What's cookin' at our house this week...

Monday: Spaghetti, garlic bread

Tuesday: Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans

Wedneday: Soup and Sandwiches

Thursday: DS's 8th birthday... and performance night at co-op... EAT OUT!!

Friday: Cheesy Enchilada Casserole

 

How we are going to spend our summer...

We have decided on our plan for summer... we are going to continue with school but make it less tense and more fun by incorporating lots of ideas that I have been gathering from other blogs on the Wazley Academy ring...

The kids are really looking forward to doing just some topics that they want too, and I am looking forward to just relaxing and feeling like everything is going to get done... (sometimes during the school year, I get that tense, worried about what they are learning feeling)... I am hoping that is a common feeling shared by many homeschool moms...

It's that guilt that we feel, where we are torn by wanting to be like "SuperMom" and just getting the laundry done... where we want to make sure the kids are enjoying school, but at the same time learning what they should be...

So, we are hoping this will combat those feelings and allow the kids to stay on a scheulde somewhat, but still enjoy their summer and actually leanr when they think they are jusy having fun...

Happy Learning!!

Gas Prices...

Ok.. has the price of gas put a leash on your homeschool field trips? I know things that I had hoped to do with the kids this summer will definitely be altered due to the rising cost of fuel...

In our area, (the local stations in our little town) are selling gas for $3.52 a gallon for regular... But if I drive just 20 minutes away, I can get it for "as little" (and I use that term lightly) as $3. 38... (at least I could yesterday..*L* )

So for those looking to get the best deal on fuel-------

This is pretty nifty. Just enter your zip code in the site below, and it tells you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest) on gasoline in your zip code area.
It's updated every evening.

http://autos. msn.com/everyday /gasstations. aspx?zip= &src=Netx

HAPPY TRAVEL!!

Check this out!!!

Ok... I am now gonna be posting websites to share on Wednesday!!!

So for today's WEDNESDAY WEBSITE post, take a look at this trip through SPACE with vocals... I love it and the kids and I have tried singing it all afternoon... The words are printed there with all the facts about the Milky Way... and this wonderful universe... You can check it out here...

ROCK ON!!!!!

PLEASE MUTE FINE TUNE TO HEAR!!! 

Last night, DH and I, had a date... It was unusual to be out without the kidlets... Having a date is so different now... You talk about the kids even when they are not there...*LOL*

We met some friends for dinner and then we went to a concert... We saw one of the "Legends of Rock"  ROBERT PLANT himself with Allison Krauss.... It was so wonderful.... Her voice is hauntingly beautiful... and her harmonies blended incredibly with his...

It was great... They did some Zepplin, some bluegrass, some blues, some gospel, an T. Bone Burnett who I really was unfamiliar with was with them and he is just an awesome blues man....

But the true highlight (other than being with alone with DH) was ROBERT PLANT!!!  DH was like a kid waiting to see one of his teenage idols... It made me so happy to see him enjoy himself so much!!

What a great night for us!!!

What's cookin' at our house this week...

Monday: Barbecue Chicken, Oven Fries, and Corn on the Cob....

Tuesday: Eating Out (Robert Plant and Allison Krauss concert)

Wednesday: CHopped Steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans

Thursday:  Chilli

Friday:  Homemade Pizzas...

EXPELLED!!!

                                                            

Last night after work, my friend and I went to the movies and saw the documentary "Expelled" with Ben Stein... It was a great movie (after getting over having to pay $8.75 a person to get in)... It was an intelligent discussion on "Intelligent Design" versus "Darwinism"... and how scientists are blackballed if they even broach the subject of "Creationism" or "Intelligent Design".... to the level of PhD'ers actually losing their grants, jobs, and tenure over it... I also learned that Hitler's plans originated out of Darwins lesson books and Planned Parenthood also got its start using the playbook of selective evolution by Darwin...

It was very interesting to hear self-proclaimed Atheists try and explain their thoughts on the matter of how "WE" got here... even the most prominent one had a theory that some "beings" that had "evolved" to a higher level of intelligence had actually planted the seeds on earth... I mean that to me even gives even more credence to the "Intelligent Design" theory he so completely denies... I mean "Intelligent" beings create life on Earth.... I can only think of one and that being my "GOD"....
Anyway, it was definitely a great movie and really thought provoking... I not only learned alot, but I became even more embedded in my "Creationist" thoughts...

Time to kill...

Well, today was a great day... I had to work a 12 hour shift, but we only had 1 baby which left me and my co-working BFF lots of time to get other things done...
So, I started on my summer HS plan and also got a jump on our schedule for next year...

It seemed to fly by, partially because I didn't have my 2 kidlets asking me all sorts of questions and I guess that I have finally become more relaxed about our homeschool life... I hope to get several lapbooks done and work one some notebooking this summer...

Beginning in May we will are going to start Thundercake.... 

and you can find a unit from HSS here...

Then we will begin the Water Cycle using a unit I found here...

Next on our list is Storm in the Night...

and you can find resources for this here... 

I am also using the Evan Moor Science Book  pages 235-237 (light) p. 114-118 (the five senses) and p. 200 (clouds) ....

I have a few library books on the list also to go along with these studies...

                  

 

 

Our Rainy Day of Planting...

This is my weekend to work, but as there were only 2 babies in the unit, I was able to be off today...

So, I thought, "What could we do on this rainy day?"  Well, it didn't take me long to remember the list, "What every child needs to do before they grow up"... and on that list is "PLAYING IN THE RAIN"...

So, out we go... We did some brief yard work, mulch around our trees, put up some lattice around our deck steps... and then we plant some "Morning Glories", and "BirdHouse Gourds"... the kids had so much fun... (little did they know, their "playing" was actually work)..*L*

Our "Marigolds" and "Impatients" that we planted in the little hot houses have came up and doing really well... we hopefully will get to put them out into planters soon....  

Well, enjoy your weekend!!!

 

Butterfly Deals...

                                                                                      

ok... just a quick note... I ordered our Butterfly Garden Habitat... I got the "Insect Lore" brand... Found it on  Amazon for a steal... I found mine for less than $15 + shipping....

You can check out others like it here...

Back to School Blast 2

One of my favorite sites on the web, Homeschool Share is having their annual curriculum drive... It's called the "Back to School Blast" ...If you have never checked this site out, you don't know what you are missing... It s a wonderful resource for those of us that use FIAR, unit studies, lapbooks, or are just looking for new ways to make our homeschool routine a fun and wonderful way for our kids to learn... Each unit is comprised of several different areas of study and written entirely by other homeschool moms.... and the best part is they are FREE and easy to use... You can check out more about the curriculum drive, submissions, and Homeschool Share here. HAPPY LEARNING!!!

What I'm reading....

I've recently began reading this book and I love it... It is very reassuring in how important the role of a parent is in a little girls life and how every aspect affects her and her growth into young womanhood and the decisions she makes... It is a book full of wisdom in how to encourage her crativity and her dreams... How to instill self confidence and self worth... and how as a mother, you can be her window to her future... I highly recommend it... I am really learning alot...

 

Happy Birthday to me...

Yes, today is my birthday !! The BIG 38!!!

*LOL*

My wonerful DH brought home ribeyes and grilled them and then proceded to fix the rest of dinner... YEAH!! and even had a cake and candles for dessert... YUMMY!!!

My wonderful kidlets got me flowers and each made me a card...

It was truly a wonderful day!!   and I am sticking to being not a day over 29...

Casting Crowns

Last night, DH and I took the kidlets to see a "CASTING CROWNS" concert with some friends from church.. It was wonderful. They are like one of my favorite groups...So great... DD danced all through it.... DS was a little disappointed that his name wasn't drawn for the free electric guitar they were giving away though...*L*

.   

They showed some pictures from their "invited" tour in North Korea and also spoke on the great works of World Vision...

87% of every dollar donated goes to the people through World Vision for clean water and education... I think that is pretty incredible...

DH and I have discussed maybe sponcering a child now for the kids to help with teaching them about missions...They would receive a picture of that child and we could pray for and recieve updates... You can check out more about World Vision  here ...

What we have been doing...

This week has been really unorganized for us...*L*  Sometimes it just seems that no matter ho much you plan, you just don't get everything done...

We continued with "Handwrting without Tears"...DS really loves doing cursive with this program... He absolutely hated the ABeka cursive... We quit it half way through the year last year...

DD worked on counting to 30 and writing her numbers to 20... She can write all her ABC's on command now and knows her vowels...(YEAH!!!)

We started working some more with plants and started some seeds.. (Marigolds, gourds, Impatiens)...

We did some more with our "worm" habitat...We now have some egg shells breaking down for them to eat...

We started history this week with another go-around with "Story of the World"...This time it's going so much better as DD is older and understands more of it.. We also made a cardboard loom and worked with some yarn  and pretended we were early farmers using the wool from our newly tamed sheep / goats... They loved doing this... We also did some more "cave" paintings using finger paint this time...DD was fascianted with the story of the young Nomad girl... DS thought it was cook they ddn't have to take a bath...*L*

We talked the "Fertile Crescent" and where it was located and found it on the globe and the map...DD kept referring to the fact that it really wasn't shaped like a moon... (that's a 5yo for ya'...*L*)  Even thought it is similar in shape, I thought...

I used Abraham in our teaching this week as he too was nomadic and we talked about the struggles early man had compared to out comfortable life today...

We are still working on 3 digit addition and subtraction...I think in a couple of weeks we may begin on the multiplication tables with DS....

I need to order our butterfly house and the larvae... I also need to get our tadpoles ordered... I am hoping to get to these for May.... I am ordering them from Earths Birthday Project... They donate percentages to conservation  / habitat growth.... They also have butterfly and rainforest lesson plans online...

Well, that was pretty much it for us in a nutshell this week... Hope you had a great week!!

Happy Learning!!!

  

Phonics Fun

My "Begining Phonics" class at co-op... Our "Letter of the Week" this week was "Z" and we pretended to be zoo animals... (don't you just love all you can do with ZooPals plates)...*L*

 

Wordless Wednesday...

A Homeschool Freebie Download!!!

 

Today my "Tightwad Tuesday" post is a great website with some great "Free" downloadable workbooks....for all elementary grades...

TLC , the Teaching and Learning Company is great... you can check it out here...

What's cookin' at our house this week...

This week is a busy one, as we are beginning practice for SOCCER... So we have 2 practices this week plus baseball... So, a quick meal week for us...

Monday:  Hot Dogs, Fries, Kool-Aid  

Tuesday: Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon (we love breakfast for supper at our house)

Wednesday: Garlic Tomato Chicken with pasta, salad, garlic cheese bread, ice tea

Thursday: Chili Pie... (Using Jiffy cornbread mix, left-over chili from the freezer, and cheese), ice tea 

Friday: Sandwiches (going to "Casting Crowns" concert)...YEAH!!!

FUN EXPEDITION!!

This weekend the kids went to a birthday party at  place called "FUN EXPEDITION"...  DH got the honors of taking the kidlets and playing with them as this was my weekend to work... They had such a great time... It is a great place to go on a rainy day or just for fun as everything is INDOORS!!

They have go-carts, climbing walls, games, bowling, and laser tag... DS was so excited to tell me all about playing Laser tag and beating some girls at it.. "MOM, they were teenagers and I beat them!"... The thrill of being a little boy!!!

A MARRIED COUPLE...

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had 
shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no 
secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe 
box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never 
to open or ask her about.
   For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one 
day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would 
not recover.
   In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down 
the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.
   She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box.
   When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of 
money totaling $95,000.
   He asked her about the contents. 'When we were to be married,' she 
said, ' my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to 
never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should 
just keep quiet and crochet a doll.'
   The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only 
two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him 
two times in all those years of living and loving.  He almost burst 
with happiness.
   'Honey,' he said, 'that explains the doll, but what about all of this
money?
   Where did it come from?''Oh,' she said, 'that's the money I made from selling the dolls.'

Little Hands for April...

   

Today we had our April "Little Hands" Art meeting... It was so much fun... Michelle had a wonderful lesson... She taught the kidlets about cave art and early man and their use of their environment to express themselves and detail their lives in story by the use of pictures, petroglyphs, pictographs, rock art, and engraved boulders. She also discussed the use of color and different mediums available to early man, like feathers, charcoal, berry ink etc...

She placed 4 tables end to end in a square to resemble a "cave" and placed brown paper on them for the kids to "tell their story" in pictures using brown, burgundy, and black crayons... It was great.. the kidlets had a great time and I think it will be something we do again soon...

You can see more about "CAVE ART"  here...

Busy...Busy... Busy...

Hey all,

I haven't had time to get caught up lately with blogging...I have been doing some "spring" organizing...At least that's what I call it..(I am "springing" some junk here and some there)...*LOL*

Anyway, I will have lots of pics and some new posts coming soon to update  my blog...

But for now, here's my FRUGAL FRIDAY  post...

Free Endangered Species Coloring Book...

Enjoy and Happy Learning!!