Tami Moon-Roth is an amazing, super-hillarious, terrific woman!! She is a great mom, wife and nurse and we have been friends since middle school. Now in high school she was a cheerleader and I was in band--so you know, we didn't really 'hang out'... but I really don't think we ever had a 'falling-out' or anything. I always liked her. I don't think she ever hated me or anything--maybe she did?? lol!! Either way, we have re-connected due to the wonderful www!! :) Anywho... she is awesome and her blog is sooo funny--everyone should seriously check it out at: therothreport.blogspot.com Seriously, you will NOT be disappointed!! :)
Now, Tami sent this little award for me... don't know that I could ever 'compete' with her blog--as mine is more like a journal and educational log, than a creative writing project! :) However, I feel so honored that she put me in her list of those to nominate :) please check out her awesome blog!!
The rules for this award are:
Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.
Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
Leave a comment on each.


So, 7 things you may not know about me…
1. I said 'yes' to marrying my husband the second day I had ever seen him in person. no joke. don't recommend it...but here we are, 6 years married, 2 kids later...it's been bumpy, but it's getting better every year!! :)
2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE scrapbooking...like obsessively! I LOVE LOVE LOVE sewing--obsessively! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jesus!! VERY obsessively (this is the only one I don't ever feel guilty about!!) lol!! I am Passionate about things I believe in and care about...sometimes to a fault...but, I'm working on that! :)
3. I lived in SanDiego for a year (hubby was in the navy)... loved the friends we made, but would not want to raise a family there!
4. I have some strange fears... VERY afraid of heights (not too weird, i guess)...colosteraphobic--um, i need my space, people!....fear that I will fall into the basement while i'm taking a shower and/or that the floor of the house will crumble (seriously almost have panic attacks when david is wrestling around on the floor with the kids b/c i'm sure they'll break the floor!!--okay, i told you they were strange!! Stop laughing!!! And PLEASE don't think it's so funny that you come over and jump up and down in my house! I might seriously have a REAL heart attack!!
5. David and I want to own and run a Christian kids camp someday! :) fun!!
6. I LOVE working out! seriously, really love it! ...well, let me clarify...I LOVE doing zumba, cardio blast, body pump, or any other class of Courtney's! okay--NO, I do not have a crush on her or anything like that...she is just AWESOME!! she has given me the motivation to kick my butt into shape, and I LOVE it!!
7. My husband has had a vasectomy--so no more babies... most of you know this...what you may not know, is that someday, we DO plan to adopt...NOT a baby though! At LEAST 18 months... my preferance would be ages 2-4! :)

Here are the people I'm nominating for 'kreativ blog'!! :)

1. Stephanie Smith @ http://sazzlestyle.blogspot.com/
2. Angela Smalligan @ http://matthew724-27.blogspot.com/?spref=fb
3. Dorie Barron @ http://thebarroness.blogspot.com/
4. Heather Cockroft @ http://mammaheather.blogspot.com/
5. Hillary Moon-Sanders @ http://runningwithsanders.blogspot.com/
6. Tami Moon-Roth @ http://therothreport.blogspot.com/
7. Stephanie Smith @ http://sportsguideforwomen.blogspot.com/

Okay, so I have to admit that I have NEVER actually read Stephanie's sports page... BUT, these are the ONLY blogs that I've ever looked at!! :) lol!! However, Steph, Angela, Dorie, Heather, Hillary, and Tami... I DO LOVE your blogs!! :) (not your sports one, steph--that's just me!--I'm sure it IS 'kreativ'!!) :)

Polly Pink's hair is pink!

Here is our map of the 7 continents (I cut them out, Kendyl glued them on to our 'ocean background' by looking at a 'real' map-with a little help matching the ones that 'hook' together). We have been learning a little about each continent and Kendyl has made a poster for each one. It looks great in our classroom!! :)




Today we started studying North America and will now begin concentrating on the United States for awhile. We talked about countries and how each one has a flag...then we made our own 'flag' for the U.S.A.

One of our stories today was Mable Murple. Very cute story about a girl that dreams up a world that is completely purple, with a girl like her, named "Mable Murple". After reading this, I asked Kendyl what color she would color the world...she said Pink... then came up with "Polly Pink". We wrote a little poem about Polly Pink.
Polly Pink's hair is Pink.
So is Polly's bed.
Polly Pink's cat is pink.
So is Polly's head.
Then Kendyl made some pics of Polly and I wrote out most of this poem, having her fill in the rhyming words.

It was a great day of educating...can't believe how much she has learned in just over 3 weeks of school! She is counting to 79 without any help or a number chart, and to 100 with a chart! She is writing her last name-sometimes forgetting the 'h' or 'r' (but it is very difficult to spell and we never really worked on it until the first day of 'school'). She can read a calendar, do basic addition, has 4 different Bible verses memorized, and so much more, that 3 weeks ago, she couldn't do!! I'm so excited to see how much more she will learn and experience this year! She loves learning new things--and that is going to make her SOAR!! :) love it!!! :)

verse this week, "Do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart." proverbs 3:1

verse this month, "Trust the Lord with all your heart." proverbs 3:5

*we go over the other verses we've learned everyday too, so that she will ALWAYS remember them! :)

Aden's way......

So...what do I do with this BOY of mine?! LOL! He is... a BOY! let me say that again... a BOY! Goofy, easily distractable, able to focus on and/or CARE about ONLY ONE thing at a time, and in a nut-shell: a BOY!
Here is Aden, after he had stopped eating grass (not kidding) because he was 'a cow' and was showing off for Anyssa, he began making her laugh in other ways...sticking out his tongue, etc. This would be the goofy in him!





There are these wonderful times when we find something he truly enjoys, in which he will SHINE and concentrate better than any kid I know! ...He loves to 'work'--strange, I know...but he LOVES hauling, carrying, putting away, etc... here he is 'cleaning' off his egg's 'plaque' :) he loved this!





Now...here was Aden refusing to even look at me because he didn't want to do anything 'with crayons'--he wanted glue and scissors (actual 'work' in his eyes)!

This week, Daddy is going to 'boiler operator school' and is only gone for 1st shift (7am-3pm)... now when daddy works 2nd shift, aden spends a lot of time doing 'work' with daddy, but this week he is with us. It has been a fun challenge to incorporate him into what we are learning...we are creating a good routine though! during the times I am giving Kendyl one-on-one instruction, Aden either plays puzzles, watches a Leapfrog video, or plays a computer game... during her practice-sheet time, I work one-on-one with Aden on letters, counting, sorting, etc. It is going very well... but yes, he is only 3 and a BOY, so we are very active and switch activities every 3 minutes--it's great! :)

Now...Aden is a sweet, loving, compassionate, cuddly, affection/affirmation-giving, little boy! This is a pic of him and Nia cuddling in the hammock! (he loves his smalligan girls!) He also always tells me, "mommy, your hair looks so pretty", and tells Kendyl, "I like your dress, Kendyl! You look pretty." ...very sweet! :)

Aden is very intelligent and is doing great... he may take longer than most kids to really 'get' something--but then he's got it down and there's no stopping him! :) He is mechanically inclined and hands-on. But, he is also a watcher--watches things and people intently for hours, days, months, before he even attempts it...but then once he tries it on his own--he's a pro! He wanted NOTHING to do with talking, colors, numbers, letters, etc... each of them, he focused on one at a time and acted as if he was not even paying attention or listening... then one day would wake up and be the master of it! He began talking in sentences after saying only about 10-20 words out loud before that! He never said or pointed to even ONE color, then found some of my thread rolls, stacked them (work), and said "blue, yellow, orange, etc." as he stacked them(right colors too)! He has 'watched' his sister learn her letters and how to read... he watches the leapfrog phonics videos (just watching, never saying anything), then one day, he just started pointing out letters to me! He knows most of the names and most of the sounds! When Kendyl was 3, she only knew what an 'A' and a 'K' looked like, and none of the sounds (mind-you, i never really worked with her on them until she was about 4)... but, this is still amazing to me and exciting... as even though Kendyl didn't know her letters until she was 4, she is now READING at 5... so, with Aden knowing his letters/sounds at 3...watch out!!! :)

So excited to see what the Lord has in store for this little guy! He is a blessing--even when he's a goof-ball and not concentrating on anything I want him to!! :)

Machu Piccu and story problems! :)

"Praise, Praise, Praise the Lord Worship Him today. Trust the Lord with all your heart. Worship Him and pray."

(song sung to row, row, row your boat tune)... taken from Proverbs 3:5 :)

We continued our study of the 7 continents... we have done Antarctica, Australia, Asia, Europe, Africa, and today we did South America. Here is a pic of Machu Piccu, the Incan 'city in the clouds', built in up in the Andes Mountains of South America. We learned a little about this city, about the Amazon River, about the Rain Forests and some of the many animals there, including the HUGE anacondas!. Kendyl drew a pic of Machu Piccu, but was sad that it didn't have castles, kings and queens, like Europe! :) So she drew a little girl, dressing up like a queen instead! :) Tomorrow we will begin our study into North America, which will branch out to begin learning about democracy, important historical events, etc. of our continent, country, state and then city! :)

Since Kendyl is still forgetting the 'n' in 'thank' and the 'k' in 'smack' sometimes, we are keeping those on her spelling list for this week. We added some more words--more Bible related this time... Bible, Jesus, love, loves, you, me + the smack and thank from last week. So, while going over them, Kendyl asked if we could do playdough letters again... so that's what we did...she 'wrote', "Jesus loves Mom and Dad and Aden and Kendyl" all by herself! :) Then she did a journaling page with the same words and a picture of our family, and a huge cloud. She told me that Jesus lives up in the big cloud :).

We continued working on 'some, some more and some, some went away' stories (addition and subtraction 'story problems'). Since it's now Fall, we used 'apples' to add and subtract. We cut out apple shapes, then I would give Kendyl a story problem. Example: Kendyl picked 3 apples and put them into her bowl, then her brother picked 2 apples and put them into Kendyl's bowl. She glued the apples onto her 'bowl' to represent what happened in the 'story'. Subtraction example: Kendyl had 5 apples in her bowl. Then she gave three of them to her Dad to bring in his lunch for work....she would glue the first 5 apples in her bowl, then cross out the apples that were given to Dad. After each 'problem', she would write the math equation. We also did these 'stories' with toys and wrote the equations on a chalkboard.... part of her math practice sheet today, had her draw these types of stories. It was a lot of fun and she's really understanding it well! :)

We read some stories and worked on her sight words and blends. We also did our Bible lesson--today we read about Gideon and how the Israelites had stopped worshipping the true God and started worshipping idols--so God stopped protecting and helping them. After a long time of this, he heard their cries and sent an angel to Gideon to tell him that he (Gideon) was going to defeat the mideanites...Gideon trusted God and built an altar for the True God and worshipped him. We talked about how we can worship God (prayer, praise, studying our Bible, and giving to God's kingdom). We learned our new verse, "trust the Lord with all your heart." proverbs 3:5.

Planning on doing some more games to practice math and reading this afternoon. :)

Kendyl, the Marvelous Marcupial?!?

Crazy day, today!! Worked out yesterday for 2 hours (cardio blast & body pump with Courtney)...now, I used to do this almost everyday...but, haven't in about a month! soooo...I was SO sore this morning... didn't get out of bed until 8:30!! :S anyway... we got moving and actually got all our 'regular' subjects done before noon, plus some art!

We continued to study the 7 continents today... Australia was our pick to learn more about... we learned about some of the animals that only come from Australia--marcupials... kendyl thought this was a very cool name! She drew a pic of some kangaroos and koalas and we hung it by our continent map that we made.

Later we were baking a cake for a funeral...so, we were doing meauring & counting (math), mixing & baking (science) and following directions :) well, Kendyl looked down and noticed that her apron had a pocket in it. She got sooo excited and yells, "Hey, mom, I'm a marcupial!!" Then ran and got her little "kanga" (winnie the pooh kangaroo) and put it in her 'pouch'. :)

Spelling Words are FUN! :)

We had so much fun with Kendyl's spelling words today!! PLAYDOUGH!!!! Aden even joined us... he made some 'snakes' out of playdough, then I helped him do the letters of his name... he can almost do the 'A' and 'd' without any help and he knows the others when he sees them :) Kendyl did excellent making all her letters for the spelling words! I let her look at the list before making the word, then had her 'read the word/spell the word/read the word' to me after she 'made' it. We ALL enjoyed this activity!

Had another FULL day--and it was GREAT! The kids even got to climb trees with Daddy! :) This afternoon, Kendyl and I painted our nails together and colored some pictures. Tonight, Kendyl has dance class, then we will go to a Discovery Toys party! :) yay, fun! :)

Looking forward to another great day, tomorrow!! :)

Edible Science and Exploring the Wonderful World God Created!

What a terrific day of learning!

We started as always, with a circle time of singing praise songs & prayer, followed by math. Kendyl had her oral assessment for math today (every 10 lessons). She can count to 100 with a hundreds chart and 69 without one. :) Two weeks ago, she was having a difficult time remembering what came after 19, 29, 39, ect... now she's got almost got it down! :) We also played a dice game with her hundred's chart...rolled a BUNCH of dice, 'added' them up and found that number on the chart :)

We worked on a few different handwriting lessons and then gave her a little 'quiz' for her spelling words. She was excited because I let her sit in 'my' chair and use a little white-board to write them! :) She has them all down, except her challenge words: smack, she forgets the k and thank, she forgets the n... she's getting there though! :) it is hard to hear the 'n' in thank and the 'k' is silent in smack... but, she can read those words, no problem! :)

We talked about warm & cool colors, separated her markers into those categories, then colored one 'cool' colored pic, one 'warm' colored pic, and one with both.

We read some stories: the Bubble Factory by: Tommy dePaola and Don't Talk to Strangers by: Christine Mehlhaff... she read a little book called, I Like Bugs, to me :)

Kendyl's favorite part of the day: Scientific Method 101: We wrote down our predictions to some questions about 4 bags of candy: M&M's, Raisinets, 2 different kids of Skittles. Q. examples: Which has the most candies?, Which has the most colors?, Which has something other than chocolate inside it? etc. We sorted each bag by color, counted them and observed/compared them... Kendyl's favorite part, of course, was the taste test! :) She likes the tropical Skittles the best. :)

We continued studying the 7 Continents (God's wonderful Creation!)... talked more about Asia today... got to talk about our friends, Sanjna and Sanya that are Indian and how their parents were born in Asia! :) Then Kendyl drew a pic of some animals and people she might see in Asia. After that, I had write our Genesis 1:1 in her journal and draw a pic of what she thought it looked like when God created the heavens and the earth.

All this happened before lunch time! WOW!! AWESOME!! It is so nice when David can take Aden to the Tamarac while I teach Kendyl! :) We get sooo much done and have sooo much fun! When Aden got home, he joined us in some silly games and then after lunch, we continued studying about Joseph & how God used him, even as a slave, to help people... talked about how all of us have 'jobs' and that we are called to do our BEST at whatever job we are doing! Joseph did this and was greatly blessed because of it!

The kids got time to play with David outside and play their LeapFrog games... now it is 'rest' time... they each get to watch one of their 'shows'... Aden always picks Cailou and Kendyl always picks Arthur. :) Later, we will hopefully get back outside to run around again!

'Little' Joys

Kendyl's 'chicken' that she painted today :)

So...I have read about a gazillion articles and many books about homeschooling joys and benefits. I have also talked to many homeschooling parents that have told me all of the wonderful joys they have experienced.

Well...today was our 9th official homeschooling day, and I am amazed at all the wonderful joys that I've already been able to experience because of it.

Here is a list of SOME of the 'little' joys of educating our kids...

1. Being able to experience/witness Kendyl & Aden's joy and excitement as they experience & learn new things! This is truly incredible!

2. Having the priveledge to be the first person to see Kendyl 'get' something--really 'get' it! To see that proud look of accomplishment on her face, is the biggest reward of all.

3. Being able to tell what Kendyl has truly 'learned', what she struggles with, and what she's interested in, has been probably my favorite thing about educating her!

4. Of course, being able to simply spend time with the kids, playing games, talking with them, laughing with them, etc.

5. Knowing that they can be their 'goofy' selves, without fear of being laughed at, teased, or picked on. In school, I was goofy and just plain 'different'...I found excitement in things that others thought was dull and really got picked on a lot. Kendyl has a tremendous zest for learning and pretty much anything! She laughs loudly and gets so excited! When she sings, she SINGS! I was not happy to see some of the kids in her preschool class, rolling their eyes at her, as she belted out the Christmas songs during their program. There were other instances when kids would look at her as if she wasn't 'cool' because she would laugh loudly when she got excited, etc. I am SO thankful, that she is free to be herself here...to laugh and learn and grow and make mistakes, without the fear of ridicule!!

6. How fun it is, to be able to go off on a 'tangent' because Kendyl is so interested in something. For example: today we were talking about the 7 continents again, and AGAIN, she was just so interested in Antarctica! She loves talking about it and planning 'trips' there! lol!! So, today, instead of moving to the next subject...I let her draw a pic of what she thought she would see in Antarctica and she journaled about it also! Now, in a 'regular' school setting, this would be nearly impossible to do, because of all the other kids and the need to go to the next subject... BUT, Kendyl is LEARNING soooo much more because of this!!

While these are just a few of the many joys we've experienced (and I know there are many more to come), there are also difficulties, of course. How great it is, that we have the flexibility to take a break or even a whole day off, if things are just seeming too difficult that day!! I'm am really gaining love for this by the day! Thank you, Lord, for guiding us down this path and providing all we need for it! I'm looking forward to all the joys you will bring to us in the future and the lessons you will teach us through the hard times! AMEN!

Pictographs, Pastor, Presidents, Poetry, Pressure & More!

Whew! What a full week so far!!

Each day we have been doing Bible and all the basics (3 R's), plus art and sometimes science, spanish, music, gym, geography, or history (and random other fun stuff).

Bible: Continue to study the story of Joseph (O.T.). Learning GREAT lessons! This month our verse is "I praise you because you made me, in an amazing and wonderful way." Psalm 139:14 (both kids know it already)... last week our other verse was, "In the Begining, God created the Heavens and the earth" Gen. 1:1 (both know this as well!)... this weeks is harder... "I will maintain my love for him, my covenant to him will never fail" Psalm 89:28 (i'm re-explaining the meaning of this one each day to them)... God will always love us and will always keep his promises!

Math: Kendyl has learned how to make and use a picto-graph, how to write all her numbers WELL (using the Handwriting without tears program), how to add '1' to any number, how to count to 100, how to explain why a square is different from a rectangle, how to read the date on a calendar (where to find the month, date, year and how to say it), how to chart the weather, and many other math skills... all this week!!! (well, some started the first day and are reviewed each day; weather, calendar, counting, left/right, counting, etc.) Each day she does a 2-sided worksheet (this is a 1st grade curriculum)...one in the morning, then one in the afternoon with the same type of problems, to make sure she 'learned' it. :) other than the hand-writing part of it (writing the numbers), she actually REALLY likes math and 'gets it' quickly! :) yay!

Reading: We have been reading LOTS of different books...some from the library and some from our HUGE collection (i lost count after 100 or so kids' books of ours!!)...we have been reading some poetry and working on memorizing some for a 'show' of sorts she is putting together for a few friends and close family for Thanksgiving or Christmas time... We have been practicing these blends all week (sm, sn, th, sh, st, wh, ch, sh) and will be doing much more next week with them... she knows them pretty well...but I don't want to move forward in her H.O.P. until she has them mastered. We've been working on her spelling words and may not do the spelling b until next week...the point isn't to get it done quickly--it's to LEARN it! :) So, we're fine with that :)

We started reading some of the Junie B. books (thanks Tami)... they are funny! yes, Junie has a lot of bad grammar habits while talking... but, Kendyl picked up on this right away and said, "I thought she was in Kindergarten? Why does she still talk like a BABY?!" SO, it was a GREAT learning tool!! :)

Kendyl reads her H.O.P. books to Aden and David for practice and LOVES any story about animals or little kids. She would love to just read all day and listen to stories all day! :)

Writing: Still Kendyl's least favorite thing to do... but we are making it fun... H.W.T. program has lots of fun songs to sing while learning to write well, plus funny sounds... saying 'ribbot' for the 'frog jump letters', etc. we switch it up and let her write on the chalkboard or white board and use different colors and 'write' with her finger in rice, etc. :) She is getting there... SO glad I am able to do this one on one with her, because she really needs reminders to 'start at the top', 'bump the lines', etc... I know in a class of 25+ kids, she would just continue writing the 'wrong way', creating BAD habits that would be HARD to break. Today she wrote a journal page about her zoo trip and drew a pic of her petting the sharks and stingrays :)

Science: Today, Daddy did a project with the kids on pressure (was a little advanced for them and don't know how much they actually learned, but it was FUN) :) they made an ocean background for their 2 liter bottle of water and david put a 'diver' in it, that floated, attached to a pen cap... then when you squeeze it (adding pressure), the diver sinks to the bottom... fun. Plus, today outside, there was a butterfly that must have hurt it's wing or something...it was stuck in our little pool... David took it out and let it dry it's wings in the sun...it sat on Kendyl's finger for awhile...ah life science... observed it, took some pics, we'll study more about butterflies at a later time :)

History: Kendyl loves talking about presidents... sooo, we are learning the 'presidents song' and will be studying a few of them in the coming weeks and months. We checked out a book called, "Grace for President" and Kendyl is SO excited to read it tomorrow! I asked her if she wanted to be president someday and she said she couldn't, because all the rest were guys... GREAT learning opportunity! I asked her to look at their skin color and see if any of them 'looked' different... right away she said that Obama was darker... so, we talked about how he was the first African American president and how someday there could be a woman president--and it could be her!!! Her smile was Priceless!! :)

Geography: We've been talking about maps. Last week Kendyl made a map of our backyard and we've been talking about directions (n/s). This week, we've been talking more indepth about the continents (we introduced them last week). Kendyl says she really wants to visit Antartica to see the penguins...we got to talk about there not being any people there, etc. fun!

Spanish: We're adding a few words or groups of words, weekly. We've practiced, Madre, Padre, Hermano(a), chico(a), numeros 1-10, hola, adios, amigo(a), maetro(a), bebe, abuelo(a), verde, rojo, amarillo, azul so far. :)

Art: Kendyl loves art and draws every day. She has a drawer of random art supplies and things to cut/glue, etc. so, she does a lot of 'free art'. Tomorrow we will be introducing basic color wheel/mixing colors. Starting with the 3 primary and then making the secondary colors with them... then she will paint a pic with those colors :)

Music: So far, we haven't done a lot with this, other than we sing songs every day. We have done some work with sylables and clapping different beats, fast/slow, loud/soft... next week we will learn about pitch (have these great water tubes/flutes that have notes on them and they play the 'real' notes when you blow on them...should be fun!

Extracurricular: Tuesday night, Kendyl had dance class... she just loves it so much! She gets to talk with her little girl friends and dance around and watch herself in the mirror! how fun is that?! I love her teachers... they actually teach them true techniques and not just goofing-around dancing! very fun to watch! Aden is getting great social time during this as well... A little boy, Jacob, and a little boy, Bjorn, both a little older than Aden, have big sisters in Kendyl's dance class... that is a pic of Bjorn and Aden being silly during dance practice :)

Wednesday morning we had playgroup! It was our first one of the fall! A couple new faces, so that was awesome! Kendyl has her friend, kali jo there, so she's not the only 'school-aged' child and she gets to 'help me' prepare the circle times and help when I need her. :) Wednesday night, we went back to the church to sit down and chat with the new pastor! great time... Aden was mr. chatterbox, telling him everything about himself! funny stuff!

Today we went to storycraft at the library... they read about 4 stories, watched one book movie, did some fun dances and a little song about fish & a shark, and then 2 crafts! Both kids had a BLAST at this and Aden kept telling me ALL night, "mom, the library was sooo much fun tonight!".

WHEW!!! We still have one more day this week!! It's gonna be great :) Even though, I still get strange looks and mean comments when I tell people that we are homeschooling--I'm fine with it! :) Thank you, Lord for your strength and vision and wisdom!

Picnic, New Pastor, Date Night & great start to a new week!

Last few days have been a whirlwind!

Saturday:

We went to a Homeschooling Families' Picnic! FUN! Kids played games (3-legged race, sac-race, golf, parachute games, etc.) Met some great families and got lots of info. on resources, field trips, etc. Excited to get to know some of these families better this year! :)

Sunday:

Our new Pastor, Kevin Shute spoke this morning!! So far, I just love him! I LOVE that he gets OFF the stage and comes 'down to our level' into the 'crowd' to speak!! He's funny, friendly, and Heavenly-minded! :) SOOO excited to see the great things God is going to do through him, to impact those in our congregation, and more importantly our entire community!! :) wooohooo!! SOOOO, if you don't have a 'church home' right now...come and visit us some sunday morning at 9:30!! :)

Also...Aden is 3 now, so he goes to Worship Center (preschool class)!! Kendyl has graduated from that and is now in the Kindergarten class, so she gets to sing with all the big kids!! :)

Sunday Night:

Date Night! 6 year Anniversary for us! Soooo... our awesome new friend, LeeAnn watched our kids for us (in exchange for us watching her's sometime!) :) We went to the Olive Garden and then saw 'All About Steve' --very funny and really not a vulgar or 'bad' movie at all! great message and just really liked it!! :) Before we left, Kendyl whispered to David, "Do you think you guys are going to kiss?!" :)

Monday:

Great start to the week! Daddy took Aden to the Tamarac... Kendyl and I sang our praise and worship songs, 'excersized' to wake our bodies up and then did her math lesson :)

Then we combined math/writing/art... I drew a large number seven (block style) in pencil and had her trace over the top line (a true 7) in marker... then had her draw dash lines in the same direction as the seven's lines in the middle to look like the middle of a road (practicing using the same strokes she would use writing the number 7--sneaky! she HATES practicing writing--but she thought she was drawing!). Then I had her draw 7 cars on the '7 road'... after that, she decided the cars were all going to Aunt Amy's easter egg hunt, so she drew amy's house & back yard, with some eggs in the grass! :)

We did her reading... wow, she's reading some difficult words/books now! we are needing to slow down a bit, to make sure she's got everything down that we've covered! She read a little book called, "Slam & Dunk and the Big Game"...lots of blended sound words in it, new 'signs' (apostrophe for the word it's) and new sight words (come, thank, you, are, etc.) she will be re-reading that book tonight :) ...then I had her use two of her new sight words (thank you) and make a card for her Sunday school teacher...thanking her for serving God :)

Daddy came home, the kids played outside with him. Then we made chocolate covered pretzels for playgroup. Then, Kendyl and I went over her very first spelling word list :) We will do a 'spelling-bee' with her and daddy on friday! lol! we practiced how to say, spell, say the words in a spelling bee... her words are: man, cat, lap, snap, chat, than, smack, & thank.

We did our Bible lesson: Joseph's brothers selling him as a slave and how even when bad things happen, God has a plan for us, for good! :)

Then the REAL fun!! This afternoon we made an alphabet train with 26 boxes... Kendyl wrote out ALL the letters, capital and lower case, for the boxes! (she HATES practicing writing...but LOVED this because it was a 'project'!) Aden taped them on the boxes and we all found items that began with that letter. Aden practiced letter recognition and phonics and Kendyl worked on handwriting, phonics review and helping her brother! :) was sooo fun! They loved sitting in their own letter boxes... Aden in the A box with his Alligator... Kendyl in the K box with her Karoke Kid! :) I think I created a monster though... Aden keeps asking me, 'what else can I put in our train?!' :) It's good though! :)

What a great start to the new week! Looking forward to more fun!! :)

Zoo Animals, Hygeine, & Tools, Oh My!

What a terrific day, today!!

David took Aden to the Tamarac this morning, then got new tires on my van! So, Kendyl and I had all morning together!

We sang praise songs together and danced around all crazy!! FUN! Then we did math--went terrific. Then we did a follow-up project to our zoo trip. We made a 'train'...she glued pics of some of the animals we saw at the zoo, onto a folded piece of paper (a train car). She wrote the animal's 'name' above each picture...in the inside, we wrote a little about each animal. It's habitat, what it eats, and one thing she likes about this animal. At the zoo, there was a wooded toy train that kids could climb on...I knew we were going to do this project, so made sure to take a pic of each of my kids in the 'engine' of the train. So, she glued a pic of her 'driving' the train, onto the engine of her train. Monday, I will have her write a little about the zoo trip inside this page.

Kendyl played for awhile and I cleaned :) Then we played 'store' together--her idea--wasn't in my 'plan' for the day...but what a great, fun way to bring math & dramatic play in!! So, I had her make dollar & cent signs for a bunch of toys and tape them on. Then she made some 'dollars' out of paper and used bingo tokens as 'cents'. This was great because she was practicing writing her numbers (which she usually HATES to do)--and was having FUN doing it!!! (she didn't realize we were 'doing school' ;) awesome! Then she had to 'read' the numbers, count, add and subtract 'money' and all while having FUN!! Isn't homeschooling GREAT! :)

Daddy got home and we had lunch...went over our Spanish words... then Bible story & verses... Aden almost has his memorized :) FUN!!

The night before, we had put 2 white hardboiled eggs into cups of Soda... we asked the kids to make hypothesis' (guesses) about what they thought would happen to the eggs... then today we took them out and saw that they were brown! Kendyl was right! ;) So, we recorded our observations on our science record sheet... then did what Dorie suggested and had a health lesson! Gave the kids each a toothbrush with toothpaste and let them scrub the grime off the eggs! It was not easy! We talked about good teeth cleaning habits... great lesson!! thanks, Dorie!! :)

Later, we gave Kendyl and Aden their very first real tool bags with tools!! Seriously, it was like Christmas!! They were BOTH soooo excited to learn how to use all their tools and help Daddy in the garage!! So, Daddy made them each their own 'practice boards' that have nails, screws, bolts, etc. They practiced hammering, screwing, measuring and much more!! Aden is really good!! I was quite impressed! :)

Kendyl and I did her Hooked on Phonics and read some stories together...then finished her math practice sheet.

Tonight, Daddy decided to kill our child-attacking rooster, because it attacked Kendyl AGAIN!! So, off with its head!! I didn't let the kids watch, even though they wanted to!! I know, I'm mean and overprotective!! but, GROSS!!! Dinner tomorrow!! lol!

It was such a fun day! Hope next week is filled with this much fun! :)

Selfish Bug bit me today!

Okay... today we woke up, got ready & I did math with Kendyl. Went well :) Then we read a book called Friends and Kendyl drew a pic of her and a friend of her choice--she chose Aden :) She drew them lying on the floor, putting a Spiderman puzzle together.

Then Daddy 'took over' for awhile, while I went to the Tamarac!!! This was planned (I worked out a schedule where I will usually be able to go to the Tamarac Tue/Thur mornings and some Wednesday mornings...and also Saturday and still be able to teach Kendyl no problem!

Hadn't been there in almost 2 weeks and FELT it! I only did Zumba (was planning on doing much more)... It felt so great to be there, though! Talking to my friends... laughing with my friends...being in Courtney's class...ZUMBA! Awesome!! Then the selfish bug started to bite me... grrr... I kept thinking, 'what was I thinking?! If I just sent Kendyl to school, I could do this everyday and have lots of one-on-one with Aden and get all these cool craft projects done and be involved in a TON of stuff at church & with friends!!!" Had to check myself!!

Was really in a funk about it (didn't help that Courtney told me to 'send my kid to school and get back to her classes!')--- she was half-kidding, but still... anyway... all the way home I was feeling like maybe I didn't want to homeschool...

THEN, I walk in the door and Kendyl and Aden greet me with a big hug and smile (well...aden danced around like a clown to greet me--but that's his way!)... Kendyl proudly showed me her 'school practice' sheet (we try not to use the word, 'work')... I had left a 1st/2nd grade phonics sheet for her to do...half expecting her to do a little of it, then convince daddy she was 'too tired' or something....

but, she did the WHOLE thing... front and back!! On one side, she had to look at a picture, then write it's name.... she wrote 'web', 'net', 'bet', 'bell', 'well', & 'pen' all by herself, with no help on the spellings! Then the other side, she colored all the 'short e' words for a color by word picture... it made the picture of a bell (this was tricky because there were other 'e' words that we long e)... she did it all by herself, then wrote the word 'bell'. Then finished by writing 'et' and 'en' words... get, wet, pet, ten, pen, hen--then on her own, made up a story using those words! I was sooo proud of her... then remembered... I TAUGHT HER TO READ!! AWESOME!! Selfishness Out the window!! :) I'm in this baby! At least for this year!!

Then after lunch, we did our Bible story and reviewed our 2 verses... she recited them perfectly already! (we are only planning on memorizing 1 each week and another one each month...so proud of her!)

So, this afternoon we still need to do her reading and a little writing... right now the kids are outside with daddy, helping him with 'building' things and they are also doing some 'non-standard' and standard measuring! Fun!! Tonight we will have a family game night too!

So... had a little selfish side step... but I'm back in the game! Ready for FUN!! :)

Day 2: Little bumpy...but we hung in there! :)

So, I had today all planned out, thinking that David would have Aden at the Tamarac with him from about 8am to 11am... sooooo...I had planned more in depth stuff with Kendyl during this time period. Well, David came home last night from work saying, "I'm working 1st and 2nd shift tomorrow." Needless to say, my plan needed some last minute adjusting! Being too tired last night (david gets home at 11:30), I just decided to adjust as we went today! soooo....yeah....not so easy! at least it wasn't today! Aden just turned 3 and he is a boy... those of you with boys will understand! :) It made for an interesting day, for sure. We did have a few tears (mostly from me!)... but when it got to that point, we just took a 'break' and the kids watched Word World while mommy read her Bible, prayed, and check fb! :) AHHH... much better after that! :)

8:00 We all started the day with Prayer & Praise Songs... which went very well :) Then they each picked some toys they wanted to 'show & tell' (funny, i know!)... that went extremely well too! :)

I had planned at this time, to work on some animal research with Kendyl (follow-up from our zoo trip)...well, this would've simply frustrated aden and he really wanted to be with us and not play by himself at this point... so, we played a dice game (threw the dice, counted them, found a number card to match--then threw 2 of them, added them up and found a matching card)--this went fairly well...

After this, I told Aden that I needed to do Kendyl's math book with her and he was surprisingly fine just playing with the blocks and colored tiles :) So, Kendyl and I did her Saxon math #2 lesson--she did her first 'homework' page in it :) which included drawing animals...so she loved it :)

9:30 Kendyl was a little restless from sitting and writing, so I gave them both some free play options while I figured out what we should do next!

9:45 We 'matched' a 6 of pairs of shoes, put them in a row, counted them, then practiced counting by 2's with them:) great visual for counting by 2's :)

10:00 Wet-Dry-Try (a Handwriting without tears activity)...I drew the number on the chalkboard, then used a wet sponge to draw over the number, then dried it carefully, so you could still see the 'outline'...then the kids traced the numbers.

At this point, we for whatever reason, all kept having bad attitudes... so we had to talk about a verse we memorized a long time ago... 'do everything without complaining or arguing'... I needed this reminder today, maybe more than the kids!! don't know what my deal was, grrrr! :(

10:15 Writing: did 'warm-ups' with both kids, then the letter 'E' with Kendyl while aden played trains

10:30 Snack & Stories: Read Good Knight by: Linda R. Rymill and Princess Knight by: Cornelia Funke & Kerstin Meyer --both excellent books! :)

11:00 RECESS!! We all needed this!! We ran around chasing each other... then did some obstacle courses and duck duck goose :)

11:30 For whatever reason, when we came in, instead of being rejuvinated from the outdoors, they were both grumpy!! sooo, we had a rest time--they watched Word World and I took a devotional & fb break! ahhh! :)

12:00 Art: we played with moon sand, making castles and 'digging for dino bones'... :) during this, I made lunch

12:30 lunch

1:00 Bible lesson: read from Step into the Bible by Ruth Graham, reviewed yesterday's verse (verse for whole month) "I praise you because you made me, in an amazing and wonderful way." psalm 139:14 and learned a new verse (verse for this week) "In the begining, God created the Heavens and the Earth" Genesis 1:1

They put their verses into their 'hearts' (we made these canisters to represent them and their 'hearts'--"I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." psalm 119:11 :) great visual for them!

1:30 Aden watched the Leap Frog video "Math Circus" and Kendyl played dress-up and with her doll (she read her phonics books to her doll) :)

2:00 Hooked on Phonics with Kendyl... Aden fell asleep :) YAY! Kendyl practiced spelling words that have blended begining sounds: chop, chat, chin, shed, ship, then, this, that, snap, when, etc. ...she knows these blends VERY well when they are by themselves 'ch', 'sh', 'th', 'wh', 'sm', 'sn'...but, is having a more difficult time 'reading' them while in a word... so we are doing this lesson again tomorrow :)

2:30 Read some phonics books with Kendyl (took turns reading pages)... then we 'practiced' some of her dance moves she's learning in ballet/tap :)

3:00 Social studies: Learned about maps...talked about what the world looks like from the moon...directions (N/S, W/E)...and learned names of the 7 continents.

3:30 Writing: Practiced writing her name and address

*Now it is her choice--so of course, she is watching Arthur :)

We still need to do the 2nd half of her math 'homework' (each day she does one half during the 'lesson', then one later to make sure she remembers :)

So we didn't get everything I wanted to today... but, it was a good day in general :) I will work on MY attitude for tomorrow and it WILL be better! Praying David doesn't have to work--it is suposed to be his day off completley tomorrow... if that's the case, I will be going to Zumba in the morning :) and then 'educating' in the afternoon! :)

Thank you, Lord that we made it threw this far today! Help us to have a better day tomorrow! AMEN!!!

First Day!

Today was our first official day of homeschooling! Kendyl is now a Kindergartener!! While, I didn't have the same experience today that mom's of 'regular' school kids have--watching their little ones leave on a Huge bus and be gone all day...I did tear up a little! My little girl is growing up! :( I feel for all you moms that had to send your little ones off to school today... I think I would've balled all day!

Here's a look into our day today...

8:00 "Bus" Arrives: for those that don't know...Kendyl's main concern about not going to public school, is that she wouldn't be able to ride the bus!...so, we 'disguised' our van to look like a bus... thankfully, this made her day! She LOVED it! David 'picked' her and Aden up, then they picked their friends, Kali & Anyssa up for a quick bus ride and pictures, then came back to our 'school'.

9:00 Prayer/Praise Songs/'rules' discussion (yes, we're making her raise her hand, etc...just as in a regular classroom--for learning to listen and take turns, etc...and understanding who's in charge...and so she understands this fully if/when she goes to a 'regular' school).

9:30 Kendyl and Aden both drew their self-portraits (which we will do again at the end of the year for comparison)

9:45 Aden went to 'help' daddy with chores, etc... Kendyl and I worked on a 'Summer Suitcase' (cut out of a suitcase that opens and has things she cut out that you would pack in a suitcase, with sentences on them of things she did this summer, and also a drawing of her family camping during the summer)

10:00 Math: Saxon lesson #1: we do a calendar/weather chart daily, writing out the date each time...then a 'lesson' (today was just intro...what do you think mathematicians do?) everyday after this there will be a worksheet (2 sided...one for the morning, one for the afternoon--with the same types of 'problems' on it)

Then we played some counting/math games with some blocks

10:30 Snack/Story: Gregory the Terrible Eater by: Mitchell Sharmat *Also learned Spanish words for mother, father, sister & brother

11:00 Recess with Dad & mom (most times it will be just dad--it will kind of be a 'prep'-time for me). We played a tag version of Red Rover (we called them over by colors they were wearing, then by their spanish title brother (hermano), sister (hermana)...they took turns calling us madre & padre also :) Then we went in the backyard and played in the sand and on swings.

11:45 Writing: Started this new program (Handwriting without tears) ...so, we did the basics of how they form the letters (which is a little different that what kendyl was taught in preschool). Then we did pencil pick-up warm-ups for writing... then Kendyl practiced writing the letter F, using the new technique (awesome! really helps prevent reversals-which was a problem of hers)...plus there are such fun songs to sing as you learn them! :)

12:30 Lunch

1:00 Bible: Story of Joseph and the 'special' coat. Talked about families and thanked God for our family. Started learning the verse: I love you because you made me, in an amazing and wonderful way. Psalm 139:14

1:30 Hooked on Phonics: Worked on Blended sounds and Kendyl read a story Can you get Sam to the ship?-- I was so proud of her... we have really slacked in keeping up with her reading this summer (just did it maybe once a week)...but she didn't forget a thing! :)

2:00 Journal--She dictated it to me for today...then just drew a picture about her first day of school. She drew her on the 'bus' and our 'school house' :)

2:20 few minutes to hang with daddy before he had to go to work

2:30 played outside (kendyl, aden & mommy)

3:00 free play (she played barbies, aden played trains): mommy worked on tomorrow's lessons

3:30 Snack/rest & t.v. time Cailou & Arthur....and mommy's turn for a break too (blogging) :)

At 6:15 Kendyl has dance class tonight! :)

It was such a great day! All of us thrive on schedules/structure here...so it was great! Aden wanted to stay with us all day...but did enjoy 'helping' daddy! Daddy is getting him some tools and making a practice block for him (with screws, nails, etc. in it)--so he can practice!:)

Looking forward to tomorrow and getting our schedule down well, so that I can begin working out on a regular basis again! Hoping to be able to work out either tomorrow evening and/or tuesday morning! We'll see how it goes! :)

Our Little Man...

Aden Douglas Dahlstrom:

Where to even begin with this little ball of goofiness?! Let's start at the begining... Aden was a colicky, difficult baby (most of the people reading this probably already know that). I had a difficult time with him... looking back I think I may have had some PPD or at least severe baby blues. Whatever the case, he CRIED and CRIED all the time until he was about 8 months! It was if he woke up one day and thought, 'hey, I guess life isn't so bad...maybe I don't need to cry all the time?!'... then he was great. He is cuddly and sweet and loving and extremely compassionate! He is always willing to lend a hand or help a friend if they get hurt! He loves hugs and kisses and closeness. He is not extremely outgoing, but is friendly. He takes a time or two to get to know someone before he talks much or interacts much with them... BUT, once he does, watch out!

This boy can talk your ear off! He is a MAJOR GOOF Ball, like his Dad! Everything is a joke to him... It drives me crazy sometimes...but it is also one of the things I love the best about him! He is a show-off when it comes to cute little girls (namely, Anyssa Smalligan)! :) He will do anything for a laugh! In fact, tonight, he began eating grass at our cookout and calling himself a cow, just to get Anyssa to laugh! Oh my word, his teenage years could be SCARY!!!

Aden learns so much differently than Kendyl, which gave me so much anxiety in the first 2 years of his life! I seriously thought there could be something 'wrong' with him. It seemed like whenever I tried to 'teach' him something, he didn't even pay attention or hear me... He only said a hand-full of words by 20 months... then, at about 22 months, he seriously woke up one morning, speaking sentences! Seriously. That is how he does EVERYTHING. Learning his colors...took months before he would even attempt to name one... then, found some of my thread spools and stacked them up into a tower as he said every single color correctly! what the word?! This is how he learned is ABC's, getting dressed, potty training and pretty much everything else! He refused to try anything until he had watched it enough that he felt he could do it perfectly...then when he finally tried it, he was EXCELLENT at it!! It is a challenge to teach this boy of mine...but I LOVE challenges...so BRING IT! :)

Some of Aden's Loves: Mommy, Daddy & Kendyl...probably his favorite word is 'family' (so much like his daddy!) he just loves closeness and tight relationships! Hugs-he's a cuddler! The Color BLUE! (it must be blue--everything!) Dancing/Singing--the boy actually has great rhythm and can keep a beat (he did NOT get this from his daddy--yea! something from me!) Diego--has been an obsession of his for a couple years now!! Caliou--fairly new obsession (one I don't completley enjoy--but he does) Helping Daddy (or anyone) with anything! Stuffed animals and 'guys'--he's always got at least 2 action figures (diego, spiderman, etc.) and/or 2 stuffed animals (his frog & tiger are his faves).

Aden is just 3 years old...next year we plan to send him to the Fremont Christian Preschool (where Kendyl went last year)... this year, we are just playing games with him, working on his letters, numbers, shapes, etc. and 'helping' daddy in the garage :)

I love this little goof ball to pieces! He's so kissable, I could just cuddle and kiss him all day!!! :)

A Little About My Oldest Little One...

Kendyl Grace Dahlstrom:
Kendyl is the epitome of enthusiasm! I LOVE this about her! She gets ridiculously excited about anything new...whether anyone else thinks it's exciting or not! Her laugh is contagious and her smile (like her auntie Jen's) is beautiful and unforgettable! She has always been quick to learn things. Show her or tell her something one time, and she will know it so well and never forget it! I remember her as a baby (between 8-18 months)...everytime she would see or experience something new, you could almost literally 'see the light go on in her head'... she is a thinker and evaluator... LOVE this little girl so much!!
By a year, she was speaking in sentences and carrying on full conversations by about 16 months. She walked at 9 1/2 months and was singing and dancing soon after! During preschool this year, we checked out a leapfrog phonics video...after 2 times of watching it, she had all the letters and sounds DOWN...hasn't forgotten them since! So, I thought it would be the perfect time to try to introduce reading to her (not really thinking she would learn anytime soon). My mom had found Hooked on Phonics at Good Will (normally $300--for $12!!)...so, we started doing it with her... couldn't BELIEVE how quickly she caught on and how excited she was to learn to read! 2 months later she was reading short books and could sound out anything spelled in begining phonics (short vowel sounds w/o blends)... now she knows some blends and long vowel sounds (silent e words) and is so excited to learn to read! I'm so excited to see what this year brings for her!
Her loves: DADDY (and playing 'beat-up' with him! Singing: she LOVES singing and belts it out! Art in general: drawing, painting, ANYTHING to do with art! PBS shows: Arthur, Word Girl, Sid the Science Kid! (if I let her, she would watch them all day long!) Animals!! WOW, she loves everything about them! Begs for kittens and bunnies almost daily--non yet... she makes due with our chickens though--she loves them! Could totally see her becoming a vet! Learning new things! She just loves asking questions about how, when, where, why... not annoyingly, but really because she wants to know everything! I love that she is not afraid of asking us what a word means (which is why her vocabulary has always been advanced)! BABIES: She LOVES them! Wants to hold, kiss, cuddle and do anything with them! (no, we're not having anymore!)
Kendyl is EXTREMELY outgoing and has no fear of meeting new kids! (sometimes adults she is cautious of--but i think that is wisdom)... but KIDS, WOW! Everytime we go ANYWHERE, she sees a kid from age 2-10 and goes right up to them, introduces herself and asks their name! LOVE this about her! Truly believe that God is going to grow this gift in her even more and use her to reach out to many people!!!
Funny & awesome story: At age 3, Kendyl was playing with a toy nativity set during Christmas... she had heard the Christmas story a few times and she stopped and looked at Joseph very intently... then asked, "Mommy, is Jesus God's son, or Joseph's son?" What insight for a 3 year old! Love it! :)
Sorry... I love to talk about my kids... there are tremendous blessings and I praise God for the Work He does in them daily! I know he has BIG plans for BOTH my kids! It is our job as parents, to help our children see the gifts in them and help them to develop them for use in the Kingdom of God!

for those who like to understand...

Here are a few books that I would recommend for any of you that may have questions concerning socialization and homeschooling....

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=socialization+and+homeschooling

http://www.amazon.com/Family-Matters-Homeschooling-Makes-Sense/dp/0156300001/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252208050&sr=8-7

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=why+homeschool


Also... in case you are wondering what Kendyl will be learning this year... here is a list of some of the curriculum and books we will be using... you can google any of these for a description and more info.

Math: Saxon 1 (first grade curriculum--previewed the kindergarten curriculum and she had mastered most of it--the stuff she didn't have mastered yet, is all gone over thouroughly in the first grade curriculum.
supplementing with: Math-U-See (awesome program!) and various math games & activities such as cooking, etc.

Reading: Hooked on Phonics (she is already at a mid-first grade level in this)
*also using lots of easy reader books and reading games

Writing: Handwriting Without Tears (terrific program--great website to check out!)

Spelling: Doing my own spelling lists--basing them on what she is learning with her hooked on phonics and handwriting and also putting some words she may learn during other subjects.

Bible: Explore Bible People 1 day/week & 1 verse per month
Step into the Bible by: Ruth Graham
Verses: memorize 1 per week from book

Art: We will experiment with many types of media and complete many different projects--kendyl loves art... i have a large variety of arts/crafts books for kids, plus we will check these types of books out from the library

Music: We will sing praise & worship songs daily... plus music is worked into almost all of the subjects... we will also of course sing many of the kids' classics as we add instruments to our singing (working on rhythm, tone, etc.)

*A book I am getting many ideas from is called: What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know ---awesome resource!
* Home Learning Year by Year by: Rebecca Rupp and the Ultimate Book of Homeschool Ideas by: Linda Dobson

Science: I have a variety of different books with science experiments, etc. For kindergarten, we will mostly be exploring things that spark Kendyl's interest... she LOVES learning about the inside of our bodies and how it works... so we will do some more of that, learn about the senses, good hygeine & health, seasons, plants & flowers, weather, and a few others...

History/Geography/Social Studies: These will be about once per week... we will study maps (world, country, state, town, etc.), Different cultures, Presidents (since she seems to love this for some reason), Creation, LIfe of Jesus, First Americans, Pilgrims, Columbus, Democracy, and current events we read or watch.


I feel good about the curriculum and resources I've found and look forward to a GREAT year!! PLEASE ask if you have any questions about what we are learning :)

Stephanie made me do it!

Okay.... so, here goes...

My sister, Stephanie, suggested that I begin a blog to write about our homeschooling experience. I think she just wants to make sure we're actually teaching the kids what the other kids in 'regular school' are learning. That's fine, though... we have nothing to hide! :) (love you, steph!) :)

Reasons why we are choosing homeschooling...

Biggest reason is that David (my husband) works 2nd shift. This would mean that he would see Kendyl for about 10 minutes before she went to school in the morning and she would be sleeping by the time he got home from work. Now, for some families, this may be fine with them... not for us. Kendyl is a Daddy's Girl!! It is almost like he is a drug to her because she goes into serious withdrawals if she doesn't see him for a day or two. This summer, she went to VBS and her and David about lost their minds! They just can't function without their daddy/daughter time! Soooo, homeschooling would give her more time with daddy! :)

Another reason is simply, we want her to have an Christian education, grounded in the Word of God. Since we are not rich, Christian school is not really an option for us (although I don't know that I would want her going to the Fremont Christian School anyway--but that's a story for another day!). If we homeschool, I can use curriculum that keeps Christ at the center.

Another reason is that we want our children to develop social skills that allow them to interact with and respect adults properly. This is something that is not taught in the school system anymore! Just walk into any classroom these days and you will find snotty, back-talking, disrespectful kids that do not know how to act properly in a social setting. This has become the norm and not the exception to the rule. It is simply too difficult for one teacher to monitor all conversations and behavior of children in a class of 26-30 students!! Ideally, if there were about 4 to 6 kids per adult teacher, this would be a great setting for learning proper social interaction. The teacher would be able to intervene when children were talking inappropriately, etc. (I will post a list of great books that are written solely on this issue of socialization and how if done correctly, is achieved much more efficiently in a home-setting).

Yet another reason is that Kendyl is already reading at a mid-first grade level and has not even started kindergarten yet! How bored would she be while the kids were learning what sound the 'a' makes, since she can read a gazillion words with the long and short 'a' sounds?!

There are many other reasons, that I may 'blog' about at a later date... but I think that's enough for now. :)

For those of you that are worried we are scarring our children for life and trying to lock them away from the world... rest assured, we are smarter than that! We are not trying to shelter our children from the world... just give them the tools they need to deal with it... I don't plan on homeschooling all the way through high school (unless God calls us to that!)... we are taking this one year at a time and seeing how it goes. We are not ignorant enough to continue it, if our kids are not learning or if they begin shying away from people (losing their social skills). You may like to hear that we are joining a Newaygo County Christian Home school support & activity group. It is a group of home school families from all walks in life, that organize sports teams/tournaments, spelling & other educational b's, field trips, music/instrument lessons, group classes and much more. We will have our 'kick-off' picnic on September 12. Kendyl is so excited to meet some of the other kids there and get to do fun things with them!

I do want to say something that may shock you (and may not)... I used to be COMPLETELY against homeschooling! Seriously... like some have said to me... most of the home schooled kids I met were WEIRD and couldn't function properly in society... I know the fears you may have about this and believe me, I understand! It took me YEARS of researching and praying about it to see that homeschooling is not only 'okay', it can be wonderful and the BEST way to educate a child! Throughout my 'research', I have met many families that do a tremendous job educating their children at home...and guess what? Their kids are 'normal'...no wait, better than normal...they are TERRIFIC, completely able to interact with 'normal' people and do well in life! I know, I was shocked too! :) So, seriously, if you have concerns about it, please research it...talk to LOTS of different home schooled kids and families...learn about it before you totally write us off as whack jobs, please! :)

I will try to 'blog' about our daily activities, lessons, etc. as the year goes by. Feel free to ask any questions! And PLEASE, do a little research into home school... I think you'll be pleasantly surprised! :)

thanks, Steph! I think I will actually like this! :)