Scripture for Sunday

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

Sweet-smelling Gardenias

Watching the clouds

It turned out to be a nice cool evening to be at the park. Alexander Park has a huge field to run and play on. We met some friends their and the kids burned off some energy. Our family had picked up KFC for our dinner and gotten there early. As we spread out our yummy fare, it was apparent that although mom had brought plates, there were no utensils that we are accustom to using nor any napkins to wipe our messy hands. Those of us brave enough to do so, used a chicken bone to scoop out mashed potatoes and slaw. Biscuits and pieces of chicken were handy for eating with, or your hands. Green beans can be eaten with your fingers. One wet wipe, which was all that was left, was shared by Hannah and mom and the boys went to the Restroom to wash.
The kids enjoyed Josiah's big ball.


After all the running, Hannah sat and made a tiny, colorful bouquet under the interesting clouds.




I've never seen clouds like these. They were quite pretty to look at and intriguing.


We didn't know what to make of them. We just watched in amazement.

Maybe a weather person could explain what was happening here. But we didn't need anyone to explain what happened next. We just knew we had to get everything under the pavilion.

And FAST! It was one minute from sprinkle to pouring down rain.

It came down fast and furious and the wind blew it in on us and the young ones cried and wanted to go home. I don't blame them. It thundered and lighteninged (is that how you spell that?). The sky was dark and menacing, and when you tried to look in the direction from which the wind was blowing, all you saw was dark and the rain blew in your face. Some poor people were caught out on the trails and came hurrying in, soaking wet.

After waiting, it finally ended. The field was flooded.

But the sky was clear again, and we all went home to get dry clothes on and get in our nice, warm beds.

It's a Fair Piece to Fairmount

I drove for two hours as we listened to Mr. Popper's Penguins on audio CDs. We finally arrived at Camp Sunrise in Fairmount, Georgia to join some homeschool friends for a fun and educational outing.

Here comes our tour guide now. What a cool vehicle!

Josiah and Pete liked this one, too. It's a Deere!

We need to take this path down to the train depot.

All Aboard! We pile on the small train pulled by a lawn mower engine. Our guide stops and does a good gospel presentation.

So, which way would you want to go?

We went through a snow tunnel and passed a hobo campsite, and then stopped at Prospector's Hill Gold Mine for another talk. This time about what's important. Don't store up riches on earth.

After the train dropped us off, we had a picnic lunch. Then we walked the tracks back to the Planetarium. As we walked, Hannah spotted something. Do you see it?

Teeny tiny toad babies! There were dozens of them and the kids were catching as many as they could.

Josiah even put them in his pocket! Here is one crawling back out.

We made it to the Planetarium and released all the toads before going in. The sign says "No pets allowed!".

We enjoyed a nice presentation about seasons and constellations. After a quick look at the gift shop, we headed home. It was about 3:30. We had a longer ride home as traffic picked up as we got closer to Atlanta and it started to rain. But we made it home safely at 6:30. Thank you, Lord.

Exploring Australia

We're back from our adventure in the Outback! Josiah really liked the idea of boomerangs and was sure he could kill a snake with one if given the chance.

Hannah was happy just to cuddle with a Koala and learn about other marsupials.

We've been doing some Global Art from this book throughout the year. I say some, because we really did not do that much. My kids do so well coming up with their own ideas.

But I chose this one from the Australia section because I was curious about it. These are the ingredients.

These are the results. Can you figure out what it is suppose to be?

A yummy treat that's alot of fun to make and eat, but not much to behold. The book makes it look alot better than in real life. Store-bought peanut butter might have been easier to work with, too. We've been making our own.

We stretched out our study of Australia over three weeks. One evening we went to Outback Steakhouse. Hannah ordered Chicken on the Barbie (that's just aussie for barbeque). We let the kids have lollie water (soda). We put on our cozzies (swimsuits) and got in the pool. The kids watched FINDING NEMO. What was that address again? P Sherman 42 Sydney? Something like that. And I also made some good Australian tucker (food), like Australian Beef Curry. This is Theron's favorite recipe that I make in the pressure cooker.

Hannah and I made Damper bread to go with it (oops, it was a little heavy, I forgot it called for-self-rising flour). It looks good, though, especially on the bread tray Theron gave me for Mother's Day. The tray was hand-carved in India.

Then there was Australian beef pie! We made one without cheese. Hannah is not a cheese lover.

If you come around here, you might hear Hannah singing the Kookaburra song.

We've had a beaut of a time, but we really must be going . . . farther down under where it might be snowing. On to Antarctica, south is our goal . . . We might even reach it to the Pole.

Wordless Wednesday - Azaleas

I thought these weren't going to bloom, but what a surprise! They are covered with beautiful white and pink flowers.

A Fresh Start with Right Start

Spring is a time for reassessment. One of the things that needed tweeking in our homeschool was MATH. The old method of memorization of math facts which I grew up with and worked for me, wasn't working for The Roses Homeschool.
We had tried a sample of a program that I thought would be a good fit for us, but I wasn't sure. While at the GHEA Conference, we stopped at the Right Start Math booth. The children are often drawn in by their colorful manipulatives. We ended up talking to one of the ladies there for a long time. I often will ask the salesperson if they have been using the product and how long, and their experience with it. The woman shared with me that she had been asked to come and help at the last moment, because a regular could not make it. After that I expected her to say that she didn't know much about it. Instead she went on to share how it has changed the way they do math in their family and it includes fun and games, not boring drills.
While I was talking, Hannah was playing a math card game with a young boy at the booth. I began realizing that this might be the answer to a better math experience for us. Once I was convinced, Theron was right there ready to get whatever we needed. It was ordered and when the package arrived the kids were so excited.


I was excited, too and couldn't wait to get into it. There is so much in this box. This is just what's on top. Maybe I'll share more as time goes on and we begin to use the items.

Over the summer, I will be working with Josiah through Level B slowly and working with Hannah in Transition Lessons, so that in the fall she can begin Level D.

May is for Strawberries and Swimming!

Our strawberry plants have been bearing for a week or so now. We try to beat the chipmunks and squirrels to them, if the slugs don't get them first. I guess we just have to share with the wildlife. I'm getting a good bit to freeze for our smoothies, though.

The kids started getting in the pool during the first week in May also. The water was chilly, but the weather was SO HOT it felt good.

We took a break from regular schoolwork this week to enjoy a trip to Grandmother and Grandfather's. We got in a little Test Prep as Hannah will be taking the ITBS next week. When we got back home the kids immediately wanted to hit the water. After a day of taking care of business, including more Test Prep, I let them get in again.

See ya later, Alligator!

Hannah's Lemonade Stand

Somehow Hannah talked me into letting her set up a lemonade stand outside today. She made the lemonade herself. All I had to do was set up the table for her and watch. Oh, yes, and take pictures! She says the picture is suppose to be a lemon on a stand.


She decided on the prices and had two different size cups for people to choose from. She even had a calculator handy which she didn't need, but it was fun to play with while waiting for customers.



Josiah and I got free samples.

Hannah got 11 customers and made some money, which she kept track of. She did a good job serving and handling the money. I watched as she gave each customer the correct change. I think some of them were testing her. We also had some extra chairs out for neighbors to sit and chat.

Josiah was great at advertising and drawing people in with his, " Hannah's got the best lemonade. She's selling it right here. Don't you want to come and get some? "

He also got a little silly dancing around on the front lawn and saying, " If you have alot of money at your house and you don't know what to do with it, and you have to climb over it to get out your door, and if you have to dig a hole to get through it, and . . . "

Well, it made me laugh. He went on and on. Everytime someone drove by, he tried to wave them down.

One of those good memories!

Exploring Russia

Spring is definitely in the air and making it harder and harder to stay inside and do schoolwork. Some days we did take our lessons outside, but that just makes the call to come play that much stronger.
With the Jasmine blooming. . .


and the Money Plant making seeds next to flowers. . .

and the azaleas sparkling after a rain,

well it's hard to study about the Arctic and the cold land of Russia. But we did, and we learned alot about ice and snow.

The kids also made a marshmallow craft that looked like an abominable snowman. The idea was from Josiah's devotional book. The lesson was on not being selfish (don't eat too many marshmallows).

I found some really fun books at the library that you might also want to try with your young ones. The first was Come To My Party and Other Shape Poems.

Here's a sample of what you'll find inside. Maybe your kids will get some ideas to create their own shape poems.

The other one is EcoMazes, a fun book of mazes and find the animals. Each two page spread has a habitat theme. It's pretty easy, so even a Kindergardner could do it with you.

Have fun! We're off to the land of Oz! Australia, that is!