Hello Again

Oh my. Am I really re-starting this blog?  So my last post was almost a year and a half ago and I said I would stop this blog to scrapbook and do other things.  I haven't scrapbooked.  : (  Let's see...so much has changed since that last post...

 I am no longer pregnant.  That was the quickest, yet toughest pregnancy yet.  I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes two days before Christmas.  I was put on a strict diet telling what and when to eat and checking my blood sugar 4 times a day.  Oh boy did the Lord use that to show me how self-serving I really am.  I did NOT like not being in control, but by God's grace He helped me stick to the plan and I've never felt so rewarded as when Joey was born a healthy 7 lbs. 13 oz. (my littlest baby yet!).  He was born February 23, 2010 and he brings huge joy to all of us.  He is walking and babbling and just so. much. fun!  He actually has 3 mommies - me, Annie, and Bekah.  : )   The girls are FANTASTIC helpers and love Joey to pieces.   To date, Joey has 6 teeth, gives high fives, feeds himself with a fork, loves peek-a-boo and patty cake, dances when Daddy makes a beat, and is refusing to stop nursing.  : /   He also is allergic to wheat, peanuts, and milk.  So one of my summer projects this year will be to research what he actually can eat and re-vamp some recipes.

Jose is ALMOST done with his bachelor's degree...praise the Lord!  He is taking one of his last 3 classes and is scheduled to be done August 19th.  I am so very proud of him.  It has been such a long haul and he has excelled and grown so much through this journey.  I know he feels more than ready to be done but he is a trooper and is still doing well through the home-stretch.  The Spanish ministry at church is going well and while his weekly sermon preparation is no easy task, we see the Lord moving and it's a blessing to watch the people grow and fellowship.

Annie and Bekah are doing so well.  They are healthy, beautiful, and smart and just enjoy life.  They are both excellent students and have done a great job with school this year.  We are determined to finish our last quarter of homeschool well.  Annie is involved with Girl Scouts this year and LOVES it!!  They have already held a food drive and visited a food bank, camped out in the leader's backyard, sold tons and tons of cookies, and this week they are packing backpacks for underprivileged kids.  These are exactly the kinds of activities I was hoping for when I signed her up.  Bekah is counting down the months until her Daisy troop begins.  She can't wait to do all the fun and exciting activities Big Sister has done.

Oh yes...and we bought a house last year!  After spending 3 years in our tiny 2-bedroom rental, the Lord blessed us with a little more elbow room about a mile away.  He did miracles for us with the timing of our purchase and working out the money.  He is so good and when He is in something, He gives that perfect peace that can only come from Him.  We love our home.  It isn't grand by any means, but rather average, yet it suits us perfectly.  Of course there are a million improvements and changes on our wishlist but overall we are very happy here.

I think that's a pretty basic summary of the last year and a half.  I hope to be more faithful to this blog because I know there is so much I want to remember, but if I don't document it I'm afraid I'll forget.  Be back soon!

MFW Blog Roll

I'm so excited! I saw this button on Bridget's blog and I had to click since I'm a My Father's World curriculum fan. It lists a bunch of moms using the same publisher for homeschool curriculum so everyone can share what they are doing. I've already found some terrific ideas and can't wait to find more!

Pottery Jars

Our theme for the school year is Bible history from Genesis to Revelation. So right now the kids are learning about how the Bible was written on scrolls and kept in pottery jars. So yesterday we made our own small jars and stuck tiny brown scrolls inside. Fun! These are the little hands-on things I've been wanting to do again and we're finally doing them. It gets the information in the kids' brains and they have fun while doing it (I have fun, too!).

Help Is On The Way...

Yay! I got to order my new curriculum I've been wanting! After a very sweet mom who homeschools in our group let me come over and check out the curriculum I've been praying about and eyeing, Jose said I could go ahead and order it. I am so excited! I think the girls are going to enjoy going through the history of the Bible on their own level, as well as throw in some geography and science. There should be much more creativity going on when we get in to it. I will keep using A Beka for the language arts and handwriting portion of school and Saxon for math. This is only my 2nd year homeschooling and I feel like I am just scratching the surface of how to go about it all.

Homeschooling Update

We began our school year in early August and so far it's been , eh, okay I guess. The curriculum I chose has absolutely served it's purpose in being incredibly strong academically. But I'm bored! I miss my old curriculum terribly but have already invested in my new one. It isn't all bad, I mean Annie is learning cursive and doing a fantastic job, the kids are flying through the phonics, and we are picking up math where we left of last year. But the fun and imagination are gone. So I'm on a quest to find the balance - the balance between strong academics, biblical content and concepts weaved throughout, hands-on learning, and the joy that comes from learning and accomplishing goals.

There Are Ants in My House!!!

The kids' final activity for homeschool arrived in the mail on the first day of summer vacation :) . Bad planning on mom's part but oh well, the kids are still loving it. We did a unit on insects and so now the kids get to observe a real ant hill. Those ants are huge and strong! I'm just glad there is no way for them to get out! :)

Ah, the Scent of New Workbooks...

If you know me at all, you know that the above picture brings excitement to my heart, a smile to my face, and delight to my sense of smell. :) I know, I'm so wierd, but apparently I'm not the only wierd one. I've heard of others who love the smell of a new book.

I received a large portion of my kids' curriculum for the next school year last week...it felt like Christmas opening that box! :) I love paging through and seeing all the wonderful things they'll be learning and mastering. Annie has shown quite an interest in learning cursive, so all her writing next year will indeed be in cursive. I hope she sticks with it! I guess she has to since we already paid for the books. I ended up changing curriculums for next year after much prayer and consideration. I loved using what I used this year, but after a few months it became apparent I needed to supplement the academics. I have decided to go with A Beka for everything except math. It looks challenging academically and excellence in academics is something Jose and I both feel strongly about. If we are going to be responsible for our children's educations, we want to do it whole-heartedly and with the best materials the Lord guides us to. One of my conscious endeavors next year while using this curriculum is to keep things fun. We did lots of crafts and outings this year and I don't want that to end. I'll just have to be creative with time management.

We only have 3 days left of school! I can't believe how quickly this school year went with the kids as well as with Jose in seminary. By the way, between online school and actual "in-person" school, he earned a 4.0 GPA in his last semester, all the while working full time, loving and caring for his family, and serving in ministry. Yes, I am married to Superman....and am quite proud of him! :) Here is to a much-needed summer break for all of us!

Blessed Are the Flexible

Some of you may remember my idealistic daily homeschool schedule I created and posted for my own reference. For those who don't, click here.

No wonder a veteran homeschool mom straight laughed when I told her about my schedule. I am a structured and organzied planner from the core, and I cannot function any other way. However, I've had to learn that not everyone is like me and my children could really care less about running according to schedule. Lately they've been in the habit of watching TV first thing in the morning, leisurely eating breakfast in that same spot and then giving me a horrible time about getting dressed and transitioning to school. By the time that all happens, I'm so frustrated that we're not on schedule and then we all have bad attitudes. School then becomes something to trudge through instead of have fun with. So this week, we have not been turning on the TV at all before school. They come straight to the table to eat and we move right into school from there. I'm giving in on the whole getting dressed and beds made, etc. before beginning class. It so worth it for good attiudes, fun learning, and ending school around 10:15 a.m. (which is when we've been starting lately after all our daily morning drama).

Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken!

More Homeschool Stuff

Here are a few pictures of our recent activities during school at home:
















While working through our "rock" unit, we built a mini volcano and the girls loved it when it erupted (with baking soda and red food-colored vinegar).















During math, the curriculum required me to get out the pattern blocks so Annie could name the shapes and colors. The instructions were then for her to take a handful and make a design (like a flower or shape). Should've know...Annie decided to make a whole family - mom, twin sisters, and a dad. This is just an example of how her little bright mind works. She wants to decorate everything and give everything a story. It takes us a year and a day to get through 1 math worksheet, not because she doesn't understand, but because she decorates the numbers, draws an elaborate word picture, or colors 3 colors in a nice pattern to fill in a 1 inch square. Lord, give me patience!!!
















This week we are learning about butterflies. Its a lot of fun and part of the unit is to watch caterpillars go through their metamorphosis and wind up as painted lady butterflies. We received our 5 caterpillars in the mail on Saturday and I would honestly say they've grown at least 10 times their original size. I don't know when I became so squeamish, but they look DISGUSTING to me! Ewwww! I hope they hurry up their process and turn into beautiful butterflies. I guess its a really good picture for me of how God takes our ugliness and nastiness and transforms us into something beautiful. After all, the girls' words to remember for this unit are "God can make me new".

Exciting Times in Homeschooling

So nobody will care about this post but me, but today was fun for the kids during school because they finished their 100 Charts that they've been working on since the beginning of the year. We used craft sticks to represent single units and every time they collected 10, they were bundled and we started over. Through this exercise they learned to count to 100 as well as skip count by tens and write all the numbers (See I told you nobody will care about this except me). I enjoyed watching them experience that great feeling that comes from completing a long-term project.

Also, I wanted to show Annie's picture she drew today. Our words to remember for the water unit we are working on are "Jesus gives my spirit living water to drink". Here is Annie's illustration of Jesus giving her water:

Yesterday and today we did a mini unit on Thanksgiving. Yesterday we made turkey baskets and on each feather the kids thought of something they are thankful for. Annie said, "Mommy, Daddy, Jesus, Calvary Chapel church, and Bekah. And Bekah said, "Cheez-Its, Jesus, Kathy Grandma, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and God. We're looking forward to celebrating tomorrow with our family. There is so much to be thankful for. I want to make time to actually thank the Lord for our specific blessings, not just be thankful in my heart. After all, every good and perfect comes from Him!

Yesterday was a packed day. We did school in the morning as usual. I can already tell an area Annie will be working hard on...handwriting. She had to copy a Bible verse and it was hard for her to go back and forth from the small print and find her place after each letter. She got pretty frustrated but we took a minute to pray and re-focus and she finished.

















Then we got to go on our first official fieldtrip! We went to The Huntington Gardens in San Marino. The first Thursday of every month is free and since this week we are studying creation, it was a great place to go enjoy God's nature creations. It was very hot but the kids were troopers and had good attitudes. Thankfully I had my mom along for help. Here are a few pictures:

Then we had a homeschool meeting at church. It was nice to meet the leaders and hear the theme for our school year: "Come, my children, listen to me. I will teach you the fear of the Lord." Psalm 34:11

First Day of School

Well the first day was short! We started at 9am and ended by 10:20 which included a walk through the neighborhood and snack! The first 10 days of school we are studying creation, taking one day of creation at a time. After the first couple of weeks I know there will be more work involved as we get into our regular lessons. For now I'll just enjoy easing into our homeschool!

For The Record

Our first day of school is only 5 short days away! Lately I've been wanting to sit down and really think about why I am going to homeschool my children. It all started with a sincere desire very early this year. Although I didn't have any concrete reason such as "I won't allow my children in public schools" (which is not what I believe anyway), I still felt called by the Lord to do it. Since then, I've sought God's wisdom and direction and He's given me several concrete reasons to move forth with this desire. For the record and future reflection (maybe those days when I'm not so jazzed and neither are the kids) here are my reasons:

• To give my children a biblical worldview. In other words I want to show them God's reality in all aspects of life. God is real, He exists, He created us with a purpose, He loves us, and He has given us the Bible which contains His truth. In fact, because God has created the whole world, all truth is His truth and we should give Him due credit.

• To be with them. I don't want their childhoods to pass by and not be present enough for them. May my influence be for God's glory and their benefits for life.

• To take seriously the commandments to parents given in Deuteronomy 6:5-7. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

• To allow for tons of life-learning.

• To create a love for learning and equip them with the skills and resources to self-educate.

• To teach (or re-teach) as fast or slow as my children need in order to truly learn.

Yesterday I took a trip to Target for our last few school supplies and while checking out, the cashier asked if Annie (she was with me) was starting school this year. And I replied, "Yes, actually we're going to start homeschooling this year." I was anticipating some opposition but instead was met with ,"Oh, I'm homeschooled. I'll be a senior this year." I don't like judging people, especially by outward appearances. This girl just totally surprised me because she had 2 lip rings, crazy makeup, and crazy hair. She said she had been homeschooled all her life and is totally for it. She would do it with her own kids if she had any. Once again I was pleasantly surprised when it came to a homeschool conversation.

Classroom

Yay!!! We finished putting together our classroom for the upcoming school year. It has a dry erase board, bulletin board, world map, U.S. map, days of the week, a globe, craft supplies, books, puzzles, and a border of the alphabet. All we need is an American flag for the finishing touch. I can't wait to start school! I have skeleton lesson plans done for the first couple of months and 2 field trips planned. The leader of the homeschool ministry at church called this morning to welcome us to the group and let us know we're official! All I need is a long skirt and to put my hair in a nice neat bun. Just kidding. Actually yesterday I went to get my hair done (something I don't do often enough). I chopped it to my chin and after 7 years of have zero artificial color I finally put some Honey Blonde highlights in.

Here are a few pictures of our classroom/dining room.

Perfect Paula

I read through a fabulous homeschool curriculum guide which reveiws the author's 100 top picks for curriculum. The first several chapters are dedicated to understanding and choosing our own education philosophies, methodologies, goals, and understanding the teacher's and student's learning styles (that can turn out a little tricky and sometimes they clash).

In the learning style section we learned there are 4 basic learning styles: Wiggly Willy, Perfect Paula, Competent Carl, and Sociable Sue. While I had at least a few characteristics checked off in each category, I had every single one checked off under "Perfect Paula". Here are those characteristics:

• Likes everything neatly planned ahead of time
• Likes to follow a schedule
• Is not very good at coming up with creative ideas (as evidenced by my post below titled "I'm the Party-Pooper"
• Is comfortable with memorization and drill (If you're reading this I probably could recite your address, phone number, and birthday)
• Gets upset easily when children don't cooperate (the Lord has been really working in me on this one)
• Worries about meeting requirements
• Prefers to teach with preplanned curricula
• Is more comfortable with "cut and dried" subjects than with subjects that require exploration with no clear answers

As for Annie, I would have to classify her as a "Wiggly Willy" but I definitely think she'll grow into a Perfect Paula as I see her frustration when things don't go as scheduled. Although, she is extremely imaginative so who knows. I have no idea yet about Bekah. My prayer is that I will be sensitive and flexible so my children can receive from me.

Curriculum!!

I'm so excited!! Yesterday I received the first part of the curriculum I ordered for Annie to begin kindergarten. After much research I chose to go with My Father's World for all the kindergarten subjects except for History/Social Studies. Separately I purchased a workbook called "The American People and Nation" from Christian Liberty Press. I can't wait to start teaching it! I was already impressed as I paged through and saw how dedicated the content is in teaching the true Christian principles our country was founded on as well as the dedication to Scripture memorization which correlates with each chapter's content. I was also impressed with the breakdown of the pledge of allegiance to help the children understand the meaning of what they are saying. I don't remember understanding what I was saying in elementary school.

Now my job is to figure out what field trips will be appropriate as we make our way through our lessons. This will be fun!! I feel so honored that I will be my girls' main teacher, imparting all of this wonderful knowledge to them.

My classroom (okay dining area) :) is slowing filling up on the walls. I have a small dry erase board up (I need a bigger one), a world map, a U.S. map, and the days of the week pinned up. I hit Target for some school supplies (scoring at the Dollar Spot) and have to make a trip to Costco and the school supply store to finish my supplies shopping. On Thursday I should be receiving the rest of the curriculum I ordered. Woo Hoo!!!

Prospective Schedule

This will highly likely interest nobody who will read this post, so please feel free to not read this if it bores you. :) Its really for me to utilize and adjust during the upcoming school year. I now realize the need to begin labeling my posts.

Here is my proposed schedule for us once our 1st homeschool year rolls around:

5:00 Shower, get dressed, do makeup

5:30 Devotions

6:15 Do my hair

6:30 Make Jose's lunch, put away clean dishes from previous night

7:00 Wake kids, kids get dressed, do hair, wash faces, eat breakfast, brush teeth

8:00 Start chores with kids' help: make beds, tidy up house, clean bathrooms, vacuum, dusting, sweeping, do 1 email check

9am - 12pm School time!! No phone calls made or received, no internet/email, and no TV. At some point take a break for P.E. and snack

12:00 Lunch, run errands

1:30 Read together with kids - Bible, devotional, and other books

2:00 Naptime for kids, reading time for me as well as finish up chores and review lesson for the next school day

4:30 Start dinner **Goal** Include children in cooking lessons and teach them to set the table for dinner

6:30 Dinner

7:30 Bathtime

8:30 Bedtime for kids