Fear in Blogging

I haven't been blogging because I have been fearful of the safety aspect of things. I heard that there are people out there bashing homeschoolers and it just rubbed me the wrong way. I realize that not many people care about what goes on in our little house but it sent shivers down my spine to think that my name might be on someone's hate list. Over the holidays however I have had several family members mention that they do read my blog when I update and that they miss it. Jason said that I should start back.So I am just going to jump right in.
Christmas was awesome this year. We had a great time with no drama, which was a blessing! Despite being pregnant the drive up to family wasn't bad at all, due to our "new to us" 12 passenger van. January has presented some challenging moments however. I was put in L&D for monitoring because of low amniotic fluid but everything seems to be ok now. They gave me fluids and put me on bedrest. They really don't know what is going on but they will continue to monitor me for my levels and for potential blood clotting issues. Oh boy!! At least I get to see my little one more often! Thankfully Jason can work from home so he is trying to take on the most difficult tasks while I continue to homeschool as I can. We are actually almost done with this year. Because we homeschool year round, we end up finishing early and starting even earlier as the years progress. The kids love schooling because it gives them something to do. They can only take so much of tv and wii before going insane. I am thankful for this :)
On another note, I have found it difficult to get out of those holiday blues that I sometimes fall in. It's been especially difficult since coming back from the hospital. The excitement of it all and then crash-very anticlimactic! Don't get me wrong, I am grateful that he gets to stay in a little longer(I am at 33 wks) but it's still been difficult. I go back in today for another checkup. We will see. I am trying to focus on what it's going to be like AFTER he is here so that maybe the wait won't seem too long. I am looking forward to seeing him and watching how he fits into our little family. The kids are very excited as well!

Weekly Overview 11/30-12/4

• Bible- Advent activities
• Hymn-One Small Child, Review other hymns and record
• Exercises-Stretching, Myself Fitness(XBOX)
• Science
  • Considering God's Creation
    
• Handicrafts-Christmas Projects
• Reading:

Charlotte- The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe

Kaitlyn- Swiss Family Robinson

Toby- Poppleton/Sonlight I can read it #3

Summer- 100 EZ Lessons

• Computer Science-Continue lessons on CSS/Html; Read chapter out of Rox book
• Art-Christmas presents/Cards
• People Study/Character Building- Christmas gifts/ Go through toys and clothes to give away
• Math- Math workbooks

Toby and Summer-math workbooks(Toby is working on fact families, Kaitlyn and Charlotte are working on percentages and division w/ remainders)

• Writing- LA workbook for grammar/Book report on book/Essay comparison/Story on Secret passage in house
• Preschool-Workbook/Books read; Britannica Learning Zone
• Toddler-Cutting/Pasting/Puzzles, etc...
• Read Alouds- A Llama in the family; The Christmas Box; The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems; Book of Virtues

Weekly Overview 11/9-11/13

• Bible- Bible stories/Reading
  
• Memory Chapter- 1 Corinthinthians 13-Finished!!!!!! Yahoo, the kids have done so great!
• Hymn-Review previous songs, practice Silent Night Stanzas
• Exercises-Stretching, Myself Fitness(XBOX)
• Science
  
  • Considering God's Creation
  • Experiment demonstrating the various states of water and why they are the way they are(speed of molecules)
  • Rotation(Used spinning egg as example)
  • Article from Britannica kids online regarding water and it's states
• Handicrafts-Sewing lessons/Kaitlyn's skirt
• Reading:

Charlotte- Reading the adult version of Journey to the Center of the Earth(she liked the beginning of the kids version of this book and decided she wanted to read the adult version for more detail.

Kaitlyn- West to the Land of Plenty(Dear America) and a few misc books that she is reading on her own

Toby-Hop-Finished! He finished level 5..Go Toby!!

• Computer Science-Continue lessons on CSS
• Art-Artwork for webpages
• People Study/Character Building-Service
• Math- Math workbooks

Toby and Summer-math workbooks

• Writing- LA workbook for grammar, Letter to grandparents
• Preschool-Workbook/Books read
• Toddler-Cutting/Pasting/Puzzles, etc...

• Bible- Bible stories/Reading
  
• Memory Chapter- 1 Corinthinthians 13 cont.
• Hymn-Review previous songs, practice Silent Night Stanzas
• Exercises-Stretching, Jumping Jacks, push ups, lunges, squats, calve raises,Running in place, jacknife
• History
  • Story of the World: The Bottom of the World
  • Britannica online for kids videos on Aborigines
  • Paint faces like a Maori warrior
    
• Handicrafts-Sewing lessons/Christmas projects/Kaitlyn's presents
• Reading:

Charlotte- Reading the adult version of Journey to the Center of the Earth(she liked the beginning of the kids version of this book and decided she wanted to read the adult version for more detail. We will see:))

Kaitlyn-Finish Bark of the Bog Owl; Dear America Books(4)

Toby-Hop

• Computer Science-Continue lessons on CSS(This has become a huge deal to the girls. They worked on it constantly this whole week!)
  
• Art-Aboriginal art
• People Study/Character Building-Missionary Stories, Service
• Math- Math workbooks

Toby and Summer-math workbooks

• Writing- LA workbook for grammar; Write a sales pitch and convince Daddy and I.
• Preschool-Workbook/Books read
• Toddler-Cutting/Pasting/Books
• Extra-Poems
  

Homeschool Week of 10/26-10/30

I can't believe we were able to school this week! We were still sick in the beginning of the week, especially Jason. The kids were real troopers and they really do not like being bored! We are almost %100 better but still have a little congestion.

• Bible- Bible stories/Reading
  
• Memory Chapter- 1 Corinthinthians 13 cont.
• Hymn-Review and Begin Silent Night
• Exercises-Stretching, Jumping Jacks, push ups, lunges, squats, calve raises,Running in place, jacknife/ Begin Yourself Fitness
  
• Science

-Considering God's Creation- Atmosphere Experiment with flashlight demonstrating the effects of direct sunlight vs. indirect/proximity of sun.
-Hot/Cold air molecules
-Discover and Do video
-Microscope:Sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, onion, carrot, cheerio

• Handicrafts-Sewing lessons/Christmas projects/Toby-Paper
• Reading:

Charlotte-Journey to the Center of the Earth; Facing Death

Kaitlyn-

Reading to summer: Robin Hood

Independent: Cont. Bark of Bog Owl

Toby-Hop

• Computer Science-HTML, GIMP lessons/practice, begin lessons on CSS
  
• Art-Gimp
• People Study/Character Building-Persecuted people in other countries/ Write a letter through prinsoner alert/Encouraging letter
  
• Math- Combination between Captivated Minds and Math workbooks

Toby and Summer-math workbooks

• Writing-Correct sentences from last week that didn't get corrected/Read about the correct formation of paragraphs
  
• Preschool-Workbook/Books read
• Toddler-Cutting/Pasting

Homeschool Week of 10/19-10/23

I haven't been posting our weekly overview because I have been using another program(one Jason wrote) but I thought I would start copying over here, how hard is that?? LOL We have been "doing" school a little differently for the last 3 weeks and the kids love it! They are enjoying it so much more now. If you are wondering where our traditional Science is, we alternate entire Mondays between Science and History. Mondays are completely devoted to one or the other. We get so much more done this way and they seem to be able to enjoy it more. We do tend to study both Science and History within our other subjects by default but the official day is on Monday.

• Bible- Bible stories/Reading
  


• Memory Chapter- 1 Corinthinthians 13(cont..)


• Hymn-Away in a Manger


• Exercises-Stretching, Jumping Jacks, push ups, lunges, squats, calve raises,Running


• History-Prepare for Fall Academic Presentation Day

Finish Presentation and practice!

• Handicrafts-Sewing lessons/Christmas projects/Toby-Paper


• Reading:

Charlotte - Journey to the Center of the Earth

Kaitlyn - The Bark of the Bog Owl

Toby-Hop(On to level 5!!Yay)

• Computer Science-HTML, GIMP lessons/practice


• Art-Presentation Board


• People Study/Character Building-Missionary Stories, Service


• Math- Combination between CaptivatedMinds and Math workbook

Toby and Summer-math workbooks

• Writing-Oral Presentation/Book notes


• Preschool-Workbook/Read Aloud Books
  


• Toddler-Cutting/Pasting/Read Aloud Books
  

I am amazed

Charlotte has learned how to do animation in Gimp. She just messed around and figured it out on her own. I can't believe it! So neat.

Chaotic!

That is the only word that comes to mind to describe this past month! We have had a lot to do. Jason did get the toilet in and it seems to be fixed(Praise God) BUT we have yet to finish the bathroom. We have one tile left and I am hoping that it will be laid down tonight.
We found out that we are for sure having a little boy! He will be our tie breaker. We are very excited! Right now we have a couple of projects in the making that is taking up some extra time but I am hoping to integrate my blog into the mix so that should be interesting. School is going very well right now because of the changes that we have made. The kids and I are both really enjoying it now! It feels like this is the way it is supposed to be. So here's to integration, normality, and hopefully success!

Bathroom Renovation update

Well, Jason got the toilet in and most of the floor done. He is waiting until he makes sure the toilet isn't leaking before putting the rest of the tile in. We have tested it out and it seems it is not leaking! YAY! I am so proud of him. He replaced all it's parts and everything. He hates plumbing but did it anyway...for us. Such a sweety! As soon as we get everything done I am going to take a pic.

Bathroom Renovation

Yesterday, since we had sick kids, we(um...Jason) spent all day working on our downstairs bathroom. I had already taken all the wallpaper down and we had a tough decision to make on whether or not to re grout the floor tile or just pull it all up. In the end we decided to pull everything up...oh boy. Our floor had sunken in a bit because of our house settling so we were hoping that by re-doing things we might be able to correct the problem. Jason put in new sub-flooring and he did a great job!! We actually put it down on top of the old sub-floor because there was enough space to do it. It looks really good right now. Last night Jason also primed the walls. Today he is planning on painting and puting down the linoleum tiles. Then all that's left is the trim work, sanding and painting the cabinets, installing the new sink and faucet, and putting up the mirror. I can't believe how fast things are going. Oh, one more thing... we haven't put the toilet in yet so that is a crucial step! LOL Jason is going to replace the guts of the toilet before he puts it in. I am so proud of him. God has really given he the skills to do these things because he will tesify that this stuff is not what he does best. I will update on how today goes.

Linux Journey- one week in

So, what I am using in Linux to replace my favorite windows programs? I have a short list right now but I am sure it will expand in time :) Be forewarned that I haven't used these long so my opinion may change.

Gnucash - A Microsoft Money replacement. I really like this program but I need to learn how to download transactions from the bank. This is not crucial but it is nice. Right now I can manually click whether or not something has cleared. The one thing that I don't like about it is that I can't select multiple transactions within an account. This means that I have to go through and click clear on each transaction. It also means that you can't assign an account/category to multiple transactions at the same time.

OpenOffice- A Microsoft Office replacement. I am very happy with this program. I haven't dived into the "Word" aspect of it as much as I have the spreadsheet but I am satisfied right now.

Gimp- A replacement for Photoshop. I gotta tell you, I LOVE my photoshop but I am extrememly pleased with the Gimp. It has many of the bells and whistles that photoshop does and it is free! The only draw back is that it does have a learning curve.

Evolution- A replacement for Outlook. I really can't say anything bad about it except for the migration aspect. It was a trial getting everything migrated over from Outlook to Thunderbird(another email client that doen't have the calendar like Evolution does) and then to Evolution. Especially if you are not dual booting. Thankfully I have this computer set up on a network with a folder share to a windows based system.

I have several other programs in the cue to try out and I will update on my progress/opinion of those soon.

What's been going on??

Well, it's been almost an entire month since I last posted and I am sure my dear step mother is anxious to get an update so I thought I would start back so that I wouldn't have an even longer update to give :)
For the last 2 weeks we have been doing very little schooling due to sickness. At first it was just a fever and now we have children with sore throats. I think we are on the up now though. Poor Andrew, every time he drinks he says "Owie" and cries. He has had a terrible time sleeping. It seems this summer has been kinder to us regarding sickness(even though we seem to be sick alot..LOL) so I am hoping this winter will be easier than the last to.

Aside from health issues(including pregnancy) we have been working on the house. I have been constantly getting rid of stuff so that we can sell when we are ready. We are actually looking to downsize(we get drop dropping expressions when people hear this) to a smaller home in the next year or 2. We have also been working on the downstairs bathroom. We have stripped the wallpaper off and last night Jason tore up the floor. It was tile-awful looking tile! So the bathroom is going to be a huge project for us! I just wish I could help more but because of the pregnancy I am left with stripping wallpaper and decluttering-poor Jason!

I have also been working on our computers. I have installed Linux on one and am going to install Linux as a dual boot on the other this week. I have been studying up on it and trying to migrate things over because we foresee in the future that there will be a need for us to use open source software. I am so glad I have a hubby that knows about all this stuff and can teach me!

I am not sure what we are going to do today since we can't go to church. We will likely have a family service together. I am bummed that we will miss getting together AGAIN with the other family we meet with every Sunday night to have "home church" with. We enjoy it so much. They have been moving the last couple of weeks and now we are sick.

I haven't posted in a while any pics because my camera doesn't work anymore. I can use my camcorder but it's so much more difficult. I will try to get some pics up soon though.

Homeschool week of 8/3

This week finishes up our "summer" school. We have been dabbling in different things for the kids now trying to get a better idea of what our goals are for them and how we want to accomplish those goals. Some things will change, some things will stay the same. It will interesting and fun I think either way, that's the goal, right?
-Bible
-Math-Captivatedminds;Some worksheets for Toby. He is learning carrying.
-handwriting
-Creative Writing assignment based on experience during an adventure game we played(Dh wrote it)
-Piano Lessons
-Considering God's Creation
-Landmark History Book
Toby
HOP
Kaitlyn
Across Five Aprils
Great Turkey Walk
Charlotte
Wright Brothers
Left Behind book #21

A few things

Well, I am into my 13th week and I am feeling much better. I can't seem to sleep past 6 hrs though, no matter what I try. My food aversions have mostly disappeared, thankfully! I have been able to eat more raw foods which are so much healthier than subway everyday! My tastes have changed alot though. I am not eating as many fermented or asian foods. It's hard to believe that in just a couple of weeks I will be able to feel the squirming of another little baby in my belly. I always enjoy that part, especially sitting in church. It's very amusing!
On another note, I found an excellent resource through our local library called Discus. It's free and it has lessons, etc.. for school aged kids. What a great homeschool resource! It is very kid friendly as well, very visual. I am not going to require that they do the stuff on there but I think they will enjoy it any way! That's all I have time for right now but I do have more to say:)

Homeschool week of 7/27

Kaitlyn is much better! I almost took her to the ER but we were able to keep it under control. Andrew has been running a temp of about 102 but he isn't acting like Kaitlyn did. For right now, it seems like this sickness is milder for him. I am so thankful! Alex has been acting like he doesn't feel good but he isn't running a fever. We did "do" school in the traditional sense last week but I am really not into "traditional"! I am much more of a life learner. I want to enjoy what I choose to learn. I can't help but think that the kids are like that too. We will find our groove sooner or later. The kids have a musical coming up soon so the next couple of weeks we will be doing more unschooling(which I like) Here is what we did:
Misc.
Bible-Starting Strong
Math-Captivatedminds
Handwriting
Considering God's Creation
Movie-The Underground Railroad
Wii Fit Resort-They love this!
Kaitlyn:
Caddie Woodlawn
Miracles on Maple Hill
Hero over Here
Piano
Guitar
Charlotte:
George Washington Carver
Hero over Here
Toby:
Hooked on Phonics(Made it to the 3rd level! Yay Toby!!)
Preschool:
Lentil
One Morning in Main
Nursery Tales
Flashcards

Update on Kaitlyn

Well, her temp got up to 104.9 today. It came down with Tylenol so the doc said since we can control it we will wait till tomorrow to see how she is doing. I am praying that she gets better through the night. At least she doesn't have a neck ache or headache anymore!

Vacation and Back Home

Well, we had an interesting vacation. We had a lot of fun times! We are back home and things are not back to normal yet. Kaitlyn is really sick right now. She is running a fever of 104 and I am trying to get it down. I took her to the doc. yesterday because she was complaining of a sore neck and headaches. Those are signs of meningitis. The doc said that she might have it but only time would tell. I am supposed to take her in if she gets worse. The thing is, now her neck isn't hurting much and she doesn't have a bad headache. Does that mean this thing is just a virus? I surely don't won't Andrew to get it because he will likely have a febrile seizure with such high temps. Dh goes back to work today. I am sure going to miss him, it's so nice having him home! I will post later with an update on Kaitlyn.

Jason's Birthday Cake

They have done it again! Here are the pics.

I just had to post again about the cd Sooth Me. Every time I listen to it I end up crying. I truly believe that God has blessed these ladies in their ministry.

Our History

I sat and listened to my 80 year old grandma for several hours today. She reminisced about the old days, you know, the ones that had all the happiness and joy. The ones she wished she could live over. She ventured into those bad years, the years that seem to live over and over again in her head. Remembering the ones she lost, how they were lost, why they were lost, and what their life meant to her. I was fascinated. I sat and thought about all those memories swimming in her head. All those experiences lost in the sea of time. I would like to think that we all have memories that will forever live on but the reality is that everything will pass away. Sure, there are some things that will live on for longer than others but the truth is that they are history. History accumulates more history everyday and there just isn’t enough brain power for us to carry on other people’s memories. We carry our own. I now have a memory of sitting down with my Grandma and talking with her. I can pass down what she shared with me. I can share the emotional experience with my children but they will not have the same memory as me. I love history. Even though we might not be able to remember all that we hear or all that we study, history has a huge impact on our lives. When I talk about history, I am not only talking about our own past, I am talking about the pasts of others as well. It can change our course of action or project us into success. I love the fact that history is safe. There is no fear, worry, or uncertainty. It’s done, no guessing what comes next. There are deeper emotional attachments to history than there are when we think about our future. Yet somehow we consume ourselves with the future knowing full well that history can help us face the future with confidence.
As we closed the evening I couldn’t help but be shameful. I have several other older family members that I haven’t listened to enough. I feel cheated in a way as well. Why didn’t someone tell me this stuff was important? I am left with feeling hopeless that I will get a chance to share memories with them. I want to share their emotion when they talk about the joy, relive their sorrow, and recount their victories. The only way I know to help my history live a little longer is to write it down. No one may read it but at least it will be here if they want to. That way, if I never get a chance to sit down with my Granddaughter and chat about my past, at least she can read about it.