These Small Hours

Polars Bears and the Arctic

2012-02-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

We didn't spend much time on Polar Bears and the Arctic. This was the beginning of "the plague" (it's what I call this cold virus that will. not. go. away.)

Anyway... here's a couple pics of Aniston's notebook ~

(all lap/notebook components from HSS)

This week in pictures: February 5 - 11

2012-02-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

Aniston was dancing around the living room and Eric decided to join her. Can you say, "awwwww" :-)

Starbucks and Target with my favorite eleven year old.

It's been about a month of coughs and runny noses around here. We just keep passing it back and forth. There is nothing simple about this simple cold virus that is kicking our butts! Today, I am sucking these babies down as if my life depended on it. :-/

This week in pictures: January 28 - February 4

2012-02-12T11:28:00.000-05:00

school on the trampoline. it was too sunny to stay indoors.

this might belong in last week's pictures. I can't remember. This was waiting for Eric when he came home from work. :-)

Guten Tag!

2012-02-06T14:48:00.000-05:00

Did you know that I took two years of German in high school? I sure did! Guten Tag is about all I can remember, though. I can count to 20 and say "555" (funfhundert funfundfunfzig) (some of the u's should have dots over them, but I don't know how to do that). I can also say "The weather is sure warm today." I remember that because it translates word for word into German. I watched the Berlin wall fall my Junior year. That was pretty cool. It's neat to watch something and know history is being made.

You want to know something else? I am going to see where that wall once stood. I watched it on television and 20-some odd years later, I am going to actually stand in Berlin and imagine what that day was like.

We are moving to Germany!!!!!

Can you believe it?!? I can't. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.

Let me tell you the story...

It's time for my husband to retire from the Navy. He is two months shy of his 19th anniversary. We are getting tired of moving. We want to grow roots and stay put. Unless we could move to England. Why England, you ask? Because I *heart* England. I have BIG dreams of going there. BIG. I read books that take place there, watch movies that take place there, and obsess (slightly) over the Royals. England is cool. A few weeks ago, Eric was telling his detailer (a person in the Navy who is responsible for giving you orders) that he was retiring in 2013 (you have to request to!). At the end of that email, Eric adds, "unless you have something in England?". A reply came quickly. "No England, but would you want to go to Germany?"

YES, PLEASE!!!

In a way, Germany is better. It's in the center of Europe! I can be in England in 10 hours, Rome in 10 hours, Paris in 6 hours (unless we take a train, and then it's 3!!!) Oh my word, you guys. I jumped around the kitchen like a little girl.

My husband, being the logical one of the marriage, had to look into a few things first. This is going to be a good thing for several reasons, not just so I can play in Europe for three years. So... we are moving to Germany!

Isn't it funny that I had such a bad outlook what this year would hold and God goes and does something like this? Silly me.

This week in pictures: January 22-28

2012-01-29T19:48:00.000-05:00

We woke up to snow on Sunday. This was gone by the afternoon and now our temps are in the high 50s. I wonder if that was all the winter we were going to get?

Alyssa loves the show Full House. Her hairdo this day reflects that love. Side pony and scruchy. So 1987. :-)

I like to listen to tunes while cleaning the house. It's nice to drown out the Disney channel or Modern Warfare or whatever else is on the television in the afternoon. Aniston got these big headphones for Christmas. I like them much better than earbuds!

My friend Star has a photo group on Facebook. Every now and then she'll post a challenge. This assignment was "By the book" and I needed to include a person in the pic. Alyssa just happened to be cleaning off her bookshelf.

Birthday cupcakes! We had Alyssa's birthday dinner Saturday night instead of her actual birthday (Sunday). No, I didn't make them. We have a yummy new gourmet bakery in town. Super Yum!

*all pictures were taken with my iPhone and Instagram was used for the filters*

Antarctica/Penguins: A Booklist

2012-01-24T11:31:00.000-05:00

The Emperor's Egg by Martin Jenkins

Eve of the Emperor Penguin by Mary Pope Osborne

Penguins and Antarctica by Mary Pope Osborne

Penguin Chick by Betty Tatham

Penguins! by Gail Gibbons

Penguin's Special Delivery by Debi Gliori

Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater

This week in pictures: January 15-21

2012-01-23T09:04:00.000-05:00

This has got to be the coolest Coke machine I have ever seen in my entire life! It was very hi-tech. Can you see the screen by Colton's head? It's a touch screen. You press "Coke" (or Sprite, or Dr. Pepper) and then you press what kind of Coke, like Cherry, or Cherry Vanilla, or Lime. AWESOME. I'm very impressed Five Guys!

We went to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts on Monday to see the Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb exhibit. It was really good! There were actual mummies there! I didn't realize they left mummies intact until I was reading a card that said, "x-rays show the body isn't as tall as his coffin." Huh. I'm not sure why I thought they would take the body out before displaying.

Miss Annie has been horribly sick this past week. I really hope she is on the upswing. She did feel well enough to read to me one night. She is such a sweet girl. Warms this momma's heart. :-)

And that is all the pictures I took! I am horrible Project Lifer. :-)

What 5th Grade Math is Looking Like these Days

2012-01-20T11:53:00.000-05:00

We are still using Math on the Level and we are still loving it, but I find myself adding to it as time goes by. (Did anyone else just break out in song?) These days, Alyssa's math schedule looks like this:

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I introduce new concepts and she does her 5-a-day papers just the way MOTL tells us. :-)

On Thursday, Alyssa works out of this book:

Fraction Stories was just what Alyssa needed! At the end of fourth grade, she was having such a hard time with fractions. I really wasn't sure what the problem was, so I didn't know where to start in helping her. When we started school this year, we started from the beginning, as if she'd never seen a fraction before in her life. It worked! This book is a great tool for learning fractions. I highly recommend it!

On Fridays, Alyssa works out of this book:

She is having so much fun! It's chock full of lessons on sales tax, percentages, addition, multiplication... really, the list goes on. Good stuff!

Do you have any fun math books or games that you use?

Ancient Greece: A Booklist

2012-01-16T18:49:00.001-05:00

Tales from the Odyssey (books 1-6) by Mary Pope Osborne

Hour of the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne

Ancient Greece and the Olympics by Mary Pope Osborne

Favorite Greek myths retold by Mary Pope Osborne

Adventures in Ancient Egypt by Linda Bailey

Ancient Greece Activity Book by Edupress

The Aesop for Children (I like the one by Milo Winter)

Ancient Greece History pockets by Evan-Moor

Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick

Ancient Greek Art by Susie Hodge

The Usborne Internet-Linked Ancient World

Z is for Zeus: A Greek Mythology Alphabet by Helen L. Wilbur

Ancient Greece! 40 Hands-On Activities to experience this Wondrous Age by Avery Hart & Paul Mantell

Trojan Horse, The World's Greatest Adventure by David Clement-Davies

DK Eyewitness Books: Ancient Greece

Famous Men of Greece by John H. Haaren and A. B. Poland

The Children's Homer (the Adventures of Odysseus and The Tale of Troy) by Padraic Colum

The Golden Fleece and the Heroes who lived before Achilles by Padraic Colum

*there are a lot of books and activity books here! please know that we won't read them all. :-) Alyssa might kill me if we did. haha

The Week in Pictures: January 8 - January 14

2012-01-15T15:13:00.000-05:00

The weather was unseasonably warm at the beginning of the week. There was a lot of jumping going on!

Finger food for family movie night!

Eric had to get another bar for all his ribbons. I am so proud of him!

My very own Punky Brewster. :-)

Winter weather finally arrived. Colton started us a roaring fire. It's so nice to have a Boy Scout in the house!

The Arctic and Polar Bears: A Booklist

2012-01-10T18:49:00.000-05:00

Polar Bears Past Bedtime by Mary Pope Osborne

Polar Bears and the Arctic (a Magic Tree House Research Guide) by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce

One Small Square: Arctic Tundra by Donald M. Silver

Very Last First Time by Jan Andrews

Polar Bears by Gail Gibbons

Where do Polar Bears Live? by Sarah L. Thomson

Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett

MindBodySoul

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am horrible at New Year's Resolutions. I am horrible at picking a Word of the Year and remembering it. Really, I think I have commitment issues. ;-P However, I do realize the need to be healthier and the need to be in the Word of God daily. I want to read more non-fiction. Just because I am a stay-at-home mom, doesn't mean I don't have brains in this pretty little head of mine. :-)

Introducing the daily Mind*Body*Soul challenge! Everyday (except Sunday) I will try to do something for each of these areas. For example:

Mind~ I am reading The Birth of Britain by Winston Churchill

Body~ at least 20 minutes of exercise to start. I walk two days a week with a friend and the other days I play around on the Wii Fit ( I *heart* the Wii Fit!)

Soul~ daily Bible readings. I am reading through the Bible chronologically.

To hold me accountable, I am writing it down in my planner.

What about you? Resolutions? Words? What's your focus for 2012?

Daybook 1/6/12

2012-01-06T12:12:00.001-05:00

Outside my window...
The sky is clear and the temp is warm. It will be in the high fifties today. To that I say "dislike!!"

I am thankful for...

Eric, who deals quite well with my crabbiness, of which there has been much lately...

I am thinking about...
The rest of the school year. There is so much I want to get to before we break for the summer. I am feeling a time crunch for some reason.

Learning all the time...
Polar Bears and Penguins! Miss Annie is learning about the Poles this month.
From the kitchen...
Cupcakes. I have decided that I am only baking on the weekends. We need a serious reduction in sugar intake around here. It's Friday, so I am making cupcakes!

I am creating...

next week's lesson plans. This should have been done already, but...

I am working on...
...loving this body. :-) Making sure I exercise daily definitely takes a schedule adjustment.

I am going...
nowhere. Nowhere at all! We have decided that the kids are going to skip sports this spring. So other than church and a monthly book club, our schedule is wide open.

I am hoping...
that the 'no sports this spring' is a good thing. I think it will be. I hope it will be.

I am reading...
Miss Dimple Rallies to the Cause by Mignon F. Ballard

I am praying for...
this to be a good year. There are a lot of changes happening and I pray that I see the good in it all.

I am hearing...
George Gershwin

Around the house...
lots of room now that Christmas is gone. I am enjoying the open spaces. :-)

One of my favorite things...
walking twice a week with my friend Jeanne. It's very therapeutic. And good for the hips.

A few plans for the weekend...
the kids are having sleepovers. Game night with Jeanne and her family on Saturday night. Church on Sunday. Busy, but good-busy.

{photo of the day~ January 1-6}
(my second year attempting Project Life. Hopefully, I will remember to take pictures every day.)

It was late on the evening of Jan. 1 when I remembered that I was supposed to be taking daily pictures. This is how Eric and I end most of our nights, watching television. I think that is Psych on the t.v. It's a great show, by the way!

Daddy is, like, the best Wii partner ever!

We had just picked up Colton from the airport. He had been flying since 4am. He's such a cutie with his fedora and big headphones. :-)

I am so very confused. Somebody come and teach me please. :-/

No, I didn't punch my daughter. She got into my make-up. Black eye liner is not a good look for her!

Composer Study: George Gershwin

2012-01-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

Hear:

Read:

Watch:

Hi.

2012-01-05T09:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I thought I was finished.

Here's the deal. I don't have high hopes for 2012. There are a lot a changes on the horizon and I'm not sure how I feel about them all. I don't want this to become a place of negativity, so I thought it'd be best to not blog at all. Instead, I find myself saying "oh! I should totally blog this!" a gazillion times a day. :-) I like putting our homeschool stuff on here, it's good record keeping! Especially since we are a blended family, here's the proof we do work. ha!

Anyway... there's no pressure to blog daily, right? I do it for me, not for you. But I am so so glad I have you to read these ramblings of mine. Some of my most darling friends I met through blogging and I don't want that to end. Plus, my dad isn't on Facebook, so here is where he gets the lowdown. :-)

Okay, enough sappiness.

Have a good day, cyber space.

The One Where I Say Goodbye

2011-12-31T20:12:00.000-05:00

As I sit down to type a New Year's post, I realize that I don't want to do this blog-thing anymore. Thank you so much for reading! I am not going to delete the blog, though. Just in case... :-)

Happy New Year's my friends! May your 2012 be wonderful!

Books Read 2011

2011-12-30T06:00:00.002-05:00

1. Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen

2. Sew Deadly by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

3. The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

4. The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

5. The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

6. So Not Happening by Jenny B. Jones

7. Chapter and Hearse by Lorna Barrett

8. Love on Assignment by Cara Lynn James

9. Penny Dreadful by Laurel Snyder

10. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson

11. The Diva runs out of Thyme by Krista Davis

12. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton*

13. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink

14. On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder

15. The Postman always Rings Twice by James Cain

16. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton*

17. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

18. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake*

19. The Lady Most Likely by Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, and Connie Brockway

20. Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur

21. The Holy Bible, NLT

22. Death Threads by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

23. Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree by Nancy Atherton

24. Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

25. The Diva takes the Cake by Krista Davis

26. Murder of a Wedding Belle by Denise Swanson

27. Oh Danny Boy by Rhys Bowen

28. Pinned for Murder by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

29. Berried to the Hilt by Karen MacInerney

30. In Dublin's Fair City by Rhys Bowen

31. Tell Me, Pretty Maiden by Rhys Bowen

32. In a Gilded Cage by Rhys Bowen

33. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton*

34. Pen for Hire by Laura Levine

35. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

36. Gunpowder Green by Laura Childs

37. Deadly Notions by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

38. Calm my Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow

39. Murder of a Bookstore Babe by Denise Swanson

40. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn

41. For Better, For Murder by Lisa Bork

42. Holy Cow! Does God really care what we eat? by Hope Egan

43. Love Finds you in Victory Heights, Washington by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss

44. Vision in White by Nora Roberts

45. This Fine Life by Eva Marie Everson

46. Last Writes by Laura Levine

47. The Dashwood Sisters tell all by Beth Pattillo

48. The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies by Susan Wittig Albert

49. Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst

50. Sentenced to Death by Lorna Barrett

51. For Better, For Danger by Lisa Bork

52. Town in a Blueberry Jam by B.B. Haywood*

53. Something Blue by Emily Giffin

54. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
55. Sitting at the feet of Rabbi Jesus by Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg
56. Town in a Lobster Stew by B.B. Haywood
57. Killer Blonde by Laura Levine
58. Shoes to Die For by Laura Levine
59. The PMS Murder by Laura Levine
60. One Bad Apple by Sheila Connolly*
61. Rotten to the Core by Sheila Connolly
62. Death by Pantyhose by Laura Levine
63. Red Delicious Death by Sheila Connolly

64. Killing Bridezilla by Laura Levine

65. Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen
66. All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
67. Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich
68. A Killer Crop by Sheila Connolly
69. Truly, Madly by Heather Webber*
70. Deeply, Desperately by Heather Webber
71. The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
72. Hail, Holy Queen by Scott Hahn
73. Absolutely, Positively by Heather Webber
74. Sleepless in Scotland by Karen Hawkins
75. Falling to Pieces by Vannetta Chapman
76. The Last Illusion by Rhys Bowen
77. Bitter Harvest by Sheila Connolly
78. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
79. Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary
80. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie*
81. Fundraising the Dead by Sheila Connolly
82. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley*
83. Buzz Off by Hannah Reed*
84. A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck*
85. Miss Dimple Disappears by Mignon F. Ballard*
86. The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy

My favorite reads of 2011

2011-12-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

*in no particular order

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum

2011-12-27T06:00:00.002-05:00

Colton took a break from his world history studies to focus a bit on WWI. I feel like the Great War gets overshadowed by WWII, so I wanted to dive into it a bit this year. The only thing I remembered about WWI was the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand so I enjoyed this study, too. :-)

President Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the U.S. of A. (and you can remember that # because his birthday is Dec. 28 :-), was born in Staunton, VA which just happens to be in my neck of the woods. So, with Daddy in tow ~ yay!!~ we went up the mountain for a field trip.

the Presidential limo. Woodrow Wilson loved it so much that his friends bought it for him when he was no longer president. They had orange pinstripes put on it to represent his ties to Princeton.

this picture cracks me up. You would've had to have been there, though. My husband got a headache from all the eye rolling he was doing. I am pretty sure Eric would NOT have voted for Wilson. :-)

the house WW was born in.

shortly after Wilson was born, his family moved to Georgia. He lived there during the Civil War.

this exhibit is in the basement. The girls were a bit creeped out, but I thought it was cool. It demonstrates trench life.

This is a really good museum. If you are ever in the area, I recommend it!!

The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T10:27:00.000-05:00

I hope it was better than you imagined!

Welcome Home, Sailor

2011-12-10T09:35:00.000-05:00

North America: Canada

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

This is it for Canada! This is the first time Aniston has worked through the whole Expedition unit. I just printed the whole thing out and stuck it in a three prong folder. We did it together. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE the Download N Go units. They are so fun!

We did skipped a bit of Day 4, which focused on the Arctic and Polar Bears. We are going to cover that in depth in January.

Place Value Caterpillar

2011-12-07T07:09:00.000-05:00

I made this awhile back for Alyssa (grade 5). She is writing numbers in the billions and trillions and she was getting a wee bit confused. Aniston uses it now, too. It's cheesy, but oh so cute! :-) I used different colors to show where the commas go. It is a very helpful tool!

North America: The United States

2011-11-28T10:34:00.000-05:00

Obviously, there are a gazillion things we could have talked about this week. I chose to focus on The Statue of Liberty and Immigration. Why? I have no idea! :-)

Book List:

We didn't do much other than read. Sometimes just reading and discussing is all you need to do! Using Draw Write Now book 5, Aniston drew a picture of Lady Liberty.

{picture omitted for unknown reasons...}

And we watched one of my favorite movies:

Sing it with me! "There are no cats in America, and the streets are paved with cheese!"

Aztec and Maya Arts-n-Crafts

2011-11-28T10:26:00.001-05:00

The first picture is a decorated hat for a Mayan carnival and the second picture is our calendar put into a circle, much like the Aztec calendar.

Ancient Africa

2011-11-23T17:19:00.001-05:00

Read: Story of the World, Volume 1, Chapter 11 and pages 68-69 in Ancient World.

I then had Alyssa divide a paper into four squares and write what she learned in each one. I think she did a great job!

Creating Symmetry

2011-11-16T15:27:00.000-05:00

This was a fun little project on symmetry, so I thought I'd share with y'all.

All you do is fold a piece of paper in half vertically, unfold it, and put a small dollop ~~of Daisy~~ of paint in the crease. Then you just fold it back and smoosh the paint out in whichever way you want. Gently unfold the paper and you will see a symmetrical design!

North America: Mexico

2011-11-16T15:17:00.000-05:00

Hola!

Aniston played with this GEO Puzzle. (side note: it bugs me that Mexico isn't on the N. America puzzle...)

We read Chapter 16, "The Talking Tortilla" in this book:

I used some of the activity pages from this book:

(I really like this book!)

We learned a bit about Frida Kahlo and Aniston drew a self portrait.

We ended the week by eating tacos and sombrero cookies (idea from here).

Nature Study So Far

2011-11-14T20:47:00.000-05:00

Our study of trees has been regulated to just once a month. I feel horrible about that, but my husband is deployed.

That's my excuse for everything, by the way. The bed is never made? My husband is deployed. Cereal for dinner three nights a week? My husband is deployed. You're going to buy new jeans instead of wash laundry, a.k.a. Mt. Everest? My husband is deployed.

Anyhoo...

Here's a bit of a run down on what we've accomplished so far.

September

Nothing. Oh, leave me alone. My husband is deployed! Wait! We read a book.

October

We read a book.

Then we walked around the yard and observed all the pretty colors.

November

We discussed the parts of a tree. We then focused on bark and how it's different for different kinds of trees. Then we went bark rubbin'!

After rubbin' the bark, we went across the street to my neighbor's house to check out the fallen tree that has been lying (laying?) in his yard for eons. We tried to count the rings, but I couldn't tell a thing! Oh, well.

It was a really warm day and I am glad we spent time outside.

Crazy kids. ;-)

Mexico: A Book List

2011-11-08T06:00:00.002-05:00

Hill of Fire by Thomas P. Lewis

Erandi's Braids by Antonio Hernandez Madrigal

Horse of Hooves and Chicken Feet: Mexican Folk Tales selected by Neil Philip

Abuela's Weave by Omar S. Castaneda

The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie de Paola

The Legend of the Poinsettia retold by Tomie de Paola

Senior Cat's Romance and other favorite stories from Latin America retold by Lucia M. Gonzalez

The Gullywasher by Joyce Rossi

P is for Pinata, a Mexican Alphabet by Tony Johnston

Halloween 2011

2011-11-04T17:18:00.000-04:00

The Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs

2011-11-03T06:00:00.003-04:00

We are hopping across the pond to do a quick study. I found this book at my local teacher store:

Alyssa will do just a few pages per civilization.

Art projects will be taken from:

Her literature selection will be:

ETA: Fun reading list~

You Wouldn't Want to be a Mayan Soothslayer! Fortunes You'd Rather Not Tell

You Wouldn't Want to be an Inca Mummy! A One-Way Journey You'd Rather Not Make

You Wouldn't Want to be an Aztec Sacrifice! Gruesome Things You'd Rather Not Know

Australia: Marsupials

2011-11-01T06:00:00.005-04:00

I gave Aniston a choice to either learn about Marsupials or the Coral Reef. She choose Marsupials. This is big news because it's rare I let my kids decide what they are going to learn. I have a plan, people! :-) They do like it when they have a say in their education, so I am trying to do it more. Anyway...

(just look at the stuff on red page, you've already seen the blue page :-)

lapbook components came from HSS

This was really fun! I learned a lot. Most of the information was taken from the internet. I just googled whatever animal we were studying and read to Aniston. She then answered questions and we took turns writing the information on the lapbook pieces.

Australia

2011-10-31T06:00:00.001-04:00

We have been Down Under for three weeks. The first week we studied New Zealand, but to be honest, we didn't do much other than find it on the map and talk about sheep. Two weeks were spent 'in' Australia. The first week, learning about the country itself, and the second week focusing on Marsupials.

these lapbook components were taken from HSS

The Continent Box

There's not much in there. A boomerang that Aniston made, "hello" cards from Expedition Earth, sea life from a Coral Reef Toob and wildlife from The Land Down Under Toob. (Aniston LOVES these Toobs. That girl will play for hours with them!)

I'll post the Marsupial pics later.

Finishing up Ancient Egypt

2011-10-29T10:09:00.001-04:00

Last week, Alyssa wrapped up her study on Ancient Egypt. When I told her she was finished she looked at me and said, "But there is so much more I need to know!" I encouraged her to continue learning on her own time, because, really? I'm not sure how much more I can squeeze out of this study! :-) I love that she wants to know more, though.

Her last assignment was to make a collage using clipart from the CD that came with this book. I love the way it turned out! This fits her personality so much. No crazy, overlapping pictures turned this way and that for my girl! Nope. My girl prefers straight lines.

This was fun, mostly because she was so eager to learn. Hopefully, the Mayans will hold her interest just the same. ;-)

What's on my Nightstand ~ October 2011

2011-10-25T13:36:00.001-04:00

I haven't done one of these posts in forever! Mainly, because I forget to, but I always think about it! And it's the thought that counts, right? ;-)

A Killer Crop by Sheila Connolly. This is book 4 in the Orchard Mysteries series. This series is one of the best cozy mystery series I've ever read. They're great!

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This is my favorite book. I read it in high school and we analyzed it to death, but I still think it's great. :-) I was inspired to reread it after seeing this quote on Reading to Know: "It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new on till you have read an old one in between. If that's too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones." C.S. Lewis. What better "old one" to start with than my favorite?

By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I am reading the Little House books along with Alyssa, although I am now one behind her. Oops.

The Lightkeeper's Daughter by Colleen Coble.

Canon EOS Rebel XS/1000D for Dummies. I will learn to use my camera. Oh, yes, I will!

Please visit 5 minutes for Books to see more What's on Your Nightstand entries.

LayZ S Ranch

2011-10-24T06:00:00.001-04:00

Australia: A Book List

2011-10-19T21:52:00.000-04:00

Koala Lou by Mem Fox

Wombat Stew by Marcia K. Vaughan

Katy No-Pocket by Emmy Payne

The Biggest Frog in Australia by Susan L. Roth

The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold

Look What Came from Australia by Kevin Davis

D is for Down Under: An Australian Alphabet by Devin Scillian

Dingoes at Dinnertime by Mary Pope Osborne

Mirror Painting

2011-10-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

This idea was taken from Science Arts.

Ancient Egypt History Pockets

2011-10-10T06:00:00.004-04:00

Here is what Alyssa has done so far:

(these pages are in her Book of Centuries)

(we should have used gauze, but I didn't have any. A bandaid gives the same effect, right? :-)

Asia: Israel

2011-10-06T06:00:00.002-04:00

The map of Israel is from WorksheetWorks.com and the lapbook components are from Expedition: Israel.

Line Pattern Leaf

2011-10-05T12:43:00.000-04:00

Alyssa has been working her way through the book How to Teach Art to Children. She just works on it once a week, but it's been a fun process. She tends to get overwhelmed when we do anything with drawing. I think it's because she a perfectionist.

Anyway... the first section of the book is about lines. I came across this fun art project at Art Projects for Kids.

Here is what we came up with:

Poetry for Young People: Rudyard Kipling

2011-10-03T06:00:00.003-04:00

The opening verse of The Ballad of East and West

The Nile River

2011-09-30T06:00:00.002-04:00

the flooded Nile River

{instructions are from Pyramids! 50 Hands-On Activities to experience Ancient Egypt}

Making a Sledge

2011-09-29T06:00:00.004-04:00

According to Pyramids! 50 Hands-On Activities to Experience Ancient Egypt, a sledge is "a simple machine used for moving objects".

To test whether sledges work, Alyssa first tried to push a heavy book with just her nose:

Her scrunched up face cracks me up in this picture. :-)

Next, she put five pencils under the book and tried pushing it that way:

Much better!

All of this to demonstrate how the Ancient Egyptians moved those heavy stones in order to build the pyramids. Clever, weren't they?

Asia: India

2011-09-28T06:00:00.001-04:00

India is a very interesting country. I would love to go there someday. Did you know they claim to have invented the zero? That's pretty cool.

The pic above is the flag, the passport, and the book T is for Taj Mahal. (LOVE Sleeping Bear Press alphabet books!)

When I told Aniston that Christianity isn't widespread in India, she said "Someone ought to tell them about God!" I love it! :-) We then read about a woman who did exactly that ~ Amy Carmichael.

Children Just Like Me: Meena, pg 56-57

Geography: Mountains (specifically the Himalayans)

Movie watched:

yes, it's a cheesy Disney movie, but they filmed on location in India and the scenery is beautiful!

Art: (from Geography through Art) Easy Batik

the paint should have been thinner. Oh, well.

Bookworms for the Bookclubbers

2011-09-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

I just love Pinterest! If y'all think I just come up with the fab ideas on my own, think again. I spend way too much time surfin' the net, but I find the best stuff!! Case in point, those bag of bookworms you see up there. How cute is that?!? I made a bunch for our first book club meeting a couple of weeks ago. Easy peasy and a really big hit!

Israel: A Booklist

2011-09-26T06:00:00.001-04:00

The Holy Bible

One City, Two Brothers by Chris Smith

Sammy Spider's First Sukkot by Sylvia A. Rouss

Sammy Spider's First Shabbat

Sammy Spider's First Rosh Hashanah*

Sammy Spider's First Trip to Israel

*I am a bit bummed b/c this book won't get here until October. Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) is this Thursday, so the timing is perfect for studying Israel!! Note to self ~ order books earlier!!!

It Looked Like Spilt Milk

2011-09-25T10:04:00.000-04:00

On Tuesdays, my friend Faith brings her daughter over and we have "arts and crafts time". Then Faith teaches the girls a little bit of espanol. It's a fun afternoon and we really look forward to it!

Last week, Alyssa read the little girls It Looked Like Spilt Milk and then they did the corresponding art project from the book Storybook Art.

All you do is mix shaving cream and white school glue and then make "puffy cloud shapes". Very fun and very easy! Next time, I would like to add a bit of color, either by using food coloring or paint.

This is what it looked the next day. VERY puffy. It turned out so pretty! Until the third day. By then it had deflated and looked gross. I did not take a picture of that. :-)

It's my Anniversary!

2011-09-23T15:36:00.000-04:00

Eleven years. Wow. That's a mighty long time for someone to put up with me. ;-) And I am so very thankful he does.

Happy Anniversary, Eric! I love you very much!

(you also owe me big time, since this is the second anniversary {in a row!} that you've missed! :-)

A Pair of Red Clogs

2011-09-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

(the copywork and narration sheet came from All of a Kind Family. the other printables came from HSS)

Social Studies:

*Geography~ Japan! We located the country and place the story disk on the map. (I combined our week in Japan with A Pair of Red Clogs. For some reason, I don't have any pics of the map work she did. Oh well.)

*Human Relationships~ we talked a lot about honesty and how you should never try to trick your mother! ;-)

Language:

*Reminiscing~ I spent some time telling the girls stories of when I was their age. Alyssa likes this, Aniston could care less. :-P

Art:

*we had fun with Origami. I love the Japanese art of paper folding. It's the scrapbooker in me.

Aniston's attempt at making a Koi

Math:

*one of the suggestions in the FIAR manuel was to have the kids play store. My girls do this four times a week (at least!) on their own. Alas, I have no pictures.

Science:

*Weather and Weather Forecasting~ Just like Mako in the story, the kids played the weather-telling game.

Ashita tenkini nare!!

May it be fine tomorrow!

all three pair landed right side up, so the forecast is a fine day tomorrow!

We also read:

It was a fun week!

India: A Booklist

2011-09-20T09:23:00.000-04:00

T is for Taj Mahal, An India Alphabet by Varsha Bajaj

Tigers at Twilight by Mary Pope Osborne

A Crazy Day with Cobras by Mary Pope Osborne

The Road to Mumbai by Ruth Jayaveeran**

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (I chose to read an abridged version. Please don't hate me! :-)

**this is it! this is all the books I could find. The Road to Mumbai is the ONLY picture book on my list I could find at TWO different county libraries. Grrr.... I guess it works out, though. I would rather read The Jungle Book and T is for Taj Mahal anyway.

Jolanthe @ Homeschool Creations has good list of India picture books if you are looking for more.

A meme

2011-09-19T17:25:00.000-04:00

Chris from Mothers*of*Boys tagged me for this meme. Thanks, Chris!

1. One homeschooling book you've enjoyed: Real Learning by Elizabeth Foss. She's my fav.

2. One resource you wouldn't be without: All Through the Ages by Christine Miller.

3. One resource you wish you'd never bought: Writing With Ease. I feel like I can do narration/dictation on my own.

4. One resource you enjoyed last year: the Time Travelers Series by Home School in the Woods. We used several of these last year and I think they are great!

5. One resource you will be using next year: I have no idea. Well, I kinda do, but every time I mention future plans, they change. So I'll just hush. :-)

6. One resource you would like to buy: I can't think of anything.. hmmmm...

7. One resource you wish existed: I can't think of anything for this either.

8. One homeschool catalog you enjoy reading: Sonlight. They have GREAT readers!

9. One homeschool website you use regularly: Homeschool Share

10. To steal Jen's idea ~ tag yourself! :-)

InstaFriday

2011-09-16T20:57:00.000-04:00

~Signs of Autumn~

changing leaves

football clothes

slippers are needed

candy corn, a.k.a. heaven in a bag

I really, really wish I had a picture of Starbucks to show. Pumpkin Spice Lattes are here but I have yet to have one, because there isn't one close to me. :-( This is what I get for living out with the cows. :-)

Ancient Egypt: A Book List

2011-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

You Wouldn't Want to be an Egyptian Mummy! by David Stewart

You Wouldn't Want to be a Pyramid Builder! by Jacqueline Morley

You Wouldn't Want to be Tutankhamen! by David Stewart

You Wouldn't Want to be Cleopatra by Jim Pipe

Who Was King Tut by Roberta Edwards

The Riddle of the Rosetta Stone by James Cross Giblin

Gift of the Nile: An Ancient Egyptian Legend by Jan M. Mike

The Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo

Cleopatra by Diane Stanley

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt by Elizabeth Payne

Songbird of the Nile: the Promised Land Diaries

The Egyptology Handbook by Emily Lands

Pyramid by David Macaulay

Adventures in Ancient Egypt by Linda Bailey

DK Eyewitness Books: Ancient Egypt

The Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World

Ancient Egypt Drawing Book

Pyramids! 50 Hands-On Activities to experience Ancient Egypt

My 9/11 Story.

2011-09-11T22:50:00.000-04:00

Eric and I got married on September 23, 2000. We met while he was on shore duty at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. We bought a house and had a baby. Normal married stuff, ya know? Then his orders came.

Eric ~ I'm going back to a ship, you know that right?

Me ~ Well, yes, I know that. You're in the Navy aren't you?

Eric ~ Yeah, but, honey... when I'm on a ship, I'm never home. I'll be gone. All. The. Time.

Me ~ Oh, it'll be alright! My dad was gone all the time when he was in the Air Force! We'll be just fine.

Turns out, your husband being gone all the time is a whole lot different than your daddy being gone all the time...

In August of 2001, we loaded up Colton, age 3 and Alyssa, age 7 1/2 months and moved to Virginia Beach. Eric was stationed on the USS Harry S Truman. It was exciting! I love going to new places and I thought Virginia Beach was wonderful.

On September 11, 2001, I had sat down on the couch to watch Regis and Kellie. Instead, I watched two planes fly into the Twin Towers. To say I was scared is an understatement. I tried calling Eric on the ship, but I couldn't get through. They turned off all communication, I guess. Eric had taken my van to work that day. My purse was in there. With all my money. There was only enough formula to make Alyssa one more bottle. Who knew when Eric would come home? I didn't understand why I couldn't talk to him. So I did what any other person would do in my situation. I cried. When the plane hit the Pentagon, I was petrified. Oh my goodness, it was horrible. I don't think I can describe how scared I was. Eric came home. The kids and I left town for a few days and stayed with my aunt, who lived about four hours away. I didn't want to be so close to DC. We came home and life went on...

In March of 2003, after one full year of work-ups (where a ship is in-and-out of port to get ready for a deployment) Eric went on his first deployment of our married life. Operation Iraqi Freedom had begun.

In 2006, while on shore duty (a US sailor rotates between being at sea, and, well, being on shore. :-) Usually, sailors on shore duty stay home. But the world is a little different now) Eric becomes a "boots on the ground sailor" and goes to Afghanistan. Just for four months. It's a little disconcerting to see your sailor looking like a soldier. It was a long four months.

In 2007, he was stationed on the USS Bulkeley. In 2008, he deployed again, after another full year of work-ups.

The War on Terror is still going.

Today, September 11, 2011, my husband is in Afghanistan, while on shore duty. Again. "We're doing good things" he tells me.

For ten years, a great part of my husband's job has revolved around 9/11. I have never forgotten the events of that day. I think about it every time he leaves me.

So while you are remembering those who died that day, please don't forget those who are still here. The men and women who are fighting, and sometimes even dying, so that what happened on September 11, 2001 will never, ever, happen again.

Japan: A Booklist

2011-09-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

A Pair of Red Clogs by Masako Matsuno

K is for Kabuki: A Japan Alphabet by Gloria Whelan

Grass Sandals, the Travels of Basho by Dawnine Spivak

The Boy of the Three Year Nap by Dianne Snyder

The Paper Crane by Molly Bang

Suki's Kimono by Chieri Uegaki

How My Parents Learned to Eat by Ina R. Friedman

The Way we do it in Japan by Geneva Cobb Iijima

One Leaf Rides in the Wind by Celeste Davidson Mannis

Geo Puzzles

2011-09-06T06:00:00.002-04:00

We love putting together puzzles, don't you? I was really excited to come across these big puzzles by Geo Toys. They are a such a fun addition to our world geography study!

Aniston plays with the Asia puzzle a couple of days a week. She loves it!

Asia: S. Korea

2011-09-05T06:00:00.002-04:00

Well, we didn't quite have the fun with S. Korea that we did with China, but they can't all be fabulous, can they? The girls were sick last week (on different days, of course!) so that threw us off a bit.

Sadly, I just have this one pic from the week. Oh, well.

We mostly just read. No projects. :-( We missed some China projects, too. I hope that doesn't become a habit.

The format for the countries will pretty much be the same:

map work
singing and more singing
Children Just Like Me
missionary stories (if applicable)
passport
flag
read, read, read
famous person (if applicable)
food!
crafts
movies

We did five things on this list last week, not too bad! :-) But, here's hoping that our week "in" Japan is a bit more... well, more!

Early Civilizations: Weekly Lesson Plans

2011-09-03T09:35:00.001-04:00

I thought I'd better put the lessons plans on the blog, just in case Aniston turns out to be more like Alyssa than Colton. My luck, she won't be like either of them and I'll have to write a third set of lesson plans for Ancient History. :-)

Anyway....

Week 1 (do in order)

-Story of the World, Volume 1, Ch. 1: map work from the Activity Guilde
-Mystery of History, Volume 1, Lesson 7: Read
-SOTW, Ch 3: map work
-SOTW, Ch 5: map work

Week 2

MOH, L 10: narrate
MOH, L 16: activity 16B
SOTW, Ch 8 part 1: map work
SOTW, Ch 16: map work

Week 3

SOTW, Ch 8 part 2
SOTW, Ch 18 part 1: map work
SOTW, Ch 18 parts 2 & 3

Sideways Stories from Wayside School

2011-09-01T06:00:00.001-04:00

Have you read this to your children? If not, may I suggest that you do so? This has got to be the funniest read aloud ever! It's so funny that I periodically had to stop reading because I was laughing so hard, I couldn't breathe. True Story.

I'm tellin' ya, it's hy-sterical!

Everyday Learning

2011-08-31T06:00:00.003-04:00

I would not be the super-fabulous homeschool mommy that I am without the help from some even more super-fabulous bloggers! :-) I especially love it when public school teachers blog! They have some great ideas! The Teacher Wife is one of my new faves. When I saw this post, I just knew Miss Annie had to do this!

Everyday, Aniston will fill out one of these sheets. There is a place to write the date. I put an incorrect sentence on the board and she has to write it correctly. The number of the day is how many days we've been in school.

I just think it's great!

Korea: A Booklist

2011-08-30T06:00:00.002-04:00

Tap Dancing on the Roof by Linda Sue Park

Dear Juno by Soyung Pak

The Firekeeper's Son by Linda Sue Park

My name is Yoon by Helen Recorvits

Korea: Enchantment of the World by Patricia K. Kummer

The Green Frogs: A Korean Folktale Retold by Yumi Heo

Bee-bim Bop! by Linda Sue Park

The Story About Ping

2011-08-29T06:00:00.001-04:00

Aniston spent this past week rowing The Story About Ping. This book was the perfect choice to follow up her study of China.

I made a copy of the book cover and shrunk it down a bit. It will go in the Asia Continent Box.

Ping's story disk sits next to the Yangtze River on the map of Asia.

Aniston did an art-experiment on oil and water and how they don't mix from the book Science Arts. We mixed one color of paint with water and a different color of paint with vegetable oil and she painted away! This tied in nicely with our study of ducks and how they don't get wet because of the oil on their feathers.

She also did an experiment on buoyancy. She threw some random stuff in a bowl of water to see if they'd sink or float. :-)

Here are some pictures of her lapbook, although it's not really a lapbook. I use a sketch book.

{printables came from here, here, and here}

Supplemental books read:

InstaFriday

2011-08-26T08:11:00.000-04:00

Here are a few cell phone pics from the past week (or two... :-)

We love Build-A-Bear and we love Dairy Queen, put those two loves together and you get a Dairy Queen themed Build-A-Bear!

Miss Annie lost her third tooth! Ten months after she lost the second one.

Apparently, a pile of dirty towels the best place to nap! This is a new trend for Jaxon.

Not many pics on the phone lately. I've actually been using my Canon! :-)

Please visit Life Rearranged for more InstaFriday posts

The Continent Box

2011-08-25T06:00:00.002-04:00

For every continent we visit, we are going to have a box. {that's a great explanation of the title, don't ya think?}

It's a keepsake box of sorts. A box to store all of the things too bulky to go into a binder. There will be picture cards of places and animals. There will be games and toys. Maybe some clothes and utensils, too! :-) I think this is my favorite part of Aniston's world geography study.

Here is our box of Asia and what we have in it so far:

just a simple photo box from Michael's

animal picture cards (from here)

toys! (from here)

landmark picture cards (from here)

Aniston was born in the year of the Monkey. You do not know how appropriate that is!

You can't see for the flash, but that says "Ni Hao!"

the passport. It will hang out in whatever continent we're in.

And please, ignore the mess! I didn't realize how messy my table was! :-)

20 miles from the epicenter...

2011-08-24T10:03:00.000-04:00

... is a shaky place to be when there is a 5.8 earthquake!

I have no pictures. I just wanted to document this. Feel free to skip this post. :-)

Colton and I were upstairs in our bedrooms and the girls were downstairs watching television. I heard the earthquake before I felt it. A low, rumbling sound. Kinda like when a big, heavy truck drives down the street. And that's what I thought it was, until the shaking got so bad and that I could feel it in my bones. The girls started screaming. Colton came barreling out of his room. Running down the stairs while the house is shaking is... not easy. But I had to get to the girls. Oddly enough, we had just talked about what to do during an earthquake. When I got downstairs, they were standing (and still screaming!) in a doorway. Good girls. :-) We have now decided that we should get under the dining room table. That sucker is heavy.

We are fine. No one was hurt and my house was not damaged. Thank You, Jesus!!

There have been several aftershocks, but the only one we felt at the house was a big one, 4.2 (or something like that). That's a mighty big aftershock! The girls slept with me last night, and Colton slept on my bedroom floor. They were a little freaked out, to say the least. I am tired from the lack of sleep. But we are not hurt and our house is not damaged.

Today, I am watching the weather. Hurricane Irene is moving in. I am several hours inland, but I'm not sure how much wind and rain we'll get up here the hills.

And did I mention that my husband missed all this? He's having his own kind of fun in Afghanistan. I guess I wouldn't be a true military wife if he were here for everything, would I?

{Not so} Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-24T06:00:00.002-04:00

Colton, grade 8

Telling God's Story

2011-08-23T06:00:00.001-04:00

After completing lesson one, I can tell you that this is going to be a great study! Year One of Telling God's Story is all about Jesus. His parables, the miracles, the Sermon on the Mount, His birth, and even His death. I am really impressed.

Lesson one is about the woman and the lost coin, how she searched and longed for that coin and then how she rejoiced when she found it. It's a story about how God longs for us and rejoices when we come to love Him. God is joyful about us! I just related it to when Aniston loses her blankie and how she feels when she finds it again. She totally got it then! :-)

In addition to a coloring page, there were a couple of fun activities.

digging for lost Roman coins

stitching a coin purse for the coins

Trees

2011-08-22T06:00:00.003-04:00

I love nature study. It's good to know about the world around you. {insert fabulous Charlotte Mason quote about nature studies here ~ I'm too lazy to look one up} Barb over at Handbook of Nature Study has really amazing ideas for being one with nature. Ideas that overwhelm the crap outta me. Give me 500 history books and tell me to write lesson plans and it will be a lot easier for me to do that than write nature study lesson plans.

*sigh*

Sometime last spring a lightbulb went off in my head and I decided that we would focus on ONE thing and ONE thing only this school year. I chose TREES. We have a ton of 'em around these parts, so it was kind of a no brainer. Also, I am so very thankful to be friends with the owners of an apple orchard and I am hoping to spend some time once a month observing and sketching the changes in the apple trees.

There. That wasn't so hard! :-)

Here's the best part ~ the book list!

Be a Friend to Trees by Patricia Lauber

The Usborne Internet-Linked Library of Science World of Plants

The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons

How do Apples's Grow? by Betsy Maestro

Apples by Gail Gibbons

We will kick off our tree study with this unit by the amazing Amanda Bennett:

Asia: China

2011-08-19T21:58:00.002-04:00

Ni Hao!

This has been a very full week of all things Chinese! I hope all of the countries we study are as fun as this one. We didn't get to do all of the things on our list, but I am hoping to get to those next week when we row Ping. Below is a quick rundown of our week. It really was a lot of fun!

*placed flag sticker and China mini book in passport

*located China and learned that the capital is Beijing

*colored the flag

*Aniston tried her hand at writing the numbers 1-10

*Played with Tangrams

*learned about The Great Wall of China
*read about the missionary Lottie Moon in this book
*learned about Giant Pandas and drew one using Draw Write Now

*read about a girl named Guo Shuang in Children Just Like Me

*listened to the Asia song

*watched some of the videos from Expedition: China

Movies/Television watched:

*We finished our week by eating Chinese food for dinner. Chopsticks are hard to use. I'm just sayin'.

...and checkout our booklist!!

{printables are from here, here, and here.}

China: A Booklist

2011-08-14T17:12:00.002-04:00

Day of the Dragon King by Mary Pope Osborne

Adventures in Ancient China by Linda Bailey

Imperial China by Joanna Cole

Tikki Tikki Tembo retold by Arlene Mosel

Giant Pandas by Gail Gibbons

You Wouldn't want to Work on the Great Wall of China! by Jacqueline Morley

D is for Dancing Dragon by Carol Crane

Mei Mei Loves the Morning by Margaret Holloway Tsubakiyama

Dim Sum for Everyone! by Grace Lin

Yeh-Shen (A Cinderella Story from China) retold by Ai-Ling Louie

Mei Li by Thomas Handforth

Pi-shu the little panda by John Butler

The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop

Liang and the Magic Paintbrush by Demi

Look What Came From China by Miles Harvey

The Boy who Painted Dragons by Demi

The Adventures of Marco Polo by Demi

Happy New Year! by Demi

The Empty Pot by Demi

The Emperor and the Kite by Jane Yolen

InstaFriday

2011-08-12T09:49:00.001-04:00

On a date with child #2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2. Oh, yea!

Trying to beat the heat at the splash pad!

My super-fabulous new kitchen clock.

Meeting Jen IRL for the first time. I sure do love this girl! Aren't online friends just so awesome?!?

Please visit Life Rearranged for more InstaFriday posts.

{Not so} Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-09T20:52:00.000-04:00

Alyssa, grade 5

Aniston, grade 2

Ancient History: Early Civilizations

2011-08-09T06:00:00.004-04:00

Alyssa is excited to study Ancient Egypt this year. She finds those pyramids very exotic! ;-) I'm not sure how exciting she'll find the rest of Ancient History, but I'll do my best to keep it interesting! I have decided to study the time period in chunks according to cultures, as opposed to chronologically. I think this will fit Alyssa's learning style really well. I found this list and then changed it up a bit. I am really happy with how it's turning out. (It's still a work in progress!)

For the next few weeks, our focus will be on Early Civilizations. Bible and History are going to be taught separately, although timeline figures will be used for both subjects and Alyssa will then be able to see how it all fits together.

The bulk of her reading will come from The Story of the World, Volume 1: Ancient Times

Supplemented with:

The Mystery of History, Volume 1: Creation to the Resurrection

You Wouldn't Want to be a Sumerian Slave!

Introduction to Geography

2011-08-08T06:00:00.005-04:00

I am really, really, super-duper excited to study world geography with Aniston this year! I've got some fun things planned (at least I think they're fun! :-) and everything is coming together so nicely. In this post, I told you I was going to use Galloping the Globe, and I still am a little bit, but for the most part I am now going to use Expedition Earth by Erica @ Confessions of a Homeschooler. I came across it a few weeks ago and just knew I had to have it! She has the lessons all laid out for you. They are so great! I'm just gonna tweak it a little, tiny bit... :-)

Our book list for this week (some of these we will read throughout the year):

Geography From A to Z: A Picture Glossary by Jack Knowlton

Maps and Globes by Jack Knowlton

The Usborne Living World Encyclopedia

Window on the World

P is for Passport: A World Geography Alphabet by Devin Scillian

Of course, I have to squeeze a FIAR book in where I can. How to Make an Apple Pie and see the World is a perfect book to read when learning about world geography!

Let the school year begin!!

Literature... a.k.a. Mommy's favorite subject to plan

2011-07-15T10:12:00.000-04:00

Aniston: This is going to be the year of Beverly Cleary. We are starting with the Ramona books and if those don't take all year to read (Lord, please don't let these take all year to read!) we will move on to Henry Huggins, or Ralph the Mouse, or Socks, or Emily, or any of the other fabulous books Ms. Cleary has written!! (as of right now, these will be read to her by me. We have already started Beezus and Ramona and I am enjoying curling up on the couch with her immensely!)

Alyssa: The Chronicles of Narnia. (in the order they were written, not in this chronological nonsense they way they are numbered now :-) It's probably going to take her all year to read them, but that's okay. I think I am going to get them on audio and have her follow along (thanks, Dana, for the idea!). She gets overwhelmed a bit and I think this might help her relax while reading.

Colton: The Lord of the Rings Oy.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
             To Kill a Mockingbird (my FAVORITE book of ALL TIME)
             Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry
Where the Red Fern Grows
             Good-bye, Mr. Chips
Lord of the Flies

Colton will read many more books than this, these are just all I can think of at the moment. The other books will probably revolve around his history lessons and I will just plan those as we go. Alyssa will also have history reads, but probably not "big" chapter books. Aniston will be reading picture books to go along with whatever country/FIAR book she is studying at the moment.

Yarn Along

2011-07-13T11:00:00.000-04:00

Let me just start off by saying that I am very nervous to post this. I had my first knitting lesson EVER yesterday and I am making a dishcloth. Something small and square. Surely I can handle that, right? I only have a couple of rows in this picture. I had three times as many yesterday, but then I ripped it all out and started over. I keep increasing my stitches and I have no idea how! I'm sure my lovely teacher will be able to help me out when I see her on Sunday. Until, I am going to keep on knitting. It's so fun!

As for what I am reading:

The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson

Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst

Sitting at the feet of Rabbi Jesus by Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg

I Still Dream about You by Fannie Flagg

Any advice for those of us who accidentally increase our stitches? Are you reading anything exciting?

Please visit Ginny for more Yarn Along posts

My Quarterly Calendar

2011-07-10T13:06:00.000-04:00

You know those really big calendars that show four months at a time? I usually see them at the doctor's office or Eric's office. I have always wanted one of those! I want to see more than one month at a time. Yes, I know with a flip calendar, or a planner, I can turn the page and see the next month, but that takes too much work for me. :-) I want the months all laid out. I'm high maintenance, I know.

I was feeling a bit crafty the other day (quite possible because I was browsing Pinterest) and decided to make my own quarterly calendar! I already had everything on hand. Woot!

I just painted some of those plain, wooden clipboards that you can find at Wal-mart and stamped some words on them. I know you can't see the words when the calendar is on them, but I have a habit of changing my mind and so I figure these clipboards will eventually be used for other things and I wanted to pretty them up while I was in the mood. (that is one crazy long sentence! If it's grammatically incorrect, don't tell me, 'k?) I like how they turned out!!

The calendars were printed from Worksheet Works and the stamps are from... Creating Keepsakes, or Lisa Bearnson, I don't remember. I've had them forever and a day.

InstaFriday

2011-07-08T10:45:00.000-04:00

We went to the drive-in to see Cars 2 (horrible movie!) and Tow Mater was there!

My attempt at cakes in mason jars.

Patiently waiting for the fireworks to start.

This boy is almost a teenager!

The girls' Fourth of July Build-A-Bear lived on the mantle this week.

please visit Life Rearranged for more InstaFriday pics

Colton, grade 8: 2011-2012

2011-07-06T19:15:00.000-04:00

History: The Story of the World, Volume 4: The Modern Age and A History of US, books 7-10

Saxon Algebra 1/2

Vocabulary from Classical Roots

Rod and Staff English

Rod and Staff Bible

Rosetta Stone Spanish (Latin America)

Exploring Creation with Physical Science

Alyssa, Grade 5: 2011-2012

2011-07-05T06:00:00.001-04:00

I do believe Alyssa was the hardest child to figure out. I have no idea why. Here's her list. I'm glad it's finished!

History: Ancient Times. I am going to be using a lot of different resources for this. What worked for Colton in 5th grade is not going to work for Alyssa, so I'm starting from scratch here. I'll post about it as we go! ;-) I can tell you that I am using The Story of the World, Volume 1 as my spine.

Math on the Level

Spelling Workout

Rod and Staff English

Rod and Staff Bible

Latin's Not So Tough!

Genesis for Kids: Science Experiments that Show God's Power in Creation!

InstaFriday

2011-07-01T11:10:00.000-04:00

Be still my Instagram lovin' heart!! When Candace posted about this last week, I squealed. Very loudly. If you're my Facebook friend, you've seen me post a plethora of Instagram pics. I am so excited to be able to show them to you on a weekly basis! *SQUEAL*

{Seriously, if I would have bought my iPhone before my DSLR, I'm not sure I would have bought the DSLR! I think I used my Canon earlier this week. I think. It's sad. I know. Don't tell my husband.}

We went to Baltimore a couple of weeks ago, and I snapped this pic from the highway. I *heart* D.C.

While in Baltimore, we said good-bye to Daddy. :-( He is in Afghanistan for the next few months. If you think about it, will you please say a prayer for him?

This baby girl is having a hard time without her Daddy. She doesn't remember the other deployments. So if wearing his uniform makes her feel better, who am I to stop her?

I was at the lake. Lots and lots of ducks are at the lake, too! :-)

Am I the only one who takes pictures of their feet after they paint their toenails? I was bored. :-)

Aspen. A.K.A. The Best Dog Ever. We love her.

My non-fiction book basket. Inspired by Jolanthe.

My sleepy, crabby baby girl. She needs a haircut. And a nap.

Well, this was probably more pictures than you wanted to see, but thanks for looking!! Please visit Life Rearranged for more InstaFriday pics.

Aniston, Grade 2: 2011-2012

2011-06-27T06:00:00.003-04:00

This is it! I'm writing it in stone. Ha! {Seriously, I have never done so much back-and-forth on curriculum (curricula? should it be plural? I have no idea!) then I have this year.}

Galloping the Globe (I am making this a two-year study and supplementing it with Five in a Row)

First Language Lessons

Math on the Level

All About Spelling

A Reason for Handwriting

Telling God's Story, Year One

Writing With Ease (I am going to have her repeat Year One. We didn't get very far before I got frustrated and gave up. Just keepin' it real! :-)

Summer School*

2011-06-26T15:01:00.000-04:00

*Two words that bring fear into many children each year. :-)

We are "doing school" this summer. My poor kids think I've lost my marbles. We normally take the summer off, but Aniston isn't reading very well and Alyssa doesn't have her math facts memorized. It's all very low key and we only work Monday - Wednesday for about an hour in the mornings.

In addition to math, I am having Alyssa work through a few Download N' Go studies. She really enjoys these! She just complete Summer Sensations this past week. This week she will do Handsome Horses. On deck are Simply Soccer and Roller Coasters (she's a roller coaster ridin' fool! :-)

Colton and Alyssa are also going to finish up the Trail Guide to U.S. Geography. I was going to have them finish the first few months of school, but I like this idea better.

All in all, it has not been too hard to school in summer. It keeps the kids off the Wii and me off of Facebook. :-) I think next year I am going to put together an adventure box. I am pretty sure the kids will love it!

If you do school in the summer, what does it look like?

Book Lists

2011-06-22T12:59:00.000-04:00

A friend asked how I chose books for the kids to read and I thought I would turn it into a blog post because I really don't have anything exciting to say these days. :-)

*My absolute favorite resource is All Through the Ages by Christine Miller. The website is telling the truth when it says this book is an "exhaustive guide to over 7000 of the best in quality historical narratives, historical fiction, literature, and “living books”!" It is broken down by time period, then by grade, then by type (ex. biography, specific events, literature, etc...). It evens has a timeline at the end of each section. I bought the PDF version and read it on my iPad. I LOVE this book!!

*My second favorite resource is Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt. If you don't own this, I really think you should!

*Ambleside Online.

*Simply Charlotte Mason
*For History, Geography, Bible
*For Literature

*Serendipity

*Sonlight

What are your favorite go-to sites, or resources, for book lists??

Street Musician

2011-06-17T06:00:00.001-04:00

On the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver, there are several pianos painted in various designs and colors. When I first noticed one, it was being played by some hip and trendy youngster. I love to listen to street musicians. Those cools cats love to play and they play well. After I listened for a minute, I asked myself a question. I said, "Self, how in the world did he get his piano to the mall??" I was perplexed. The further we walked, the more pianos I saw. "Self!" I said, "I bet anybody can play these pianos!!" I finally dragged the family to one and saw this sign:

Bazinga!! I was correct!! So what does any good mother do? Why, she forces her only piano-playing child to sit down and play a song!!

Alyssa was mortified! But I made her do it anyway. (note: I am not a bad mother. Alyssa has a bit of shyness that she needs to get over! Besides.. no one was watching her. At first. About halfway through her song a man came and stood next to the piano, but he clapped for her, so she forgave him. :-)

I happen to think that my hip and trendy youngster was the coolest cat on the street that night.

Please note that this video has horrible sound. All you really hear is street noise, but I think it's so cool that she played and I wanted to share it with you.

Instagram Fun!

2011-06-16T16:24:00.000-04:00

My favorite app for my iPhone is Instagram. I am quite addicted to adding filters to just about every picture I take. :-) Here are some of my favorites pics that I've altered:

{Not So} Wordless Wednesday

2011-06-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

*Jen and me*

One of the highlights of my trip was visiting with my cyber BFF, Jen. :-) This was our second visit. She is one of the coolest gals I know!

By the Numbers

2011-06-13T09:39:00.000-04:00

We just got back from a very long, but very rewarding, vacation. We headed to Middle America to visit family and friends. It was fun, but I am glad to be sleeping in my own bed! :-) Here's a few fun facts for ya:

1: dog

2: parents

3: kids (until we picked up Jacob, then it was 4 kids)

3: hotels where we slept

3: houses where we slept

11: states traveled through (we went through Kansas twice!)

13: days away from home

59.5: hours spent driving (I drove maybe 5 hours of this. Poor Eric. :-)

4,310: miles traveled

too numerous to count: laughter and hugs and good times

A box of fun stuff

2011-05-27T12:55:00.000-04:00

We are getting ready to go on a colossal road trip. Like, a 57-hour road trip. Oy. I should probably pack a few things for the kids to do, huh?

In addition to the typical coloring books and crayons, we are taking...

...the laptop, we will use that as a DVD player

...the iPad and the iPod

...the Nintendo DS

...the Nintendo GameBoy

...the PSP

...Learning Wrap-Ups

...Summer Skills Activity Workbook

...books on CD (Chasing Vermeer and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler )

...Your Story Hour CDs

...Miles of Smile: 101 Great Car Games and Activites

... books, books and more books!

Does anyone have any suggestions? Anything I am not taking that is a must have when traveling? Any fun games to play as a family? Please, let me know!

Alyssa's 4th grade reading list

2011-05-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

This may seem like a short list, but for Alyssa it is really long. I am so incredibly proud of her! I knew I wanted her to read through the Little House books and there are a few historical fiction books thrown in, too. You can read her complete book list (with books she read for fun!) here.

Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Viking Adventure by Clyde Robert Bulla
Pocahontas and the Strangers by Clyde Robert Bulla
Can't you make Them behave, King George? by Jean Fritz
Where was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? by Jean Fritz
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Hatmaker's Sign by Candace Fleming
Martha Washington: American's First First Lady by Jean Brown Wagoner
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Afternoon on the Amazon by Mary Pope Osborne
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Meet Addy by Connie Porter
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder

2011-05-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

Me: Does anyone know where my iPod is??

Aniston: I do!

Me: Well, where is it?

Aniston: I hid it under my bed.

Me: Why?

Aniston: 'Cause I'm a baaaaaaaaaaad girl!

Then she proceeded to give me her "bad girl" face.

Huh.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

2011-05-24T06:00:00.006-04:00

...the planning of Mr. McGregor's Garden (shown in the two pics above) was really fun. First, Aniston picked the vegetables she wanted to use and laid them out using Unifix cubes and following the spacing guidelines (directly above)...

... then she removed the cubes and colored the spaces...

Aniston is now finished with first grade!

{all printables are from Homeschool Share}

A Busy Sunday

2011-05-23T13:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, at church...

Alyssa and Colton were baptized:

We had our three active duty members wear their uniforms (a pre-Memorial weekend celebration of sorts):

We recognized high school graduates {oops! No pictures}

We said good-bye to our beloved friends {and thanking God that they are only moving an hour away}

Eric and the Major. His family has been such a blessing to us!

We prayed over Eric as he gets ready to deploy in a few weeks. Such a handsome sailor my husband is!

Volleyball was played and food was eaten.

It was a good day.

She turned SEVEN!!

2011-05-13T23:41:00.001-04:00

Do you know that I was advised to terminate my pregnancy with her? The doctors told me that she might die (like her brother before her) and that this time, I might die too. I'm so glad I didn't. Look at her! The world is a better place because she is in it.

Happy Birthday, Aniston. I love you!!

Colton's 7th grade reading list

2011-05-11T11:40:00.001-04:00

Colton has finished his required reading for the year. Most of these are historical, whether fiction or non-fiction. My favorite resources are Beautiful Feet Study Guides and All Through the Ages.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham
The World of Capt. John Smith by Genevieve Foster
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
Case for Christ For Kids by Lee Strobel
George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster
Poor Richard by James Daugherty
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
The Great Little Madison by Jean Fritz
Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving; Illustrated by Arthur Rackham
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving: Illustrated by Arthur Rackham
Tucket's Travels by Gary Paulsen
Mark Twain, Young Writer by Miriam E Maon
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
A Child's Geography of the World. V. M. Hillyer
Davy Crockett by Constance Rourke
Abraham Lincoln's World by Genevieve Foster
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois
By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman
Go Free or Die (A Story about Harriet Tubman) by Jeri Ferris
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt
The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
Fields of Fury: The American Civil War by James M. McPherson
Sounder by William H. Armstrong
Shades of Grey by Carolyn Reeder
Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

*his complete list of books (which include free reads) can be found {here}.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

2011-05-05T10:22:00.000-04:00

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

{real}

We are a cold-cereal-for-breakfast kind of family. I tried to be the mom who cooked pancakes and eggs and toast every day, but I couldn't do it. So cold cereal it is! Don't hate me, 'K?

visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more entries

Commonplace Collection #2

2011-05-04T09:31:00.000-04:00

"The most necessary task of civilization is to teach people how to think. It should be the primary purpose of our public schools. The mind of a child is naturally active, it develops through exercise. Give a child plenty of exercise, for body and brain. The trouble with our way of educating is that it does not give elasticity to the mind. It casts the brain into a mold. It insists that the child must accept. It does not encourage original thought or reasoning, and it lays more stress on memory than observation." Thomas Edison

April was a killer!

2011-05-03T11:29:00.000-04:00

I noticed that all of the books I read in the month of April were murder mysteries. I guess I was in a who-dun-it kind of mood. Here is what I read in case you're looking for a good mystery to read:

Death Threads by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree by Nancy Atherton

Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

The Diva takes the Cake by Krista Davis

Murder of a Wedding Belle by Denise Swanson

Oh Danny Boy by Rhys Bowen

Pinned for Murder by Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Berried to the Hilt by Karen MacInerney

In Dublin's Fair City by Rhys Bowen