Everyday LIFE “Homeschooling Highlights” Week 4

I almost didn’t make my updating deadline this week.  The weather here has been gorgeous the last few days & we have soaked up every.single.bit.of.it!!!  And to top it all off – Big Daddy only had to work 2 days this week.  He tends to keep me pretty busy when he is home.  It is so hard to stay on schedule & have a normal routine when he is home because the boys want to play with daddy.  We did so good sticking to our studies though.

3 R’s

Tyler is almost done with his first Encyclopedia Brown book.  He has really enjoyed the mystery genre in both reading & writing.  He wrote a short mystery story, “The Missing Dollar,”  & made it into a little mini book (with illustrated pages & everything).  I love his humor.  Mysteries suite him well.  My Mustangs are slowly beginning to read.  Tucker loves to read the I’m Reading Now books.  They both sound out words & spell words from sound, but it just hasn’t clicked completely yet.  They do great with their Explode the Code books.  The more we continue to work through them, the more independent they become.  They are still loving their writing time.  This week for writing they put on their own puppet shows to practice making up stories.  Their shows were both very cute!  For language lessons they have begun memorizing a new poem, “Work.”  I made up hand signs to help them memorize it & it seemed to help a lot.  They both have memorized the entire poem in just one week.  There isn’t a lot to report on the subject of math.  Math is all their favorite subject.  Tyler has another week & half of doubling up on his lesson plans (in order to aim at finishing by May).  I asked him this week if he enjoyed Teaching Textbooks more than Math U See . . .  when I expressed how much I loved Teaching Textbooks he replied, “Yeah, because your not the one doing 2 lessons every day!”  LOL  He has such a good attitude about things. 

History & Science

Tyler continued to study the importance of longitude.  He read about Magellan & how important tools & equipment are to sailors.  He also discovered just how dangerous life at sea is & how fisherman don’t exactly have the easiest job, despite how appealing it may sound.  I let the boys watch “Deadliest Catch” on Netflix this week.  Tyler was surprised at how difficult life at sea is, even still today.  It definitely gave him a deep appreciation for our occasional crab feasts.  Tucker & Trevor loved learning about the Vikings.  They have quite decided if they like them or not.  It is hard for them to understand that often the “bad guy” in history thought they were in the right.  They are such typical boys – totally fascinated with the fighting. 

 

In other news  .  .  .

This week was bitter-sweet for us as it marked the first time in 4 years that we did not join our homeschool group for enrichment classes.  I decided in the fall that it would be best to take a temporary break from our Friday meetings since we would be crunched for time this spring trying to finish a little early for our trip to Tennessee.  Truman’s continued illnesses was even more confirmation of my decision, but it is still sad for us to not be apart of something we all enjoy so much.  I’m still toying with the idea of Classical Conversations (especially since my boys love memory work so much), so I haven’t decided if we will return to our EC group in the fall.   

Our Prodigal Daughter & My Prayer For Her

 

Our daughter has been heavy on my heart lately.  I still live in a sea of emotions when it comes to her – I seem to rock from anger, to sinking with guilt, to spreading my arms wide enjoying the peace as the wind brushes my face (insert Titanic moment with good ol’ Leo & the so beautiful Kate Winslet).

At times I feel so angry with her & her rebellious spirit.  My attitude & thoughts of her mother & her mother’s boyfriend far surpass anger & borderline on pure hatred.  I hate hating them.  I am no better than them.  I have my own wicked ways, but I have chosen to walk with the Lord who continues to purge me of them (daily!)  Then I am reminded of Ephesians 6:12 – the battle really isn’t between us & them or her, but it is between good & evil.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against...the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  NIV

I love the Messages translation of the later part of this verse:

“This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.”

I love how this is found in the same chapter, where just a few verse before lays God’s instruction & promise to children,

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  ‘Honor your father and mother’ – which is the first commandment with a promise – ‘that it may go will with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’ ” Ephesians 6:1-3

Today as I did my Bible study I felt the Lord wrapping His arms around me in a Father comforting his daughter kind of way.  He gave me the bad news . . . Psalm 107:17-18

^“Some are fools [despise wisdom & discipline] through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction [pain] because of their iniquities [sin].  They loathed all food (in Big Daddy’s famous words, “don’t nothing suite them!” ) and drew near the gates of death.

It is expected when our hearts are rebelled against God that we will be subject to a bitter life & it is inevitable that we will stumble.  We should not be surprised when we hear of our daughters mishaps.  Life is meant to be hard when we separate ourselves from God & choose to disobey Him.  As, in my opinion, our daughter has.  But then my Father shared the good news in verses 19 & 20 . . .

“Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
He sent out his word and healed them; He rescued them from the grave.”

The Amplified version translates the grave as “the pit & destruction.”  As badly as the strong motherly instincts within me so deeply desire to rescue her from her pit of destruction, it is not my job. 

“. . . For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15

Our daughter must cry out to God.  She has to seek His guidance not mine.  I truly believe once she turns her attention to her Heavenly Father, she will become a totally different girl.  She is so brokenhearted with disappointment from her mother.  She carries it with her & allows it to pull her down.  As Lisa Harper says in her book, “A Perfect Mess” – “Our mess is His message . . . God is not watching from a distance He is drawing closer to the brokenhearted people.”  Our daughter is in the midst of her story (His message).  I cannot stand in the way of that – I will trust the Lord will purge her & discipline her in His Time.  He will bring her sins (& those influences that are not ordained by Him) before her.   She must go through this situation to understand that she cannot truly live without God.  I found such reassurance in Miss. Harper’s book, “The wicked won’t last.  They may have their season in the sun when it seems they are on top of the world.  But their days are numbered.  It won’t be long before God yanks those who defy Him out of their abscesses existence.”  Amen!  Then & only then will our daughter claim verses 21 & 22 and share her story . . .

“So thank God for his marvelous love, for his miracle mercy to the children he loves;
   Offer thanksgiving sacrifices, tell the world what he's done—sing it out!”  -The Message

 

My prayer for our daughter (taken partly from “When Mother’s Pray” by Cheri Fuller):

Father God,

You are an awesome God!  You are our ultimate parent.  I pray for your will to be done in our lives.  Lord, you know what we need & you hear our prayers before we’ve spoken.  Forgive us for our sinful ways & selfish desires.  Teaches to be merciful & show others the same grace You have bestowed on us.  Protect us from evil & guard us from temptation. 

Father, you know my heart, you hold all my tears in your hand.  I thank you for the circumstances that have lead us to where we are . . . Our home was a battlefield.  Every boundary we set, every authority we exercised, each time we attempted to hold our daughter accountable, the more she resisted.  Although, you gave her to us, we know that she is yours first.  I did my part Lord, I fed her your word & taught her your ways.  Now I must faithfully lay down my ways, patiently Be Still & allow you to do your part.  I have not written her off, but I will not rescue her.  I trust that You will go after her & save her from destruction.  I pray that whatever may come is all apart of your good plan & will ultimately turn her to You.  Let her see with clear eyes the path that she is on.  Do not allow her to conform to the ways of this world.  Separate her from any influences that are not ordained by You.  This is your battle Lord, avenge them speedily!  I pray that those who would lure her into evil will lose interest & flee from her.  I also pray that you will hedge her in so she won’t be able to contact those who are out of Your will.

Your word promises us that you work everything out, even this situation, for good.  I understand nature’s seasons; I know it is time to wait.  Fill us with assurance that you won’t delay one moment longer than is necessary.  Give us the faith we need to be lean not on our own understandings, but to trust in you.  You are mighty to save – hear our prayers Father & rescue our daughter.

A Plan Stan!

So, school started great.  Took a quick turn for the worst in November when my lil’ buckaroo got sick.  Then it was downhill all of December.  January rolled around, a new year brought a little bit of hope, & I slowly, very slowly began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Now that I no longer feel like I am driving into a head-on collision, I decided it was time to get the map back out & come up with a plan.  Oh how I love knowing where I’m going.  We all get lost in life, accidents are bound to happen, & every now & then we may feel a little lost, but sometimes if we just STOP & ask for directions (from God!!), the route we are on seems to make so much more sense.  God has been telling me for quite some time now to just BE STILL.  It has been so hard not to make any commitments or plans.  It seriously irks me to look at an empty calendar, but I’ve had enough blow-outs to know that the true plan is “The Man’s” (above). 

God is so faithful!  Sometimes we often complain that the road we are has too many bumps or ditches to fall in.  Other times we may feel like God’s speed is not our own.  Many times I have felt like the AC was out & life was just unbearable.  Then there are the darkest seasons, where life is just chilling.  You are so cold in the inside, numb to the world.  But if you just STOP.  Turn the radio off & listen.  Our tour guide is more than willing to show us the way. 

All that to say, I gotta plan!  I’m ready to fasten my seat belt & rare-up my engine.  My little sister is graduating VALIVICTORIAN (ahem!!!!)  from high school the end of May.  The plan has been for us to head to Tennessee & stay most of the month preparing for all the big events.  I am so excited!!!  So, we gotta get our groove on & get this show on the road!  Meaning, we gots some schoolin’ to catch up on.  We put the petal to the metal this past month, doubled up on some of our core subjects, threw a few out the window (never looking back) & faithfully got ‘er done!  Now that we are back on track I am ready for some mile markers :)

Math:  Tyler will finish Teaching Textbook Math 5, T & T will finish MUS Primer no later than April.  I haven’t decided if they will start the Alpha book right away or if I’ll just wait until we get back in June.

Reading:  Same as planned.  Just going with the flow.  No major changes or plans as of yet.

Writing:  They should all finish Write Shop by the beginning of May.  We should be able to keep the pace of 1 lesson every day & may have to double up the last week or so, but I’m not sweatin’ it until April.

Language:  T&T love First Language Lessons.  I see this as a bonus – we finish when we finish.  Hopefully, we will be to the half way marker by April & totally done well before September.

Grammar: Tyler will finish Analytical Grammar Jr. by the end of March.

Spelling:  I’m not too sure Sequential Spelling is the thing for us.  We are a hit & miss with this curriculum.  I have something else in mind, but probably won’t change anything until we start a new school year.  I have not started a formal spelling with the mustangs.

History & Science:  Tyler will not be doing the entire year of Sea & Sky.  I’ve thought long & hard about finishing it or starting new & decided to stop after week 27.  The last nine weeks we will being skipping cover adventures in space & astronomy, which Tyler has already studied in our enrichment classes last year.  Our itinerary now looks something like this:  February - Pirates, March - American Ship building, & April - 20th Century Ships.  Feb thru April he will be studying ocean biomes. 

T&T will not complete all of Hideaways in History either.  In February, they will take a little break & join Tyler for some fun Pirate activities.  Then will continue our hideaways until April.  This schedule worked out just as good as my plan for Tyler because where we will be stopping (American history) we will pick up next year, just using a different curriculum that includes all of them.  What was I thinking splitting them up?!

We will take the whole month of May off from everything!  During the hot Texas heat in June, July, & August they will all lightly hit Adventures in the air (this will take us from early aviation pioneers to world travel & sonic speed) & begin learning about types of weather & forecasting weather. 

There it is.  My directions for the remainder of our school year.  Let’s see if we make it to our destination or end up in a completely unexpected place.  Either way, God is in control & I can’t imagine where we’d be if He weren’t directing our path. 

Are you where you expected to be?  Are you still heading in the same direction you planned from the beginning or has your road split a few times along the way as well?

Baa, Neigh, Cock-a-doodle-do

 

My little Buckaroo is quickly following in his big brothers footsteps.  He is 20 months old & ready for a little farm theme fun!

Truman is such a busy boy – rarely in the same spot for more than a few seconds, but he loves farm animals.  So I decided to use this to my advantage.  His little center in our schoolbarn got a little toddler updating this winter. 

I plan to use a farm theme as a mini VERY relaxed tot-school to teach Truman:

• colors
• counting to 3 (then maybe 5, and so on . . .)
• animal names & sounds

We will do various age appropriate activities including:

• storytime
• sorting
• matching
• picture discrimination
• big/small activities
• coloring
• sensory (touch & feel)

Animal Recognition & Learning to say their names:

DK – Touch & Feel FarmPicture Cards, Moo Moo What Are You?, My Little Farm book , Barnyard Hullabaloo, & My Barnyard Friends plush toys

                                        

Animal Sounds:

Who Says Moo, Morning on the Farm, Listen to the Farm, Magic Sound Blocks, & My Barnyard Friends 

Colors on a Farm:

Big Red Barn & several of the books listed above in addition to bean bags & our color bags (*I LOVE HWOT new bags!!)

• red – barn, tractor
• orange - cat
• yellow – baby chicks
• green – tractor, frogs
• blue – bird
• purple – flowers
• pink – pig
• gray – goat, donkey
• black – cow, bull
• white – sheep, chickens, rabbit, goose
• brown – hen, horse, dog, duck, goat, barn

Other animals I might add are:  rooster, turkey, owl, fox, mice

You could also add:  grass, wheat, hay & farm foods (*once we get these goals met I will add fruits & veggies)

Numbers & Counting 1, 2, 3

               Counting Chickens, Old MacDonald’s Farm A Counting Book, Discovery Toys Meaure Up Cups, & Farm Animal Counters (*This hand puppet is on the “Wanted” list!)

                                     

Inside our tot boxes:

Hide & Squeak Eggs, Farm stickers, Farm coloring books, My 1st Animal signs, Farm lacing cards, Farm grow capsules, Farm foam animals, Touch & Feel wooden farm puzzle, Barnyard Dance (*I LOVE THIS BOOK!!)

    

Story Books:

•  Who Took the Farmers Hat
• Click, Clack Moo
• Cows That Type
• Giggle, Giggle Quack
• Mommy, Do You Love Me?
• Icky, Sticky Frog
• The Hat
• Drive a Tractor

 

Over the years I have collected farm theme manipulative & books – 4 boys later I have quite the collection.  I will try to add another post of ideas for older children.  These are just a few things I have chosen to keep Truman’s from destroying the house days busy.  I don’t intend to use everything each day & will slowly work into somewhat of a schedule.  Currently, I am just grabbing one item from a couple boxes & tossing them his way as I divert him from coloring on the walls.  Eventually I will start a morning circle time with him & get a routine down (hopefully!) that includes him.  For now it is mainly just my sanity :)  I have found it is much easier to create business for a tot than it is to clean up their own creativity along the way.

Target usually has a great farm theme selection this time of the year in their dollar section.  I got the window clings, grow animal capsules, puzzles, books & sooo much more from Target for just a few bucks! 

Sweet Levi ~

This boy is just an all American kinda guy & is so much of what I hope my boys grow to become.  I just love this kid (he is my little cousin).  I had such a great time photographing him.  He is not the typical boy in front of a camera.  His humor & wit filled my day with laughter.  He is just a sweet, sweet boy!

Everyday LIFE “Homeschooling Highlights” Week 3

Week 3 – Burrr!  Is the first thing that comes to mind.  I know I’ve mentioned it a time or two, but I am not a fan of cold weather!  At. All.  Big Daddy & I joke because he watches old western movies & dreams of living then.  I quickly explain God’s plan in choosing the current era of His-story for Big Daddy’s existence – I would have never survived back then!!!  Anyway, we schooled the first few days in our schoolbarn, but by Wednesday we were camped out in my bedroom in front of the fireplace.  My mother-in-law (aka. “Gammy”) came over twice this week to help me keep things going since Trevor wasn’t completely back to his normal self.  (Him & pain meds are not quite as pleasurable as I imagined.)  The extra help & distraction for Truman helped keep me on track; as well as, provided a great motivation for the other kids, as they were so eager to “perform” for their Gammy.

The 3 R’s

My mustangs are getting closer to finishing their MUS Primer workbook.  I was hoping to start Alpha at the beginning of the year, but considering our progress, it doesn’t look like we will be that far behind schedule.  I don’t usually have very much to report for Tyler’s math because he is using Teaching Textbooks & rarely needs me.  I check his grade-book on the computer & since he always passes with flying colors I don’t inquire too much of him.  BUT, this week, I am proud to say that he earned his first 100% on his quiz!  YAY!!  Then there is my lil’ buckaroo, who is now counting to 2.  Very cute!    Writing is wonderful.  I am so loving the hand-holding Writeshop provides for us.  It is not only the perfect writing curriculum for me to teach, but it is perfect for my boys as well.  Tucker & Trevor are busy adding sentences & pictures (daily) to their writing books (I’ll try to share soon!)  At the end of the week Tyler began preparing to write a mystery.  Tyler just finished his chapter book, No Talking, for reading so I decided to make this our reading genre as well.  The timing was perfect!  I will be using Heart of Dakota’s Drawn Into The Heart of Reading to explore the mystery genre.  His first mystery will be an Encyclopedia Brown book.  He is very excited.

Despite the cold weather, school days in the house, & Truman practicing for his terrible 2’s, we managed to keep up with our history & science work.  This adds so much fun to our days.  Tyler read about past explores of the sea – the Spanish, Portuguese, & English explores.  For science he learned about the water cycle & created his own little cycle with a mason jar & baggy of ice.  The mustangs had a busy week of history learning more about the Middle Ages.  Science was by far their favorite though . . .

Week 4 – Here we come!!

Randomness

Around here . . .

I bombed my first crockpot attempt at baked beans!  The dogs wouldn’t even eat it.

I did a little rearranging in my office/scrapbook room & it all started with a calendar.

Tyler is a hypochondriac!  The other day he was very concerned because “his blood was GREEN”.

Truman is a hider.  But not a very good one.  He “hides” so he can do something he isn’t supposed to.

Tim bought me the Pioneer Woman’s cookbook.  (yes, after the beans ordeal)  Love it & love all the little things that only a city girl – gone country would catch.

We haven’t heard from either of the girls since Christmas. 

We are already thinking about doing some small re-modeling in our kitchen – think “general store” pantry.

I’m reading 4 books at one time – When Mothers Pray, A Perfect Mess, The Busy Mom’s Guide to Bible Study, & The Core. 

I’m going to put together a new chore chart or at least a routine chart for the boys.

My mustangs told me they were going to live with their Gammy because I was mean.

Truman is talking sooooo much!  His sign language is adorable.

Trevor tells me he loves me “this much” (the size of a finger pinch) & it goes all the way around the world right back here!  . . . Because he heard Tim say that to me the other day.

I text-message shop with my mom & sister!  They shop, then text me their choices :)  I love it!

Tucker told my MIL about my baked beans disaster.

I seriously put “eat” & “get dressed” on my To-Do list.  I also am so sick that I put things I already did on the list & put a pretty little check mark in the box next to it just so I could feel more accomplished. 

Truman’s last fever was 6 days long!

I’m working on a Farm themed Tiny tot time for Truman to learn farm animals & sounds, colors, & numbers 1,2,3  + lots of other motor skill/tot stuff. 

I’m still using cloth diapers, but Truman is soooo ready to potty like a big boy.

Tucker had a drama queen meltdown at dinner last night.

My boys love playing with in boxes!

Keepin’ it Real

 

My mustangs play very well together & love each other tremendously, but they still have this strange desire to try to kill one another on a daily basis.  Yes, they fight.  A lot.  . . . Like 2 pit-bulls!  Sometimes they just yell & say mean things to each other; however, things have been known to get physical between the two.  Trevor is only 20 months younger than his big brother & takes his job of keeping Tucker in-line VERY serious.  He may be little, but oh does he have a temper & Tucker knows just how to bring it out in him. 

So, how do I handle all the fighting? 

Sometimes I ignore them.  Other times I make them say 10 nice things to each other.  Occasionally they’ll have to do something nice for the other.  And they just love to kiss :)  Putting them on opposite ends of the room works too.  Surprisingly, separating them & forbidding them to play together is a punishment in itself.  In all honestly, I do have moments of pure craziness & scream & yell at them.  Then there are times that I just send them outside to spread their blood.

My Sweet Boys . . .

 

 

Camo Day

Is “Camo Night” at church only a country thing? 

I’ve lived out here so long now, I’m not sure I know the answer. 

Our church’s spirit night last Wednesday was CAMO day.

There were 3 age categories & prizes for the winner of each group.

Drumroll please!  And the winners were:

Do not underestimate our camo gear.  We take that sorta thang very seriously around here!

*Yes!  Tucker is wearing a bear hat :)

Everyday LIFE “Homeschooling Hightlights” Week 2

YAY ME!  I got Week 2 scrapped & post(ing) before Week 3 :)  Week 2 started off great!  It was very cold this week so we didn’t bother with even trying to keep the schoolbarn heated.  Besides, that would mean I’d have to go outside into the cold to get there.  I was very diligent with my planning a preparing for the week, which seemed to really help keep me motivated & not loose the kids while I was getting it together.  Anyway . . . The mustangs are doing great in their math & can both say & recognize numbers up to the hundreds spot.  They can both successfully count beyond twenty (we are working to 100), they are counting by 10’s & by 2’s, & they are adding!  They can add their 1’s & a several “doubles”.  They love using the MUS blocks & when they are stumped the blocks always seem to make it click. 

I was sooo happy that we were able to squeeze some history & science into our schedule!

Our week started off GREAT.  By Wednesday Truman was sick again & Trevor was scheduled for his tonsillectomy Friday but we still managed to get most of our school done on Thursday.  It feels so good to be back in the swing of things!

Cold Days. Warm Memories

Sick Boys

These two boys . . .

Are sick.

Wednesday night Truman broke his 3 week stretch of feverlessness with a 106 fever.

We spent Thursday at the pediatrician’s (2 hours away), getting bloodwork, & being told that the cause for his fevers was again, “unknown”.  I’m not surprised.  I gave my (his) testimony at church last Sunday.  I shared with our congregation how faithful the Lord has been in answering our prayers.  My testimony still stands today despite the fevers returning & still not having all the answers.  God is good.

Friday morning Trevor was scheduled for a tonsillectomy.  

 

Trevor was so brave.  Almost a little excited to be on a popsicle diet.  He is such a silly boy, full of wit.  He is quite the jokester.  Of course he camouflaged himself from the doctors & warned them that the anesthetic wouldn’t really make him sleep – he would just be pretending :)  He is such a fun kid.  One of the hospital machines made a crazy screaming sound & Tim told Trevor the noise was a kid getting her tonsils out.  I wish I could have captured the look on his face.  It was a Trevor classic.  We joked with him a lot, but I also prayed with him & I tried to be as honest as possible with him so he knew what to expect.  He was so brave when they came to take him back to surgery.  I had to make him kiss me goodbye.  Before too long the doctor met with Tim & I to report a successful surgery without any complications.

Recovery was a different story.  When Taylor had her tonsils out she was so sweet & calm.  Other than talking funny for awhile because she was convinced her tonsils affected her voice box she was super easy.  I should have known better – NOTHING about Trevor is calm or easy.  He is my wild child.  When the nurse took us back to the recovery room he was kicking & screaming.  Not at all what I had expected.  He was so mad!  I tried to reassure him & settle him down, but failed horribly.  Thank God Tim was with us.  Daddy quickly took over & within minutes had him drinking ice water.  Whew! 

I anticipated the next few days to be him resting in bed doped up on some wonderful pain meds.  Not so much!  He laid in bed for the majority of the afternoon.  Slept very little.  And by evening was begging for FOOD  - about 6 popsicles later!!  He had all the jello, yogurt, popsicles, & water he wanted.  This country boy was ready for some meat & taters.  I had to do some serious bargaining to get him to wait a few days for real food. 

 

You would never know these 2 were sick!

LIFE captured

• Didn’t you know desks were not really made to be sat in?
• Sticking your tongue out while working really does make you smarter.
• I have no clue.
• All the cool kids wear raccoon skin hats to school!!

Memory Work

 

I am also very proud to announce that

my mustangs have memorized their first poem!!!

The Caterpillar

 

Just to keep it real with ya . . .

 

One more try . . .

 

Oh how I love these boys!!!!!!!

 

*They memorized this poem in just the first few lesson’s of First Language Lessons.

Every Day LIFE “Homeschooling Highlights” week 1

Our first week of 2011 was nice.  For the first time in months we actually had a normal week.  A week without a sick baby, doctor appointments, or interruptions.  The overwhelming feeling that has been haunting me was suddenly gone.  I got my groove back!
I’m totally easing my way back into LIFE.  Remembering the fable of the tortiose & the hare. . .  

Slow & steady wins the race.

This week we just focused on our morning routine – memory work, reading, writing, & math.
As we headed to the starting line this year, I did a quick assessment of where we are & where I’d like us to be in May.  My goals for Tyler are with his reading & writing.  I have a fabulous, wonderful, very funny, cheerful, fantastic 4th grade teacher friend who has agreed to access his reading.  She will help me set some goals for him.  I’m totally excited about this!!!  Writing isn’t an issue for any other reason than effort.  It just isn’t really in my comfort zone & with the reading being such an issue I dreaded writing.  Although in my ideal Type-A personality, I loved Winter Promises language program as it was super creative & correlated perfectly with our History/Science studies – BUT it was time consuming & doesn’t have a pretty little content page that I can check off our accomplishments.  So the curriculum hoarder that I am – I decided to make the switch to Write Shop (book C) & Analytical Grammar Jr.  Sad to see WP language arts sitting on the shelves, but WOW!  WS & AG are awesome!!  I love WP & may return to it in the future but for where we are in life the other meets our needs at this point. 
The Mustangs.  Oh these boys.  I should have put duct tape on my Christmas list!  My routine with these two are pretty much the same as before.  However, my goal setting for Tyler motivated me to make their language & writing studies more of a priority.  I am using First Language Lessons & Write Shop (book A).  Neither of them are writing sentences on their own.  For now we oral create the sentences, I write them on the board, then on their writing books with a highlighter for them to trace over.  This week we they learned that a sentences starts with a capital & ends with a period & they memorized the definition of a noun.
Our first week of 2011 was nice.  For the first time in months we actually had a normal week.  A week without a sick baby, doctor appointments, or interruptions.  The overwhelming feeling that has been haunting me was suddenly gone.  I got my groove back!
I’m totally easing my way back into LIFE.  Remembering the fable of the tortious & the hare. . .  

Slow & steady wins the race.

This week we just focused on our morning routine – memory work, reading, writing, & math.
As we headed to the starting line this year, I did a quick assessment of where we are & where I’d like us to be in May.  My goals for Tyler are with his reading & writing.  I have a fabulous, wonderful, very funny, cheerful, fantastic 4th grade teacher friend who has agreed to access his reading.  She will help me set some goals for him.  I’m totally excited about this!!!  Writing isn’t an issue for any other reason than effort.  It just isn’t really in my comfort zone & with the reading being such an issue I dreaded writing.  Although in my ideal Type-A personality, I loved Winter Promises language program as it was super creative & correlated perfectly with our History/Science studies – BUT it was time consuming & doesn’t have a pretty little content page that I can check off our accomplishments.  So the curriculum hoarder that I am – I decided to make the switch to Write Shop (book C) & Analytical Grammar Jr.  Sad to see WP language arts sitting on the shelves, but WOW!  WS & AG are awesome!!  I love WP & may return to it in the future but for where we are in life the other meets our needs at this point. 
The Mustangs.  Oh these boys.  I should have put duct tape on my Christmas list!  My routine with these two are pretty much the same as before.  However, my goal setting for Tyler motivated me to make their language & writing studies more of a priority.  I am using First Language Lessons & Write Shop (book A).  Neither of them are writing sentences on their own.  For now we oral create the sentences, I write them on the board, then on their writing books with a highlighter for them to trace over.  This week we they learned that a sentences starts with a capital & ends with a period & they memorized the definition of a noun.
We had a wonderful week back in “school”.  Next week I am hoping we can get to the history & science studies.

My Love: HATE relationship with PSE

One of my goals for 2011 was to stay on top of my digital photos & scrapbook more.  I use Creative Memories Memory Manager software to organize & store all my digital media.  I love it!  In addition to the program automatically storing them by date (down to the day taken), I  am also able to create personalized folders (I create). So I can either browse by date or person, event, topic, etc. If I have a picture of all the boys playing baseball I can store it in each of their folders & in the baseball folder.  The best part is that it only takes up the space for 1 picture on my computer memory.  I am very proud to say ALL my digital media is officially organized!  YAY!

For the past year I have been using a digital scrapbooking software, Storybook Creator (also by CM).  I love it!  But since I have began doing a little photography semiprofessionally, I decided to purchase Photoshop Elements 8 for editing purposes.  Then I found the LIFE 365, Sweet & Simple, & now Every Day Life templates at Weeds & Wildflower Designs.  They are PS files.  Seriously, how hard could this be?  I’ve heard great things about the program & consider myself rather up to speed with techie stuff.  Ummm, not so much!  Within a week I ordered Photoshop Elements 8 For Dummies.  It is torture!!!  I have such wonderful plans for the FREE Coffee shop Actions for my pictures.  I dream of the fabulous digi pages I can create.  I would love to be able to do all the great things I hear & see others creating with PSE.  And I HATE that I can’t do it.  It took me HOURS to create these two VERY simple “Every Day” pages . . .

           

I think I might just have the very basics down at this point.  Next is my weekly homeschool update!

Dear Future Daughter-In-Law(s),

It was not for lack of effort.

I’m sorry.

I fear despite my best efforts they will leave their socks next to the laundry basket

& throw their dirty clothes all over the place in your home as well.

I think they may even leave their dirty dishes at the table.

They will probably burp & fart in front of you too.

Each of them ahs their own little temper & a working vocabulary.

They are rough & tough, but beware – they are the biggest babies ever!

They are cute, but they are T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

. . . Especially together!

If they survive all their boy-cidents & each other,

they may make it out of my home rough around the edges . . .

But I pray they will be God fearing, loving, protective, leaders in your home. 

I pray for each of you now.  Lord help y’all! 

Future Mrs. Tyler Scott – Girl, he is a keeper.  Hardworking.  Has a heart of gold.  A true gentleman.  A man of his word.  So silly this guy – you are sure to share many laughs together.  He will make a wonderful daddy someday.  And wants lots of babies.  If he gives you his heart – you will have it forever.  Please don’t break it. 

Future Mrs. Tucker Scott – Oh how I pray you will exist.  You will have to be a tough chic & must share the same love for the outdoors.  Or love him enough to let him go.  Or love him so much you join him.  You will probably have more pets than kids.  He is quite complex.  A man of little words.  Please know although he feels it, he may not say it.  You’ll just have to see it in those beautiful eyes.  Fair warning – don’t be a fool for those eyes – he knows how to use them. 

Future Mrs. Trevor Scott – How I hope there is only one of you.  And the “one” that snags this little stud is going to be in for the ride of her life.  This free spirited boy is a wild one.  He is a lover, but he holds his own.  And oh is he tough.  You’ll need thick skin, because if he thinks it – he says it.  Those blue eyes are full of fire.  He’ll serenade you with songs & spin you around the dance floor all night long.  He is sure to show you a good time.  He’s got moves! 

Future Mrs. Truman Scott – The verdict isn’t in yet.  But something tells me your going to need all the prays a mother-in-law can send up on your behalf.

.  .  . Girls, my boys do no wrong.  They are perfect.  They love their mama.  And I love them.

I will however, love each of you as my daughters.  I’ll try to be the mother-in-law you need:  helping with babies, cleaning the house while your gone, taking your side instead of theirs.  For it is a tough job being married to a Scott boy.  After all, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree :)

2011: Homeschool

Our 2010-2011 school year started a little late while we waited for Big Daddy to finish our schoolbarn.  Then it seems just as we got started things began to fall apart.  In October our daughter left & about a week later Truman took a turn for the worse – beginning a sick streak that lasted over 2 months.  It seems we have been treading water for months now.  So, with the new year comes a new routine & hope for some sort of normal . . .

One thing I’ve been diligent about, possibly “the 1 thing”, is memory work.  All the boys are doing fantastic with their AWANA work & have memorized:

• 7 continents
• 4 oceans
• 8 states of the U.S. southern border
• Tyler almost has the abbreviations for the southern bordering states memorized

Tucker & Trevor specifically have also memorized:

• days of the week
• months of the year
• their continent, country, state, & town
• address
• phone number

We will continue our memory work with the northern border next.

On a realistic day, our memory work is done first thing – either at breakfast or calendar time in the schoolbarn.  On days the baby is sick or pure chaos takes over, memory work is usually a last resort after dinner to make me feel like we did some school for the day :)

*Learning isn’t as easy for Tucker so I’ve really been working hard at helping him remember his alphabet & counting.  Both the Mustangs can count to 20 & by tens.  Our next stop is 5’s, then 2’s.

We are still using our workboxes, but more as “To Do” boxes than anything.  The schedule cards are floating around somewhere, but with a super sick baby the prep time to load cards just hasn’t been a priority.  Adding extra fillers hasn’t been at the top of the priority list either.  Truthfully, we are good to just get the core stuff done.

Speaking of the “core” . . . 

The core is our morning work – well, mid-morning work.  Are you ready for this?  We are starting school around 10 a.m. each day.  Not an ideal time, but it seems to be what works for us.  For the life of me, despite how early I wake up - 10 a.m. still seems to be the time we make our way to the schoolbarn.  So, I’ve quit fighting it & I’m just going with it.  It’s working great with T-man because it allows us enough time to get the core work done while he is in a playful mood, next is lunch & then his nap!  Entertaining him for 2 hours while shuffling b/t the other outlaws is long enough!  And I am super excited to say that Truman is on a new medicine & despite it being a little early to tell – I see great signs of hope.  For the first time EVER he is taking naps.  Like real naps.  Like 1.5-3 hour naps!!!!  (not b/c the meds make him sleepy either)  The best part – these are naps that don’t require me to hold him the entire time.  It is nice.  Very VERY N.I.C.E.

I’m easing my way into afternoon studies.  I haven’t decided where exactly to pick up from where we left off.  At this point History & Science are a hit & miss.  Ever since this summer I have been blog-elous of Carrie’s blog at Live, Learn, & Love.  I love the bold colorfulness of it & I especially like how the layout of how she posts her homeschool weekly reviews.  As I have been down in the dumps I have found my own blog the most encouraging.  So many days I have felt like – “what am I doing?  I am not cut out for this!”  But then I scroll through my blog & remember that once (not too long ago) we were a pretty rockin’ homeschool :)  So for motivation & self-encouragement I plan to update our weekly homeschool accomplishments – no matter how big or small they may be.  AND as another new years goal – I plan to scrapbook them too!  I will be using EVERY-DAY LIFE at Weeds & Wildflowers Design to document my homeschool version of the Life 365 (relaxed version). 

Coming Soon!

 The 3 R’s

Memory Work

History & Science

& Everything else . . .

2010

I just finished a short tour of 2010 via my blog . . . Whew!  What a year!

2010 has almost left me speechless.  It was definitely an eventful year.  Describing 2010 in one word, I would say, “TIME”. 

Some good times – Our trip to Florida ranks at the top of the list!

Some not-so-good times - I am proud to say we survived 2010 despite several boy-cidents.  I am convinced my boys are determined to put their guardian angels to the test. 

And a few bad times – Taylor leaving & Truman being sick has been heartbreaking & put our faith to the test. 

2010 provided lot’s of “critter” stories to share – from snakes galore, to a squirrel in our living room, a bull chasing us & a little in-between.

2010 has been full of personal growth for me – spiritually, & also as wife, mother, & homeschooler:

-  I learned how to admit, ask, accept, & seek HELP!

-  I’ve realized I am no super-mom, but I rely on a SUPER GOD!

-  I discovered how necessary it is to stop trying to please others & start pleasing God.

Homeschooling: 

Just as in life, homeschooling has its seasons.  This year was not at all what I planned.  Emotionally, I just didn’t have it in me like I have in previous years.  I just couldn’t seem to get it ALL together.  I learned more isn’t always better & that I’ll probably never have it “all” together.  And I was reminded that this journey isn’t just about learning the 3R’s with a little history & science.  I want my boys to experience the whole concept of family.  We pull together when times are hard.  We work together & we play together.  Although, the projects & great curriculum are fun & somewhat important – that really isn’t what is most important.  My time with my boys is.  I want to have strong relationships with each of them & I pray they will have an unbreakable sense of brotherhood bonding them together forever. 

. . . So, perhaps I should add that to my personal growth list as well.

2011 HERE WE COME!!!