This is my favorite poem we have studied...

Mother's Jewels

Aunt Eleanor wears such diamonds!

Shiny and gay and grand,

Some on her neck and some in her hair,

And some on her pretty hand.

One day I asked my mama

Why she never wore them, too;

She laughed and said, as she kissed my eyes,

“My jewels are here, bright blue.

They laugh and dance and beam and smile,

So lovely all the day,

And never like Aunt Eleanor’s go

In a velvet box to stay.

Hers are prisoned in bands of gold,

But mine are free as air,

Set in a bonny, dimpled face,

And shadowed with shining hair!”

Eugene Field

Another week

We are still having a great year so far. Every one is moving along on their work and progressing nicely.
I just printed out a great notebook at Confessions of a Homeschooler. She has wonderful stuff on there and some great suggestions. If you have never checked out her blog/website you should.
We are doing a class at the nature center at a park near here. It's every Friday and my kids are loving it so far. They are learning scientific method and how to be scientists.

Here is how I found C this morning before we started school. I love when I find them like this.

Our week

We  are in week 2 of Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory and it's going great. We are having fun and learning so much. This weeks bible verse was Galatians 6:9 "Let us not grow weary in doing good, in due season we shall reap if we don't lose heart." Both boys memorized it.
We also discussed Ruth and how she didn't lose heart and finally reaped. Here is a pic of the fields of grain that Ruth gleaned from that the boys made.

 

C would rather write his spelling words on anything but paper so we used the dry erase board.

 We added Jamestown to our timeline. Oh and a funny about this, I was talking to the boys about it and how the men came for gold and they were lazy and didn't want to do any work. Then I told them that John Smith told them that if they didn't work then they wouldn't eat. I said I bet those men were complaining and whining and crying. C said " They didn't cry they are British and the British don't cry." LOL

It was a really great week and I did something different which seemed to help us along. I rotated between subject that required writing and ones that didn't. That way they are not having to write all at once.
Speaking of writing here is a sample of C's handwriting. I decided to use the smaller lined paper to see how he would do and it turned out beautiful.

Praying next week goes and well and is as fun. I have a cold right now and feel horrible but am praying that I will feel better by Monday.

Week 1 of Beyond

We just finished our first week of Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory. We had a great time and learned a lot.
Here are a few pix of what we did. Earlier this week I posted a pic of our world on the floor and learning the continents and oceans.
Here is our timeline for the year.

These are the shields we made to go along with our verse in Psalms.

 This is a map where we marked the voyage of the Spaniards to St. Augustine FL

 And our world of tape on the floor learning continents and oceans.

This has been a wonderful week of school. The boys have been so agreeable and doing their work with no complaints. We rewarded them with a game of Putt Putt today and Sonic afterward.
God has blessed me so much this year and answered so many prayers for me. My health is so much better and that helps in the schooling.
I praise God for this opportunity to school my children.

Week 3 update

This is technically our third week of school but the last two weeks were lighter adding a few things in as we went.
We have done two days of school this week and its been delightful. We started using Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory from Heart of Dakota. We are loving it. It is just the right fit for both my boys and the activities are wonderful. I used the first half of this for C's first grade year but he was just not ready.
We are adding in spelling, reading, math and grammar at his level.
Ju is coming right along with his schooling too. He was agreeable the past two days and didn't complain. He still doesn't want to do phonics but since its 100EZ lessons its short so he's ok with it.
Here are a couple pix of what we've been doing.
Spelling with sidewalk chalk.

Learning our continents and oceans.

First day of school

Today was our first day of school. We are starting slowly because with my health issues we did not get to school this summer, although life is learning.
This year I will be finishing up Little Hearts for His Glory with Ju and C will be doing Bigger Hearts for His Glory.  C will be in 3rd grade and Ju will be starting first.
I hope to be better at documenting our school with pictures this year.

Updates

There have been some challenges this year in our home. I am struggling with a lot of health issues. Also a big change is that I only have 3 children in the home for now. (although my oldest is moving back from MI in less than 2 weeks)
We have been pushing through with school and it has gone fairly well.
My plan at this point in time is to school through the summer, not heavy but some daily.
C will be doing Bigger Hearts for His Glory from Heart of Dakota and Ju will continue on with Little Hearts for His Glory. I still love HOD. I can't imagine not using it now after not using it the first of this year.
I am so thankful and blessed to have this opportunity to have my children with me everyday all day. I would miss them so much if they were away all day.

Next year my daughter will start her senior year. My how the time has flown. :( I can't remember the last time I only schooled 2 children. It has been many years.

God has truly blessed me.

Preparing

I have been preparing for us to start back school on Monday the 7th. It has been going well. One thing I did realize this semester of school is how much I miss Heart of Dakota. So much I am starting both my boys back with HOD on Monday. I think I have, after all these years, found the curriculum that works and fits us and we love.
I will add All About Spelling, because we love it too, and First Language Lessons and Writing with Ease. Other than that we will follow the HOD plans.
I am excited to start back. I am going to be making some changes to our day and I even moved our school to a different room.
I will keep you updated on how things go.

Christmas break

We started Christmas break a bit early. Well not really as we did crafty school stuff the week before Christmas.
School is moving right along this year. No complaints except the fact that we took a year off of Heart of Dakota. We did this to work on a character quality each week, which has gone well but I miss HOD. So after Christmas I am going to start Little Hearts for His Glory with Ju. I will also work on his phonics instruction more. He has just not been ready but he is a bit older now so it's time to try again.
C is doing great. Moving right a long and progressing nicely in school.
We also started a bible study that meets on Thursdays and all of us are loving it. C and Ju love their class. They don't just babysit them in the class they actually have lessons and C's is the same as mine each week just at his level. So we school the other 4 days and it is working out great.
S graduated in August and has moved out on his own so I only have 3 at home now. V is in 11th grade and really wants to start Cosmetology school.
All in all this is a very nice school year. We are loving it very much. I could not imagine life without homeschooling.

2012-2013 year

Well we started on the 3rd it was a great day of school. Then the next morning I woke with some bad shooting pains in my stomach. We did manage school that day but by evening I was in the ER and by 3am had surgery to remove my appendix. I then spent the next two days in the hospital. After all that we started again on Monday the 10th. We have had a good week of school.
I am enjoying it and so are my kids.

A couple things I have learned the past couple of years. Maturity has a lot to do with children and their learning. We did not school any this past summer. I did not continue to work with C on his reading which he had just gotten down at the end of last school year. When we started back he could read better than the end of last year. He is very easy and fun to teach.

The other thing is I love having my kids with me. I love when they get it, when they snuggle me when I read to them. I love just not being away from them all day long. How hard and sad that would be. Homeschooling is  a great blessing. I need to pray more for God's protection over it.

May God bless your homeschooling year.

Preparing

Preparing for another year. Well at least I am trying. I did spend one day planning.
I am trying to figure out my own thing with the little guys this year. I am not abandoning Heart of Dakota because I love it but I feel like we need to focus on character qualities this year. We will also be Apologia Botany. I think it will be a good year but that means more planning on my part.

S graduated this summer so I will only have V in high school, C in 2nd grade and Ju in K.
I am excited about our new school year.
Hopefully I will be better at keeping up with this blog this coming school year.

Spring Fever

Spring fever came early this year because there wasn't much winter and it is so warm so early.
Today we are of to Bays Mountain. It's so much fun there and it is going to be a big turn out of homeschoolers.
School is going great here. We are halfway through our Heart of Dakota and that was my goal this year. We are doing this level at 1/2 speed. We will continue on through the summer so that we can not forget what we have learned.
Ju will be starting his phonics program soon and should be reading in a few months. (of course that is the hope anyway LOL)
S is still on track to graduate at the end of summer.
I am still using All About Spelling and still LOVING it. I can't sing enough praises for this curriculum. If you haven't seen it check them out. http://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/
I am going to the Great Homeschool Convention on Friday. I can't wait. I will buy what I need for next year there so I can save on shipping.

Well so much for my random scattered thoughts in this post. Spring fever has affected my brain too.

Another month...

Another month has passed so quickly. I can't believe it is the end of January today. School has gone very well this month. C is progressing and so is Ju. My high schoolers tend to do most of theirs on their own. S is working hard to graduate by the end of summer.
I don't know if I have said how much I love homeschooling. I love being with my children but more than that I love seeing their faces when they "get" it. I would have missed that and so much if they were away from home learning these things. No it's not easy, in fact some days it's really hard. It is my job and I have to treat it like I would any other job. I have to make sure the work gets done and I have to be there to provide guidance. My payment is not money though it is delight on a face when they understand something, snuggles on the sofa when we read books, laughter and smiles when we play a game that teaches but it fun. Oh it's so much more than money. Money is fleeting and temporary. Memories last a lifetime.

Another week

Another week of school starts tomorrow. I feel so unprepared. I thought this would be a week of me not being so busy but as the weekend has progressed I am just feeling overwhelmed with all that I have to do this week. It's not just stuff around here I have to leave the house and that is overwhelming and throws a wrench in school. We have to either do after noon or some in the morning and some in the afternoon and I don't do well with that. :(
So praying God will redeem the time this week and that it will be productive no matter what has to be done.

Our first week back

We started back to school Monday after the break and it went really well. We did get sidetracked today because I had to take S, 17yo, to take his drivers test. He passed and we now have another driver in the house. It will be nice to not have to drive him to work but the threat of snow and black ice has this mom worried.
I also ordered Little Hands to Heaven from Heart of Dakota for Ju. We will start probably tomorrow.  He was so happy and so cute to get his books. I hope it helps him remember his letter sounds, it should.
C is still taking violin but decided he did not want to go back to dance class. He did join cub scouts though. He looks so cute with his uniform on. I will have to take pictures. I also had a good friend send me a hat for Ju and he has hardly taken it off.

In love with Curriculum

Is it possible? Is it possible to be in love with curriculum? LOL
I do so love Heart of Dakota. It's so easy to teach and so gentle and fun on top of all that.
I know this is only my second year using it but I can't imagine not liking it as the years go on. We are in the 3rd guide Beyond (we skipped the preschool one). We are taking this guide at half pace because I want my son to be older when he gets to the older more in depth guides.
Another curriculum I am liking is All About Spelling. I have only been using it a few weeks but I so wish I had had this with my older children. It makes so much sense to teach spelling this way. It is a multi learning style format. It is always good to reinforce with all the learning styles.
If you are just stopping buy and homeschool check out the two links above and see what you think.

We have been on break since before Christmas and will start back on Monday. I am excited and since with HOD and AAS it is all prepared for me I don't have to worry about being prepared.
Enjoy your homeschooling journey. 

Christmas break

We are on Christmas break. We took all last week off and will take off until after the first of the year. We will use this coming week to clean up after Christmas and find homes for all the new toys. LOL
Then we will start back full force in January.
My plan is to try to post more and keep up with this blog more when the new year starts.
Merry Christmas to you all.

Homeschool is wonderful

I love teaching my children. I love watching them learn and discover. I love having them with me day after day and looking to me for their instruction.
I worked with my 4yo on his letter sounds today. He did such a great job I was amazed at how many he knew already.
C is doing great in school. He can read really well.
I just love homeschool and pray that I am able to home school until my children are through high school.

Week 2

This is our second week of school this year. I am still using Heart of Dakota with C. We are still loving it.
I am still trying to find my groove with a 1st grader and a preschool 4yo. At least the 4yo likes to listen to the stories too.
S hasn't started yet. He wanted to wait until after his birthday.
V is in Chicago this school year so she will be doing her school there. She is serving at a ministry there, IBLP. She is loving it there and loving the work she is doing.
I have started getting up at 6am every morning so I can spend time in God's word and exercise. It's working out well so far.
I am hoping I will blog more this year and hopefully have pictures of our projects.

6 weeks left

6 weeks left until we are finished with this year's Heart of Dakota. We have had so much sickness this year that we are not finishing as early as I would have liked. But that is the beauty of homeschooling right?
I love homeschooling. I love being with my children all day and watching their learning and seeing that ah ha moment when things click.
I will continue to school C through the summer so he does not lose any of his skills but just LA and Math.
Oh and my sister will be homeschooling her youngest son next year. I was so thankful I had enough homeschooling stuff left over from my olders that I could supply her with everything she needs except math.