We have had some wonderfully warm weather lately and have taken the opportunity to get outside and look for signs of spring. The signs are certainly there. We've noticed the daffodils and forsythia are beginning to bloom. Pastor's goats have just had babies and the hens and turkeys are laying eggs again. We've noticed more birds around lately and have heard some twitters and warbles that have been missing through the winter months. And, unfortunately, my nose is beginning to run. (Thank goodness for non-prescription Zyrtec!)
Last week we were on the way home from a nature walk and we met some neighbors that we hadn't talked to before. They live on one of the farm properties just up the street. They are a homeschooling family just like us, only they have four girls instead of three boys. We stayed and talked with them for a while and made plans to have a nature day together soon. Their property is over 30 acres which includes a pond and several horses that they board. No end to nature exploration!
The best part is, the park across from the church is just about ready to open. We'll have miles of hiking trails, two ponds, picnic shelters and the amphitheater just up the street from our house. We are truly blessed!
Monday, March 3, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Little Pilgrim's Progress
The boys and I have been having a wonderful time reading Little Pilgrim's Progress. It is a retelling of John Bunyan's classic allegory about the Christian journey through life. It has been simplified for younger readers but contains wonderful literary language that completely captivates my children's attention. They ask me at least three or four times a day if we can read a few chapters of "Little Christian". I highly recommend this book!
If you look at the homeschooling links to the right, you will see a link to some coloring pages to go along with the reading of Pilgrim's Progress. They are beautifully done and are a great supplement. They are especially helpful for keeping little hands busy during the reading.
It always brings me joy to hear my boys begging to snuggle up on the couch to read together. I wonder what we will read next....?
If you look at the homeschooling links to the right, you will see a link to some coloring pages to go along with the reading of Pilgrim's Progress. They are beautifully done and are a great supplement. They are especially helpful for keeping little hands busy during the reading.
It always brings me joy to hear my boys begging to snuggle up on the couch to read together. I wonder what we will read next....?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Sowing Seeds of Character
I ran across a wonderful resource today that is so good I just had to share. Debra Fogelbach at Notebooking Pages.com has created a wonderful system for implementing the ideas found in Laying Down the Rails by Sonya Schaffer. (You don't have to own the book to use the system.) It is sort of an accountability system designed to help us instill godly character in our children. Best of all, it's entirely free! She has printable habit cards, calendars, and goal sheets. Check out her site and read her description of how it works. It seems a little overwhelming when you first read it, but it's really not. While you're there, check out the other notebook pages she has available for purchase. I highly recommend the nature notebooking pages. They are fantastic!
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this system or how it's working in your home.
Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this system or how it's working in your home.
Mom's Meeting
Last night I hosted our homeschool support group's monthly Mom's Meeting. What a wonderful time! Sometimes I get so focused on the minutae of our daily life and I focus too much on my ideals and all the ways we fall short. Getting together with other moms is a reassuring reminder that none of us completely live up to our ideals. There is always room for improvement and that is actually a reassuring thought. How boring life would be if we had "arrived" and there was no more left to learn or no growth to be had. I was also blessed to hear from many of the moms who are homeschooling middle- and high-schoolers. The stories they shared of how their children are maturing spiritually really encouraged me and reminded me that we are a work in progress and my children are on a path that, God willing, will lead them to a life that is deeply fulfilling and committed to the Lord. It is also good to know that I am part of a group of godly women who are so willing to come alongside and mentor those of us who are in the stages of life that they have already survived. They've "been there and done that" and they are willing to share their experience. I praise God for leading us to this group and I'm looking forward to getting even more involved.
Monday, February 11, 2008
I'm Back!
Wow, I can't believe it has been so long since I've posted. I seem to have lost the last several months. Actually, they weren't really lost so much as spent in a haze. To be honest, I spent several months trying to avoid admitting that I was depressed. I have dealt with it before so, deep down, I knew what was going on; but I had been fine for almost six years and I just didn't want to admit that I needed medication again. So after making my family crazy for several weeks, I finally went to the doctor and have been taking anti-depressants for the last couple months. Whew, now we can get back to normal!
Things are going quite well. We're just finishing up our study of the Middle Ages. Putting the lapbook together is our final project and we should have pictures of it up here soon. I have really enjoyed studying this time period. As usual, I've learned so much more than I ever did in school. The boys have enjoyed it too, of course. What boy could resist studying knights and castles, battles and crusades? We'll be moving into the Renaissance and Reformation which is another exciting time in history. I'm looking forward to studying all of the beautiful works of art that go along with this period.
I'll be posting about some of our recent nature studies very soon, so check back with us!
Things are going quite well. We're just finishing up our study of the Middle Ages. Putting the lapbook together is our final project and we should have pictures of it up here soon. I have really enjoyed studying this time period. As usual, I've learned so much more than I ever did in school. The boys have enjoyed it too, of course. What boy could resist studying knights and castles, battles and crusades? We'll be moving into the Renaissance and Reformation which is another exciting time in history. I'm looking forward to studying all of the beautiful works of art that go along with this period.
I'll be posting about some of our recent nature studies very soon, so check back with us!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Picture Study
As promised, I'm going to share a bit about how and why we do Picture Study. I'll start with the why. Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." In our world today, so much of what is noble and excellent has been replaced by trashy, worthless images that flash by on the TV or movie screen or on a billboard as you fly down the highway. Did you realise that when you watch TV or a movie, the scene changes an average of every 3 seconds? Even if there was something lovely or praiseworthy on the screen, you would not have nearly enough time to appreciate it. Picture study puts us in touch with some of the world's most beautiful paintings ad gives us time to appreciate and notice all the wonderful details that the artist has included. It trains our powers of attention, observation and recollection. This is just a brief overview of why we do picture study. If you are interested in learning more, you can read Charlotte Mason's thoughts on Picture Study at the Ambleside Online website.
Now that I've briefly explained the "why", I'll tell you how we put it into practice using this year's studies as an example. We're covering the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation in history this year, so I've chosen to study artists from this time period as well. I purchased a wonderful coffee table book called The Great Masters by Giorgio Vasari. It contains large color prints of the paintings and sculptures of Giotto, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael and Titian. Beginning with Giotto, I've selected five paintings that will be our focus for the term. I made color photocopies of each and put them in some wood document frames that I bought at the dollar store. They hang behind the couch in our classroom so that we are constantly exposed to them. Once a week we choose one of the paintings for further study. We study it silently for a few minutes, flip the picture over and take turns narrating, usually with the youngest going first. Narration is simply telling in your own words what you saw. We will often discuss what each of us liked or disliked about the painting. If there is a bit of background information that may be helpful, I will mention it after the narration has been given. I give my narration last, pointing out anything that I noticed that they may have overlooked. However, my children have sharp eyes and they often point out things that I never noticed! This is not intended to be an art lecture; it is intended for the children to develop a relationship with the world's great works of art as they form their own ideas and examine their feelings about each painting.
We are rounding out our study with two wonderful resources. The first is Knights of the Art by Amy Steedman (see link to the left). It is a very well-written account of the lives of some of the great Gothic and Renaissance artists. We read from this once or twice a week to gain some insight into the lives of the artists we are studying. The second resource is Discovering Great Artists by Maryanne Kohl. It suggests hands-on activities to go along with the study of each artist. For instance, we will be making our own egg paints using ground up chalk and egg yolks, much like Giotto would have made his paints. Often we will copy a painting or paint one of our own "in the style of" the artist we are studying. As they study and practice the art of the great masters, their own artistic endeavors begin to grow and mature.
I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into our adventures in art. If you think you'd like to try this in your home and would like additional information, resources and support, come join us at the Artist Study CM Yahoo group. Hope to see you there!
Now that I've briefly explained the "why", I'll tell you how we put it into practice using this year's studies as an example. We're covering the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation in history this year, so I've chosen to study artists from this time period as well. I purchased a wonderful coffee table book called The Great Masters by Giorgio Vasari. It contains large color prints of the paintings and sculptures of Giotto, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael and Titian. Beginning with Giotto, I've selected five paintings that will be our focus for the term. I made color photocopies of each and put them in some wood document frames that I bought at the dollar store. They hang behind the couch in our classroom so that we are constantly exposed to them. Once a week we choose one of the paintings for further study. We study it silently for a few minutes, flip the picture over and take turns narrating, usually with the youngest going first. Narration is simply telling in your own words what you saw. We will often discuss what each of us liked or disliked about the painting. If there is a bit of background information that may be helpful, I will mention it after the narration has been given. I give my narration last, pointing out anything that I noticed that they may have overlooked. However, my children have sharp eyes and they often point out things that I never noticed! This is not intended to be an art lecture; it is intended for the children to develop a relationship with the world's great works of art as they form their own ideas and examine their feelings about each painting.
We are rounding out our study with two wonderful resources. The first is Knights of the Art by Amy Steedman (see link to the left). It is a very well-written account of the lives of some of the great Gothic and Renaissance artists. We read from this once or twice a week to gain some insight into the lives of the artists we are studying. The second resource is Discovering Great Artists by Maryanne Kohl. It suggests hands-on activities to go along with the study of each artist. For instance, we will be making our own egg paints using ground up chalk and egg yolks, much like Giotto would have made his paints. Often we will copy a painting or paint one of our own "in the style of" the artist we are studying. As they study and practice the art of the great masters, their own artistic endeavors begin to grow and mature.
I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into our adventures in art. If you think you'd like to try this in your home and would like additional information, resources and support, come join us at the Artist Study CM Yahoo group. Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Back to School
It's official: school is back in session and I am so glad! The boys are also content to be back to our normal routine. In fact, the week before we started back, they kept asking, "Mom, isn't it time to start school yet?" What a blessing it is to have children who love to learn!
We started back on July 30th with no big fuss or "to-do". It was more of a comfortable settling in, kind of like coming home again after an extended absence.
I'm really looking forward to this year. Our history studies will focus on the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation which is my absolute favorite period in history. And with three boys, what could be better than the age of chivalry with its knights in shining armor? Personally, I'm looking forward to the Reformation and learning more about our Christian history and heritage.
Our Science spine is 106 Days of Creation by Sonya Shaffer. We'll be studying science in the order of Creation. For instance, Day 1 saw the creation of light so we are currently studying things like shadows, reflections, refraction, etc. We just completed a fun experiment where we traced our shadow with chalk on the driveway at 10:00 a.m. and again at 1:00 p.m. We compared their shapes, discussed why and how shadows are cast and why they changed over time. Alek then drew a picture of the experiment and wrote a brief description for his notebook. Of course we are also continuing our regular nature study. Yesterday we caught and examined a grasshopper and last week we were able to closely observe and (relatively confidently) identify a Banded Hairstreak. I'm hoping that the boys will continue to develop their powers of attention and observation this year. They still tend to miss so many of the wonders that God sends their way because they flit from one thing to the next without really attending to our observing what is in front of them. That is definitely one of Charlotte Mason's favorite habits that we will be focusing on this year. Check back for my next post where I'll tell you about another tool that we use to sharpen the powers of attention and observation: Picture Study.
We started back on July 30th with no big fuss or "to-do". It was more of a comfortable settling in, kind of like coming home again after an extended absence.
I'm really looking forward to this year. Our history studies will focus on the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Reformation which is my absolute favorite period in history. And with three boys, what could be better than the age of chivalry with its knights in shining armor? Personally, I'm looking forward to the Reformation and learning more about our Christian history and heritage.
Our Science spine is 106 Days of Creation by Sonya Shaffer. We'll be studying science in the order of Creation. For instance, Day 1 saw the creation of light so we are currently studying things like shadows, reflections, refraction, etc. We just completed a fun experiment where we traced our shadow with chalk on the driveway at 10:00 a.m. and again at 1:00 p.m. We compared their shapes, discussed why and how shadows are cast and why they changed over time. Alek then drew a picture of the experiment and wrote a brief description for his notebook. Of course we are also continuing our regular nature study. Yesterday we caught and examined a grasshopper and last week we were able to closely observe and (relatively confidently) identify a Banded Hairstreak. I'm hoping that the boys will continue to develop their powers of attention and observation this year. They still tend to miss so many of the wonders that God sends their way because they flit from one thing to the next without really attending to our observing what is in front of them. That is definitely one of Charlotte Mason's favorite habits that we will be focusing on this year. Check back for my next post where I'll tell you about another tool that we use to sharpen the powers of attention and observation: Picture Study.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
It's Finally Done!
Well Vic, you asked for it, you got it. What do you think?
O.K., so maybe it's silly to post about my bedroom being painted, but I love the way it turned out so I thought I'd share. Now I just need to do curtains and wall hangings and accessories and... Where's my interior designer sister when I need her?
We bought paint for the classroom and kitchen too, but I need a break before moving on. I was hoping to get the classroom done before school starts (which is in two weeks, yikes!) but I'm not sure that's going to happen.
I guess you can stay tuned for more "Home Makeover" pictures!
O.K., so maybe it's silly to post about my bedroom being painted, but I love the way it turned out so I thought I'd share. Now I just need to do curtains and wall hangings and accessories and... Where's my interior designer sister when I need her?
We bought paint for the classroom and kitchen too, but I need a break before moving on. I was hoping to get the classroom done before school starts (which is in two weeks, yikes!) but I'm not sure that's going to happen.
I guess you can stay tuned for more "Home Makeover" pictures!
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Our Day at the Creek
What a wonderful day we had yesterday! Some friends of ours mentioned that they had been fishing at Holly Creek on July 4th and that it would be a great place to take the kids and let them swim and play. So we decided to spend the day exploring that part of our great state.
We had a picnic lunch right there by the creek and then decided to venture on and check out some of the other sights in the area. We travelled up the mountain to Fort Mountain State Park and on the way we were able to stop and take in the amazing view. The mountains just roll for miles. It's a very different mountain view than what we are used to. The mountains here are smaller and gently rolling, but they are beautiful none the less. We stopped at the information center when we reached the park and collected some information on camping and the cottages they have for rent. What a fun time that would be when Nana and Poppa come. There's a beautiful mountain lake up there with swimming, hiking and even miniature golf. It's a lot like Red Top Mountain and we would definitely like to go back and visit.
Holly Creek is part of the Cohutta Wilderness Area in the Chattahoochee National Forest. It's about an hour and a half northeast of our house, just past Chatsworth, GA. It was beautiful and made me feel a bit like I was home in Oregon. I have such wonderful memories of my parents taking my sister and I to areas just like this one. There were plenty of shallow areas so even Nathan was able to get in and play. We saw a lot of little fish, big tadpoles, and even a crawdad! The boys had such a fantastic time wading around and throwing rocks in the river!
We had a picnic lunch right there by the creek and then decided to venture on and check out some of the other sights in the area. We travelled up the mountain to Fort Mountain State Park and on the way we were able to stop and take in the amazing view. The mountains just roll for miles. It's a very different mountain view than what we are used to. The mountains here are smaller and gently rolling, but they are beautiful none the less. We stopped at the information center when we reached the park and collected some information on camping and the cottages they have for rent. What a fun time that would be when Nana and Poppa come. There's a beautiful mountain lake up there with swimming, hiking and even miniature golf. It's a lot like Red Top Mountain and we would definitely like to go back and visit.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Moments of Bliss
Last night was one of those idyllic evenings that I long for but that don't materialize very often. We all gathered in the living room with Shawn Macdonald playing in the background. (If you don't know him, check him out! I highly recommend his album Simply Nothing!) Andrew was playing Tetris, Noah and Alek were taking turns playing chess on the computer, Alek was reading Left Behind Kids in between turns, and Nathan and I played together on the floor. Best of all, no TV! It was so cozy and peaceful; exactly what I needed after a busy weekend. I pray that my whole family was blessed by it and that we spend more evenings like that; snuggled up together and just enjoying each other. Thank You, Lord, for those moments of bliss that sustain us through trials and the "dailyness" of life. They are truly a precious gift.
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