Homeschool Week 22 in Review

Another week of homeschool at Childress Academy is complete. Here's how this week panned out.

Beginnings: We took another week off from our reading book, so we were able to talk about some Fearsome Creatures. Caleb got a Fearsome Creatures sticker-book for his birthday, so we took some time to learn about some of those animals. Since he's into animals, he really enjoyed it. We also reviewed all of his reading stories. He's learned so much so far this year, and we are so proud of him.

Math: We studied more about addition. Caleb learned addition up to 6, he learned about adding "1" to a number, and he learned about vertical addition. He continues to do really well with math, too.

Bible: We added questions 26-28 to our First Catechism study. Our Bible verse for the week was Romans 6:23.

We skipped music this week because we're still behind. So, until we get caught up, I think we'll put it on the backburner.

As always, thanks for following our journey. We are headed to VA this upcoming week for Thanksgiving, so we are gladly taking a break from our normal homeschool routine. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

BFS Assignment #110 -- Computers Help People...

Intro: Computers Help People Help People(Marketing credit: IBM)
There are many ways computers help us. It is a wonderful way to stay in touch with family far away, “meet” other christian women around the globe, and it can be such a blessing with homeschooling.

Assignment:
Share some of your favorite homeschooling sites. The only “rule” for this assignment is that you have to list at least one “free” site. Many homeschooling families have made the choice to live on very little income to do what they believe is best for their children and I want everyone to be able to benefit from this assignment. If you have other sites that are “paid” sites, feel free to include these also as it might be something someone would really appreciate. If you feel led, share your curriculum choices with us. I always love to learn what is out there that I don’t already know about. Please make sure to include links to the sites you share.

Well, being as this is our first year homeschooling, I don't have tons of favorite sites yet. But -- I'm sure with this assignment, that is sure to change. So, here are some of the ones that I've found that I have enjoyed and learn from.

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/ is one that I have recently grown to enjoy. We used one of their ideas for our first lapbook, and we had lots of fun.

http://www.homeschoolreviews.com/ is one I go to when I need some questions answered or I want to review curriculums. I used this site a lot when I was narrowing down my curriculum choices.

http://www.lapbooklessons.ning.com/ is another place I visit when looking for lapbook ideas.

http://www.edhelper.com/ is a site I've visited when looking for worksheets to go with some of our unit studies. Now, in order to have access to all of it, you will have to pay a fee.

http://www.earlychildhoodlinks.com/teachers/themeunitskindergarten.htm is another site I came upon while working on unit information. I really like how it combines lots of Kindergarten unit websites into one location.

As for our curriculum, we use this for everything but Bible. We are currently using this for our Bible curriculum.

See this post to see pictures of our first lapbook. We just completed it, and it was soooo much fun. We are excited about doing more lapbooks as the year progresses.

The Bible verse that is on my mind this week is Psalm 145:13c -- "The Lord is faithful to all His promises." Sometimes I really need reminding of this verse when I start doubting or worrying about things. Our Lord will never fail us, and He always takes care of us. It's just in His timing...not ours!

I look forward to checking out other Blogger Friend School blogs to find more homeschooling links. Thanks for the assignment.

Homeschool Week 21 in Review

We are done with another week's worth of work, and I must say...this work was probably my favorite thus far. We were able to take a break from our reading lessons, and we did a lapbook. Now, this was our first time lapbooking, but I don't think it will be our last. It was so much fun, and Caleb can go back and look at this little lapbook forever. So, I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed making the project.

Beginnings: We took a break from our reading book, and we read A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle. Eric Carle is probably one of my favorite authors. We own a lot of his books, and we enjoy reading them. This book allowed us to study soooo much. We learned about different types of shells, different types of homes, adjectives, the months of the year, our address, and sea creatures. We also learned some vocabulary words related to the story, and we reviewed the Wise Man and Foolish Man Bible story. Caleb had so much fun doing all of this.

Math: We continued our study on money. Caleb was introduced to the dime and it's value. We counted dimes by counting by tens. Caleb is still enjoying studying money, and who doesn't? LOL!

Bible: Our Bible verse for the week was Psalm 145:13c. We added questions 23-25 to our study of the First Catechism.

Art: We did lots of coloring and book making with our lapbook.

Here are some pictures of our lapbook. The idea came from here. For all of you homeschoolers out there, they have some awesome free lapbook ideas. We are looking forward to doing more as the year progresses.

Front cover

Left flap

Shell book lifted

Right flapUsing adjectives book opened

Center flap

Wise man, foolish man bookSea Creatures book opened
Center flap liftedDifferent kinds of homes book opened

Homeschool Week 20 in Review

I'm truly hoping that we can get caught up with homeschooling by the beginning of the week of Thanksgiving. It may mean that we double (or even triple) up on some days, but I think we can do it. Our reading lessons for the next 3 weeks (what should be 3 weeks) are just simple themes, so we can go a bit faster. With all that said, here's how this week panned out:

Beginnings: Our theme for the week was Grandpa's Farm. So, obviously, we discussed farm animals (cows, pigs, etc). We finished up reviewing the alphabet with "y" and "q." I'll admit, I'm glad we're done reviewing all the letters. Caleb already knew them, so I was ready to be done. We read new word family words that have the initial "y" and "qu". "Said" was added to our list of service words. The book for this week was A Noisy Duck. Caleb did an excellent job reading this book, and I think he really enjoyed it. We're so proud of the progress he's making in reading.

Math: We finished up our review on the calendar, and then we moved on to a more important concept...MONEY! Caleb learned the difference between a bill and a coin. He also learned the "cent" sign and that a penny is worth 1 cent. Since he's really into money, I think he's going to enjoy this chapter.

Bible: We reviewed First Catechism questions 16-22. Our Bible verses for the week were Genesis 2:7a and Genesis 2:22a. Caleb still does well in this area, and we couldn't be happier.

Music: We learned some Christmas carols and talked about the "beat" of music...ie tempo. Caleb did really well.

Art: We made mud designs by using a Q-tip to paint with brown paint. Caleb had lots of fun with this idea. He also spent lots of "extra" time (on his own initiative) working on his drawing skills. He really loves to draw, and he is doing really well.

As always, thanks for following our journey. Let us know you're reading. We'd love to see your comments.

Finally...

Well, after about 3 weeks, I can say that Brian is finally done with the painting. Granted, there's probably a little bit of touch-up that he'll have to get to, but I'm soooo glad it's done. It was a long and difficult process, but he did a good job. He had to do a lot more work than he bargained for, and he learned quite a few lessons as well. LOL! Now, we just have to get some pictures hung up. Then, it'll all be good. Here's how the living room looks now.

Pretty blues, orange noses, and moving right along...

Wow, I'm guessing you're wondering what in the world this post will be about with that crazy title, huh? Well, let me go ahead and fill you in.

First of all, little Micah has the prettiest blue eyes. I know I've posted about them before, but they are just soooo darn blue. I have a feeling we'll be in big trouble with the ladies when he's older. LOL!

Now, about orange noses...you see, the baby food makers (ie Gerber, Beechnut, and Del Monte) really irk me sometimes. Micah is eating Stage 3 baby foods, and well, there just aren't very many green foods. There's "green beans and rice" and "broccolie with cheese and carrots." That's about it. So, I do feed him those green veggies, but he also gets lots of orange veggies...a lot more than green. And -- I've always heard that if you feed them too many orange foods that they can turn orange. Well, our little Micah has an orange nose of sorts. So, we've changed our game plan, and he will now get something green everyday. This means that I've got to do my work and get some foods made up myself. I never thought I'd fool with that, but hopefully smashing up some cooked frozen peas or spinach won't be too difficult. I may even try some avocado. Brian and I don't like it, but you never know...maybe Micah will.

Finally, moving right along...you see, Micah has been pulling up on Brian and me for about a week now. Well, this evening, he decided to attempt pulling up on the couch. And -- you guessed it...he was successful! So, he's now pulling up on stuff and walking along as well. So, I'm sure it's only a matter of weeks before he's actually taking steps and walking. This is early for us...Caleb didn't walk until he was almost a year old. But -- with the way Micah has been progressing this whole time (he's been doing things a lot earlier than Caleb did), we're not surprised at all. So, look for the "He's walking" post to come soon. LOL!

BFS Assignment #109 We Bring Good Things To Life (GE)

The passion to sing, the passion to draw, the passion to build, the passion to ride, the passion for reading, the passion for nature… the list is endless. Some children exhibit their passion from day one, others need an experience to spark that passion.

Assignment: Share a field trip/lifestyle learning experience where you really felt you were bringing good things to life for your children, where something came alive for them, or ignited a passion.

Wow...Caleb has soooo many interests at the moment. Because he's so young, I don't know how long any of them will last. It seems as though it changes on a weekly basis. Some of the more consistent passions of his are animals and drawing/writing.

The boy LOVES animals...I mean all things animals. Whether it be fishing, hunting (his new interest since visiting my brother's girlfriend's house), etc...if it has to do with animals, then he's all over it. He has tons of animals that he plays with on a regular basis as well. This is where he really lets his imagination run wild. He'll pretend he's got African animals on the safari, rain forest animals, etc. And -- the quesitons...I think Brian and I need to study up on our animals because Caleb is full of questions related to the subject. He wants to know what they eat, where they live, etc. So, that's his number one interest I'd say.

He's also really into drawing and writing. He loves to just grab his doodle pads and start drawing or writing. This interest has really come into fruition a lot since he got some "how to draw" books for his birthday. So, he'll look at the pictures and attempt to draw them. I will admit that he has improved greatly. He also loves to write sentences.

Now, as for Micah...well, he's a bit too young to have any interests right now. At the moment he's into learning how to stand up and wave "bye-bye." So, I guess you could say his interest right now is learning new things...LOL!

The memory verse for me this week is still Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path." These verses really help to keep me grounded because I know that no matter what is happening, I can always Trust the Lord. He will never lead me wrong.

Here are a few pictures of Caleb putting his writing and drawing skills to work.

In Memory and Honor of My Aunt

My mom called me on Friday night to let me know that my dad's sister, Aunt Rosalee, had passed away. She had breast cancer, and there was really nothing else they could do for her. The viewing is Tuesday evening, and the funeral/mass is on Wednesday. But -- since it is all up in Bethesda, Maryland, we aren't going to make the drive. We gave it lots of thought, and we were going to attempt it. But -- it's just too much for us right now. We're going to Virginia to see Brian's parents for Thanksgiving. So, two trips in one month is just not ideal. My brother Daniel, my sister Melanie, and my dad will be going up to represent our family.

I'm thankful that Caleb, Micah, and I were able to spend some time with her back in July. She and my cousin's wife and two children came down to visit everyone. Maybe she knew that would be her last trip down here...we'll never know. I'm just thankful we made the effort to visit with her then.

Our prayers go out to my uncle and the rest of the family. May God give them the strength and the comfort they need during this difficult time.

In honor of my aunt and her fight with breast cancer, I will be adding some breast cancer graphics to my page. I also encourage every woman to do a monthly self breast exam. As we all have been told time and time again, early detection is the key. So, do yourself a favor and start checking NOW!

We love you, and we'll miss you Aunt Rosalee!

Some recent pictures

Here's a picture of Micah. He fell asleep in his Exersaucer. So, you can tell from this picture...he's an excellent sleeper because he'll sleep anywhere. Later on that week, he fell asleep in his jumperoo. I promise he does have a crib. LOL!

Here's a card that Caleb made for his Opa. I thought he did an excellent job with his drawing. He has improved sooo much in this area. We're hoping to make this a tradition for a while (handmade cards for birthdays).

Here's a recent picture of the boys and me. This was right before we headed out to the Fall Festival at one of the local private schools. Brian was getting ready to start his paint job on the living room.

BFS Assignment #108 -- Quality is Job #1

Memory Verse: I Timothy 4:12-13 - Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

Intro: Quality is Job #1 (Ford)
Assignment: My family and I rarely do anything apart from each other. We don’t really have quality time together because all our time is together. We feel like the more special moments are when we have dinner together or when we worship God together. For this assignment, tell how you and your family spend QUALITY time together.

Our family doesn't do too much apart either. We really enjoy spending time together. Granted, there are those times when mommy or daddy or both need some time alone, but those times are few and far between. We are together most of the time. I'm thankful that I'm able to stay-at-home with my boys and spend quality time with them. I'm also thankful that Brian is now in a position where he can stay home with us more and enjoy those special times as well.

One of our favorite times is first thing in the morning. Both boys usually end up in our bed once they wake up. I'll typically bring Micah into our bed once he awakes for the day, and Caleb strolls in once he's up as well. During this time, we're all just laying in the bed talking, laughing, and just enjoying the little things...Micah's silly faces, Caleb's goofy dances, etc. It truly is one of my favorite things to do, and I cherish every moment.

Another thing we enjoy doing is playing games together. We play board games, computer games, video games, etc. I know some don't really care for this type of activity, but we set limits and for us it's enjoyment.

We also enjoy bowling, playing putt-putt, and going on vacations for quality time. We try to plan fun and memorable vacations. Caleb is even saving his money for our next vacation...he really enjoys getting away.

All in all, anything we do together is a blessing. We try to make the most of everything, and I think we do a good job. We hope to instill a love for family in our boys, and the best way to do that is by being a family and spending time together. So, that's what we do.

My verse for the week is the all-time favorite...Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path."

Here are some pictures of us doing things together as a family.

A little update on Mr. Micah...

Wow...Micah will be 8 months old on Wednesday. It's hard to believe that much time has passed. He's growing by leaps and bounds, and he's learning all sorts of new tricks. He is now very mobile and crawling EVERYWHERE! So, the house is in need of some baby-proofing, because he is one curious little booger.

He is also able to now sit up from a lying position. He could sit up if we sat him up a while back, but now he's able to just sit up from whatever it is he's doing. We don't think it will be long before he's pulling up. He's already starting to show signs of interest in that skill...so look for that post soon.

He's now up to 6 teeth. He has both upper and lower central incisors, and he's getting one upper and lower lateral incisor as I type this. I look for the other two lateral incisors to pop through really soon.

We're starting to slowly introduce him to some table foods. He's had some pasta, some bread, some pie (bad daddy), some yogurt, and a few other things (I cannot remember for the life of me). We'll move him up to the Stage 3 foods sometime this week. I don't know how he'll do with those. Caleb really didn't like the texture of them. If Micah is the same way, then we'll just stick with the ones we know he'll eat.

Anyway, I figured he deserved a little update since Caleb is always getting blog time.

Too smart for his own good...

You know, Brian and I have always known and thought that Caleb was a very intelligent boy. Well, today, he really proved that to us. As you may remember, Caleb is in a homeschool co-op that meets every Monday. Well, he takes 3 classes and eats lunch. Here's his schedule: Fun & Games, Lunch, Reading Fun, Critical Thinking. They sound a bell, and this lets the students know it's time to change classes.

Well, evidently, our smart little guy decided he'd skip his reading class today. When I went to pick him up, his teacher (he has the same teacher for reading and critical thinking) told me that she thought he was absent today because he didn't show up for reading class. But -- he later showed up for critical thinking. When asked why he wasn't in class, he said, "I went to Fun & Games. I just wanted to play for a little bit." Can you believe the nerve of him? I tell ya...we're in for it I think. I think we will get a little payback of the grief we gave our parents. LOL! Now, don't get me started on why the Fun & Games teacher didn't notice he was in the class and not supposed to be...I don't have the answer to that one just yet.

Anyway, I thought everyone would get a kick out of our son's intelligent actions.

Homeschool Week 19 in Review

Woo-hoo...finally another week done. I tell you, something is always coming up. If it's not an illness, then it's something around the house. But -- then again, that's the flexibility of homeschooling, so we are blessed.

Here's what we did this week:
Beginnings: Our theme was "By the Pond", so we talked about frogs and turtles. We reviewed the letters "x" and "z." The service word "what" was added, and the "-ix", "-ox", and "-ess" word families were added. We also reviewed plurals. Caleb read another book that reinforced all his words, and the book this week was "The Big Mess." We could really relate to the story because Caleb always has a big mess in his playroom. LOL!

Math: Our concept this week was the calendar. We do the calendar on a daily basis, but this chapter reinforced a lot of those skills. We also reviewed addition by using word problems to write addition facts.

Bible: We added question 22 to the First Catechism study. Our Bible verses for the week were 2 Peter 3:11b and 1 Peter 1:16b.

Music: We talked about the term "piano" which means "soft", and we reviewed "forte" which means "loud."

Art: We used a paper plate to make a frog puppet. Caleb also made a birthday card for Opa. His drawing skills have really improved. I'll have to upload the pictures of the card so you all can see how much he's progressed in that area...so stay tuned.

Thanks again for following our homeschooling adventure. We look forward to sharing more with you!