Friday, September 23, 2011

life learning...we just cant help it

Last Friday the girls & i did not want to move our bodies or brains...at all!
Homeschooling was NOT going to happen!
Or so we thought...

 Our high school friend Matt works for NASA & helped engineer an aircraft named SOFIA. Friday morning was their Inaugural flight to Germany. He shared the link that we could track the flight from it's beginning to it's destination. We monitored it through out the day & the girls documented the trip on maps.
It was soooooo fun in a nerdy kinda way.
I was so excited even stayed up after the girls went to bed & finished tracking the trip until they safely arrived at their destination (after 11hrs & 29 mins)
*geography accidentally done!

*ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE :The Byzantines*
The girls asked if they could finally watch a video we recorded that corresponded with one of our previous history lesson in The Story of the World. This video talked mainly about Emperor Justinian & his wife Theodora. Even though we did this history lesson a while ago, the girls really remember this couple & their story, so they were completely into the video & got alot out of it.
*history accidentally done!
*caution the STOW describes Theodora as an actress & a performer...this video puts more of an adult spin on it. Caught me off guard because i didn't watch it first.

*Super Cool Mystery Tree Fungus*
We decided to go outside & stretch our legs(in an attempt to feel better about being completely lazy). 
The girls discovered this interesting & almost-pretty-in-a-creepy-kind-of-way tree fungus.
We are still working on identifying it.
(i even bought a book & can't find it, nor on the web. Any ideas???)
We did a lot of observing.
It looks very soft & squishy, but without knowing the exact type, we didn't touch it. It fills most of the trunk stump. It also has a very interesting orange-yellow-pink color.
Still investigating...
*science accidentally done!
We really tried NOT learning last Friday, we really did...but when life is so full of learning opportunities, i guess we just cant help it :)

Monday, September 19, 2011

trying something new {sisterly sundays}

I've been seriously feeling the need to re-evaluate & rearrange my priorities. 
& VIOLA! The Three Thinking Mothers comes out with this post about juggling & priorities by Mary (her blog here)...again they hit the nail on the head, almost word for word as to what's been on my mind.

{SISTERLY SUNDAYS}
trying something new
This post was supposed to go out last night (Sunday) & didn't, but from now on I'm going to TRY to do a post like this on Sundays. A little weekly progress report of sorts. Maybe it will help me keep focused! This one is a little long...
1. Putting spiritual things first. I was doing so well with this one, but this year has brought so many changes that I've been feeling like i HAVE to try to keep up with everything. I've lost focus of the most important priority a little.

2. Family, friends, etc...(i love my fam & friend & love staying connected, but i can miss a few Facebook posts...blogpost, Pinterest...etc...)

3. Putting homeschooling 1st. SO GUILTY! Because it seems to be this "whole big thing" we do & how we are identified (as homeschoolers), it tends to become an all consuming life focus. We need to not let everything else go & keep homeschooling in its place.

*I need to re-evaluate & simplifying things to make these work.

{SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING THIS WEEK}
*Fave Scripture of the Week
Matthew 5:16 "Likewise let your light shine before men, that they may see your fine works and give glory to your Father who is in the heavens." This week (red week ladies), my light was not so bright & shiny, so this is a good one for me.

*Fave Scripture for the girlies.
Ecclesiastes 7:1 "A name is better than oil, and the day of death than the day of one's being born." ~ What an awesome reminder by our Sunday speaker, in regards to our reputations. The ultimate goal is not to make a name for ourselves, but to glorify God's name in how we live our lives, even in youth. What you do in your youth does effect your reputation, your family's name & ultimately the God we represent.

*I used to be very diligent about regular daily Bible reading. Then of course, life got "too busy & distracted". I'm currently on Ezra Chapter 7 hope by this week to finish the book of Ezra.

{CONFESSION} 3 still sneaks in my bed at night. In the mornings i DO NOT want to wake her, so I've been waking up early every morning & from my Blackberry reading my e-mails & texts, FB updates, etc...in bed.(calling it quiet "me time", b/c when she gets up...there is none) BUT last night i finally remembered to bring my Bible in and put it on my night stand. Beginning with this morning, i will try to start my mornings with my daily Bible reading instead. (eventhough she heard me turn the pages & woke up, i got 2 chapters in) 

*Make congregation meeting on Thursdays in addition to Sunday meetings. Eventhough it's only one night out the week, (1 1/2 hours really) Thursdays are our busiest of the week from beginning to end. It's so hard to get there at 7pm after a LONG exhausting day, but i need to prioritize, organize (& pray about it) to make it happen consistently.
OK so let's see how well i do next Sunday :)


Saturday, September 17, 2011

turning 9 {& back in the saddle}

2 turned 9 this month & FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY her wish came true.
the time was FINALLY right for this horse loving girl to get back to her passion...

getting acquainted with the beautiful ranch...
Dinkey the Donkey (so cute!)
3 & Champ became very fast friends
one of my faves...the stunningly beautiful Gypsy

2 meets her newest best pony buddy Poppet
after an instructional safety lesson, the riding instructor tied Poppy to a golf cart & we rode all through the hills on a tour of the ranch.
along with site seeing, this was a test of 2's balance.
(staying on bareback while ducking under trees, trotting up & down hills, changing terrain, etc...) 
we got to see the ranch grounds & the different parts that they keep the over 52 horses & stallions.
2 & Poppy did very well as a team!
next weeks lesson cannot come fast enough :)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

HOMESCHOOLING DAY AT THE MOVIES SEPTEMBER 23 ~ DOLPHIN TALE


I have not wanted to see a kids movie in theaters for YEARS! i haven't seen any come out that i considered worth it.
BUT FINALLY...
we all cannot wait for this
{clean, feel good, quality family oriented}
 movie & homeschooling fieldtrip.
we already have a group planned.
JOIN US WHEREVER YOU ARE!!! 

FOLLOWING TAKEN FROM

Mark your calendars for September 23rd…and set up a field trip for your local homeschool group or go as a family!

We are going on a giant homeschool field trip to see:

Inspired by the incredible true story of Winter, a dolphin who was rescued off the Florida coast after her tail became caught in a crab trap, this uplifting family-oriented adventure from director/co-screenwriter Charles Martin Smith details the unique bond between an injured dolphin and a young boy. When Winter loses her tail in a tragic accident, her young friend convinces the locals to build her a prosthetic replacement, inspiring hope and courage in handicapped people across the globe. Nathan Gamble, Morgan Freeman, Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, and Kris Kristofferson star.

*also, you may be happy to know that there is no foul language, actors wear wetsuits and rash guards, and there are no romantic plots (no funny business and we have seen an early screening and would be happy to answer ANY question you may have about the movie)

*PLEASE go to the link above, check out the info & plan your own feildtrip/familytrip in support of good quality family entertainment. They even have a free lesson unit to go along with.






Monday, September 12, 2011

can i touch it?


*Look at it!

*Do you know what it is?

*Aljuh.

*YES!!! but it's name is pronounced algae.

*wonder how it feels? i wanna touch it. can i touch it?

*OF COURSE! How else are you going to know how it feels for yourself?

*Does it smell?

*Now how do you think you could find THAT out by yourself?

*(MISCHIEVOUS SMILE)

*go ahead :)

Saturday, September 3, 2011

archives{turning 6}

3 turns 6
& not soon enough according to her!
the BEST thing about finally turning 6...the free dirt cups at Mimi's!
(& being smart enough to choose family dinner there for that very reason)
& losing your very 1st tooth.
the VERY (disgustingly)loose & wiggly one that should have come out LONG before actually turning 6, but saving it in your mouth until the exact day you turn 6.
then, without telling anyone,going into the bathroom,pulling it out & coming in the kitchen waving arms in the air yelling
"YES!!! I DID IT!!!"
that's my girl!
*6 years old means there are officially no more babies in our family. 5 to me is still kiiinda baby...but 6 is definately big kid in everyway. bittersweet, but thanks to this kid (who's more like having 5 kids at once), 6 has been a lot of FUN... & with this constantly busy, super smart ,strong-willed,sassy (etc...) girl i wouldnt have the time or energy for a baby anyway! WHEW :)

Friday, September 2, 2011

why we don't homeschool the way we thought we would...i'm letting the Three Thinking Mothers explain



I LOVE THE 
its def {a new fave}
i decided to add our blog to their blog roll.
out of all the homeschooling blogs i read this is the one i relate to the most.
maybe because it is 3 different mothers with 3 different styles & since we dont follow any homeschooling style exclusively, i identify with each of their different perspectives in some ways.
always so much good & practical info. 
i love this entire post.
i found myself in all of it, but wanted to share a part that really explains why we homeschool the way we do & why we dont, the way we thought we would:

"I did a lot of thinking and reading this summer on unschooling or child/interest led learning. I do see the benefits of it. In fact, over the years when we were considering homeschooling and when we first began, I thought we would be unschoolers. I agree that you learn better and retain more when you are interested in what you are learning. But after careful discussion and consideration with Jason, we decided that we view these years as preparation for life. (This is just our opinion) In life sometimes you have to work on someone else's schedule. Sometimes you need to do things that don't particularly interest you. We feel that we need to prepare the girls for this and encourage them to be open to learning/doing things that they are not necessarily interested in. We need to show them that just because you are not interested in something does not mean it is not interesting."


THANKS THERESA FOR EXPLAINING MY THOUGHTS WAAAAAY BETTER THAN I COULD!
SEE...ANOTHER REASON GOOD WHY I LOVE THEM :)