...Untitled...

Leaving Egypt to Walk to the Desert

2011-09-23T21:03:00.000-04:00

We have finished up learning about Egypt and have started our journey into the desert! The boys had fun learning about life on the Nile River. Here are a couple pictures of them with a Nile River collage. They built pyramids and homes with their blocks. We then added animals that live in/along the water.

A Map of Egypt

Each week we "Draw and Caption" (this one is missing the caption) 1 of the main topics. Here is JD's pyramids...apparently on one of the few rainy days? LOL

Gym Class has started up again!! Boys are taking Hockey/Skating Lessons

Here they are making Challah bread to remind us that while walking the desert for 40 years God provided by dropping mana from the sky! If you want to give it a try (because it was actually really good!) here is the recipe we used (cut it in half):

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/best-challah-egg-bread/

So that's pretty much it. We have covered Moses and the 10 Commandments and the Golden Calf and should be entering the Promised Land soon :) I can't believe we have already covered 8 weeks! Next week is the last week of Unit 1 (we have 4 total). OH! Here are a couple books we have read that they really enjoyed!

A is for Adam by Ken Ham

Bill and Pete go Down the Nile by Tomie dePaola

Tutankhamen's Gift by Robert Sabuda

The Hardest Word by Jacqueline Jules

New Year = New Fun

2011-08-17T15:49:00.001-04:00

About to finish up our 4th week of the new school year! We have been having lots of fun along the way which I think is making up for all the non-fun we have encountered as well. Has anyone ever been told "I DON'T LIKE SCHOOL!!" ?? Well I have...multiple times a day actually LOL But that's just when I am forcing my child to learn his reading and writing and math. :( Poor boy! But enough of the non-fun!! Here are some pictures of the things we have been up to that don't bring on the stubbornness!!

Boys making Tower of Babel models:

Boys made Lentil Stew one night followed by camping in a tent so we could experiance the lifestyle of Abraham and other's of that time period:

Ya...I know hard to see...but they didn't have flash on camera's back in Abe's day HAHA

Moving on to Egypt and learning about mummies. This is a current experiment to see what salt does to help preserve the bodies aka apples:

Making Pyramid Cookies (didn't turn out to great, but they had fun making them):

Science Class = Volcanos!

Journey Complete!

2011-06-14T12:55:00.000-04:00

We have finished our body project!! Just nearly anyway. The only thing left is to add the skin but I don't know if we will. They can take the pieces off and place them back on and if we put skin on top this would be harder to do. All the organs are a tad big for their body cut outs so they are all kinda smushed together in there, but they get the idea :) Plus when we learn about the body when they a bit older and taller we can reuse them and they will fit better lol. I have to say though, sewing all those pieces by hand (TWICE!) was kind of a pain and we went weeks without learning about anything since I was behind but in the end I think it was worth it.

And yes, I am aware that one foot bone is upside down and the others are falling off haha. Good thing they are not attached yet ;)

Letters To God

2011-02-23T21:37:00.000-05:00

I watched a movie today called "Letters to God" which is about an 8yr old boy who has cancer. Throughout his trials with battling the cancer he holds onto his faith in God and writes letters to Him everyday. He writes them and then mails them. These letters later have an impact on many people in different ways.

I LOVED the idea of writing letters to God. What an awesome way to pray. I used to write letters to Him in a journal. Writing is such a great way to focus on your prayers. When praying in your head so many distractions come up; other thoughts about the day, what you want to pray about next, sleep, etc.. But when you are writing to God you can focus and let it all flow out through the pen. You don't have to worry about sounding silly or repeating yourself over and over again while you organize your thoughts because you just write. Ya..there are pauses and moments to think, but that is ok. Its a mix of writing a letter to a friend and journaling your deepest thoughts. But that is how awesome God is :) A friend and secret keeper of your most personal thoughts.

Yes, I have heard of prayer journals, but to me those are more of a list of prayers you prayed and ones that have been answered. Not the same thing in my head.

So I have decided to add Letter Writing to our daily school time. This will be a fantastic way to first teach the boys about prayer and get in the habit of praying every day. Also, to teach writing skills, penmanship, spelling and grammar. These skills will improve over time and will not be corrected in their journals, but more of a way to practice and make writing fun. The most important thing is learning to talk to God and having fun doing so!

Journey Through the Human Body - Lungs

2011-02-18T14:08:00.000-05:00

Our journey continues with the lungs.

There is so much more to learn about the lungs then just that they make you breath. For instance, most people think of them as like a balloon that expands and deflates while breathing, but forget that your blood actually pass through to get oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

Here are some more interesting facts we have learned:
*The left lung is smaller then the right because it has a dip "cut out" to make room for the heart.
*The lungs are the only body part that will float if placed in water.
*You breath in more through your nose then your mouth.
*The nose cleans the air, warms it, and moistens it to make it ready for your lungs and body.
*The lungs look like an upside down tree because of all the "branches and twigs" that branch off from the "stem"(windpipe)

This week we made a model of the lungs using the project from this website:

http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/lungs/model.html

We also have our "life size" cardboard cutouts up! They are a little taller then the boys to make all the different parts fit, but it works.

Here are some pictures those with the brain, heart, and lungs attached.

Here are the boys making their lungs. Well...I made them and they helped a little. :) Of course they are more interested in cutting and playing with the straw pieces then the science project.

Journey Through the Human Body - Heart

2011-01-23T11:29:00.000-05:00

This week our focus has been on the heart. Mainly that the heart is a muscle, pumps blood to the body, the blood returns when it needs more air (oxygen) and goes to the lungs to collect more, it has valves that open and close the blood cant go backwards, and that it does not look like this: <3

JD fully understands that our body needs blood and that the blood needs to travel the right way through the body. Also, that blood needs oxygen or it will die. He made the connection that if our lungs get sick then the blood would not be able to get oxygen and that if our heart gets sick then it can not send that blood to our body. Without the blood getting what it needs or being sent where it needs to go, our body cannot work. I was VERY amazed at how much he was able to put together.

Other interesting facts we came across:
1. The heartbeat you feel is the valves slamming shut to stop the blood from going the wrong way. They then relax and (in between beats) and slam shut again creating the thump-thump, thump - thump rhythem.

2. The boys learned that people can donate blood to others who are hurt and lost alot of blood. But we cannot "share blood if we are sick"

3. We can feel our heartbeat on our wrist. This caused a little confusion since JD instantly thought.."oh there is another heart there" LOL Don't worry he was corrected. :)

Sorry no pics this week..no fun projects this time.

Journey Through the Human Body - Brain

2011-01-16T21:32:00.001-05:00

Well it has been a couple months since I last updated. Partly because we took most of December off from school for Christmas and family and traveling. But we are about to start our 3rd week back and I thought it was time to update the world (or the small group of people who like reading about our school days).

First, we have started a new Read Aloud Book: Robin Hood. This is a "Classic Starts" book so its an easy read, less detailed edition. I have to say, it is probably one of our most...violent ones so far. First chapter Robin shot an arrow into someone's heart. Talks about hanging people. But we can't avoid unpleasant things forever and unless he asks about it, I'm not going to explain haha

I am also making JD read at least 1 page each time we pick up the book. He reads all the smaller easier to sound out words while I help with the large ones. I then finish the chapter and read until he falls asleep or gets antsy. He really doesn't like reading :( But I am hoping that by the end of next year, when his reading skills have improved, he will. Any advice to help a boy love reading on his own would be helpful!!

This "semester" we are doing a child led interest for science. If you noticed the title of this post I'm sure you've guessed what that is :) We will be taking a journey through the human body. Learning as much as they want. Each week will move onto a new topic.

This week we studied the brain and learned where it is, what it looks like, how it feels, shape, the different sections and what they control. We made a model of the brain out of a flour mixture clay and painted it. And once my husband brings home some cardboard we will be making a life size human body of both boys. Then placing each body part on once we have studied it.

Social studies this semester we are learning continents and briefly studying a country or 2 from each. We began with Antarctica, then South America (Peru), and currently on North America (Mexico & USA). One of our projects for this is to color and cut out each continent and gluing it into a lapbook. The lapbook is more of a map since it does not have any other items in it, but its based on the idea. They will both have their own world map (slightly misplaced with upside continents and whatnot LOL) when we are done. Another fun thing about this is that we are learning different languages along the way. I have decided that for each country we talk about we will learn how to say "hello, goodbye, friend, and Jesus/God" So far they have learned Spanish for Peru and Mexico. JD walks around saying "Hola, amigo" to JAE and tells anyone who will listen that it means "hello friend" :) Love watching how things click these days!

So that's about it for now. I plan on updating once a week for our Human Body Journey but I sometimes get lazy so we shall see.

Brain Making

JAE's is a bit...deformed and squished :| LOL

Husband says JD's looks like the spaceship from Star Trek...I have to agree.

Social Studies

JD's book

JAE's book: Yes, North America is upside down. :) My guess, he wanted the Northern states to warm up by flipping them to the South haha

"Old Glory"

2010-11-06T13:32:00.000-04:00

Last week we learned about our flag. The Red, White, and Blue. Little JAE focused on learning its colors and shapes (star, square, stripes) JD learned how many stars are on the flag and why we have that many. He also learned how many were on the original (13). Along with learning the elements of the flag we started including the "Pledge of Allegiance" into our daily routine. We listened to "The Star Spangled Banner" and "America the Beautiful"

And of course this wouldn't be complete without some pictures! So here you go: The boys making their own flags.

Shirt for my boy

2010-11-04T23:38:00.000-04:00

It has been awhile since I have posted about something besides school so this post is school free. Don't worry though, I have a school one all ready to wrote up as well :)

This one is about the shirt that I knit for my JAE. He is in LOVE with ties so when I saw the pattern for this shirt I just knew he HAD to have it! Gave me an excuse to use up some of the blue yarn I had and then choosing the tie color was a no brainer..YELLOW, the boy's favorite color. So here you, JAE's Yellow Tie Shirt!

And a pre-tie shot because I think its just hilarious!

Also, with tons of help from my SIL JAE was able to sport this awesome costume on Candy Day!

No, we did not make this costume for JD, but he was just adorable in it I have to share! Plus this post is very much about JAE (which isn't bad!) I don't want him to feel left out. So here is my little stinky pirate :)

Judy and Jack - Happy Little Caterpillars

2010-10-11T10:22:00.001-04:00

I would like to introduce the newest members of the family: Judy and Jack. The boys and I were out playing at grandma's house the other day and found 2 Woolybear caterpillars. We decided to take them home and raise them until they turn into Isabella Tiger Moths!

I know what you're thinking.."ewww moths, why didn't you get butterfly ones?" Well because its fall and butterflies usually hatch in the spring (if I remember correctly). Our lovely woolybears will hibernate all winter which a great way to teach the boys about this without having to get a bear! ;) Plus they are just so cute as caterpillars. Oh and FREE!

We have learned a few interesting facts about Judy and Jack:

1. They hibernate
2. There is a folk lore that states: "the orange stripe on them can determine how harsh the winter will be"
3. Scientific fact is the stripe gets larger/wider the closer they are to hibernation.
4. They eat weeds/dandelions leaves.
5. They play dead if you try to touch them/pick them up/poke them with a stick.
6. Not really about them, but the boys will also be learning about habitat and how important it is not to disturb/move the items around.

We will be watching and caring for Judy and Jack this winter and then make them a nice new home to transform into moths this spring. Which is another great learning experience to come :)

2010-09-25T21:37:00.000-04:00

So time to catch up on our school stuff :) I will start with science. This year for science we are doing Kitchen Science so basically we do an experiment and then cook/bake something. This time was Monkey Bread - Learning about yeast. We did the yeast experiment in water last year so I skipped it and just made the bread this time around (Plus I kinda forgot..opps)

We started by making homemade bread in our bread machine and then JD rolled them into balls, covered in sugar and placed them in the pan.

Doesn't it look yummy?? It was!

Next up we have Social Studies. We were learning about: maps, directions (N,S,E,W), compasses, and different aspects of the earth (mountains, oceans, deserts, islands etc..) We made a salt map. Husband wanted them to make MI since that's were we live, but JD added tons of islands so its his own little country :) JAE made TONS of islands LOL

And then I added some mountains to JD's and they painted them. JD can tell you that the brown is desert, green is grass/land, bumpy brown is mountains, the land with water all around is an island, and blue is ocean!

JAE also practiced cutting while JD made a compass.

Reading List

2010-08-31T23:22:00.000-04:00

Well, we are about 3 weeks behind on our Read-Alouds. Pretty much my fault though. I never seem to remember to pick the book up at the right time. I remember after JD is asleep or in the middle of phonics worksheets, but never when it would actually be a good time to read it.

I think part of the reason was that the book we were on was a bit long for a 4yr old. I wanted to just skip the rest and move on, but didn't. We made it through and he actually started paying more attention to the second half. No more jumping and running and trying to escape LOL. He can also tell you the very basics of the book so that's a plus.

So, so far we have finished up:
*Little King Davie
*The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Next up is a kid's level of The Swiss Family Robinsons. Shorter chapters, larger print, more pictures :) Here's hoping it goes well!

Also at the store today I picked up Peter Pan and The Story of Doctor Dolittle for $1.00 each! YES the dollar section had a good selection of "classic" books. They are for young readers (8+) but lots of picture pages so hoping they will work out as descent Read-Alouds. Not sure when we will be adding them in..we will see. Probably just throw them onto the end of the list :)

Tomato to Sauce

2010-08-23T23:30:00.000-04:00

Time for a little science. Today we learned that spaghetti sauce comes from tomatoes. So for dinner JD helped make homemade tomato sauce!

We have been learning over the summer that some foods are grown in a garden and come from a plant. One of those plants gives us tomatoes. The boys have had the chance to watch the plant grow, see the green tomatoes arrive, turn red, and then pick them. (We also have a strawberry plant which they have more of an interest in since they can eat those right after picking =) ) This also means we have a fridge drawer full of tomatoes. Tonight we opened up our Kitchen Science book and decided to make a little homemade spaghetti sauce!

They watched how this lovely tomato:

turned into this:

and then enjoyed this:

Yes, its orange. Husband says its because they were not ripe enough. They were red and starting to shrivel so I don't know. LOL The boys got to add all the other ingredients to the pot which is their favorite thing about cooking. "Can I pour/dump/sprinkle it in?" is what I hear anytime a bowl is on the counter or the spices come out of the cupboard. :) It was actually pretty good!

Amazement

2010-08-18T16:53:00.000-04:00

This year we are focusing most of our energy on learning to read. I have to admit, this part of school/teaching scared me the most! HOW ON EARTH WAS I GOING TO TEACH THIS???? I had no idea how to teach it and actually get him to understand or make it stick. Letters, OK I can do that. Letter sounds, no problem. Blending them together and making words? No clue how to do that..its just something I know how to do, everyone knows how to do, like talking or breathing.

OK, OK I know how to teach blending them together, that is not really the issue. It is more having him do it so he "gets it" instead of staring at me like I'm crazy. He's great at saying letter sounds on their own. For example: cat he would sit there all day and say c......a....... t but never ca t or c at. Just didn't know how or want to stick them together.

Not anymore!! I am in amazement!! Don't know if it was the extra couple weeks/months were it just clicked or if I'm just awesome (I'm guessing the extra time lol) but he can now read small words! Today we are on lesson 18 of our reading curriculum and he is doing great. Please don't think I'm bragging on my boy...ok I kinda am, I'm so proud :) I'm mostly bragging on the curriculum! I know all kids learn at different speeds and reading early isn't a sign of anything.

If you take a look at the last picture of the list of words, he is able to read all of those. Some with help remembering what the vowel "i" and "u" say, but he's doing it and that's just cool :)

Also a few pictures of him working. Notice his horrible posture while writing. :| He just wont hold the paper or keep his head off the table. Just another thing to work on. And a few pictures of what our table looks like after they are done. The crayons are JAE's mess. This is a clean day.

I have a feeling that Kindergarten is going to be a great year!

Sunflowers and Bees

2010-08-09T20:52:00.002-04:00

We have a sunflower!!! And there was no shortage of bees. As soon as we walked over to take a look, there were 2 bees flying around already. They walked around and flew around for a 20mins while we examined our flower and the rest of the garden Both boys were happy to see an actual flower on there now and to see the bees. Can't wait to see the rest of the plants blooming with flowers :) Here are some pictures!

Tomato Training part 2

2010-08-06T13:25:00.000-04:00

Sooooooooo... Yes. We are still doing this. Those first 4-5 days were great. Saw improvements and was impressed with how it was working. Then, I got lazy. Wasn't on top of things as much as I was the first week. We also went to my parents house and the boys decided that since we were not home they could go back to normal and not listen to me. Probably didn't help that I was not with them all the time because I had to work and we had a baby shower to go to. I will say that they did behave better then I would have thought they would with all the different things they had to endure. LOL

They still had time outs for not listening when we were at the house. That was fun since the air was broke and it was so hot. They would scream and cry and get overheated. I was hot and just wanted them to stop so that made my patience disappear faster. At one point I threw them both in different rooms that had fans blowing on them so they could cool down. Then let them back out when they were ready to keep their noses on the wall.

Also learned that it works better without help from other people. Including the husband. I just get more irritated when someone is trying to help or not doing it the right way. Or maybe it was just the heat. Probably both HAHA.

So since we have been home I again haven't been doing it as well as I could and should be. Today for example has been more "If you do not get in your room/ If you do not get out of the kitchen etc...You will be putting your nose on the wall." This works, they run to where they are supposed to be. But I have to repeat myself more then I'd like and that is usually the threat rather then just having them do it for doing what they shouldn't be doing. I guess I'm trying to avoid the screaming and crying?

Which brings me to the screaming and crying. I would love to know how to stop this!! 95% of the time JD has to go in time out he says "NO!" which turns into screaming it and crying and then when he is in time out he wont stand up and screams in my face. I have tried the surprise approach of a little pop on the mouth or getting inches from his face and telling him that is not acceptable behavior/not how you talk to mommy. But it doesn't work. Eventually he says "if you stop saying it (stand up) I will" which isn't how it should be. He should do as I tell him not make a "compromise?" of sorts. I don't know. We will have to work on this more. JAE does it to sometimes and I'm thinking he is just copying JD. Oh goodie.

Tomato Training

2010-07-27T13:08:00.000-04:00

No, not that kind of tomato training..this has nothing to do with gardening. :) Although, there is alot of seed planting, growing and pruning involved. I'm tomato training the boys, training them to listen, behave, and become Godly children! To learn and act upon the commandments God has given us (more focus on the first 5 right now).

1. Love God and put Him first
2. Never make fun of God or His name
3. Always tell the truth
4. Never take anything that is not yours (or don't grab things from someone's hand)
5. Always LISTEN to your parents

We will also be focusing on character. Growing and increasing good character traits and eliminating the bad. So far we are working on whining, crying, bossyness, not telling mommy/daddy no, having a positive attitude, sharing, and not fighting.

Where did this idea come from? Its based on the book/website: Raising Godly Tomatoes

I'm going to blog about our adventure to help see how things work and change or to see if it fails. Hoping it doesn't and going into day 4 I have seen a couple positive changes already. I'll blog each days experience, but only post it every 5 days or so as not to overload everyone with posts lol

Day 1: JAE 100% into training. JD ehh..if I think about it
So the morning went well. JAE was listening for the most part and only had a few corrections for obeying what I told him to do. We went to the fair this day so they were behaving very well! Only had one instance where I told JAE to come stand by me instead of 5 feet away and he didn't want to listen. But I kept telling him to come over and after the 4th time he did. After a few hours they got hot and tired and a little cranky but with distraction and little "no, we don't act like that" they made it to the car for nap. That night JAE got bossy with daddy so I told him to say sorry. He right out refused for 15mins. After a time out and a couple spankings he said it. Not with a happy attitude, but we will be working on that.

Day 2: JAE 100%, JD more then the first day
Again we were not home this day. JAE came with me to a family bridal shower and was very well behaved. He usually is a very sweet behaved boy so I wasn't surprised. He listened and stayed by me when I told him too. I did let him wonder around during game time because well..he's 2 and making him sit still for hours on end just doesn't seem fair and is asking for a melt down. He wasn't to happy at one point later in the day when I told him to stay by me. He did listen though, just wasn't happy.

Later that day we had to go to another party and had 2 problem times. 1 he wanted to play in the boat..I didn't want him to because he started climbing on parts he would fall off of. He whined and cried and tried to run around me. Eventually he gave in and stopped trying. Even big brother was telling him not to go on it LOL 2. He threw a rock that almost hit someone. Spanking and time out led to "no!" "yes throw rock" "no time out!" and trying to escape. Right after time out he went and picked up another one and threw it before I could grab his hand. Back into time out. (This with everyone watching him get in trouble and me feeling like a dork/bad mommy for making a big deal out of it). After the 2nd time out he had his lip out walked over to the rocks looked at me, I said no, he walked over the rocks and into the house. Poor baby, didn't get to have his fun. OH, and we also had the same out right refusal to tell someone something. He had to tell grandma "thank you" and refused for 5mins. Those are the hardest to outlast him in. They seem the dumbest thing to force him to agree to, but I know he's just testing me and trying to have control of something.

Day 3: Both boys 100%
Not to bad of a day really. Home for the most part and both of them had a timeout within the first hour. That was fun..it took longer to have them stay in time out, facing the wall and not rolling around. But all other time outs that day they knew what to do. Took some time for them to actually go and do it, but they did. Also, had a few fighting moments between them so I had them sit on their bed and hold hands until they could be nice to each other, say sorry and hug. Later when I heard JAE start the "JD is being mean cry" I said "JD!" and instantly he said "JAE you wanna cuddle me? Come on JAE, I'm sorry, here you go" HAHA oh it was great!

However, we did go to the store and the instant we walked out the door JD seemed to forget EVERYTHING and so he had to stand next to me walking down the stairs and sit by me while we waited for daddy to show up with the car seat instead of run around in the grass. They caught back on and listened better in the store. The only major thing was JAE woke up from a late nap and was extra cranky. He knew he was choosing not to listen and just keep crying so he had to keep his nose on the wall until he could show me a smile. That took awhile but he did it. JD got an attitude after hockey practice so he had to stay in one spot until he could smile and tell me 2 things that were fun during practice. Seemed to work, he lost the attitude.

The best thing about the past few days?? I haven't had to yell once! Stern, a bit louder then normal voice but no yelling. :) Its great. If that's the only thing that works from this whole thing, I'm cool with that. Oh and I didn't even have to get upset during school yesterday! JD was listening better and paying attention more then normal so that's a HUGE plus too. Yay :)

No Break Around Here.

2010-06-30T16:13:00.000-04:00

Well, that's only half true. We took 2 weeks off of school then did the last week of PreK, took one more week off and now we are diving into Kindergarten! Why no summer? Because he's 4 and if we take to much time off it will be a HUGE battle getting back into the school routine. Plus he likes school for the most part, why stop?

So anyway, here we are in our first week of Kindergarten and I thought I would come and share our reading list for the year. Since the main focus this year is to teach JD to read, we are doing a lot more read-a-loud chapter books. Doing this should also help him pay attention more (here's hoping!!), sit still, and use his imagination. Good mommy and JD time too :)

This list will last us until Christmas Break. Goal is 1 chapter a day Mon-Sat.

*Little King Davie by Nellie Hellis (3 chapters left)
*Winne The Pooh (only 3 chapters left..been reading randomly for awhile now)
*The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
*Swiss Family Robinson
*Boxcar Children Book 1
*Prince Caspian
*5 True Dog Stories
*Robin Hood
*Around the World in 80 Days
*Mr. Popper's Penguins
*Voyage of the Dawn Treader (hope to be finished just in time for the movie!!)

Sunflowers for Bees Stage 2

2010-06-02T11:42:00.001-04:00

There they are! Our sunflowers are starting to grow. As of right now we have 3 that are actually showing above ground, not sure if any others will be joining them but we will see. JD showed a little interest when I showed him that his flowers were starting to grow, but he was to busy playing and swimming to care to much. JAE helped water them the other day and likes that job :)

They were a little more interested in this little guy yesterday then their nonflowery sunflowers. Can't blame them :)

Sunflowers for Bees Stage 1

2010-05-05T21:36:00.001-04:00

Spent the day planting our sunflower seeds for our "Bee Experiment" and "Learn How Things Grow" studies. They were more interested in making and playing in the mud, but JD did help put the seeds and plants into the ground once I had finished digging it all up.

The sunflowers are on the left, carrots in the middle, 2 tomato and a strawberry plant on the right. Can't wait until they start popping up!

Last Week we also finished up our study on the human body. JD learned many interesting facts about himself like: little white circles called blood cells heal all his boo-boos, his heart is like a fountain, bones make you strong and help your body not look like pudding, muscles help you move, and his 5 senses.

Rock Ledges Field Trip

2010-04-21T10:19:00.000-04:00

Took a field trip to look at and learn about rock ledges. JAE kept pointing out all the "big rocks" and JD loved climbing through the tunnels.

Zoo Field Trip

2010-04-04T22:25:00.000-04:00

Our Zoo Field Trip on Wednesday was lots of fun! The boys learned about the different types of animals: fish, birds, reptiles, mammals. They got see and even touch some of the animals. I believe they enjoyed it even if their attention span didn't last as long as the class :)

The Bees Are Disappearing

2010-03-24T16:57:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's right. The bees are disappearing! I first heard this as a "joke" in a TV show and it seems to be catching my eye/hear more often. If you would like proof of this statement you can read THIS

So why am I talking this? Well for starters, like I said, I keep hearing about bees. Probably about every other week I hear something about how we are in a shortage of bees to pollinate the different plants our food comes from. Less beekeepers in the world. The few beekeepers left keep seeing their hives die more and more each season. Dying from both sickness and the poison people spray all over their plants.

Second, we (JD and I) studied about insects last week in preschool and the insect that my son had the most interest in was the bee. We even side tracked a bit to watch a couple short videos about them and how they make honey. And just to comment on this...in the short web search I preformed at the last minute, there are not many videos geared towards young kids. Older kids yes, but not for the little ones. He watched one and then lost interest in the second and I don't blame him.

Third, our sunflower experiment is coming up in a month or so! We will be documenting how many BEES come to visit our sunflowers :) See I just can't escape the bees HAHA. Hoping our seeds will arrive in the next few weeks so we can get those growing! The boys should enjoy helping to plant them and watching them grow. Bonus science experiment - how plants grow and what they need!

Anywho...The Bees Are Disappearing so be nice to the few you see this spring and summer!

Dinner Time

2010-03-15T18:38:00.000-04:00

So I was going to wait until the end of the week and include this dinner with any others we try out this week, but after my little JAE inhaled it I thought I would share it now. I haven't seen him eat so fast..at least not dinner. And asked for more! How did JD like it? Well he ate it and without a whole lot begging/bribing so that qualifies as a good dinner. LOL

It was actually he, JD, who inspired tonights dinner. I asked what he would like and he replied: "Chicken and applesauce, and goldfish" So like any good mother would..I ran to the computer and googled chicken and applesauce dinners. I am across this one: Apply-Curry Chicken Breast and then modified it.

I used: 3 chicken breasts, 1 cup applesauce, 1 garlic clove, a small dash of garlic powder, a dash of smoked paprika, a dash of red pepper flakes, a SMALL dash of cumin powder, a small dash of cayenne pepper, and 1 cup rice. And then I followed the directions.

Sorry no before picture because I didn't think about it, but here is a picture of JAE's plate (before seconds). Just for you unbelievers out there that think kids wont eat..I use to be one of you :)

Happy Dinners

2010-03-11T10:00:00.005-05:00

So we have tried out some new dinners this week and I thought I would share some of the favorites the boys actually ate :) Well..not every bite, but they did eat them and I even heard a "yummy" a couple times from JAE.

First up we have London Broil. We had this on Sunday with rice and carrots. The meat wasn't a huge hit with the little ones, but the husband liked this. Of course he had to add something lol and so ours also included a packet of beefy onion soup/dip mix for slow cookers.

Earlier in the week we had Stir-fried Pineapple Chicken with rice

JAE ate the chicken, pineapple and the rice! JD skipped the rice, but enjoyed the rest. Husband added some terryaki sauce to his rice but if you made it a little more liquidy and poor the extra on the rice I'm sure that would be fine too.

Chicken Noodle Casserole

(Didn't use sherry or mushrooms)

This night I also bribed them with goldfish crackers, but JD actually wanted to eat more to get more goldfish rather then just beg for the goldfish LOL JAE ate all the chicken..skipped the noodles which was odd.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

(only used cow meat)

JAE loved the meatballs! JD was his normal picky self, but did eat some of the meat.

Last night we had hamburgers. I mixed bbq sauce into the hamburger meat before cooking and then made mini burgers/cheeseburgers for the boys and placed them on a mini bagel. JD ATE 3/4 OF HIS!!! JAE took a few bites. Now these kids usually only like chicken or turkey so I wasn't shocked that JAE didn't want to much, but was very excited JD ate so much of his!

Hunt for Bees!

2010-03-03T10:55:00.006-05:00

Today I came across this pretty simple science project called The Great Sunflower Project 2010.

The Goal: Document how many bees come to visit your sunflower.
The Cost: $3.00 for seeds through their website OR buy them at a local store. Cost for dirt and pots OR use your own garden. :)

There are only 4 easy steps to participate!
1.Sign up on their website and plant your sunflower
2.Describe your garden
3.Time how long it takes 5 bees to visit your sunflower plant
4.Enter your data online or send them your form.

Sounds easy right? I thought so! We will be participating this year and probably plant our seeds in April or May once this cold weather is FINALLY gone haha. Why don't you join us! ;)

Fish and Feathers

2010-01-30T23:23:00.003-05:00

Early this week Grandma took the boys out and bought them a brand new fish bowl and one fish each. Their first pets! Very exciting time here. Well...JD's fish lasted about 48 hours and then was dead. He took the news well, was more upset that I scooped the fish out instead of him. JAE was upset that his fishie didn't get to be flushed with JD's. He didn't have to wait long though, today his fish went belly up. He was so proud to flush it. LOL Crazy boys! We did buy JD a new one the day his died so we are down to 1 fish and an algae eater. Here's a pic of JD and the original fishes.

Next: We are learning about birds this week in school. The boys got to experience writing with a "quill" They enjoyed this old style of coloring :) Yes my boy is a lefty! Watching him write with the feather and paint made me really wonder of lefties of the past did not smear their work. Must have had lots of practice!

H.S. - Field Trip to Science Museum

2010-01-23T18:09:00.003-05:00

Took the boys on a field trip to the kids hands on science museum today. They had a blast! Most of the stuff they are to young to understand, but they liked trying them out anyway. Favorite of the day - bubbles :)

Homeschool

2010-01-18T22:46:00.003-05:00

I have decided to start including some entries about our homeschooling journey. We are currently just over halfway through preschool. It has been quite an adventure! The best thing so far..we are surviving!! Here is a quick entry of our journey so far.

JD turned 3 in June and we began school at the end of July. I knew August was going to be busy with vacations so we started a little early so that we would eventually be on the same pace as the schools. We lived in a 3 bedroom house and the 3rd bedroom was set up as a "classroom" He was doing ok. He enjoyed all the activities, art, and worksheets. Not so much the listening..Now he only had to listen for about a total of 15min during the 3 hour day..OK maybe a little longer then 15min, but really it wasn't that much sitting time. We had our moments, but we were making it work. After a few months we ended up moving. No more "classroom" so we had to use a kitchen table. GASP! He was starting to pay attention more. I honestly believe my independent, strong-willed, active, 3yr old boy did not like being "trapped" in the room. We also cut back from 5 days a week to 4 and from 3 hours to 1-2. So school time was going alot smoother. YAY!

Now we are halfway through and going strong. AND he is actually learning things! More then I thought he would. Currently he has:

~Memorized Bible verses. Granted, he probably doesn't remember them now and he has not memorized ALL of them each week. But he has memorized some.
~Knows God created..well everything! :)
~Knows all his letters and letter sounds for a-d so far
~Knows numbers 1-12 and can count to 13 (working on getting up to 20)
~Knows all shapes and colors (but he knew these before we started)
~Can tell time to the hour on both analog and digital clocks
~Somewhat knows 1+1 and 2+1
~Can write his name..not in the best handwritting. Can spell his name.
~Beginning to color in the lines better.
~Beginning to cut on the lines better.

So, yes I am amazed that my 3 1/2 yr old is able to do all this!! The bonus: JAE who is 2 weeks shy of being 2 can tell you what a triangle is and the letters O and B!! AMAZING!

The curriculum = Horizons by Alpha Omega Publications. Grade Pre-school
In future blogs I'll include current projects, memory verses, and other things we are learning. I wont be going into major details because well...I don't want to post the whole curriculum :)

Here are some pictures of our planets study! (flash is broke on my camera..)

More knitting

2010-01-17T22:07:00.002-05:00

A sweater I'm making for myself

Hat for me!

Socks for me (can you see a pattern yet? actually making things for me :) )

Scarf for charity, but I forgot to send it...I'll find someplace to take it

JAE modeling his scarf..JD has a matching one

Some "new" knits

2010-01-14T10:29:00.003-05:00

Well I haven't posted in forever so here are some more things that have been knitted up by me :)

Christmas Socks for JD

Scarves for the boys

Baby blanket for my nephew

Mits for the boys (which they have managed to lose about 5 times already HAHA!

Puppy Slippers

2009-07-25T19:30:00.001-04:00

Knitted the boys some puppy slippers. JAE's look more like mouse slippers though. Still cute :) JD loves his and was really excited.

Book 10

2009-07-14T22:57:00.003-04:00

Just finished up book 10 - The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

This is a fictional book about a missionary, Nathan Price, and his family who go to the Congo in 1959. It is told through the view points of his wife and 4 daughters.

Nathan is a stubborn, hot headed, unchanging, idiot. You just want to slap him through the whole book. His wife and daughters are very interesting characters and I like them all for different reasons. His wife is the typical mother only thrown into a jungle and has to figure out how to feed her children and keep them safe. Oldest daughter, Rachel, is a typical teenage girl from the states and blonde...and not just her hair color. Leah and Adah are twins, but so very different. Leah is a tomboy, strong willed, always trying to gain her fathers approval, and feisty. Adah was born with a condition where only half her brain works (i think) so she limps and chooses not to speak, but she is very smart and sees the world for what it really is. Ruth May is the baby, only 5. She is a leader, fun, smart, energetic kid.

They all soon realize that their lives in the Congo are not anything like they thought they would be. They have to fend for themselves and are not making many friends with the local tribe. Mostly due to their father's unwillingness to...well basically to be human. Tragedy after tragedy occurs.

I got halfway through this book and was still struggling to get through it. I liked it but wasn't loving it. I pushed through and ended up liking the second half more. I wouldn't say it was one of my favorite books, but I did end up enjoying it. I would still recommend it to others.

You Capture - Summer

2009-06-28T16:05:00.000-04:00

Summer time!

Books 4-9

2009-06-22T21:09:00.002-04:00

Catching up on my reading!

Books 4, 5, 6, 7 - Reread the Twilight Saga.

Book 8 - Reread The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The book is about letters from a demon in Hell to his nephew on earth. The letters are tips and information on how to keep a human on the path to Hell and now to "beat" the enemy (God).

It takes awhile to adjust to reading from his perspective, IE: Satan as the good guy, God as the enemy. But once you adjust to that it is a very good book. To see things the way they do and how their minds work is fascinating. Yes, I know it fiction, but the way Lewis describes things you can really see how it could and does work. How we as Christians (or humans) are regarded and attacked. How easily we let their tricks work. I enjoyed this book.

Book 9 - Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
This book is about the circus during the early 1900's. After I finished the book I read a note from the author about how she did tons of research before writing the book in order to get the facts right and really get the feel for the book correct. I'm glad she did! You can really see what life in a traveling circus would be like. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The different classes of people and the life styles are described well. It is also a love story that is both complicated and simple at the same time. The ending is pretty perfect too. :) I wasn't to sure I would enjoy this book, even after the first few chapters, but I did!

You Capture - Sweet

2009-05-24T21:23:00.001-04:00

I am posting late! AHH, but at least I'm posting :) Here is my boy eating some sweet ice-cream :)

A little something

2009-05-23T10:51:00.003-04:00

Knit my sister a little something that turned out to be rather large. Welcome to the TARDIS my friends :)

You Capture - Color

2009-05-14T17:33:00.001-04:00

Capturing color this week.

You Capture - Expression

2009-05-07T10:22:00.002-04:00

Well everyone, I am finally trying to keep up with "You Caputre" carnival again. It has been a busy few weeks with packing and moving to Georgia. But now that we are in the new house and have internet I think I can try to keep up better :) Some of these pics are a month or so old, but some were taken the other day. I think they have captured my boys' expressions pretty well.

Up first we have bored - stop taking my picture Mommy.

Followed by, "OH WOW"

The thrill of jumping!

And last, but not least..this one. I have no idea what he was thinking, but I think its a cute expression :)

You Capture - Letters

2009-04-23T19:30:00.003-04:00

Capture Letters. I have a second theme this week too which is India. A small coincidence. The first 2 are a letter my hubby wrote me after we met in...you guessed it INDIA! Yes, I know the first one is blurry, but I wanted it that way. So you couldn't read the the whole page :P The last picture is a pile of cards/letters from the kids at the orphanage I helped out at in India. They wrote letters to my church thanking them for the donation of sweaters. Oh I miss those kids!!!!! This week has brought back many emotions. Enjoy!

Finished Projects

2009-04-18T14:30:00.003-04:00

Here are 2 of the projects I have pictures of that are done! I also finished the handwarmers, but no pictures yet. And the needle case...took it apart. Needed the black for another project that is a secret :) Hehehe

You Capture - Fun

2009-04-09T08:46:00.004-04:00

Fun! Well the boys defiantly had fun coloring the Easter eggs yesterday! These are not the best pictures as in setting up the shot and all that, but I love them all the same :)

This one is not supposed to be vertical...not sure why it uploaded this way.

You Capture - Spring

2009-04-03T13:10:00.003-04:00

Capturing spring! I was going to go out and take pictures yesterday, but there was a wonderful thunderstorm all day. I love rain and storms so can't complain :) So I went out today and took these shots.

Everyone's favorite part of Spring - The Fire Ant! Got bit by one today too...little devil was on my shoe and got me once I was back in the house. Don't worry he is dead now.

The trees are getting green! I think this is my favorite shot of the day.

My rose plant! No flowers yet, but soon I think.

This little guy I named Pete. He was hanging out above the door and was very kind to let me take some shots of him. He ran away quickly when my back was turned.

Current Knitting Projects

2009-04-02T15:31:00.002-04:00

Currently working on 4 projects! 3 still on the needle, 1 that just needs to be finished. Take a look!

I am making a needle case so my needles are not just laying around or get lost. Its almost half done. Almost...

This is going to be a ball for JAE. Notice the yarn...yep, it just wont get used up. LOL

2 Teddybears for a friend of mine who is having twins this summer. These will actually be finished tonight and given to her tomorrow. I just have to sew up the hole for the stuffing and add some eyes and mouth.

And these are some handwarmers for me! Bamboo yarn. So soft :) Will be great to have next winter! 1 is done and the other is half done.

Reflection

2009-03-26T10:22:00.002-04:00

This week's You Capture is Reflection. I took the boys outside and let them "play" with a little mirror. Of course neither of them were very interested in it and just wanted to run away, but I managed to get a couple shots. I can't decide which is my favorite...I love the expression on JD's and the angle of the shot on JAE's.

Finger Painting Fun

2009-03-15T15:47:00.003-04:00

Some pics of JD finger painting.

Photo Hunt - Four

2009-03-14T23:36:00.002-04:00

For the hunt this week I found 4 Feet!!

Book 3 - The Shack

2009-03-14T13:35:00.003-04:00

The Shack by WM. Paul Young

The Plot:
A father (Mack) of 5 takes his 3 youngest children on a camping trip at the end of the summer. When the 2 older children flip over in a canoe and he has to rush into the lake to save them, his youngest daughter is abducted. Her body never found. Four years later Mack receives a note, apparently from God, asking him to meet at the shack (where his daughter was believed to be taken). Mack decides to go, if only to prove to himself that the note was a hoax and not from God. Once he arrives however, his whole life changes.

This book is a must read for everyone! I loved it! At first I was like, "Great...a book that is going to mock God or make a joke of things." However, there were few, if any, things that I did not agree with. It was amazing how the author showed the trinity and explained certain things. I don't want to say to much because that would give away the story or the meaning behind it. It did make me think and look at certain things about God differently. So... go read it!

Photo Hunt - Space

2009-03-12T09:32:00.004-04:00

My first entry in the photo hunt. Last night while driving home I looked up and saw the beautiful full moon so of course I HAD to take a picture or 2 :) Tried a bunch of different settings and these are probably my favorites. Can't for the life of me figure out the one with 2 moons in it?? Well the moon and the glowing circle. LOL

You Capture - Texture

2009-03-12T08:59:00.003-04:00

Well this week over at You Capture the theme is texture. Went out in my backyard and took a few shots. Enjoy!!

Towels

2009-03-09T11:11:00.008-04:00

I have knitted 2 towels! They are not done yet, but they are both off the needles. Just need to sew in the little strings and shape them. Here are some pics. (Pattern can be found HERE )

Book 2 - The Giver

2009-03-07T21:35:00.002-05:00

The Giver

This was a reread. The first time I read this book was in 7th grade and I enjoyed it. It was one of the few books I actually liked reading in school and I decided it was time to reread it.

The book is based in a utopia community where everything and everyone is the same. The leaders of the community enforce and make the rules, decide on spouses for people, names and placement of the children, jobs for all members. Children receive their job placements at the age of 12 and than begin training at that time. One boy, Jonas is selected for the highest honor as Receiver of Memory. There is one member who carries all the memories of the world's history. Memories of war, famine, hunger, love, colors, music, animals, etc.. The old Memory Keeper becomes the Giver and passes all those memories to Jonas. During this process, Jonas begins to question whether or not the current life style is the "right way" to live.

I really liked this book. The ending made me a little upset, but still good. Really makes you think about what Utopia really is and how great it is that we are all able to share in the memories of the world. Even if those are not pleasant ones. The memories of love, courage, family, joy, peace, and celebration make up it.

You Capture - Perspective

2009-03-04T11:33:00.002-05:00

This weeks theme is perspective. So here is another picture of one of my boys :) Pardon the poor quality...it was taken with a phone camera.

Random Monday Post

2009-03-02T13:08:00.002-05:00

Last week I posted a very cute picture of my boy for the I Heart Faces photo contest. This is a weekly contest. You may be wondering why I'm writing about it and not just posting the picture. Well because I've decided to move my entries over to my photography blog. Click on my profile and you'll see the list of my blogs (all 2 of them :P ) or you can just click HERE So hop on over and check it out and make sure you post your own!

B&W Entry at "I Heart Faces"

2009-02-24T15:31:00.006-05:00

I love this photo of JAE! It is one of his 1yr pictures. He had a lot of fun playing with that mirror too :)

"Be sure to head on over to www.iheartfaces.com to check out all of the beautiful face entries this week!"

Book 1 - The Notebook

2009-02-21T12:20:00.004-05:00

52 books in 52 weeks....well, that isn't going so well. So far I have read 1 book. Yes 1. I just have not been motivated enough to read right now. I will continue to list the books I read this year, but it will be nowhere near 52.

Book 1 - The Notebook

I really enjoyed this one. It was a quick read. Since I have seen the movie like 10 times I was constantly compairing the two. At times I liked the book better and other parts the movie. The book centered around one main time period while the movie shows more of their summer together. I do recommend it to others.

Hatz Hatz Hatz!

2009-02-17T10:15:00.004-05:00

I made a few hats for charity with a group on http://www.ravelry.com/ Here are some pics :)

2008-12-29T23:47:00.004-05:00

My sister's Christmas gift!

Year of Books

2008-12-25T16:55:00.015-05:00

52 Books in 52 Weeks. Can it be done? We will find out!

Because of an extended vacation; my reading year will be January 9, 2009 - January 8, 2010

I Want to Read List (not in any order)

Anne of Green Gables
Sense and Sensibility
Angela's Ashes
Persuasion
Utopia
The Hour I First Believed
Child 44
The Constant Princess
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Dracula
Les Misérables
ReRead: Time Traveler's Wife

Currently Reading: The Time Traveler's Wife

I Have Read List

The Notebook
The Giver
The Shack
Twilight Saga (4 books)
The Screwtape Letters
Water for Elephants
The Poisonwood Bible
The Last Vampire Series (6 books)
Wuthering Heights
Mr. Darcy's Diary

Christmas Pictures of the Boys

2008-12-24T11:29:00.005-05:00

Here are the pictures of the boys' Christmas pictures. They are sporting their cool new vests :) Arn't they so cute!

2008-12-11T09:11:00.005-05:00

Since I'm currently working on a project and wont be posting much, I thought it would be a good time to just do a random post of past projects. :)

Here is JAE's baby blanket. First thing I ever knitted. Please ignore the giant brown spot, not sure why that ended up like that. :P

Here are the boys in the costumes I made them for halloween.

They're Done!

2008-12-06T22:28:00.005-05:00

Both Christmas vests are done! I'm so excited. However, JAE's doesn't fit over his head :( I'm giong to have to figure that part out...probably cut a slit or something. It fit before I put the 2 row neck border on. JD's is a little snug to get over his head too, but at least it goes on.

**Edit - I took the neck boarder off so it will fit over his head. I looks alright, not to weird.**

Things I learned how to do while knitting these:
1. Frogging. I was 3/4 of the way done with the back of JD's and switched patterns so had to frog half of it. Getting those stiches back onto the needle was a pain in the butt.

2. Knitting with 3 colors at the same time. Not so bad. JD's was a bit tight which you can tell when looking at it. JAE's is better since I knew to keep it a loser.

3. Knitting in the round. Not hard at all.

4. Picking up stiches. A pain, but easier after a few times.

5. Blocking. Didn't even know what this was until now. :)

Patterns:
For JD's size (3T) I used this pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/argylish with a few alterations; only did 3 diamonds and the neck boarder doesn't cross over (because it wouldn't fit over his head) Also, I didn't do the duplicate stitch over the white part. I did the 3 colors at the same time and left it that way. Only used one size needle - Size 6.

JAE's pattern - size 9 months: I used the same one as JD's as a base, but had to rework it all.
Back
CO 66
Knit 1 row
Rows 2-7: K2 P2 to end
Rows 8-?: Alternate Knit and Purl rows (throughout whole vest)
At 5 inches - Bind Off 4 at beginning of next 2 rows.
Bind Off 1 at beginning of next 14 rows
Work even until 9 1/2 inches from bottom of vest
Knit/Purl 10 (actually i would suggest 7 or 8 for larger head opening, but I did 10), BO 24, Knit 10.
Place stiches on holder for later.

Front
Work same as the back until 3 inches.
Work Argyle Pattern. Should be compleated once you reach 5 inches.
Bind Off 4 at beginning of next 2 rows.
Bind Off 1 at beginning of next 11 rows.
Bind Off 1 at beginning of next row, work 21 stiches, Knit2tog, Add in a second skien, Knit to end.
Bind Off 1 at beginning of next 2 rows while also decreasing 1 at neck edge on both sides. (this will compleate the 14 rows that are the same as the back.)
Decrease 1 on each side of the neck edge until only 10 stiches remain on each side.
Work even until 9 1/2 inches from bottom of vest
Do a 3 way bind off of shoulders...joining the front and back together.

Armbands
Pick up 48
K2 P2 in the round for 4 rows
Bind Off

Neckband
Pick up 66 or 68 or 72 (sorry I can't remember exactly how many it was.)
K2 P2 back and forth (not in the round) for 2 rows.
Bind Off
You can keep the V in front or sew the 2 sides together.

Sorry if the pattern is confusing. Its the first one I've actually written out.

I'm taking the boys' Christmas pics this week so those will get posted too.

Croup and Knitting

2008-12-02T18:54:00.005-05:00

Well...right after I posted my last post, the Little Guy woke up wheezing and coughing. We took a little trip to the ER. Turns out he has Croup. So I did not work on JD's vest anymore that night, but I did get it compleated yesterday. Working on the front of JAE's now. Shouldn't take me to long, he's not as a big as JD. Anyway, here are some pics of JD's pre-blocking. Although, it doesn't look much different after the blocking. JAE's will be the same just red instead of blue.

2008-11-30T23:41:00.005-05:00

Welcome to my creative side! I've noticed that I usually come up with and start a project when I have little time to get it compleated. For example, the Christmas vests I'm making for the boys. I started them on Nov 10. I need them done by Dec 7 so I have time to get the pictures taken and cards sent out. As of this moment, I have the back of JAE's vest done. I have 1 row, binding off that row, sewing in the tails, and blocking left with JD's. I'll finish up the first two things tonight and do the rest tomorrow. That gives me 1 week to get the second one compleated. YIKES! Wish me luck!

I can't find the cord to hook up my camera to the computer so no pictures at this time. Once I find it I'll post some.