Back to School 2014

 

On August 19th, we started back to school with a light schedule. We spent a few days doing some "All About Me" pages, a basic family tree, learning about IL State history, and did some reading and  other simple projects to get us back into a routine. 

 

JJ was acting goofy here. He often says he doesn't like school; but, our first week went fine. I think, deep down, he really does like having (or maybe even needs) a more strict routine to help keep him busy and knowing what to expect. During the Summer, he often told me he was bored.

Our first-day-back-to-school breakfast tradition is usually pancakes. But, this year, the kids decided they wanted Baked Oatmeal. See the recipe below...

BAKED OATMEAL

 

3 cups dry oatmeal (2 cups quick cooking oats, 1 cup Old-fashioned)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or raisins)
1/2 cup applesauce
2 eggs
1 cup milk

 

Mix all together. Pour into a 9x9 square pan. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 until firm and slightly browned. Serve warm. 

 

Double the recipe for a 9x13 pan. 

 

 

Summer Fun - July 2014

At the beginning of July, the kids attended a Puppet Boot Camp at a nearby church. They really enjoyed learning more about the craft of puppetry.

 

JJ received 3rd place in the Junior division for his lip syncing skills.

EL was excited that her name was drawn to WIN a puppet! This picture is blurry, but you get the idea. We will definitely be using this puppet in a future performance at church.

 

The kids each made a puppet out of a hat.
Here's EL with her puppet.

JJ with his puppet

 

Here is a video of the Hat Performance, done under blacklight:

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Other random pix from July....

 

JJ playing in the mud after a good bout of rain

 

We stopped at an Outdoors Unlimited event where JJ
took the chance to fish, shoot arrows, and throw tomahawks.

The kids in front of a field of sunflowers at a nearby state park

A collage from our vacation to Kentucky.
You can see more about our trip over at "He Holds My Right Hand."

Here are the links for easy access:
VACATION PART 1:  Louisville, Kentucky
VACATION PART 2:  Eastern Kentucky
VACATION PART 3:  Kentucky Down Under
VACATION PART 4:  Beech Bend Amusement Park
A Not-So-Perfect Vacation
 

Kid Snippets Math is Like Life at Our House

Kid Snippets have been going around on the Internet for awhile, and they are so good. They get kids to talk about a given topic, then the adults act out the scene with the kids voices dubbed in. This one about Math is probably my favorite. Not only is it funny, it also reminds me of what math is like in our home! I would consider JJ as the "teacher" and EL as the "student." Check it out!

KID SNIPPETS:  MATH CLASS

FREE Homeschool Planners (Limited Time)

We are nearing the end of our Summer, so I have started the process of getting things organized for the new year. I have looked into some different planners and haven't really found one that completely works for our needs, but I wanted to share a couple of FREE options for those of you who are interested:

For the next month, The Old Schoolhouse magazine has 5 different planner options for free listed on EDUCENTS.COM. Here is the direct link: 

2014-15 SCHOOLHOUSE PLANNERS

 

Also, for a short time (through August 4, 2014), you can get 7 different themed planners for free over at:

 

FRUGAL HOMESCHOOL FAMILY

 

These are only free for a limited time, so hurry up and download your copies now!

 



Summer Science Camp

This week, the kids had 3 days of a Social Skills Science Camp. It was interesting! It is geared for kids with special needs and their siblings. They learned about 3 different body systems while practicing the social skills of taking turns, cooperating, and learning about hygiene and good manners. It was a good class and I'm glad we were able to take part in it.

Day 1, we learned about the DIGESTIVE SYSTEM:


The instructor is teaching about the
different parts of the Digestive System.

Using stethoscopes to listen to
intestinal gurgling sounds called peristalsis.



They made "vomit" by mixing together 2 crackers, 1/2 banana, shredded carrots, baking soda, and vinegar to simulate what happens to food inside the stomach.

It literally looks like vomit. Ewww.



They blew up balloons and let them go to simulate the sounds of flatulence. Ha ha! They had such fun with this.

Pushing thick oatmeal through a panty hose leg to simulate food being pushed through the small intestines.

Day 2, I didn't get too many pictures, but we learned about the CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. They made the different parts of blood, listened to heart beats, and learned about veins and arteries.

Here, they put celery into a glass of food coloring
and left it there for a couple of days to see how veins work.

On the last day, they learned about the RESPIRATORY SYSTEM:


They made "snot." Their faces tell the story on this one.

They went outside to drop Mentos into a bottle of diet Coke
to simulate how pressure builds up before we sneeze.
A sneeze can travel up to 100 miles per hour!

They used balloons and a water bottle
to show how our diaphragm helps our lungs work.

 

and, they blew through straws into water bottles to show lung capacity.
Some of them got their faces very wet. Hee hee.  



Puppets for Jungle Safari VBS Program

Last week, our church had Vacation Bible School every morning from 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. Our family was thrilled to be able to help out this year with our puppet ministry. It was a lot of work, and very tiring, but also a lot of fun.

This year's theme was Jungle Safari. The curriculum did not have any puppet scripts to use for the opening session, so we searched online to find skits and songs that would match each day's lesson.

Day 1 - God is Our Creator (Covers the 7 Days of Creation)

Day 2 - God is Our Provider (God's provision for Elijah)

Day 3 - God is our Protector (Daniel in the Lion's Den)

Day 4 - God is our Savior (Salvation story with Toadly the frog)

Day 5 - God is our King (music about serving our King)

 

In order below, you will find the 5 puppet acts we did.

 

If you are interested in knowing where we found our scripts and songs, please leave a comment, or contact me via e-mail.

 

Enjoy!

Day 1 



 

Day 2 

 

Day 3

 

Day 4 

 

Day 5 

2013-2014 School Year FINISHED / Random Pictures to Share

I have apparently "dropped the ball" on blogging about our school year. Here we are, finished with our main curriculum for this school year, and I haven't posted anything new since February! Maybe I can do a better job of posting next school year. In the meantime, here are some random pix from the last three months of some things we have done. I hope it doesn't take too long for your computer to download all of them...

 

SCIENCE



February 4th
Dissecting beans

February 12th
Labeling the parts of a flower

April 10th
Putting a carrot in food coloring to see how the water gets absorbed



May 14th
Microscope Class at a Nature Center

 

HISTORY

February 11th
Hasty Pudding - believed to have originated during the
French and Indian wars.
Made with 2 cups milk, 1/2 cup cornmeal, 2 TB butter, and 1/2 tsp. salt.

March 20th
Russian Manyick Cake
Made this while learning about Catherine the Great.

April 24th
Following directions with a compass.
Did this while learning about Lewis & Clark

May 13th
Samuel Morse and the development of Morse Code.

 

FIELD TRIPS

 

April 23rd
Live theater production at a local University

April 30th
Tour of local Ambulance Department

April 30th
Tour of local Volunteer Fire Department

May 15th
Trip to a horse barn to learn about and ride horses.
EL is pictured here. She was nervous, but enjoyed it.

JJ on a horse. He loved it.

MISCELLANEOUS

 

May 8th
JJ using the laptop to do Math, Reading and Spelling on K5 Learning

EL using Daddy's computer to do her K5 Learning

March 25th
JJ received his Arrow of Light - the highest
award for a Cub Scout to receive.

April 5th
At a Balloon Launch for Autism Awareness Month

 

APRIL 13th Puppet Ministry at our church

April 16th
A visit with Grandma & Grandpa, and my brother and his family.
Pictured here is Grandma & Grandpa Mac with the grandkids.

MEDICAL APPOINTMENTS

 

March 21st
Both kids saw their Allergist and had some testing done.
JJ is still highly allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, and also shellfish
He is no longer allergic to eggs

April 18th
EL had a Sleep Study done.
She has mild Sleep Apnea.

May 18-23
A trip to visit family up North and help Grandma S.
as she underwent surgery to clean out a carotid artery.

After we came home from helping Grandma S., we finished up our main curriculum for this school year, then purchased a family membership to the local pool. We will continue working on some Math and English throughout the Summer.

Have a great Summer! I will try to post pictures of some of our fun Summer activities as I am able.




A Coincidence?

Like I predicted on THURSDAY, Friday was a better day for us. Fridays are generally lighter in the schoolwork area, so that helped relieve some of the stress. Plus, we also spent the afternoon getting ready for company to come this weekend. That kept our minds on something better than arguing with each other and focusing on negative things. So, over all, it was a good day.

I can't help but think we were, ummm, "distracted" on Thursday because of some things we've been recently learning and sharing. For example, last Sunday, the kids used their puppet ministry to share about "counting our blessings." Hmmmm. Counting our blessings requires thinking on the GOOD things, doesn't it? Was our distraction on Thursday a test of that?

Here's the newest puppet video. (Note: My husband is in the video since he filled in for our pastor while he was out of town)...

E-J PUPPETS:  COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS

 

 

Also, we have been learning some verses from the book of James. Maybe its just a coincidence, but don't you think its possible the devil hasn't liked hearing what we've been learning and sharing this week? Here is JJ saying the verses we have learned:

JAMES 1:2-6

 

 

Coincidence?  I don't think so....  Press on, friends!

Tomorrow Will Be Better

I love being at home with my kids and being able to teach them - I really do! But, I admit there are some days when teaching these young rascals gets very frustrating. This morning was one of those days...

I crawled out of bed this morning tired and unmotivated. The cloudy weather didn't help. Still, I pressed onward to try and accomplish our daily goals.

The kids picked up on my lack of motivation, and they both took their time with morning chores. Thus, we got a later start with schoolwork. JJ asked, "Can we skip school today?" Hmmmm, very tempting, but no. It's important to teach the kids that sometimes we must do things we don't want to do. Its just part of life. So, onward we went...

Spelling was first on the agenda. JJ, who has always had trouble with spelling, was frustrated about our English language and how the spelling rules just don't make much sense. I tend to agree with him on that. But, what can I do? Its just the way things are, and its something we have to learn.

Next, we did English. EL needed help putting words in alphabetical order and became stressed out over that. At the same time, JJ was working on cursive and, once again, voiced his frustrations. "They are just a bunch of squiggly lines. Who made up cursive, and why do we have to learn it?" (sigh)

After English came Science. We have been learning about flowers (botany), and today we learned about the fascinating way God used the colors in flowers to attract bees and other insects. Bees need flowers in order to survive, and flowers need bees in order to survive. JJ drew on the white board while I read aloud; EL sat on the floor and tried to comprehend what I was saying. Her comprehension, unfortunately, has declined since she started taking seizure meds. This is very frustrating for me because I have to keep repeating everything, have her repeat it back to me, and then sometimes she still doesn't comprehend it. (sigh) I know its not her fault, but its still frustrating.

We moved on to History and I read about George Washington at Valley Forge. Comprehension was once again a difficult task - for both kids. JJ's tics have been highly active lately and he just couldn't sit still, so I allowed him to continue drawing on the white board. Some days, that works out well. Other days, like today, his imagination overtakes him and he hears the words I read as "blah blah blah blah blah." More frustration on my part.

I finished up with History and decided to try a drawing lesson for Art. Since we are learning about the Revolutionary War, I used a book that gives directions for drawing a cannon. EL became grumpy and didn't like that idea, but I asked her to do her best. Then, JJ told her she was drawing it wrong and she grew irritated with him and began to mumble under her breath. We tell her its not polite to mumble, but she continues. I tell her to stop, and she yells, "I can't stop!" She threw her pencil onto the floor. I made her pick it up and told her that behavior was not acceptable. That led to a complete meltdown/tantrum - basically screaming at the top of her lungs and crying in frustration. I reacted negatively and raised my voice to her as well. Of course, that helped out a lot - NOT! She was DONE with school for the day, and so was I.

Suffice it to say, this morning was not what I would call a good morning; but, thankfully, we always have tomorrow to look forward to. I am not a perfect mom, and I do not have perfect kids. But, we love each other, and that's what matters most. After some cool down time, we all gave each other hugs and said we were sorry. Things were mostly good again... and tomorrow will be even better.

Homeschool Enrichment Magazine

The Lewis family (the editors of Homeschool Enrichment) have a goal to "publish articles that will be helpful and encouraging to homeschool families." In my eyes, they have done well meeting that goal. I have been reading HSE for several years and have received much encouragement from it. Some articles deal with family matters, some deal with education, and some deal with Biblical training. Others give informative articles regarding current events, historical events, unit studies, Creation Science, and book/curriculum reviews.

I have met Jonathan and Matthew Lewis (brothers), and have corresponded with them on occasion.  I have watched their families grow over the years, and am impressed with what I have seen. They are godly young men who have a desire to serve the Lord in all areas of their lives. Each issue has been a blessing to me, and I recommend it to all families who are homeschooling - new or experienced - or even to grandparents or other relatives who want to learn more about the world of Christian homeschoolers.

You can REQUEST A FREE COPY of the magazine to see if its a right fit for you. Or, if you are ready to place an order, click on the affiliate link below or in my sidebar to get a 38% discount off of your subscription price.