We belong to an organic produce co-op. It is the way to go if you haven't. The produce is delicious and nutritious. Today was pick up day. Once a month I volunteer to help pack orders. It is a great time to spend with other adults while my kids are playing with other kids. I no longer buy canned, jarred, or frozen veggies. And I can tell a huge difference in the way I feel, mentally and physically.
This morning the big girl helped me pack orders. She was so funny. She likes to make sure that whatever job she is doing, she does it right. I call her slow, but the ladies today used meticulous. I like that better. We had to leave early and I had the big girl help me carry our bags to the car. I carried two bags and she carried two bags.
On the way to the van, my beautiful daughter says, "I'm having a hard time carrying these. Jesus carried a 300 pound cross through Jerusalem, and I can't carry a couple of bags to the van?" From the mouths of babes. I never would have made that connection, but there goes my 10 year old seeing things through her wide opened eyes.
"He was pushed and kicked and hit and carried the cross the whole way. I'm going to make it to the van." She did, too. Thank you big girl for opening my eyes.
Have a great day!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Hi ho, hi ho
Today was National Take Your Child To Work Day. The boy got to go with hubby for the first time this year. The big girl got to go a couple of years ago, but it was the boy this year. Hubby does it as a way to let the kids know that working for the man is hard. They need to be the man, not work for him is the way he sees it. Twice now it has backfired. They both want to work for the phone company.
The boys got to work this morning and their first job was to fix a DSL connection. Hubby was teasing him that he was going to have to crawl under a mobile home. The brave boy that he is was all for it. But hubby found a way around that. The boy was a little disappointed.
He got to replace a lid on a pedestal. Yeah, the job isn't the most glamorous, but it pays the bills. He got to go to the Central Office which is where all the good stuff is. That's where he's sitting on the ladder. He got to help rewire some things. So if your phones aren't working, sorry. It was the boy.
The lucky stiffs, today was a luncheon day. We couldn't have planned that better if we tried. It was an anniversary luncheon at Golden Corral and the boys didn't have to pay for their own lunch. He got to eat with all the guys and pretend he was a big man.
They had a really good day. Being the homeschool mom that I am, I was going to make the boy write a report about his day and use that as my blog. But he was so tired when he got home, he just couldn't even think straight. We told him that's how hubby feels when he gets home every day. As soon as I get the report, I'll post it for you. There was even some overtime tonight. I think that helped contribute to the tiredness.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Reading
We have been reading alot this year. One reason is the baby. She wanted to learn how to read like her brother and sister so it was time. She has done a great job. We are all very proud of her. It was scary to me because I didn't have to teach the other two to read. I just had to reinforce what their teacher had taught them that day. But the baby was brand new to me. She has gotten to that "How do you spell..." stage that the other two went through.
She loves to read books. She will read them out loud to me and then wants me to read it, too. We may read a book several times in a row. That helps her and I'm all good with that. She is very happy when she finishes a book. She likes to tell her brother and sister and I have to go right then and add it to her list. The library is one of her favorite places. She would get ten books if I let her. I don't because we just do not have any place to keep that many books and not lose a couple.
The boy likes books that have action in them. I don't blame him. It keeps his attention and I'm good with that. He does like funny books, too. He usually wants to read whatever his big sister is reading just to prove he can. She just doesn't always pick books boys would like to read.
The big girl cracks me up and makes me want to lock her in her room at the same time. She might start 3 books, but good luck getting her to finish one. She is also very set about the kind of book that she likes to read. The last time we were at the library, I made her walk down and aisle and just pick three books. No looking, no peeking, just grab three and call it good. She wasn't happy about it, but she's enjoyed the books.
We have been listening to Harry Potter on CD and we've been reading The Chronicles of Narnia at dinner. We listen to Harry Potter in the van usually. We have such a long drive to dance and back we usually finish one by the time we get home. We are on "The Goblet of Fire". We like the fact that we have seen the movies. If we get to a part that we have a hard time understanding, we think about the movie. That usually gives us a frame of reference. I actually read this book a couple of years ago, but it has been nice to hear. Sometimes we listen while we eat lunch and then finish after school is done. This one has 17 CDs! We're on 10, but still. We already have the next one. I hope we can finish quickly, before we have to turn in "Order of the Phoenix".
The Chronicles of Narnia has been a fantastic series of books. They do all stand alone, so you don't have to read them in order; we just chose to. We are on the final book, "The Last Battle". It has kept all of us on the edge of our seats. We are sad that we only have one more chapter to read and then it's over. The kids want to start all over. I do, too, but we are going to move on. C.S. Lewis is a wonderful writer. His words flow around each other painting a picture of fantastic creatures and a beautiful world. The books have laughter and fun, tears and sadness, pounding hearts and daring action. Read them as a family and share a magical experience.
I think our next dinner book will be "The Wind in the Willows". I loved that book as a kid. I would like to reread it. I think the kids will enjoy it, too. We may go on to the other books in the series and see what kind of trouble we can get in to. If you have any suggestions, pease feel free to leave a comment.
Have a great day!
She loves to read books. She will read them out loud to me and then wants me to read it, too. We may read a book several times in a row. That helps her and I'm all good with that. She is very happy when she finishes a book. She likes to tell her brother and sister and I have to go right then and add it to her list. The library is one of her favorite places. She would get ten books if I let her. I don't because we just do not have any place to keep that many books and not lose a couple.
The boy likes books that have action in them. I don't blame him. It keeps his attention and I'm good with that. He does like funny books, too. He usually wants to read whatever his big sister is reading just to prove he can. She just doesn't always pick books boys would like to read.
The big girl cracks me up and makes me want to lock her in her room at the same time. She might start 3 books, but good luck getting her to finish one. She is also very set about the kind of book that she likes to read. The last time we were at the library, I made her walk down and aisle and just pick three books. No looking, no peeking, just grab three and call it good. She wasn't happy about it, but she's enjoyed the books.
We have been listening to Harry Potter on CD and we've been reading The Chronicles of Narnia at dinner. We listen to Harry Potter in the van usually. We have such a long drive to dance and back we usually finish one by the time we get home. We are on "The Goblet of Fire". We like the fact that we have seen the movies. If we get to a part that we have a hard time understanding, we think about the movie. That usually gives us a frame of reference. I actually read this book a couple of years ago, but it has been nice to hear. Sometimes we listen while we eat lunch and then finish after school is done. This one has 17 CDs! We're on 10, but still. We already have the next one. I hope we can finish quickly, before we have to turn in "Order of the Phoenix".
The Chronicles of Narnia has been a fantastic series of books. They do all stand alone, so you don't have to read them in order; we just chose to. We are on the final book, "The Last Battle". It has kept all of us on the edge of our seats. We are sad that we only have one more chapter to read and then it's over. The kids want to start all over. I do, too, but we are going to move on. C.S. Lewis is a wonderful writer. His words flow around each other painting a picture of fantastic creatures and a beautiful world. The books have laughter and fun, tears and sadness, pounding hearts and daring action. Read them as a family and share a magical experience.
I think our next dinner book will be "The Wind in the Willows". I loved that book as a kid. I would like to reread it. I think the kids will enjoy it, too. We may go on to the other books in the series and see what kind of trouble we can get in to. If you have any suggestions, pease feel free to leave a comment.
Have a great day!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Hello, Darlin'...
...it's been a long time. It has been hasn't it? Sorry, I've been side tracked. I have this Facebook habit that is starting to develop. Anyway, here's the skinny.
We went to Easter service at church. Hubby greeted and I taught Sunday school for 3-5 graders. We always have a couple of extras on the holidays and we had a pretty full house that morning. We went to my in-laws, heretofor known as the parents. One of my bil came with his four girls. The kids got to hunt eggs and our kids rode their scooters for awhile. The ham was delicious and we got to bring a whole one home. We cut up a bunch and saved the bone for bean soup. Yum. We ate boiled eggs for days. Does anyone know how long boiled eggs are good for?
My niece B came home with us for a few days. Public school was out for Spring Break and she wanted to come play with the baby. They ended up fighting most of the time. She decided she wanted to play with the big girl and the boy instead. It was a long three days. And everything came out in a whine. B did school with us. She did bible study and history maps with us. She actually seemed to enjoy it.
With public school being out we didn't have dance or our Wednesday program. It was so nice. We did have a dinner Wednesday night with our dinner group from church. It was a lot of fun. Normally we did potluck, but we went out this time. We did a Chinese buffet and it was so good. The kids made little piggies out of themselves, except the baby. Sometimes she eats and sometimes she doesn't. We dropped my niece off on the way to the restaurant. She wanted to go with us, but I had to draw the line somewhere.
Friday was park day. We did an after Easter egg hunt and potluck lunch. I made chocolate pudding with whip cream on top. I did a really yummy dessert for Easter that was a parfait. you just layer bananas, chocolate pudding and whipped cream. Decorate the top with chocolate sauce. I didn't get that elaborate for the park, but it was still good. We all brought a dozen filled eggs for each of our kids that was particpating. The kids had a great time.
That was actually our second Easter egg hunt. We had gone to a friends church for one the Saturday before Easter. They had everyone in an age group, and each age group was in a different area. The baby found a golden egg, the boy found a golden egg, and the big girl got stung by a wasp. The golden eggs were prize eggs, the wasp was just for spite.
And Saturday we worked in the yard. I made the kids clean out the mini van. I was really tired of the kids leaving their stuff and me carting it in. This time if they didn't get it, I carted it to the trash. Once it was cleaned out, hubby got the shop vac and I vaccuumed it. I was so happy to get into a clean van this morning. We got our new compost bin started and the kids cleaned up the yard. We have squash, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and we think pumpkins. The potatoes and pumpkin are scraps in a planter that has suddenly started growing things.
Today after church has been a lazy day. Hubby went to a drywall class at Home Depot this afternoon. He was the only one that showed up, but he said he learned alot. His next class is in a couple of weeks and it's on tile. We have talked about this for years, but we never did anything about it. We were offered a really great opportunity that we weren't able to take advantage of because of the type of work that needs to be done. Hopefully, the opportunity will come again.
We have four weeks of school left. We're going to take a break until after recital in June, then do school for a month or so. I want to get started with a Spanish foundation before we start our curriculum for next year. We may also do some math. The boy and the big girl both will not finish their math curriculum before we're done, so we may do a little math, too. I haven't decided yet.
That's about it. We have just been nose to the grindstone, trying to finish up. It's dinner time now, so off I go.
Have a great day!
We went to Easter service at church. Hubby greeted and I taught Sunday school for 3-5 graders. We always have a couple of extras on the holidays and we had a pretty full house that morning. We went to my in-laws, heretofor known as the parents. One of my bil came with his four girls. The kids got to hunt eggs and our kids rode their scooters for awhile. The ham was delicious and we got to bring a whole one home. We cut up a bunch and saved the bone for bean soup. Yum. We ate boiled eggs for days. Does anyone know how long boiled eggs are good for?
My niece B came home with us for a few days. Public school was out for Spring Break and she wanted to come play with the baby. They ended up fighting most of the time. She decided she wanted to play with the big girl and the boy instead. It was a long three days. And everything came out in a whine. B did school with us. She did bible study and history maps with us. She actually seemed to enjoy it.
With public school being out we didn't have dance or our Wednesday program. It was so nice. We did have a dinner Wednesday night with our dinner group from church. It was a lot of fun. Normally we did potluck, but we went out this time. We did a Chinese buffet and it was so good. The kids made little piggies out of themselves, except the baby. Sometimes she eats and sometimes she doesn't. We dropped my niece off on the way to the restaurant. She wanted to go with us, but I had to draw the line somewhere.
Friday was park day. We did an after Easter egg hunt and potluck lunch. I made chocolate pudding with whip cream on top. I did a really yummy dessert for Easter that was a parfait. you just layer bananas, chocolate pudding and whipped cream. Decorate the top with chocolate sauce. I didn't get that elaborate for the park, but it was still good. We all brought a dozen filled eggs for each of our kids that was particpating. The kids had a great time.
That was actually our second Easter egg hunt. We had gone to a friends church for one the Saturday before Easter. They had everyone in an age group, and each age group was in a different area. The baby found a golden egg, the boy found a golden egg, and the big girl got stung by a wasp. The golden eggs were prize eggs, the wasp was just for spite.
And Saturday we worked in the yard. I made the kids clean out the mini van. I was really tired of the kids leaving their stuff and me carting it in. This time if they didn't get it, I carted it to the trash. Once it was cleaned out, hubby got the shop vac and I vaccuumed it. I was so happy to get into a clean van this morning. We got our new compost bin started and the kids cleaned up the yard. We have squash, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and we think pumpkins. The potatoes and pumpkin are scraps in a planter that has suddenly started growing things.
Today after church has been a lazy day. Hubby went to a drywall class at Home Depot this afternoon. He was the only one that showed up, but he said he learned alot. His next class is in a couple of weeks and it's on tile. We have talked about this for years, but we never did anything about it. We were offered a really great opportunity that we weren't able to take advantage of because of the type of work that needs to be done. Hopefully, the opportunity will come again.
We have four weeks of school left. We're going to take a break until after recital in June, then do school for a month or so. I want to get started with a Spanish foundation before we start our curriculum for next year. We may also do some math. The boy and the big girl both will not finish their math curriculum before we're done, so we may do a little math, too. I haven't decided yet.
That's about it. We have just been nose to the grindstone, trying to finish up. It's dinner time now, so off I go.
Have a great day!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Easter Lap Books
These are our Easter lap books. We had such a good time doing these. The kids like the little books and teh different folds. Our St. Patrick lap books had a fold that made a cup. The boy had to show all his friends how to make a paper cup.
The one at the bottom that says Coloring Easter Eggs is an accordian fold. If I let go, it would shoot up, all folded. It's funny. It's like a spring.
If you have never done a lap book, I encourage you to try. They are fun, educational, and a great way to learn tons about a subject, any subject. You can do one with your kids, I do, and have as much fun as they do.
We talked about eggs, and learned what the parts of an egg are called. We talked about Passover and Easter. We talked about God's grace and glory and the love that Jesus has for us. We talked about sacrifice and what that means in our lives. We talked about Jesus as the lamb and the shepherd. It was fantastic!
I hope you enjoy the look at what we worked hard on all week.
Have a great day!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
C.S. Lewis and Other Stuff
We have been reading the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. For those of you who don't know, I read to the family at the dinner table when I'm done eating. We just finished "The Magician's Nephew" and loved it. We have enjoyed every book in this series. We have laughed out loud and been made teary and run through the gauntlet of emotions. It has been a really good time for us.
His writing is superb. The last couple of books seem to be a little harder for me to read out loud. It's almost like he was getting a little too fancy in his writing. But the stories have been phenomenal. It's nice to see characters reappear in a new novel, and sad to say good bye when you know they won't be showing up anymore. Reepicheep was one of our favorites. He makes us laugh in the "Prince Caspian" movie, too.
"The Magician's Nephew" is actually the sixth book in the series but is written as the first book in the series. It was interesting to see how Narnia started. It was sad to know that such a beautiful place started with evil already in it. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. It is full of adventure, fun, drama, excitement, and really creative writing. The big girl will be doing the Progeny Press study guide for it next year for language arts. We have started the last book in the series which is "The Last Battle". It is about the end of Narnia and we are anxious to get to the end of the book already.
We have also been reading the Harry Potter series. We have done that one as a books on CD. Those books are way too big for me to read at the dinner table. But we travel so much during the week that we just pop a CD in, and by the time we get home, it's done. We have really enjoyed it as well. I like the fact that the man reading the books, whose name escapes me at the moment, does voices. I don't do very good voices, but I'm working on it with our Narnia books. The other thing I like is that it's the same man reading each book. Then we don't get confused about who is who.
We just finished the "Prisoner of Azkaban" and it was really good as well. They are very well written books and the kids have enjoyed them. We already have "Goblet of Fire" and we'll probably start it tomorrow. I think the Harry Potter books are very creative and inventive. I admire the imagination of both of these writers. They have taken a fantasy land and made it real in my mind. It helps we've seen all the Harry Potter films to date. It helps the visualization.
We are working on Easter lapbooks this week. I love lapbooks. The kids don't think they are working and they will do them for hours if I would let them. We have a couple more things to add, and then I will post some pictures.
There are some really good websites out there for lapbooks and lapbook ideas. One of my personal favorites is Lapbook Lessons. It has some really good ideas for a ton of lapbooks. They also have a free one every monday through CurrClick. I also really like Homeschool Share. They have mostly literary lapbooks, but they do have others and they have a ton of free templates to use.
We have learned why we celebrate Easter, a new Easter song, and why eggs can represent new life. We have also learned where brown eggs come from and where white eggs come from and the parts of an egg. We have learned about Good Friday and the significance of it. We have learned about Holy Week and what that means to people around the world. We have discussed the prophets and their telling of a Savior in the future, given by God.
We went to a Maundy Thursday service at church tonight. It is a service that celebrates the Last Supper and the importance of being good servants to Christ. The Last Supper has been our topic for our after school program that we attend. We take communion during the service and hubby and the boy got to help serve. The Pastor had asked the big girl if she wanted to help, but she was feeling very shy for some reason. Then the boy said he would and then hubby got asked. It was so good to see my boys serving communion and doing a great job. It was very special to me to have them serve our family and our church family during such an important service.
During the service, at the end, they showed a pretty graphic picture of Christ being nailed to the cross while the pastor sang a very beautiful song about being on bended knee. The kids and I actually learned it yesterday during our after school program. She has such a clear, clean voice that is just magical. God has definitely given her a voice that is perfect for praising His name. The big girl got a little upset at the picture. It touched her that Jesus suffered as much as he did. I just held her and let her cry. I shed some tears myself.
We have lots of plans for Easter, most involve family. We hope that you have a safe and joyous Easter.
Have a great day!
His writing is superb. The last couple of books seem to be a little harder for me to read out loud. It's almost like he was getting a little too fancy in his writing. But the stories have been phenomenal. It's nice to see characters reappear in a new novel, and sad to say good bye when you know they won't be showing up anymore. Reepicheep was one of our favorites. He makes us laugh in the "Prince Caspian" movie, too.
"The Magician's Nephew" is actually the sixth book in the series but is written as the first book in the series. It was interesting to see how Narnia started. It was sad to know that such a beautiful place started with evil already in it. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. It is full of adventure, fun, drama, excitement, and really creative writing. The big girl will be doing the Progeny Press study guide for it next year for language arts. We have started the last book in the series which is "The Last Battle". It is about the end of Narnia and we are anxious to get to the end of the book already.
We have also been reading the Harry Potter series. We have done that one as a books on CD. Those books are way too big for me to read at the dinner table. But we travel so much during the week that we just pop a CD in, and by the time we get home, it's done. We have really enjoyed it as well. I like the fact that the man reading the books, whose name escapes me at the moment, does voices. I don't do very good voices, but I'm working on it with our Narnia books. The other thing I like is that it's the same man reading each book. Then we don't get confused about who is who.
We just finished the "Prisoner of Azkaban" and it was really good as well. They are very well written books and the kids have enjoyed them. We already have "Goblet of Fire" and we'll probably start it tomorrow. I think the Harry Potter books are very creative and inventive. I admire the imagination of both of these writers. They have taken a fantasy land and made it real in my mind. It helps we've seen all the Harry Potter films to date. It helps the visualization.
We are working on Easter lapbooks this week. I love lapbooks. The kids don't think they are working and they will do them for hours if I would let them. We have a couple more things to add, and then I will post some pictures.
There are some really good websites out there for lapbooks and lapbook ideas. One of my personal favorites is Lapbook Lessons. It has some really good ideas for a ton of lapbooks. They also have a free one every monday through CurrClick. I also really like Homeschool Share. They have mostly literary lapbooks, but they do have others and they have a ton of free templates to use.
We have learned why we celebrate Easter, a new Easter song, and why eggs can represent new life. We have also learned where brown eggs come from and where white eggs come from and the parts of an egg. We have learned about Good Friday and the significance of it. We have learned about Holy Week and what that means to people around the world. We have discussed the prophets and their telling of a Savior in the future, given by God.
We went to a Maundy Thursday service at church tonight. It is a service that celebrates the Last Supper and the importance of being good servants to Christ. The Last Supper has been our topic for our after school program that we attend. We take communion during the service and hubby and the boy got to help serve. The Pastor had asked the big girl if she wanted to help, but she was feeling very shy for some reason. Then the boy said he would and then hubby got asked. It was so good to see my boys serving communion and doing a great job. It was very special to me to have them serve our family and our church family during such an important service.
During the service, at the end, they showed a pretty graphic picture of Christ being nailed to the cross while the pastor sang a very beautiful song about being on bended knee. The kids and I actually learned it yesterday during our after school program. She has such a clear, clean voice that is just magical. God has definitely given her a voice that is perfect for praising His name. The big girl got a little upset at the picture. It touched her that Jesus suffered as much as he did. I just held her and let her cry. I shed some tears myself.
We have lots of plans for Easter, most involve family. We hope that you have a safe and joyous Easter.
Have a great day!
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