Okay, so just share...

Well, I was trying to post a video to my blog from a friend's facebook page and it didn't quite workout. I did post the video on my facebook page, so those of you who are my friends, can come on over there an watch it. It is a hilarious video (made by a homeschooled girl) that points out the difference between being homeschooled and homeschoolers. It gave me a nice chuckle. Anyway, I tried to post it here, to no avail. Maybe Chris will help me figure it all out.

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C'mon! NO NEW FOLLOWERS?

Okay, so I'm trying to be rational about this. I've sent my blog address to people. I've posted it on my facebook page. I've even ASKED my husband AND my best friend to become followers; but there she sits, my one little follower, lonely in the top right-hand corner (Thanks, Mom, btw). What does a woman have to do to get a follower around here?

All our Five in a Row lessons end with, "I love you"...

In my former life I was an English teacher. I love to read, love literature. I never in a million years thought I would be homeschooling. When I was faced with this, then daunting task, someone told me about Five in a Row. I borrowed a manual from a friend and it was love at first sight. I loved the format of it. I loved the literature in it. I loved the freedom of it. I loved that it made learning less complicated than other curriculums. But, most of all I loved the gentleness of it. It seemed such a natural way to teach my child, through conversation, as we had been doing since he entered this world. Since the beginning, my son has loved FIAR. Our first row with Ping went so well, it gave me the confidence that YES, I could homeschool my son. Over the last few years my son has made little comments like our FIAR lesson is the best part of the day; but what has been happening lately has really impressed upon me the fact that I KNOW we are on the right path. We've been rowing [I]Arabella[/I] by Wendy Orr. We live by the beach, so "sea" books are always a good choice for us. We have been enjoying the lessons so much that I've noticed at the end of our lesson we've been ending with an, "I love you." FIAR truly is the highlight of the day for me and my son. I can't imagine any other curriculum where it draws mother and child so close together. I feel so blessed to have come across FIAR. I am so thankful to the Lamberts for giving me this opportunity with my child. Thank you, thank you, thank you and may God continue to bless your family and your ministry to homeschooling families.

Hummingbirds...

Well, today was a wonderful day of exploring nature. We had the opportunity to get up-close-and-personal with some hummingbirds. We traveled to Rockport to the annual Hummingbird Festival. We chose to go on our own self-guided tour of the homes. We visited two sites. The first was a public garden and we saw maybe two hummers. The second site was a private home that had several feeders and a lots of hummers for us to observe. The highlight of the day, however, came on our last stop when the kids got to experience the banding of the birds. This is where they catch the birds and record data about them and place a tiny tag on them. This allows them to track the birds for future data. After each bird was recorded our kids got to release the birds. It was AWESOME!! I love hummingbirds to start out with, but today I realized why I love them so much. They are so delicate and dainty, beautiful creatures. They are spry little creatures too, flitting here and there almost faster than your eye can take them in. They remind me of my beautiful children, also wonderful works of God!

For everything there is a season...

Thank you to my beautiful friend, Jody, for keeping me grounded today. It just amazes me how only a brief conversation with a true friend can change your perspective. In a short amount of time, I have come to know this friend so well, that she says exactly what I need to hear. God blesses those of us who are so transitory with others who share our "plight". I thank God for bringing her friendship to me. Today was a real whopper of a day, at least it started out as such. We didn't get through one lesson until lunch, actually, I'm not sure if we ever finished it. Sometimes you just have to MOVE ON! After lunch things got better. I instituted a new event into our school, MUFFIN TIN MONDAY. It is an idea I had read on another homeschooling mom's blog. Basically the gist is that you put little food items in a muffin tin for the lunch meal. What's the big deal? You're probably asking yourself. Well, I guess it is the inventiveness of it all. How creative can I get? Today, not very. I had some ham slices (and, yes, Noah ate the ham - mission accomplished), nuts, craisens, crispy Chinese noodles, and some chocolate chips (and a yogurt for Noah). Some moms have themes and really get into it. I just like the idea that if you serve food to them in something unconventional you might actually get them to eat something out of their "safety zone". Aiden so wanted a muffin tin like the other kids, but he had to settle with a small bowl. There was no way I was letting him at a whole tin of anything. It would have been dog food for sure. Speaking of Aiden...he's added another component to his Marco Polo game. Before he would just say, "Mamaaa" and I would answer him, "Aidennn", and that would continue over and over and over and over until he got tired of it. Well, now it seems that "Wowahhhhh" has been added to the mix. And, it isn't just in a normal voice, it is about 3x the normal volume. Sometimes he even puts his hands on his cheeks (think cupping your hands around your mouth to make your voice project) sometimes and yells even louder. It is hilarious and adorable all at the same time. I just love that boy. He brings me so much joy. As do the other two...

Noah's love of reading has taken off. He has been devouring the series called The Spiderwick Chronicles. Tonight he read book 5 in less than an hour. I'm not sure exactly what the reading level is as it just says 7+. It is so amazing to see his abilities and his love of reading grow. I'd like to think that Chris and I nurtured that in him. I just hope we have with the other two.

Caitlyn did so well with school today. We've been working on her following directions instead of just doing whatever work she WANTS to do. Normally she colors everything pink (her favorite color). Today she actually colored an apple red, then commented, "I'm coloring the apple red, except for the leaf, they are green." I was overjoyed and a little saddened all at the same time. How I'd love to go back to the days where everything seems rosy pink! But today I just counted it as a success. We have been rowing (Before Five in a Row) Jessie Bear, What will you wear? and she's loving it. Aiden and Noah even sat with us while we read it and they had a good time as well.

Well, I better get to bed. I'm trying to turn over a new leaf as far as going to bed early. It seems, though, God set my internal clock a little differently. My most productive hours: 10:00am - 2:00pm and 4:00pm - midnight. Maybe God just knows I need a nap!

Another good day...

Today wa another good day. Today we talked about the elements of a
short story and identified some of the elements in our story,
ARABELLA. Noah is so good with literature. It makes me so proud
sometimes. Then, we looked through the book THE MYSTERIES OF HARRIS
BURDICK and started writing a short story. Noah is all about the
dialogue, which is funny because I've always found it to be the
hardest part of a story to write. Well, I better end this for now,
have to watch Glee!

Sent from my iPhone

Aiden enjoys the Pixter...

Chris, read this

Okay, here it is...enjoy!

Sent from my iPhone

Why are boys just SO loud?

All the kids SHOULD be in bed already. Caitlyn is silently listening to her birds chirp on her mobile as she drifts off to dreamland. The boys on the other hands are squealing, shouting, laughing, roaring so loudly I'm amazed that the girl can even HEAR her music. When Noah was little I just thought maybe it was just Noah that was so loud. Now there's Aiden, and he's loud too. Maybe they just come by it honestly, I'll be the first to admit that I'm loud at times (no rude comments, Chris and Paula). Sometimes I just crave quietness. But, I guess that is what bedtime is for...when they actually go to bed. I have to admit, though, I do enjoy hearing their noises. It certainly is better than having no noises at all. In that sense, quietness makes me a bit nervous. I know that when there is quietness there is about to be glue in the carpet, my make-up smeared all over some little face, milk spilled EVERYWHERE. So I guess I really do like the noise. I guess I like to keep them within my hearing (instead of "at close reach").

Some days I just LOVE my job...

Today we started our study of ARABELLA by Wendy Orr (Five in a Row Volume 4). It is the beautiful story of a boy and his grandfather. The grandfather lives on an island, which the boy visits for the summer. Through out the summer the grandfather teaches the boy to sail. Noah and I discussed the advantages and disadvantages of living on an island. We theorized about where the story takes place, looking up all sorts of information in our atlas. We snuggled and shared and just enjoyed being together...I wouldn't trade a day like today for anything in the world. We read the poem, "The Tide Rises; The Tide Falls" by Longfellow and discussed how the repetition in the poem mimics the incoming/outgoing waves. Ahhh, heaven! After that lesson I felt as if today was a success. No need to do spelling...enjoy the success...Did I say how much I love my job?

Aiden gets his way

Notice how happy markers make him!

Marker fun

Labor day study

Anything he can do I can do better...

Aiden really thinks he should be able to do anything the older kids
can do. I gave Noah a highlighter to use while he read an article on
Charles Goodyear and Aiden had a fit to use markers! So, it was
markers for everyone!

Sent from my iPhone

Very cool...

I can't get over how easy this blog site is compared to homeschool blogger! I've now figured out how to change some aspects of my layout (notice my new Irish themed one) and even how to post from my iphone. Ahhh, technology! Well, I better stop playing on here and try to get Noah through his math. He's having a hard day with school today (Yes, we ARE having school on labor day - it's one way I can take a day off as needed later!). Evidently, he got up early this morning and started playing his video game, thus, supporting Melissa's theory that video games before 11:00 am turns your brains to mush!

Testing

This is mike number one, this is mike number one, isn't this a lot of
fun.

Sent from my iPhone

The first day of school for Noah (3rd grade). - 8/24/2009

The first day of school for Caitlyn (pre-k) - 8/24/2009

First post of my new blog...

Well, I've been trying to do better at documentation these days. This year I am tracking attendance for our homeschool, as well as keeping lists of books that the kids read for school and pleasure. I am also trying better to keep a record of Noah's grades. Texas doesn't require anything in the way of records, but I need to be in practice in case we move to a state that does require records. I also want to be in the practice of keeping a record of our everyday life. I recently read a blog entry by Steve Lambert (of Five in a Row - the curriculum we use), that encouraged homeschooling moms to keep a record of some sort; whether it be journal, blog or the like, of the daily happenings of our school. His post really made me start thinking about my lonely little homeschooling blog and made me want to pick blogging back up again. I can just print out my blog and keep a copy for the kids to read someday. For you see, the little moments are the beauty of homeschooling. I get to see my kids be silly with each other. I get to see the light bulb in their little heads go off. I get to teach them to read. How lucky am I! I want them to know what a blessing all of these little moments are to me! So, today is a new day. (Okay, it is really night, but you get the picture.) I am starting afresh with blogging. I am committing to making it better. I am dedicating time to keeping record of the beautiful little moments of our lives together. I know this life is fleeting. I know there are only blink-of-an-eye moments and then our precious ones are all grown up. I know that we must count our blessings daily!