Christmas Play

The Christmas Play, "Back to the Manger" was a wonderful experience for us all. I really enjoyed teaching Matthew's class & Adrienne's class their dances. Adrienne's class were the 80's aerobicizers. Matthew's class were the bell ringers & Madison's class (girls only) were the 50's poodle skirt hand-jive dancers. The kids loved every minute of the singing and dancing. Thanks for the pics Papa!

Heart Dissection

I guess I was missing my former days in surgery as a PA...because I decided to purchase a sheeps heart & sheeps kidney to dissect. In science we are learning about the human body. We just finished learning about the urinary & circulatory systems so I figured this would be something the kids would remember. I invited a few of Madison's Compass classmates, we had a little lunch & then began to dissect (I figured they wouldn't have much of an appetite after :). It was great. Thankfully I didn't cut through the Mitral valve, so we were able to view it in tact in all it's glory. It is always amazing to see up close how God created these organs to function. It made me marvel at His design and hopefully the kids could marvel right along with me :D

5th grade is HERE!

The History of Medicine, Mother Theresa, India, China, Around the World in 80 Days, Genghis Kahn, Eric Liddel, Louis Braille,Aladdin, The Incredible Journey, Blood and Guts, chopsticks, Nutrition, silk worms, Gandhi....and so much more! Currently, Madison has hijacked 2 books and is reading them right now. Matthew wanted to begin putting together the 600 piece global puzzel until I stopped him, and Adrienne is excited about the origami book. I do want the summer to last longer...but all these books get me excited to learn too! And Bill...well he will be more excited after he pays off the visa bill :)

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Spelling Bee Party!

Last Year, Madison really wanted to be in a Spelling Bee. It all started after watching the movie Akelah & the Bee. So this year I thought I would invite her friends from our homeschool co-op COMPASS. It was so much fun! These kids were all so respectful & even encouraged one another when they misspelled a word. Madison loved every minute of it! (Except when she lost spelling the word 'immediate'). We had pizza, lots of orange soda, fruit & cookies. They played scrabble & tag outside. Here is a short slideshow of the fun...enjoy!

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The Latest Book

I hated History. It was all the same to me...American, World...Boring!
I failed the History Regents exam & had to take it again. It never clicked for me. Homeschooling my kids has opened my own eyes to the amazing, interesting, heroic and sometimes horrific history of our Country. We are studying the post Civil War era and reading this book to the kids. It's about a black family in Mississippi after the Civil War and how they struggled. Stories of the children walking miles to school, passed everyday by the white school children's bus, driven by a bus driver who tries running the black kids off the road everyday. Of white men burning black families' homes, and also murder. This book has evoked some pretty strong emotions in me & also in the kids. Tears of anger and sadness. I cannot imagine what it was like for these families. What injustice they experienced!!! And oh what an easy life we live!!! I am so glad to be learning right along with them...and grateful for this new perspective I have...and we are only on chapter 5!

Another Great Sonlight Book

Bill just finished reading "Little Britches" by Ralph Moody to the kids last night. What a great book. Bill, myself & the girls were all crying at the end. The story takes place on a ranch in Colorado in 1906. We read about Little Britches in school dealing with a bully, how the family escaped a tornado, and struggled to just put food on the table. We read about faith and honor & standing up to do the right thing. The father dies from an infection after a horse accident in the end (sorry if I spoiled it for you:). Here is an excerpt from the last paragraph:

"Father had always said grace before meals; always the same twenty-five words, and the ritual was always the same. Mother would look around the table to see that everything was in readiness; then she would nod to father. That night she nodded to me, and I became a man."

Send Them on the Bus

Some days I wonder what my life would be like if I just sent them on the bus...all 3.
Kisses & hugs, zip up the coat, hand them their lunch, and wave goodbye.
Would I love it? Would I work? Would I teach aerobics or spinning? Would I take naps? Would I go out to lunch with friends? Would I wander around Home Goods to my hearts content? Would my house be tidy & clean all the time? I wonder.
These thoughts come into my head occasionally...on those days when fighting, whining and bad attitudes fill my day.
But then there are days like Wednesday. Adrienne's assignment was to write in her journal. As we talked about it she started to cry. "What if I spell the words wrong?"
"It's ok Adrienne...spell them the way they sound, I won't correct them, as long as you try."
More tears.
So I sat with her on my bed and opened up my journal. I write my prayers to God in my journal. I started doing this in 1996, when I got saved. Today I have about 6 journals that contain my struggles, my fears, bible verses, victories, words of thanksgiving, and words of anger...all of it.
I read one entry to Adrienne. I told her my writing was not perfect, but the words come from my heart. and one day when I am gone, my children & grandchildren will read these journals, and know what was in my heart and how the Lord met me right where I was at. I encouraged Adrienne to write her prayers if she wanted to. To write whatever was in her heart. Was she scared about her meet this weekend? Was she angry, sad, happy? I kissed and, told her I loved her & left her alone.
And then she wrote...."Lord help me   I nede you help   I wot too tern too you    Love Adrienne"
She was so excited. I encouraged her & she has written 5 more times in her journal.
Then I thought...I would have missed it. If I sent her on the bus. I would have missed it and so much more!
I don't believe homeschooling is for every family...but for ours right now, it works and we believe it's what is best for our kids. What a wonderful opportunity for me to take hold of these moments with my kids...maybe even prepare them for the day they do get on that bus.

Computer Crashed!

My computer crashed! We have a Dell XPS All in one...only 3 years old. It's been slow & freezing on me. A few weeks ago I realized it gets real hot on top, and then realized that I never hear the internal fan run.
Thankfully, Bill bought me a laptop for our anniversary. Thankfully it was still under warranty and thankfully the people at Dell are terrific. I chatted on my laptop with a woman named grace, who ordered me new parts. And at this time, Mr. Jim has opened up my computer and a new one and began transferring all the important memory parts onto the new one. madison took one look at ours and said "Mom, theres the fan & it's covered in dust...I bet that's why it wasn't working right!". Mr. Jim agreed. As the girls and I looked on, we noticed that a couple of the tiny parts looked like electromagnets (the science topic for the week). Mr. Jim gave us a quick talk on the use of electromagnets in computers...pretty neat. Then madison saw a little Greek symbol on one of the parts. Madison reminded me that it was the symbol for Ohm...the measurement for resistance. Isn't it just like God to take something annoying, like my computer & turn it into an interesting science lesson...I love when that happens!

Lancaster Field Trip Day

I packed the kids up Wednesday morning and met Nana & Poppy at the Herr's potato chip factory where we got see how all the chips & pretzel are made. We got to eat chips right off the conveyor belt...warm & crispy to perfection! No other chips can compare now! We also visited the Science Factory which was a huge warehouse filled with fun science exhibits, puzzles, and learning stations. The kids ran from place to place...we had the whole place to ourselves! The greatest part was that everything represented in the Science Factory was exactly what we were learning in science! Electricity, magnetism, energy and force. How much better were they learning science there than sitting in a classroom with a boring science textbook! Enjoy the pics...and KUDOS to Poppy for planning out such a great field trip day!

First Field Trip

I have been reading this book for Science to the kids called Diary of an Early American Boy. The author found the diary of 15 year old Noah Blake written in 1805. It speaks of Noah & his family and how they lived back in those days. It also includes pictures & diagrams of a mill they built and the tools they made to buid the mill. It actually started off pretty boring.

 So one morning last week it was unusually warm. I thought we should get out & do something fun. So I googled Pennsylvania Mills and found the Newlin Grist Mill was only 15 minutes away and the next tour was at 2pm. I packed a lunch and when we arrived, the woman had also read the same book we were reading. We had some time to waste so the kids LOVED playing in the creek. They didn't want to leave! On the tour we saw the mill run and watched it grind corn into flour. We also visited the original house which was so neat to see how they lived 200 years ago!

This is why I love homeschooling. It was a spur of the moment trip but will most likely be one of the highlites of our school year! The trip took this once boring book & made it come to life!
Enjoy the pics...
Oh & I almost forgot. Madison found a very old rusty nail near the mill & they kept it to show to the archeologist. A little piece of history...Madison was happy. Just that day we read how when they built things they never used nails because they would rust & rot the wood...pretty cool.

Back to School!

School for us started Friday. The morning started off with a scavenger hunt with a few little treats at the end. Bill then took all 3 to TJ's for the Blue Ribbon Special while I dressed in my best teacher dress (this will most likely be the last time they will see teacher all dressed up :). I then had some extended time to pray. Teaching all 3 this year brings with it some worry and trepidation...and excitement as well. So when they all arrived home I greeted them outside and introduced myself. They laughed & Matthew said...."mooooommmmmm...I know it's you!" My goal for this year is to 1. really focus on Math & reading with Adrienne. 2. Begin math & writing with Matthew as well as encourage him to keep reading his little books. and 3. Encourage more independence in Madison...doing her work without asking mom for help. 4. Enjoy school  and most importantly 5. encourage godly character as they interact with each other & with Bill & I. It is a huge task I know. But after watching a great movie last night called Facing the Giants, I am reminded that NOTHING is impossible with God on my side!

Favorite Book 2010

You've heard me say (an write) many times how much I LOVE Sonlght's homeschool curriculum. I just love their choice of books...especially the read-alouds. It is well worth the money to have all these amazing books! Well my favorite book Bill read to the kids this year was, "Justin Morgan Had a Horse" by Marguerite Henry. It is a story that discusses the history of the famous Morgan horse. Not sure how accurate it is, but a good read nonetheless. A young boy named Joel is asked to care for his schoolteacher's (Justin Morgan) "runt" horse named Little Bub. Little Bub makes it clear early on of his amazing strength, stamina & spirit despite the fact that he was so much smaller than other horses. Joel & Bub form a strong bond with each other and in the end, he is chosen to be ridden by none other than President James Monroe. I loved it & so did the kids (me probably more). I cried & laughed....simply loved it. So if you're looking for a great summer book to read to your kids...this is the one!

Thoughts on Homeschooling

3rd grade is a big year. The amount of material covered really increases in this grade and by God's grace we are almost finished! I am meeting with an evaluator at the end of this month (a teacher friend of mine from church), and I am working hard to organize Madison's portfolio, reading list and log so that I can turn it in at the end of June to our school district. This will also be the time I need to submit objectives for next year. According to PA law we need to submit all this info in the 3rd grade. It's a little scary but good because I can make sure Madison is getting all that she needs to learn and learn well. As I look back on the school year, my heart is filled with gratefullness! The fact that I can watch them learn their math & reading & history along side them is just so great! I am learning right along with them! I have had so many great talks with them, laughed and cried, asked for forgiveness and forgiven. I have watched them listen intently when daddy reads them a good book in an always funny & engaging accent. We marveled at God's creation of strange plants & animals, learned about great American presidents, and how to write poetry. We grew radishes, played indians and watched "Life" on TV together. Not only that but seeing Madison excel in math and do amazingly well on her IOWA test was so encouraging to me, a mom, who hated school & once not long ago, thought Ohio was in Canada :)! Watching Adrienne slowly grasp phonics and gain a new interest in language was an answered prayer. And seeing Matthew's wide eyes as we read a book about animals and hear him ask inquisitive questions just made me smile. So when people ask how long I will homeschool, I often say "we take it year by year". I believe that God will reveal to us when it's time to put them in school....but for right now, why stop a really good thing?

Geo-graphy and Riding Horses

Madison learned geography in Compass last month. It's funny cause she has a hard time saying geography so she breaks up the word and it sounds like...geo-graphy. They created these cool maps to learn the names of geographical landmarks on the earth. She had a blast molding it and painting it and I think it turned out really nice. I also learned what an archipelago was! (I guess I missed that class when I was in school :)

Last weekend when It was so nice, Madison was invited over a friends house for dinner and Bill had a game so I took the 2 little ones to Linvilla. It was so beautiful out...(even though I was feeling pretty crummy from a sinus infection that still lingers). They had pony rides and no one was there so I figured the kids would enjoy it. Matthew's horse was named Daisy and A forgot to ask the name of her horse. Here are the pics.

First Signs of Spring

These little guys were peaking out as soon as the snow melted.

AHHH Spring...bring it on!!!

Marshmallows, Playdoh, and Airplanes

What to do when stuck inside in winter...(I really mean...art class at The Roth Academy)

Snow Day(s)

We are on our 2nd snow storm in one week...it makes me feel like I am back home on Grand Island already! The first storm this month brought us about 2 feet and last night we got an additional 8 inches, followed by sleet this morning and now more snow. We are supposed to get another 18-24 inches by tonight. It is really coming down. The good thing about today is Bill is home from work and the kids are loving it. It's 11am and they already played Wii for an hour and a half, ate a nice breakfast and played together in Matthew's room for an hour...and me...I'm still in my PJ's...YES!!! I love days like this. We will still do school...unfortunately for homeschoolers...there are no snow days. I'm trying to plug through on days like this so we can finish school by the first week in June. So I'm off to do some math with Madison. Enjoy the pics from this past weekend.