Some Stuff

I am feeling like a bulk post, one that sums up all I have to say. That is how my life is right now, how much can I get done at one time? What two things can I combine into one and get both done at the same time? You wouldn't believe the things I can get done while sitting on the toilet.

I can't even crochet without listening to a classic, watching a documentary or listening to conference talk. I desperately want to be a good example to my kiddos of self education and a desire to continue to learn and grow. However finding the time, not impossible, is very tricky.

So I have about 30 minutes before the bed time routine begins and about 4 things I want to blog about.

1. We had a great surprise aunty visit this month and the kids were so excited. They love Kosette and Alison, I don't blame them they are two fun chickies. We had family dinners, a hike, a sleep over, a third wheel on date night and lots of sibling messages. It is always a treat when family visits!

2. Another fantastic trip to the ballet. A love story right before Valentines Day, Sleeping Beauty. It was so wonderful, I loved Kendal's excitement. I also dearly love my growing twelve year old that held his little sister on his lap so she could see, he is great!



3. I have been quite crafty lately regardless of my time crunch. I crocheted two infant hats for Breathing Life Photography, made a valance (that I am in love with) for a good friend, I have been helping another friend decorate her new house, finished my first crochet afghan, taken and edited three photo shoots, I have also been experimenting with bread making (I made my Cuisinart smoke, yikes) and made a couple of stuffed animals with the girls. I missed crafting and creating and knew I had to make it a part of my life again. I took my knowledge of time and how to find more of it and put it to work for me. I am now consistent in my hobby habits and invite the children to participate whenever possible.

Valance for my friend (isn't her house cute)

My first Afghan, so colorful and fluffy

Two infant hats

4. OUTSMARTED 4 to 1, I am realizing that I don't post enough or talk enough about home school. Many of my good friends that I have seen recently have asked about it. Mostly, always in the form of, "Do you still like home schooling?" I want to take this time to let everyone know, YES!

I am in love with home schooling, the more I do it the easier it becomes. My children amaze me with their intellect and desire to self educate. Since we began Thomas Jefferson Education in our home everything has changed, the kids are learning that in order to gain a good education they have to desire it, reach for it and continually grow. They spend most of their days with their noses in non-fiction books. Together we have read, discussed and learned many great things from wonderful classical fiction authors. We have learned to take the characters, experiences and emotions into our lives and live and learn by their experiences. We are also memorizing our states and capitals, presidents and articles of faith, I am proud to say that we are half way there.

My favorite part of our day is devotional, we read and study the Book of Mormon, read stories about virtue and how to become virtuous people, review memorization and pray together. I wouldn't give up this time with my children for anything. I am so thankful for friends and family that care enough to ask how things are going. We are good!

Right now we are completely engrossed in the goings on of Taran the Pig Keeper in the Alexander Lloyd book series, The Chronicles of Prydain. You should check it out.

This story is perfect for my growing boys, they need to know that becoming a man takes overcoming your trials and becoming a better person for it. Taran, is challenged in so many ways and always come out of his challenges stronger, wiser, kinder and of course smarter.

Outsmarted 4to1: Fairs and Clubs

I can't believe that this school year is coming to an end.  Our homeschool group just finished planning for next year and ideas are still flowing.  I feel so blessed to be part of such an amazing group of mothers and children.  The mothers in our group are 100% dedicated to providing wonderful experiences and opportunities for the kids.  We have participated in an Enterprise Day, Science Fair, Geography Fair, Book Club and Lego Club this year.  As well as field trips, sports and games.  I was very excited to be a part of the planning process for the 2011 and 2012 school year.  What a wonderful opportunity!

Geography Fair

We have been learning about our Founding Fathers and their influence on the building up of America.  The kids have loved learning more about how the U.S. came to be.  They are especially intrigued by how our Founding Fathers were self educated men with very little "official" schooling.  Amazing men that were motivated and learned through books, mentors and the foresight that the world will need great leaders. 

When choosing a place to study they all three chose one of  the 13 colonies.  Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New Jersey were our states of study.  I am absolutely in debt to books and libraries.  Books that provide so much valuable information and the libraries for providing the books.  We took side streets in our route of study into the avenues of the Liberty Bell, Declaration of Independence, Native American history, and the Revolutionary War.  All of which would not have been possible without "BOOKS", great historians and libraries.  Did you know that Benjamin Franklin opened the first library?  One of the most amazing men in history, only spent his early years in a school after that he taught himself through books and mentors.  Amazing, Benjamin Franklin would read a page in a book, shut the book and write down as much as he could remember of what he read.  Through this process he learned to be an excellent writer and "scholar".   He new the importance of good books being available to everyone, not just the citizens that could afford them. 

The kids had a fantastic time.  Everyone shared great information and yummy food.

Lego Club

I started a Lego Club a few months back and it has been a wonderful addition to the kids peer involvement.  They work together in teams to create fabulous Lego creations.  I am always so impressed with their Lego skills and team work.  This week the kids built containers for holding water out of Legos for a relay game.  They really had to work together under the direction of a captain to build, plan and carry out their plan effectively.  It was so much fun to see what they created with the Legos but it was even more fun to see the friendships that were strengthened and the team work that was taught. 

We are very excited to spend the summer with these great families!

Outsmarted 4to1: Bookie Monsters

Homeschool changes are coming about in our home......

     At first I was scared............

               And than I was worried...........

                              Now I am just plain excited...........

I will tell you more about these changes after this weekend when I come home from my HIP mom retreat.  I will be learning more and I am sure getting even more excited.  Change is good!

In the mean time here is a little peak into our homeschool feast.....

WE WANT BOOKIES!

Just like Cookie Monsters devours cookies and wants more and more and more.  That is how it is at our house with books.  We devour them and want more and more.   The kids have been learning and absorbing many wonderful works, Kendal's vocabulary has improved greatly and mom could not be happier. 

Since we have begun our homeschool journey we have read so many great books; Swiss Family Robinson, Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, The Indian in The Cubbard, Old Yeller, A Wrinkle in Time, Little House in the Big Woods, The Whale Rider, The Island of the Blue Dolphin, The Miss Adventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff, Count Karlstein, Tuck Everlasting, and other great works.  Right now we are reading Laddie.

This is usually how we roll with books in our home; listening to fiction in the car, reading fiction with mom, reading fiction on their own, each child has a nonfiction topic they are studying, everyone has a biography, we all read and study out of Story of The World, the girls read American Girl or My America books with mom for girls club and the boys read a biography of a great leader with mom for boys club.  I love this and I am no exception.  Right now I am reading/listening to, Laddie, Out of Control (about Amish girl), My America Hope in My Heart, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Accent of George Washington, as well as anything I can get my hands on about Thomas Jefferson Education. 

In addition to all of this reading the kids and I have been diligent with our scripture studies.  I have a new calling in our church, Gospel Doctrine Instructor, and this leads to a lot of study and discussion.  I am teaching out of the New Testament and have found myself completely enthralled with the books, Jesus The Christ and The Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ and His Apostles.  I am learning so much and passing all I learn onto my kids at scripture study.

WE WANT BOOKIES

GIVE US BOOKIES

I ask myself every day, how do we keep track of all of these books and keep the story lines separate?  I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we discuss the books in depth, while we are reading and after we are finished reading.  I just started book discussion with the kids after we read and I am so bummed that we have let such good literature slip through our fingers without discussing it after completion.  Our first discussion was on The Little House in The Big Woods by: Laura Ingell Wilder, the kids surprised me with topics like; jealousy, lying, technology and discipline.  My favorite part of the entire discussion was how they incorporated what we were learning in scripture study into our discussion.  Our second discussion was on a Wrinkle in Time, I loved that book.  The kids loved the imaginative characters and again I loved the gospel discussion that we had on darkness and light.  We talked about how our lack of self worth can make us weak to temptation and how we can encourage self worth in each other.  I took notes on our discussions and wrote a paper about our thoughts.  The kids loved it and would say, "Hey I said that part".   I love books!

MY LB, he is trying to keep up with our stories.  He likes to hear about them at the dinner table and every once in awhile he gets bits and pieces in the car or in the evening when we all read together.  He likes to ask the kids about how they turned out or what happened to this person.  He also is studying like a BOOKIE MONSTER, he is in business school right now and is studying more about money and how to effectively manage it.  He is diving into books by Dave Ramsey, reading Rich Dad Poor Dad and the One Minute Millionaire.  I just know we are going to be as rich with money as we are with happiness someday (just kidding).  We will be smarter with the money the Lord has blessed us with.

I am so happy with homeschooling right now.  I know that the Lord is guiding us and smiling down on my wonderful little family.

Outsmarted 4to1: Horse Camp

I don't know how much more I need to say than the pictures show.  We had a great time and learned some fun things about riding and caring for horses.  We will definitely do it again sometime.

The kids had a great time.  The boys were even told they could come back and do work for free horse rides.  I am sure it will be pretty "stinky" work but they say it will be worth it.

I love homeschooling these awesome kiddos!

Hay Ride, Horses, a Hike and a Ho Down

I am on fire with finding events in our community.  My poor LB is having to simmer me down.  I can't miss anything, I must do everything, what is happening next?

White Tanks Mtn. Cowboy Campfire

Hayride

Roasting Marshmallows

Hot Chocolate

Music and Dancing

I am bummed that my camera ran out of batteries before I could get a picture of Spencer on the dance floor (O.K. cement patio).  It took much coaxing to get him out there but once he was out there "Boy Howdy" he was on fire.  I taught him how to Two Step and he loved it.  He taught Maggie and they danced for three songs, it was a fun sight (they actually started to get the hang of it).  After the dancing we went on our second hay ride and Maggie and Spencer sat on there own hay bale and talked about starting a Two Step Club.  I love kids!

Estrella Mtn. Spaniard Horse Show ( This was a major bust, can't win them all)

Since the horse show was BORING, we decided to go for a hike, play at the park and eat our lunch.
Wow did we save the day!  The hike was great, the kids are really getting good at hiking.  Even our little princess can hike a good distance on her own (in a dress at that). 

I am excited for the summer library events and activities to begin.  I am trying something new with summer and filling my glass half way up instead of pouring it half way out.  Must prepare for the heat!

My grown up Boy Scout was at an overnight Jamboree.  They grow up to fast!

Out Smarted 4 to 1: More Field Trips?

Wow, try staying indoors with the best kids ever when the weather is so beautiful.  We can't seem to focus beyond Spring Fever.  This past week has been full of hikes, parks, bike rides, sprinklers in the backyard and more field trips.  This time we visited some horse friends that we will be taking care of this week (AKA as horse camp) and spent the day at the Ben Avery outdoor expo.  I can't believe all of the awesome things Arizona has to offer, who knew?

Meet the horses!
The kids had a good time petting, feeding and meeting the horses at the horse farm.  This week they will be getting even closer and learning to care for, saddle and ride a horse.  We are all so excited!

 A horse after my own heart! 

Outdoor Expo
All you have to say is "outdoor" and we are there.  This was a great family event packed full of animals, stories, fossils, wildlife walks, fishing and we even met Smokey Bear.  The kids couldn't believe how many people knew who he was.  They asked if he was famous or something.   Man, what do they teach in Cub Scouts now a days?  MY LB took the day off to be with us and I was so happy that he did.  He has been an awesome support with home school and I love him to death for it.

I have a new found love for Spring!  Reading books, working out math problems, learning history and exploring new outlets together while listening to the birds, enjoying the sights of spring, trampling in water and laying in the grass.  Spring is my favorite time of year.

Please don't get to hot!  Please don't get to hot!  Just a little bit longer, PLEEEAAASSSSEEE!