Vocabulary and World Relief at the same time?!

Here is a great resource for Vocabulary exercises. It quizzes you and adjusts to your level and allows you to earn rice for 3rd world countries in need. Donations are made for every word you get correct. It automatically increases in difficulty if you rise to the occasion. My kids get very excited about vocabulary for a good cause! What a wonderful tool!

http://www.freerice.com/

If you do it, come back and comment here. My kids would love to know how much you have earned!! We earned over 5000 grains in our first session! Enjoy! (It's a great tool for mamas and papas to exercise our brains too.) :-)

Another School Year Ends

Ahhhh....

We have just closed this school year with our evaluator. It is such a good time to reflect on what a great year we have had and start implementing new plans for the coming year.

We home school year round, we have chosen a lifestyle of learning. There are so many advantages to doing it this way. We all love it. It allows us freedom through the year as we need it, without having to worry about "catching up" because we took a trip or something.

Pennsylvania is said to be a state that requires the most accountability and it's checks and balances, but I have found it to be very easy to manage. I've got a great evaluator and an easy homemade system for keeping track of things, so I have no complaints. :-)

H took the mandatory 3rd grade tests last year and she really likes it, so did I. Even though you can;t measure the things we think are most important in our home education by these tests, many basic skills can be measured and I really like that outside accountability. So we have chosen to take them every year if we can. E took one this year for 2nd grade, and H took one for 4th. H tested low last year in Math (2nd Grade), and that really helped me identify that we needed to pay closer attention in that area. This year she just missed the 7th grade level by one hash mark! It was good to see the progress measured for our efforts through out the year. They both tested above grade level in everything, so it helps me know what we are doing is working. It can be a daunting responsibility to carry sometimes.

Our biggest change in the new year is that we are stopping piano lessons this semester with our teacher. It was tough (really tough), but we needed too - at least for this season, then we will assess our progress in August and see if we did OK on our own. We are continuing to learn at home, especially strengthening our music reading skills.

We lighten up in some areas and increase in other when the season change, it just feel natural that way. Of course of Physical activity increases as we spend as much time as possible outside. We trade bread making (And eating),baking and video courses for gardening and bike riding and books under a trees. We trade reading about science to more specimen collecting, research, and experiments. We trade reading about History for witnessing History on field trips and hands-on activities. Less book reports and more writing in journal and nature notebooks. We trade Crockpot meals and soups for meals with more fresh raw foods and things with grill marks on them (YUM!) and soon will be trading the kids' 6-8 o'clock bed times for 7-10 or so as the days get longer. We trade snuggling under blankets together for sitting by a campfire together. It's a beautiful thing.

A Family Guide to Bibilcal Holidays, Sampson & Pierce

Book Review ***** 5 Stars

What a wonderful resource! If you are interested in learning about the Bibical holidays this is a valuable resource to use. It is a comprehensive guide and easy to use. It includes crafts and activities if you like that sort of thing. It tells how the feasts reveal God's soverign plan and tells of the amazing ways that Jesus fulfills profecy through them. It is a great place to start, it will keep you busy for a while (but don't stop there!). :-)

You can find our more about it from their website. http://www.biblicalholidays.com/

Homeschooling for Eternity, Skeet Savage

Book Review ***** 5 Stars

This was a wonderful book! I highly recommend it. It is a valuable reminder of why we do what we do (homeschooling for the glory of God). It is rich in Scripture and vision for all families, no matter where youa re in the process. It is packed with wisdom and encouragement. It is sound in Biblical Instruction, not docterines of man.

Skeet is a very real. I saw her speak locally, and I was touched. Her testimony is mind blowing. I was intimidated with her head covering and ultra modest dress, as I sat in an unknown church surrounded by Amish and Mennonites in Lancaster County, PA. (My experience with plain people is that they can be very closed communities that make you feel like an outsider if they don't have a specific reason to communicate with you.) That was still the case with the audiance. :-( However, Skeet and the people traveling with her were very kind and "real". Skeet is far from "plain". She has put her life and the life of her children in God's hands, trusting Him with everything. Her life is a fine testimoney to His goodness.

Anyway, the book has moved up to my top 2 referral for new homeschooling moms or those struggling with vision, or those who just like to be reminded every now and then. :-)

The Bug Experiment

As a parent it is such a privilege and a blessing to watch my kids grow. Taking the time to invest ourselves in them and watch them not only brings my heart much joy, but it also gives back to the child in so many ways. I can see how differently they are wired, how they respond to the things put before them, what motivates them and how they process things. As their teacher, this is a very valuable thing, because the weight of the that responsibility can sometimes be daunting...these things are like little nuggets that God sends my way to help me see how I can better teach them.Ever since the children were little we would love to spend time outside, for me it was a place of rest and rejuvenation. For them the same, but even more so a place of exploration and discovery. This hobby (the love of the out doors) has brought us in contact with many bugs over the years, and have resulted in the following observations:

Picture each child, at the age of 2 coming upon a bug during play time -

H would not even notice the bug. She would be far to busy having fun, looking at the bigger picture. She would see an opportunity across the yard like a swing or slide and smash the bug running or skipping on the way to that which was much more attractive. I have seen her smear bugs under her bum on her way down the slide, not noticing it was there, because she was too busy thinking about running around and doing it again! I don't think H even knew there were such things as bugs until she was about 3 when her little brother would call her over to check out the bug he found. Even at that time, she was very supportive and encouraged him in his discoveries. She thought it was wonderful, and knew she could always have him to find bugs for her if she wanted one, so there was little sense in doing it herself, there were far too many adventures to be had. She would however, help him out by giving him great ideas about what he could do with that bug. (running to get him a container or magnified glass or to get mom.) She is now 10 and not much has changed.

E brought bugs into our family culture. He started walking at 9 months and that is when you would often find him crouched over a little creature observing it. Even then he would focus intently on the behavior and actions of that creature. He wouldn't mess with it, instead he would study it and follow it. E could spot a bug from across the room. We were forever stopping in public places for him to inquire as to the happenings of a bug. This is something we would have to watch because he would be oblivious to an oncoming cart, bike, person or truck! (It was just him and that bug!) About a year or two ago, he proclaimed that he knew what he is gonna be; a Museum Curator. He is going to have a Creation Museum and collect things from all over the world. So he has started his collection and loves to identify and research them. He loves to read science books, and magazines. He can rattle off all kinds of obscure facts about this or that. He is now almost 8, and his observations and collections are not exclusive to bugs, however it still includes them. He has designed and built traps for an assortment of critters. He loves to watch and draw birds, and his favorite way to "do science' is by observing something in nature. (Although he won't refuse a good book!)

G: At two years old, his nature too, has been revealed buy the common bug. When G comes upon a bug his first instinct to take dominion over it. In other words, he must pick it up, then he must do things to it to see how it responds. He will show it off, squash it, pick it apart, put it on his arm and watch it scurry across his own body, squeeze it or put it in a new environment and watch what happens (like a pond, or a fire, or send it down the slide, or throw it). Yesterday morning, he found a bug in the play room ran into me to show me his prize, while spreading it's wings and flicking it's legs, then he took it into his bedroom and put it in his crib. Was he thinking it would be a fun nap-time project later?? Or perhaps the bug looked sleepy? I wonder. Today he carried a bug around showing it to everyone, fiddled with it in every way imaginable, including sitting on it and laying on it (then checking to see what happened to it.) These behaviors are a fine example of how G handles his world. He is very physical and passionate about the things which he undertakes. He is constantly pushing things to see what happens, what the response will be, a real cause and effect kind of kid. He seems to be an ask questions-later kind of guy.

I have realized that this bug experiament mirrors how each of them approach life, it reveals very much how they each see things. I've got the best job in the world, I wouldn't trade it for anything!

I am eager to observe what my "bug experiment" reveals with A and K when they come home from Haiti. :-)