Most would say that Sunday is our official day of rest....unless you are a pastor or youth leader. And for us, we really do try and protect our Sundays as much as possible. We go to church, sometimes grab a quick lunch and then head home to hide in our house the rest of the day. My kids aren't allowed to invite any other kids in on that day (they have the other 6 days a week to flood through my house!) and we tell our kids to give everyone their space as well. It's just a time we can count on being home and together. I like it! And occasionally, we even get a nap in there!
But this week, I took today off....a random Friday....the last day of the week. It's because we have had teams at the camp for the past 2 weeks. Don't get me wrong, I love it when you can hear the sound of bulldozers, chainsaws, hammering, etc....it means progress and the getting of so many things done! Things that would take our small staff months to do, these work teams get done in a matter of days....Praise the Lord!
And although everyone is busy and up to their knees in work, we still make the time to sit and chat, swap stories, and share ministries (the ups AND the downs).
But as sweet and productive as those times are, they are still tiring and make a body weary. Therefore, I am resting today. It wasn't necessarily planned, but as I started to move around this morning, my body started to tell me, in little ways, that I was tired. My legs were a little stiff, my back ached a little, and my mind seemed in a fog.
Now, for those of you that know me, you know that I do not "rest" well. So at first, I ignored those little signs of fatigue and was just going to push through, but after a while I decided just to sit down for a few minutes. I gave the kids a little break from school and I just sat....didn't turn the tv on, didn't get on the computer....just sat. That was when I realized I was truly tired, and I couldn't get up if I wanted to. I finally gave in and just decided just rest.....and rest....and rest. For the rest of the day, I have "worked" at resting. I couldn't let school altogether, but I did cut it way back and did it from the confines of my big comfy chair. My house needed much cleaning, but my kids chipped in and I just got up a couple times to do a few things. I've done a little computer work, but kept it to a minimal. Although my mind is swimming with things I need to do, I have resigned to just make a list and work on it starting tomorrow.
All this may seem silly and trivial, but like I said, I am just not good at coming to a complete stop and just resting. But I know enough about the Scripture to realize that even Jesus took times of rest. Now He didn't necessarily do it by deciding not to clean his house or by turning off the tv...but He did find time to get away from the ministry "needs" around Him. On more than one occasion He removed Himself from the crowds and found time to be alone with His Heavenly Father. Apparently, it's good for the soul :)
Even though I will have twice as much to do tomorrow, today has been good. My body had rested, my mind has rested, even my spirit has rested. And I've actually enjoyed it. I might have to try it again sometime! :)
Friday, March 25, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Home School Weekly
Well, this week was pretty much a flop in the area of school.
We had a work team here all week and I spent most of my time in the lodge kitchen. Although on more than one occasion I did bring the kids up there with me to do school, but it was hard to give them the attention they needed. The neat thing was, there were several "home school" moms on this team and more than once I looked over to see one of them helping my oldest with her math. That was encouraging.....wish they could have helped every day!!!
Unfortunately, I was on my own the rest of the week and the battle between schooling and my work schedule began....and my work schedule ended up winning. But the school work will eventually get done, right? One day at a time, giving it to the Lord on a daily basis.....
We have another work team in this week, but my kitchen schedule is lighter (I worked lots last week because we had one cook down sick, another out of town early in the week, and another back east attending a funeral)....this week i only have to work a couple times.
Math:
We actually did pretty well in this subject. The twins started off with a math test and then ended up finishing 6 lessons for the week...that was encouraging. Abby did one lesson a day so I guess I should be happy with that. Abby is working on metric measurements....I let her in on the secret that she will hardly use them in her adult life....she was happy about that!
Reading:
I said I was going to choose the books for the twins this time, but in my busyness, I only got half of that done. Peter chose another Box Car book, but I gave Hannah the Little House on the Prairie book. Abby is still reading the Bronze Bow.....I am behind her in the reading....I need to catch up!
Peter finished his book report on his last book, and both Hannah and Abby have their rough drafts done....slow progress.
English/Grammar:
The twins finished up a unit in their English (they are using Rod and Staff) and are ready to take a test on Monday. Abby continues on in her English (Bob Jones) and she is working on how to write a research paper. She has had some experience in this, but I haven't given detail to siting her information. She will work on that more this week. I went through her book the other night and realized she will not finish it this year. It's hard for me to be "ok" with that, but I'm going to try! :) She can even finish it up next year, slowly, along with her new curriculum. She is also working in through the 'tan' book, Learning Language Arts Through Literature. Again, she will not finish the book this year, but something that can be worked on next year.
History/Science:
We didn't do much in this subject this week. This is one area where my work schedule won over the school schedule. But they are getting the history through co-op this month.....just wanting to give them a little more than that. Again, this week will hopefully have more opportunities here.
Spelling:
Didn't even touch this subject !!!
Extra Activities:
The girls are continuing in their knitting (over halfway done with their wash clothes and moving right along with their scarves). They are also doing well in their piano, hopefully the opportunity to play at church will happen this month.
They are also making baby blankets for the newborns at the Indian Hospital. They have really enjoyed this project.
We missed AWANA this week, but they still worked hard on their sections. They should have several to get signed off on this coming week.
Co-op:
We have to get started on the papers that are due in both their classes. They have one on bees, and they also have one on an explorer (I think that's the topic) for their New Mexico History class. We are halfway through the semester....so far, so good!
Like I said, it was not a very productive week, but I have to remind myself that I work a full time job AND home school....I need to just pace myself and do what I can.
Plans for this week:
To obviously do better in all subjects.....to finish Peter's research paper......to get some "PE" in this week (the kids want to do some running).....to do 3 more baby blankets.....to read the next two chapters for Bible Quizzing and work on the memory verses.
I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with all that needs to be done in school and in my ministries....along with camp projects. One thing at a time, right?
We had a work team here all week and I spent most of my time in the lodge kitchen. Although on more than one occasion I did bring the kids up there with me to do school, but it was hard to give them the attention they needed. The neat thing was, there were several "home school" moms on this team and more than once I looked over to see one of them helping my oldest with her math. That was encouraging.....wish they could have helped every day!!!
Unfortunately, I was on my own the rest of the week and the battle between schooling and my work schedule began....and my work schedule ended up winning. But the school work will eventually get done, right? One day at a time, giving it to the Lord on a daily basis.....
We have another work team in this week, but my kitchen schedule is lighter (I worked lots last week because we had one cook down sick, another out of town early in the week, and another back east attending a funeral)....this week i only have to work a couple times.
Math:
We actually did pretty well in this subject. The twins started off with a math test and then ended up finishing 6 lessons for the week...that was encouraging. Abby did one lesson a day so I guess I should be happy with that. Abby is working on metric measurements....I let her in on the secret that she will hardly use them in her adult life....she was happy about that!
Reading:
I said I was going to choose the books for the twins this time, but in my busyness, I only got half of that done. Peter chose another Box Car book, but I gave Hannah the Little House on the Prairie book. Abby is still reading the Bronze Bow.....I am behind her in the reading....I need to catch up!
Peter finished his book report on his last book, and both Hannah and Abby have their rough drafts done....slow progress.
English/Grammar:
The twins finished up a unit in their English (they are using Rod and Staff) and are ready to take a test on Monday. Abby continues on in her English (Bob Jones) and she is working on how to write a research paper. She has had some experience in this, but I haven't given detail to siting her information. She will work on that more this week. I went through her book the other night and realized she will not finish it this year. It's hard for me to be "ok" with that, but I'm going to try! :) She can even finish it up next year, slowly, along with her new curriculum. She is also working in through the 'tan' book, Learning Language Arts Through Literature. Again, she will not finish the book this year, but something that can be worked on next year.
History/Science:
We didn't do much in this subject this week. This is one area where my work schedule won over the school schedule. But they are getting the history through co-op this month.....just wanting to give them a little more than that. Again, this week will hopefully have more opportunities here.
Spelling:
Didn't even touch this subject !!!
Extra Activities:
The girls are continuing in their knitting (over halfway done with their wash clothes and moving right along with their scarves). They are also doing well in their piano, hopefully the opportunity to play at church will happen this month.
They are also making baby blankets for the newborns at the Indian Hospital. They have really enjoyed this project.
We missed AWANA this week, but they still worked hard on their sections. They should have several to get signed off on this coming week.
Co-op:
We have to get started on the papers that are due in both their classes. They have one on bees, and they also have one on an explorer (I think that's the topic) for their New Mexico History class. We are halfway through the semester....so far, so good!
Like I said, it was not a very productive week, but I have to remind myself that I work a full time job AND home school....I need to just pace myself and do what I can.
Plans for this week:
To obviously do better in all subjects.....to finish Peter's research paper......to get some "PE" in this week (the kids want to do some running).....to do 3 more baby blankets.....to read the next two chapters for Bible Quizzing and work on the memory verses.
I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with all that needs to be done in school and in my ministries....along with camp projects. One thing at a time, right?
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Home School Weekly
I got this idea from a friend's blog (thanks emily) and I thought it would help ME if I could actually see all that I accomplished in the area of home schooling at the end of the week. On a day to day basis, I don't feel like I'm getting much done....we'll see what if I'm more encouraged if I can step back and get a different perspective... It's a lot of reading so don't feel obligated to read it all!!!
Math: It is sometimes a discouraging subject for me because we are always behind in this subject. I like to finish up school early May (because it gets too crazy at the camp in May)....but we have 70 lessons to do in 50 days...and that is going all the way to the THIRD week in May! I really like to finish our math, so praying we can succeed. Everyone is doing fairly well in it....teaching Abby is getting hard for me (math is not my strength!) and there are some days I have to really read the instructions in detail before I get it. I can DO math, but I cannot teach it very well. But thankfully it's easy right now....metric units of measure. I can handle that. The twins just finished up a chapter and will be working on more multiplication lessons....just larger and larger problems. Again, this should be fairly easy....we even have the potential to move ahead...maybe????
ENGLISH/GRAMMAR: Another subject we are behind in, but making progress. This one I'm not too worried about because it is such a repetitive subject. Abby is working on reference books (how to use) along with how to site information when writing a paper. The twins are studying pronouns....Peter has been slow to catch on (as far as what pronouns go with who and whom questions), but like I said, that subject will come around again :)
READING: They all just finished up books this week and have started on their book reports... Abby finished up "Abe Lincoln Grows Up" which was basically chronicles the life of Abe Lincoln til the age of 19 years old. Abby didn't 'love' it but she did learn quite a bit about the early years of this former president. She is now reading the Bronze Bow as part of her literature study. I'll be reading that too so that I can discuss it more knowledgeably with her. The twins both finished up more 'pleasure' type books. I let them alternate between literature and fun books. Abby reads a lot in her spare time so she gets plenty of both, but the twins don't spend as much time outside of school reading (although Hannah is doing it more and more). They both just finished up mystery books (they love those) and have also started their book reports. Before that Hannah had read Little Women and we are going to get the movie from the library and watch it. She is excited. Peter wants to start on a Hank the Hound Dog series, although I'm not sure if that's challenging enough for him (he is a little behind Hannah in reading though), but we'll see. And Hannah will be starting on the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. We are also reading aloud through the Chronicles of Narnia....we just finished Voyage of the Dawn Treader and have started The Silver Chair.
SPELLING: Everyone finished up their week of spelling words and I only had one that is going to have to retake their test. My kids are really not that great at actually 'studying' and I have one that just seems completely lost when I tell them to do it. So we are working on that area and spelling is a good place to start.
RESEARCH PAPERS: We watched a documentary on the wildlife of Madagascar a couple weeks ago, and from that I had each child choose an animal they wanted to write about. Abby chose the Fossa, the largest predator on the island, Hannah chose the Mouse Lemur, which is the smallest of that species, and Peter chose the Giraffe Beetle, a long necked leaf eating insect. Everyone did really well in researching their topic, taking notes, organizing them into paragraphs, and finally writing or typing out their final product (Peter is the only one that still has to write his final draft because he was sick when we finished them up). They will then orally present their research findings to the "class" (me, Wes, and their siblings).....trying to work on their presentation skills.
JOURNALS: We write in our journals about 3 mornings a week. This is a time where they can relax and not worry so much about grammar, spelling or punctuation (although I encourage them to do their best)....I don't grade on those skills. It's just a time where they practice putting thoughts onto paper. I give them 10 minutes to write everything they can on a certain subject. This weeks subjects included things like "My Secret Club" and "Why Do I Pray"....they also spent one day of journaling writing sympathy cards to a family member who had lost a dear pet. They really enjoy this subject! As far as
History and Science, we are not doing anything in particular right now because they are in co-op. They are studying a history and science subject there so I give them a break during these 6 weeks from it at home. I do tape a lot of history and science type shows though and we enjoy watching those. We are finishing up a documentary titled "America Before Columbus" which details Native American Indian life, the wildlife that was here, and then why others came in search of new lands. For the science, my kids love Time Warp, How It's Made, and any animal shows!
Co-op We have a home school co-op here (although VERY small and new compared to many others) and my kids love it. They are studying New Mexico History (part 2) and learning lots about how New Mexico came into existence and the rich history of the people. Just this past week they made 'adobe bricks' (what a mess!) so they could experience just a taste of the amount of work that went into building homes back then. They are also taking a class on Bees...this class is two fold in that it is teaching in detail on this subject and they are also learning how to make a lap book, which they can then be able to do for any other subject they want. They are really enjoying this class as well and we are hoping we can arrange a field trip to a local bee farm.
Library....They also take a class at the library every week, although they stayed home this week. For the past 2 months they have studied famous artists....they learn about the history of the artist and then do an art project that stresses that artist's style. Next week they start a book study on Bridge to Terabithia.
Extra Curricular:
Bible Quizzing....the kids are on a Bible Quizzing team and they compete with 2-3 other teams in the area. This year they have been studying the book of John and it has been great for our whole family. We are all learning lots. Out of the 4 tournaments so far this year, our team has won 3...they have worked hard! This month we are studying John 17-20....our next tournament is the first weekend in April.
Knitting, Sewing and Piano.....the girls are both involved in these two activities. We have a sweet neighbor that comes by once a week and teaches us knitting skills. My girls are in a 7 year home economics course and knitting is one of the subjects for the first year. They have made several wash cloths (practice projects) and are now working on scarves for themselves and potholders for gifts. Abby also takes sewing lessons (Hannah will start them next year) and she has already made a skirt and a pillowcase. They both take piano and are enjoying it more now that they are playing actual songs. They have already done a couple offertory numbers at church.
Awana.....Hannah just finished up a book and Peter should be finishing one in the next week or so. Abby started a new one earlier this year.
Art....Abby is taking art lessons and this is clearly her passion and love. I don't know where she gets the creativity and the talent....neither Wes nor I have a lick of artistic ability....a special gift from the Lord :)
Gymnastics....all the kids are involved in gymnastics but it's purely for physical activity and fun....no one is headed to the olympics!!
As far as "fun" stuff, it has been limited around here lately because of all the sickness we have had....but toward the end of the week they were able to get outside more. They have gone on lots of "adventures" around the camp and even got to go see some baby goats that were just born at a neighbor's house.
We also tried a new recipe this week. I try to get at least 1 in each week....I had plans for 2 new ones but Wes went out of town unexpectedly so I'll save the other one for next week. This week we made Maple Morning Muffins....they kids LOVED them! I did too....it will definitely be a 'repeat' for our house! And it made the house smell so yummy!!
I'm not sure if I feel encouraged or not about journaling our weekly accomplishments...it's alot to type, but I don't know if it's really a lot that got done. I may have to try this a couple more times. But all I know is we put many hours into home schooling and making life "educational" for my kids......surely we are accomplishing SOMETHING! ha!! :)
More pictures to come :)
Math: It is sometimes a discouraging subject for me because we are always behind in this subject. I like to finish up school early May (because it gets too crazy at the camp in May)....but we have 70 lessons to do in 50 days...and that is going all the way to the THIRD week in May! I really like to finish our math, so praying we can succeed. Everyone is doing fairly well in it....teaching Abby is getting hard for me (math is not my strength!) and there are some days I have to really read the instructions in detail before I get it. I can DO math, but I cannot teach it very well. But thankfully it's easy right now....metric units of measure. I can handle that. The twins just finished up a chapter and will be working on more multiplication lessons....just larger and larger problems. Again, this should be fairly easy....we even have the potential to move ahead...maybe????
ENGLISH/GRAMMAR: Another subject we are behind in, but making progress. This one I'm not too worried about because it is such a repetitive subject. Abby is working on reference books (how to use) along with how to site information when writing a paper. The twins are studying pronouns....Peter has been slow to catch on (as far as what pronouns go with who and whom questions), but like I said, that subject will come around again :)
READING: They all just finished up books this week and have started on their book reports... Abby finished up "Abe Lincoln Grows Up" which was basically chronicles the life of Abe Lincoln til the age of 19 years old. Abby didn't 'love' it but she did learn quite a bit about the early years of this former president. She is now reading the Bronze Bow as part of her literature study. I'll be reading that too so that I can discuss it more knowledgeably with her. The twins both finished up more 'pleasure' type books. I let them alternate between literature and fun books. Abby reads a lot in her spare time so she gets plenty of both, but the twins don't spend as much time outside of school reading (although Hannah is doing it more and more). They both just finished up mystery books (they love those) and have also started their book reports. Before that Hannah had read Little Women and we are going to get the movie from the library and watch it. She is excited. Peter wants to start on a Hank the Hound Dog series, although I'm not sure if that's challenging enough for him (he is a little behind Hannah in reading though), but we'll see. And Hannah will be starting on the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. We are also reading aloud through the Chronicles of Narnia....we just finished Voyage of the Dawn Treader and have started The Silver Chair.
SPELLING: Everyone finished up their week of spelling words and I only had one that is going to have to retake their test. My kids are really not that great at actually 'studying' and I have one that just seems completely lost when I tell them to do it. So we are working on that area and spelling is a good place to start.
RESEARCH PAPERS: We watched a documentary on the wildlife of Madagascar a couple weeks ago, and from that I had each child choose an animal they wanted to write about. Abby chose the Fossa, the largest predator on the island, Hannah chose the Mouse Lemur, which is the smallest of that species, and Peter chose the Giraffe Beetle, a long necked leaf eating insect. Everyone did really well in researching their topic, taking notes, organizing them into paragraphs, and finally writing or typing out their final product (Peter is the only one that still has to write his final draft because he was sick when we finished them up). They will then orally present their research findings to the "class" (me, Wes, and their siblings).....trying to work on their presentation skills.
JOURNALS: We write in our journals about 3 mornings a week. This is a time where they can relax and not worry so much about grammar, spelling or punctuation (although I encourage them to do their best)....I don't grade on those skills. It's just a time where they practice putting thoughts onto paper. I give them 10 minutes to write everything they can on a certain subject. This weeks subjects included things like "My Secret Club" and "Why Do I Pray"....they also spent one day of journaling writing sympathy cards to a family member who had lost a dear pet. They really enjoy this subject! As far as
History and Science, we are not doing anything in particular right now because they are in co-op. They are studying a history and science subject there so I give them a break during these 6 weeks from it at home. I do tape a lot of history and science type shows though and we enjoy watching those. We are finishing up a documentary titled "America Before Columbus" which details Native American Indian life, the wildlife that was here, and then why others came in search of new lands. For the science, my kids love Time Warp, How It's Made, and any animal shows!
Co-op We have a home school co-op here (although VERY small and new compared to many others) and my kids love it. They are studying New Mexico History (part 2) and learning lots about how New Mexico came into existence and the rich history of the people. Just this past week they made 'adobe bricks' (what a mess!) so they could experience just a taste of the amount of work that went into building homes back then. They are also taking a class on Bees...this class is two fold in that it is teaching in detail on this subject and they are also learning how to make a lap book, which they can then be able to do for any other subject they want. They are really enjoying this class as well and we are hoping we can arrange a field trip to a local bee farm.
Library....They also take a class at the library every week, although they stayed home this week. For the past 2 months they have studied famous artists....they learn about the history of the artist and then do an art project that stresses that artist's style. Next week they start a book study on Bridge to Terabithia.
Extra Curricular:
Bible Quizzing....the kids are on a Bible Quizzing team and they compete with 2-3 other teams in the area. This year they have been studying the book of John and it has been great for our whole family. We are all learning lots. Out of the 4 tournaments so far this year, our team has won 3...they have worked hard! This month we are studying John 17-20....our next tournament is the first weekend in April.
Knitting, Sewing and Piano.....the girls are both involved in these two activities. We have a sweet neighbor that comes by once a week and teaches us knitting skills. My girls are in a 7 year home economics course and knitting is one of the subjects for the first year. They have made several wash cloths (practice projects) and are now working on scarves for themselves and potholders for gifts. Abby also takes sewing lessons (Hannah will start them next year) and she has already made a skirt and a pillowcase. They both take piano and are enjoying it more now that they are playing actual songs. They have already done a couple offertory numbers at church.
Awana.....Hannah just finished up a book and Peter should be finishing one in the next week or so. Abby started a new one earlier this year.
Art....Abby is taking art lessons and this is clearly her passion and love. I don't know where she gets the creativity and the talent....neither Wes nor I have a lick of artistic ability....a special gift from the Lord :)
Gymnastics....all the kids are involved in gymnastics but it's purely for physical activity and fun....no one is headed to the olympics!!
As far as "fun" stuff, it has been limited around here lately because of all the sickness we have had....but toward the end of the week they were able to get outside more. They have gone on lots of "adventures" around the camp and even got to go see some baby goats that were just born at a neighbor's house.
We also tried a new recipe this week. I try to get at least 1 in each week....I had plans for 2 new ones but Wes went out of town unexpectedly so I'll save the other one for next week. This week we made Maple Morning Muffins....they kids LOVED them! I did too....it will definitely be a 'repeat' for our house! And it made the house smell so yummy!!
I'm not sure if I feel encouraged or not about journaling our weekly accomplishments...it's alot to type, but I don't know if it's really a lot that got done. I may have to try this a couple more times. But all I know is we put many hours into home schooling and making life "educational" for my kids......surely we are accomplishing SOMETHING! ha!! :)
More pictures to come :)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
I just read my most recent post again (not the one to you Becky, the one before).....and I shared what a slow and not so good start I was having to the New Year. Well, I don't have too much more to share, except more of the same. We have still struggled with sickness (it seems never ending and I feel trapped in the house!), we've had car troubles, water leaks, broken sinks, etc.....and it's March! We are going on 3 months of this kind of stuff!
I know it's an old saying but for some reason it keeps coming to mind...."it could be worse"! So today, surrounded by coughing kids, sitting in a drafty house, knowing I'm behind in school, worried about paying off car repairs, and so on.....I can still say I am blessed and content. We are all together, we have a roof over our heads (no matter how many leaks it has), we have medicine to help with the illnesses, and enough wood to heat our little wood stove.....God is good. Sometimes we just have to look a little harder to see it :)
I am thankful for the time I've been 'forced' to spend at home......although I get a little cranky and grouchy and in need of some "alone" time, I am thankful for the time we have had as a family. We've watched movies, played games and just had some good heart to hearts. I know this time is fleeting and soon they will be out doing their own things, less interested in "family" time....so I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can!
BUT, it still would not hurt for you all to pray that we could be a HEALTHY family very soon! Then, this germ-a-phobic mom could once again relax!! :)
I know it's an old saying but for some reason it keeps coming to mind...."it could be worse"! So today, surrounded by coughing kids, sitting in a drafty house, knowing I'm behind in school, worried about paying off car repairs, and so on.....I can still say I am blessed and content. We are all together, we have a roof over our heads (no matter how many leaks it has), we have medicine to help with the illnesses, and enough wood to heat our little wood stove.....God is good. Sometimes we just have to look a little harder to see it :)
I am thankful for the time I've been 'forced' to spend at home......although I get a little cranky and grouchy and in need of some "alone" time, I am thankful for the time we have had as a family. We've watched movies, played games and just had some good heart to hearts. I know this time is fleeting and soon they will be out doing their own things, less interested in "family" time....so I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can!
BUT, it still would not hurt for you all to pray that we could be a HEALTHY family very soon! Then, this germ-a-phobic mom could once again relax!! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)