Homeschooling my bugs....

How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids – Chapter 1 | The Pelsers

2012-01-16T12:48:00.000-06:00

How to Have a H.E.A.R.T. for Your Kids – Chapter 1 The Pelsers

Heart for our children....H.E.A.R.T.

2012-01-13T05:31:00.000-06:00

Wow where to start....life w/God, there is no comparison to life without and through this chapter she refers to that metamorphosis as if it is a changing of caterpillar to butterfly as we wait to be transformed and changed unto a beautiful creature who lives for Him and has a desire to soar in search nourishment (for us this is our Savior, Jesus Christ). How many times in our own homeschooling experience do we sit down with good day of hopes of what is to come for our own selfish goals only to realize that this will never work...kids are tired, we are stressed and no one is gaining anything out of this head pounding against the wall. We must then stop and look to God for our guidance and help, not our own self, but His goals! So are you ready to be in this place, Rachael calls the "Way out Beyond Me"place where we need God complete for all our actions, our thoughts and our desires.....his goals, desires and servitude becomes our whole purpose and we are changed forever. Our children benefit from this as we now see them as whole person not a grade, number or task to check off.

As she talked about having a true heart for your kids, starting each day praying for them, about their futures, presents and past worries; thinking about their needs and desires, trying to set them on God's face and seeing this life is meant for Him; to take the time to show them that God matters and that all we do we do to glorify him and show others His love for us. I love how she takes the time to pray for her children and help them see the purpose and plan that he has for each of our beloved blessings....Jesus did this for his disciples in the Garden and also for those who had no one to care for them. We should for those we love and those we do not yet know. By praying aloud and silently we are showing our children that prayer works and matters to God. I have found so many times when I could have prayed silently but by doing so aloud, my girls better understand our Creator and Savoir, they see my humble nature and that I too am weak, tired and in need of our Heaven Father.

I love how she takes the time to show us that Jesus, prayer, quiet time with our Father, and praise all matter to God and all in different ways. I like to look at this as our circle of God....the things we as humans need to do to show our gratitude, love and joy for such a sacrifice as death for our sins....past, present and future. I love how you can take time out of each day, days that sometimes seem to take up all of our exsisitance and still amount to very little remnance (as far as impressions on a fraction of time are concerned). Take the time to be humble, submissive, and joyful in the present of your children and as a child of God. Allow those blessing you have been given from the Lord almighty; see your faults, your failures, the words that bring you to your knees as you wait patiently for the Lord to answer those prayers that you ask for in deperation. Allow the kids to see how it is only when we are humble and submit that the Lord begins to understand who we are and we see that He alone is our Savior and our reason for giving Glory. He is our Father, our Creator and our Maker. We can come to the cross and carry the burdens of this world to grow closer to Him, deeper in our Faith and also allow our kids to see this will allow them to understand Jesus better. We are living water to them and therefore we become the Living Water that Jesus speaks of so freuquently in the NT. We can also be that guide for our children on earth, instead of all the media of this world that surrounds them.

Be a light for your child, start by reading His word, preaching His word as you live your daily life and praying for all those dreams and hopes that you have not only for your own life but for those blessed ones in your life. Don't forget to give your child a heart's desire that is solely devoted to our Heavenly Father....one that is true and holy....one for the King of all Kings.

God bless, Kim S

2011-11-11T05:34:00.001-06:00

Welcome to a new year and a new look.....Girls are getting bigger and I am getting smaller?!

Rayne with friends....thinking! May 2011

Lu's block creation. McWane 2011

Girls having tea party on back porch June 2011

As I look back on the year and how things have changed...it is me who sees change not them. They see another week, another year, another Christmas....but I see mature, young ladies waiting to grow older, become wiser and follow Christ the whole way! it makes me get misty and even cry a few happy tears, but it is true. I love my girls and I know that I make every day special not knowing when this will be over and life will be anew with girls going to college and getting married?! Daddy time is what they crave and I love seeing these kids dote upon their father! They crave the fun, silly daddy that lights up when they are around and lives for us! He is a hard working daddy who loves his family and knows how to survive long hours at job and some quality daddy-daughter time!

Daddy wants the pumpkin seeds, raw! 2011

Halloween 2011

Lu and Rayne 2007

Wow, girls having parties and learning how to get along as they get older this task gets harder! They seem to embrace each other and hang on tight for the bumpy ride. I am so glad they have each other and adore/cherish these moments. They want to please God and us, trying to obey our wishes. They also fall like all humans and sometimes lose their way! But eventually they will be with our Heavenly Father and this will be a memory in my blog....only he knows the time and I plan on taking in all the time I can get with these girls!

Love this party idea and thought that it went really well, with the helps of some friends we had a blast and girls really did feel like real fancy Nancy's. We had tea and sandwiches, painting our nails, did our tattoos, decorated our tea cups, wrote some words for Rayne and even had some cake decorating fun! Guess dreams really do come true....Never in a million years did I see myself with two loving daughters married to a great guy and homeschooling them as I teach at a local home school co-op. If you had asked me when I was 22, where I would be in 15 years I would have said that I would be teaching science at a public middle school in MI/IN and probably still be single or dating with no kids but my students! I would probably been very active in my local church and spending weekends with my family♥ Not in AL, homeschooling my 2 girls, and having a blast as I grow closer to God and my peeps down here in the south! Love it. thanks God for your ultimate plan that is so much bigger than I am!

Rayne turns 6! Fancy Nancy style May 2011

I love how I can see this moment as thru a looking glass and see how my girls have grow....Lu in purple on left and Rayray on the left center by flowers with pink flower in her hair! God is so good and my girls are learning so much this year.....geography, seasons and weather, our faith in God and journey as missionaries around the world along with our journey as missionaries on Wed nights. We are growing in our knowledge of North and South American, Africa, Asia, and Australia. We are learning about missionaries like Cameron Townsend, Harriet Tubman and others as Hero Tales go, and also about the little people who changed the future of our country like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. We are also looking at art of those who came before us like Picasso, Monet and Henry Massitie....along with music by Back, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky! more too come this winter and Christmas, please look back in Jan for more updates!

Summertime and Schoolwork Explodes....

2011-06-13T06:43:00.000-05:00

Wow another year and my girls are growing up so fast....They are finishing up the year in K and 2nd, moving up to the next grades and loving it! We have been homeschooling them for about 4.5 years and I can see Luna growing so much and so fast. They are not my little bugs anymore, they are becoming more like young pupas and I can see that they are enjoying the time we spend together as a family. I am growing so much as I see them changing and learning from all we do. The girls are learning about themselves, each others, cooperation, getting along with others despite your own wants and desires, helping others big and small, the history of our great country, and their Savior, Jesus!

Rayne is a whole another person. She is loving and caring, wanting to do want Mommy wants to please us. She loves school because she gets to have some control over what she does and will complete a task to get the next one started. She loves reading and is getting quite good at trying to read small books to us w/help. She enjoys dance and I can really see her going somewhere someday! She will be starting ballet at Briarwood studios next year and I can't wait to see what she will do. She loves music and dance, there is a future in this for her is she keeps with it. She is now riding her bike w/out training wheels and loves being outside finding bugs or planting new seeds. She is a thinker and very smart. I love her kind spirit and gentle way of mothering her dolls. She will make a great mother someday!

This year Luna has grown in ways I could have never imagined. I know, us moms tend to see how our babies are growing and maturing, but I am talking about spiritually and intellectually. Things I think I would have missed under my mommy radar had they been in school for 8 hours. She is looking at the world with such innocent eyes and wanting to change it. She wants to be part of God's plan and bring others to Jesus. She loves talking to others no matter their age or cultural differences. She sees people closer to how Jesus saw them then anyone I have ever met, young or old. She seems them as beautiful and wants to make them happy. I love that about her and I thank God every day for the blessing he gave me in her. I also see how she figures things out, trying to solve problems and learn from her mistakes. She loves math and story problems. She loves to read and is a book worm. She loves to use her imagination and create a new story or act it out! These are the things I love about her! She is impulsive, action oriented, bossy at times to her sibling and has no idea what a stranger is, these are the things that scare me and keep me awake at night. But these are also the things that make her who God wants her to be and also great qualities we want in adults or friends.....a hard toss!

I have heard that being a parent is hard and comes with no manual, but I swear I am learning through my kids. Looking at Luna is sometimes like looking at myself as a child and sometimes like looking at my husband. She can have the attitude and be quite intense and then be caring and tender hearted. It is interesting how our personalities mesh in our children. Rayne is so stubborn and sweet at the same time. She is like myself playing alone or dancing to a song and then she looks at me with those eyes and I see my husband in her spirit, quiet and loving wanting to cuddle.

I loved My Father's World this year.....we all learning more about America in the beginning, how our people came to live here and call it home! We will continue to learn more about our great country in 4 more years, but it was a good start! We will study the world thru geography next year. I can't wait and I know that Luna is excited too! Luna's sister will be doing 1st grade work and learning more about birds, butterflies and life with God throughout time. I know this next year will be great! So far we are on task and I feel great about where they are as they grow, I might change my mind....but for now I know they are fine! Luna is working intensely as she tries to catch up with her spelling and understanding how to use her brain when it comes to letters, words and numbers. We found out this year to my own worries that she has dsylexia and I can see it coming out as we began the year with spelling power and moved to Structure and Spelling to try and combat this. We then will begin All About Spelling to cover her missed understanding of our complicated language! Thank God, he brought some great women into my life to guide me down this path!

It's begin to look a lot like Christmas

2010-12-13T09:01:00.000-06:00

Wow, I can not believe the holidays are upon us and I feel the spirit filling me. We try to make traditions each year and this year is no different. Well, ok a bit different. This year we were not going to make as many cookies and I had to be aware of flour we were using.

My oldest was diagnosed with Celiac disease a while ago and this have greatly changed our approach to the holidays and what we are giving her. She has gotten a years supply of GFCFSF candy and chocolate to last about 6 months. She has adjusted so well and I give her a lot of credit. We remain gluten eaters as it saves me time from having to make all our meals gluten and dairy free. I love trying new recipes and making old ones work with this challenging diet. It has also put a new outlook on eating healthy. We buy more organic and less boxed or packaged items. We have saved some money and bought more produce. All good changes and healthier.

As for other traditions.....we always read "The Matchbox Girl" and "Night before Christmas", we also follow that with the story of Jesus' birth. We always light candles for advent and work on Christmas cards, ornaments, and of course cookies! The girls are becoming bakers and love to put frosting and sprinkles on all of our cookies. They love decorating the house, tree and cards to give others. Luna is such a loving soul and adoring giving to others during this season. It is becoming harder to explain that gifts are not the only way we can give this holiday. We also try to spend some of our time with those who are less fortunate. We love sing songs at local nursing homes as this is my gift in remembrance of my grandmother. The girls belt out those cheerful and Christmas songs with such love and care. The older folks really adore the girls visiting them and we get joy just from serving others. Next we try to give to a local charity of our time and work. We either help out with a meal or serve one. I have tried to encourage giving during this season and not just of our money but of ourselves.

One holiday tradition that has changed is the idea of helping others....we have be blessed so much each year, that I try to ask the girls to think about gifts for siblings throughout the year as a way to share of yourselves. We have been shopping locally and at the Thrift stores more this past years. I think it is both helpful to the community and teaches the girls to appreciate what they have. They are also good about giving a gift from their own to each other as a way to share of themselves. I hope this tradition continues on long after they are grown. My goal is to have them begin to help each other and give time rather than gifts. So far I have seen them reading to each other, sharing toys, and time to help one another when I am busy doing other things.

Looking backward over the past year, I have seen much love and caring in our little home. We have seen giving of time and playing of many games. We have done puzzles time and time again, read stories for the 100th time and tucked our girls in for the last time. I am amazed by the love each one of my close family and friends has shown me. I have seen friends step up and help with my girls when I had to help a friend in need, my girls help others with door or offer a penny to make someone's day, I have seen my oldest make someone smile just with her personality and love, I have watched my best friend, John give me the love and care that only he understands, I have watch him hurt as he struggles to overcome pain while taking care of our family, I have seen John goto work with little sleep and make the best of his days there, I have watched my girls grow up as they ask to spend the night at a friends and watched my oldest begin to read all the time she can. I am blessed and loved. I am grateful for all these memories and more. Even when my girls fight as siblings do, and my dog asked to go outside for the 5th time, I am loved. I know that God has blessed our family and home in so many ways.

I am loving being a mom and wife to our family and have seen so much joy over the year. I have seen friends struggle with things that only God could help and watched others show me love with kind words and loving thoughts. I have seen God bloom in my life and I appreciate all those who were present to help me experience his love and understanding. I look to the future and whatever it holds with God and good friends, family near my side the whole way.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Life in view of Christ.....Thankful

2010-11-12T07:55:00.000-06:00

As we approach a holiday that has become known as the day before Black Friday, I would like to reflect on why I am thankful. As a homeschooling mom, I sometimes wonder how others could let these precious moments pass by. I am so thankful to God, my dear husband and my children for the time we get to have a family!~

I wouldn't want to waste one single moment doing the mundane things of this world for a job I could love or hate, for my girls going to be schooled by someone with 27 other students to watch/teach or a for food on the go, since I am working all day (no time to sit with family and enjoy a meal). If there is one thing I learned from my mother it was it is possible to have a good home-cooked meal ready for your family and allow them to have time as a family to end the day right! Thanks mom for allowing me to learn how to take care of my family as God asks me to, by caring on your traditional I have been able to enjoy talking with John about the girls day, lessons and life in general. We treasure our times together over a good meal and the fact that we have no one to worry about paying or being rushed to leave the table. We love that God has allowed our family this time to reflect on the days blessings and yet, grow in our faith by thanking him for all he gives us.

The girls are such a gift that I sometimes find myself, like most others, forgetting to thank them for being who God has made them. They are so pure and their hearts are full of peace, love and joy. This is how all of us start out our walk with Jesus, pure and full of God's love. But somewhere along the way we get lost and fear the things of this world. We are given choices and sometimes choose the pleasures of this world. The only problem with that is they are short-lived and provide a temporary bliss that blocks the view of our heavenly treasure that awaits those who say on his path! I want to reflect this Thanksgiving holiday on those things that my eyes have lost sight of: Heaven, my blessings (children) and my family.

I am thankful for a God who forgives me despite my wandering eyes, who knows me so completely that he can guide me back at a moments notice. I am thankful for a God who saves me when I know not what to do or where to go. I am most thankful for the Lord who loves me unconditionally that he teaches me to do the same with my family, children and everyone else.

Please take some time to reflect this holiday on the blessing that God has placed in your lives.....and don't forget to thank the King who made all this life has to offer including forgiveness possible!

Shutterfly Christmas cards....

2010-10-27T13:17:00.001-05:00

Welcome to another year and here we are almost into Thanksgiving, with one month to go. I always try to get my girls outfits set for holiday and also start to plan what we'll bake for the holiday season. We love Christmas and my girls are all about learning more about Jesus, he's birth and how we are changed by God's gift of love.

It is this same passion that I love to send a card to family that shows what we've been up to and how much we miss them. We live so far from family that it is nice to live through such greetings. This brings me to the recent offer by Shutterfly to allow bloggers to write a review about their services. I love their cards and find it helps me to get news to loved ones along with a card greeting. My family almost always loves the pictures and updates. The story starts out something like..."the stockings were hung by the chimney with care", and then goes south from there. This year I am going to shorten it a bit and try just giving family some highlights while directing them to our blog. I have become more accustom to people coming here to visit and have tried to keep up on the girls milestones through this blog. Take some time, and create memories, take some pics and record memories for your families with a great Shutterfly Card!
Here is the link: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/thanksgiving-card
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-invitations

Enjoy the holidays as they seem to approach at lightening speeds and then they are gone just as fast!

A week in the Fall....

2010-10-09T08:50:00.000-05:00

Welcome to fall in the south,

It is so interesting to me how life can lead you to a place you never imagined you would ever see. We are homeschooling our 2 girls and they are growing before my eyes. I am seeing their love, passion for school and imagination soar. I love that I can watch as if in a bottle and see them excel, while still being the mom and caretaker. We are having so much fun this year and for the 1st time in a while I am enjoying our history of America! What a great country and what perils that the Pilgrims and first settlers had to experience to give us such freedom to learn, grow and flourish in our faith. We are also looking at nature, in a way I have always wanted to, under guidance. I love that my girls can view it for themselves and begin to have a passion for nature and all God has given to us. We can enjoy some of Rachel Carlson's view and yet still go about life as we cherish this simple and elegant beauty! Luna and Rayne are continuing with their flare for painting and art. We are going through our supply of watercolors and this may become an updated list for their Christmas gifts. They are also learning about the beauty of our Lord's word as we study parts of the bible. Next we will begin verse memory with Rayne by sound and Luna by sight. I look forward to furthering my understanding of his glorious word. We will begin the Thanksgiving study in the next month and I look forward to much colonial days in Swiczkowski household. We will shine like 21st century pilgrims!

We have studied the pilgrims, the fall colors of leaves, the science behind water and 3 stages of water, Creation, days of Columbus, letters S, M, L & A, math circling around skip counting, rounding, estimating and word problems. All this is our September!

How to take a hold of these moments and recall them years from now, thank you for allowing me to share these times with you all!

A week in the life of " Homeschooling Bugs"

2010-09-16T09:13:00.001-05:00

Well....what do you do with your day? How do you finish all your work and still have time to go outside? Is she getting any socialization with others? I don't know how you do it, it is too hard for me.

These are just a few comments and questions I hear on a daily basis.....Take a moment and look at our schedule this week and how we get it all done!

Mom's September 3rd week of School MFW 2nd gd

Days of week

Mon

Tues

Wed

Thur

Fri

Sat

Bible

Jesus saves

Live like Jesus

jesus as a child

Jesus Window

Math

MUS # 4

MUS #4 wrk 2

MUS #4 wrk 3

MUS #4 test

MUS #5

Reading

The Roman Twins

Ancient Rome

Exploration & conquest

Molly Bannaky

How many days to America

History

Amer P (16) Exlore A (33-35)

Amer P (17-19) Explore A (36-39)

Amer P (20-21)

Amer P (22-25) Explore A (39)

Spelling

Placement test B

spelling list A1

review & test

Spelling list A2

Art

ICDAT (16)

ICDAT (17)

ICDAT (18)

ICDAT (19)

ICDAT (20)

Book Basket

Romans

Jesus

Columbus

Jamestown

Pedro's Journel

Music

God Bless A

picture with

music

Grammer

none

Science

Science Air (4)

Science Air (5, 22)

Nature walks

We also take the time to involve the girls in sports and other "socialization"....playdates with FCCS (cover school), Fieldtrips, Theater, Ballet/Tap for Rayne, Girl Scouts & Karate for Luna & Choir/Missons for both girls. I tend to love to keep us busy, but the occasional off time is also fun!

Remember that they are only little for a short while, & live in the moment!

A new year and a new outlook.....

2010-09-15T10:26:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe that I am teaching a 2nd grader and Kindergardener!I love teaching my girls and thoroughly enjoy spending time learning through their eyes.

We are currently working on American History and the founding of our country. I love that I can see this for the first time through a Christian perspective and understand more fully why this country was founded. Luna is reciting "God bless America" and working on learning more about John Smith, Christopher Columbus, Powhatan, and other important settlers. We just finished looking at life in Jamestown and how to relate to the jobs of each family member! The girls are trying their hands at helping more with daily chores, getting lunches ready and helping keep our house in order as a step back to life in the early days. They have no reference except when the power goes out or we have to hang our clothes on the line. But washing the dishes by hand is by far their favorite because it involves bubbles. They are both enjoying the choir and mission friends on Wednesday night and I know I can't wait for another production for those kids to shine!Luna is also begun a journey into the world of Koren martial arts in Karate! She is really quite good considering that most of the students are 9-12 years of age in her homeschool class. She is getting better with her balance and also form. I will post some pics once I get them taken.

Rayne is really excelling in K curriculum and I am sure we shall finish with half a year to spare. We love the idea of combining bible with works of each letter and My Father's World does a great job of presenting this in each topic. She is excited about starting dance again and looking forward to many nights showing us what she knows. Look forward to a video of her moves in May.

As summer approaches, watch for the fun of exploration to explode!

2010-05-29T08:42:00.000-05:00

Well as most students are preparing for some rest, relaxation and summer camps, we are embarking on our summer studies where we try to get closer to nature, learning new things along the way. This summer is all about worms, frogs and fish....Oh My!! I love this time of year, when we get ready to venture north to Michigan and visit the family. The lakes, forests and general topography are prefect for exploring, discovering and just hiking. We will be looking at measurements, fractions and continue to review clockwork and money. I love how nature can inspire such learning without needing much supplies. We are also going to include some art study in with our nature time~ after all what goes better with nature then some colored pencils and paper.

Luna is learning so much and growing! She is reading great with small level 3 books and working to extend her vocabulary. She loves math and applying it to any purchase we make. I have really seen her blossom as a young girl in all that she has accomplished. Sometimes she amazing me with her thought process and I am again aware of the girl she is becoming. We have begun to study the chapters of bible in more depth and she is always interested in learning more about the ppl of Old testament. Now if we can just get her interested in riding her bike without training wheels.

Rayne is working on her Alpha Bugs lapbooks and has an ever growing collection. I am proud of the time she takes to color a picture picking out just the right color and making she it matches the rest. She loves to work on her writing and I am hoping her sisters love for stories will be something she enjoys as well. They really are great imaginative children at play.

Here is to the summer; a time to slow down, reflect and absorb the nature all around!

AwARD to those who have rockin blog sites!!

2010-03-30T03:45:00.001-05:00

Jenn over at Bento For Kidlet and Angela at Confessions of a Non-Domestic Housewife
both gave me this award....and what a cute award it is! Come on, cupcakes make anyone's day better!

Jenn makes the most amazing bento lunches you have ever seen. It makes me feel a little guilty when I throw together a lunch for dear daughter (because I hate packing lunches). Angela has a series she does called "Princess Traning", which teachers her daughter to become a proper princess (awesome idea) and has taken over Kid Friendly Friday for me (thank you!!). Go check them out.

Here's what I'm supposed to do:
1. Copy the award image into a post.
2. List 10 things that make you happy.
3. Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day.
4. Put in a link to their blogs.
5. Notify the award receivers. (hold tight folks, this may take awhile :)
6. Recipients should link back to the sender's blog. (I say this can be optional. If I have given you an award you are in no way obligated to link back to me, just enjoy your award!)

LIST 10 Things that Make me Happy....

1. Sunshine
2. my doodlebugs!
3. waking up to snuggle with DH
4. art & cooking time with grls
5. reading a good book with cup a Chai!
6. Springtime and Fall in AL
7. finding new sciencexperiments to try!
8. teaching new things to others!
9. planning parties
10. reading scripture that relates to daily life!

http://iblamemom.blogspot.com/search/label/Kid%20Friendly%20Friday
http://sunnydaytodaymama.blogspot.com/2009/06/rosewater.html
http://unplugyourkids.com/
http://michellesjournalcorner.blogspot.com/2010/02/muffin-tin-monday-color-series-orange.html
http://sharonyarbrough.com/
http://blissfullydomestic.com/
http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeschooling
http://www.secretkeepergirl.com/
http://www.ohmystinkinheck.com/
http://thewomenscolony.com/

Please remember to give me 2 weeks in which to review your sites and give out our awards!!
Recipients should link back to the sender's blog. (I say this can be optional. If I have given you an award you are in no way obligated to link back to me, just enjoy your award!)

And the winner is.......(drum roll) http://iblamemom.blogspot.com/ on March 31st!

The prizes include: homeschooling books and txts, treats, pencil/pen/notebook set, & grand prize is $25 gift card for Amazon!!

Another Spring has come!

2010-03-30T03:40:00.000-05:00

Welcome to spring,

This is a great time of year for most homeschoolers. We are able to get out with our kids and enjoy nature, weather, bugs, and anything else that tickles our fancy! We are looking ahead to this coming month: the resserection of our King, spring flowers, bugs and butterflies, camping out, hiking and letter box finding. How do you define your spring plans? We are all about getting out and enjoying nature.

We are enjoying creating some lapbooks on Easter, crickets and rainbows!

Updates to come: 

UnPlugged theme of April and such.....

Spirals:New theme/week

2010-02-02T04:58:00.000-06:00

I wanted to start taking time to record some of the fun projects we're doing in school....so here goes!

Luna will be doing a "Spiral" theme idea with themes in beach, sky and sea. We will spend a week looking in these three areas and a week looking in nature around our house!

The girls are having so much fun with our beach theme that we are going to look more closely at shells and the idea of spirals inside and out. Then we will continue with spiral theme in the ocean and beyond the sea into the sky! Each day we will look at a different aspect of spirals and create a collage at the end of our study.

Week One: Spiral on the Beach....
We will take a look at different shells and how the sea creatures create spirals for homes. How they move into and how hermit crabs find new homes.

Week Two: Spiral in to Ocean...
We will look at waves and ocean swirl patterns created by currents

Week Three: Spirals in ocean floor...
A closer look at the ocean floor and the animals that live there. How camoflauge plays a role in keeping enemies away and how spirals can do that in fishes and other sea floor creatures.

Some of the resources include:
Jennie Fulbrights NotebookPages for Apolgia ocean zoology
Homeschoolshare's Animal studies
Squidoo.com science-notebooking
kids-craft-painted-sea-shells
Shell collections jan Brett's Shell Rounding math
Charlotte Mason shell sorting
More art ideas with spirals & shells

Rayne will be doing a "Seuss" theme month along with her "Alphabugs" theme for school projects.
Seuss Lapbooks

Question....Why do you homeschool? How do you find curriculum? How long are you going to homeschool?

2010-02-01T06:05:00.000-06:00

All your questions are answered here:

What are our goals for our children?

That they be confident in what they believe
To love learning and learn that learning is a life long process
Have strong faith in God
Be productive citizens
To be good mothers, and wives.
Have a strong foundation in the basics: reading, writing, and arithmetic
To have a respect and understanding of God’s creation
To have the skills necessary to take care of themselves
To have a heart tender to God’s direction for their lives.
To have an understanding of the world’s beliefs so they are better equipped to deal with them
To have strong morals and character
A well-rounded education including: technology, foreign language, science, history, math, language arts, life skills, music, and art

How do you think learning should happen? Naturally: as we play a game, as we look at nature, driving in the car or sitting reading a book.

Do you want to teach your children together or individually? Both, sometimes they can learn from each other and sometimes the concepts need to come from directional learning.

How much time do you want (or are able) to work directly with your children?

I aim for 2 hrs a day. As they grow our time together will also grow. We aren't doing much science or art/music this year, but as my oldest will be in 2nd I would love to include some instructional art and music along with science units!

Do you want to include real books and field trips into your school program?

Definitely I think they are essential. Yes, in fact some of our curriculum is from library books and we love to read informational facts on the country, subject or thing we are studying. Field trips make up half our school time, we enjoy getting a hands-on approach to learning.

Do you use a set schedule or flexible approach to your school day?

It is somewhat flexible but most of the time is in the morning hours, because it works best for her.

Do you prefer a curriculum that is thoroughly laid out, one with just an outline, or do you make your own? I tried to make my own the 1st yr but them changed to a base curriculum with kid-based interest unit studies thrown in here and there.

How much confidence and experience do you have homeschooling?

I’ve been homeschooling for 3 years. My confidence has always been there but with more experience and learning what works for your child your confidence is also increased. I am always learning from my children.

Why did your family decide to homeschool? For our oldest is was a must, she has energy and we knew she would be crushed in a "normal" setting and probably lose a lot of her "spunky" and fun-loving personality. She is very creative and imaginative, those things are the 1st to be taken away in a public school. Then we found that she is so bright that boredom would set in when give medial tasks. She thrives in our environment willing to go above and beyond her level in some tasks. Now, we know we made the right choice for our family.

How was your choice received by family and friends? Most ppl saw what we did: a bright child with love for learning and enough spirit for all 20 classmates. they all agreed that she would excel better in this home environment. Most didn't disagree or try to sway us to get her in school. One friend asked about her socialization, but we knew that she would thrive as far as socially in any environment.

What are your thoughts on academic or personal progress or achievement in your homeschool, including general results of any testing or evaluation, special recognition or experiences?

I believe in testing during the normal cycles of 3 grouping of grades, but I don't believe that testing gives the whole picture. I think that asking random questions and just seeing how they respond also gives insight. I was not much for tests in school and find that project/portfolios work wonders in showing what they learned. I believe in recognition for all achievements for both academic and personal achievements. It builds both confidence and self-esteem.

What do you most enjoy about homeschooling? Learning from the girls, learning with the girls and just having time to see them blossom into ladies!

What do you find most challenging about homeschooling? Balance to keep a schedule that allows for freedom from a daily schedule and spur of the moment trips! Sometimes I feel like we must get the regular work done before such trips and so my organized brain wants to stick with it while my free spirit wants to just go!

What do your children like most, and least, about homeschooling? L loves most of it, she can get easily bored.....so probably loves the creative but hates the bookwork at times, R loves any crafts and animal related tasks but hates bookwork or anything that requires her to have little choice!

What curriculum do you used? We use My Father's World as our base with some Charolette Mason and supplemental curriculum for other subjects (i.e. SOTW for history, Math U See/Math on level for math, etc...)