Old Skool Tuesday

What else can a family do to preserve time together? Go old skool!



Teacher explained the rpm measurement and gave strict instructions for loading and unloading a record onto their Fisher Price Record Player. Oh, and the STOMP warning, too! Remember that? These iPod kids have no idea what they enjoy without interruption!



Our Music lesson was relating feelings and music. Both Student and Warrior chose if the song made them feel happy or sad, and what elements of the music caused them to relate such feelings.

Warrior insisted that Cal Smith's It's Time to Pay the Fiddler was SAD. While the DRAGNET theme was happy...Sounds like a superhero song!

Student said it was the soft, high notes that were slow and made her feel sad in Skitch Henderson's Moonglow.

Ending with some storytime 45s, Teacher had to put away the records before Mascot got ahold of them!

Spelling Power continues for Student on a daily basis, and her testing needed a closer pinpoint of her levels, so she correctly spelled all on her new list, but SCIENCE, as Warrior correctly named the begining letters and sounds of each word! He even tries to give her phonetic hints!

Outside, we ventured, for a bike ride and a trip around the world. After stopping for snack, Mascot wanted to join in on the gaming-fun with barefeet and cement!



Student was close behind Warrior in their Spelling and Phonics version of AROUND THE WORLD on the sidewalk.



Changing around the Homeschool by cleaning old dust, and making new Autumn decor, both Student and Warrior claimed a French door for their trees.



Picking leaves from the yard and rubbing with a NEW and SHARP crayon set, they taped up their masterpieces.



Awaiting the last delivery of our curriculum, there's nothing new under the sun for the rest of our day at the Homeschool. Resting in the shade and enjoying the breeze...Mascot is good at this! And so we close with a Halfie.



Lord above, thank You for Your protection and care. There are many days that we see your plans unfolding and are amazed! May we continue to have faith and trust in Your plan for good on the days we don't recognize your hand in our tasks. Afterall, some things are higher than we, though we Praise Your ways. Amen.

Merry Monday

Beginning the morning with tactile learning, Warrior peddled back and forth along the block as Student dug into her first day of SPELLING POWER!



We were blessed with the Spelling Power curriculum last year, thanks Mrs. Tonya! And now that Student is such a great reader, Teacher couldn't wait to begin the 15 minutes a day to develope the GRRREAT speller in Student! We began with a placement test and her score was 98%. Add a purple colored-pencil to write with, and who WOULDN'T want to have SPELLING lesson!?



Warrior then switched senses and completed
auditory alphabet pracitice by identifying the beginning letters and their sound of this list:
attic
every
bounce
under √
waffle
Indian
hippo
fat √
caterpillar
down
pillow
jump

Finishing up with Handwriting before lunch, tis so sweet to be a pre-k student where halfies = wholies! The day is just long enough to witness his excitment that of course trickles right on over to us all at the Homeschool! Even the contented Mascot in the wagon awaiting his ride...




Student began her day the same way she ended yesterday...with a fever. Downing some liquid hydration and ibuprofen, she cuddled up with a book. However, it wasn't long til the fever began to subside & her bike, too, got a workout!

Skip counting, addition of numbers in the hundreds place, addition problems with multiple addends, Student experienced some Math review. It was all fine and fancy with the particulars she remembered well, it was the loss-of-memory in fractions that turned the fine and fancy into frustrating frenzy! Student quickly recovered, glory to God, becasue the Homeschool has it's share of buttons, and what better mathematical manipulatives to bring a smile! Soothing to see the Holy Spirit in her daily actions. Patience is a fruit that Teacher needs to bare more!



With her iPod and KLOVE close by, Student finished her time in bed with handwork: embroidery of her own design...



Thank you, Lord of Lords, for your care and attention this school year. May we let YOU establish the daily work of our hands. As you have gone before us, we thank you in advance for the continued blessings. Amen.

Friday Fun

At the park...



we shared fun in the sun,

and finished up with some reading, handwriting, counting and prize fishing. The prize fishing brought History to life with Adventures in Odessey audio books. Warrior enjoyed the revolution begins, and the Writing of the Star Spangles Banner.

Student dug deep into the Underground Railroad. And, yet, another week complete, under the vast umbrella of God's care and mercy. AMEN!

Thursday Thanks

Devotion time this year has proven Student to be mature beyond her years. Her heart is continually growing for God and His truths. She has truly enveloped the Sweet Pea Beauty character from Veggie Tales. This has been her nickname from Principal since she was a tot, so it's pretty cool in her eyes!



Homeschool picked up in Bible, and the whole family began the day with Psalm 26. Thanks be to the God of the Living Word. Accompanied by Donuts with Daddy, there was an extra sweet pesence of food and family today!



Student kept right on working her pencil during errands today, and the Mad Libs just kept getting funnier!

Warrior, charted his numbers and began his daily counting ritual. The attempt was to reach 50 on one page, but our eye-balling skills will cause the addition of another paper soon, as we could only fit 40! Handwriting, identifying the number flashcards in the teens, Warrior is eager to learn as much as Student and still prides himself that he'll cath up with her someday, in age!



Student review world facts: oceans, continents and made a map from the perspective of a boird. Though her book thought displayed the view of a spider, Student thought a bird to be much prettier! And so she made...

Wednesday Wandering

Through the shade and into the sun. 2 miles that even Mascot enjoyed.



Tehn, Student helped, while Warrior mostly licked, and somehow no bake cookies resulted! Experimenting with flaxseed oil, the omega3 count made these delectable goodies even better!



Little House on the Prairie served a lesson up today. Cuddled up with Cinderella, the kiddos watched intently as...
Student: "Tinker Jones is a good one. They had to work together to get the bell made. They gave up things they liked for thinking of others first."

Warrior:"I want to make a golden bell made out of golden stuff. Yeah, we are going to have to do that!"



Arriving in the mail, this year's devotionals feature Veggie Tales. Student got started on hers, as Warrior chose to wait til bedtime. One specifically designed for each boy and girl!
Student: I learned a lot today from day 1.
The last of our curriculum should arrive next week.

Finishing up her review on space, cooking, reading some, respect cleaning and fidgeting with a loose tooth...Student called it a day!



Warrior, however, ventured outside to work on a new twist with his phonetic alphabet practice...a 6 inch rubber band!



Meanwhile Mascot sunbathed...



only in a Midwest August can we enjoy such a widespread beauty of weather. THanks be to God for His unfailing design. Amen.

Tuesday News

Babies, the movie, is a documentary film by Thomas Balmes, depicting the early lives of four infants growing up in Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco and Japan. First discovered by Principal, the entire Homeschool enjoyed the 24 hr rental from iTunes. Really, there was bo bottle or disposable diaper in the whole flick! As the Homeschool just recently added a baby to our load of blessings, we were used to the breastfeeding-scenerio, but THESE depictions were so full of His image and design. Nice one, God.



Student's most surprising moment ➸
"The toddler brother tied a rope onto the cat and dragged him around the baby. He didn't even seem to mind...just played sleep!"

Warrior's favorite happening ➸
"The baby was funny sleeping when he was sitting up!"

After a rainy morning of movie-time-learning, the Homeschool ventured out for a 2 mile bike ride, after the rain.


Also in this day at the Homeschool, Student broke into the brand new pack of water colors...oohhh, what possibilities lie in a new brush and clean paints!



Warrior was so much so inspired by Student's mailing to a cousin, he wanted to learn to address an envelope and draw a superhero to send. He says this:
"My dad was at work so my mom had to draw this. My dad is really good at drawing super hero guys, but my mpm is getting better..."



The Creator's blessing of a cool breeze, took the Homeschool back outdoors for some multiplication review...but really, now...what does a girl have to do to get some learning done around here?! The distractions are EVERYWHERE!



And yes, that's the belly-hangover we thank God survived Mascot's viral infection,
as he lost 2 pounds! God is good!
All the time, God is good!

Make a Difference Monday

In the lives of those God places among us,
we pray He would work through us,
to shine His light and encourage one another daily.

This Monday brought the Homeschool to remember how it is to bring a new blessing home to the family. So, we made supper for a family in that situation and attempted to make a difference in their Monday.

We spent much time in the vehicle running errands:
counting train cars,
adding up fuel costs,
cooperating as a group,
listening and following instructions,
singing in rounds...
WHEN DOES THE LEARNING EVER STOP!?



And so goes life! May we renew our minds daily, both by intentional learning
and through the circumstances He navigates for us each blessed day.

Family Friday

A certain cousin to visit! Yippee!
As big kids like 5th graders, only get so many days off,
why not celebrate at the Homeschool?



What else are Fridays for? Well, field trips, for one. But as life is learning, and stops NOT on the fifth day of week most schools do, we carried over to Saturday to acommidate Principal's schedule and have him along for the fun!

Gramma S2 just loves and adores the Canadian children's book author, Robert Munsch! (Last year we noted the way the kiddos SIT and listen to her read his books...) The nearby Metropolitan area had an interactive traveling show of his, so we JUST HAD TO schedule a field trip in place of class on our FIRST Friday of the year..it just turned into Saturday!



Student and S2 plugged their heads into the voice-changing machine!



Student triend her hand at a sculpture...and that girl IS always doing Art!



Warrior and Student walked through one of Munsch's books and discovered...



It was in another section of the vanue that Student eyes a false label...



Really?! How exactly could MOTHER NATURE design the honey bee? Hmmm...that's our Student! Separating truth from the world's lies!

And new to the Homeschool this year, is the Fishing Chart. Yes Student and Warrior fish with Principal, but THIS fishing is done indoors and guarantees a catch, if each day of that week earned a sticker for completion of work. All in the first week of Homeschool.

Thursday: Feet off the Ground

Off the ground, and into bed you go, Teacher's feet! Just a smaaaall rest from awaking every two hours with Mascot to deaden the fever blister pains! Just a small-scale suffering on Teacher's part, as sweet lil Mascot is hurting much.

Father in heaven, I thank you for this child and the perfect way you have created him. Give us the patience and strength to endure this illness. May he continue to heal as we have already seen you handiwork in his health and thank you now for the continued healing. Grant us the courage to trust in your plan. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Well, if a tired Teacher MUST get out of bed, sunshine is the destination. Off to the neighborhood park the Homeschool ventured.



Student read the funnies as Warrior climbed, swung and hanged from each available piece of playground equipment.

Back at the Homeschool, Warrior and Mascot had bonding time with Play-Do! Yes, those green molds for Sesame Street 3D characters were Teacher's when she was a child...woah did God go before the Homeschool and provide for our needs! Warrior's Play Do fetish probably wouldn't have developed without those nifty tools!



During which, Student cuddled up and found quiet time with a book. No news, really. She still is fostering her God-instilled love of reading with books galore! She read in her Sadie Rose series today. Also, Student continues her review seatwork as her official 2nd grade curriculum begins in Sept after the holiday. She loves the laze fair style of review. She is handed the books, and she chooses which pages to complete! What an independent and administrative personality...wonder whom she is related to?!

Having much sunny-recess time in the backyard, Warrior has completely reconstructed the swingset into an obstacle course. Only one mud-pile is being incorporated, so Teacher can deal with the repercussions. And what entertainment for Mascot! Observing and plotting his addition in a year, Teacher is sure of it!

In a friendly game of memory to match up the alphabet, Warrior had to choose the cards between the grabbing of Mascot. What a balance in the homeschool! Warrior is all too familiar, already. Mascot ended with his fair-share of hotwheels discovery.
Track + Cars= Sandwich...just open wide! Fever blisters and teething juice will now overcome the car...



Hmmm...too slow with the camera...missed his amazing slobber overload...

Student's current working piece in Suzuki has been the most fierce frustration of her lifetime! Maybe it's just the transition of her age, or the fact that she's tired of Teacher giving musical instructions and looongs for Mrs. S? Either way, her working piece, Perpetual Motion is just 2 measures from completion. Then there's always tempo to increase! That's Student's fav part! The faster the better in her book!

Wednesday Racing

What can Warrior do when Student gets her beauty rest in the am hours?
Put to use the mismatch vintage racetracks Principal picked up at a local flea market.



Alphabet recognition and construction...where else, but outside! When does a child sit at a desk these days? Well, at the Homeschool, it's mostly in the winter!

And when is it NOT Physical Education for boys? Is not their life a continuum of circuit drills? Warrior looked too RAD in his Spider suit AND 2 wheeler!



Bible today was brought to life through a devotional by Nancy Speck that brought us to the Old Testament.
Student & Warrior recalled men from Bible days that had faith and acted on that faith, even when others around them didn't stand so firm.
Gideon
Noah
Joshua
Daniel
Abraham

And what about our personal story? Well, their stories and pictures of times they had faith and how God took care of them are illustrated here:



Student shared of her fears about the roller coaster experience, and how God kept her from falling over the edge. Warrior, on the other hand, was very current in his example, as he referenced his trying to change from a 4 wheel to a 2 wheel bike.

Today's Student Reading Summary: Princess & the Pea by Lauren Child
There is a prince and he wants a bride. And not far over a mountain, there was a girl that lives in a treehouse. She went out to see the beautiful moon. And then, a big storm comes and she's lost so she keeps walking on, and finds the castle where the prince is. The king answers the door and invites her in but she is soaking wet and beautiful. So when sh warmed herself up, the Queen gave her a nightgown and bath. Then the 12 mattresses on top and a pea on the bottom, along with goose-down pillows and linen sheets was where she would sleep. The Queen said if the girl doesn't sleep well, then the girl IS a real princess and will marry my prince! So, the next morning the Queen forgot that princesses have manners because she said she slept quite well, though she didn't. When the Prince saw her in the dining room, he dropped his teacup and she picked it up for him when he said, "There's a certain something about you!" And she said her name, and he asked her to marry him for a week. Time after time, and then she said YES! They got married!

Music involved review for Student and news for Warrior. They focused on families of instruments. They took turns placing their gamepiece on the correct family card. Yes, it was rocket science and they earned a chocolate chip for every correct answer!

As Student still has 2 weeks before violin lessons begin, so her patience for string instruments is running thin! Thus, we just had to add another instrument to her r'epertoire...THE DRUM!
Also used as:
steam roller
sibling attacker
rolling dodge ball



Current Events connected the Homeschool to Samaritan's Purse for an update on the efforts after the killer earthquake in Haiti more than six months ago. Student is standing in the gap and praying for the number of shoe boxes the Homeschool will give for their Operation Christmas Child program. As this year the focus is on Haitian children, God's children are allover this world, and we are so humbled by lifting them up to our Heavenly Father. For His plans are for good, for those who love Him. We stand on His promise to continue each day, in that which He has called us to be and do: Homeschool.

Tuesday Trigger

What else would cause the Homeschool to venture outdoors 6, count them, 6 times in one day? The blessed, uncommon coolness of the season.
Thanks to the Living God for His rainy day Tuesday Trigger
to get out the umbrellas and jump for joy!



Student and Warrior assisted with the multiple walking of Mascot. His preferred escape from teething symptoms is a walk in the stroller! Between discussions of rain-garb superhero identities, and plans of enemy attacks, Student reviewed measurements, calendar and temperature facts. She and Teacher had to laugh when some of the auditory review was stunted by lack of memory on BOTH their parts!

Warrior continued in Handwriting with his name, and the Letter A, and numbers 1,2 & 3. (Feels like the end of a Sesame Street episode!) He quickly requested that Teacher add C because he already knew how to "...write it". And of course, B was plopped right in the middle and he said that he could do that one with "...2 bumps!", no problem. It was then A HUNTING HE DID GO, to find 3 letter A objects...and this is what he collected!



Adult (not pictured)
Atlas, aka, cool map book
Accordian, (stretching the phonetics to include the short vowel sound)

Way to go Warrior!

In Genesis, we covered Creation. And no matter how many times it's read, Teacher gets goosebumps! Student, on the other hand, wanted to know why the Homeschool should read the Bible again, and again?! Such questions are the delight of a Teacher!

After a heart-to-heart about the Living Word, the state of one's heart, and growing in knowledge and admonition of the Lord, all pulled on the boots and went out for yet another Mascot stroll!

Nothing unusual to finish the day of learning. Visuals of God's love lavished upon His creations after His watering of the world left us with these sightings...



Blooms coming, & going,
Rain droplets dousing the noggin,
Dinosaurs hanging upon branches...
All in a day at the Homeschool!

The Hiatus is Back Off, Again

First day back to school at the Homeschool!
Changes abound, as in life with new seasons beginning and ending constantly,
there have been such changes around here.

Temporary Class Pet: Grasshoper on the window
Additional student: Warrior.
Older and wiser: Student.
Bigger and louder: Mascot.



Beginning the school day with Principal among us,
we finished the day knowing that his presence was God's provision.

Starting with Warrior's lessons in the early am,
he ran with the wolves AND took time for the phonetic alphabet.



Warrior identifies the letter and the sound and then proceeds to use the flashcard for a target! Works wonders, as he's done this some throughout the summer, and he only has a handful of letters that still cause him to check on the chart for clues. Great enthusiasm for ANYTHING that involves hurling objects... that's our Warrior!



Finishing up the outdoor lessons with sorting and counting, Warrior crossed over to the indoor environment for handwriting. This, of course, was maxed out with 3 words! And mornings ARE his attentive time!



Joining up with Student for Bible, we reviewed some facts.
66 total books
39 in the Old Testament
27 in the New Testament
4 sections the Old Testament books are divided into:
Law
History,
Poetry & Wisdom Writings,
Prophets

Preparation was then made for our library trip,
as Student complied a list of books from the BOOKS KIDS LOVE resource.


It was AFTER the library that we took Mascot in for a Dr. appointment.

Yes, he's had 5 days of fever.
Yes, he's exhibiting other teething symptoms.
Yes, his sleep and now eating habits have been interrupted.
Thus, we all filled up waiting room hours with talking, stories, games... and finally a movie on Principal's iPhone.



One catheter,
a blood work-up,
and many tears later,
we went home with a diagnosis of a viral infection.

Thanks be to God for blessings our FIRST day this year, with Principal to help wrangle kiddos at an unexpected afternoon vacation at the local physician. This virus too, shall pass, and the

homeschool shall resume tomorrow! Praise Him for His many blessings, as Student got off EASY today and she's full of PRAISE!