I Have Truly Missed Blogging...

Hello!!!!!!

I can not begin to tell you all just how much I have missed blogging about life while home schooling. I am still plugging away at my degree in Elementary Education Interdisciplinary Studies at Liberty University. Why am I in school? Well, as a home schooling mommy, I know that I didn't have to go back to school to do the job; however, because I never finished school the first time around, I felt under-equipped for the job.  I hate saying that because I do feel a natural ability, and a love for teaching. Still though, I felt like I needed the confidence of having a degree in order to do the job to the level that I believe it needs to be done. Anyway, moving right along...

My girls are growing in so many ways. Right now they are preparing for a week long adventure at Paw-Paw's and Mam-Maw's house. This will be their first week long trip away from home, and boy are they excited!

We have done so much since my last post this time last year. The most exciting would be our work at a local senior home and orphanage. The girls put on a concert of music and dance once a month for the senior citizens of the home, and we drop off food for the children of the orphanage. Wow this sounds so pious or pretentious as I type it, but it is not my intention. I just thought that it would be a good idea to teach them how to use their gifts to bless others. I mean, why else are we learning this stuff if it's not to bless others?

1st concert at Senior Center

2nd concert at Senior Center

I'm very proud of Chelsea! There may be very little more exciting for a home schooling mom or dad than starting off with your pre-k or kindergartener, and witnessing how much they learn over the course of a year. Yes, it's just as easy to be proud of your older kids, but it's something about watching the growth of a child after their first full year of phonics or whatever type of reading program used, or after their first full year of math lessons. Seeing Chelsea at 6 years old be able to do a math problem like "8+5=10+____" without using her fingers, just makes my heart sing.

We are keeping our brains in a state of activity by doing a Singapore Math mental math worksheet everyday. We left off the school year with Madison learning to write a research paper, so hopefully we can work on that over the summer as well, but as of now, we've only been able to accomplish a math worksheet each day.

They've had fun with VBS and a music camp so far this summer, and plenty of swimming!