tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19814454602029205842024-03-07T04:25:39.708-05:00In Everything...In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.comBlogger1996125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-79832296242292806662015-10-29T07:00:00.000-04:002015-10-29T07:00:05.328-04:00Food Allergies and Science Experiments<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In our last chapter in Science a few years sgo, we had instructions to complete an experiment with eggs.<br />
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In case you were not aware, I have 3 children allergic to eggs :/<br />
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So normally I would just skip the experiment/activity. Like when Saxon 1 calls for using peanuts... we have peanut allergies, too... obviously we just SKIP it or find a substitute (in that case we used jelly beans in plastic Easter eggs).<br />
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This recent experiment though seemed pretty safe because if it was done correctly the kids would have no need to come in contact with the eggs. So we tried it;)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/CJZGFUcZQJs?list=UUus7PkWenktouG3z96eRgYQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
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YAY!! <br />
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The hesitation (and nervous fussing) was magnified due to the eggs being present:/ And during this 1st attempt both girls (and possibly Nate as well) were WAY behind me... so they could see but not be anywhere near the eggs:)<br />
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I am thankful for my children's healthy respect of some of these food they are allergic to since they can (and have) made them ill. So they DO need to be super cautious about knowing what ingredients are in foods they are planning to eat. AND knowing what foods are lingering around them... ie, peanut shells near playgrounds, scrambled egg leftovers in the sink, or even a gallon of milk in the fridge when we have company.<br />
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But there should also be a healthy balance that I am constantly striving to model. I don't want their allergies to unnecessarily limit them! Like not going to the park because of the peanut shells. Or not wanting to touch a cart at the grocery store because what residue might be leftover from the person before us (who gave their noisy kiddo a peanut butter snack at the store).<br />
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Thankfully.... with taking some necessary precautions, like warnings NOT to touch the egg:) Or to step back, just in case the egg flies... LOL! We had a fun time with this experiment and grew a little bit with our food allergies, too.<br />
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-70908760391626326792015-10-28T22:38:00.000-04:002015-10-28T22:38:00.199-04:00The Perfect Purple Pencil Sharpener <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirw9Wc0jBD3F02R5rUWNq4UKBEHqGRTTbo9GpyMlVFkHmoSSfyJXZv2yKVQJGQ81fRBWbDTs-LXj2_OvtdIAmNSfby4qmQnoBZ0KhCl26UQFRZ08jB5STUivBM7hWbBVqOCAhosXIuFXU/s1600/purple+Logo_ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirw9Wc0jBD3F02R5rUWNq4UKBEHqGRTTbo9GpyMlVFkHmoSSfyJXZv2yKVQJGQ81fRBWbDTs-LXj2_OvtdIAmNSfby4qmQnoBZ0KhCl26UQFRZ08jB5STUivBM7hWbBVqOCAhosXIuFXU/s1600/purple+Logo_ad.jpg" /></a></div>
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In the busyness of the classroom, there are very few items that a teacher can rely on consistently to bring peace during the day. And for me there is nothing more aggravating than having students constantly sharpening pencils with the loud scraping or machine like noises. Or having the pencils that they do sharp not completely sharpen... so yes, more noise, distraction and kids off task.<br />
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In our small classroom of four, <a href="http://seethefam.blogspot.com/2014/02/pencil-sharpening-sanity-review.html">a pencil sharpener brought our chaos into sanity</a> about a year and a half ago! Our little red beauty has served us well.... and others, too! Yes, others! We have sharpened friends' pencils to our house. Pencils from church groups. Pencils for my husband's work related events.<br />
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We were recently asked if we wanted to try out the newest color... purple!! We eagerly agreed because we know the quality of our red sharpener and the fun (and peace) it has brought into our classroom space. After sharpening the first pencil we were reminded of how much we love these sharpeners!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7fzZyiEzS1wXInO0y4tS_VPdEBigo-Y0cl3p1ysf1iG8ix5lxkBEfh6iQcLKuPFVRwoI89gTWNfGt7AnojBHKngSFr2_ZkHsSL9Gfl_Wz6MGHtNGhYJenqGAGRWtkExZ8ODd7-bptOQ/s1600/IMG_0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7fzZyiEzS1wXInO0y4tS_VPdEBigo-Y0cl3p1ysf1iG8ix5lxkBEfh6iQcLKuPFVRwoI89gTWNfGt7AnojBHKngSFr2_ZkHsSL9Gfl_Wz6MGHtNGhYJenqGAGRWtkExZ8ODd7-bptOQ/s320/IMG_0375.JPG" width="213" /></a>The biggest thing with these sharpeners is <i>the ease of use </i>(safe and <a href="http://seethefam.blogspot.com/2014/02/pencil-sharpening-sanity-review.html">easy for the kids</a> to use)<i>,</i><br />
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The <i>durability and simplicity,</i><br />
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The <i>consistency,</i><br />
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And the <i>cool colors</i>!!!<br />
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What a great way to bring sanity saving and fun into a classroom of ANY size!<br />
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<a href="http://classroomfriendlysupplies.com/">Classroom Friendly Supplies</a> is also committed to make shopping with them simple and painless:) They have multiple of different colors and quantities available. Even a sharpener for those thick pencils for those little hands! And FREE shipping!<br />
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They must speak "teacher" !<br />
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Get your PURPLE (or red, green, blue, pink, or black) sharpener at <a href="http://classroomfriendlysupplies.com/">Classroom Friendly Supplies</a>!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">**<span style="font-size: x-small;">We are grateful for <a href="http://classroomfriendlysupplies.com/">Classroom Friendly Supplies</a> for the opportunity to do this review of their new purple sharpener! </span></span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.79px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">We have accurately shared our opinion of this product with no compensation besides being able to keep the new </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 20.79px;">purple sharpener!</span></div>
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-82780598623409939082015-08-14T08:39:00.001-04:002015-08-14T08:40:27.307-04:00Our 2015 -2016 Curriculum Choices<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">One of the best (and most intimidating) parts of home schooling for the homeschooling parents is choosing curriculum! There is just soooo much out there! And each family and kid is soo unique! What are our goals? What will fit us? How can I do this for the best price;)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">So I am sharing these choices as what I really have hoped and prayed will fit us this year! Thankfully, while my kids are very different, we can do (and re-use) a lot of the same materials and just tweak them a bit to fit each kids' strengths and aid their weaknesses! And I've learned through the years that sometimes a curriculum works for us and sometimes it doesn't.... just finish it, drop and replace or let it go:)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">What we are doing together...</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Over the summer as I prayed for our new school year and began looking through curriculum (and saw my oldest grow taller), I really began to ask what I needed to do to really give my kids a strong <b>spiritual foundation</b>. For years we have included devotion, Bible reading and memorization, character development, and lots of great application. So this year we will continue doing those things... like we will be reading <b>Psalms</b> looking for what it teaches about God, continuing to use<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Our-24-Family-Ways-Devotional/dp/1888692154/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439040466&sr=1-1&keywords=our+24+family+ways+by+clay+clarkson"> <b>Our 24 Family Ways</b></a> as a guide to point us to better character, creating prayer cards to be more diligent in prayer and adding in <b>Apology Who is God?</b> as our weekly Bible Study. I am excited!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/20378507030/in/dateposted-public/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9671"><img alt="IMG_9671" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5671/20378507030_9ddd9cee00.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking through the dividers to see the world in different ways (colors) like our lesson described.</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</span> <b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Memory Work </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">is</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"> </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">done together during our "together time".</span><b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"> </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">We began learning the verses from Apology Who is God. We are also working through the Medieval Vertias Press Timeline Cards, science facts, and memorizing portions of various Shakespeare plays using <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307951502?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00">How to Teach Your Child Shakespeare</a></b>.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">We are using our favorite friend SOTW for history:) This year we are diving into the Medieval world with <b>Story of the World, Volume 2</b>. The challenge for us is making it work with 3 different levels. It's honestly our spine and then we add in encyclopedias, resource books, and projects at the kids' levels. Another challenge for me is finding corresponding literature at the kids' levels and what they enjoy; I use a couple of different lists to help, like The Well Trained Mind, Tapestry of Grace and Ambleside Online reading lists.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</span></span></span> <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">For now our guide for science is Anna's science book <b>How the Earth Works</b>. I have divided it into 18 weeks of reading and study. Chris and Lydia will follow along with similar topics in the Usborne Science Encyclopedia and supplemental library books. Anna's book includes hands-on experiments with almost every page, so we'll pick one (or two a week). We'll follow a similar 18 week schedule/assignments with <b>How the Universe Works</b> and <b>Apologia's Astronomy</b> book after Christmas!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</span></span></span> <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">I am also hoping to do "nature study" once a week using Handbook of Nature Study by Comstock and the free resources for the <a href="http://handbookofnaturestudy.com/">Outdoor Hour Challenge</a>.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</span></span></span> <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Alone the older kids are going to do Daily Grams as independent work throughout the week. Together I am excited to be supplementing it with <b>Fix-IT Grammar by IEW</b>! We are using vol.2 Robin Hood and after our first week I feel this is a really great fit for us. Not only are we learning grammar, but applying it to passages that need to be corrected.... which unfortunately, is the way many yearly exams test grammar skills. I love fun it is to do together and so far they are asking to do their short assignment each day! </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</span></span></span> <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Writing is always a challenge for us. The kids write narrations, summaries and (now) outlines as they read science, history and literature. So they are writing constantly.... it's just not in a formal manner and while I will look over their work, I often don't correct every error in their daily work. It's a record of their reading and ability to process what they've read and learned. So we needed something to push them to be better writers without being another writing assignment. I decided to follow The Well Trained Mind in using <b>Writing Strands 3</b>... it looks a little simplistic, especially since they've been used to IEW topical assignments. I do hope to get<b> IEW Medieval Writings</b> to supplement.... we probably won't do all the writing projects from there, but pick and choose what fits us best.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">An opportunity came our way at the beginning of the summer, a homeschooling family with our group offered to teach some <b>horse basics and learning to ride lessons</b>. We were thrilled since the girls had been asking and asking. They diligently study their horse units so they can have those sections quizzed and checked off by our leader. They are working towards going on a trail ride sometime in the fall ( or whenever they are ready).</span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"><br />
</b> <b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Our county home school group</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"> meets every Friday for all sorts of activities like field trips, holiday parties, service/ministry opportunities, PE, and 4-H! The kids have made friends in the group and I truly love the support, encouragement and fellowship I get to have with the other homeschooling families.</span><br />
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</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">What we do individually (but sometimes together)...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/20572974341/in/dateposted-public/" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9685"><img alt="IMG_9685" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5744/20572974341_7b55ce8d8d.jpg" width="333" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some silliness while on a nature hike</td></tr>
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Anna (6th)</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Math - Saxon 8/7 with DIVE</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Spelling - Spelling Power and Word Roots</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Grammar - Daily Grams 6</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Reading - Literature suggested by WTM, AO and TOG for Medieval</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Spanish - Rosetta Stone </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Logic - Reading Detective</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Music - piano lessons</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Chris (4th)</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Math - Saxon 6/5 with DIVE</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Spelling - Spelling Power</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Grammar - Daily Grams 4/5</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Reading - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Literature suggested by WTM, AO and TOG for Medieval</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Spanish - Rosetta Stone </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Logic - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Think-It-Through Tiles.... eventually </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Building Thinking Skills and Reading Detective </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Music - piano lessons </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;" />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Lydia (3rd/4th)</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Math - Saxon 6/5 with DIVE</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Spelling - Spelling Power</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Grammar - Daily Grams 4</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Reading - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Literature suggested by WTM, AO and TOG for Medieval</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Spanish - Rosetta Stone </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Logic - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Think-It-Through Tiles.... eventually </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Building Thinking Skills and Reading Detective </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Photography Basics and enter local contests</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Nate (K)</b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Reading - Letter Factory Set of DVDs, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">OPGTR and AlphaPhonics</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Math - Saxon 1</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Logic - eventually....Think-It-Through Tiles (totally thrift-ed these... a great find!!!)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Reliability with chores</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Completing tasks</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Following directions</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Polite Manners</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Tying Shoes</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.8500003814697px; line-height: 20.7900009155273px;">Linking up to <a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/not-back-to-school-blog-hop">ihomeschoolnetwork.com</a></span></div>
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-22745966837067302082015-08-07T23:22:00.001-04:002015-08-08T16:56:43.590-04:00Our 2014-2015 Curriculum Wrap -Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As I am working towards putting together a new semester... a mixture of "yippeee" and "ugh"... I can't help but look back at last year.<br />
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The new texts and the very used books (thrifty to the core!).<br />
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The huge amazing curriculum that I got to borrow, that just didn't fit:/<br />
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The simple text that I really thought I hated, that turned out to be exactly what we needed:)<br />
<br />
<b>History</b><br />
Our biggest change last year was Tapestry of Grace, Year 1 that I go to borrow from a super generous friend (curriculum and a lot of resource books). I had heard from lots of different places how great TOG was and I really looked forward to covering the same topics with the kids while challenging them at their own levels. Oh! And it's all planned out, so all I needed was to find the books and go!!!<br />
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Except...<br />
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it didn't! I mean it did have ALL it said, but it didn't. The Bible study were more readings with questions and didn't have assignments for each week. So one we we'd read a few chapters, another week there was nothing and the following week there was 20 chapters, which made planning Bible each week a <i>challenge</i>:/ <br />
<br />
Often you hear people calling TOG "a buffet". And while some can handle seeing all the vocabulary, topics, readings, alternate readings, and projects in front of them, it was overwhelming to see all the things that the kids and I WEREN'T going to do each week:/ Our priorities were in different areas and I just couldn't find the time or understand the need for doing each one.<br />
<br />
So went back to Story of the World, vol 1.... sort of:) I used TOG's schedule and some of the resources, but kept SOTW as the core:/ The main reason was because TOG didn't have a single source that we could read together before jumping into the deeper resources.<br />
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One thing I LOVED about TOG, Vol 1 though was that it really did help us look into the biblical world. There were insights that really have stuck with me. And I am amazed how much knowledge about the nations around Israel that we got to explore and learn!!<br />
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And I loved the reading/literature ideas. We read a lot of the books that TOG suggested! Many of the books that were suggested for the different stages really didn't fit the kids' levels or interests... so the ones I had seen on many different "must read" lists, I read aloud:)<br />
<br />
Honestly, I really wouldn't have known if TOG was a good fit for our family if I hadn't had the chance to use it!! Again, I found the resources they suggested to be awesome, it just didn't fit the way my brain works and the goals I have right now with our time together. Great books though! And having volume 1 during the Ancients study was awesome for us.<br />
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<b>Science</b><br />
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<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15760589416/in/album-72157646294376216/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_9997"><img alt="IMG_9997" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5612/15760589416_d0fe48d2d9.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js"></script>Another resource new to us last year was <a href="http://www.christianbook.com/christian-kids-explore-biology/stephanie-redmond/9781892427052/pd/427052?event=Homeschool">Christian Kids Explore Biology</a>. From the description and Table of Contents it looked like it covered everything we wanted. When I finally had it in my hands I was frustrated with the simple lessons and how the human body was just a week or two of one page lessons.Thankfully I had planned to use it as the spine and then add in science books and encyclopedias (suggested from Well Trained Mind).<br />
<br />
It ended up being exactly what we needed. It gave us structure we could do all together, but then we added in a LOT at the kids' level and different projects. With the resources and the spine it just all came together!<br />
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I am thankful I can look back on last year with relief... LOL!! We had a great year and pushed through to accomplish all I had wanted by completing the Ancients and Biology well... even with some materials I wasn't sure would work for us;) They ended up working in their own way, by us tweaking them to fit us better!!<br />
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And some memorable pictures of our year!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15410940969/in/album-72157646294376216/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9462"><img alt="IMG_9462" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3934/15410940969_2040a84730.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to complete normal tasks without use of the thumb to grasp.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dissecting an owl pellet.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Exploring a battle ship.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Listening to Nate read sight words from a reader!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Discovering planes, ships and plants at the Air and Space Museum.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finding the different types of plant roots.... in the yard, of course;)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of photography and visits to the "bird zoo" (we've been 4x since Christmas, gotta love an annual pass)!</td></tr>
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-54339446090036970312015-03-13T23:14:00.001-04:002015-03-13T23:14:20.296-04:00Happy 9th Chris!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Chris celebrated his birthday quietly in November... well, sort of quietly:/<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15675107978" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_0160 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0160" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7579/15675107978_5e465513c4.jpg" width="333" /></a>We had planned to do a family trip to the museum, until a toothache hit Chris the Monday before Thanksgiving :( Last February, he had a really deep cavity filled and I really thought that this pain meant that the tooth was finally infected and ready to go. I brought him into the dental clinic we use that day and they said it had to pulled by an oral surgeon. Chris was laying on the floor in pain (after a dose of pain medicine) as the surgeon told me over the phone he couldn't be seen until January!!<br />
<br />
The "mommy" in me went to "momma bear" mode and I started calling around to get something done a little more quickly... like before Thanksgiving. Wisdom and advice from friends led me to a great pediatric dentist who took a LOT more time with us, took better x-rays and sent us to some great people.<br />
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Thankfully the "tooth issue" was resolved for a while at the university dental clinic:)<br />
<br />
He had another "flare up" this February and was in severe pain for almost a week! Way too long! When we got to our dentist they immediately got a better x-ray that confirmed everyone's minds. Chris needed a root canal. So we're currently in the process of the procedure and he is doing awesome!<br />
<br />
But now onto CHRIS.... what a great year he had!!<br />
<br />
There was a big difference for us early in the spring... it started with me just being intentional about spending time with him... getting to know him more, sitting to read with him one-on-one and just us learning to "get" each other. Through this process I really began to see that Chris and I are probably a little more similar than sometimes I'd like to think. When we need to tidy our rooms but we'll spend hours in our room looking through old books, finding (and messing) with forgotten treasures... basically everything except cleaning:) And we're also really good at looking like we're busy when we're really procrastinating on something we really don't want to do... like a math lesson or a work-related email that needs attention:/<br />
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Another super part of his year was him stepping out in his growing faith. The first part was being willing to say all the books of the Bible at the end-of-year RA meeting. It wasn't just knowing the books because some of the other boys had worked hard to memorize them as well.... he was willing to do it in front of everyone.<br />
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Soon after, during a church invitation he walked forward to make a profession of faith. On June 1st, Chris was baptized by his Grandaddy at our church;) It was a big day... but just another step of this little guy growing up.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15729622244" title="IMG_6458 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6458" height="348" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7303/15729622244_d0bdbff39b.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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When school started in September, Christopher was eager to volunteer for a leadership role in our home school 4-H Club. While he's definitely still growing into the role that he wanted to do, he stepped up!!<br />
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Finally, soccer!! The age group Chris was in put him as one of the "older" kids... in fact, he was probably the oldest kid on our team. But he rose to the occasion! He was a tough team player! And he was able to go to the "all star team" (a first for our family)!<br />
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It was at the all star game that he learned some perseverance and pushed through to the end. Our team was one of the youngest and those little guys played their heart out in the first game. Honestly, I didn't think Chris really played his best.... it was a team effort but he had some pretty big errors:( The kids had a LONG wait until their 2nd game... long, like 4 hours!<br />
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That final game was tough and the kids knew they had already "lost" the tournament.<br />
It went into overtime,<br />
Then a tied shoot out that Chris sat to watch because he wasn't in the first round of goal-makers.<br />
Then "sudden death"... 3 or 4 more players were chosen. The 1st to make a goal, won the game.<br />
They chose Chris to go...<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/16325643686" title="IMG_9953 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9953" height="500" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8670/16325643686_6aba74524e.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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And he made it! And they celebrated!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/16350715242" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_9959 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9959" height="333" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8568/16350715242_8147647800.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chris ran around fir a second and then ran towards the coach... he's literally "in the air" here.</td></tr>
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It's been an awesome year, Chris!! We are soo proud of you! All the challenges and ways you've pushed yourself. We've had some beautiful moments when I just get a peek into who God is molding you to be. And then other moments when I remind myself that you're still just a boy... learning, growing, and trying to figure it all out, too!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15885204366" title="IMG_0231 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0231" height="240" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7477/15885204366_83be627275_m.jpg" width="160" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15910998945" title="IMG_0234 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0234" height="240" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7503/15910998945_c7b4140cac_m.jpg" width="160" /></a><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15724952269" title="IMG_0242 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0242" height="240" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7580/15724952269_df2c6220d5_m.jpg" width="160" /></a></div>
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</b> <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15676622009" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_0156 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_0156" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7549/15676622009_9468d87d12.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
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<b>His favorites:</b><br />
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Color : Orange</div>
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Food: Pepperoni Pizza</div>
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Treat: Chocolate Break-Up<br />
Subject: Art<br />
Animal: Siberian Tiger</div>
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Do inside: LEGOs<br />
Outside Activity: Explore in the woods & water<br />
Toys: LEGOs<br />
Restaurant: O'Charleys<br />
Book: Star Wars comic books<br />
Movie: Star Wars<br />
TV Show: Wild Kratts, Ben 10 (when allowed)<br />
Interests: Marine life</div>
Goals for his 9th year: Build a LEGO town<br />
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When you ask him what he wants to be when he "grows up" he'll respond <i>" a Marine soldier"</i>!<br />
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-52558143251166259802014-12-25T00:58:00.004-05:002014-12-25T00:58:49.844-05:00Merry Christmas & Learning from the Biblical Ladies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We will post a year update sometime next week, but I just wanted to share our CHRISTmas greetings!!<br />
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And share the Christmas nugget I've had on my heart for the last few weeks....<br />
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Sometime in our Advent studies and Sunday morning sermons the conversation between Elizabeth and Mary in Luke 1!<br />
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<span class="text Luke-1-36" id="en-NASB-24930" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>And behold, even your relative Elizabeth </i></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Luke-1-36" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>has also conceived a son in her old age; </i></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Luke-1-36" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>and she who was called barren </i></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Luke-1-36" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>is now in her sixth month.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span class="text Luke-1-37" id="en-NASB-24931" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><b>For nothing will be impossible with God.</b>”</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"> </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span class="text Luke-1-38" id="en-NASB-24932" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;">And Mary said, “Behold, <b>the</b></span><span class="text Luke-1-38" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><b><span style="line-height: 22px;"> </span><span style="line-height: 24px;">bondslave of the Lord; </span></b></span></i></span></div>
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<span class="text Luke-1-38" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>may it be done to me according to your word.</b>” </i></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Luke-1-38" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>And the angel departed from her.</i></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Luke-1-38" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Luke-1-38" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">Although we've had a pretty "quiet" year, we've had plenty that has come before us that has been hard and some things just really seemed (and still seem) "impossible". I'm not going to share the who/when/where/whats but only want to go back to the Christmas Story and see the HOPE that is there.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">For years Elizabeth had struggled with infertility, wanting a baby, having a natural God-given desire to mother a child. And in His time God allows that to happen in a miraculous way that fits into His plan. She is overwhelmed with joy. And when confronted with Mary's part she gets just a glimpse of understanding of who her own child will become, that he has a role in the bigger picture of God's plan of redeeming the world.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">Speaking of that plan, people for generations before Elizabeth were also waiting and wanting. They were looking for one that God had promised centuries beforehand that was going to rescue His people, all those willing to make Him Lord.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">I continue reading in the conversation and I am confronted with Mary's response. Obviously she is humble, but what strikes me is her willingness! She didn't ask to be the Mother of the Savior!! She didn't ask to carry the burden of a basically unwed mother within a society that could have cast stones at her... not words, real stones to kill her like the law would have allowed.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">But she accepted it, willingly. And we see her at the crucifixion of Christ... a faithful, willing, and devoted mother.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">I am definitely NOT saying that my struggles are made right because I've decided to "give them to the Lord" and be used by Him during the hard times. Or that my struggles compare in scope to these great biblical women.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">But what I am suggesting is that maybe, just maybe, having an attitude and outlook that is focused on the Lord and trusting Him to work it all out in His time (while being faithful to do what I am supposed to be doing... like Gal 6:4,5 NLT) would help. I can still walk in faithfulness and joy and not let the situation weigh me down even when it feels like it's staring me down or holding me back. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">Maybe, just maybe, if I'm willing to trust and be used these struggles will one day seem soo distant and temporary and I will be able to see how God used these times to bring me or others to closer to Himself.... which has been His plan all along.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">I just have to check my words and deeds and see if they demonstrate a heart that is willing to see struggles as not impossible to God but a means to fulfill His great plan. I have to be willing to confess when it's my heart and plans that are trying to lead instead of being lead by the Lord. </span></div>
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Isn't it crazy how this simple event still carries soo much power! It's life-changing on the big Redemptive scale and on the small my life scale. </div>
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Praying that in where ever life has lead you, that you would see the HOPE of the Christmas Story... that you can believe in the impossible and be willing to trust God... through the good times and bad! </div>
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Merry CHRISTmas!! </div>
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-41452179951776190742014-11-11T07:00:00.000-05:002014-11-11T07:00:01.706-05:00Tiny (but determined) Talk Tuesday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I think Nate is already showing promise as a lawyer.<br />
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<b>Nate (4 yrs):<i> Mom, do you want me to get in an accident and the police to come when I drive a car?</i></b><br />
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Mom: No.<br />
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Nate: <i><b>Well then... I need to watch Mickey Mouse Club because that tells me how to drive stuff.</b></i><br />
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LOL!! A very convincing argument, aimed straight at this mom's desire to protect her children. He is good! And extremely persistent.<br />
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On the tough side of Nate's "gift" of argument... is the argument part! Phew!<br />
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Teaching and trying to mold his heart (his desires and then his words) every.single.conversation all.day.long is exhausting.<br />
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It makes me thankful for the mommy wisdom God has allowed me to be exposed to these last few months through a conference, carving out time for reading my Bible, some pretty inspiring blogs and godly motherhood books.<br />
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Now just to continue to apply all that wisdom into our days. Not to grow weary, but to press on! Love, correct, love, referee an argument, love, guide, love, cook dinner, love, bathe, read, love, snuggle and tuck them in for the night;)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span class="text Gal-6-7" id="en-NLT-29156" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;">You will always harvest what you plant...</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"> </span></i></span></div>
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<span class="text Gal-6-9" id="en-NLT-29158" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span class="versenum" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px; position: relative; top: 0px; vertical-align: top;"> </span>So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. </i></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Gal-6-9" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>At just the right time we will reap </i></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Gal-6-9" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="text Gal-6-9" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Galatians 6:7b,9</i></span></span></div>
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-52940074177939327902014-10-30T09:06:00.002-04:002014-10-30T09:06:54.510-04:00Throwback Thursday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Lydia has begun the process of outgrowing her short hair. When growing out hair it always has to go through some "shaggy" stages:) <br />
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Last weekend as Lydia was busy carving her pumpkin, she asked for her hair to be "put up". I was excited and played around with her hair a bit:)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15647155085" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_9658 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9658" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3944/15647155085_3372e3db50.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Obviously, I was working quickly (before she changed her mind) and without a good comb and brush (yay for Saturdays!)... but I had to take a picture because her little face reminded me of this...<br />
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June 2008<br />
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Awe! Cute to see what has and hasn't changed in my sweet Lydia's face!!<br />
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-34890594570940141282014-10-29T09:10:00.001-04:002014-10-30T11:19:49.729-04:00Wordless Wednesday: Annual Pumpkin Carving<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Our annual tradition:) <br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15648007982" title="IMG_9617 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9617" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3945/15648007982_074bbb12ff.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All drama:) Anything to get a laugh from his siblings!</td></tr>
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And this year was soo awesome with the kids doing ALL the work... </div>
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and I did the clean up that was pretty simple since we worked outside!!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15461144067" title="IMG_9682 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9682" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3954/15461144067_ed1ef69bc6.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The girls worked for almost 2 hours on their pumpkin! They finally rested on their tummies.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15659274822" title="IMG_9701 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_9701" height="333" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7466/15659274822_51e05f9f78.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-37237194482144241982014-10-28T09:14:00.000-04:002014-10-28T09:14:00.756-04:00More Tiny Talk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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Nate was looking at our world map in the school room and said,"See that really big orange spot on the map?"<br />
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Me: "Yes, Russia."<br />
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Nate responded,"No, it's Mississippi because it is so big!"<br />
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Lydia: "I'm on chapter 9 of Mr. Popper's Penguins. You know it's kind of a "how-to" book."<br />
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Me: "Really, a "how-to"?"<br />
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Lydia: "Yes, how to keep penguins in your house."<br />
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An afternoon TV show for Nate is sometimes a necessary evil so we can finish that last bit of home schooling. One afternoon the Roku was needing new batteries so Nate had to choose a DVD.<br />
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Nate was NOT please with any of the choices in the kids' DVDs. He opened the adult drawer and found Gilligan's Island! Excitedly, he ran around the house telling the other kids what he was going to watch and then instructing us what episode to turn on.<br />
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He's an old soul:)<br />
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One morning while working hard we all stopped to listen to the rain beat the house. A very hard rain!<br />
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Anna started the conversation, "Oh, wow look at the rain coming down. Do you think that it's going to flood today?"<br />
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Lydia was next,"Don't you remember? God promised He wouldn't flood the Earth again."<br />
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Chris replied to Lydia,"Oh, yeah. But there still are floods that happen in just certain places."<br />
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Then Nate chimes in,"Maybe God forgot?"<br />
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I am thankful daily for the conversations I get to have with the kids and that I get to watch them "make sense" of the world. They want to understand and to have all the dots connect. They want a logical explanation and pattern. It's exciting! And also challenging as I get to see (and hear) their thoughts and encourage them to understand what we can about God and His ways.<br />
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What are your kids saying?</div>In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-47991104110565782812014-10-22T23:38:00.000-04:002014-10-22T23:38:19.814-04:00Throwback Thursday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm kind of in the "throwback" kind of mood lately :)<br />
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I just get soo wrapped up in TODAY that sometimes I miss out on "right now". Like today while trying to "school" the kids, they were just soo stinkn' giggly. The giggles that start because "nothing was funny but everything was funny". And I tried to be patient and play along... really, I did. And I loved the smiles and the laughter. But I was caught up in the tasks of the DAY and not the goofy kiddos in front of me.<br />
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If I can only hold onto those precious giggly kids... not always be pushing to the next task!<br />
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A picture from 2008 at Scott and Bea's wedding! It's truly unbelievable that they've been married 6 years...<br />
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and that those sweet little chubby faces were so young, acting soo grown!<br />
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Those 6 years went WAY too FAST!</div>
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-38361527958682196242014-10-02T01:20:00.001-04:002014-10-02T08:54:37.415-04:00It's That Time Again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15229969988" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8940 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8940" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2941/15229969988_877376308c.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
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Oh, no.....<br />
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not, again.<br />
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Is it really???<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15416242922" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_8937 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8937" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2949/15416242922_d7b4f354e3.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
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Yep!<br />
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Time to get ready....<br />
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colorful jersey?<br />
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just as colorful socks? (really??)<br />
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shorts?<br />
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shin guards?<br />
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cleats?<br />
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Did anyone think of water?<br />
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We've practiced and scrimmaged each other.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15229886940" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_8939 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8939" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3931/15229886940_9da04987dd.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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We are all dressed up! Lined up! Zipped up! Taped up!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15229962218" title="IMG_8945 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8945" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3930/15229962218_43e92705d9.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Ready and waiting!!!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15229945668" title="IMG_8966 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8966" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3929/15229945668_9583421877.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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And here comes the ball!!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15413374131" title="IMG_8971 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8971" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3928/15413374131_b0d8fb9484.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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We've waited all summer. We're ready to work hard<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15416564265" title="IMG_8946 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8946" height="333" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2942/15416564265_77b379dbda.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<br />
to taste victory!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15229949888" title="IMG_8950 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8950" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2950/15229949888_ee64070312.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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LOL!!<br />
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October is soccer month in our area!! I have 3 kids playing this year, Anna, Chris, and Lydia, on two different teams!<br />
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Brian is co-coaching an 8 and under team that Chris and Lydia play on. So far they have really shown improvement! I really like soccer, so I'm so excited that they love playing and are really working hard this year. And we have a really sweet group of kids (and parents) on our team this year which makes it even more enjoyable!!<br />
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<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15230462407" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8970 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8970" height="333" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2943/15230462407_8ed343c7aa.jpg" width="500" /></a>I have to share a story about Chris as the goalie! We played a tough team this week that was constantly shooting at the goal. Chris scares me because he comes soo far out of the goal. Anyway, for one attempt, there was a crowd of kids and I saw one the forwards kick hard right towards the goal. And at first I couldn't see Chris in the group of kiddies. It was then I saw him behind everyone catch the soccer ball right in his chest and bear hug it! He ran it towards the side of the goalie box and threw it to a team member to take down field!! He's really done well as a forward and goalie this year!<br />
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And yes, there was picture above of Lydia in goal. I don't think she likes the goal as much as Chris, but she has done very well in there, too!! She's also doing well as a forward and mid-fielder... I would love for her to score her 1st goal this year:)<br />
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Anna is playing on a 10 and under team. Thankfully she has a great coach who we attend church with and are friends with (that was a BIG answer to prayer since she couldn't be on her daddy's team any longer). Her team played well for their first game:) I loved how she really went after the ball and got it down field twice to attempt to score! That's my girl!<br />
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And yes, it means a month of late night dinners (planned ahead so we can actually eat something when we get home). And some other, awesome events we miss (always a bummer!). Some cool, damp nights. Grass cuttings dragged into the van. Stinky uniforms that need to be washed in 24 hours.<br />
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But we always have a good time!!<br />
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-2064169171958644322014-09-16T07:00:00.000-04:002014-09-16T07:00:03.062-04:00Tiny Talk Tuesday in the School Room<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<center>
<a href="http://www.seethefam.blogspot.com/search/label/tiny%20talk%20tuesday"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZmlwn4oPdOHjXnQN5izJ-yIgTDgECbH2eOcaRNLmzAkNAAM9jz_0LxM7kjePg38lx0cofTmxe02jgP1MQ9QZ4IOiXr11sqyPm9CATBhd5r5dyY46ozWSRRHShF20ENBVwDJXBaaO0CQ/s250/IMG_7954-2.JPG" /></a></center>
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<br />
A question asked in the schoolroom, "Who is Sargon the Great?"<br />
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And answered by one smarty pants 10 yr old, <b>"I know who that is! Its Willie Roberson's great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather."</b><br />
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The question asked by the teacher-Momma, "What do we call it when a ruler uses an army to make people obey the laws?"<br />
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Chris confidently shouted out, <b>"Dictation!!"</b> <br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14975684880" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8439 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8439" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3876/14975684880_fbcf53627a.jpg" width="333" /></a>And this didn't take place in the schoolroom, but the items destroyed were created in there by one tired momma the night before the class:/<br />
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The afternoon after the destroying event....<br />
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In a forget moment of cuteness, I may have said to my dog, "Jack, you're such a good dog!"<br />
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Lydia snuggling Jack responded, <b>"Jack is always good."</b><br />
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Me: "Yeah, like when he ripped up my children's church craft this morning [as we were getting ready for church, where the previously mentioned craft was going to be crafted]."<br />
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Sweet Lydia's gentle answer,<b>"Well, everyone makes mistakes!"</b><br />
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Yep! We all do!<br />
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What are you all "talking" about today? </div>
In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-87282756592314019352014-09-04T00:16:00.001-04:002014-09-04T00:16:51.982-04:00My Students... <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We LOVE starting our school year with our "Back-to-school" pictures! Eagerly the kids decorated their "grade" signs days before we actually started learning;) It's kind of a tradition now for the kids to paint/color them whatever they want:) And it's a physical sign that school is about to start.<br />
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This year we did all the prep work but didn't actually get the pictures on that first morning,<br />
or the second,<br />
or the third, fourth, fifth<br />
or not even on the sixth!<br />
Nope... on a random day during the 3rd week, we finally got it together to get the kids dressed nicely and all the smiles on;)<br />
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And honestly, I was disappointed that none of us really were ready for pictures during any of those days.... I still saw the need for them. It will be awesome looking back a year from now and being able to see how much they have grown:) Or looking back 20 years from now and seeing them all together... longing for those days to have continued a little longer.<br />
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So we did the picture thing.. a little late:) <br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15069124415" title="IMG_8347 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8347" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3896/15069124415_c9666fb013_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
This the crew all together (minus Jack-the dog)! They are super busy, loud, insightful, creative, interested. And can be somewhat distracted, whiny and messy! But they are my sweet little class and we have some crazy, fun and productive days, too!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15066067161" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8364 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8364" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5593/15066067161_3960a7f0b6_z.jpg" width="427" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Anna</span></span><br />
The 5th Grader<br />
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She's our "time clock"! Often, she will ask "when are we..." or "how much time before we...."! If I show up anywhere early/on-time/5 minutes late it's because Anna has planned our departure so we can be "on-time".<br />
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Often she is also the "guinea pig"... as all first-borns seem to be:) Thankfully she is a hard-worker and sees some of the material or tasks I give her as a challenge and does her best to complete it.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15069077835" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_8373 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8373" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3888/15069077835_0399244f92_z.jpg" width="427" /></a><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Chris</span></span></b><br />
The 3rd Grader<br />
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The "artist"! Chris is our resident drawing creator! He loves drawing and often will be sketching away as we read. It's always fun to listen to him explain the drawings from reading time. Often they are a narration of a part of the story.<br />
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The "distracted one". Oh Chris, my Chris! There are some days he finishes assignments so efficiently with enthusiasm. And then other days when the math lesson drags on for hours (or at least it seems). If I could just figure how to help make every day the former, we'd be good to go;)<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14882500687" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8381 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8381" height="640" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5553/14882500687_f56698e76c_z.jpg" width="427" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Lydia</b></span></span><br />
The 2nd/3rd Grader<br />
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The "peacemaker". I'm not sure if all 3rd borns are as peacemaking as our Lydia, but I am thankful for her personality. She balances not getting walked over with compromising with her siblings so that everyone gets a little of what they wanted. And I'm praying that this isn't just a stage:)<br />
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Lydia also pushes herself to "keep up" with her older two siblings. For her it's motivating to finish work before them or to do the same projects. Or even not get as many wrong on the spelling test. While this is a GREAT quality it's also can cause extra pressure and discouragement, especially in the afternoon following an intensive morning school. And she really is keeping up!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/15068673152" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_8395 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8395" height="640" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3914/15068673152_1c0b8b0428_z.jpg" width="427" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Nate</b></span><br />
The Pre-Ker<br />
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The "sponge". It is not unusual to hear this little guy answer a question that was asked of an older sibling. He's heard and been around schooling his whole life. And now we know he was just hanging out to absorb it all:)<br />
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The "attention getter". The youngest of 4 has to be loud (just for survival) and Nate fits that description well. Even his normal talking voice is loud. When it's not his words getting him into trouble; it's his antics and mischief made just for some attention! <br />
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Let's just say that the school room is NEVER boring... it's lively and full of busy little kids working and playing hard!!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14882516608" title="IMG_8352 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8352" height="427" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3861/14882516608_5c54ac32de_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Yep! Another crazy year!</div>
</div>
In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-6850557364040305052014-08-25T23:55:00.000-04:002014-08-25T23:55:03.090-04:00Weekly Wrap-Up : The 1st Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I honestly was a little worried about going from our relaxing and unscheduled summer days into a school day routine. We did start very slowly only adding a few subjects at first. In fact, there were a few subjects like Science and Logic that I had collected the materials for but didn't really plan to teach so we could really just ease in. But the kids asked... or more like begged! So we ended up covering a lot more than I had initially planned!<br />
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Glad I was ready:)<br />
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<b>Bible</b><br />
We started with Old Story New in the beginning of the week:) We started it last year, worked on a few weeks through the summer and so it felt very familiar. We also read and discussed some introductory verses from Tapestry of Grace, Year 1.<br />
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<b>Math</b><br />
All three older kids jumped excitedly into their math:) They were sharing a computer, which I dreaded; but, it all worked out quite well. As they waited for each other to finish they worked on their own practice problems or fact sheet. Since the girls were starting with a new level they began with review, but Chris jumped right back into the middle of the 4th year... so it was a little tougher to zip through lessons, but he got the hang of it quickly!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14964744412" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8231 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8231" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5556/14964744412_5bb48860a0.jpg" width="500" /></a><b>Writing</b><br />
We started with the IEW Ancients curriculum. We started on key word outlining because it matched our history topics better than the beginning assignments. The kids knew right what to do from our experience last year with IEW. It was exciting to see how quickly they remembered how to pick out the key words and then to use the outlines for their own summaries. Yipppeee!!<br />
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<b>Reading</b><br />
For our reading, we used the literature suggestions from Tapestry. Anna started the cat of Bubastes by G.A. Henty and Lydia and Chris read other books about Egypt, Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile, Deserts and Peeps at Many Lands (on the Kindle). Anna quickly lost interest in The Cat of Bubastes and Peeps at Many Lands (with all the new words and places) got "too slow" for Lydia and Chris. So we changed it up a bit in the middle of the week:) I read Peeps at Many Lands to everyone (a chapter each day), we started reading The Golden Goblet in the evenings with Brian and the kids chose from a pile of Ancient Egypt books what they wanted to read during their structured reading time:)<br />
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<b>History</b><br />
One of the reasons I wanted to ease into school was so we could figure out how Tapestry would "fit" into the school day. I've already explained a bit how using Tapestry has affected our Bible time by reading and discussing passages suggested for the week. Our readings were based off of Tapestry suggestions as well. Surprisingly our history time looked some what similar to when we used SOTW because we pulled it out to read 2 chapters for this week.<br />
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When working on our paper maps, I used some of the suggested places/regions/etc from Tapestry (TOG) and blended the two. We did most of the bigger geographical identifications by the kids finding the locations on the map on the wall. For the terms (lots of terms) we made note cards. It was kid of cool to learn the differences between seas, gulfs and bays. And then we planned our salt map of Egypt:)... yes, just planned we didn't actually get to make it until Week #2. <br />
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Part of our reading talked about the meaning of history and that everyone has events in their life that makes up their own history, so we made our own timelines.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14879569296" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8180 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8180" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3868/14879569296_b8d1dc9b52.jpg" width="500" /></a>And then another section of reading talked about archeology. Nate and I went out one morning and buried some "treasures" (plastic plates, a homemade bracelet, pencil, etc) in the sandpit. Later in the afternoon the older kids went outside to dig it all up:) They tried to made some grid lines but then just started randomly digging and still did not find all the items (even with Nate helping them)! I think they learned a few of the challenges of archeology especially earlier when they wanted to go dig but it had just started raining!<br />
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<b>Science</b><br />
We began Science with learning about the different theories surrounding the formation of the world. We read from the Bible and sources confirming creation and then found sources explaining evolution. And we talked about other theories, like "old world" versus "new world" and intelligent design. We started reading a child's biography on Charles Darwin as well. The kids really liked the detailed coloring page from a our science book.<br />
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When "preparing" science I quickly realized how different this year of science is going to be for us. The book covers a lot of topics but is merely a guide not a full teaching curriculum - how spoiled I was after using Apologia! So there is a lot more preparations that need to be done each week (but after Week #2 I'm seeing that we are being challenged, I just need to be willing to find additional resources to make it more hands-on and "alive").<br />
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<b>Logic</b><br />
They begged to pull out the Mind Benders book:) I cut up little paper pieces so I wouldn't have to copy a page for each kid and we did each puzzle together. Just two or three puzzles during each session.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14961959101" title="IMG_8238 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8238" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5578/14961959101_2320125617.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<b>Preschool Corner</b><br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14888845931" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_8149 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8149" height="400" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3908/14888845931_f033e59a17.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
Nate and I began The Story of Ping. I got a lot of my printables from <a href="http://royalbaloo.com/the-story-about-ping/">Royal Baloo</a> and <a href="http://www.mamaslearningcorner.com/story-about-ping-printables/">Mama's Learning Corner</a>. After reading Ping and taking about the books some he jumped into some activities.<br />
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He worked on beginning sounds printables and a few pages from an
"old-school" pre-reading book I own.<br />
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He glue ducks to make a D. And we used some toys to learn some new things about water;) <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14891550002" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8153 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8153" height="266" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5558/14891550002_11175707a9.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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You've got to love preschool in the bathtub:) We read a book about water and some of the things it does, while Nate was finishing his bath. And we used some toys to learn some new things about water;) <br />
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<b> </b>Preschool is pretty short and sweet
around here;) Although he did have a few practice sessions on listening
quietly during Bible Time. And learning to finish a task when ask and
cleaning up before pulling out a new toy:)<br />
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<b>Nature</b><br />
A few weeks ago we were given some tadpoles. I was super excited since we hadn't done the "tadpole thing" for a few years and Nate hadn't seen it yet. One morning, during our first week, we realized that some of the tadpoles had grown their back legs, so we added some rocks to their habitat.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14965138065" title="IMG_8191 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8191" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3906/14965138065_c427bcd232.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Nate and I also took a little break from rowing Ping to read about tadpoles. He enjoyed seeing all the stages and then finding tadpoles in our batch that were at some of the different stages, too.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14778521188" title="IMG_8197 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8197" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3862/14778521188_8aa5c3e655.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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One morning while walking the dog we found a visitor:) This turtle looked a little different than the normal Eastern Box or Yellow-Bellied Sliders that usually bravely venture into our yard! The kids pointed out all the differences, like his nose and webbed feet, to try to figure out what he was. We're actually still not sure but we put him near the water since his feet were webbed.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14964788572" title="IMG_8201 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8201" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5557/14964788572_ca6d86edf3.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14778441239" title="IMG_8202 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8202" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3884/14778441239_e0b5722e27.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<b>Extra Adventures</b><br />
We still got to the pool a few days last week:) It was a great motivation to get all the school work done... a perk to starting school while the pool is still open:)<br />
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On Friday we began final preparations for the kids snack sale at Grammie's community yard sale. The kids sold snacks, fruit and drinks. We bought their supplies and then taught them about paying for the supplies before calculating how much they actually got to keep. I really think it was a good 1st "business" adventure and they learning a lot about giving change back and talking to adult customers!! They each got to keep just over $4! So a pretty good experience overall!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14778381419" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_8240 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8240" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3907/14778381419_2f70545501.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Getting Ready!!</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14778365990" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_8250 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8250" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5562/14778365990_c5f81d7855.jpg" width="333" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Customers!</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14965029605" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_8255 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8255" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3878/14965029605_63e2c0ab83.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The snack crew... such welcoming faces!! Don't you love the 100% little brother!</i></td></tr>
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Overall a fun, busy, great week!! Things just clicked for us and we got off to a pretty good start.... don't think it's all peachy here because then Week #2 happened. The honeymoon-like 1st week was OVER. LOL!!</div>
In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-10296034068616008512014-08-18T22:50:00.001-04:002014-08-18T22:50:25.592-04:00Tiny Talk Tuesday: Thought Provoking Questions from a 4-yr Old<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.seethefam.blogspot.com/search/label/tiny%20talk%20tuesday"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZmlwn4oPdOHjXnQN5izJ-yIgTDgECbH2eOcaRNLmzAkNAAM9jz_0LxM7kjePg38lx0cofTmxe02jgP1MQ9QZ4IOiXr11sqyPm9CATBhd5r5dyY46ozWSRRHShF20ENBVwDJXBaaO0CQ/s250/IMG_7954-2.JPG" /></a></center>
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Lately Nate has been full of some pretty deep questions... for a 4 yr old:)<br />
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"We have 4 pets. Why do pets have to live at our house?"<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14692025682" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_7392 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_7392" height="400" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3878/14692025682_e46c2f83c1.jpg" width="266" /></a>********************************************<br />
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On the way to church one Sunday morning. <br />
"Snakes don't have legs. Why don't snakes have legs?"<br />
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Then Chris (8 yr old) answered him with the story of the Fall:)<br />
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On the way to the pool one afternoon...<br />
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"Is God a girl or a boy?"<br />
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On another trip to the pool... :) <br />
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"I not sad that Pey and Great Grandma died and we tan't see them anymore. They are with Jesus now."<br />
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"Why do I only have two legs, but Jack (our dog) has four?"<br />
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This is little guy keeps us on our toes... not just because he's soo busy but because we have another little "thinker" in the family!!<br />
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What are you're kiddos saying to keep you sharp? <br />
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-50688060968350152962014-08-11T07:01:00.000-04:002014-08-12T00:01:20.609-04:00Welcome to the School/Play Room!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm not sure I've shared our school room since moving into our house 2 YEARS ago.... crazy its been that long!!! We are entering our 3rd year of working in the school room and I am just thankful for having this space.<br />
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When we went house hunting, we KNEW we wanted schooling space. A place to school can be just about anywhere, but each home and model was judged on whether there was a good space to for us to use for schooling. We needed 3 bedrooms and a home schooling room:)<br />
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One of the BEST features about our house was the finished garage:) Yes, totally finished... with carpet and crown molding! And so when they placed our house on-site, they raised the garage to be the same level as our main house and voila... a perfect school room. And the door to the school room is heavy duty, too... so the room is great for the kids to play loudly in, too!!<br />
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Yes, I said "play"! Our room doubles as a playroom which means often it looks like this:/ <br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14879489381" title="IMG_7918 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_7918" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3858/14879489381_7fc4d4ee8a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14902397423" title="IMG_7920 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_7920" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3847/14902397423_7315175709.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Yes, even the whiteboard gets "hit" during playtime!!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14695840190" title="IMG_8125 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8125" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3922/14695840190_8510dd84de.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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But then Mom gets in there and works some magic:) <i>And bans the kids from re-entering until I get some pictures of it clean to PROVE it does get cleaned!</i><br />
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<b>The Play and Pre-School Side</b><i> </i><br />
The arrangement of having the school room and playroom co-exist has been good. Some are still learning some self-control by having to complete work before playing! But overall it's worked out really nicely to have Nate playing in the same room so I can keep an eye on him, help him and guide him to clean up. And he's also listening in and picking up some of what we're learning;)<br />
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We only have a few toys in the room, mostly building, educational activities and pretend play.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14882236235" title="IMG_8126 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8126" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5552/14882236235_d60e7b9e71.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Nate's work for the day is in the colorful trays. He works on those activities with me and then plays with "quiet toys"... usually puzzles, LEGOs, Play-Doh... which are stored on the shelves. <br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14879186371" title="IMG_8129 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8129" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5561/14879186371_79f3c55364.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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<i>Jack (our dog) usually isn't allowed in the room because he loves to chew the kids' toys (and he'll steal pencils, too), but since it was clean we invited him in for a bit;)</i><br />
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<b>The School Side</b><br />
Actually school takes place all over, like the kitchen for experiments, living room for computers and videos, the couches for one-on-one reading, or bedrooms for nightly reading together! But the school side of the school room is where everything is housed and where most of the book learning takes place!!<br />
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Besides the big front windows, my favorite school room pieces are my wooden table and our whiteboard. Our table was purchased through Craigslist, given some TLC and new cushions and is used for hours every.single.day!! The whiteboard is a piece of bathroom laminate nailed to the wall and then edged with thin, simple molding (like totally under $20). <br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14695524808" title="IMG_8141 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8141" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5571/14695524808_8483eee159.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14881784282" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8142 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8142" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5583/14881784282_029c288b1e.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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This is the middle of the room!! A pulled out couch for reading (or a napping Nate!), a freezer and a old dresser that houses the kids' LEGO projects!! I really, really fought the freezer being in the schoolroom but we really had no other place for it. About the time we were getting a freezer, I was looking for a big magnetic board for Nate! LOL!! Not pretty, but it works:) And doubles for a drying rack for painted projects, too!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14695687437" title="IMG_8131 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8131" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3865/14695687437_72054dd253.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14879171201" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_8132 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8132" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/14879171201_a5647203c4.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14902057843" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8134 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8134" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5584/14902057843_0d83463799.jpg" width="333" /></a><br />
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Our large white cabinet was <a href="http://www.seethefam.blogspot.com/2012/02/was-it-worth-150.html">a "damaged" item that we found deeply discounted</a>!! It's a work horse for us;) It holds all the craft supplies (markers, crayons, paper, paint, etc), math and science manipulatives, games and preschool boxed activities.<br />
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I know there has to be a better way to organize it. Here is what <a href="https://flic.kr/p/ooAAxR">the inside looks like</a> today! <br />
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And last year we discovered that the inside doors make some excellent "wall space". We can have extra places for some visuals that won't clutter up the walls:)<br />
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The top is also used to house the laminator and extra school supplies that the kids don't need to be reminded that I have... like new markers, crayons,etc that I like to "save" until ours need to be replaced.<br />
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No home school is complete without a bookshelf or more:)<br />
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The shelf on the left is one that we've had forever!! Brian got it while in seminary and it was cream, then I painted it green for Chris' room when he was a toddler and now it's white;) It houses our binders for finished work, free reading books an activities and then my top row of Momma helps (my guides and binders)!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14881832142" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_8136 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8136" height="400" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5592/14881832142_8ebb5bc86e.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14881822802" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMG_8137 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8137" height="400" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3888/14881822802_906a7ddbae.jpg" width="266" /></a><br />
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The pair of shelves on the right were made by Brian when he was in high school!!! They are very simple and I just love how they match our table! These shelves hold our reference and resource books by subjects... our Science, History, nature guides, Bible, Art, Music, Language, etc!<br />
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Finally, we come to the kids' cubbies! We were given the little white shelves and they have been a perfect place for the kids to store their books.What they need each day is very accessible!<br />
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Last year, we moved the printer in the room with us! This is a much better arrangement since most of our printing is done for home schooling purposes;) And along with the printer came the black table;) It holds our paper supplies, clipboards and personal whiteboards.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14695532438" title="IMG_8139 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_8139" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3891/14695532438_94b26dc93f.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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We do really love our school room!! It's all mismatched but it allows us to have a great learning and messy space!!<br />
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We are participating in <a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/6th-annual-not-back-to-school-blog-hop-school-room-week/">School Room Week @ iHomeschool Network</a>!</div>
In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-74612642194621102322014-08-05T15:23:00.001-04:002014-08-05T15:23:19.116-04:00The Things Boys Think Of :)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.seethefam.blogspot.com/search/label/tiny%20talk%20tuesday"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZmlwn4oPdOHjXnQN5izJ-yIgTDgECbH2eOcaRNLmzAkNAAM9jz_0LxM7kjePg38lx0cofTmxe02jgP1MQ9QZ4IOiXr11sqyPm9CATBhd5r5dyY46ozWSRRHShF20ENBVwDJXBaaO0CQ/s250/IMG_7954-2.JPG" /></a></center>
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Nate's LEGO house bathroom.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14838122335" title="IMG_7909 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_7909" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3926/14838122335_29578bf711.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Yes, there are 4 toilets!!<br />
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"Why?" you may ask<span style="color: blue;">.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14835758214" title="IMG_7908 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_7908" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5591/14835758214_c3a5da45f7.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<i>"Betuz everywee one wakes up at da same time and everywee one needs to use the potty!"</i><br />
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Of course! A big family dilemma!<br />
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And what is Chris doing out in the yard? With a tennis racket and no ball? <br />
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But still swinging?<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14651492038" title="IMG_7911 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_7911" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5562/14651492038_2f34fa1dfe.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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Japanese tennis, of course!<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14837739622" title="IMG_7912 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_7912" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3914/14837739622_4fd8abbf85.jpg" width="333" /></a></div>
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You know! The game where you whack Japanese beetles with a tennis racket!!<br />
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And of course you slice some in half and HAVE to come tell your sisters, little brother (and mother) the gory details while they are enjoying their lunch.<br />
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No need for pesticide here... just send out the kids;) LOL!!<br />
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Just a little scared to see what my silly little boys will think of next! <br />
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As I write this I hear their noises and know EXACTLY what they're doing! They drew a bulls-eye on the schoolroom wipe board and are shooting their Nerf guns at it. At least it's finally a target that doesn't breath:)<br />
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How are your kids entertaining you today??<br />
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-61695592566903709732014-08-04T23:42:00.000-04:002014-08-05T15:33:22.632-04:00Our 2014-2015 Curriculum Choices<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/nbts-blog-hop-2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/nbts-blog-hop-2014.jpg" /></a></div>
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I <a href="http://www.seethefam.blogspot.com/2014/07/our-2013-2014-curriculum-wrap-up.html">reviewed the curriculum</a> we used last year. So this new curriculum list has been searched out, cried through, then prayed and laughed over... I feel like we are starting off "new" again with Anna going into 5th grade. She's at new stage and so I've wanted to be prepared and ready to challenge her at this new level.<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14607863586" title="IMG_7241 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_7241" height="333" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2932/14607863586_00a932de10.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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What we are doing together...<br />
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We are still working through Old Story New for <b>Bible</b> study. I'm thinking of just sticking with it:) We LOVE it and enjoy our time together! Also the curriculum we will be using for history contained lengthy Bible study passages to read. So we'll be definitely digging into those passages.<br />
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<b>Memory Work </b>is<b> </b>done together during our "together time".<b> </b>We began learning the verses that make up the Roman Road. We are also working through the Ancients Vertias Press Timeline Cards.<b><br />
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We are doing something very different this year for <b>History</b>!! I've been encouraged to try out <b>Tapestry of Grace</b> and so a friend has given me Year1, Unit 1 to try out. We have loved SOTW (and actually SOTW is still used in the Tapestry of Grace curriculum so we're not totally abandoning those books) but with Anna at a new learning level I was lost on how to still be "together" but still challenge Anna. In comes Tapestry of Grace which contains 4 different learning levels all on the same topic using resources with lots of hands-on activities mixed in. I can already see that it will be a help (after I stopped letting it overwhelm me)! And it's not just history, it's will also help us with Geography, Vocabulary, eventually Writing and all sorts of middle and high school indepth topics.<br />
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We're going to try it! And probably like it...<br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14206618291" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_6086 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6086" height="333" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2934/14206618291_20ea09ee7c.jpg" width="500" /></a>After loving Apologia last year, we have taken a detour so we can cover all our biology topics... Apologia would have been 4 or 5 different books which would have been too $ and fast. So we are going to use <b>Christian Kids Explore Biology</b> as our "spine" for Science. There will be LOTS of extra resources added because the "teaching" part of the textbook is very simplistic. But it's going to make a great spine and has some great vocabulary and memory work suggestions;) It's just soo different from Apologia :/<br />
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Since we liked IEW's All Things Fun and Fascinating last year, we are using <b>IEW's Ancient-Based Writing Lesson</b>. I just finished tying the writing lessons to the weekly topics from TOG. I love how they are going to blend together. And really reinforce what we began to learn in writing last year!<br />
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We are also going into new territory with Logic! Yikes!! (I might be learning some here, too!) Together we will be using <b>Mind Benders Book 3</b> and progressing from there:) I'm excited about being stretched a little, too!<br />
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I am going to pull back out <b>Drawing with Children</b> for art. We started it a few years ago but I had too much going on for us to really get into it. For art history we will examine art from the Ancient time periods as we study history:)<br />
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Using some materials I had from last year, we will examine one composer a month, listening to their works and learning about their lives. Anna also takes piano lessons and Chris is wanting his momma to teach him the violin:)<br />
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The kids took some beginning tennis lessons over the summer, so we're planning to keep playing<b> tennis </b>together as a family:) Come September all 4 kids want to play <b>soccer</b>. I was soo blessed last year to have them on the same team, I've already started to pray for the details;)<br />
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<b>Our county home school group</b> meets every Friday for all sorts of activities like field trips, holiday parties, service/ministry opportunities, PE, and 4-H! We have definitely missed getting together with the whole group over the summer!!<br />
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What we do individually (but sometimes together)...<br />
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<b>Anna (5th)</b><br />
Math - Saxon 7/6 <br />
Spelling - Spelling Power<br />
Grammar - Easy Grammar 5 with Daily Grams<br />
Reading - TOG Upper Grammar literature selections<br />
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/12869496773" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_4664 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_4664" height="500" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2879/12869496773_d8ec5e87e8.jpg" width="333" /></a>Writing - letters and IEW Ancients<br />
Spanish - Rosetta Stone <br />
Music - piano<br />
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<b>Chris (3rd)</b><br />
Math - Saxon 5/4<br />
Spelling - Spelling Power<br />
Grammar - FLL 4<br />
Reading - TOG Lower Grammar Literature <br />
Writing - letters and IEW Ancients<br />
Spanish - Rosetta Stone <br />
Music - wants to learn the violin <br />
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<b>Lydia (2/3rd)</b><br />
Math - Saxon 5/4<br />
Spelling - Spelling Power<br />
Grammar - FLL 4<br />
Reading - TOG LG (some UG) Literature<br />
Spanish - Rosetta Stone <br />
Writing - letters and IEW Ancients<br />
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<b>Nate (preK)</b><br />
Letter Factory<br />
Five in a Row (row a book for 2 weeks)<br />
Pre-reading activities and AlphaPhonics<br />
Pre-K workbooks covering colors, numbers, etc <br />
Reliability with chores<br />
Completing tasks<br />
Following directions<br />
Polite Manners<br />
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We are linking up to <a href="http://www.ihomeschoolnetwork.com/6th-annual-not-back-to-school-blog-hop-curriculum-week/">Curriculum Week 2014 at iHomeschoolNetwork</a>:)</div>
In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-85215610243181476452014-07-29T07:00:00.000-04:002014-07-29T07:00:02.535-04:00Tiny Talk Tuesday - Summer Songs Edition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So have there been any songs that are "stuck" at your house this summer?? LOL!!<br />
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My crew has had two that have lingered in our home;) <br />
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The first was a song (and movement) to Agency D3 VBS that we attended at our church in June. I'm not sure of the official title of the song but any time someone in the house uses the word "more", we start singing:) <br />
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"More, more,... oh, oh, oh,oh, oh,... more, more, more than just a good man!" So very cute to hear them all start to sing with the perfect pitch and timing with each other. And I love that it's a song about Jesus being "more than just a good man"!<br />
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The other song is funny:) We finally got to see the LEGO movie during one the $1 deals at a local movie this summer! The kids were sooo excited to finally see it and Nate made it through a whole movie (I think that was a 1st for us... minus the time we took when he was too little to care<u>)</u>.<br />
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Here is the "full version", my kids just sing the "chorus" :)<br />
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And of course my kids totally add in different words to include what we're doing or something that has been done. Seems like we get a new version to sing every few days;)<br />
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"Everything is awesome when you're part of the B_________ team, everything is awesome because it's kind of about me!" <br />
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So what songs, sung at the tops of their lungs, have you heard in your house over and over and over this summer ???<br />
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-17397548787507518802014-07-24T07:00:00.000-04:002014-07-24T07:00:06.859-04:00Spontaneous Ferry Ride and Fossil Dig<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last weekend Brian had an idea... a simple drive to the oldest town in NC and a ferry ride!! A fun, quickly planned outing for us;)<br />
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So we packed snacks, reading material for the drive (we love reading in the car) and the camera:) LOL!<br />
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On the ferry was great! Hanging out together and watching the water... and we saw some dolphins;) Too cool!<br />
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Once across the river, we headed into fossil territory... aka Aurora and the phosphate mines. Through extensive excavating of the land, many unique sea creature remains have been found and donated to a museum in Aurora.</div>
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The museum was mostly bones with some descriptions and a movie describing the local mines where a lot of the fossils were found. The kids though they were all about the "big dig" outside!!! A lot sized dirt pile from the Aurora mines:)<br />
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Yes! Mom and Dad got into the hunt as well!! We couldn't let them have all the fun:)</div>
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And we all found some cool finds:)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This find ended up being a type of lemon shark tooth!</i><u><br /></u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nate found shark teeth too but was sure proud of the feather he found;) LOL!</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>More shark teeth! We all found plenty!</i></td></tr>
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After the kids had spent an hour or so in the dirt pile (and we promised them we'd come back!!), we loaded back up in the van to head home. We got to the port early and it was cool to watch the ferry come in loaded with vehicles.<br />
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We're not really good at spur-of-the-moment trips, so this was a little different for us! But we pulled it off and had a GREAT time!<br />
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Gotta love summer road trips...even when you don't go too far!</div>
In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-40167428962661855292014-07-23T07:00:00.000-04:002014-07-23T07:00:08.224-04:00Wordless Wednesday - Pool Prep, Little Brother Style<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-76319838202294008122014-07-21T07:00:00.000-04:002014-07-21T07:00:05.201-04:00One-Sided Freckles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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For over a year or so, I've noticed a cute (and a little alarming) aspect of Nate's little face. If you look closely, he only has freckles on the left side of his face!!<br />
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I love freckles! I love to tell the story that was told to me about my dad winning the freckle contests many summers growing up. And most of the time loosing only to his brother:) LOL!! Freckles tie me (and my kids) to my dad.<br />
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Nate's little face though with only one side spotted with freckles is adorable!<br />
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But a little odd....<br />
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how would a kid get freckles only on one side?<br />
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It would mean that his left side is more exposed to the sun than his right. And often enough to actually bring the freckles out! We are big sunscreen users when the kids play/swim outside... so it's not like we have purposely not used sunscreen on the left! Nope!<br />
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The only thing I can think it would be is where he sits in the van?<br />
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Nate is still in a 5-point harness car seat that doesn't move to other spots often. It has worked the best for him to sit right behind the driver:) So his left side is facing the window as we drive in the van.<br />
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That's the alarming part. He is actually getting sun that is affecting his skin pigment:/ Crazy!<br />
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Maybe we need to include sunscreen during extended van excursions?<br />
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Anyway, it's kind of cute;) But of course, I'm totally biased because he's my kiddo:) <br />
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-4418593589982396292014-07-19T00:46:00.001-04:002014-07-19T00:46:12.500-04:00Our 2013-2014 Curriculum Wrap-Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
At the beginning of the year everyone is soo excited to share what they plan to use. We are excited about new possibilities, new pencils, exciting topics... I love a new start as well.<br />
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As I begin to get all the "new school year" curriculum together this year I am finding that I keep going back to what we used last year to get an idea of what we can do to make this year "fit us" even better! What worked last year? What didn't!? What did we have to tweak and can it be tweaked again or should it just be set aside?<br />
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Instead of doing this in my own wee little brain and I being the only one to benefit from this exercise; I thought I'd just share it and maybe, just maybe, our experience can help someone else deciding on some of the things we used and challenges we faced.<br />
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<b>Bible</b><br />
We have loved, loved, loved<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Old-Story-New-Ten-Minute-Devotions-ebook/dp/B00FEZM4FU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405739479&sr=8-1&keywords=old+story+new+ten-minute+devotions+to+draw+your+family+to+god"> Old Story New</a> as a devotional. It's not an in-depth Bible study but we've looked up the verses, read the short stories that really connect the kids to the biblical teaching and have had some really cool application-based discussions!! It's definitely my favorite part of the day:) <br />
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We also started to memorize the verses that follow the "Roman Road". The kids were given a hand-out of how to share their faith using their hands. So we began memorizing the verses that corresponded to each verse. At the end of the year Chris volunteered to say all the books of the Bible at the RA Ceremony (in front of the church members gathered), so we spent some time being sure he was ready:)<br />
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<b>Math</b><br />
If you have read about our home schooling you know we are BIG Saxon fans! It works for us and has continued to work well for the kids (they all tested above their grade level in math this year on two different tests)! Anna and Chris were both doing lessons on CD from Saxon 6/5 and 5/4 respectively. For the most part they are independent workers. Anna does a complete lesson a day except on assessment days where she only does the assessment and her math facts.<br />
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I divided Chris' lessons (Saxon 5/4) into 2 day pieces... on day #1 he does the warm-up (including part of the math facts), the lesson on CD and the lesson practice. The following day he works on the mixed practice, checks his work and corrects any mistakes.<br />
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I am available for both of them to ask questions. And I definitely go over any problems and re-teach when they just don't "get it":)<br />
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Lydia finished up Saxon 3 in Lydia-style! She finished weeks before the end of the semester and spent her "extra" time working on xtramath.org and other online math games. She'll be starting Saxon 5/4 in August!<br />
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<b>Science</b><br />
We LOVED using <a href="http://www.christianbook.com/exploring-creation-with-chemistry-and-physics/jeannie-fulbright/9781935495987/pd/495401">Apologia's Chemistry and Physics</a>!! We had done Chemistry and Physics in previous years using little science experiments, reading books and writing little reports but we still learned soo much from Apologia's book. They each had the notebook which they liked but I added some outlines that I either made myself or found on a group FB page. The fill-in outlines helped keep their focus while we read through the chapter and really narrow in on the key terms and concepts because there was soo much good and unique information in each section! <br />
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And anytime we could stop reading and do anything hands-on was always fun! And that Apologia textbook was LOADED with hands-on experiments, like this one:<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>**BTW... the whimpering is from a concerned sister. She was concerned her brother, who has an egg-allergy, might touch the egg in the experiment. A little drama in the Science class:</i>)</span><br />
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In planning for next year, I am VERY bummed that there isn't a simple one-year textbook that fits us from Apologia. We think we have something that will fit us until we can do Apologia Astronomy the following year:)<br />
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<b>Grammar</b><br />
Chris and Lydia finished <a href="http://www.amazon.com/First-Language-Lessons-Well-Trained-Mind/dp/1933339071/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1405741421&sr=8-2&keywords=first+language+lessons+3">First Language Lesson #3</a>! Oh, how we all LOVE this series! They will definitely continue <a href="http://www.amazon.com/First-Language-Lessons-Well-Trained-Mind/dp/B004CZF2Z2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1405741455&sr=8-2&keywords=first+language+lessons+4">FLL#4</a> :)<br />
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Anna and I used <a href="http://www.christianbook.com/shurley-english-level-5-kit/9781585610327/pd/610327">Shurley English 5</a> and Daily Grams (2x a week) this year. And for most of the year we floundered... Shurley just wasn't a good fit for us. Each day, Shurley was loaded with an hour or more of Grammar lessons and practice with a lot of the time spent with an instructor. I did like breaking down the sentences and the vocabulary words for her to look up weekly. I just felt like the actual teaching of Grammar in Shurley got lost during our Grammar time together because of all the other daily activities in the guide. We ended up dividing each chapter into two weeks and spreading out the work/lessons a bit. It helped us feel like we were actually getting a little more out of it. But I'm already looking into something else for us in the Fall :/<br />
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<b>Reading</b><br />
We did a lot of reading aloud last year. And daily the kids would grab a book or two to read during their independent work times. I then realized one of my children was not reading but still at the "looking at pictures" then flipping the pages. So I buckled down and read individually with that one child... and I can already see a huge improvement since January! I am also working with that child through Alphaphonics which is a "learning to read" program but it's painless and they're zipping through it as I really get a picture of where they are struggling so I can help (or get help).<br />
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While I knew what they were reading and often it was related to our history, I want to be more intentional with their reading this year by planning, using many graded reading lists to come up with level-appropriate books that tie into our historical topics.<br />
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<b>Writing</b><br />
We began the year using <a href="http://www.christianbook.com/fascinating-writing-lessons-structure-revised-edition/lori-verstegen/9780980100525/pd/901005">IEW's All Things Fun and Fascinating</a>. It started so simply with key word outlines, then forming those into paragraphs. And then we went into summarizing and collecting information to build reports.<br />
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But then a friend offered to let us borrow the IEW Style and Structure B DVD lessons. It's such an amazing resource that we dropped the ATFF (for a bit) and then did a lesson a week using the DVDs. It was really cool seeing the overlap and it really cemented the teachings of ATFF for the kids (no, it wasn't Mom just making something up).<br />
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At the end of the year, we did go back to ATFF for a bit to cover some of the things that I didn't want to miss... some poems, writing from a picture and writing from a prompt (easier topics in the ATFF).<br />
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IE Ancients for next year???<br />
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<b>History</b><br />
For the last 5 years we worked through <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=story%20of%20the%20world&sprefix=story+of+%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Astory%20of%20the%20world">Story of the World</a>, all 4 volumes... yes, it took us a little longer, but we enjoyed the story part of history. We all just loved reading, completing maps, doing activities, discussing topics we ran into together and often seeing where our history topics connected with current world events ( we were studying Russia post WWII when Russia invaded Ukraine.... my kids knew some of the history and their eyes were huge!) . Often we got our hands on some living books from the same time periods that I read aloud while the kids played "quietly" with Legos (yes, they do actually listen and get a LOT from those readings).<br />
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Just a note... get the activity guide! Between the ideas of additional books to explore deeper, the review questions and maps... that guide is worth it's weight in gold! Then add that many chapters contain "do-able" activities! It really does add a lot to just reading the book.<br />
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We are going into a new stage though:/ I have a new challenge! Anna can't do through SOTW again the same way we did when she was in 1st grade.... so how do I "beef up" a curriculum we have enjoyed and that has worked well for us?<br />
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<b>Preschool with Nate</b><br />
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/11920585353" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="IMG_3620 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_3620" height="333" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7381/11920585353_1d31e42bbc.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
Last year I began working with Nate...<br />
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only 20+ minutes a day (based on what he wanted to do). We worked through books from Before Five in a Row! Using the book's ideas and free printables from other home schooling moms, we row-ed each book in about 2 weeks a piece. Lots of fun, lots of hands-on stuff and he still loves those books!! So that was a good fit for us:) YAY!<br />
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We also began adding in letters!!! One of the biggest ways is LeapFrog's Letter Factory (love.this.DVD!) and studied one letter that matched one of the major themes of the book. Like while we read Corduroy we spent time learning "C". <br />
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Onto a new year....<br />
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even though this summer has felt like my 1st year home schooling and trying to figure out what to use! I am just thankful that I have had 5 years of experience now! It does help to ease some of the "craziness" of having to pick out "new stuff"!<br />
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In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1981445460202920584.post-79642835736019262962014-07-09T06:30:00.000-04:002014-07-09T06:30:00.856-04:00Wordless Wednesday - Partying at the Barnyard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">One Saturday evening in June we headed to a farm for my nephew Wesley's 3rd birthday party. My brother and sister-in-law are always soo creative and sweet to make Wesley's parties an opportunity for the cousins (and adults) to get together! We all had a fun time at the petting farm and getting to see one another!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14314884970" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6751 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6751" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3917/14314884970_611ed88018.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All lined up... ready to feast! Goat-eyes really creep me out:/</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14314882980" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6755 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6755" height="333" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2901/14314882980_2e7c4658c2.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A newborn kid... so small!</td></tr>
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14314920599" title="IMG_6762 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6762" height="333" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2939/14314920599_de86e7a17e.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14314912179" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6775 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6775" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3838/14314912179_c4663b2a42.jpg" width="333" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The goat riding the turtle really cracked Nate up!! It was pretty funny:)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14498117191" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6790 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6790" height="333" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2926/14498117191_bb01d6dee2.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this little guy came up! Nate was pushing him b/c he thought the little one was biting the big one :/</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14314913918" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6789 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6789" height="333" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2935/14314913918_02300094f3.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then he stepped back to try to figure it out!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14500332672" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6791 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6791" height="333" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3875/14500332672_d38547c979.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I asked him what the little goat was doing; but, Nate just giggled.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14314896969" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6792 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6792" height="333" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2904/14314896969_53583f510d.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No clue:) But a sweet smile!!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14500183854" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6800 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6800" height="500" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3896/14500183854_bcd1e91bd6.jpg" width="333" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who knew this beauty was a chicken catcher?? Way to go, Hannah Grace!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14314893798" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6846 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6846" height="500" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5593/14314893798_331235c274.jpg" width="333" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved tagging along with these two cousins!! They came up with some silly ideas and had a blast together!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/25514860@N02/14498093951" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="IMG_6865 by seethefam, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6865" height="333" src="https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2935/14498093951_9bc1f46a2d.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And a cousin pic!!!! The secret to everyone looking at the camera is a dancing & singing adult! Too bad I don't have a picture of that, too!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div></div></div>In Everythinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01789551507678673996noreply@blogger.com1