Alrighty, then--
We've been schooling at home since September, and have I bothered to update this blog? Well, no, I haven't.
So many times I've sat at my desk (really a table in the den, beside the kitchen) and said to myself, "Y'know, you really ought to write about what we did today! You really ought to post those pictures! You really ought to update everyone!" But the pics stay in the camera, the posts stay in my head, and my mind strays to other things.
So here's a mini-update, and then maybe I'll get the ball rolling and start posting weekly again. Maybe...
1. Sky came home in August, has started at the local school (transfer came in, no problem), and has...wait for it...All A's (and 1 B+) for the first quarter! He has been working his tushy off. Sky passed his one year sobriety anniversary, also. Everyone who has been down on her knees for us can be assured, "The prayers of the righteous availeth much!" Thank you so much for your faithfulness--he's doing great! We recently visited several colleges, he did ok on his SAT's, and his attitude is very good.
2. We are tooling along with homeschooling. Nature Girl breezes thru most of her work--we do math and we read aloud every day, and we do grammar, spelling, history, and Bible about 4 days a week (once in a while we double up on grammar b/c we do most of it orally and I occasionally let it slide a bit). Keeping to the adage, small things done over time lead to great things. She is currently memorizing the Nativity story in Luke, for example--a couple of verses a week.
3. I am making enough $ to pay down debt and sometimes have enough for a tank of gas--Godly Man helps out with that. I've been babysitting for a dear family (1 year old) about once a week, and can take Nature Girl with me if I need to. I'm also walking dogs/pet sitting for a local company. I would like more hours, but am not ready to throw in the towel yet with hs'ing.
4. Film Buff is hoping to get into the cinema program at his college--he is having some adjustment problems and it's been pretty rough. I'm learning to keep offering up my children (to the Lord, of course) and that he is in charge.
5. Godly Man and I just celebrated the 26th year anni of our engagement--this July it'll be 25 years of marriage. We are thinking of going to the Holy Land, but are not sure at this point. With two in college (or nearly so), it will be tight, but 25 years is worth celebrating. When I told dh that Jerusalem didn't seem like an anniversary place, he said, "Why not? Marriage is sacred." Gotta love that man.
Well that's the update for now. Every day an adventure--Keeping my hands open by letting go of control and being open to God, waiting on him to fill them with all the Good he has for me and mine.
Look for more later in the week--pictures, weekly update, etc. etc.
Oh, and HI BETH!
Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
First Day Tomorrow!
Well, I'm pretty excited, and so is Nature Girl. We made the decision to go ahead and homeschool her for fourth grade, and we start tomorrow! I still need to:
1. Clean up the school room. We revamped it a little, but it needs a good cleaning.
2. Make up a plan for the week. I have a plan book, but feel too confined by it, so I'll
probably just run off some gridded sheets today and fill them in. Most of our
stuff is open and go, but I still like to write it down, at least for the first week!
3. Gather materials for our first day. Need to decide what to do for history, first.
4. Make Nature Girl's Schultute. This is a wonderful German tradition (tho it's generally only
for the very first day of school, not every year) where a child is given school supplies and
various goodies in a paper cone. We use posterboard. I'll post a pic tomorrow.
5. Make a decision as to whether to start history with SOTW or with Homeschool in The
Wood's Explorer's CD-Rom. I'm leaning towards SOTW, adding in the HITW later.
6. Run off sheets for narration/history notebook, and copy the first 6 weeks of Writing With
Ease 3 (it's free on the Peace Hill Press site until the new workbook comes out).
7. Pray! I want to commit our school to the Lord. We've already had the schoolroom blessed
by dear Bishop "Livingstone," but I want to have some prayers and intentionality.
Gotta run! Lots to do!
1. Clean up the school room. We revamped it a little, but it needs a good cleaning.
2. Make up a plan for the week. I have a plan book, but feel too confined by it, so I'll
probably just run off some gridded sheets today and fill them in. Most of our
stuff is open and go, but I still like to write it down, at least for the first week!
3. Gather materials for our first day. Need to decide what to do for history, first.
4. Make Nature Girl's Schultute. This is a wonderful German tradition (tho it's generally only
for the very first day of school, not every year) where a child is given school supplies and
various goodies in a paper cone. We use posterboard. I'll post a pic tomorrow.
5. Make a decision as to whether to start history with SOTW or with Homeschool in The
Wood's Explorer's CD-Rom. I'm leaning towards SOTW, adding in the HITW later.
6. Run off sheets for narration/history notebook, and copy the first 6 weeks of Writing With
Ease 3 (it's free on the Peace Hill Press site until the new workbook comes out).
7. Pray! I want to commit our school to the Lord. We've already had the schoolroom blessed
by dear Bishop "Livingstone," but I want to have some prayers and intentionality.
Gotta run! Lots to do!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Nature Girl's Flowers
Trying my hand at sharing photos via slideshows--
Nature Girl took these pics. All are lovely, but some are actually pretty good photographs for a 9yo! Let us know what you think.
Nature Girl took these pics. All are lovely, but some are actually pretty good photographs for a 9yo! Let us know what you think.
Nature Girl's Flowers
View more documents from discoverychris.
Sky is Coming Home
We got the word the other day that Sky will be back home with us by the end of July.
He has been working hard to complete the program and heal--we have, too. I am still very tender in the hurt places of my heart where all the hard and bitter days still live in memory, but God is healing me, refining me, and redeeming all the lost time.
I don't know what Sky's future holds, of course, but I like to think he has much more hope than ever before.
Continued prayers would be lovely.
He has been working hard to complete the program and heal--we have, too. I am still very tender in the hurt places of my heart where all the hard and bitter days still live in memory, but God is healing me, refining me, and redeeming all the lost time.
I don't know what Sky's future holds, of course, but I like to think he has much more hope than ever before.
Continued prayers would be lovely.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Revamped School Room
Welcome to our school room!
We've been working hard!
We've changed around the schoolroom just a bit. The art area has been switched with Film Buff's desk--since Film Buff is off to college (!!!) in just a month and a week, and Sky will be coming home (!!!) the end of July, I thought it might be nice to give Sky a study place. He usually uses the dining room table, but this will allow him to be a little more organized.
Following the wall around the room, this is Nature Girl's main schooling area. It's a little "school-y," but we like the classroom feel. We changed the border around the white board, and some of the posters on the wall. Grammar definitions are to the right. We were going to paint, but never got around to it.
Continuing around the room to the right (passing the door to the workout room), you can see the Chalkboard That We Never Use, and the nature table. I painted the chalkboard our first year, so excited to have a classroom and start homeschooling. Then I realized that chalkboards are needed in brick and mortar schools because there are so many kids learning at once, and the teacher can't sit beside every one. Not the case in homeschool, of course. Anyway, it looks nice and occasionally we use it as a backdrop for a cool map or picture, or for Nature Girl to write her spelling words on. The door goes to the backyard. (And yes, I know there are multiple sentence frags in the above paragraph...)
This is a close-up of the nature table. We got rid of the paper wasps nests, some old insects and various other items. Living in the woods gives us lots of opportunity to collect specimens! Can't save them all...
We put this border around the door and Nature Girl made the little stained glass ornaments to hang up (really just plastic). I have a topper for the window that I'll eventually get around to hanging.
About 10 feet of wall (where NG has her art posted) separates this comfy couch area from the rest of the school room. (There's a pool table in the middle of the room, too.) Film Buff liked to read here when he was homeschooled. It's so bright and pretty, we decided to make this NG's art area, as you can see in the following pictures.
We have a great collection of art prints from dollar store calendars--Renoir is on the walls currently, with some Van Gogh in the corner. I used to post Film Buff's assignments on this whiteboard, but now we'll use it to post the pictures we'll do for our artist/picture study.
One of our goals this year is to actually use the fireplace in the basement! We tried it two years ago, but I think the flue was shut--can you say "Smokin'!" If you click on this pic, it will enlarge (they all will); over the fireplace is the mosaic Last Supper that Godly Man did with his dad when he was little. It's made of those aquarium-type rocks. And that's Nature Girl, of course, with an art book strategically placed in front of her face (I don't post her pic full-face). Our art shelf is crowded with materials, but we still need brushes and clay for the year. She can use the materials any time, and often does!
Finally, this large African map--I find Africa fascinating, and thought it would be fun to do a little geography of the region this year. Our friend, Bishop Nykoyoyo (and I'll check on that spelling!) runs the Chain Foundation, and we will be trying to raise a few dollars for them and send some letters to the orphaned kids there as we learn about several African countries this year.
Thanks for dropping by!
We've been working hard!
We've changed around the schoolroom just a bit. The art area has been switched with Film Buff's desk--since Film Buff is off to college (!!!) in just a month and a week, and Sky will be coming home (!!!) the end of July, I thought it might be nice to give Sky a study place. He usually uses the dining room table, but this will allow him to be a little more organized.
Following the wall around the room, this is Nature Girl's main schooling area. It's a little "school-y," but we like the classroom feel. We changed the border around the white board, and some of the posters on the wall. Grammar definitions are to the right. We were going to paint, but never got around to it.
Continuing around the room to the right (passing the door to the workout room), you can see the Chalkboard That We Never Use, and the nature table. I painted the chalkboard our first year, so excited to have a classroom and start homeschooling. Then I realized that chalkboards are needed in brick and mortar schools because there are so many kids learning at once, and the teacher can't sit beside every one. Not the case in homeschool, of course. Anyway, it looks nice and occasionally we use it as a backdrop for a cool map or picture, or for Nature Girl to write her spelling words on. The door goes to the backyard. (And yes, I know there are multiple sentence frags in the above paragraph...)
This is a close-up of the nature table. We got rid of the paper wasps nests, some old insects and various other items. Living in the woods gives us lots of opportunity to collect specimens! Can't save them all...
We put this border around the door and Nature Girl made the little stained glass ornaments to hang up (really just plastic). I have a topper for the window that I'll eventually get around to hanging.
About 10 feet of wall (where NG has her art posted) separates this comfy couch area from the rest of the school room. (There's a pool table in the middle of the room, too.) Film Buff liked to read here when he was homeschooled. It's so bright and pretty, we decided to make this NG's art area, as you can see in the following pictures.
We have a great collection of art prints from dollar store calendars--Renoir is on the walls currently, with some Van Gogh in the corner. I used to post Film Buff's assignments on this whiteboard, but now we'll use it to post the pictures we'll do for our artist/picture study.
One of our goals this year is to actually use the fireplace in the basement! We tried it two years ago, but I think the flue was shut--can you say "Smokin'!" If you click on this pic, it will enlarge (they all will); over the fireplace is the mosaic Last Supper that Godly Man did with his dad when he was little. It's made of those aquarium-type rocks. And that's Nature Girl, of course, with an art book strategically placed in front of her face (I don't post her pic full-face). Our art shelf is crowded with materials, but we still need brushes and clay for the year. She can use the materials any time, and often does!
Finally, this large African map--I find Africa fascinating, and thought it would be fun to do a little geography of the region this year. Our friend, Bishop Nykoyoyo (and I'll check on that spelling!) runs the Chain Foundation, and we will be trying to raise a few dollars for them and send some letters to the orphaned kids there as we learn about several African countries this year.
Thanks for dropping by!
Park Day
Isn't this dreamy? I love paths that wander off into the unknown...
We took some time off and visited one of our favorite local parks on Monday. This park has a lovely boardwalk that extends into a beautiful marsh.
There were so many blue dragonflies buzzing about!
These are either raspberries or unripe blackberries; we were unsure. They provide food for the wildlife, which is abundant!
Every time we go, we notice the changes, but there are always Canadian geese around.
Godly Man and Nature Girl are on the observation platform, looking into the woods that surround the marsh. Hard to see, but there's a fawn feeding just at the edge of the shadow of the tree on the right. Her mother was actually wading in the marsh, a good 150 feet away.
One of the many heron we saw. We also saw a red-winged blackbird, egrets, numerous butterflies, turtles, tadpoles and frogs...It is one of our very favorite places!
We took some time off and visited one of our favorite local parks on Monday. This park has a lovely boardwalk that extends into a beautiful marsh.
There were so many blue dragonflies buzzing about!
These are either raspberries or unripe blackberries; we were unsure. They provide food for the wildlife, which is abundant!
Every time we go, we notice the changes, but there are always Canadian geese around.
Godly Man and Nature Girl are on the observation platform, looking into the woods that surround the marsh. Hard to see, but there's a fawn feeding just at the edge of the shadow of the tree on the right. Her mother was actually wading in the marsh, a good 150 feet away.
One of the many heron we saw. We also saw a red-winged blackbird, egrets, numerous butterflies, turtles, tadpoles and frogs...It is one of our very favorite places!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Changes and Challenges
I've neglected this poor excuse for a blog, but I'm preparing to do more posting.
As this originally started as a way to document and share our homeschooling journey, as well as other parts of our family life, I was not updating frequently because Nature Girl started going to public school, Film Buff graduated, and Sky remained in treatment.
Things are changing, however! Sky is making good progress, and will probably be home the end of July, depending on several factors. Nature Girl did extremely well in school, but longs to be home. I fought everyday with myself about going to work this year--it turned out to be an excellent, refining experience, but I want to be home next year, too, so I'm choosing not to teach preschool next year. Instead, I'm looking for pet sitting and babysitting jobs. So far, I've got a once-a-week job with a sweet, sweet family who have a 1yodd--cutie patootie! I'm also watching Millie The Wonder Dachshund, who is a pee-er, but extremely sweet.
Film Buff was not accepted into the Cinema program at his college of choice, but was accepted to the general program, so he will go in the Fall. I'm having separation anxiety! All will be well. I'm hoping he learned enough in homeschool to get by--he's really quite a nice young man, and pretty sensible.
Nature Girl and I did some work in the homeschool room. We moved the large desk Film Buff used up to the place where the art area was, and moved the art area to the lovely, window-surrounded area where the desk had been. I actually liked it better the other way, but Nature Girl and I were both ready for something new. I will post pics when it is a little more cleaned up. We have also hung a nice African map on the wall--it's a print out using 64 sheets of paper (we couldn't do the top level due to space, but all of Africa is on the wall). Again, I'll post pics and our new curriculum later this week.
As this originally started as a way to document and share our homeschooling journey, as well as other parts of our family life, I was not updating frequently because Nature Girl started going to public school, Film Buff graduated, and Sky remained in treatment.
Things are changing, however! Sky is making good progress, and will probably be home the end of July, depending on several factors. Nature Girl did extremely well in school, but longs to be home. I fought everyday with myself about going to work this year--it turned out to be an excellent, refining experience, but I want to be home next year, too, so I'm choosing not to teach preschool next year. Instead, I'm looking for pet sitting and babysitting jobs. So far, I've got a once-a-week job with a sweet, sweet family who have a 1yodd--cutie patootie! I'm also watching Millie The Wonder Dachshund, who is a pee-er, but extremely sweet.
Film Buff was not accepted into the Cinema program at his college of choice, but was accepted to the general program, so he will go in the Fall. I'm having separation anxiety! All will be well. I'm hoping he learned enough in homeschool to get by--he's really quite a nice young man, and pretty sensible.
Nature Girl and I did some work in the homeschool room. We moved the large desk Film Buff used up to the place where the art area was, and moved the art area to the lovely, window-surrounded area where the desk had been. I actually liked it better the other way, but Nature Girl and I were both ready for something new. I will post pics when it is a little more cleaned up. We have also hung a nice African map on the wall--it's a print out using 64 sheets of paper (we couldn't do the top level due to space, but all of Africa is on the wall). Again, I'll post pics and our new curriculum later this week.
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