Blessed Discovery

We have been having a great time lately. Plugging along in our schooling and enjoying extra curr. too!

Oh the wonders of homeschooling! On one hand its such a joy, on the other being so radically different than most around causes me to sometimes wonder what other people think. I am sure they think we are strange, or weird, or.. just different. I am sure some of them think we are doing the wrong thing. Sometimes I wonder if going out in public during school hours will ever change, the stares and the “uh.. why aren’t those kids in school” looks never cease to amaze me. Today, when shopping with my daughter for new running gear I noticed how people wondered as they saw us together. Its all very interesting to me. To be out and about, to have the freedom of educating anytime anywhere, and to learn so many things outside a classroom is such a normal part of our life sometimes I fail to see what the big deal is. But to others, those that choose not to homeschool, those who look down upon us for choosing to school at home, they see things differently. I wish they would ask me questions, I wish they wouldnt judge so quickly. But reality is… different is exactly what we are, and I would choose to have it no other way.

I am so thankful for the ability to learn with my children and see them grow in every aspect of their lives. The endless questions, the endless wonder and the power of their minds will never grow old to me. Do my husband and I get tired of questions? sure. But helping guide and educate through those questions is our job. We are here to raise our children, to educate and to mentor them.

We have had a great time learning this past week! Here is a brief idea of some of the things we have been doing:

Math: plugging along in Math U See and just today enjoying answering questions about the 1st, 2nd (etc) Deminsions. The questions from Jo about Demisions, in particular the 1st deminsion, led us on a great math adventure! Ending in a reading from the book Flatland by Edwin Abbot Abbot CLICK HERE To read the google book for free. I had never heard of this book, but it said on line this was a classic in Math literature! (who knew there was “math literature?” haha. So, we will continue the read of this book next week as a way to enjoy math from a different perspective.

Science: In science we have moved on to our next section and hope to do an experiement today on starches in foods. (more photos from that later)

Grammar: I brought all new grammar books for the kids (Easy Grammar). For Cat I bought the 10th grade level and although I already bought the 4th and 6th grade level for the boys, i am considering doing the 10th grade with all three. I would love to hear from any of you who throw asside “grades” and are not bound by levels and set grades when looking curriculum. When it comes down to it .. a verb is a verb, no matter if its a verb when you learn it. I will make a decision this weekend.. but for now I am leaning on advancing all of them to 10th grade grammar LOL

Bible: In Bible this week I read from our devotional book and also had the kids read Proverbs 9. We read it in the NIV version and had a great discussion from this scripture. Today I will reread the verse from The Message which always gives us new things to talk about.

Starting Points is going great with Cat, she is loving it! She enjoyed her class on Tuesday and is excited about the writing part of the class as well

In History we reviewed and then learned about David Livingstone. What a great story! I am on the search for a good documentary or movie about Mr Livingstone!

Co-op has been wonderful! In art class we learned about Jackson Pollock! I showed these two short clips about Pollock and then… well. .then! we got messy with paint!!!! click HERE and HERE to view them

Among other things.. the kids have been running! Our first Cross Country track meet was this past weekend and all three kids had GREAT PRs! (personal records!) Cat ran a mile in 6:18, Nate in 6:39 and Jo in 8:44! Jo took 2 min off his last pr time!

We also enjoyed the fair! The kids all entered artwork, Cat entered photography. Nate got 5th place for his volcano.

We had a GREAT trip to our local zoo! They opened the new section  a few weeks ago so it was our first time to see the new animals!

We have also enjoyed a great dvd from the library on the french language AND watched a french foreign film as a family. We all enjoyed hearing French and reading the English subtitles.

(I am not sure why this post is all jumbled… I have it so nicely laid out on the back end and it shows up all a mess when I publish it. This makes me want to switch back to blogger! I get so frustrated with it…. we will see.. hopefully i can figure out why its doing this.. but so far no good. )In History we learned about Matthew Perry. Story of the World is GREAT! I love how it is written so its actually fun to read!  Japan has been a closed nation for a while and Matthew Perry went to Japan in 1853 to encourage them to trade with the US. Above is a photo of Perry, and above that is a photo of a Cutlass (which when reading the kids didnt know for sure what a Cutlass was…. now they do! woowhoo!) When we study any subject I love to do internet searches to see what I can find that will keep there interest and see if we can find something else that will help us remember our lessons. Below is a photo from the surrender of Japan, which officially ended WW2. The Flag in the back of the photo is the same flag that Matthew Perry carried with him on his trip to Japan in 1853. Douglas McAuther demaded that this flag be taken with them for the surrender. Here is the info:

“A replica of Perry’s US flag is on display on board the USS Missouri (BB-63) memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. It is attached to the bulkhead just inboard of the Japanese surrender signing site on the port side of the ship. The original flag was brought to Japan for the Japan surrender ceremony and was displayed on that occasion at the request of Douglas MacArthur, who was himself a blood-relative of Perry. Some photographs of the signing ceremony show that this flag was actually displayed backward—reverse side showing (stars in the upper right corner). The cloth of the historic flag was so fragile that the conservator at the Naval Academy Museum directed that a protective backing be sewn on it, leaving its “wrong side” visible; and this was how Perry’s 31-star flag was presented on this unique occasion.^[19] Some sources insist the flag was flown from the Missouri’s masthead, but this is demonstrably mistaken. Today, the flag is preserved at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.”

In Science we Started a new chapter and began learning about DNA or Deoxyribonucleic acid as the boys like to call it LOL.

The kids were excited to make models of DNA.. below are some photos from that project.

After they finished up their DNA.. they, of course, began creating other peices of art out of the beads and pipe cleaners… I mean… who can resist!

While they were doing their creative art work.. I began searching the internet for interesting things about DNA

I found two great videos… the first is a video animation (which is GREAT) of DNA  and some other things (I will just let you watch it)…. The kids loved it.

The second video is a lecture by one of the men who discovered DNA. PLEASE NOTE that this lecture was infront of adults and the scientist uses 2 words .. one a curse word and one close to it .. but I just previewed it (of course) and skipped that section of the video. I wanted the kids to listen as the spoke and decide if he were a Catastrophist or Uniformatarian. It didnt take long to find out. I wanted them to hear his story but also the part at the end where he discusses what he is currently working on. Using DNA  to study cancer, autism and other issues. One thing he said went like this “One thing we have noticed is that no one has the perfect DNA.. every human we have looked has has something wrong with their DNA …. we are a room full of people with imperfect DNA”. The Kids and I discussed how we are imperfect even on the level of our DNA and how when God created Adam and Eve… they were PERFECT. Sin has made us imperfect even down to our DNA. We also discussed how people can believe in evolution and not believe in God and Creation after realizing the amazing thing that DNA is! IT was a great discussion.

Cat loving her Starting Points Curr.

Nate enjoying the dictionary

Just two pictures from our trip to the zoo!

This morning I headed out for a run, when I came home two of the kids had finished their math and Jo was making homemade pancake batter from scratch
We all chipped in to cook and eat the pancakes and then the kids working on various things (grammar, cleaning their room, drawing, etc)

We enjoyed Bible and Science in the back yard again. Cat and Jo laid in the hammocks while Nate wondered the yard spraying plants with a water bottle. For Bible our devotional was this:
This is from a book called “God’s Daily Promises”
Abilities

“Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot, but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruits” Proverbs 12:12

the thoughts for the day talked about how God made us each unique and each with special gifts and abilities. We spent quite a bit of time discussing each kids abilities and then focused on their Physical gifts. One has perfect running form, one is very strong (and always has been) and the other has great endurance. We came to this list by talking about each childs gifts and the child then saying what they thought the other childs gift was. The assignment then was to then think about how God would want us to use our gifts.

For Science we discussed more uniformitarianism and catastrophism points of views and then discussed the Theory of Evolution and what it has to say. We learned about “missing links” in the fossil record and paraconformity. Tomorrow we will look at images on the internet of some fossils the evolutionist suspect are links in the evolutionary chain and also animals that were once thought extinct by evolutionist and are now known to be alive and well.

I did a bit of research on line for links and info for free resources for highschool homeschool work. I found some great website you can view below. From this search the kids watch 4 videos in different languages, in French, English and Chinese.

THIS link will take you to the BBC site where we watched the videos

http://ourhighschoolhomeschool.blogspot.com/

http://www.learnerstv.com/index.php

http://www.montereyinstitute.org/nroc/nrocdemos.html

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/online_hs.htm#elective

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home.htm

http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/poetry/poetry_engine.htm#

Quiet reading time. Only 1 hour of tv viewing, and naps all took place today too! Now we are heading of to run!!! Track practice in the evening at a local park for Cross Country season! woowhoo!

Wow, who knew that the Crystal Palace was sooooo very amazing?
Who knew that the reflectors on the road are called Catseyes!?
Who knew that the teabag was invented and England in the 1800s but was a big flop!?
These are all things we learned today What a fun day!

Math took a bit of time while and the kids are working on refreshing their memories of the multiplication facts. There has been a challenge declared, who can say them faster… Daddy or YOU! So, although the have know their table for quite a while.. it is now a matter of lightening fast speed as they each face Daddy on Fridays in a Multiplication war like no other!

For History we watched two videos about the Crystal Palace. As a side note: I was an Interior Design Major in College (that is what my degree is in) and how in the world my Art History and Design classes left me totally unaware of the Interior of the Crystal Palace I cannot fathom. Of course, when I was in college I HATED Art History! (because the teacher was horrible) This is laughable because its my favorite subject today! … ANYWAY… It wasnt until I saw this video below that I realized how amazing the Palace really was.
Some might have issues with Youtube but I have been amazed at the educational things I can find there! Of course, just like tv and surfing the net… I use caution. The video aboveis just music with images of the Palace… and has amazing interior shots!

The next video I showed the kids is actual footage from the fire in 1936 that destroyed the palace. I cannot imagine how heartbreaking it was to see burn down!

And lastly… I used the next video to show the kids the Architectual design of the building. I paused it at one point and had them sketch the image.

Our trip to the library yesterday was a huge success! The kids came home with various books to read for “fun” , and since we have limited their tv viewing back to 1 hour a day, they sure will have time to read all of them! Here’s the list of books they came home with:

Airborn [sound recording] Oppel, Kenneth.
Keeper [sound recording] Appelt, Kathi, 1954-
Book one of the travelers Jablonski, Carla.
The last dragon De Mari, Silvana.
The Amulet of Samarkand Stroud, Jonathan.
The adventures of Tom Sawyer [sound recording] Twain, Mark, 1835-1910.
Running out of time Haddix, Margaret Peterson.
Science verse Scieszka, Jon.
Math curse Scieszka, Jon.
Frankenstein Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft, 1797-1851.
Rowan Hood, outlaw girl of Sherwood Forest Springer, Nancy.
I am Morgan le Fay : a tale from Camelot Springer, Nancy.
Breakaway Weiss, Bobbi J. G.
Island of the Blue Dolphins O’Dell, Scott,
Don’t bump the glump! : and other fantasies Silverstein, Shel.
Carry on, Mr. Bowditch Latham, Jean Lee.
The Saturdays Enright, Elizabeth, 1909-1968.
Airborn Oppel, Kenneth, 1967-
The hero and the crown McKinley, Robin
Young Fu of the upper Yangtze Lewis, Elizabeth Foreman, 1892-1958
Johnny Tremain : a novel for old & young Forbes, Esther.
Saving the griffin Nitz, Kristin Wolden

One of the books I brought home is called National Geographic “The Book of Inventions”. Each day before Science I will read 2 or 3 inventions and their history. Today we learned about Catseyes, the reflectors that are imbedded in the streets as we drive along. One of the main streets we drive almost daily has been redone and we have gotten to see how the men attach all the reflectors by hand. HERE is a link to the man who invented the Catseyes.
The other two inventions we learned about were the paper clip and the teabag! I think we are going to LOVE this book!

Another book that the kids wanted to get is Science Verse. This is a crazy fun book that fuses poetry and science and has been one of our favorites. (If you are not a fan of Evolution.. be warned this does has one poem in it about this subject.. we are open and use books and tv shows that discuss evolution as a way to educate what we believe why we believe). This time around we are going to research the poems that are used in the book and memorize the original poetry.
In our gallery below

• Is a picture of the kids, after “Math Class” enjoying Cat reading and the boys resiting many of the poems.

• You also see Nate making his Duradango click HERE If you want to learn more.

• The flowers are actually duct tape flower pens, a lady in our Bible class brought us one from the Prison Ministry she is involved in. The Prisoners made pens to share with our class. When showed Cat, her and her duct tape happiness just had to make some!
• The last photo is from this morning. Our track coach was presenting in a running class at the local university. Cat and three other members of our track team stood before the college students and answered questions about running. They did a GREAT job!

The day was busy and fun! Grammar and Cats reading for Starting Points was also done. We also had a short time of Independent fun reading, but they will continue that this evening.

I love the blessings of getting to learn along side my children. Its so hard to believe that they are now 4th, 6th and 8th graders! Where has the time gone!?

I feel like we are starting to get into more a routine with our schooling, and the day flies by. Now its time for chores, and getting supper ready to go! Never a dull moment around here!

Our scripture for the day:

Philippians 4:11-13
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Yesterday the kids wanted to go to campus to do their school work. One thing I would like to do this year is get out of the house once a week with our schooling. We have three college campus’s in our town, so I plan to take the kids to each campus this fall to do some school work. We will also hit the road and take our books with us to our local library for a morning of schooling

We enjoyed Jacobs Dream and completed Spelling and our Daily Devotional while there. After we finished, the boys did some sketches of the sculpture while Cat took photos

For our devotional time are using Morning and Evening by Charles H. Spurgeon

you can actual view the whole book here

Once it started getting a bit hot we headed inside the bible building. The photo of Nate and Jo looking at the glass in the cabinets is a display that is in the atrium of the building. We spent quite a bit of time learning about the glass bottles and lamps on display. All original artifacts from Bible times. Many were Roman pieces and were decorated with Roman gods and goddesses. The one closest to us in the photo above is a replica of the glass vase to its left. Amazing pieces of art!

After this we headed over to say HI to Daddy… but he was busy So we left his work and walked over to the coliseum to watch part of the University’s Opening Ceremonies. We didn’t have time to stay for the whole thing but got to enjoy the Parade of Flags!

Our plan was to then head to the library for the rest of our subjects BUT the library was closed for the Opening Ceremonies, so we headed home.

Here’s a breakdown of what we studied: (besides math and spelling)

History: Story of the World Book 4 Chapter 1. We read about Queen Victoria and the Crystal Palace as well as the British taking over India. Today I will show the kids images of the Crystal Palace and have them sketch the building, not its Architect and write a short summery of The Great Exhibition.

In Science we will continue with the Fossil Record study. Last time we studied about the eruption of Mount Saint Helens and its link to creating canyons and layers of strata. Today will read about Catastrophism and the Fossil Record.

We will also head to the library today for the kids to get new books for fun reading. Tom Sawyer on Audio is waiting for the boys as we speak The boys are almost finished with Airborn by Kenneth Oppel and have really enjoyed it. You can read it HERE

I am off to read Science and History, now that the kids are almost done with their math for this morning

(where does the time go? They are growing up so very fast!)

Today was our first day back to homeschool.

The summer was filled with running and more running. What a great summer but a kind of summer most kids wouldn’t enjoy. The kidos have loved running on the track team and have gotten themselves up (for the most part) at 520am M-F to get to the 6am team practice. We had several track meets this summer, the last one “The Games of Texas” in Waco. As Cat walked out on the field to line up to run I thought it was ironic. Ironic cause most people who have doubts about homeschooling, the first comment is more than likely about the “socialization” issue. There she was, in front of large crowd, walking with girls her age she had never met and having conversations with those girls. She was confident and self assured

.

The boys have both improved in many ways! Stronger and more fit every week, and all three are looking forward to Cross Country season this fall!

So, our first day of “back to homeschool” began as our summer began……a 6am Track practice. Then home for breakfast while the kids watched The Andy Griffith Show.

Next was math. All three kids are in the middle of the current math u see book so we just picked up where they had left off, plus a bit of review

Cat gave herself a test for Grammar, to see where she was and what she needed to learn This led us (the boys too) to watching a few School House Rock videos to refresh our memories. LOVE those videos!

Science was review followed by more study of the fossil record. We learned, among other things…  that 95% of all fossils on this planet are those of clams and other hard shelled organisms. We are loving Apologia Science and the kids begged me to keep going, but…. we had to do spelling

With spelling completed we followed with Bible and a reading from Revelation. This is the book the boys will be studying in Bible Bowl this year. We read chapter 1, first in one version, and the second in another translation. After Bible was finished, Nathan was unloading the dishwasher and asked if he could “make a loud noise” …”sure” i said …..and CLANG! two pot lids rang aloud.! I asked “Do you know the verse in the Bible that talks of “clanging cymbals?” So, this led us to 1 Corn 13 and its meaning.

“¹If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.”

We are excited about the school year and of course cannot wait to see what we learn.

Cat will be doing Starting Points, gaining Highschool Credit in 3 subjects (History, Bible and Literature). I am excited for her to start highschool credit work but want to make sure we have balance in our schooling. You know my, I like our schooling to be relaxed, but structured. I want Cat to LOVE learning and hope Starting Points will work well for us this year. She will be doing this with a group of other kids and will meet up once a week on Tuesday afternoons for “discussion”.

Nathan will be participating in Thursday Co-op again this year. I will be teaching Art and Art History. Cat and Joseph will come to the building with us but will be doing their school work on Thursdays during co-op. I am hoping this will allow our Fridays to be more of a Field Trip day-no bookwork day.  Before I started teaching co-op we did bookwork only 4 days a week. I have missed having a more relaxed Friday, so hopefully this will help bring some more fun back into our week!

Joseph’s reading amount has increased to the point where we are hoping to get assistance from Texas Talking Books Program. When he was diagnosed with his eye “disablility” the Dr thought he wouldn’t need something like this until he was in highschool. But Joseph loves to read, has multiple books going at a time, and expressed frustration a few weeks ago with his eyes inability to keep up with his reading desire. So, hopefully this week we will get signed up for the Talking Books Program and get free player and free downloads! What a blessing.

The kids LOVE the show Mythbusters!. Saturday they watched an episode where they  made Dorodango’s. A Japanese Mud ball, that is polished to be shiny like a marble. The kids have asked if they could make their own, so this is on the list for this week! We will research the history of these balls and make our own!

We had a fantastic first day of homeschool. The kids were happy we were finished before noon! We hope to keep this pattern up all year long so our afternoons can be filled with “free learning”

Now for chores and then we get to go to a friends house and swim! What a blessing!

Before I get to the post.. here a few shots of the boys and the “fort” they built with branches their Daddy cut while trimming a tree! I think they did a great job! Cat helped too.. but she was too busy to get in the photo! LOL

I homeschool differently from most people I know. My main goal when I started years ago was for my children to LOVE learning, to LOVE reading and to always want to know why, how, what and if.

Here we are years later, still loving learning, still asking questions and still enjoying this life of homeschooling. I didn’t “plan” to homeschool but we sure love it!

We have had a great few weeks with interesting and unique learning experiences!

Co-op Missions Day:

I help teach at the co-op my kids attend. We planned a missions day  a few weeks ago and it was a great success! The kids LOVED it! We brought in 5 speakers:

A man who works in Africa drilling water wells to bring fresh water to the villages of Mumena. We learned the average villager travels 4 miles one way to gather water, which we could consider from “mud holes” and not sources of drinkable water. 42,000 people a week die from lack of clean water. Every 8 seconds a child 5 years or younger dies from lack of clean water. We learned the process behind finding clean water and that all the wells are located by HUGE termite mounds. He shared stories and showed great photos and a video from his work in Africa. The kids were left with a overwhelming thankfulness for the water that is clean and running throughout more than one room of our home!

A man came and spoke to us about his preaching school he helps with in Africa. He brought masks, shirts, jewelry and other items from his travels. The kids learned that animal worship is still alive and well in today’s world! He spoke of the history of this part of Africa and the social, economic and political struggles in that area.

Another man came who does work in a mountainous region of Africa spoke of the school he helped with. He brought a drum, clothing, photos and shared great stories of sharing God’s Word. He spoke of how a 12 year old young man would be kicked out of his tribe until he could come back to the village with a lion he had killed.  He spoke of how the young man would do this with weapons he made and not with a gun .. He also told how they used the game of soccer to teach Gods word.

A lady came who has been on many many medical missions to Africa. She brought items she had purchased from children while in Africa. These things the children had made included, baskets, a rug, a wire toy with movable parts, another wire car with a trailer attached. She also shared how the women carried the babies on their backs and even brought a baby doll for the children to give it a try! After she spoke she drew names out of a basket to give away all the things she had brought! wow.! what a gift!

We also had another lady come visit with us who helps operate a local food bank. She told the story of how the bank got started, why people in our local community need a food bank and how the process works.

Haiti and MMDR.org -An In Home Visit!!!!

As soon as the earthquake happened in Haiti our children began talking of how they could help. They started to collect and save money for those in Haiti. We talked of sending it to Air One Radio, but my husband wanted a more personal experience for the kids. He met a young man at the university he works at who had traveled Haiti the day after the quake. As it worked out this young man came to our home and spoke to myself and the children about his experiences in Haiti. He was AMAZING! I am so very thankful for this man taking the time to visit with our kids. It was incredible how gracious and sweet this young college man was toward the kids. He took the oatmeal decorated box filled with change and treated it like it was a million dollars! Wow!

He told us of the lack of medicine for the first three days after the quake!  We were so happy we got to visit with him about many many things including, most powerfully, Gods provision for this effort to heal and minister to the injured. Stories of people praying and singing in the mist their children being in unimaginable pain. Stories of God opening doors to get help to the injured by providing much needed medicine,  the science behind healing things such as gangrene, and tetanus, and how more and more people will be suffering from starvation!  WOW> is all i can say! What a gift and blessing the time with this young man!!!I was amazed by his stories! What a great way for my kids to learn and put a face on the ministry their money is going to. Even more powerful is the example of what a young Christian man should be like!!!  Confident, energetic, positive, well spoken, and passionate about helping those in the name of Christ!

After he left I looked up the website about his organization. HERE is a link to Mobil Medical Disaster Relief. I was then able to show the kids photos of these precious people and esp the children who, many are left with no family.

Track Meet:

Our kids ran in the Texas State Homeschool Track Meet a few weeks ago and did GREAT! All three came home with medals this year! woowhooo! All that hard work and determination is paying off! We had a great time at the meet and enjoyed it very  much! Our team took 23 kids and all but 5 got medals! Of those 5 they all got new PRs! Way to go Cool Runnings! woowhoo!

Bible Bowl:

The boys competed in the last Bible Bowl competition this past weekend. Their team placed 8th overall and they brought home a trophy! woowhoo!

We are looking forward to a summer filled with running and camping and schooling! Yes, we will be learning allllll summer! I am a fan of taking short breaks but I LOVE that learning for us isnt really a chore and burdensome! We love to learn in many different ways and this summer will be no different! so…

stay tuned for what is next and the new exciting thing that is OUR homeschool

thanks for reading !

blessings!

r

Gone are the days where I am able to post 5 times a week here.

It seems as the kids are getting older.. the more time I am spending on things other than their schooling. Having kids that are more independent and able to do a lot of learning “on their own” is just as I had hoped it would be.

The kids have been enjoying “LIFE” -the new discovery channel series by the makers of Planet Earth.We are working steady through Apologia Science 7th grade together (all three) and they are all enjoying it. Cat has to do the study questions and tests and the boys get to just absorb and learn without testing.

The boys have been enjoying the Eragon Series, and The book of 2nd Samuel on audio tape. They have both been reading several different books which I really dont keep track of, and are still building, drawing, creating, and playing. Its seems there is a bit of a pattern to their math, as they have to work “hard”  for a little while and then it just clicks and they fly through their work.

Cat is enjoying her Writing Class she goes to every week. She is loving writing! (that makes a happy Momma!) She is currently working on an Essay about China, and she will get to “interview” a friend who is currently living in China!

Here is a bit of an overview of what they have been learning:

History: Story of the World Vol 3 we finished last week! This week we are reviewing and next week we will begin Book 4! Our last few chapters covered The Trail of Tears, The First Opium War (China), Mexico and her Neighbor (the Alamo and the Mexican America War, New Zealand and her Rulers, and the Gold Rush.  You know you have loved a book when its almost falling apart by the end! The kids are excited about getting into Book Four … “The Modern Age: From Victoria’s Empire to the End of the USSR”

Bible: The boys have been studying 2 Samuel for Bible Bowl at our church. This past weekend they had a Bible Bowl meet and the boys did GREAT!. Nate finished 10th overall and Joseph was 11th out of 149 kids! Their team also won 4th place overall! I am so very excited for them because this is something they do all on their own. I do not remind them to “study their Bible Bowl” or “Make sure to get it done” and I don’t “call out study questions or help them”.  I encourage them to come to me if they want me to help them with something or if they have questions. But Bible Bowl is to be fun and something I want them to love to do on their own with NO pressure. They listened to the audio CD almost every night at bedtime and quizzed each other and would love to come in and tell me stories and talk with me about what they have learned. So, to do so well and it be all “on their own” is something I think is AMAZING! They have another meet in a few weeks we will travel to for them to compete. They are looking forward to doing it again!

Cat has been enjoying a weekly Bible Study with a neighbor across the street that is her age. The girls alternate weeks and they alternate whose room the study is in. Each girl is responsible for selecting their topic, getting snack together and making sure the time is good with both their schedules They have also had another neighbor come and get involved in it who is in 3rd grade! So neat!

For our “school” Bible, I began reading the Book of Romans to the kids yesterday. Its been a great study so far and we have had some great discussions. They boys want me to read Revelation too, so today I read both. Next year’s Bible Bowl is covering the Book of Revelation, so they are trying to get “a head start”

Science: We finished Module 6 yesterday. Here is a list of things we have covered: Soil, Rocks, and Minerals, Strata in Sedimentary rock, Weathering of Rocks, Erosion, The Grand Canyon. They did a few experiments, below is a photo of one they did about Crystals.

Spelling: I am plugging along with the boys using “Sequential Spelling” .. Catherine’s “speller” has just clicked since she began writing so most days she just spells the words orally OR “plays the role of teacher” and calls the words out to the boys.

Our other subjects are going great. I love how we can do school with a Eb and Flow style. When life gets busy we can pull back and do the basics and be flexible and when we are a bit less hectic we can spend more quality time on subjects.

Our ‘extra curricular” activities have been fun too! Our Co-op is still once a week and they love seeing their friends and learning at the same time. We are still very involved in track and the kids have the Texas State Homeschool Meet coming up in just a few days! The improvements they have all made has been great! We have officially become a family of runners! Joseph has improved drastically and doesn’t miss a practice! (sometimes going twice a day!) We have 20 of our 40plus homeschool track kids participating in the meet! Its going to be great to see them run!

We have had a few field trips and have, as always enjoyed a many trips to the library. This spring and summer we are excited to get to go camping a lot more than last year. I first trip was this past weekend and we had a great time! We enjoyed hiking, roasting marshmallows, and playing scrabble together as a family in the camper

I am looking into a Spanish or French Curr. for Cat. I wanted to start her in Spanish class that another homeschooling mom has been teaching  for a few years, but she is no longer teaching and will have a change of career. So, I am now looking into other options for a foreign language. I want to start her next year (8th grade) but want it to count as her highschool credit. I would love to hear what some of you might be using via computer, or other interactive learning process.. so if you have something you use and love please educate me

So thankful we are able to homeschool and live our lives in a way where we LOVE to  LEARN!