Christmas Break

We have been enjoying Christmas break for a week now and 2 more to go!!!! We have been working on a lot of baking this year. It is fun to do with the kiddos and a great way to get them involved in gift giving that keeps us on track with our budget.

This week will be making homemade Christmas cards for family for Christmas day from the kids. It will be fun to see their creativity.
Overall I hope to get much rest, relaxation and fun in this break before we hit the long stretch of school in the spring.

Starting state studies

We are learning about the founding of our country and the 13 original colonies which became states. Today began the first day of learning highlights about each state. Today was Delaware the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on December 7, 1787. The found the state on the map, colored it and also worked on a fact sheet about the state.

We are also learning about the music of Tchaikovsky and the Nutcracker Ballet. Have seen the ballet many many times over the years and the music of Tchaikovsky is timeless and brings you right back to the moments in the ballet each and every time.

Also in these weeks leading up to Christmas and celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ it is a time to think of our Lord and what he came to this earth as a baby to do. It is a beautiful picture and I am thankful to take some extra time to reflect on His saving Grace. We are able to give even more to those in need and think about the needs of others over our own needs and wants. This year has been a year to think about His provision in our tough times and that even in that there is abundance.

It is amazing that in a few weeks 2010 will have passed and 2011 is upon us. Looking for ward to the weeks and the year ahead. Many new and wonderful things to come!!!!

I hope to post our Christmas projects and pictures of fun times soon. :)

Our 9th week of school

This has been a great couple of weeks. We are already in our 9th week of school and my how it is flying by. This week we learned about George Washington, seasons and how the earth rotates around the sun and water colored trees and leaves from our backyard. We also made paper Tricorn hats like the men wore in George Washington's day.

We also were able to teach the kids about voting and a little bit more of how our government works. It was neat to learn about the First President of the United States and also learn about government process in the same week.

For the past few weeks we have also been memorizing verses and learning about them. Each day the kids share their verses and that is my favorite part of the day. :)

This week was Matthew 7:24 Jesus speaking
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man that built his house upon the rock. " This was a great opportunity to examine areas of our life where we may not have been putting His word into practice and prayfully with His help put them into practice.

Scarecrow project

Homeschooling on the Road

The kids at old fashioned school desks

It has been way to long since I have blogged about school and what we have been up to. For the last two weeks of September we went out of town. For the first week we were in Coeur d'Alene Idaho where Keller had some work. We were blessed to stay in a beautiful little cabin on The Twin lakes. That first week we homeschooled from the cabin. It was a nice change of pace . We continued learning about pilgrims and Native Americans in the 1600's. We built wigwams and tepees out of paper and read several books to help us learn more about how the different tribes lived.

Our view from the cabin

On our second week we went to some friends house in Glenwood, WA. They live in a beautiful log home on 60 acres in pasture lands and pine trees. It was beautiful. They live very near Mount Hood. What a sight. We decided to take this week off from school and enjoy our time. Our friends told us about several museums in the area and about a fish hatchery. We thought that would be fun for the kids. Unexpectedly both museums had exhibits on Native Americans and it fit right into what we were learning. The kids then got to see up close many of the things we were learning about. One of the museums also had a huge feature on Lewis and Clark. We also visited the fish hatchery and were able to see a 70year old sturgeon, salmon and trout. It was an amazing time of family fun and learning.

Kids with their sturgeon face ;)

We are now back home and learning about constellations, dutch pilgrims coming to America and working on some fun science experiments. This week experiment we learned about carbon dioxide. We used a root beer glass bottle and put warm water, yeast and sugar in and then put a balloon on top. Then watched it several times over an hour. The carbon dioxide in the bottle blew up the balloon. I think this is the favorite experiment thus far. We are also reading the Courage of Sarah Noble together for the next two weeks.

Science with Air and Columbus Boats

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue..........this past week we learned about Christopher Columbus and how he first sailed to what is now Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Although commonly thought that he sailed to America it was actually the Americas. He thought that if he traveled across the Atlantic ocean he would run in to Asia and have a faster route to the spices and silks found in that region. Although he did not make it there he did discover new land unknown to Europeans at the time. The land was inhabited by native people he named Indians. As one of our projects we made foil sailing ships and floated them in our own makeshift ocean. The Santa Maria, Pinta and Nina.


For our science project this week we did two experiments. We are learning about air. First we took an empty coke bottle and submerged it into the water. What we saw were many air bubbles on the surface of the water as the air was pushed out by the water. We also used cardboard to move paper across the floor. This was done by folding a small edge of the paper up like a wing about 1" 1/2 and then waving the cardboard behind it. It lifted and floated across the floor. The kids raced to see who could cross the finish line first with their paper.


This week we will be learning about John Smith, Jamestown and Pocahontas. The kids and I are facsinated to learn the history behind many of these famous people of our countries past.

Library aka liberry

Since school has started we have been making weekly runs to the Library. Gracie and Ashten officially have library cards. :) We put them on a string to make a library card necklace. They wear that when we go and that way we don't loose it.

It is an incredible and free resource and I am thankful to have one a few minutes away from our home. Keller has been an avid library user for years and me hit or miss. But not anymore I am taking full advantage of enjoying our weekly adventure of exploring new worlds through reading. :) We hope to inspire our children to have a love of reading! I love that our kiddos always have their noses in a book. :)

Caterpillar

Before

After

We are watching a caterpillar Keller found in the garage last weekend. He was really big brownish yellow and had really bright blue spots that looked like eyes on his back. We thought he would be fun to keep him for a few days in a glass jar with leaves and dirt. We think it might be a moth after doing some research yesterday but not 100% sure. He appears to have started turning into a chrysalis.

Our hope is that it will turn into a moth or a butterfly. :)

Here is two pictures although not great but I hope you can see its changes.

First day of School

Today has been a great first day of school. We are using the My Fathers World curriculum and focusing on learning about key figures in our United states history and about all 50 states. We are also working on all the basics, reading, writing and arithmetic. For some added extra fun we will be learning art and working on foreign languages and several science experiments.

We are starting a new co-op at our church with a few other homeschool families. This is going to be fun learning about geography,science and doing an art project. We are looking forward to spending time learning together.

Ant update: They are continuing to tunnel and make a home for themselves.

We found a caterpillar over the weekend and have set up a nice home for him in a jar with fresh leaves. Just watching and observing to see if he becomes a moth or butterfly.

Also we found a really neat big moth in the house the other night and have that in a jar as well.

Jeepers Creepers we have a lot of bugs in the house. Thankfully they are all contained.

Most recent pics of the kids and ANTS

As our first day of school approaches in just a few days we are enjoying our last few lazy days. :)


Wanted to share our ant hill school project we just started 2 days ago. Very fascinating creatures that the Lord created. They are such hard workers. At first they were a bit confused and learned the layout of their new home and after a few hours they all seemed to be hard at work doing their jobs tunneling the sand. We can learn a lot from ants how they multi task and work together.

The Helpful Binder

Just thought I would share how we are working on keeping our home tidy and working together as a team. Over the years I have read many blogs about quick and easy ways to clean your home. We always start out strong and then seem to loose track somewhere along the way. After reading a few blogs recently about binders set up to show specific tasks for example: cleaning, school, cooking......or what ever your family needs. I thought we would give it a try.

I thought out our daily schedule and really tried to simplify and give each kid tasks that were at their age and skill level. Each day they have daily bedroom chores and they both help unload the dishwasher. Then we have a family chore that we all work on together. For example, Monday is Laundry day the kids help bring laundry to me after it is washed we work on folding and putting away together. On bathroom day I work on the shower, toilet and mopping and the kids work on the sink, baseboards and mirror. We have noticed that we all get done quickly and can have fun working together. Saturday is a fun day because that is help daddy day! I think that might be the kids favorite. :D

The kids get stickers in their binder for a job well done!!!! I get the reward of a picked up house!!!!!! As a mom that is a great joy. I love that the kids are being trained in many areas of helping mom and dad.

How I set up the binder:

A Look at our typical day written out and also shown with clip art

Daily bedroom chores with clip art

A page for each day of the week with a clip art of their task

I covered each page with a plastic protector

The kids are really enjoying helping and know exactly what they need to do before school and playtime. :)

1 Corinthians 10:31 So, whatever you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the Glory of God.

School room disaster

I am actually embarrassed to show this photo.......but it is just the beginning of a clean school room. Sometimes it just has to get worse before it gets better. :) I gave my desk and file cabinet to Keller so we are left with a small table. We have much more organizing to go. I have been going through the old stuff and throwing a bunch away and then boxing up stuff until Ashten is ready to use them. Organizing is going to be the key to success for the school year. We just recently started using a helpful binder that has the kids daily chores and then a special big chore to help mommy with daily. It is really helping us stay on track and keep the house picked up. I am hoping that we can easily transition into school time and still get our chores done. :) Next photo should be of a very clean and organized school/craft room. :)

Summer What have we been doing?

It seems summer is a time that everyone looks forward to. It drives half of the school year with anticipation of rest, relaxing and getting things done that have sat all year unfinished. But the reality is when summer comes I think we are so busy trying to get all the loose ends mended that we forget to relax. So far this summer has been full of remodeling our bathroom, yard work, planting and getting ready for Vacation Bible school. Hopefully July and August will be full of fun times with friends and maybe a little tiny weekend getaway to relax and unwind and not think about any house projects. :) So in a funny sort of way I am looking forward to getting back to school and having a routine. Ahhhh check with me in November and see if I still feel that way. ;) This school year was so much fun and a real accomplishment. Gracie finished first grade and Ashten prepping for Kindergarten. I look forward to more learning and discoveries and enjoying watching my children grow. The Lord has blessed us and I am so thankful for his guiding hand each step of the way. Can not do it with out HIM!!!!!

Summer

Summer is finally here!!! We are 9 days away from Gracie graduating 1st grade!!! Wow what an amazing feeling. We are so proud of her and what she has learned this year. Gracie reads all the time and loves her American Girl books and is currently reading Charlot's Web. It is one of my favorite things to see her reading all the time. :)

Ashten is done with preschool and will be moving on to pre-k/kindergarten in the fall. He loves letters! Sounding them out, writing them and tracing them. He walks around tracing letters everywhere we go. I think I see a little engineer in the making. :D He is a smart guy and loves to learn.

So on to summer and new adventures and field trips and enjoying being kids!!!!!!

Plants

These are our little seedlings.....since it has stayed winterish through the end of may we are not able to plant outside yet. We planted flowers of all kinds in little plastic cups for the front planter box that will be going in front of the deck. :) Can't wait for them to grow bigger so we can plant and enjoy them. The kids get to see first hand how to plant and grow. In a few you can see the roots on the side of the cup.

Sewing class

Her jean purse

At homeschool co-op Gracie had a hand sewing class and she had a lot of fun in there. Yesterday was the last day of the semester so she brought everything home to show us. We are so proud of her. She also made some cute animals. A dino, dolphin and elephant. :)

T-REX ROAR

We love the show Dinosaur Train on PBS. The kids just love dinosaurs right now. When we were in San Diego we went to the museum of natural science in Balboa park. They had a wonderful dinosaur exhibit. A full size T-Rex that moved his head and arms greeted us on the first floor with a growl. On our way out we purchased a fossil kit of a t-rex head so we could excavate it when we got home. I think it was the first thing we did after we got home because the kids were so excited. So I hope this was the first of many dino digs. We hope to do one in the back yard this summer.

The body book

Gracie's body

Ashten's Body

We are working on a fun project. My friend showed me this when she did it with her kiddos. IT has been so much fun. We traced the kids on long paper and then each day we are coloring and gluing that body part into place. As the kids are coloring I read them a description of the body part and its function. Watching the process is fascinating and so amazing how God made us!!!! We will post more as we go along.

Olympics Vancouver 2010

Oh how we wished we could have been there. Only coming around every 4 years makes it a very special event. We made great little journals for the Olympic games. We included maps, the mascots, symbols of the sports and the medals. The evening of the opening ceremonies was a fun evening. Keller was supposed to go out of town that day but his trip was canceled last minute. This ended up being a huge blessing because earlier that day Gracie split her eyebrow open and we had to go to urgent care and get her eye glued. ;) Never a dull moment that is for sure. So coming home and just relaxing was just what the doctor ordered.

Gracie got her journal and immediately got to journaling all the sights and sounds from the opening ceremonies. Ashten decided drawing pictures was fun and some of the letters he knows how to write. All in all the kids loved watching all the sporting events. Gracie loves the ice skating and Ashten of course all the fun ski jumping. It is so fun to watch these amazing athletes who are the best of the best compete and always neat for the underdog to get a medal.

What we are up to. :)

We took a two week break for Christmas and now we are getting back to school this week. It has been a slow start but we are finally plugging along. Gracie is working hard on reading and phonics and Ashten is working on writing his letters and dot to dots, and finding pictures. We are awaiting some fun workbooks. More things for Ashten to keep plugging along on the basics and poetry for Gracie as well as a neat body book that they will both work on.

This school year 09-10 has been so rewarding and fun. I would not change any minute of it even the hard ones.

We are going to be starting a unit study of the 2010 olympics. Exciting new year of learning ahead of us. :)