Friday, May 24, 2013

Activities, Activities, Activities

A lot of time has gone by since my last homeschooling post. I've posted about raising kids, loving your spouse, but today I'm taking it back to the home school (somebody out there gets that :)).

The girls spent a day catching lizards and making habitats for them. I am so glad that they are not squimish like me when it comes to lizards. I am not afraid of bugs of any kind but a lizard on my front porch will send this grown lady who LOVES being outside, into the house pretty quickly.








We've completed our science project using the scientific method from springtime science. Madison wrote out her conclusion, and I challenged her to think about her sentences and incorporate what she's learned from her Rod & Staff English book this year. I told her that if she wrote a great paragraph, we would skip the English lesson because I would see that she's learned and retained the information that we've covered this year. Let me tell you, I was impressed. And I'm glad because during the 5 months that she was in public school I saw some pretty amazing writings posted on the walls of the 1st grade halls at the school. I determined from that that I really needed to make sure that she is able to write coherent sentences as early as she is read, and I was proud to see that she's there.




Chelsea took a spelling test. She's doing great at 4 years old with reading, writing and spelling. I am not excited because she is only four doing those things. I am excited because at this rate and on this path she should have a good year for the school year coming up. She will be independent enough to work on her own confidently and she most likely wont have a hard time understanding her daily lessons.


proud of her work

For Mother's Day, we made the footprint butterflies that I'd seen all over pinterest, but we did a little something different with ours. I did not get a chance to post them because we did them at 9pm the night before Mother's Day. Oh well, there's always next year. Instead of making these adorable little butterflies on canvas bags and such; we did our footprints on stones to be placed in Nanna's garden. It seemed like a perfect idea for that project.







We made and hung our butterfly feeder, again, a great idea from pinterest!


While the kids were away at their god-parents' house for the weekend of my and Phillip's birthdays, I made little cardboard dog houses (from a box) for their little doggies; a cute idea that I got from the Mom's Library. If you have never been to that site...go! There are ideas a PLENTY on that site! The girls LOVE their doggie homes and went a little crazy decorating them. Honestly, I think they are using them more as a canvas for art than a domicile for their doggies. :)





 We've had our last classes for both kids' extra curricula activities; piano and ballet. We've had one end of year recital, and one more recital to go. Madison did so well at her recital that her piano teacher is moving her up in her books. The girl has a God-given gift and I as her mother, am so thankful. Now once she found out that she was moving up in books, her response was, "Already?!" She was ecstatic and I think she recognizes that it is an honor and that it's because she's doing a great a job.

Before the recital

Sister: A built in best friend

I need a better camera!

Mommy's little divas


We also had our last day  of co-op this week. Whew! I thank God that we made it all year! I wanted to give up and quit so many times this year, but I am so glad that we hung there. The kids LOVED co-op, it was just hard for me to incorporate the "homework" from co-op into our homeschool. I like to do school at our own pace and cover the information that I think we need to cover. Needless to say, this was a learning experience for us. We will still go to co-op next year, but we are only doing the elective courses versus the academic.
Shaving cream wars on field day
Homemade chocolate cake I made for end of year banquet



I had my very first podcast interview with Demetria Zinga at Christian Homeschool Moms. She was such a delight to interview with. She homeschools her two children out on the West Coast and contacted me for an interview based on some information that she read on my blog about raising children in today's world. If you have a chance and have never been to Christian Homeschooling Moms, check her out over there. She also has an iTunes channel that you can subscribe to for great ideas on homeschooling, or great encouragement if you're new to homeschooling or have hit a rough spot in your homeschool.


I also did more work on my ebook which will be coming out very soon. I am soooo super excited about that. Phillip has been helping with proofreading, editing and publishing. Therefore, if you have preschool aged kids, be on the look out for it. It will be free initially, and I really hope that people, moms, will find it useful.

All in all, May has been a wonderful month for our family in so many ways. God is a wonderful God and He, according to His word will teach you how to profit. He will guide you. He loves you and He is so very interested in our lives as His children. If you are in a rough patch right now, if you feel overwhelmed at all, distracted, pulled in a million directions, don't throw in the towel. Hang in there! If you are a born-again follower of Christ, you have the spirit of an overcomer on the inside of you. There are times that we may need to slow down and check to see if we are headed in the direction God has planned for our lives, but if you know you are, then just keep going don't give in to inadequacy, doubt or fear. He loves you, you are in Him and He in you. You CAN do this.

Linking this post up at Collage Friday and here.

*To listen to our family's FREE Educational music...visit our YouTube channel here.

13 comments:

  1. I would like one of those chocolate cakes please. I can send you my address ;-)

    Looks like a busy, fun filled week! I'm so thankful for you linking each week. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Thanks Mary for taking the time out of your busy life to comment here. You are an inspiration. The cake was truly delicious... :)

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  2. Your daughter is quite advanced for her age. She probably takes after her mother in smarts. (and beauty too)
    In our day, we did not have home school, and my wife did not know about it when our children were in school. Then later our foster daughter pulled her five children out of public school where they just were NOT learning and home schooled them through high school. It paid off for her and the children too.

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  3. Heya i'm for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something back and aid others like you helped me.

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  4. Wow what a fab week! huzzah to your 4 year old! Love all the pics and all the fun that engaged the kids! Found your blog over at collage Friday!

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  5. Thanks for sharing this wonderful glimpse into your family's life at Friendship Friday. I love the foot print butterflies! You've inspired me to make a butterfly feeder to see what kinds of butterflies we might have around here! Your daughters are so adorable! I'm also looking forward to listening to your interview! I hope you'll be a regular on Fridays. I also invite you to contribute to my {About You} page for guest posters if you're interested!

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  6. Thanks for sharing! I love the idea of using the egg box! must try it at home :)
    -Reshama
    www.stackingbooks.com

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  7. Loved all your pictures! Your daughters look so adorable in their dresses. How do you like Rod & Staff. I used their math and english books for years. They're really good with the basics.

    We did a homeschool co-op for years but ours was only electives. I wanted to teach the basics and didn't want all that homework, so can totally relate.

    Thanks for linking up to the "Making Your Home Sing Monday" linky party!

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  8. Wow, you have been busy!! It looks like you did some great things. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!

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  9. That chocolate cake looks Amazing! I am new from southern charm! I would love for you to check out my blog and hopefully follow me back! Nicole

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  10. Thanks for posting the interview. And the lizard-catching looks pretty interesting!!! :-) Your kids are super busy and it seems they've had a wonderful homeschool year. Congrats on the piano recital and finishing up with everything. My daughter also enjoyed ballet a few years back.

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  11. Your children are beautiful! I followed the link from your comment over at the 18 reasons why Dr. and Lawyers Homeschool article. Your comment "you are one of those farmer/extremist types" was hilarious!

    my best
    Linda

    ReplyDelete

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