First Day Success

We have started our school year in the middle of a big move. We started the process of purchasing a house back in March. Our plan was to buy it, move in and use the summer to organize everything. Funny how life doesn't happen the way you plan it. We waited 4 long months for this purchase to go through (it's a long story). We closed on it end of July and we just moved in last weekend. I moved our school start date back twice. I seriously didn't want to wait to start in September, although I guess I could have since homeschooling gives me that kind of flexibility.  Anyway. The kids have been asking to do school work again (imagine that!) so I decided to go for it.  I was able to get all of our curriculum books and very basic supplies organized on a small shelf, just enough for us to begin. And we are sitting in the middle of the move pile in our dining room. Enjoy the pictures and don't look at all the boxes and such.  :-)

Checking out new school supplies. 

Checking out new books. 

Learning the globe.

 Land vs. water. 

Exploring

wooden shape blocks.

Chalkboard

writing. 

Future performers

We are going to have a fantastic school year! 

Creative Chore Chart Ideas

This is a chore chart made of felt. Seriously! It is! And HERE is where you can read about it and learn how to make it, should it float your boat. It's floating my boat!  Ha Ha Ha

I don't remember how I came across this, but I think it is BRILLIANT! It's creative, it's fun and I think it will be very motivational for my children.  They are into being big helpers right now, but I think this will give them a boost. 

And HERE is an ice cream cone chore chart. I like these ideas very much!


I'm not into felt and I'm not sure about making a cheeseburger, but this has inspired me to come up with a creative chore chart of my own.  I am currently working on an apple tree chart made from construction paper (to be laminated for duration) just in time for the fall. I hope to make more seasonal ones for Christmas, Winter and Spring. When I am done, I will share what I have created. In the mean time, check out these chore charts and be inspired! 

Character Concepts

Thanks to my friend Jill, I discovered a very good an excellent Bible curriculum a few months ago.  It's called Character Concepts. This curriculum is a tool for parents to teach their children good character qualities such as obedience, patience, respectfulness, responsibility, kindness, etc.... Children learn each character quality with a simple definition (that is easy to understand and remember), a corresponding scripture, an example of a real life story, a story of someone in history, and an example out of the Bible. It also comes with academic activities, but I've already gotten other plans. Anyway. We haven't started our new school year yet, but we have begun these lessons. 

This curriculum is written by Rick & Marilyn Boyer, who home schooled their many children. They  just basically wrote down how they taught their own children. I don't know about anyone else's children, but mine needed some character training a long time ago and I just didn't know how to do it. This curriculum comes with a Mom's Guide book that gives me lots of different ideas of how to teach these character qualities on a practical level. There is also a book called Leading Little Ones to God, which the curriculum strongly suggests, to teach Bible doctrine. It is so good fantastic! One lesson out of that book explains God on a child's level (without watering anything down), a suggested passage out of the Bible to read, a hymn to sing and an example prayer to pray with the children. I am loving it! I am also encouraged and enjoy reading the Boyer's blog. It's so good. (Can you tell I am just thrilled about this new find?!? LOL)

I really want to get Uncle Rick's Audio collection, but that's going to have to wait for now. 

Did I mention that this goes all the way through high school level? That excites me!

I know my children need this training pretty badly, but I am needing it just as much as them!

All Things New: My Testimony

God has been doing an awesome work in my life these past few months. Homeschooling my children has played a vital role in this miracle and I wanted to share it. It's a little lengthy so bear with me. 

I grew up in church. I learned all the Bible stores, songs, & memory verses. However, God was not real in my home as a child, and therefore He was not real in my life. I completely missed the point. I got to such a prideful place that I truly did not see my own sin. For 35 years, I tried to earn salvation by following the list of "do's" and "don'ts", the "church rules".  I just went through the motions, never abandoning myself, surrendering to God. For 35 years I struggled with pride, wore a mask and "faked it". My outward person looked real good, but I was dying on the inside.  It took living with my in-laws and trying to homeschool 2 young children for me to see who I really was. My true sinful-self was being reflected in my children. Upon seeing this, I began to try to overcome.... in my own strength. I was still depending on myself to make changes that only God Almighty could make and I was still making it about the list of rules, rather than a relationship with God. I struggled and fought this way for 2 years. Fear and anxiety began to grip me severely. I began to feel my soul dying and crying out for help. Night after night I would weep over the condition of my heart, cold and stony. I wept over my sins and still struggling to overcome in my own strength. Still hanging on to my own understanding, I felt that I didn't deserve to ask God to help me. After all, I wasn't even following the rules anymore. I continued to just wear the mask and wallowing in self-pity. February 15, 2013, I  reached my lowest point and reached out to a few people. My precious friend from KC, Wendi, and my Pastor, Mark began to intercede for me and ministered to me. It was that night that my eyes were opening to God's love for me. God loves me indeed! About 10 days later came the realization that I needed God Almighty to give me a heart transplant. I needed the stony cold heart taken out and a new heart of flesh to be given as mentioned in Ezekiel 36:25-27:

"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."

For 3 months I could pray only this scripture and praises to God. Nothing more. Nothing less. Then on a Friday night in May (wish I remembered the exact date here), a few people of our congregation came together for prayer. Words cannot express the beauty of the Holy Spirit freely working in that prayer meeting! Dorothy came in a little later and the ladies were led to pray for her. She asked us to pray for Tim, for his heart. She explained how has had so much hurt and his heart was hard and cold. (no kidding!)  We prayed. She was sitting in a chair. I knelt down with one of my hands on her leg and I began to pray Ezekiel 36:25-27 for Tim. I understood his burden and my heart broke for him. I wept for him. I didn't know it that night, but as I prayed for someone else, something clicked in my heart. My breakthrough came. A couple of weeks later, I desperately surrendered my life, my will, my desires to God and asked Him to not let this be any more lip service. I was desperate to get rid of myself and to receive more of Him, of His Spirit. I surrendered and surrendered several times that week. Our Pastor was holding a water baptism service on June 9, 2013. I decided that I would make this proclamation of surrendering to God known. I would publicly proclaim that I am turning my back on sin and anything the world has to offer. I publicly proclaimed that I was done living life on my own strength. I publicly proclaimed that I am new and I have crucified my flesh, abandoned myself to be God's servant, no matter what happens. Before I stepped into that water, I knelt on the stairs and asked God to make this the beginning of my new life IN HIM.  

2 Corinthians 5:16-17

         "Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

I am made new. I am redeemed! 

The words of the song “What Do I Know of Holy” can really sum it all up for me:

I made You promises a thousand times

I tried to hear from Heaven, But I talked the whole time

I think I made You too small, I never feared You at all No

If You touched my face would I know You?

Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

(CHORUS)

What do I know of You Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood But the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury? Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out

I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about

How You were mighty to save

Those were only empty words on a page

Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be

The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?

And a God who gave life "its" name?

What do I know of Holy?

Of the One who the angels praise?

All creation knows Your name

On earth and heaven above

What do I know of this love?

What do I know of You Who spoke me into motion?

Where have I even stood But the shore along Your ocean?

Are You fire? Are You fury? Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?

What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

Fun Math Games

We have had some fun with math this week. Adelle has struggled with math this school year so I came up with a couple of fun games to help her learn the math facts. 

A couple of months ago I found a Hooked On Math set at a Used Books store in Missouri. The set was complete and covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. So, I picked it up. Adelle has had trouble learning the Addition Facts from our current curriculum, so I opened up this HOM set. It begins with a simple addition game.

DIRECTIONS

*The first player, Adelle,  rolls the number dice. The number on each die represents the addends - the numbers to be added. 

*Adelle selects the same number of beans or game markers (we used counting bears) as shown on each die and puts them in the two circles. 

*Adelle then puts the the numbers together by counting all of the beans/markers and writes down the answer (the sum) on a piece of paper. 

*She removes the beans/markers so Jonathan can play. He follows the same directions. I took a turn too!

*The player with the higher sum wins a point. 

*They continue until each of them has rolled the dice 5-10 times. 

*The player with the most winning rounds wins. 

Addition Bingo! 

Using a wet erase marker, I drew some squares on a cookie sheet that we use specifically for wet/dry erase activities. Then I placed one addition fact for each square. I made number cards, which are the sums for each fact. Adelle had to place the sum card on the correct addition fact. Wipe off the facts and write different ones. Adelle did this a couple of times. She did very well making only a 2 mistakes. 

     

And then I found this little fun game at our homeschool used book sale last weekend. It's Count and Add with Froggy. We like to read the Froggy books, so what better way to learn addition and counting?!? This game is easy easy. Put your Froggy game piece at the Start spot. Roll the number dice. Add the numbers together and move that many spaces. If you land on a space that has directions, follow those directions. The first player to get to the end wins! 

The kids have had fun with these math games. We will play them and replay them. I hope it really helps Adelle learn her math facts. 

Happy adding!

Moments to Remember ~ Classroom Anywhere!

Moments to Remember was developed as a simple way to look back on our week as homeschoolers and find photos that encompass the memories we want to remember. 

The week may have been tough, there may have been more bumps than smiles, but in the end these are the moments that keep us going, the ones we need to remember.

      

We had lessons OUTSIDE today! 

It wasn't too humid yet and the kids enjoyed the change of scenery. 

Who says we have to learn indoors all the time?

Kids in the Kitchen ~ Mini Pizzas

Miniature Ham Pizzas

Yes, we are on a pizza kick. LOL We just had some left over ingredients from our pizza balls, so we decided to make miniature pizzas today. Super easy, kid friendly and delish!

Ingredients:

     *1 english muffin per child, cut in half 

     *About 1/2 jar of pizza sauce

     *Several slices deli ham, chopped into 1-inch pieces

     *1-2 C. shredded mozzarella cheese. 

You can add any kind of topping you'd like with any kind of cheese you like. I would've added onion and green bell pepper finely chopped, but my kids don't like those toppings. I've made these pizzas with hamburger buns before, however, my favorite is the english muffin. You could probably use regular bread too. I'll have to try that sometime.   *Grin* 

     

Directions:

     *Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

     *Cut apart the english muffins. One muffin makes 2 pizzas.

     *Spread pizza sauce onto each english muffin half.

     *Sprinkle cheese over sauce. 

     *Spread ham pieces over cheese. 

     *Cover with more cheese. We like ours super cheesy! 

     *Bake in oven for about 10-13 minutes. 

     *Let cool for a couple of minutes.

     *Enjoy!

Add some fruit and/or veggie on the side with a glass of milk and you have yourself a complete meal. 

Happy creating!