they get,” said Dr. Lars Bo Andersen, lead author of the research published Friday in the medical journal Lancet."

Some other quotes of note:

“We don’t need to be getting kids running in the gym on treadmills,” said Cavill. “We need to encourage kids to play.” One of the study’s key findings, he explained, is that it proves the utility of short bursts of activity, rather than a need for continuous exercise.
The researchers said physical activity does not demand intense exercise, such as playing soccer or tennis. “There is a value to five- and 10-minute bouts of activity, where kids will run for a little while and then stop,” said Cavill.

(The entire article is really good- these are just the parts that jumped out at me.)

I'm glad for this reminder, especially now that my kids are older. I don't know that I would place that much importance on getting them outside, and especially for 1-1/2 hours a day. We have a treadmill which they both enjoy using, but I think I'm going to be "showing them the door" more. There's more of an emphasis on outside playtime when they are younger, but older kids and adults need it just as much. In Greater Health God's Way Stormie Omartian says that, "I've seen people who were sickly and suffering from insomnia and nervous disorders become new people when they took on a program of physical activity in the great outdoors." Sounds like it would be good for me, too!

One of my goals for this year will be to let school out(side) more often!

Galile-hellO???

We took our telescope to west Texas this week. Since we are studying astronomy, I thought it would be a perfect time for stargazing out in the country, away from the city lights. I composed this song to commemorate the special time the kids and I shared out under the Texas sky.

It is to be sung to the tune of "Deep in the Heart of Texas." A Texas accent is optional (for some people, not me!) and adds additional flavor to this meaningful song...

The stars at night

Are big and bright

[clap-clap-clap-clap]

But Mom can't wo-o-rk the telescope.

We looked and looked

We checked the book

[clap-clap-clap-clap]
But it was n-o-o-t what we'd hoped.

"Hey, I can't see!"

"Oh, here.. let me..."

[clap-clap-clap-clap]

Good grief, what a-a-re we doin' wrong?

The sky we scanned,

I had it planned

[clap-clap-clap-clap]

'Cause I'm a Ga-a-alileo Mom!

We all took turns
But 'twas a blur

[clap-clap-clap-clap]
It's harder th-a-an it oughtta be

"Hands-on" science
Could lead to violence

[stomp-stomp-stomp-stomp]
In the name of astonomy!

Goal- Setting

This weekend I'm working on setting specific goals for our homeschool. In "The Organized Homeschooler" by Vicki Caruana (mentioned in my previous post), she has a diagram of a target. In the center of the target it says, "Goals." There are four arrows aiming at the target. Each arrow is labeled, "Activities," "Curriculum, "Evaluation," and "Field Trips." It has really gotten me to think! It seems so simple! The ideas of goal-setting and mission statements are discussed in many homeschool resources that I've read over the years. I've sort of nodded my head and highlighted those sections of books, and while I've had a general idea of what I want our homeschool to accomplish, I've mainly just claimed those wonderful verses in Deuteronomy as my overarching goal or purpose in homeschooling. There's a quote that says, "If you don't know where you're going, how will you know when you get there?" Caruana turns it around to say, "If you know where you're going, you'll know when you get there." I love that!

As I look at the target diagram in the book, I can imagine some general goals that I do have in the center of my target. I can see my "curriculum" arrow pointing at the target. However, as I imagine it, some of my "activity" and "field trip" arrows are either not pointing at the target, or are pointing at the "curriculum" arrow, causing it to veer off course! As August approaches and it's time to sign up for field trips and activities, I'm going to be sure that what we sign up for actually helps us achieve our goals.

Once I figure out exactly what they are!