Reading

Our 4 year old has begun his phonics/reading lessons. We have so far looked at the short "a" words (not all of them yet). He is doing so well after only 3 days, I just had to post a video of our lesson today.
Mommy wrote down some of his words (all mixed up) and had him read them aloud. He is doing such a super job!!!



Sorry it's hard to read the words....the video doesn't show them as clearly when uploaded to the blog.

Homeschooling

I have started reading Teaching the Trivium by the Bluedorn's. I have heard alot about their book and finally got myself a copy! Now everyone knows I love homeschooling but it is not something I push onto people....that is for the Lord's leading in their lives. When I come across some good info though, I do like to share it! Here are just 2 passages so far that have really stuck out in the first 2 chapters.

No true education can take place without reference to God. Education is for a purpose. If the purpose does not have God in view, then it is godless education, and it will eventually produce godless results. The objective of education is not service to self, the community, business, church, or state, but service to God. Education which does not serve God is an empty education, and that emptiness will be filled by other gods to serve.....

Children are placed under the authority, and protection, and tutelage, not of the government, nor of the church, but of the parents. Parents are accountable to God for how their children are raised. Barring unusual and unavoidable circumstances, we- the parents- will answer to God for who raises our child, and for how they are raised. God is not going to place the primary blame for any failures upon the government, or upon the church, but upon us, the parents.

We have been given such a privilege to be able to teach our children at home. To hand over our children to the school system is really denying ourselves and our children a blessing that God has given to us!

Cowpens battlefield

Last week when we went to hubby's throat appointment (surgery is in July), we took a detour on the way home and visited the Cowpens battlefield - field trip!!! This was very appropriate as we had just finished reading about it in history. I'd love to go visit when they do the reenactment of it! I didn't have my camera with me, but we used the phone camera to capture a few pics of the afternoon.

Memorizing God's Word

After the kids finish their lunch, we move onto our verses. I've mentioned Sonbeams before and how much we are enjoying their Bible verses, lesson and songs. I made up a binder with a list of our verses from A to Z, then list the kids name beside it. It also contains the lesson and print work to go along with it. They each have to memorize groups of verses at a time (whatever their age is, so our 3 yr old has to memorize 3 verses before getting his stickers....etc). I've also made up an index card box with the verses so they are not memorizing 'in order' of the alphabet, but they can say the verse by looking at its reference. They also get a small 'reward' after each group of verses they learn. Some letters of the alphabet have more than one verse (C - for Children is Ephesians 6:1-3). They are absolutely loving it and it is music to my ears :) We have the CD in the car, so they are constantly listening and learning everyday.
Our oldest is on verse O, our boy is on verse K, and the 3yr old is on H. They are doing a great job!!

If you could also remember my grandpa in prayer right now. He has been suffering with the shingles for a week now and it has been taking a toll on him. I know he would appreciate all the prayer he can get!!

Updates

Some quick updates:
I celebrated a birthday. The kids (and daddy) made a very delicious pudding pie for me which was the first 'sweet' I've had since January! Was it ever good!!

I've been busy putting together our new school year curriculum/plan. It's been quite the task scheduling 3 children this year! We are doing several subjects together which we'll do the first half of the day and the then they break off for their independant work. We'll see how that works out. Our curriculum this year includes:
RightStart Math
Rod and Staff Reading/English
Alpha Phonics
Explode the Code
All about Spelling
Apologia Science (they want to do Zoology this year)
Truthquest History
Sonbeam's bible verses
Devotional (probably pick something from my Doorposts prize package!!)
Trail Guide to Bible Geography (we did World Geog last year)
.....So far we've already started our new math program with RightStart and we are all LOVING it!!! I wish I had known about it years ago! We've added Explode the Code this year which the kids are enjoying. I also found a website with some great free grammar worksheets I'll be adding. Our cursive/printing worksheets are the bible verses we are studying through Sonbeams.
If you need to add anything to your curriculum this year, check out Old Fashioned Education for all their FREE resources!! She has tons of stuff on there to homeschool K-12 for free.

We look forward to Resurrection Sunday tomorrow!! Such a special day to remember what our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ did for us. Death could not hold him in the grave...he is risen, is risen indeed!

Ruby's growing family

Here is some more of Ruby's family. I think it is actually turning into OUR family. There is mommy, daddy, and 2 sisters.....we will be making 2 brothers as well. Our daughter has been learning different stitches (whip stitch, blanket stitch) and she made the pouch to hold all the dolls in :)

Doll kits arrived!

So after posting about winning a beautiful piece of artwork, guess what came in the mail today! Our doll kits from Doorposts :) They sent us the complete Ruby doll kit and the complete Goldie doll kit ($65 worth). Today we made Ruby, and over this week we will make the rest of her family. Lots of fun!!
Here's Ruby!
We also want to wish Dad/Grandpa L a very happy birthday!!

Sonbeam Recommendation

This year we are memorizing 26 scripture verses, one for each letter of the alphabet. I want to recommend this resouce put out by Sonbeams. She has done a fantastic job of putting KJV verses to music so it is easy for children to memorize God's Word. If you visit this link, there are 4 sample songs to listen to. When we drove to Canada last week for grandma's funeral, the kids listened to this CD all the way there and back. By the time we got home, they had memorized several verses and loved singing along. Sonbeams also puts out a teachers guide to go with the CD for parents to teach a lesson with each verse. Here's the kid's singing the verse for letter A and B.

What does successful homeschooling look like?

Each homeschooling family looks different. What represents success for you may be different from the next family. What is your goal for your family as you homeschool? I love the cartoon that one of the speakers at the homeschool convention posted during his lecture.

Boastful Parents Homeschool Reunion
Man 1 - "My son graduated with honors and is now a doctor"
Man 2 - "My daughter graduated and is a successful high school teacher"
Man 3 - "My child loves the Lord!"

Whatever goals you have for your homeschooling years will reflect your curriculum choices, activities, etc. What does success look like to you? Is it graduating with good grades, entry into a prestigious university, a well paying job??? Is it a desire for your children to grow up grounded in the word of God, cultivating a servant's heart, growing in spiritual maturity? This is not to say that your children can not achieve academic excellence AND love the Lord, but as parents we need to decide what our primary focus for our children is going to be. When our focus is on their walk with God, academics will fall into place. We need to desire spiritual growth over academic achievement. When they stand before God, it is going to be their relationship with Him that matters, not if they have memorized all the States and capitals.

I love how Amanda Bennett brought to light what successful homeschooling was for her family. It was children firm in their faith, knowing right from wrong, respectful, curious/wanting to learn, helpful, using their gifts, go after their interests, self-motivated, likes to work together, self confident, and a desire to develop knowledge.

If you haven't done so, sit down and write out your goals for your children. Give them a vision for their future! Protect them from wrong influences and provide godly role models. Lay a solid foundation of scripture, give them training in godliness. Don't fall into the trap of following the world's ideals for education. Proverbs 1:8 lays it out for us as parents. Fathers, you are to instruct your children. That goes way beyond merely teaching them! Mothers, we are to teach our children. Teach them to acquire a taste for God's word from birth! What an awesome responsibility....to be bathed in prayer!!

Time to rest

What a weekend!!! Three days at a homeschool convention. My mind is overflowing with information, my heart has been encouraged and uplifted, I've been convicted and see areas needing change, I'm excited about our homeschool journey as a family :) I have so much I want to share that I've learned but it will have to wait...........I'm sooooo tired!! Early mornings, late nights, I haven't spent time with my children for 3 days, a hubby who has been willing to watch the kids but is needing some couple-time now....so as I process everything and catch up with my family, I will save the sharing part for another day :)

I can read!

I was getting the schoolwork ready this morning for the kids and I heard our 5 year old on the floor reading. I mean, really reading! He had gotten one of the Dr. Suess books down and was reading every word. I sat there listening and had such joy knowing God has given me this privilege to enjoy every stage of his learning, here with me, surrounded with his family who all came around him to listen and praise his efforts.


(had to do it in 2 parts...can only upload small videos)

Great thought for the day

I LOVE what I read today in my inbox from Teaching Good Things. One of the most important things about educating our children at home.......

Relationship
-Don't sacrifice your relationship with your child over getting school done.
-Do not squeeze them into a box while you crush their spirit. Education is not a one size fits all.
-Always expect THEIR best, not yours. Just because you excel at something does not mean they will. Push them to their limits, but not over the edge.
-If one of you (or both of you), are crying, angry or frustrated at the end of the day, take a breather and connect your hearts. Make sure they know your love is not based on passing a test.
-If what you are doing is not working, draw back, get recommendations from others and tweak your approach and/or curriculum!
-If you have your child's heart and your relationship is good, they will put forth extra efforts to do a good job. If they feel stupid, or that they can never measure up, they will quit trying and cut you off emotionally.
-A passing grade, certificate, diploma or degree is never worth damaging your relationship. The relationship MUST come first.

I think when Mom's are just starting out with homeschooling, there is a certain pressure felt to know we are doing a good job and that we are capable of teaching our children. Our efforts are very much put into showing that our children are getting good grades and that they are accomplishing more than their public education peers. Sometimes this can strain our relationship with our children because we feel like WE are the ones under a microscope being watched! Ohhhh how much I learned through the first 2 years especially from homeschooling. How many of these points listed above I had to experience before coming to the realization that I am not out to prove anything. I am called of God to teach my children more than just academics but to teach them how to be soldiers for the Lord. I have them only for a short time to guide and help mold them into the individuals God wants them to be. Homeschooling is soooo much more than academic knowledge!!!
At the end of the day, did we help to shape their spiritual lives or were we more concerned with how well they knew their phonics rules and math equations?
Our priority should be their heart first, then their mind.

Quote

I came across this quote today from Martin Luther back in the 16th century:

"I am much afraid the school will prove to be the great gate of hell unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures, engraving them in the hearts of youth. I advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures do not reign paramount. Every institution in which men are not unceasingly occupied with the Word of God must become corrupt."

Class Planner

I love this Class Planner I found!! It has eveything you need in one book for a year of record keeping for your child.

"Each subject has daily slots for a week's worth of assignments; quizzes or tests; and main concepts to master. There's also room for concepts that need to be re-emphasized and the date review was completed. A monthly fill-in-the-date square calendar is also included. Charts include reading lists, physicians list, report cards, academic records, high school curriculum plan, transcript, projects, field trips, vacation schedules, prayer journal and more."

Volcanoes

Three of the 4 kids are down with a cold so daddy headed off to church alone this morning. Let me tell you this is 11 colds for our 13 month old! Pitiful!!

So since we have been reading about volcanoes in our science class (we are on the planet Mars now....yes, it has been slow going!!) and since our son got a volcano science kit for Christmas, we thought we'd have some fun this morning. We first made a small one all together, but the kids each wanted to make their own..... messy but fun!

Volcano = baking soda, flour, water

Lava = warm water, citric acid

School updates

What's been going on in school lately?

Our 5 year old has started cursive writing and doing an excellent job!! I decided to start him on cursive because he is very good with writing his greek alphabet (which is alot more flowy and curvy than our alphabet). He's only been at it a week and has learned l, h, k, t, i, u, e

I've been doing a Revelation study with our 8 year old and we are both enjoying it sooo much! They have many books in the series (Genesis, James, John, etc..). She has been learning alot and it has opened the door to discuss many, many spiritual things concerning heaven and the end times etc. This link lets you look at all the books....

After our trip to Alabama to visit some friends, I was introduced to All About Spelling (thank you Letisha!) I am loving it!! I'm going through it with our 5 and 8 yr old. During the lesson you use magnetic tiles to teach them spelling (phonics) rules.

Our 3 year old has been having fun with the greek alphabet! He knows it better than our alphabet :) Here is a video of the first 18 letters.

alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epslion, zeta, eta, theta, iota, kappa, lambda, mu, nu, xi, omicron, pi, rho, sigma

Stewardship Street

I was asked if we paid our kids for chores and the answer is....no and yes. Our kids have daily chores that are teaching them responsibility because they are apart of the family. These chores and not paid for. Examples are making bed, brushing teeth, cleaning up toys, vacuuming, setting/clearing off table, sweeping, folding laundry and putting away.....These are things that need to be done because you live in this house and we work together as a family unit.

Then we come to our Stewardship Street, which is from Doorposts, that is teaching our kids financial responsibility. We have finally completed it and are ready to get started!!
We have set aside some chores like cleaning/vacuuming the van, yard work, cleaning windows etc....that are 'chores' done to earn money. With the money earned, we have a chart that divides the kids earnings into percentages.
On Stewardship Street, we have a church, a missions house, a toy store, a bank, our home, and a store(for gifts). There are 2 rows ...one for our 7 year old and one for our 5 yr old. When they earn their money we divide up the earnings between all of these buildings on Stewardship Street.

We teach that it is important to give the first part of your earnings back to God....tithe.
Then it is important to give to missions....We have a specific family we will be supporting.
Our toy store is for buying whatever the kids desire.
The bank is for savings that will not be touched until they are much older.
Our home is where they will buy some living expenses...ex. if they need new crayons, pencils, doodling paper.
Then lastly we have a store to save up for birthday gifts, Christmas gifts,...gifts in general that they want to get for others.

I just love this idea and look forward to the kids getting a good grasp on the importance of being responsible with their money!

Counting money

Here was today's lesson in money. So far he has learned about the dime and penny. We tried a couple different drills today and he did super! I was so proud of him :) I think this might finally help him understand place values (he's been struggling with that one!)
I think he is also enjoying his 'responsibility' lessons that I blogged about earlier. Today he asked me "Can I go sweep the leaves off the deck cause I want to be a responsible young man?"....so cute!

"How much do you have?" I love how he has to line them up just so....

"Give me this much."

Helping our sons

I love posting about new curriculums I find that I LOVE! I just got Lessons in Responsibility for Boys and I've started going through it with my 5 year old. He really enjoyed his first lesson, and from looking through the table of contents and skimming through it....there are some great topics we are going to be discussing! They teach boys how to be responsible, not only to God, but to others and how to make responsible decisions on their own. He learns a verse each chapter to go along with the topic. I love the chapter about being a protector to his sister's (either older or younger!) and the chapter about being Daddy's shadow. I'm really looking forward to this one-on-one study with him. Today was learning about what it means to be responsible and how to be responsible toward God. Our verse concentrated on loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Check out other materials from Pearables!

Human Body study

Today we finally finished our human body study. It was really fun and interesting! (If you're interested in the book go here) I think the kids learned alot from it and it is something we will have to do again. Here's some pics from this morning.
Hubby is also doing well. Yesterday we caught up on sleep....we were both exhausted!