My husband loves making Christmas Cookies. The past few years he hasn't had time but thanks to a recent surprise of knee surgery he's home for a few weeks during this precious Advent season.
Right now, as I write, father and son have kicked me out of the kitchen and are making Peanut Butter Blossoms.
There is nothing more precious in this entire world than a father spending time with his child creating memories that will last a lifetime.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Cinderella's Gettin' Ready to Try on a New Shoe
Okie dokie.
MFW is finally on it's way and the extra books I needed to complete the set are mostly here. Still waiting for the box from MFW and the box from THL Curriculum Shop to arrive.
Meanwhile we're "getting ready". Clearing out the schoolroom so we have more workspace and less play space. I'm considering picking up a folding table for art projects and the like in there or possibly moving my sewing table from the kitchen to the schoolroom so we could use that. Not sure yet which way it's going to go.
In the meantime, we're trying to get the house in better shape in general. I have a goal that by the end of October meals are eaten AT the table, schoolwork is done primarily IN the schoolroom, toys remain where they belong and we conquer the clutter monster before Christmas arrives. Oh yes and the piano needs to be unearthed since DS wants to start learning how to play.
So much to do...so little time to do it in! :)
MFW is finally on it's way and the extra books I needed to complete the set are mostly here. Still waiting for the box from MFW and the box from THL Curriculum Shop to arrive.
Meanwhile we're "getting ready". Clearing out the schoolroom so we have more workspace and less play space. I'm considering picking up a folding table for art projects and the like in there or possibly moving my sewing table from the kitchen to the schoolroom so we could use that. Not sure yet which way it's going to go.
In the meantime, we're trying to get the house in better shape in general. I have a goal that by the end of October meals are eaten AT the table, schoolwork is done primarily IN the schoolroom, toys remain where they belong and we conquer the clutter monster before Christmas arrives. Oh yes and the piano needs to be unearthed since DS wants to start learning how to play.
So much to do...so little time to do it in! :)
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Accidental Lessons
So DS has been struggling greatly with finding good friends and understanding why it's important. On the way home he was asking me why we were trying a new church and couldn't go back to the old one. The short answer of that without pointing fingers is, churches with unsupervised, undirected Sunday School are a problem.
So when we got home, I took a big bowl of water we tinted blue with food coloring.
Then I took a little clear cup (the top of another bottle) and put 1 drop of red food coloring inside. I told him the blue water was "friends" who didn't have good behavior and weren't nice.
I floated the cup on top and said, "Okay - so if you just see them around and bump into them once in awhile, they don't really affect you, right?" and he said yes.
I said, "Okay, but the more you know them, the deeper in the water you go" and I kept pushing it down until the water spilled into the cup and turned the cup's liquid purple but not far enough for it to leak the red out and I said, "So, what happened to you?"
He said, "They turned me purple."
I said, "Right, they affected who YOU are by their actions."
Then I poured out the purple and said, "Do you see any red in the water? Did you change them or did they just change you?" and he said it hadn't changed.
So I rinsed out the cup and put in a few drops of yellow food coloring and a bit of water so it looked yellow instead of orange and I floated it again and said, "Okay - now let's pretend that the blue water is your good Christian friends with good manners and who are kind to you."
I started to push it down talking about him being friends with them and kept pushing until the cup was at the bottom and had overflowed with first them turning him green and then him turning them green. I explained how they helped him and he helped them to become better because they enhanced each other instead of turning each other murky. He got all excited and got the point that by surrounding himself with good friends he's helping them and they're helping him.
but that wasn't the best part...
The BEST was the accidental lesson afterward!!!
So I poured the green water into the tub because J3 was going to take a shower.
and turned on the shower and he looked in and said, "The water is turning the green clear."
I said, "Okay - so think of the water like Jesus washing the sins away" and went back to what I was doing totally oblivous and shut the shower curtain while I got him ready to get cleaned up.
I'm heading out of the bathroom and he pulls the curtain aside to get in the tub and says, "Mom!!!! LOOK!!!! JESUS WINS!!!!"
So when we got home, I took a big bowl of water we tinted blue with food coloring.
Then I took a little clear cup (the top of another bottle) and put 1 drop of red food coloring inside. I told him the blue water was "friends" who didn't have good behavior and weren't nice.
I floated the cup on top and said, "Okay - so if you just see them around and bump into them once in awhile, they don't really affect you, right?" and he said yes.
I said, "Okay, but the more you know them, the deeper in the water you go" and I kept pushing it down until the water spilled into the cup and turned the cup's liquid purple but not far enough for it to leak the red out and I said, "So, what happened to you?"
He said, "They turned me purple."
I said, "Right, they affected who YOU are by their actions."
Then I poured out the purple and said, "Do you see any red in the water? Did you change them or did they just change you?" and he said it hadn't changed.
So I rinsed out the cup and put in a few drops of yellow food coloring and a bit of water so it looked yellow instead of orange and I floated it again and said, "Okay - now let's pretend that the blue water is your good Christian friends with good manners and who are kind to you."
I started to push it down talking about him being friends with them and kept pushing until the cup was at the bottom and had overflowed with first them turning him green and then him turning them green. I explained how they helped him and he helped them to become better because they enhanced each other instead of turning each other murky. He got all excited and got the point that by surrounding himself with good friends he's helping them and they're helping him.
but that wasn't the best part...
The BEST was the accidental lesson afterward!!!
So I poured the green water into the tub because J3 was going to take a shower.
and turned on the shower and he looked in and said, "The water is turning the green clear."
I said, "Okay - so think of the water like Jesus washing the sins away" and went back to what I was doing totally oblivous and shut the shower curtain while I got him ready to get cleaned up.
I'm heading out of the bathroom and he pulls the curtain aside to get in the tub and says, "Mom!!!! LOOK!!!! JESUS WINS!!!!"
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Gearing up for 2010/2011 School Year!!!!
We're so excited to be home and getting settled back in. A quick shout out to my DEAR friend Tina H who has been instrumental in helping me get my bearings this year.
Curriculum is changing and should be arriving in the mail no later than next week. Everything but Math U See (MUS) got thrown out and we're starting from scratch this year with new and exciting things that we just can't WAIT to tackle.
For those wondering what on EARTH we're doing over here (other than my neighbors who don't have access to my blog *wink*) this year we have already begun: Handwriting Without Tears (HWT), All About Spelling (AAS), Math U See (MUS), Spectrum Language Arts, and some homemade unit studies. I am ECSTATIC to be announcing that we will be beginning Adventures in My Father's World (MFW) in just a week or two. We're THRILLED to be able to offer these opportunities to our son and he's beyond excited to begin.
STAY tuned this year for seeing what the world brings to our humble family and how our journey, complete with it's hairpin turns and dangerously fast accelerations, shakes out.
((((hugs)))) to our friends new and old! :)
Curriculum is changing and should be arriving in the mail no later than next week. Everything but Math U See (MUS) got thrown out and we're starting from scratch this year with new and exciting things that we just can't WAIT to tackle.
For those wondering what on EARTH we're doing over here (other than my neighbors who don't have access to my blog *wink*) this year we have already begun: Handwriting Without Tears (HWT), All About Spelling (AAS), Math U See (MUS), Spectrum Language Arts, and some homemade unit studies. I am ECSTATIC to be announcing that we will be beginning Adventures in My Father's World (MFW) in just a week or two. We're THRILLED to be able to offer these opportunities to our son and he's beyond excited to begin.
STAY tuned this year for seeing what the world brings to our humble family and how our journey, complete with it's hairpin turns and dangerously fast accelerations, shakes out.
((((hugs)))) to our friends new and old! :)
Sunday, May 23, 2010
"We're Busy, Busy, Dreadfully Busy...."
It's officially spring here in Montana and that usually means road trip time for our household! Today was laundry, luggage locating, and printing off all the necessary school and other stuff for the road.
This trip will take 3 days. It will take us through 5 states and will be approximately 20ish hours on the road with plenty of time for stops and fun on days 2 and 3. Activities for J3 are as listed below:
Day 1:
Breakfast
Working on Nouns (SchoolHouse Rock - Grammar Rock and 2 worksheets)
Vocabulary Worksheet for new book
Reading Time
Playtime/Relax Time
Lunch w. Homeschooling Friends along the route and playtime at the park
Playtime/Relax Time (hopefully sleep time!)
Addition Practice (Hot Dots Flash Cards)
Craft time (coloring)
Reading Time
Adventures in Odyssey (1 lesson)
Creative writing (based on AiO lesson)
1 DVD
Dinner @ hotel and swimming fun!
Day 2:
Breakfast
Noun Review
Reading Time
Playtime/Relax Time
Lunch at Space Aliens
Working with Adjectives(SchoolHouse Rock - Grammar Rock and Alien Adjectives sheet)
Addition Practice (Hot Dots Flash Cards)
Craft time (pipe cleaner creations)
Reading Time
Adventures in Odyssey (1 lesson)
Creative writing (based on AiO lesson)
1 DVD
Dinner @ hotel and fun time at indoor playpark (likely necessary - rain is expected)
Day 3:
Breakfast
Grammar Review
Reading Time
Playtime/Relax Time
Lunch where we land
Working with Verbs (SchoolHouse Rock - Grammar Rock and 2 worksheets)
Addition Practice (Hot Dots Flash Cards)
Craft time (your choice)
Reading Time
Adventures in Odyssey (1 lesson)
Creative writing (based on AiO lesson)
1 DVD
Dinner @ Grandma's!
Intermittent road stops will DEFINITELY be made complete with beach ball, frisbee, and bubbles! We're looking forward to it!
This trip will take 3 days. It will take us through 5 states and will be approximately 20ish hours on the road with plenty of time for stops and fun on days 2 and 3. Activities for J3 are as listed below:
Day 1:
Breakfast
Working on Nouns (SchoolHouse Rock - Grammar Rock and 2 worksheets)
Vocabulary Worksheet for new book
Reading Time
Playtime/Relax Time
Lunch w. Homeschooling Friends along the route and playtime at the park
Playtime/Relax Time (hopefully sleep time!)
Addition Practice (Hot Dots Flash Cards)
Craft time (coloring)
Reading Time
Adventures in Odyssey (1 lesson)
Creative writing (based on AiO lesson)
1 DVD
Dinner @ hotel and swimming fun!
Day 2:
Breakfast
Noun Review
Reading Time
Playtime/Relax Time
Lunch at Space Aliens
Working with Adjectives(SchoolHouse Rock - Grammar Rock and Alien Adjectives sheet)
Addition Practice (Hot Dots Flash Cards)
Craft time (pipe cleaner creations)
Reading Time
Adventures in Odyssey (1 lesson)
Creative writing (based on AiO lesson)
1 DVD
Dinner @ hotel and fun time at indoor playpark (likely necessary - rain is expected)
Day 3:
Breakfast
Grammar Review
Reading Time
Playtime/Relax Time
Lunch where we land
Working with Verbs (SchoolHouse Rock - Grammar Rock and 2 worksheets)
Addition Practice (Hot Dots Flash Cards)
Craft time (your choice)
Reading Time
Adventures in Odyssey (1 lesson)
Creative writing (based on AiO lesson)
1 DVD
Dinner @ Grandma's!
Intermittent road stops will DEFINITELY be made complete with beach ball, frisbee, and bubbles! We're looking forward to it!
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