10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2, . . .

It's almost time to blast-off into a new school year for us. Even after a long drawn out 2012-2013 year, we are excited to start again.

My shiny new teacher's manual

The day after Labor Day, I will be teaching a 7th grader and a 4th grader. When we finish this year, we will have completed My Father's World's Multi-Age Learning Cycle.

• Exploring Countries and Cultures
• Creation To The Greeks
• Rome To The Reformation
• Exploration To 1850
• 1850 To Modern Times

We had also used MFW Creation From A To Z and Adventures in My Father's World. We absolutely love this curriculum. We used another curriculum for one year, but quickly came back.
Next year, we will go through pretty much the same cycle, but it gets more in-depth as Hannah enters High School, the following year.
But hold on! We're not there yet. Let's just take it one year at a time, okay?

Our school room

complete with watchdog

Teacher's station

Just some of our books

For our other subjects, we use Spelling Power, Intermediate Language Lessons, All in One English, and Right Start Math.
Hannah still practices Ebaru Violin and Handbells. Josiah is learning keyboard and percussion.
We also enrolled in ICC (Institute for Cultural Communicators) again this year for communication and leadership skills.

Reading and Cooking

It can be hard to find good books for our children to enjoy - ones that they like and we want them to read. Some of the same ones Hannah was fond of are not Josiah's "cup of tea". Enter Mr. Putter and Tabby, a hit with Josiah.

 

What fun books! They are by Cynthia Rylant. Josiah is pretty picky about the books he reads (i.e.- if he doesn't find it interesting, it's not worth his effort), but he gets into these and so do I. I find myself laughing at the antics of the characters and the situations they find themselves in. If you have a youngster who is ready for easy chapter books. Let me recommend Mr. Putter and Tabby.

 

Another thing I would recommend is teaching your children to cook. It worked for me today. Josiah offered to cook supper. I asked him what he would fix. He said tomato soup and grilled cheese, because I had taught him how.

Once he had the "go ahead" from me, he proceeded to get out the ingredients and with some supervision, was able to do everything except turn on the gas stove (which I have not taught him to do yet ;) ).

 

 

 

That's one very proud 8 year old!

 

 

 

Cooking up his favorite grub!

 

 

Flippin' it to perfection!

GHEA 2012

Another great event! Not as crowded this year, but we saw alot of our friends, and heard some good speakers.
Friday, I spent most of my day in the Used Book Sale, as usual.
These are my Used Book Sale finds.

Financial Peace Jr., Spelling Power books, Design a Plate kit, Writing Strands 4 + 5, Five Finger Paragraph,
Jump Start Typing CD, State Sticker book, Penmanship books, bird stickers, flag stickers,
and planet stickers (those we can use now in our Astronomy Notebooks).

It's alot of work being a volunteer at the sale, but I actually enjoy it. I get to shop an hour earlier than non-volunteers and I get to choose one free workshop CD.
I also sale some of the things we aren't using anymore and that usually pays for the things I buy each year in the sale, plus some.

We use to just give the kids a certain amount of money to spend at the conference. This year we did things different. The kids have been earning money doing things around the house, so they could spend their own money. Josiah bought some things in the Used Book Sale, too. He was so excited.

Animal books, stickers, and a windbag

In the Vendor Hall, he bought an eagle pen made of wood.

After finding what I could in the Used Book Sale, I went to the Vendor Hall and purchased our MFW curriculum for next year - Exploration to the 1850s. As soon as I get home, I like to open up the box and see everything. Well, not just that. I like to touch it and smell it, and organize it. Is that weird?

Teacher's Manual and history books

Science books

Read Alouds and Bible Study

Music

After a full day Friday of shopping, working, listening to speakers, and the kids going to a children's program (oh, and eating and talking to friends), we come home, sleep, then go back again on Saturday. Josiah did the children's program again, while Hannah attended some workshops with us (her own choice). Then more shopping, eating, talking to friends. Can't wait for next year!

What's Next?

Well, after a short study on the reproductive system, which involved learning about glands and hormones and genes, and reading this book . . .

Sorry it's sideways, I'll try to fix it later

we are done with Anatomy and  ready to start learning about the Solar System with . . .

In the Young Explorers Series

Our study of the human body was fascinating and fun, but it's so exciting to begin something new. I've been looking through this book and there are some really cool hands-on things we will be doing. Can't wait to take pictures and share those with y'all.

Also, we just finished another one of our read-alouds.

Yet another sideways book

It was about a young boy who was to be a squire, but became sick and could not walk. He was cared for by monks, who helped him to regain his strength (learning to walk with crunches) and taught him how to carve and play a harp. This book helped us to get a picture of what it was like to live in the Medieval Times.

Now, we look forward to reading . . .

Last sideways book

This book has alot of color pictures in each chapter. It should be fun to read. We've already heard this story and even seem a video of it, but I'm still thinking it will be new and fresh.

Spelling Bees, Read Alouds, and Bowling Balls

. . . that is what homeschoolers are made of.
No, not really. But that is some of the stuff we've been involved in lately.

Spelling Bees

Last Friday, Hannah participated in her first spelling bee. I give her an A for courage. This is not here strongest subject even though, she has a passion for writing. Go figure.
We had a great panel of judges and a remarkable pronouncer.

Also an organized organizer. You gotta have that!

And a great group of spellers.

Hannah did not place, but she got a certificate of participation. She was happy.

"Were we all suppose to wear purple?"

Read Alouds

We just finished this one about a young man named Onesimus. Another good book by Patricia St. John that had us on the edge of our seats waiting for the next chapter. Not a boring read, there were twists and turns and surprises in this story based on Biblical characters. If you are not sure you know who Onesimus is, I would recommend you don't look it up in your Bible until after you've read this book, since it might ruin some of the suspense and give away the ending.

Bowling Balls

Our home school group had a fun field trip and tour at the bowling lanes today. They got to play two rounds (Is that what you call it?) and took a behind the lanes tour to see how the balls and pins are retrieved. Pretty cool! There are actually two sets of pins, plus one, in each lane, so there is always a set ready to go. The kids had a great time and Josiah even scored 95 in one game (with the help of bumper guards).

The Bronze Bow

We finished our first read-aloud of the year, The Bronze Bow recently. It is set during the time of the Roman Empire, in Palestine, from the perspective of an eighteen year old Galilean boy named Daniel. The only family he has is an aged grandmother and a sister, but he has left them to join a band of zealots in the hills. In this story, Daniel learns the meaning of true friendship, family loyalty, and the forgiveness and healing that Jesus brings. Oh, and I forgot to mention that this is during the time of Jesus. Does Daniel meet him? Read the book and find out for yourself.

What We've Been Reading

In addition to reading our Bible every day, I have been reading aloud to the kids from these books this year.

They were recommended by My Father's World and we enjoyed them. I think I will look for more of them at the Used Book Sale in May. We own these, if anyone wants to borrow them.

The following book we borrowed from the library. It was in My Father's World reading list for Creation to the Greeks. It is set in the time of the Judges and written from the perspective of Uriah the Hittite.

It is a thick book and at first glance, I did not think either Hannah or I would like it. As it turns out, once I started reading, it was hard to stop at the end of the chapter and wait for the next day. Sometimes we read more chapters. Now we are finished and it is going back to the library for someone else to enjoy. Happy Reading!

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!

GHEA Conference 2010

Next year, Hannah will be studying Creation to the Greeks (My Father's World ). Can you believe she will be in 4th grade? Whew! I bought the basic package and found the English, Math, Handwriting, and some of the Reading, Art and Music in the Used Book Sale. It is so much fun to shop and find deals.

Josiah will begin 1st Grade in the fall. His curriculum will go nicely with what Hannah is doing, but on a less in-depth scale. I only had to buy the student consumables, since Hannah used the same program when she was in 1st Grade. I also found a recommended Music book in the Used Book Sale.

It seems that going to this conference gives me the boost I need to make it to the end of the year. I hear some inspiring speakers, observe other homeschoolers, see science experiments, and talk to fellow homeschoolers. It's an exhausting weekend, especially when I spend 3 hours helping with the Used Book Sale, but it is worth it. I look forward to it every year.

Gladys Aylward

How did God use a little housemaid from England who was kicked out of Hudson Taylor's Inland Mission Evangelism School because she could not learn Chinese?
You will find out in this great book by Janet and Geoff Benge. With no mission to back her, only the belief that God wanted her to go, this young lady took her faith to the heart of China. She did learn the Yang Cheng dialect and earned the name "Virtuous One" among those who once thought her to be a "white devil". God placed into her lap and into her heart over 100 abandoned and orphaned children whom she led to safety over 100 miles of mountainous terrain.
I think you will enjoy reading about the experiences that she had, the people she influenced, and the God she trusted. And when you finish reading, watch the video by The Torchlighters. It includes a documentary on her life with photographs and audio of Gladys herself.

Exploring India

Ever since a neighbor introduced me to the spice and flavor of Indian food, I have been hooked. Our two weeks in India was a perfect opportunity to try out some recipes.

For starters, I made Spicy Fried Fish (Muchli Masala) and Curried Chickpeas (Channa Dal), with a crispy bread that I forget the name of at the moment.

One day, I cooked Yogurt Chicken (Murg Dahi) and Potatoes and Peas (Aloo Matar), but did not get a picture of that.

These are ground beef kabobs (Kabob Masala). They were good with rice.

We enjoyed reading about Amy Carmichael and her work with the children of India. She was a young woman from Ireland when she ventured onto the mission field. After going to China then Japan, the Lord finally led her to India and that is where she spent the rest of her life totally devoted to Him. She began a group called the Starry Cluster, which was a group of women who went around telling others about Jesus. Eventually young girls started coming to Amy for refuge and the Starry Cluster built a home for them and raised them. Amy was a mother to many even though she never married. Later, boys were also sent to her and new rooms were added.

A hospital was also built, thus providing care and job training for the children she had raised. It was an amazing story of Amy's faith and God's provision.

China, here we come!

Wordless Wednesday - Leaf Man

Hannah's Leaf Woman

Goodbye to the Little House on the Prairie

We just finished reading Little House on the Prairie.

That was our read aloud for the summer.

At first it was hard for me to get into it, because the real story is

quite different from the TV version, which is what I was use to.

If you haven't read the book, don't read any further, because I give away the ending.

...

At the end of the book, they have to leave their house, the well they dug, the garden they just planted, and papa's plow and a cow and calf. They didn't sell those things, they were just LEFT BEHIND. It made me think about what's really important and how we cling to earthly things. Maybe you don't but I do. I think of it as being resourceful. I keep an item, because I might need it SOMEDAY. SOMEDAY I won't even BE HERE. And all THIS STUFF won't matter at all. The interesting thing is that the stuff the Ingalls left behind were things that someone could use, not just used up old stuff either. They lived simply, not alot of clutter, not alot of unneccessary things. They did have special things - pa's fiddle, ma's cooking things and cupboard, but everything they had, except the plow, fit in the wagon. Could we fit everything we had into a covered wagon? I don't think so. It barely fits in our house.

So, I hold what I have with open hands, willing if God sees fit to take it, or tell me to LEAVE IT.

Read Alouds

Farmer Boy was about the life of Almonzo Wilder. He was a busy boy on a busy farm. This was a very detailed account and I found it interesting that he was always thinking about food. No wonder, he worked hard from before sunup to sundown. And the amount of food he ate was beyond my comprehension.







The Courage of Sarah Noble was the story of a girl who went with her father to cook for him as he built a house for the family. When the house was done, the girl had to stay with some indians until her father returned with the rest of the family.








Sarah Whitcher's Story is suppose to be true. A young girl wanders off and gets lost in the woods. She finds refuge with a bear (whom she mistakenly thinks is her big furry watchdog from home) Attempts to find her are futile until a stranger comes, who has had a dream revealing her whereabouts. Thanks are given to God, because He has answered their prayers through this stranger.








On the Banks of Plum Creek is about the Ingalls family's life on the open plains. When they first arrive, they move into an underground house. In time, a house is built and pa hopes to make money with the crops he grows. Laura and her sisters have a lot of fun and adventures.
Hard times do come though, storms and locusts (angry grasshoppers), and discouragement, and pa has to go miles away for work because the crops have failed.




Sarah, Plain and Tall surprised me. I had heard of it, but never read it. Didn't even know what it was about. Starts out sad. The mom had died and the dad has put out an ad for a new wife, someone to raise the children. Sarah answers the ad and moves a long way from her home to come and see if she is up to the task. Well, the children love her and want her to stay, but are unsure if she will stay. Sarah has a love for the sea (where she came from) and wonders if she will be happy so far from it.





Mountain Born was my favorite. I love stories about sheep and shepherds. Life raising sheep was vividly portrayed in these pages and the relationship between the boy and his special lamb, Biddy, I found very touching.









In Grandma's Attic is full of life lessons told to a granddaughter. In each short chapter, a wise old grandmother shares the mistakes she's made growing up to the delight of the listener.







I've enjoyed reading these books to my children this year. Of course, I won't stop reading during the summer. We may go back to reading The Boxcar Children books that we started last summer.