As a homeschool mom, I must say that I LOVE having the Internet to find material to use in teaching my children. Since money is so tight, I can't go out and buy tons of curriculum and supplies so I rely on what is available right here on the web. For example, today we are learning about Robin Hood and I found a website that offers free audio books that are read by volunteers so the kids and I are actually listening to chapter 1 of The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood right now! They are coloring a picture of "Robin Hood" while they are listening to it. I also found another site that has tons of links about Robin Hood so I can go through there and find things that we want to use as well. It just amazes me that we have all of these resources at our fingertips. I think we are so blessed when I think about how the people that have homeschooled in the past didn't have this luxury.
I dream of helping people that homeschool or want to homeschool find ways to teach their children without having to spend a lot of money so I will continue to post links here of some of the things that we are using in our homeschool and would love for you to share any that you know of in the comments section.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
I got a hippopotamus for Christmas!
Back to School after Christmas Break
Today went really well! I actually was expecting some resistance from the kids about having to get back into our school routine but there was none. Everyone was up, fed and at their desks by 8 and ready to go! Amazing for a Monday!!
We did our devotion first and the topic was about honoring our "old people". My kids know that I just love the elderly. I think they are so cute and I love spending time with them. I want to instill that love for senior citizens in them.
In history, we did a review quiz first....I wanted to make sure they didn't lose anything over the past 2 weeks. They all did very well. The Mystery of History makes history fun and interesting so they tend to remember the information better. After the review, we read a lesson about Richard the Lionhearted, Saladin and the Third Crusade.
They all had spelling tests and did so-so. They will be reviewing the words they missed and will have to retest on them. I am not too bothered by it. They haven't had to spell anything for the past 2 weeks so I was expecting it to not be 100%.
Amy and Alex had a review in math. I had planned on reviewing and then starting a new topic but when they were struggling with some of the review problems, I decided that we needed to master that before we moved on....so we did. Andrew did his review sheet and is ready for his next lesson.
They all read books that they had checked out from the library during their reading time. Andrew is reading a book about Pluto so his reading is counting as science as well. Two birds with one stone! The book is called When is a Planet not a Planet?The Story of Pluto and is sparking an interesting discussion between him and Alex.
Enough about school work....let's talk about other things we did today. Oh yeah, during our break, we watched Rachael Ray make this recipe and they decided that we need to try it. She has some great healthy, low cost recipes on her site so check them out!
It has been raining almost all day and since the temperature is low, it is forming ice on the trees. We would love some snow but it looks like that isn't gonna happen. I am just glad that it wasn't raining when I went for my walk this morning at 5:15. That would have ruined it for me. I walked further today than I did last time...I don't know the distance but I know it was more than a mile. I had my music in my ears and just walked to the beat.
It looks like I am going to have to bring in more kids to our daycare. We really need the income right now. Since I don't want to get re-licensed, I can only take on 2 more. I have looked through all of my old daycare stuff and it made me kind of excited about doing preschool again. I just have to get into a routine of doing school with my kids and do preschool with the little ones. William is going to be looking for side jobs to do too to help make some extra money. He can do pretty much anything around the house....your typical handy man. He also works on cars. If you have something for him to do, give him a call 481-6145. We just have to come up with some ways to make sure our bills are paid. I know I was making decent money with my home based business but it was keeping me away from home more than I liked and I was missing some important events in my kids' lives. I am a distributor for another company that I can do from home and not have to go out and do parties so I am looking into actively building that business too.
Wow, this is a long post. I guess I will stop now. I am gonna go cuddle with my man and watch a little TV with him and the kids before bed.
Adios!
We did our devotion first and the topic was about honoring our "old people". My kids know that I just love the elderly. I think they are so cute and I love spending time with them. I want to instill that love for senior citizens in them.
In history, we did a review quiz first....I wanted to make sure they didn't lose anything over the past 2 weeks. They all did very well. The Mystery of History makes history fun and interesting so they tend to remember the information better. After the review, we read a lesson about Richard the Lionhearted, Saladin and the Third Crusade.
They all had spelling tests and did so-so. They will be reviewing the words they missed and will have to retest on them. I am not too bothered by it. They haven't had to spell anything for the past 2 weeks so I was expecting it to not be 100%.
Amy and Alex had a review in math. I had planned on reviewing and then starting a new topic but when they were struggling with some of the review problems, I decided that we needed to master that before we moved on....so we did. Andrew did his review sheet and is ready for his next lesson.
They all read books that they had checked out from the library during their reading time. Andrew is reading a book about Pluto so his reading is counting as science as well. Two birds with one stone! The book is called When is a Planet not a Planet?The Story of Pluto and is sparking an interesting discussion between him and Alex.
Enough about school work....let's talk about other things we did today. Oh yeah, during our break, we watched Rachael Ray make this recipe and they decided that we need to try it. She has some great healthy, low cost recipes on her site so check them out!
It has been raining almost all day and since the temperature is low, it is forming ice on the trees. We would love some snow but it looks like that isn't gonna happen. I am just glad that it wasn't raining when I went for my walk this morning at 5:15. That would have ruined it for me. I walked further today than I did last time...I don't know the distance but I know it was more than a mile. I had my music in my ears and just walked to the beat.
It looks like I am going to have to bring in more kids to our daycare. We really need the income right now. Since I don't want to get re-licensed, I can only take on 2 more. I have looked through all of my old daycare stuff and it made me kind of excited about doing preschool again. I just have to get into a routine of doing school with my kids and do preschool with the little ones. William is going to be looking for side jobs to do too to help make some extra money. He can do pretty much anything around the house....your typical handy man. He also works on cars. If you have something for him to do, give him a call 481-6145. We just have to come up with some ways to make sure our bills are paid. I know I was making decent money with my home based business but it was keeping me away from home more than I liked and I was missing some important events in my kids' lives. I am a distributor for another company that I can do from home and not have to go out and do parties so I am looking into actively building that business too.
Wow, this is a long post. I guess I will stop now. I am gonna go cuddle with my man and watch a little TV with him and the kids before bed.
Adios!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
First Sunday of 2009
We had our first Sunday service of 2009 and although the attendance was a little lower than normal, it was wonderful.
In Sunday school, we talked about how we can help use our talents to solve problems in the world. Remember now, I teach 5th & 6th grade girls. They had to come up with a "slogan" to help start change. It was interesting to see the things that they came up with. We talked about how even at their age, they have talents from God to use to make changes in the world. We also talked about what the Bible says about being a leader and how you have to serve to be a leader. They didn't quite understand what that meant until I explained to them that Pastor Troy is a leader but he wouldn't be unless he was serving them by doing all he does. Their faces just lit up when they talked about how much time he puts into children's ministry. It is always amazing to see these girls growing in the Lord.
In City Lights (our Children's service), they started a new series called "Ready, Set, Grow" and it is about the Fruits of The Spirit. I didn't get to see much of it because I was at the sign in/welcome area but I heard some of it. The City Lights team does a great job of presenting the message so that kids "get it". I look at these little people and think that in a few years, they will be the ones that are teaching, preaching and sharing the Gospel! The time will go by SO fast and I am so blessed and honored to be a part of what God has planned for them!
Thanks for stopping by to visit today and reading about my day. Tomorrow we start school again after having a 2 week break so be sure to check back in to see how it goes!
In Sunday school, we talked about how we can help use our talents to solve problems in the world. Remember now, I teach 5th & 6th grade girls. They had to come up with a "slogan" to help start change. It was interesting to see the things that they came up with. We talked about how even at their age, they have talents from God to use to make changes in the world. We also talked about what the Bible says about being a leader and how you have to serve to be a leader. They didn't quite understand what that meant until I explained to them that Pastor Troy is a leader but he wouldn't be unless he was serving them by doing all he does. Their faces just lit up when they talked about how much time he puts into children's ministry. It is always amazing to see these girls growing in the Lord.
In City Lights (our Children's service), they started a new series called "Ready, Set, Grow" and it is about the Fruits of The Spirit. I didn't get to see much of it because I was at the sign in/welcome area but I heard some of it. The City Lights team does a great job of presenting the message so that kids "get it". I look at these little people and think that in a few years, they will be the ones that are teaching, preaching and sharing the Gospel! The time will go by SO fast and I am so blessed and honored to be a part of what God has planned for them!
Thanks for stopping by to visit today and reading about my day. Tomorrow we start school again after having a 2 week break so be sure to check back in to see how it goes!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
My favorite things
Yeah, I know that the song is now in your head and I am sorry for doing that to you but I was just sitting her thinking about some of the blessings that I enjoy....my favorite things.
*The sound of my children laughing and playing together.
*Happy conversation at the dinner table.
*My bed when it has freshly washed sheets and comforter on it and it is made. It looks so peaceful and inviting.
*Scrapbooking. I enjoy making this memory albums so that my family has a visible record of the events of our lives.
*Music. I love listening to, singing and playing music. It can lift my spirits in any circumstance.
*Family. I love being with my family. Not just the people in my home, my WHOLE family. I love big family gatherings but feel like we don't do them often enough.
*Vanilla....candles, scent, ice cream....whatever.
*Chocolate...yummy
*Reading.....I love to read books, magazines, blogs, whatever.
*Movies...romantic comedies are my favorite.
*The smell of wood burning in the fall.
*Puppies and kittens....that is why I have too many animals.
*Watching my husband sleep in his recliner....unless he is supposed to be doing something else of course! LOL
*A clean and cozy home. It is just so relaxing to walk in to my living room when it is clean and just feel at home. I don't like stuff laying around.
I am sure I can think of some more but I would love to hear what your favorite things are.
*The sound of my children laughing and playing together.
*Happy conversation at the dinner table.
*My bed when it has freshly washed sheets and comforter on it and it is made. It looks so peaceful and inviting.
*Scrapbooking. I enjoy making this memory albums so that my family has a visible record of the events of our lives.
*Music. I love listening to, singing and playing music. It can lift my spirits in any circumstance.
*Family. I love being with my family. Not just the people in my home, my WHOLE family. I love big family gatherings but feel like we don't do them often enough.
*Vanilla....candles, scent, ice cream....whatever.
*Chocolate...yummy
*Reading.....I love to read books, magazines, blogs, whatever.
*Movies...romantic comedies are my favorite.
*The smell of wood burning in the fall.
*Puppies and kittens....that is why I have too many animals.
*Watching my husband sleep in his recliner....unless he is supposed to be doing something else of course! LOL
*A clean and cozy home. It is just so relaxing to walk in to my living room when it is clean and just feel at home. I don't like stuff laying around.
I am sure I can think of some more but I would love to hear what your favorite things are.
Economic stress
I am wondering what you are doing to help your family save money during this economic crisis. My husband was in construction building new homes and when the housing market fell, he lost his job. For awhile he went into doing remodeling and repairs but that slowed down too for him so we started really struggling to pay bills. I cut back on our grocery spending, we quit eating out, the kids had to quit piano lessons, we gave up our Y membership, we don't get out much now at all because it costs money to drive (obviously!) so we end up running all of our errands on one day. I watch children in my home and currently have 2. The money I make off of that buys our groceries and gas each week. I have tried to find other families to provide care for but with so many people being unemployed, the demand for quality childcare isn't what it used to be. I used to get call ALL the time and stayed full most of the time.
I don't know why I am sharing all of this with you except to say that I am trying not to be afraid. I know that God will provide for us but it is hard sometimes to wait to see what will happen. I have seen Him do wonders in and with my life and I KNOW that he will.
Today I am thinking about the bills I can't pay and the things I need to buy and am trying to stay positive. I am praising God for all we do have and praying that He will show me what to do to help my family during this troubled economy.
I know I am not alone. I will pray for all of us that are struggling. Please join me.
I don't know why I am sharing all of this with you except to say that I am trying not to be afraid. I know that God will provide for us but it is hard sometimes to wait to see what will happen. I have seen Him do wonders in and with my life and I KNOW that he will.
Today I am thinking about the bills I can't pay and the things I need to buy and am trying to stay positive. I am praising God for all we do have and praying that He will show me what to do to help my family during this troubled economy.
I know I am not alone. I will pray for all of us that are struggling. Please join me.
Friday, January 2, 2009
2009 Goals
Hey everyone!
Yeah, I know it has been awhile since I posted. I was trying to decide which blog tool I wanted to use and after trying out a few different things, I have chosen this one :) Maybe it is because so many of my friends are here....maybe it is the ease of use....I don't know. I just decided that this is the one :) My mother in law will be happy because this is one of the ways that she keeps up with what my little ones are up to. She likes to look at their pictures and see what they are learning about in school.....Hi Memaw!
I wanted to share my 2009 Goals with ya'll so here goes:
Finish my 2006 scrapbook
Blog regularly (at least once a week)
Help other women be the best that they can be......wife, mom, daughter, etc.
Spend more time with my mom.
Become more physically fit.
Thanks for sharing in my goals. I am sure that I will be adding more as the year goes by but this is what I am working on right now.
I pray that you will do all that you want to do in 2009.
Be blessed!
Yeah, I know it has been awhile since I posted. I was trying to decide which blog tool I wanted to use and after trying out a few different things, I have chosen this one :) Maybe it is because so many of my friends are here....maybe it is the ease of use....I don't know. I just decided that this is the one :) My mother in law will be happy because this is one of the ways that she keeps up with what my little ones are up to. She likes to look at their pictures and see what they are learning about in school.....Hi Memaw!
I wanted to share my 2009 Goals with ya'll so here goes:
Finish my 2006 scrapbook
Blog regularly (at least once a week)
Help other women be the best that they can be......wife, mom, daughter, etc.
Spend more time with my mom.
Become more physically fit.
Thanks for sharing in my goals. I am sure that I will be adding more as the year goes by but this is what I am working on right now.
I pray that you will do all that you want to do in 2009.
Be blessed!
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