The Homeschool Mother's Journal for 1/26

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In my life this week…

Well it looks like it’s going to be cold! We have about 6” of snow outside right now and it’s not going to be melting anytime soon. I look forward to more fun playing outside, but also staying toasty warm in the house. I have some cards to mail out. I plan on enjoying more of my language studies as I help review the Mango Language curriculum with Little Brtiches. It’s rather fun to learn a new language and it helps him do better with it too.  My sweetheart is trying to see if he can get out of work this week because the weather is going to be so nasty. Being a mechanic, means winter weather increases his workload because of frozen lines and the like. I won’t mind having him home this week!

In our homeschool this week…

We are continuing our journey westward with American Pioneers. We will also be continuing our science studies using Science4Us.com as part of our review. We will be using Mango languages for our foreign language study of Spanish. And continuing our music with Kinderbach which Baby Britches is really enjoying.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

For now we are going to enjoy not going anywhere…sometimes that’s a thing to enjoy!

My favorite thing this week was…

Hmmm. I enjoyed getting the new snow! It made everything white and clean again. Taking away the muddiness of melted winter.

My kiddos favorite thing this week was…

Definitely starting Science4Us.com as Little Britches is a huge Science lover. I would say a close 2^nd place was the snow!

Things I’m working on…

I’m trying to finish a greeting card order for a friend. I’ve been so busy these days with school that I just don’t have the time or energy to work on my old hobby. I am also working on making parts CD’s for my women’s choir. We are going to be performing mid-March so I need to get our song out to everyone to work on. I love it, but it takes a bit of time getting the CD’s burned and mailed out.

I’m cooking…

Well I made a Venison Sausage Barley Vegetable soup which was supposed to be for our church potluck yesterday….but since the weather cancelled that, we get to enjoy it this week!

I’m grateful for…

Can I say my woodstove again this week? I love that thing. Last weekend we were in SC and my aunt and uncle’s house was so cold with its furnace heat! We were never warm enough! We just got spoiled with our wood heat and anyone who has it knows what I’m talking about!

I rewarded my kids this week by…

Making homemade cocoa. Oh the boys love that stuff!

A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

About 6" of snow on Saturday! Isn't it pretty?

The Homeschool Mother's Journal Post for 1/19

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• In my life this week…
I am going to be working on a lot of blogging. It’s a great 5 days of Homeschooling Essentials blog series. I am also co-hosting a great iPad Mini Giveaway going on now thru midnight January 28th so make sure you get entered. I am also going to be starting a new piano student and just trying to get caught up on some random things around the house.

• In our homeschool this week…
We are going to be working three of our new review products this week which is very very exciting. I’m looking forward to our science reviews as I know the boys will. We are going to be starting our Pioneer studies of the River trail. We love learning about new states and more history of the westward expansion. Math this week is adding three three-digit numbers which is very exciting! Our English works with writing postcards and addresses.

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We are travelling home today from our road trip and visit to my aunt’s home in South Carolina. It was so nice to spend time with she, my uncle and my cousin. She’s in the middle of fighting cancer so every moment spent with her is a treasure. We also visited my great-aunt which is a joy as she’s in her 80’s but you’d never know it. I treasure all the moments with extended family I love.

• My favorite thing this week was…
Definitely our visit to South Carolina. It was a treat!

• My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
Visiting my aunt and playing with all her toys and visiting the museum.

• Things I’m working on…
Menu Planning. I don’t do it, but I think I need to. Any recommendations??

• I’m cooking…
Coconut Chocolate Chip cookies…mmmm…

• I’m grateful for…
The ability to travel to my aunts home. To spend what little time we have left with her. To share our love and try to make as many memories as we possibly can.

• I’m praying for…
My aunt. Her next treatment is Monday and her next scan is February 7th. We are hoping that the cancer is either shrinking or at the very least stabilized. She’s been battling since 2005 when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. She’s been in remission three times but for never more than 6-8 months.

• Something I am ogling or have my eye on…

Anne of Green Gables Boxed DVD Set

Oh please please please!!! I *need* this! LOL!

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

Love my sweet aunt...my mom's only sibling and only member left of her own family.

Check back in tomorrow as we kick of our first 5 day series of the year: 5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal Post for 1/12

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• In my life this week…
I have several cards I need to mail, some organizing to do, some seeds to go through and catalog (so I don’t rebuy them this spring), some planning of our food for our road trip on Thursday and hopefully making choir rehearsal tapes for my Women’s Choir at church. Oh and I’ll be receiving my material for my first two reviews for Schoolhouse Review crew! So eager to get started!

• In our homeschool this week…
We’ve got an abbreviated week. We will only be doing “scheduled” school Monday-Wednesday. Thursday will be a road trip down to South Carolina and Friday will hopefully be a field trip to somewhere down there which I will turn into an educational experience! LOL!

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
As I hinted, we are taking a road trip this week. We’ve been trying to work out a date to visit my aunt down in South Carolina for the past 2 years! But it’s just not worked out, mostly due to her treatment for her cancer. But we FINALLY pinned down a trip for this 3rd weekend of January. She hasn’t seen us since Baby Britches was still a baby—before he was walking. So she is eager to see us.

• My favorite thing this week was…
Celebrating a 100% score on a math assignment

• My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
Science. Yes, I actually was able to work on two science experiments this week and we had quite a lot of fun!

• Things I’m working on…
Catching up on printing out digital photos. I am the WORST about that. But I just placed a 100+ print order on Snapfish and look forward to getting it later this week. Then I have picture frames to start filling!

• I’m cooking…
Hmm. I have a few casseroles to try out. And I need to make some treats for us to take with us on our road trip.

• I’m grateful for…
Clean Water. My friend lives just one state over in West Virginia in one of the counties affected by the horrible contamination disaster going on right now. She has to haul her three kids to her husband’s navy base just to take showers. And she has large fish tanks and pets so she’s having a horrible time juggling getting enough water.

• I’m praying for…
All the people affected by the water contamination in WV but especially my friends who live in the area dealing with this. It’s scary indeed and you don’t realize until you don’t have it how much we take clean water for granted.

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

These silly boys will happily drink smoothies FULL of greens...as long as they get to put it in themselves. They like watching the vortex suck it in and ALWAYS declare them to be the BEST smoothies we've made so far. LOL!

the Homeschool Mother's Journal Post for 1/5

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• In my life this week…
Let’s see. I’m on a normal schedule without anything extra worked in this week…well, except for maybe all the CRAZY winter weather we are going to get. Um, yeah. High of 7…SEVEN degrees tomorrow with a low of -12. After the last few summers being so mild, this weather is a doozy! Brrrrrrrrr…But I have no plans that require going outside, so I’m good! LOL! And I’m thankful that I don’t live in Antarctica. Or maybe even like New York during the time of the book Farmer Boy in the 1800’s when it was a high of -30. Um. No.

I am also excited to get started with our first “real” review for the The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew! We are putting in our preferences now and we will be getting our first assignment soon! I look forward to seeing which of the great vendors I will get to experience and share with all of you!

• In our homeschool this week…
We are doing three digit numbers with and without regrouping (carrying) which is exciting. We are also diving back into America History with our movement towards Daniel Boone! I love this because Daniel Boone was a big part of our state (Kentucky) history—we have Fort Boonesborough nearby and we recently visited it. We have some more states to learn as we walk westward…we both are enjoying that and he’s retaining a LOT of what he is learning. Cursive is almost done and we will be moving into our next handwriting book before too long. We will be learning how to write Postcards this week as we continue our work with adjectives and adverbs. We will be making a soda bottle feeder and stringing some popcorn and berries for the winter birds.

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
I am hoping that soon we will be taking a trip down to South Carolina to visit my aunt and her family. She’s in various stages of treatment for cancer and she will have a break that will allow us to come and visit.

• My favorite thing this week was…
Playing in the snow! We had about 3” on Friday and had a fun snow day!

• My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
Definitely the same as mine! Snow!!

• Things I’m working on…
Continuing my focus on my word of the year—FAITHFUL. So far so good. I’ve done pretty well finishing what I start in these first few days of the new year. I know I’m still getting started, but I WANT this…I feel like I can do it and if I do get the habit of being faithful under my belt I will have accomplished so much!

• I’m cooking…
Hmmm. Let’s see. It’s definitely soup and chili weather so I absolutely have those two things in my sights this week! I am also going to do up some bread. I wish I had some sourdough starter because I have a thing for sourdough bread. It’s the carb love of my life. LOL!

• I’m grateful for…
Warmth. Family. And usually mild winters....and homemade hot cocoa for the cold ones!

• I’m praying for…
Friends who have health problems. My “aunt-in-love” who just had major angioplasty surgery. And as always a blessing for our family this year in the form of a baby. We have been trying for 3 years as of this month…but we know that God is always in control and He knows what we need, as well as what we want so we just keep praying and then just pouring our love out over the family we have. To enjoy the gifts we are already blessed with.

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

Baby Britches is in love with our new citrus juicer and always wants to "Do self! No mommy help!" Thankfully there aren't any sharp parts or complicated pieces and he CAN do it without much help.

The Homeschool Mother's Journal for Dec 30th

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• In my life this week…
We are hoping to stay in track! We did some great work yesterday cleaning and clearing out STUFF…you know. The things that get accumulated…extra clothes that don’t get warn. Random boxes and bags. Things here and there. I took THREE garbage bags of clothes to Goodwill yesterday! It felt SOOO good! LOL!

I was also blessed with a new vehicle AND a new washer and dryer. My husband told me it was my most expensive “birthday” yet! LOL! It was one of those scenarios where everything just died—well not the car, but everything else. I actually ENJOYED doing laundry this weekend because I could do it so quickly!

• In our homeschool this week…
Just trucking along with our state studies. We are also enjoying our book Farmer Boy and the studies around that. We are working on stacking double digit numbers in math for addition and subtraction. This week we will also be making a soda bottle bird feeder and string some popcorn and berries to hang out for the birds still around this winter. We are enjoying our bird studies.

• Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
Prayer. The power of prayer every morning specifically for school does WONDERS for our family. Attitudes are much better and the focus is there. I will sometimes be in the middle of a crazy hectic schoolday and then go “Wait! We didn’t pray today!” It makes THAT big of a difference!

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We have my sister-in-law and my husband’s cousin in until after New Years so we are enjoying seeing them every day.

• My favorite thing this week was…
Getting my new vehicle, new washer and new dryer for SURE!

• My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
Playing with Aunt Cindy…she’s their “favorite” aunt so they are very happy to have her here.

• Things I’m working on…
It’s like that old Barney song “Clean up Clean up Everybody everywhere…” I am working on cleaning up and cleaning out! I want to start the new year with order and organization. I’m not prone to be that way, but I enjoy doing it and the results!

• I’m cooking…
Something with chicken…I am thinking a nice chicken casserole of some sort. I also need to make another loaf of bread.

• I’m grateful for…
The finances to cover things like a washing machine breaking! We always make sure we have a “rainy day” fund…and my husband was blessed with finding copper on a work site and being granted permission to have it for trade in by his boss. It paid for our washing machine!

• I’m praying for…
A sweet dear lady in our congregation…she’s not doing well. She not only has a UTI, but she has pneumonia, a staph infection and they just discovered a break in her back. Doctors aren’t sure whether or not she will make it as she is elderly and feeble. So I am praying for peace and God’s will in this situation.

• I rewarded my kids this week by…
Letting them stay the night with my in-laws so they could enjoy even more time with their aunt.

• Something I am ogling or have my eye on…
I am actually not really ogling anything right now. I was just incredibly blessed with huge things and I’m still living on that euphoria! LOL!

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…
Here’s a photo of my little monkey after we finished making our last batch of elderberry syrup yesterday…he helped me so took great pleasure in posing with our finished jar!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal for December 15th

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• In my life this week…
I just want to be well. I lost 2 ½ days to a nasty headcold. When you are a mama, you just don’t have TIME to be sick. AND I couldn’t do any homeschooling because I had horrible sinus pressure one day, I had NO VOICE which cut our lessons short another day. Ugh. Did I mention that I haven’t been up to date with my normal chores too? Ugh. I HATE getting behind, don’t you?! Here is what I felt like this week:

You KNOW you've had weeks like this too! Bwahahahahah!

• In our homeschool this week…
Sadly we are going to have to play a bit of catch up. Which is crazy because I am homeschooling. I shouldn’t have to play it…but I feel like that is the downside of a boxed curriculum…it’s another reason that I am heading away from going with boxed curriculum next year. I need more wiggle room…………ANYWAYS! This week we will be finishing out our studies on President George Washington and the beginnings of our country and then we will move into following the pioneer trek across the country. We will also be moving into our second Singapore Math book (2A) which is pretty exciting.

• Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
If you get sick…don’t feel guilty when you can’t teach a day or two! Even public school teachers take sick days! But I tell you…I felt so guilty not teaching full days this past week!

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
This coming weekend we will be enjoying a family weekend visiting Great Wolf Lodge in Cincinnati! The boys are so excited about the waterpark which is their most favorite thing.

• My favorite thing this week was…
Um, is it pathetic to say my fabulous hot steamy showers when I was feeling so horrible??? They felt so good, especially with my Eucalyptus oil in their for a beautiful steam vapor!

• My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
I have to say that it was probably NOT having much school this week! LOL! They also enjoyed working on some art projects with my mother-in-law who is their art teacher.

• Things I’m working on…
Ugh. Catching up with everything.

• I’m cooking…
I’m hoping to get some batches of cookies this week. I have a secret pal package for a friend going out this week and I want to put some cookies in a tin for her.

• I’m praying for…
Good health for my family! I hope and pray that we can make it through with ME being the ONLY one who gets sick! It’s easier when it’s you and not your kids.

I'm also praying for members of my husband's family. One of his older cousins passed away yesterday of heart failure. She had a newly installed stent in her heart that collapsed and damaged her heart triggering heart failure. And another one of his older cousins was a in a bad car accident while on vacation in Gatlinburg, TN. He rolled his car when he hit a patch of black ice. He's okay but suffering bad shoulder injuries...his wife was also in the car, but I don't know the extent of her injuries.

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

Here's to everyone having a most excellent week--one of good health, peace and blessings!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal Post for December 8th

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*****

• In my life this week…

It was about baking and just playing catch up with things. I didn’t do a SINGLE thing that would be counted as exciting by most…but I did spend a lot of time loving with my boys and I think THAT is awfully exciting!

Enjoying the tortillas we made together

• In our homeschool this week…

We continued our study of the events leading up to the American Revolution and the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence. Math consisted of subtraction this week (something I discovered Little Britches is not as strong in). We spent about an hour for Science on Thursday which made both boys very happy. I admit I don’t do Science enough as a priority. (I think that will need to be something to consider when determining our curriculum for next year.) English was reviewing types of sentences, direct quotations and indirect quotations. The highlight for SURE of the week was reading The Little Red Hen and the Three Billy Goats Gruff for story summation and narration.

• Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

Do the subject you “forget” to do FIRST! When I do this it ALWAYS gets done---almost the ONLY way it will get done. And yes I’m talking about Science. LOL!

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

We are in our downtime period of the year right now…BUT we have a great winter weekend coming up the 20th-22nd! We will be enjoy at The Great Wolf Lodge in Cinncinnati as part of a great churchwide winter weekend. The boys are counting down the days…especially because their (favorite) aunt who lives in Arizona flies in two days after we get home from that! Very exciting indeed!

• My favorite thing this week was…

Is it sad to say it was actually getting science done?? LOL! Truly my favorite thing this week was getting things lined up for my new role as a The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew Member! Woot! I am beyond excited about the opportunity this is for our family! This week has been busy with me investigating SchoolhouseTeachers.com as part of my first review which will be going LIVE at the end of this week! (woot!) I’ve been exploring the different parts of this great website and seeing what I can incorporate into our school week. Thankfully there is a LOT of aspects I can use, so I’ve just been narrowing it down and plugging it into our week! (pssst. Science this past week was ONE of those very things!)

• My kiddos favorite thing this week was…

Um. Science? Sad I know…they both love it so much and I’m so horrible at “forgetting” to do it! LOL! But we did it this week and they loved it. They also adored the two stories we read, AND the fact that it S-N-O-W-E-D!!!!

• Things I’m working on…

T-I-M-E    M-A-N-A-G-E-M-E-N-T!

Remember THIS BLOG SERIES from back in August? Yeah I am working on making sure I apply it to my own life!!! Especially with this new review crew opportunity. That is going to require more blogging and more blogging means more time set aside for writing quality posts. And that means adjusting my schedule and making myself more accountable for my time but not getting overwhelmed as I juggle all my mom hats!

• I’m cooking…

Oh I made some amazing gingerbread on Friday. Sooooooo good and YES, I WILL share the recipe! I’m trying to get it written up for a The Monday Munchies post tomorrow!!

• I’m grateful for…

My sweet amazing Love-Of-My-Life! We celebrated our 11th anniversary on December 1st. I cannot believe we’ve already been together that long! It’s been an adventure I never imagined for myself but one I wouldn’t trade for any other!

• I’m praying for…

All of the people who are in this series of winter storms who are without power! I’ve been there and done that and I NEVER want to experience it again! I pray that your power will be on very very soon!

• Something I am ogling or have my eye on…

Oh that’s easy! My Love-Of-My-Life hinted that I can pick an e-reader for my birthday next week (the 16th) so I’ve been doing research on them. I think that for what I want to use it for the Kindle Paperwhite will be my best choice.

 Do you have one? Do you like it? I only want it for reading…and I read at night. And I read a LOT. I had to laugh because everyone who knows me KNOWS why my sweetheart is getting me this. He’s hoping that it will somehow eliminate my need to buy new books! Or as he said “no more buying 10,000 books every year!” Now that is obviously a GROSS exaggeration! He sees me getting new books, but I still don’t think he realizes that I am getting them for free as part of my book blogger review programs! LOL! I honestly have only purchased a whopping 10 total books this year. And that INCLUDES books for my boys! So I hardly think that’s anywhere near the 10,000 he assumes. (snicker) But I won’t argue if it means he wants to splurge on me a new toy!

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

In all fairness to my sweetheart, this is a TRUE STORY!

Have a beautiful week! I have two amazing reviews scheduled to share at the end of this week so please make sure you at LEAST check back then but don't forget The Monday Munchies post tomorrow with a new recipe! Remember you can always follow me many different ways including via email! Just check out my side bar on the right and make sure you never miss a new post!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal~ November 16th

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• In my life this week…
I am going to be trying to get venison ground up! Last week was opening weekend of hunting season and my husband was blessed with a buck. Now we want to grind it up so that we can make our own sausage but also start substituting ground venison with ground beef. We like both so it’s not an issue here with taste. I am also working on some Thanksgiving cards for family to send out.

• In our homeschool this week…
We are moving from studying Ben Franklin to the next figures in the mid to late 1700’s George Washington followed by Paul Revere. Little Britches was thoroughly enthralled with Benjamin Franklin and is eager to learn about more of the men that shaped our country.

• Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
If you are studying a famous figure or event see if you can find an easy read-aloud book that matches the subject. We found one on Ben Franklin that really helped sink in what we were studying.

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
This close to Thanksgiving, we are going to stay near home this week. It’s time to start getting ready for Thanksgiving next week (how is THAT possible?!) and start planning my menu!

• My favorite thing this week was…
Seeing Little Britches face when I handed him some Rock Candy before telling him it was rock candy.

• My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
Discovering that I gave him Rock Candy and that it was full of chocolate.

• Things I’m working on…
Mailing out more “thinking of you” and “Get Well” cards to the shut-ins in my congregation. There is just something about snail mail that means so much more.

• I’m cooking…
Hmmm. I am thinking about trying some Eggnog Cupcakes for Love-of-My-Life. He just loves that stuff and loves cupcakes…so it might be a match made in heaven!

• I’m grateful for…
Having a refrigerator so full that there isn’t any more room. That is a blessing that most of the world will never experience.

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

*****

The Homeschool Mother's Journal Post~ November 10th

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*****

  In my life this week…

Oh it’s going to be pretty much the same old routine, but I do have a date with the hair salon on Tuesday afternoon. I get my “hairs did” once a year because it holds color incredibly well and I just enhance what I already have. But she’ll also cut it and thin it and get me “ready for winter.” It will be nice to just have 2 hrs of pampering! LOL!

  In our homeschool this week…

We are moving into the history I love most…the colonial times! We will start learning about Benjamin Franklin and his inventions which I know my Little Britches will just eat up! I we will also be doing some “Science in the Kitchen”, continue our memorization of our big poem (The Year), work on dictation, adding numbers up to 100 and a few fall activities I want to squeeze in like making our annual Thanksgiving magnets to send to our relatives. You can see our smashingly stunning magnets we made last year in my Blog Post Here.

  Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

The biggest lesson I’ve learned over the last couple weeks is to REALLY REALLY try to let go of a hard and fast schedule. If you have to do a few extra things after lunch, then so be it. If you finish later than you planned, it’s okay.

  Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

Well we were going to have friends come over tomorrow, but all their plans changed. But I am going to take the boys up to the Veteran’s Memorial here in town tomorrow afternoon and talk about Veterans Day.

  My favorite thing this week was…

Our constellations study. We sat outside with a constellation map and found a whole bunch of them. It was very clear a couple nights.

  My kiddos favorite thing this week was…

Eating chocolate ice cream with chocolate covered peanut butter stars—to go with our constellation study of course!

  Things I’m working on…

Putting together the music for the upcoming Women’s Conference I will be attending in Cincinnati in March. I was asked to put together a solo piece as well as a group piece. The theme for the conference is Fruits of the Spirit so I’m trying to find songs that will be complimentary to that theme. I love listening to music when searching for the “perfect” songs!

  I’m cooking…

Coconut Chocolate Chip cookies…new recipe for my latest issue of MaryJanesFarm magazine. They are DELICIOUS!

  I’m grateful for…

Good friends. If you have good friends, life is so much sweeter!

  I’m praying for…

The people in the Philippines whose life is forever altered. Our church has sister congregations over there and we are eagerly awaiting word from our brethren. My uncle’s new wife is actually in the Philippines right now. But she says she is safe as she and her family were on the other side of the island and avoided the severe storm…but that flooding could ruin her family’s rice crop.

  Something I am ogling or have my eye on…

Remember this electric kettle I had my eye on a few weeks back?

Hamilton Beach Stainless Steel 10-Cup Electric Kettle

Well, I bought it! Yep. It was a great deal and I knew I'd use it a lot! And I have! Even Love-Of-My-Life is enjoying have hot water for tea at his fingertips! I use it too as a jump start to my gravy since it boils water twice as fast as water in a saucepan on the stove. I only wish I'd purchased it sooner!

  A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

Happy Autumn!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal for 11/3

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  In my life this week…

We are enjoying the stunning autumn weather! After a serious windstorm this past week, we lost a lot of the loose leaves, but there are still plenty of vibrant rust and orange left on the tree! On our way home yesterday it just glowed in the sunset.

  In our homeschool this week…

We are shifting into our studies of the 1700’s this week. Little Britches really enjoys our read-aloud for our history. We will also be continuing our study of division and a review on time. In English we will be focusing more on adjectives and parts of speech. We are starting to incorporate dictation in our studies and that is going very well. I have been bad about not making time for Science, so this week I’m planning on doing it twice as much to help get us caught back up.

  Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

Next Monday on Veterans Day I have a friend bringing her three children from West Virginia (they are public schooled) to enjoy the day with us. They live in the city, so the farm will be an adventure! I hope the weather is nice…Five children outside is a lot more pleasant than five stuck inside!

  My favorite thing this week was…

Was getting a chance to catch up on some correspondence and sending some snail mail to some friends. I love imagining what they will think when it arrives in their mailbox.

  My kiddos favorite thing this week was…

Playing on the new corral system Love-of-My-Life and his father put in. The boys treated it as if it was a playground! LOL!

  Things I’m working on…

I volunteered to take over the information table and bulletin board at our local congregation, so I am busy planning how I’m going to renovate it. It seriously needed an update and ironically several of us all mentioned that we’d all been thinking the same thing. So I was more than happy to take over!

  I’m cooking…

Well I made some delicious pan seared baked venison steak and a fabulous loaf of bread. It was delicious and I’m going to type up my recipe (the bread!) and share it tomorrow with my new week of The Monday Munchies.

  A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

The Homeschool Mother's Journal Post for 10/27

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• In my life this week…
I am looking forward to another “normal” busy week. We don’t have anything going on outside of school which means a normal daily routine! I love normal routine’s, don’t you?!

• In our homeschool this week…
Hmm, I think we are shifting into Colonial America this week. We are continuing studying about space and the stars. I think we will start out state study for Geography. I love that we are also continuing to learn about Patriotic songs…right now we are learning “America”. We are also shifting to adjectives and finishing up our “The Year” illustrated poetry book.

• Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…
Do you need to spend some time working on math? Like flashcards or the drill and kill style? I totally recommend www.xtramath.com. It is a free math drill website. You can have multiple accounts for each child and even specify what type of math you want them to work on. So if your child needs extra addition, subtraction, or multiplication practice this is the site for you! My Little Britches eagerly works on it trying to improve his time and “beat the teacher” (one of the games). Because of it, his regular math has improved too.

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Well, we have people who we are seeing. We are enjoying having my brother stay with us this weekend. We haven’t been able to enjoy having him around in awhile. He made the boys happy and brought them gifts…this of course makes him the favorite uncle right now. We will be happy to see him again at Thanksgiving again.

• My favorite thing this week was…
I enjoyed seeing the eagerness in Little Britches desiring to play his math games. He also enjoyed doing our read-aloud of Squanto and learning more about Pilgrims and Native Americans. He retains a lot of information from our read-aloud parts of history because of him being an auditory learner.

• My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
Absolutely having Uncle David here and playing with their new toys (a remote control race car) and getting to use their stomp rocket.

• Things I’m working on…
Well for the blog, I still have a couple books to read for review and a few to write up. I have my “what we’ve been doing” post to share as well as at least 2 posts regarding what we are doing in our preschool.

• I’m cooking…
Well for a potluck at church yesterday I made a crockpot of meatballs, and my much requested, anticipated, always licked clean Mile High Fudge Brownie pie. It’s always the first dessert to be wiped out…always. LOL!

• I’m grateful for…
Family…and warmth. Our woodstove is making it quite toasty with this very chilly 25ish degrees outside!

• I’m praying for…
My cousin who just had a darling little boy. And another cousin who was relieved to learn her biopsy of the nodules on her thyroid came back okay.

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

Have a  beautiful week!

The Homeschool Mother's Journal Post~ October 20th

Link To This Week's Post

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  In my life this week…

I have been enjoying just “being” a mom, teacher, wife…just being me.

  In our homeschool this week…
We studied Native Americans this week. Little Britches was tickled to learn that he has both Blackfeet and Cherokee blood. He thinks that is very cool and eagerly found where their tribal nations used to be and then looked up their types of homes. We enjoyed making wigwams and teepees. We also re-introduced multiplication…and I discovered we desperately need to learn skip counting and multiplication rules! LOL! Flashcards, anyone?!

  Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
Sadly we didn’t get to go to the pumpkin festival…it poured down rain! But today I am going with the Ladies Club from our church on a tour of a Fibers company—they do everything from processing the raw wool to turning it into a final finished yarn. I am very excited because I love seeing this kind of thing!

  Things I’m working on…
Cleaning out my papercrafting supplies and listing some of them for sale and donating others to other ladies in congregations in the area to host crafing parties to construct cards to send out to those people on the prayer list. I always enjoy putting together boxes for that sort of thing. I have more than enough to share and it makes me happy to know that others can use it.

  I’m cooking…
Mmm. I made Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for my husband’s men’s club meeting yesterday. I’m going to make another batch tomorrow—a double batch so we have extra!

  I’m grateful for…

A woodstove to keep me warm and gorgeous autumn weather!

  I’m praying for…
my mom. Her knee hasn’t been doing well and she has to get it drained and then go into physical therapy.

  Something I am ogling or have my eye on…

Enamel Covered Cast Iron Dutch Oven in Island Spice Red

Mmm. I want one of these SOOOOOO bad. They come in a LOT of different colors, but there is something about this red one that just appeals to me greatly. I think I will ask for one as an anniversary present this year!

  A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…
"If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again."  ~Flavia Weedn, Flavia and the Dream Maker
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The Homeschool Mother's Journal Post~ October 13th

• In my life this week…
We are set to have even more beautiful autumn weather! I absolutely love living here in NE Kentucky when we get a true autumn season. I grew up out in WA and with all the evergreen trees we didn’t exactly have a lot of changing colors in the landscape. Out here it is 8 to 1 in deciduous trees to evergreens! That makes for quite the gorgeous countryside! It’s almost time for the perfect photos---though the hills are getting quite colorful right now…

• In our homeschool this week…
We are studying Native Americans and the Universe/Space as well as shifting to basic multiplication in math and helping verbs in English! Baby Britches will be finishing up the letter D, the number 4 and the sight words “up” and “down”.

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…
We are hoping to be able to attend the Pumpkin Festival in Circleville, OH on Thursday with some friends. I am eager for the sights and smells and TASTES! I have already written out my lesson plans to accommodate for being gone all day Thursday. Love-Of-My-Life wants me to bring home a nice big pumpkin pie…

• My favorite thing this week was…
Having the amazing weather…I was wearing shorts because it was in the 80’s! It hasn’t been this warm in October in a long time…

• My kiddos favorite thing this week was…
Our PE times. We did some ball training, some races and just other random stuff to enjoy being outside!

• Things I’m working on…
Staying on top of my lesson planning. I have next week planned out and I’m gearing up to work on week 6-8 now! I’d LOVE it if I can get lined up all the way to Thanksgiving! Yeah right…hahahahahah.

• I’m cooking…
On Friday I made a great Double Chocolate Snack Cake and some yummy Biscones…I’ll share recipes soon because they are fabulous!!!

• I’m praying for…
Safe travels for my father who is travelling home from Japan. My aunt who is STILL fighting cancer but will be celebrating her 50th birthday this week—something incredible all things considered. Good health to make it through this flu season without getting dragged down. And of course my friends and family dealing with the things daily life throws at them.

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…

My current favorite song...enjoy!

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The Homeschool Mother's Journal ~ October 6th

Link Up Yours!

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• In my life this week…

I am so thankful that the warm weather has held up for me to enjoy! We are truly having an Indian Summer with this blessed 80◦ weather every day! It’s making the transition into fall soooooo pleasant! Cool evenings and sunfilled days. This morning was gorgeous. It rained last night so all my flowers were covered in sparkling drops that just were amazing in the sun. The breeze rustled the leaves and teased the trees into releasing some leaves. And the sun. Oh the sun is glorious today! And the week appears to be playing out with this weather for the next several days. Simply heavenly! I hope it will last at least until Friday. On Friday we are heading to Lexington, KY to a museum with our homeschool Co-Op.

• In our homeschool this week…

We are back in the full swing of homeschooling with our full schedule. I only did about 75% of our usual day last week as we transitioned back from being gone for 2 weeks. But it’s back to our usual this week!

• Helpful homeschooling tips or advice to share…

I want to again suggest that for the reluctant student—allowing them to pick the order of the subjects really does make a difference. Since we instituted that practice I can easily get everything done during the day within the time allotted.

• Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…

This week we are taking a homeschool Co-Op trip to Lexington, KY to visit a museum which is hosting the Titanic exhibit. It’s the big exhibit which even grants each visitor a boarding pass from someone on the manifest…and then at the end you learn whether or not your passenger survived the tragedy. I think my boys will enjoy seeing it.

• My favorite thing this week was…

Just getting back into the routine of my normal life. After a long vacation, sometimes just daily routine is comforting.

• My kiddos favorite thing this week was…

Heading back to church to see all of their friends again. Well, and just playing around the farm again.

• Things I’m working on…

I am participating in a “shape Up” program with a group of friends. We are supporting one another in our effort to “shape up” our health. It’s nice to have a group of friends all trying to make some kind of difference and to support each other. Even when we have moments of “epic fail”. LOL! My #1 things I’m working on—exercise and drinking more water. I don’t have weight to lose (I was surprised to discover I’d shed 10 pounds since I last stepped on a scale) but I have jiggles that I’d like to lose. And I’ve been having some bad sciatic nerve pain and my chiropractor says I need to exercise more to strengthen my back muscles to keep my back strong. So pain is driving me to make a difference.

• I’m cooking…

Fall goodies! We always wait and save certain dishes for fall. Mostly our soups, stews and chili. So now it’s time to pull out my favorite recipes and get started!

• I’m grateful for…

The life that I’m living. Being blessed to live here in the country. To have healthy children. A loving hardworking husband. A beautiful home. An amazing friend network. And most of all an amazing Almighty Father!

• I’m praying for…

Some friends out in Wyoming buried in snow without any power! And for continued guidance in the decisions I make in my daily life. Praying for a renewed and continuing zeal for the Gospel of our Lord Christ Jesus.

• I rewarded my kids this week by…

Making them a special drink with our Sabbath dinner—Pineapple Bubbly w/raspberries. I think the floating raspberries are their most favorite part.

• A photo, video, link, or quote to share (silly, serious or both!)…