Rich Hearts Folk School

Reading Games

2011-06-22T07:07:00.001-04:00

Found another great site with reading games:
PBS Kids Island

Another favorite is:
Starfall

And here's a fun phonics video:

Addition and Subtraction

2010-04-06T11:06:00.003-04:00

Miep Gies - may you rest in peace

2010-01-13T07:14:00.002-05:00

Read the story about an ordinary hero: Miep Gies

Silent E

2009-11-25T09:18:00.001-05:00

Meet me at the corner

2009-09-25T09:26:00.001-04:00

Meet Me at the Corner

Check out some of the videos on this site. It is like taking a virtual field trip.

IHEA Art Contest

2009-09-18T17:34:00.000-04:00

Art Contest
Scroll down to page 20.

2009-08-13T23:37:00.000-04:00

Be sure to learn all the sea creature names and their sounds:

Artistic Inspiration

2009-08-01T22:09:00.000-04:00

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6956056

A Little More Sculpey Clay Inspiration

2009-08-01T00:21:00.000-04:00

KittyRobot: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5266913

Temp. Tattoos

2009-06-28T20:10:00.001-04:00

http://justsomethingimade.blogspot.com/2009/06/sharpie-tattoos-by-lake.html

More clay inspiration

2009-06-27T08:35:00.001-04:00

Roses

How to scent polymer clay

Clay Tutorials (for Anna)

2009-06-25T08:32:00.001-04:00

Several neat looking tutorials can be found here: http://whipup.net/2009/06/25/10580/

How cute is this: http://pinkarol.deviantart.com/art/How-to-do-a-Mokona-Tutorial-60517855

Candy Apple: http://chat-noir.deviantart.com/art/Candy-Apple-Charm-Tutorial-44403486?q=by%3Achat-noir&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps

Flowers: http://beatus-vir.deviantart.com/art/Flower-Polymer-Clay-Tutorial-122493096

2009-06-24T22:30:00.001-04:00

Artistic inspiration: http://verlichtstudio.blogspot.com/

Small House

2009-06-10T19:30:00.000-04:00

Doll house inspiration for Anna: http://unschoolme.blogspot.com/2009/05/small-house-tour.html

Creation Museum

2009-05-12T21:31:00.004-04:00

Read this: http://www.creationmuseum.org/plan-your-visit/exhibits
and this: http://www.creationmuseum.org/about
and this: http://www.creationmuseum.org/assets/pdf/creation-museum/cm-brochure.pdf
Shows: http://www.creationmuseum.org/plan-your-visit/theater-presentations

Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-05T13:22:00.000-04:00

The Sun

2009-04-25T16:33:00.002-04:00

The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas (version 1)

The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas (version 2)

Which version do you like better? (comment)

Online Mad-Libs

2009-04-03T14:03:00.000-04:00

Wacky Web Tales

60 seconds of creative writing a day

2009-04-03T10:22:00.000-04:00

OneWord

Inspiration

2009-03-29T19:13:00.002-04:00

Here's some inspiration for Photos of Faith: http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50862

The theme this year is "God colors my world."

Current Assignments

2009-03-17T08:32:00.003-04:00

Elizabeth:
Aleks - 1 hour
SpellingCity - work on current list (#5)
Number Twins 15
Explore the International Space Station
Write one page (at least 3 paragraphs) about it.
Finish Thank Yous

Anna:
Aleks - 1 hour
SpellingCity - work on current list (#6)
Math Lines 8
Explore the International Space Station Write one page (at least 3 paragraphs) about it.

Patrick:
SpellingCity - work on current list (#4)
Math Lines 5
Explore the International Space Station - tell Mom about it
Video - How to draw a creature of the deep

Abi:
Explore the International Space Station- tell Mom about it
Video - Gingerbread Baby

For Anna

2009-03-08T13:41:00.000-04:00

Miniature Foods

Current Online Assignments

2009-02-20T14:49:00.003-05:00

Elizabeth:
Aleks - 1 hour
SpellingCity - work on current list (#4)
Math Lines 12 - follow instructions
Cool game: Bloxorz

Anna:
Aleks - 1 hour
SpellingCity - work on current list (#5)
Number Twins - 10
Cool game: Bloxorz

Patrick:
SpellingCity - work on current list (#2)
Number Twins - 4

Abi:
FireFighter Story
Firefighter Activity

Book Review: "The Life and Times of the Apple"

2008-11-08T07:33:00.000-05:00

Life & Times Of The Apple by Charles Micucci

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a great little book full of information. I picked it up at the library to read to the children because it is apple season and we had just been picking apples off our tree. I found that I learned a lot about how apples reproduce and grow. The book explains in pretty good detail the parts of an apple blossom and how it is pollinated at a level that even my younger children could understand.

My only complaint about the book it has to go an say that apple trees have been growing on the earth for 2 1/2 million years and shows this on a timeline, as well. I don't believe the theory that the earth has evolved over millions of years and did not see the need to present this as a "fact." But that is a whole different discussion that doesn't pertain to this review. Anyway, this opened the door to discussion in this area with the kids.

Overall, the book is full of great color drawings, interestng information, and was a pleasure to read with the kids.

View all my reviews.

Growing Readers Phonics Bible

2008-09-13T07:44:00.000-04:00

I recently discovered this book. I read about it in the Heart of Wisdom and decided to check it out from my local library to see if it was worth purchasing. So far, we are really enjoying it. The special feature of the book is that each bible story has a special "star sound." The star sound is shown in red and sound is used in an example word. Then each time that sound is found in a word in the story, it is highlighted in red. This seems like a good way to reinforce our phonics lessons.

The stories are written in a cute rhyming fashion. I like them, but I wouldn't consider this my first choice for a bible story book. I prefer the way that The Beginners Bible is written. I also wouldn't use this alone for phonics training. However, this is a great reader to supplement the bible stories and phonics at the same time and I am seriously considering adding it to our home library.

Resurrecting the Blog

2008-09-12T09:49:00.002-04:00

As you can see by looking at it, I haven't been actively using this blog for about a year. Since I have been working at revamping and rejuvenating our homeschool, I thought this would be a good place to share what God is leading me to and thoughts on our homeschool. This way I won't cog up my regular blog with a bunch of homeschool stuff that not everyone is interested in.

Homeschooling with Toddlers

2007-09-12T07:13:00.002-04:00

Software Downloads

2007-09-11T08:11:00.002-04:00

Parent Handbook For Scripture Memory

2007-05-09T07:17:00.001-04:00

Learning about music and the orchestra!

2007-02-24T09:48:00.001-05:00

The San Francisco Symphony has a great site for kids. You can learn about how read music and hear and see all the instruments in the orchestra!

The Heart of Wisdom

2007-02-07T07:53:00.001-05:00

This sounds like a great resource to have on the bookshelf.

MLK Day

2007-01-15T10:50:00.000-05:00

2006-12-11T16:13:00.001-05:00

Geisel

2006-12-11T16:13:00.000-05:00

Caldecott

2006-12-11T16:12:00.000-05:00

Mock Sibert Nominees

2006-12-11T16:11:00.000-05:00

Mock Newbery Nominees

2006-12-07T06:56:00.000-05:00

Another fun site! It is FULL of kid's songs!

2006-11-06T19:39:00.000-05:00

This is a great site!

2006-10-30T16:05:00.000-05:00

I'm getting back to my roots so to speak. When I first began our homeschooling adventures, I discovered the writings of Marilyn Howshall - specifically "Wisdom's Way of Learning." This was instrumental in the development of my concept of homeschooling. I just discovered that she has a website now. (See above)

2006-10-27T12:04:00.000-04:00

Another great resource!

2006-08-30T11:57:00.000-04:00

LOVE audio books

2006-08-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

A great resource

2006-08-26T09:39:00.000-04:00

Interesting concept!

Homeschooling can be TOUGH

2006-05-25T21:32:00.000-04:00

I came across this blog entry the other day and thought it was great. I appreciated this mother's honesty about the bad days of homeschooling. Made me look back and reflect on how far we have come (and how far we have to go) in finding our homeschooling groove.

2006-01-16T08:13:00.000-05:00

I stumbled upon his site a while back and had forgotten about it. It gives the history of many common nursery rhymes and they are pretty interesting. Check it out!

Homemade Potpourri

2006-01-07T09:02:00.001-05:00

Here is a project I have been considering for years - homemade potpourri. I have long had a fascination with this. During the before children season of my life, I read all sorts of books about herbs and potpourri and had dreams of owning my own herb/flower farm.

Skip ahead many years...When we moved onto our 4 acres here, dh and I really thought we might utilize our land to become "flower farmers." We planted several large test gardens and I worked my tail off that first year. Through that, I learned some important lessons. First, that dh liked the idea of this but was TOTALLY uninterested in committing to the WORK involved. Second, as a mother of young children (only two at that time), I couldn't do it all myself. So, I let the weeds and pasture grass that I had been waging war against take over and in the blink of an eye, my gardens were literally gone.

Fast forward again. Now, I am a homeschooling mother of four children, but my oldest ones are to a point of being able to do some actual work. My second daughter has always had a total fascination with flowers and potpourri and I have often thought I should share some of what I learned way back when about growing and making the stuff. Recently, as I was unpacking some books I lingered a bit over my herb books and an old flyer from the San Francisco Herb Co. dropped out. It is filled with wonderful sounding raw potpourri ingredients as well as the recipes and directions on how to put them to use. I had always wanted to try this but, being pretty poor in our early years of marriage, never actually did it. This morning, I thought of this again and googled the company and found they have a really nice website. Not only do they still have recipes, you can order them ready to assemble yourself. I am thinking that this could be a great project to do with my daughter. We could discuss the different ingredients: where they come from, how they grow and what they are used for.

If this is something that you are interested in, you can go to the link above and click on "Potpourri-Recipes" to see all the variations they offer and the prices.

Audio Books

2006-01-05T08:10:00.001-05:00

Audio Books! I cannot say enough good about them. I have been seeking out good quality audio books for my children for years. This quest began because I had a struggling reader who LOVES books. There are only so many hours in a day and I felt I was unable to read aloud enough to meet her desire for books. We began checking out audio books from the library. She was soon bored with little book and cassette sets, so we ventured into the books on tape section. These were unabridged children's chapter books read aloud. She was instantly hooked! We have since began our own collection of audio books. Although they aren't word for word readings, some of our favorites are the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre CDs which include dramatizations of all 6 books in the Chronicles of Narnia as well as Anne of Green Gables, A Christmas Carol, Squanto, The Secret Garden, and more.

It was only natural that my second daughter would become hooked on these as well. Even my 4 year old bounced between listening to stories or his Thomas the Tank Engine music at bedtime. In our home, just after bedtime, you can usually hear at least two or three different stories being read because each of our children picks one to listen to as they go to sleep.

I cannot even because to tell you how much my children have gotten out of the simple act of listening to good quality audio books. Often they will quote historical facts that even I don't know and when I question them, they claim they learned it from a particular book on tape. The Your Story Hour historical series has been especially great for that. I can say that they have more good literature under their belt than I did at their ages! I have to request that we listen to some of these books in the car so I get a chance to experience them, too.

Anyway, this subject came up because my SIL sent me a link to a site (click on the image above to go there) that looks like a great source. These are classic stories told by professional storyteller, Jim Weiss. They sound fantastic! I can't wait until I can work some funds into the budget so we can add a few to our own audio library!

2005-12-30T09:32:00.001-05:00

An interesting site I just recently Re-discovered.

2005-12-16T09:08:00.001-05:00

I was doing a little reading on the Sonlight boards this morning where this site was brought up. (click above image to go there) It looks like it has some nice resources.

Sculpture

2005-10-13T09:43:00.001-05:00

We have become big fans of Sculpey polymer clay in this house. My children adore making tiny sculptures with it. We have several polymer clay idea books that are geared for children. Our favorites are the Klutz books which have great illustrations and even come with clay in a rainbow of colors.

Polymer clay can get quite expensive, so we find it is best to use it for tiny projects. If you are looking to do larger projects and use something more appropriate for small hands, you can make your own clay to bake. This is something that you do not color, but paint after it has been baked and cooled.

Bake and Paint Dough
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 1/2 cups water

Mix and scupt as desired. Bake at 350 degrees
until dry but not browned. Cool. Paint as desired.

Have fun!!!

Homemade Puzzles

2005-10-11T07:35:00.001-05:00

Homemade puzzles are very fun and easy to make.

Find Your Image
First you select your puzzle image which could be found in many places. It can be a something personal like a photo you have taken. If using one, you may want to enlarge it to about 8" x 10". If you are reading this, you probably have a computer and have the ability to do this inexpensively right at home. You can also use clip art graphics and print those, too. Other sources for great puzzle images are magazines, junk mail, even old books. I am not really an advocate of tearing apart books, but you may have one that is seen better days, is falling apart and bound for the landfill. Sometime you can find books like this at a garage sale for next to nothing.

Glue to Backing
The puzzles are best if you glue your images to some type of cardboard backing. This can be a corrugated box, a cereal box (which sometimes already have great images to begin with), or you can purchase foam core board which is very nice.

Cut into Pieces
After the glue is dry, use scissors or a razor blade to cut your puzzle into fun shapes. Keep in mind the age of the child you are making this for; making the size and number of pieces appropriate for their ability. You can get as creative as you want with the shapes. You can cut your shapes to follow the image or cut random pieces.

Bag it Up
If I have created my puzzle from an image I printed out myself, I will usually print an extra on cardstock to keep with the puzzle. Then the little ones can used it as a reference or even put the puzzle together right on top of it. Place everything together in a ziplock.

Puzzles for Learning
Puzzles can be a fun learning tool. Not only do they teach some great motor and thinking skills, but you can make the image something educational, as well. Print out a fun learning sheet from a site like Enchanted Learning, let your child complete and color it, and then use this for your puzzle image. Every time your child works with the puzzle, that information will be reviewed and reinforced.

Have fun with this! This is a fun new activity you can create with your child for minimal cost. And if you lose a piece it is no big deal. That is just an excuse to create a new puzzle!

Crazy Family Photos

2005-10-11T07:30:00.001-05:00

Here is another idea I have wanted to try, but just haven't gotten around to it. Take several photos that are the same size and cut them into 4 equal sized pieces. Now, they can be played with like individual puzzles or mixed and matched for new crazy family photos. With the right photos, kids of all ages could be entertained by this.

Indoor Sand Box

2005-10-10T08:03:00.001-05:00

Rainy day? Kids sad they can't go outside to play? Create an indoor sand box!
In a jelly roll pan place 5 cups of:
crushed graham crackers OR
rice krispies OR
uncooked oatmeal OR
cornmeal

Then let the fun begin! Be sure an take advantage of this perfect opportunity to show your little ones how to make their letters and numbers. First you trace a letter in the crumbs and then shake the pan and let them try. Learning and fun all wrapped up in one!

Finger Paints

2005-10-08T13:01:00.001-05:00

Finger painting is a blast! Kids love it and it is even fun for us adults to join in the mess. There is something very gratifying about the sensation of squishy paints between your fingers.Get creative!
Instead of using store-bought paints,try using:
pudding (chocolate is my fave!),
jello,
whipped cream (make several colors using food coloring),
yogurt or
cooked cereal.

If you are feeling ambitious, make your own paints. Here is a recipe from Creative Kids at Home:

Home-Made Finger Paints
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cold waterfood coloring
Directions:
In a medium pan, mix all theingredients together to make the finger paint. Cook over low heat 10 to 15minutes. Keep stirring the finger paint mixture until it is smooth and thick.After the finger paint has thickened take the pan off the stove and let themixture cool.After cooling, divide the finger paint into storage containersdepending on how many colors you would like. Add a few drops of food coloring toeach container. Stir the coloring in to the paint to determine the shade ofcolor. You're ready to finger paint! Cover tightly when storing.

Fairy Day

2005-10-05T12:50:00.001-05:00

It's a fairy day at the Rich Hearts Folk School!
I have long been a fan of Klutz books. If you aren't familiar with these fun little gems, you really should be! They are kid's DIY crafts books with all the supplies included. Today I was cleaning out and packing in the craft room when I came across this one that my daughter, Anna received as a gift several years ago. We really enjoyed it, but she was still young enough to need a lot of parent involvement to do this. She had forgotten about this book and rushed through her chores today so she could get her hands on this baby and start creating fairies! What I love is that even my reluctant reader enjoys these books filled with descriptive photos and fun inspiration. And NO, I am not getting paid to say this.

Artists in the Tub

2005-10-04T09:50:00.001-05:00

Tired of your pint-sized Picasos making messes? Let them do their art and get clean at the same time with Bathtub Paints!

Here is a recipe from Preschool Education that you can make easily yourself:

Bubble Bath Finger Paints
Need:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon
salt,
food coloring,
bubble bath (not the foamy type),
water

Directions:
Mix water with the flour until you get a paste. Add food coloring and bubble bath until you get the thickness you like. This works well in the bath tub. They can paint themselves or the walls and it washes right off. It may turn the water the color of the food coloring but it won't stain the child.

Cook's Assistant

2005-10-03T14:48:00.001-05:00

Do you have a little helper every time you make dinner? Let them join in by making them the "Official Cook's Assistant." Invite them into the kitchen and let them practice pouring. Water, uncooked rice or dried beans are great for pouring from one measuring cup to another. Make them really official with their own personalized apron. Most craft store have blank ones that can be decorated, or make your own:
Dish Towel Apron - I saw these at a craft bazaar a couple of years ago and have been meaning to whip some of these up ever since. They are quite clever and would be very quick to make.
Here are a few others I found on the web:
Child's Art Apron
Quick and Easy Child's Apron
An Easy-to-Make Child's Apron

Kitchen Helper

2005-10-03T14:46:00.001-05:00

Since the children are usually hanging out in the kitchen while dinner in being prepared, why not put them to work. Even young children can be taught to set the table. An easy way to do this is by creating table setting placemats. Trace plates, glasses, and silverware onto a placemat-sized piece of paper in their proper locations. This can be a fun craft project to do with the children. Let them color and decorate them with stickers. When your masterpieces are complete laminate or cover them with contact paper. Now, even toddlers can set the table by matching the silverware and dishes to their shapes. Please hold back the knives and do these yourself or let an older child handle them.

Mini Maids

2005-10-03T14:39:00.001-05:00

Toddlers love to "clean." It is so sad that this trait usually disapears by the time they are old enough to be productive at it! ;-) It is still good to encourage this clean behavior, but you don't want them handling any chemical cleaners. Luckily they will be just as satisfied with a clean spray bottle (new and not previously used for chemical cleaners) filled with water and a rag. Set them up in front of some low level windows and let them go crazy. A word to wise, though. I discovered that my 3 year old son could spray out all of the water of an entire bottle in about 2 minutes flat - drenching anything in his path, even electronic equipment, much to my dismay!

While we are on the subject of cleaning, I should mention chores. Even a child as young as 2 years old can and should have regular chores. When the are small, most of their chores revolve around taking care of themselves like brushing teeth, combing hair, helping to dress themselves. It is also good to develop their habit of taking care of their environment, too. They can pick up toys and place them in a basket, help make their bed, even help set the table (more on that later). I can tell you from experience that it is easier to train a young child in good habits than an older one.

Birth of a Hummingbird

2005-09-07T07:55:00.001-05:00

Hummer's Nest '05

Make sure you go completely to the bottom of each page and hit the "Next page" button. There are some WONDERFUL photos here.

Giving myself permission...

2005-08-26T14:43:00.001-05:00

to take a short summer vacation from school. As public school kids in the area head BACK to the classroom, I am taking a break from the workbooks for a time. We are all a bit burned out and with building a new home and beginning to pack and declutter, I think we need to take a break. I feel like it is time for us to shift gears in our educational pursuits.

Yesterday, as we were have a picnic lunch in the yard, I discussed with the children what they were interested in learning about. My oldest, Elizabeth, wants history - any history as well as photography. My 8 year old daughter, Anna, want science. In particular, she wants to make a volcano and learn how to blow things up. WHERE does she come up with these things?!? My 3 year old son just wants to learn about trains - no surprise there.

We did read some out of the Usborn Book of World History where we learned a bit about the building of places like Stonehenge. The use of simple machines like levers was discussed and we did go outside and build a lever of our own using a 2 X 6 and a log. All of us, including my 3 year old, were able to lift a very big rock with ease. Then I dd let Anna make a volcano in the sandbox and we made it fizz and flow using food coloring, baking soda, and vinegar. We also attempted to make a playdough container blow open using baking soda and vinegar, but discovered that the reaction was too fast an we couldn't get the lid on in time. So, we resorted to using alka selzer and water which worked great. We were able to discuss chemical reactions, gases, and volume all while having a fun play time. Anna keeps asking me what other things we can blow up. Gonna have to do a little research for some fun experiments for her.

At this point, we are just going to have fun for a while. No workbooks or forced lessons. I want to truly seek out a lifestyle of learning.

Who'd have thought..

2005-08-12T07:12:00.000-05:00

You are a Tigger Homeschooler. Tiggers jump into
homeschooling with both feet, as a grand
adventure. Everything is about learning, and
their days (and houses) show it.

What kind of Hundred Acre Wood Homeschooler Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Struggling....

2005-08-10T09:33:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted much here because, well, to be honest, I don't know what to post. Lately, I feel like I have neglected my children's education. There is SO much going on in our lives, it's summer and the kids have NO desire to do anything even remotely "schoolish." I don't really want to think about schoolish things right now either. BUT, I feel the importance of the time in our lives to give my children a sense of purpose, and a feeling of competence. I don't think they really have that right now.

We are in a strange state of flux right now because we are building a new home and have the busy-ness associated with that as well as decluttering and packing up our existing home. Add into that the chaos of everyday life and the fact that my basement now floods every time it rains and I don't feel like I have anything left to devote to "school." I do not want things to be this way!

I feel like God is telling me that this new home is like a new slate - a new beginning for our family. So, I guess right now I am seeking God and asking Him to give me a vision of what our family is to be. I know He has a special plan for our family - A specific purpose for us, but am unsure of what it is. He has been preparing all of us for it and I know that our family's passions play a part in this. I am passionate about digital art and photography; Elizabeth is passionate about photography and digitally enhancing her work; Anna is passionate about art in many forms, and Barry is passionate about sound, video and photography. Patrick and Abi are still yet young, but I would bet that their passions will coordinate with our family, as well.

I have always been somewhat of an "out of the box" kind of person. My mom and I were just discussing this. I think my children are the same way and a tradition school education is not exactly what they need to prepare themselves for what God has planned for them. So what should our homelife (which includes their education) look like? I am looking at the big picture and trying to see their education in broad terms right now so that I can set some clear goals. This is hard! This is a time of prayer and regrouping for me. I pray for God's wisdom and ask for Him to give me that vision.

2005-07-08T08:11:00.000-05:00

Well, this blog is an idea that I haven't figured out how to make the time for! I love the idea of using this for myself to keep track of our learning experiences, but have not been diligent with it. Perhaps, because I have nothing really great to write. As far as "school," we are in workbook mode around here. Each day, each of the girls do pages in each section (different subjects). The can do this fairly independently which is good because I have had much on my mind with building the new house. But, I am feeling that we need to take a turn and get away from these for a while, though. They were good for a time and served a purpose, but I can see the boredom and burnout setting in now.

The question is WHAT are we to do then? The children need something to spur their creative spirits which have lately been neglected. At the same time, I see that they really need some disciplined studying, too. I really feel that they are weak in their "3 R's." (And for Elizabeth - her "S" - spelling!) What keeps coming to mind (perhaps God is putting it there Ã) is notebooking. I love the concept of this, but it seems that we start them and never follow through. I have been reading more of Cindy Rushton's articles lately (www.cindyrushton.com) as well as some ladies who teach their children by the principle approach (www.face.net). I am also a big fan of the writings of Marilyn Howshall. All of them advocate utilizing notebooks for schooling. Although I get the concept of this, I guess I just don't have by brain completely wrapped around the idea, because I can never keep them going. I guess I feel like I should be able to get them started on a subject and then they should take it and run with it with just minimal help from me. Perhaps, that is just unrealistic at this point. Perhaps, that is just me wanting to be selfish with my time with them. I'm not sure, but I am praying for God's wisdom and I know He will provide timely answers. I think He justreallyy wants me to seek Him right now.

So, here I am rambling on about my thoughts. I find this helpful for myself to clarify my vision. If God hits me with a bolt of lightning with all the answers, I'll be sure to post them here! Ã

2005-4-28 Thursday

2005-04-28T13:52:00.000-05:00

Normally on Thursdays I go to bible study and least the older girls at home to do their chores and schoolwork. This morning I received a call informing me that there was no baby-sitter for bible study. After considering my options, I had a talk with Elizabeth and we decided that she could at least be the baby-sitter for Patrick and Abigail and if the other moms felt comfortable, she could watch the others as well. Anna was to be her assistant. They ended up watching a total of 5 children and even got paid for it. I think it was a good lesson in responsibility for them both.

Although the girls thought that they were going to get out of their work for the day, I did make tem do their chores and schoolwork after lunch.
Elizabeth continued in her workbook doing a page in each subject. She was having trouble with her subtraction and I made her use the Math-u-See manipulitives to work out her problems.
Anna finished her 100 Words book today.
Patrick played with the Math-U-See manipulitives

After a few extra chores, I allowed the girls to have some free time to play in their room while Abi and Patrick nap.

Anna will go to art lessons tonight - her second week into her collage semester.

2005-4-27

2005-04-27T08:37:00.000-05:00

Plan for the day:
After breakfast and chores we need to run some errands (Wal_Mart, bank, PO, Oneils Glass, meet Barry at Brueggeman's to look at the windows for the house)
I will pack lunches after breakfast while the girls are finishing their chores.
Then we will do our running and eat lunch on the way home in car. We will also bring along the Holy Moses CD to practice in the car.
When we return, the little ones will nap and the girls will do their schoolwork while I work on deskwork: finances, e-mail Photos of Faith stuff to the newpaper, and decluttering.

What actually happened:
After breakfast, I packed luches and did some cleaning while the girls finished their chores and did some of their schoolwork. We left the house at 11am and met Barry at Brueggeman's to look at windows and doors for the new house. Then the children and I ran a bunch of errands: Wal-Mart, Waterworks, Oneil's Glass, Library, Post office, bank. We ate lunch in the car as planned as well as practiced the songs and line for Holy Moses. We returned home and after unloading the van, the little ones laid down for naps and the big girls finished their schoolwork. Then they got some free time before eating dinner and going to their Holy Moses dress rehearsal.

2005-4-26 Tuesday

2005-04-27T08:30:00.000-05:00

Pretty standard morning. Everyone did chores and the girls did their usual schoolwork. For Elizabeth's math, she completed her frustrating work from the previous page and I did not make her go on.

Had lunch out with Grammy and Gramps and everyone (all 5 of us) got haircuts which was an exercise in patience and good behavior for everyone since they were busy and we had quite a wait to get us all in.

In the afternoon, Anna did some cleaning in her room while Elizabeth got some fresh air and exercise outside climbing the tree.

Planning

2005-04-26T11:37:00.000-05:00

Right now we are in a season of workbooks. I used to always poopoo workbooks because they are boring and I never liked them when I was in school, but I am seeing that they do have a purpose and a role for our family. I am a big advocate of learning through reading great books and doing real life stuff, but we have been missing the consistent practice of the basic school skills: reading, writing and arithmetic. We do these things but not consistently and in enough quantity for the children to master them well enough. The workbooks really fill this need and make sure that these skills are practiced daily no matter what is going on in our home. The girls are required to do a certain number of pages every week day.

Other things I am thinking about for our little school:

Studying home building: This is obviously because we are about to begin building a new house right outside our back door. We can even watch much of it from our window or porch. What I am debating is whether or not to "school" this up or not. We can merely observe and discuss what is going on or I am considering having the girls and maybe even Patrick to some extent, create notebooks/scrapbooks about the process. We are planning to take photos from the same locations every day. They could document in their notebooks what has happened each day. We could get books and read about the various types of equipment used to build and systems within a home. I could even make them write reports. I am not sure how far I should take this. I don't want to make it such a burden that all the joy is sucked out of it.

4-H projects: Elizabeth is planning to do Foods, Cake Decorating, Photography, Crafts, and possibly collections (stamps) and sewing. Anna is still a mini and therefore is still very limited. Other things I am considering for them is Forestry and Wildlife because there are projects at both of their levels so these could really be used as learning tools for both of them.

The arts: Anna will be finishing up her art lessons soon and I do not want her to stop practicing her art. Elizabeth, as well, really enjoys artistic endeavors so I want to make sure I allow them the time to create and give them direction. I have a book called "How Great Thou Art" that I may use for ideas.
Photography: Both the girls, but Elizabeth especially love photography, as well. They love taking pictures and want to learn more about using PhotoShop to improve them and create scrapbook pages. Since this is an area I love also, I find that I am selfish about giving up the computer to them, but I really should allow them a certain amount of time for this.
Music: This is an area that I feel we have neglected. I have a passion and calling here, but have ignored it. I have a desire to pick up the guitar again just so we can have family sing-along. I will be committing this to prayer. If God wants it to happen, I will find the time.
Storytelling: This is another area I feel like our family has been called to, but I have neglected. Will commit this one to prayer as well.

Math: We need to enter a season of more focus on math skills. I have not placed a high priority on this and I fear I have allowed my girls (especially Elizabeth) to fall behind. This is an area that comes easily for me, but not to her. Although I have stepped up the math workbook pages, I am feeling unsure in a definite direction for us here. This is perhaps an area I should talk Barry into becoming more involved because he really feels this is one of the most important things right now.

This has just been a bunch of random thought that I wanted to get our of my head and chew on for a while.

2005-4-24 Sunday

2005-04-26T11:28:00.000-05:00

As we usually do on Sunday, we went to church at 8:30 for 1st service which was all about Jesus being our shepherd and calling us by name and we, His sheep, know His voice.

All of us attended SS (except for Abi).

Sunday is a day spent with extended family. We ate, visited and played games.

Elizabeth and Anna had Holy Moses practice at church in the evening. They are both feeling fairly comfortable with their lines and the songs. Only one more practice before the big show!

Elizabeth stayed up late with daddy. They took some photos of the moon and then got on a discussion about math: fractions and decimals along with money and starting a savings account. According to both of them it was a great lesson time and Elizabeth learned lots.

2005-4-22 Friday

2005-04-26T11:16:00.000-05:00

Yes, I realize that I am posting these days out of order. Ü I am trying to be more diligent about posting what goes on daily, but don't always have the time to do so on the day.

Friday was a crazy day for Mom with things that she had to get done for church. The children did their chores and schoolwork independently. Some schoolwork was even done in the car on the way and at church. Not the ideal, but necessary. Both Elizabeth and Anna continued in their workbooks. Anna completed 3 pages and Elizabeth 5.

The girls assisted me in creating a silly fashion outfit for a church presentation.

That evening, Elizabeth had Share the Fun drama practice at Broadway Christian Church and the whole family attended afterward for a potluck and special performance. Elizabeth is really learning a lot about acting and enjoying the social aspects of 4-H through this. I know Anna is really looking forward to being old enough to join the fun next year, too.

2005-4-23 Saturday

2005-04-26T11:14:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth participated in the 4-H Share the Fun Talent competition with her group. The weeks of practices paid off and the group placed first and will go on to the area competition.

The rest of the day was a lazy movie day while Mom finished the church powerpoint.

2005-4-25 Monday

2005-04-26T08:48:00.000-05:00

Another Monday....
Since Sunday was a no nap day and Daddy let Elizabeth stay up too late because they were taking photos of the moon and having spontaneous math lessons, I decided to let everyone sleep in.

The girls completed their regular chores and schoolwork and we discussed doing our chores with more diligence instead of just to get them done.

Anna completed workbook pages on number words and we had to have a discussion about following directions (something she has been rebelling against).

Elizabeth completed work in Reading comprehension, Grammar, Writing and then got stuck on her math work. She was working on addition of large numbers (into the millions) and I told her to use a calculator to check her work. She ended up getting quite frustrated because when caught some mistakes and the fact that she kept hitting the numbers wrong on the calculator. She informed me that she NEVER wanted to see a calculator EVER again! (gotta love those preteen emotions) I told her she could set it aside for the day.

Elizabeth, Anna and Patrick got the art bug and on their own got out the tempera paints and painted rocks on the back porch in the afternoon. They created bugs, animals, angels and more out of rocks found on the driveway and in the yard.

Then I sat down with the girls in the afternoon to finish their BSF lessons before bible study that evening. They are working in 1 Peter 1-2 discussing what it means to be holy and born again.

2005-4-21 Thursday

2005-04-21T13:12:00.000-05:00

Today, I had bible study at church. The girls stay home and complete their chores and schoolwork in my absence. Although I never thought I would go this direction, we are in workbook mode at this point. This is something that they can do somewhat independently.

Anna completed one page practicing the words "one" & "two." I am disappointed to discover that she skimped on her work in my absence. She will have to bring her book in the car to complete the rest of her work and lose her computer priviledges. She has informed that she did some back pages that she had skipped. Since skipping is a no no I think I had be checking her work more thoroughly every day.

Elizabeth completed her pages on reading, english, reading comprehension, math and writing.

Elizabeth has 4-H drama practice this afternoon and Anna has art lessons tonight.

To Begin Again!

2005-04-21T13:08:00.000-05:00

Well, I am feeling a need to restart this blog with more diligence. Sometimes my life just feels like one long "To Do" list and for every item crossed off, 3 more are added. I have such good intentions of catching up, but I am permanently behind. Lately I have not been recording what my children have been doing each day at all, so I want to get back at this.

Life is Difficult!

2004-12-28T08:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I had such good intentions when I began this blog of using it to record what we do every day. But....life gets busy and it just hasn't happened. We've been doing stuff, but I am barely making it through each day lately.

As we approach the start of a new year, I feel like this is a good time to pause and reflect on our direction. I need to come up with a mission statement the keeps us focused. It is so easy to let the everyday business of life with 4 children and outside commitments distract me from our purpose.

I have been and will continue to pray for God's guidance and wisdom in the area of educating our children and for direction of our lives in general. I feel like he has a definite plan and purpose for us and I am just not "getting it." As Ezekial 12:2 puts it, I "have eyes to see, but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear. I am a rebellious person." I don't want to believe that I am rebellious in my heart. I profess that I desire God's will for me, but I am seeing that I must be. Hosea 14:9b says,
"The ways of the LORD are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them."

As I have struggled through the last week or so, I have to descibe my life as stumbling. I have staggered and even fallen down. I am sad to say that the holidays have overwhelmed me. I pushed myself physically to get eveything done just to "get through" Christmas. I am so sad about this. I regret that I did not prepare myself properly to remember the Christ child with joy. I was a poor witness to my children and obviously missed many learning opportunities. All I can do is begin again with God's help and wisdom.

2004-11-24 A Little Lunch Reading

2004-11-24T13:57:00.000-05:00

This afternoon while the children and I finished our lunch, I read exerpts from the book, "The American Frugal Housewife. Dedicated to Those Who Are Not Ashamed of Economy." written by Mrs Lydia Maria Child in 1832. This book came to my attention through the Dover Book sampler which I receive once a week through e-mail. Sample pages with old recipes (receipts) for custards and puddings intrigued me so I searched our local libray's catalog to find that it was available and placed a request for a hold on it.

This book is a treasury of 19th century maxims and wisdom. Although there is much that is not very relevant for todays living (like the fact that an ox's gall will set any color into fabric), there is much wisdom about frugality and caring for the material things we have been given that still holds true today, 172 years after its writing. The quotes listed on the cover are "A fat kitchen maketh a lean will. - Franklin" and "Economy is a poor man's revenue; extravagance a rich man's ruin." The introduction to the book is filled with reasons for frugality along with many examples. I enjoy her account of how she heard someone claim that they could not live on less than "twelve hundred a year" and someone tell them that they were not "economical" for they only spent eight hundrend a year. A third one who was present and silent later said he one spent six hundred per year for he , his wife and children. She said that it "occuured to her that his wife and children were in the habit of picking up paper and twine."

Of particular enjoyment to the children were the statement that "Beer is a good family drink." and the fact that ear wax is a great rememdy for cracked lips.

The next section we will read is entitled "The Education of Daughter" which should be of interest to the girls.

HAND

2004-11-24T09:31:00.000-05:00

In an earlier post, I mentioned the girls doing their "HAND." This is something that we came up will to remind the children what they are supposed to complete when they first get out of bed in the morning. There are 5 things which correspond to the 5 fingers on your hand. There's a little rhyme that goes along with it which goes like this:

First thing you do is make your bed,
Put on your clothes
And brush your head.
Brush your teeth,
And wash your face.
Now you're ready to run a race!

These are simply personal care things that they need to do each morning, but I seemed to have to remind them of them every day. They have a laminated sheet hanging in their room with an outline of a hand and these things listed by each finger.

2004-11-23 Tuesday - Errand Day

2004-11-24T08:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, was our errand day. We have gotten out of the habit of having an official weekly errand day and I feel like we need to get back to that. Because we haven't done that for so long we had TONS to do. So, after all the children had completed their H.A.N.D. and their chores, we left for an all day excursion that began at 11 am and concluded after 6pm.
Here's what we did:

Went to the post office and checked for rent checks. (Found one)
Went to the bank where we deposited check and wrote a check for cash.
Went to the library to return 1/3 of our checked out books, and check out our on hold books.
Dropped of a video at Hollywood video
Drove through McDonald's for lunch
Went to Waterworks and filled our bottles with 19 gallons of purified water.
Stopped by Grammy and Gramps house to drop off a DVD for them to borrow.
Went to Target where we purchased: bingo prizes for Thanksgiving, 2 outfits for each of the girls that will be Christmas presents, shoes for Anna, a gift for Grammy and Gramps, tights and pantyhose, socks for girls and Patrick,
Drove through Wendys to get free (with our saved up coupons) Junior Frosty's as a treat.
Got Patrick's hair cut at Great Clips
Cleaned out car (lot's of trash!)
Took car to Wal-Mart for an oil change and shopped for groceries and pet supplies.
Decided that I was too exhausted to go home, unload tired children, 19 gallons of water, and purchases AND COOK, so drove through Hopsings and took home Chinese for dinner.

After dinner we realized that the Samantha Movie was on TV that night so I let the girls stay up late to watch it.

I suppose what we did yesterday doesn't look very "schoolish", but it was real life and probably more useful than a lot of bookwork. Throughout our day were numerous times to test the children's obedience, patience (and mine too Ü), and to learn that they do not get everything they desire. Of course, money was discussed often, too.

2004-11-22 Life Skills Galore

2004-11-23T11:50:00.000-05:00

Our day yesterday, 11-22-04:

Children all completed regular chores
Anna was taught how to do her own laundry: gathering, spotting, using washer, dryer and putting it away.
Girls played an alphabet game that they invented using the Alphabet Go Fish deck of cards.
Both girls had quiet reading time
Both girls completed their Bible Study Fellowship lesson continuing in the book of Hebrews and memorized Heb. 1:3 (to the tune of "Tomorrow")
I had special discussion and bible study with the girls about clothing where we discussed: whether God cares about what we wear; modest dressing which consists of not revealing or emphasizing our bodies; why modest dressing is important which included physical sexuality (but not sex) and how appearance plays a role in that and how this is something that God has set apart for marriage. I also shared my own personal conviction about why I only wear dresses and skirts. Told them that I would not make them wear only dresses, but that they needed to pray about this and come to a conclusion for themselves, BUT I will require modest clothing.
Each girl began their own recipe notebook. Elizabeth copied "Spiced Sweet Potato Casserole" and Grammy's "Pretzel Salad" recipe. Anna sat at the table and wrote "Spiced Sweet Pot..." on her paper and doodled and dawdled. :-( The plan was for her to assist me in making the sweet potato casserole, but lost the privilege and I taught Elizabeth how to in the kitchen instead. Elizabeth did an excellent job and the dish got rave reviews at my First Place meeting that I brought it to. Anna did end up copying most of the ingredient list.
Girls attended BSF in the evening
I am praying for God to show me how to motivate Anna (sigh)

From the Mixed up Files of the Rich Hearts.....

2004-11-23T11:44:00.000-05:00

Well, I decided to try something new. Although our family has been homeschooling our children for nearly 6 years, I have been a very poor record keeper. What records I have kept, have been misplaced. What we do on a daily basis has been lost forever into the realm of my poor memory. I thought, perhaps, I could journal daily about what we have done on the previous day and therefore have some record for future reference.