Anyone who knows me knows that if I'm waking up before 6 am consistently, something is wrong. This week, I haven't slept past about 5:30. Why? The reasons are many and varied.
First of all, my first baby is graduating in three weeks. No, I'm not all weepy and depressed and sad...actually, there are days when I'm ready for his new roommate, B, to take him and go! That isn't usually the case, you understand, but there are definitely those days. I'm learning, though, that having a senior comes with a very long "to do" list. Do you know how many people want pictures of this boy for various things? Not senior pictures, but pictures all through his life. Not that it is so terribly difficult....I just have to dig through unorganized boxes and find those perfect few....but it is a "to do". (And what about those brown recluse spiders that reside in such untouched boxes in storage? It is a risky "to do" as well!) There are announcements, parties, and we have senior recognition banquets out the wazoo.
Secondly, it is almost May. Even without a senior, May is busy, busy, busy. Every program that is coming to a delightful end has a banquet or performance to show the many accomplishments of the year. The church programs, jump rope, piano, choir, and every organization in which any of the four have remotely participated are vying for calendar dates that are already covered with baseball and volleyball games and practices.
Thirdly, I want homeschool to end. I want to be done. However, I'm struggling with finding the time to effectively launch a crusade to accelerate the process. Bless The Things hearts, if they have learned anything this year, it is working independently, and at least Math, English, Reading, and Spelling are progressing. Given that we had HOURS of history on the trip, Science is the only thing that is falling through the cracks right now.
Lastly, and although it could wait, in my OCD mind, it is the primary item on the radar right now, and that is planning for next year. WHY I can't delay this until Memorial Day, I'm not sure. It's a mental issue, to be sure. I've pondered and pondered and then, this morning, as I read online essays about various educational theories and looked at curriculum, a brand new idea occurred to me. I could do Tapestry of Grace Year 4 next year, and really hit the time from the Civil War to now thoroughly. THEN I could begin the History cycle again the following year. That would mean 80% of the books in my living room would have to be stored for a year. That would mean that instead of starting the next four-year history cycle with Nathan in 6th (already a year behind) and Annie in 5th, it would delay it another year. Do I want to do that? I don't knoooooooowwwwwww!
The one thing I know is that there is not more to do today than I can do. God has ordered my steps and purposed my day to serve Him. He knows about the whole time thing (He created it, after all) and He hasn't scheduled more in my day than is possible for me to accomplish. So, if I just stop and turn it all over to Him, He will provide the priorities and the time, and it will fall into place. And, maybe, that is why He is waking me up a little earlier. He wants me to spend time with Him to learn about His plan for my day. So pardon me, I have a Friend waiting. He may be waiting for you, too.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Manhunt
On our recent trip to South Carolina, I tucked into my bag an audio book, Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. I had actually purchased it for my dad for Father's Day last year for a trip he was taking. He knew the kids and I were studying the Civil War in homeschool and brought it so we could listen.
It is very long, 9 hours, to be exact. I'm glad I saved it for a long drive. We listened to about half of it going, and everyone was excited to pop it back in to hear the rest on the return trip.
It is a riveting account of the events surrounding the assassination of President Lincoln, and the events that followed. It is all very factual, and based on extensive research by the author, but presented in the fashion of the best sort of page-turner. The characters literally come to life as the author explores their motives, backgrounds, and personalities. Richard Thomas is a fabulous storyteller, so the excitement is maintained in the telling. There are a few spots that are a bit gory, so use care before listening with small children.
I highly recommend the book. It is exciting, and in the process, I learned much about an event on which I already felt relatively well-versed.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Kathy Ireland Shares Her Faith; Views on Abortion
Very well spoken, one of the best pro-life arguements I have ever heard. Take a look and listen!
Kathy Ireland on Fox's Huckabee
Kathy Ireland on Fox's Huckabee
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Done. Whew!
The quest for next year's curriculum is over. I'm not sure that I did it all the best way, but if I didn't, it wasn't because I didn't obsess over it all enough. However, I've pulled the proverbial trigger, and it is all on order, and on its way.
First, we evaluated foundational curriculum. The spine of it all, if you will. I looked at Tapestry of Grace, Sonlight, and Veritas Press. I am convinced I could not have gone wrong with any of them. They are all wonderful and thorough curriculums. We settled on Sonlight for a few reasons. First of all, unlike Veritas Press, our times/needs were in sync. We will be ready to begin world history over again, starting with the ancients. I would have been able to do that if I jumped Nathan up a year, but I wasn't sure if it would work with Annie. Tapestry allows you to do any of it any time, which is wonderful. I seriously contemplated using Tapestry. I made lists of the books used for each curriculum and compared them. I really like a lot of the features of Tapestry, and one of my best friends uses it and it works well for her. The bottom line, however, is that I'm familiar with Sonlight and how it works. I've gathered that Tapestry is a bit more work and because I don't have children widely spaced in age, I'm not sure it is necessary. So, in all, comfortable won, and I ordered Core 6 from Sonlight. Because Nathan is a quick and avid reader, I looked at "The Well-Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer and compared it to Tapestry of Grace books and ordered a few more books to supplement Sonlight's books. I found some used and was able to get them for just a bit more than a song.
After several years of grammar trials, last year we tried Rod and Staff and we loved it. It is absolutely wonderful and I'll thank Staci for a very long time for recommending it to us. So, Annie will use the 5th grade one from this year, and I ordered a 6th grade grammar set for Nathan. This will be supplemented by Sonlight's LA program.
For science, I read board after board, review after review, and narrowed it down to four programs: Science 4 Kids, Rainbow Science, Apologia, and Noeo. Then, because I felt they need a really general, all encompassing program at this point, I was able to select two of those: Rainbow and Apologia. We looked at them and evaluated them. I asked Nathan what he thought and his answer was to get the one with the most experiments. Ha! I would like to finish it this year, so we ordered Apologia General Science from Sonlight. It is 7th grade, but I think it is completely doable for them.
On to math....ugh! Annie was easy...she will do what Nathan did this year, Horizons 5 via Sonlight. Done. Nathan, however, is another story. I looked and looked and AGONIZED over it. I talked Clay's ear off, poor guy, until his eyes glazed over and I think he was about to run away. Nathan is pre-algebra/algebra, depending on the program. Chalk Dust is an amazing program, but a bit pricy. Not knowing how taxes would turn out, I was not sure about the cost, and not confident I could put it together well enough from used sources. I evaluated Teaching Textbooks, which looks great, but their Algebra I was essentially the same as some of the others' PreAlgebra. That's fine as long as I know what I've got, but I'm not sure where that leaves me later on. I'd like to stick with the same curriculum for awhile to prevent concepts from slipping through the cracks. So, I ended up ordering Life of Fred Decimals and Beginning Algebra, and also Jacobs Algebra, which I was able to procure from Amazon at a fantastic used price. Jacobs is recommended for 7th grade in Veritas Press, therefore, I'm thinking I'm going to be thrilled. He wasn't too keen on having a video instructor (I've still got him thinking I can do it....yikes!) so that pretty much settled the decision.
Now, orders have been placed with Life of Fred, Amazon, Sonlight, and Rod and Staff, and I'm ready to focus on wrapping up the current year.
First, we evaluated foundational curriculum. The spine of it all, if you will. I looked at Tapestry of Grace, Sonlight, and Veritas Press. I am convinced I could not have gone wrong with any of them. They are all wonderful and thorough curriculums. We settled on Sonlight for a few reasons. First of all, unlike Veritas Press, our times/needs were in sync. We will be ready to begin world history over again, starting with the ancients. I would have been able to do that if I jumped Nathan up a year, but I wasn't sure if it would work with Annie. Tapestry allows you to do any of it any time, which is wonderful. I seriously contemplated using Tapestry. I made lists of the books used for each curriculum and compared them. I really like a lot of the features of Tapestry, and one of my best friends uses it and it works well for her. The bottom line, however, is that I'm familiar with Sonlight and how it works. I've gathered that Tapestry is a bit more work and because I don't have children widely spaced in age, I'm not sure it is necessary. So, in all, comfortable won, and I ordered Core 6 from Sonlight. Because Nathan is a quick and avid reader, I looked at "The Well-Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer and compared it to Tapestry of Grace books and ordered a few more books to supplement Sonlight's books. I found some used and was able to get them for just a bit more than a song.
After several years of grammar trials, last year we tried Rod and Staff and we loved it. It is absolutely wonderful and I'll thank Staci for a very long time for recommending it to us. So, Annie will use the 5th grade one from this year, and I ordered a 6th grade grammar set for Nathan. This will be supplemented by Sonlight's LA program.
For science, I read board after board, review after review, and narrowed it down to four programs: Science 4 Kids, Rainbow Science, Apologia, and Noeo. Then, because I felt they need a really general, all encompassing program at this point, I was able to select two of those: Rainbow and Apologia. We looked at them and evaluated them. I asked Nathan what he thought and his answer was to get the one with the most experiments. Ha! I would like to finish it this year, so we ordered Apologia General Science from Sonlight. It is 7th grade, but I think it is completely doable for them.
On to math....ugh! Annie was easy...she will do what Nathan did this year, Horizons 5 via Sonlight. Done. Nathan, however, is another story. I looked and looked and AGONIZED over it. I talked Clay's ear off, poor guy, until his eyes glazed over and I think he was about to run away. Nathan is pre-algebra/algebra, depending on the program. Chalk Dust is an amazing program, but a bit pricy. Not knowing how taxes would turn out, I was not sure about the cost, and not confident I could put it together well enough from used sources. I evaluated Teaching Textbooks, which looks great, but their Algebra I was essentially the same as some of the others' PreAlgebra. That's fine as long as I know what I've got, but I'm not sure where that leaves me later on. I'd like to stick with the same curriculum for awhile to prevent concepts from slipping through the cracks. So, I ended up ordering Life of Fred Decimals and Beginning Algebra, and also Jacobs Algebra, which I was able to procure from Amazon at a fantastic used price. Jacobs is recommended for 7th grade in Veritas Press, therefore, I'm thinking I'm going to be thrilled. He wasn't too keen on having a video instructor (I've still got him thinking I can do it....yikes!) so that pretty much settled the decision.
Now, orders have been placed with Life of Fred, Amazon, Sonlight, and Rod and Staff, and I'm ready to focus on wrapping up the current year.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
What He Did, and Why He Did It
Acts 2:22-40 (New Living Translation)
22 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene[a] by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24 But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. 25 King David said this about him:
‘I see that the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
26 No wonder my heart is glad,
and my tongue shouts his praises!
My body rests in hope.
27 For you will not leave my soul among the dead[b]
or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.
28 You have shown me the way of life,
and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’[c]
29 “Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. 30 But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. 31 David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.
32 “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. 33 Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34 For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
35 until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.”’[d]
36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles[e]—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
Happy Easter!
22 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene[a] by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. 23 But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. 24 But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. 25 King David said this about him:
‘I see that the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
26 No wonder my heart is glad,
and my tongue shouts his praises!
My body rests in hope.
27 For you will not leave my soul among the dead[b]
or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.
28 You have shown me the way of life,
and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’[c]
29 “Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. 30 But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. 31 David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.
32 “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. 33 Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. 34 For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
35 until I humble your enemies,
making them a footstool under your feet.”’[d]
36 “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
37 Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles[e]—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” 40 Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!”
Happy Easter!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Too Many Choices
We have discovered, my homeschooled two and I, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This homeschool year is almost over....just a few more weeks. Honestly, we have more than met our requirements, and we are farther than we were when we finished last year, but there are just a few more things we need to learn before the blessed summer break.
I'm in a peculiar spot now as I ponder the curriculum for next year. We are at a crossroads in several ways. We (finally) are finishing the four years of world history that we started, well, about four years ago. Now what? Start again, I'm sure....or maybe not. (probably). Nathan is ready to jump up in math. To what he is jumping, I'm not sure just yet. I think the elementary math is sufficiently ingrained and a bit of a challenge is in order. Pre-Algebra? Is he ready for Algebra? What curriculum? The questions are endless.....
Essentially, it seems in most subjects Nathan is ready to jump a year. Don't tell him that, please. I don't need an endless litany of arguments about him being in 7th grade, ready for youth group, etc. It'll be our secret...okay? Okay.
Then there is Science. I'm sure we are ready for an Apologia Science, but which one?
When I first started homeschooling, the options were very limited. As homeschooling has taken off, the number of choices has jumped exponentially. There are several really good programs out there, and though the vast array of choices is nice, it also makes it difficult. But I'm NOT complaining! I'm thrilled. As the catalogs come in, I spend time at every baseball/soccer game perusing them, reading cover to cover what each company has to offer. It becomes so exciting! (I know, only an egghead would get a kick out of such a thing....what can I say?) Planning next year is ever so much more fun than finishing this year. Now, on to those Latin reviews....
I'm in a peculiar spot now as I ponder the curriculum for next year. We are at a crossroads in several ways. We (finally) are finishing the four years of world history that we started, well, about four years ago. Now what? Start again, I'm sure....or maybe not. (probably). Nathan is ready to jump up in math. To what he is jumping, I'm not sure just yet. I think the elementary math is sufficiently ingrained and a bit of a challenge is in order. Pre-Algebra? Is he ready for Algebra? What curriculum? The questions are endless.....
Essentially, it seems in most subjects Nathan is ready to jump a year. Don't tell him that, please. I don't need an endless litany of arguments about him being in 7th grade, ready for youth group, etc. It'll be our secret...okay? Okay.
Then there is Science. I'm sure we are ready for an Apologia Science, but which one?
When I first started homeschooling, the options were very limited. As homeschooling has taken off, the number of choices has jumped exponentially. There are several really good programs out there, and though the vast array of choices is nice, it also makes it difficult. But I'm NOT complaining! I'm thrilled. As the catalogs come in, I spend time at every baseball/soccer game perusing them, reading cover to cover what each company has to offer. It becomes so exciting! (I know, only an egghead would get a kick out of such a thing....what can I say?) Planning next year is ever so much more fun than finishing this year. Now, on to those Latin reviews....
Monday, April 6, 2009
Opening Day!
It is MLB Opening Day! Yay!
There is just nothing like the perfectly groomed fields in the MLB, or the not-so-perfect little league fields, but both look better with a baseball flying around.
I even get excited about washing lots of dirt out of uniforms. The dirtier, the better, because it means he's working hard.
Go ST. LOUIS CARDINALS!
There is just nothing like the perfectly groomed fields in the MLB, or the not-so-perfect little league fields, but both look better with a baseball flying around.
I even get excited about washing lots of dirt out of uniforms. The dirtier, the better, because it means he's working hard.
Go ST. LOUIS CARDINALS!
Unredeemed
Quick! Go to Angie's blog, "Bring the Rain" and read her beautiful post. You must do so in haste! The song she has linked is only there for THREE DAYS! It will minister to you....I promise.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Decorating? Fun? Gasp!
We have, for a few months now, been in a redecorating mode. The painting is almost done, and we have been getting wall decor done. Last fall, my friends, April and Deanna of Drawn By Light Photography took amazing pictures of the kids. I'm in danger of making the place a shrine, I have so many of the pictures around now. We had one series done in black and white with just a green chair and it is The. Coolest. Picture. Ever.
You can't really tell. You just have to see it in person. Anyhoo, this is how it looks on the wall:
Honestly, though, there are pictures of the kids everywhere, and they are soooo good.
The other source for wall art in my home is my brother. He is a gifted amature (that means it isn't his real job) photographer. I have some prints coming, some I'm framing, and then there is this one that I especially love:
We had a split canvas made of this one. Isn't it beauuuuuutiful????
This decorating thing can, in fact, be fun. That was news to me. I could do it for a living! Not!
You can't really tell. You just have to see it in person. Anyhoo, this is how it looks on the wall:
Honestly, though, there are pictures of the kids everywhere, and they are soooo good.
The other source for wall art in my home is my brother. He is a gifted amature (that means it isn't his real job) photographer. I have some prints coming, some I'm framing, and then there is this one that I especially love:
We had a split canvas made of this one. Isn't it beauuuuuutiful????
This decorating thing can, in fact, be fun. That was news to me. I could do it for a living! Not!
Third Day Concert
About a week and a half ago, we, less Travis (who had to play baseball, of course), went to a Third Day concert. It was ever so much fun.
It was a very long drive, about three hours each way. It was cold standing in line, but thankfully, we didn't have to wait long. Holly and Annie kept each other warm....long enough to snap a picture.
First to open was the Australian group, Revive:
You may have heard their song, "Chorus of the Saints". They were really good, and it was interesting, because even though we weren't familiar with all the songs, we liked their style and the music enough to get one of their cd's. That may be a first for us....usually we are drawn to the music with which we are most familiar. I hope the poor guys get their van repaired soon!
Next to appear was Brandon Heath:
We are big Brandon Heath fans. He and Revive were worth the cost of the tickets and the drive. But then, the headliners came on:
It was fabulous. I loved watching my children praise God:
Fun was had by all!!!
It was a very long drive, about three hours each way. It was cold standing in line, but thankfully, we didn't have to wait long. Holly and Annie kept each other warm....long enough to snap a picture.
First to open was the Australian group, Revive:
You may have heard their song, "Chorus of the Saints". They were really good, and it was interesting, because even though we weren't familiar with all the songs, we liked their style and the music enough to get one of their cd's. That may be a first for us....usually we are drawn to the music with which we are most familiar. I hope the poor guys get their van repaired soon!
Next to appear was Brandon Heath:
We are big Brandon Heath fans. He and Revive were worth the cost of the tickets and the drive. But then, the headliners came on:
It was fabulous. I loved watching my children praise God:
Fun was had by all!!!
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