We were there as the gates opened and the clear blasts of trumpets mingled with the laughter of children in the kingdom of Hoggetowne on school day. Dancers and singers in period garb performed and vendors hawked their fine wares, as blacksmiths demonstrated their skills. Knights battled one another from horseback, and warriors met in combat as pieces on a living chessboard. We saw the King and Queen...
Today in Art Class: We scoured our collection of old magazines, looking for pictures that would say something about who we were, then put them all together in a "Collage of Me!"
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"Art" should not be merely a pretty picture, but, a presentation of ideas.
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In simple terms a collage is an artistic collection of images and/or words assembled together on paper or board. This project was to be a way to represent oneself through the expression of art. Though time consuming, it was easy and fun! Along with collage composition skills, our students/artists developed an introspective art expression.
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Everyone did such a good job of creating a collage that really describes them.
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Kellen........
Really into rowing, fishing, loud music and looking forward to getting that learner's permit next year and driving! Looks like he has his eye on Dad's Jeep since he placed one just like it in the sky there.
Sami..........
Enjoys Hip Hop dancing (see the gal in the middle?), loves animals and rainbows, draws cartoons, and is our little princess! It's so much like her to paste the word "Love" right there in the middle.
Tucker.....
Loves, loves, loves cars and trucks...and driving. Horses are a love of his too.
Isn't the sign, "Private Property Visitors Welcome" great? That is so much like his way of thinking!
Mom.....
Who loves giraffes, art, and, most of all... family. The woman and her little boy (who looks like Tucker when he was little) represent my children and me. I'm running away while they're little so that they don't have to grow up so fast!! I pasted a little heart-shaped key in the boy's hand since he has the key to my heart. The honey comb represents home and there's a little bee, on the right, making his way back there. Spider Man is my dh's nick name with his business colleages ('cause he's so energetic, it seems as if he's in more than one place at a time)...so that's why Spidey has a prominent place in my picture - and in my heart!
In keeping with Charlotte Mason's philosophy and method of education in our homeschooling endeavors, we ventured outside for our weekly Nature Walk.
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Children should have beautiful memories of their childhood, yet too many of us have blurry memories due to the fact we did not slow down and really look at things. Nature study helps develop skills of observation. I think this quote from Ms. Mason explains the value of those observation skills nicely;
“The unobservant person states that an object is light, and considers that he has stated an ultimate fact. The observant person makes the same statement, but has in his mind a relative scale, and his judgment is of more value because he compares, silently, with a series of substances to which this is relatively light.” -- Parents and Children, pg. 183
So outside into the vast green 'yonder' we headed, water bottles, sketch books and folding chairs in tow.
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"So ... mom, whaddaya think I should, you know... 'observe' today?"
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"Well....um, look around you and notice things... then look closer. For example, there are all sorts of interesting things right here in this tall grass where you're setting up your chair..."
This is another HUGE contest! I love being able to do any contest on HSB but when the prize is this fantastic I can't help but get giddy with excitement! A BIG thank you to Dunlop Ministries for sponsoring this contest!
The seven-title Terrestria Chronicles allegory series was written with a three-fold purpose: to honor Jesus Christ as King, to challenge young readers to love and serve Him, and to teach them to guard their hearts for Him. This young adult series is ideal for family devotions, classroom use, or personal enjoyment.
CLICK HEREto read more about this wonderful new series!
Now here's the fun part - 2 winners will receive the complete set of seven books and 6 winners will receive the first book in the series, The Sword, The Ring, and The Parchment. That's 8 winners in all!
To enter you just need to copy the below paragraph and post it on your blog. Then leave a comment here with the blog or website URL where you posted it.
Enter to win the complete set of
Terrestria Chronicles
on the HSB Company Porch!
The back to school countdown clock reads, "5 Days until our School Year Starts." For our homeschoolers, we have our curricula purchased and the first two weeks of lesson plans are penciled in. For our college-bound student, trunks and suitcases are being packed.
It's hard to believe that we have a college student this year. I used to think it obvious when I'd hear parents of grown kids saying things like, "When did she grow up?" and, "It seems like just yesterday I was changing her diapers." I guess I just didn't 'get it' back then.
I get it now...... it seems like just yesterday....well, you know where this is going.....
It's an exciting time for all of us. What are you most excited about this school year? What are you most worried about this year? Those are questions I like to ask my kids this time each year.
Wrapped within those questions are tons of hopes, dreams and possibilities. There may even be some hinderences. In Matthew 6 - Jesus is talking with a group of people and sharing with them His way of life. After reading this, I decided to rephrase those questions to something like this:
What possibilities might God have for you this year?
What things in your life are a hinderence to what God has planned?
Imagine what might happen if we began to think of our school year - not as what it will do for us - but, instead, what God might want to do throughUS!
(I've been collecting these. Please feel free to leave yours too!)
You know you are a homeschooler when you go to Walmart and buy:
- Red cabbage for the pH indicator project.
- A packet or two of the add-your-own-sugar Koolaid lemonade because it's a very cheap way to get citric acid for science.
- Food from Mexico (last week was China, next is India).
- Ingredients to make a wonderful breakfast (blueberries, whipped cream, etc.), but not wheat (you'll grind your own).
- Vinegar and baking soda for the 100th rerun of the volcano thing.
- A two-liter of Diet Coke and a tube of Mentos for a rerun of THAT thing.
- A map of the world shower curtain (they are pretty neat).
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You know you're a homeschooler when....
- you bump into an old friend at the thrift store (you're looking for cheap sheets for togas) and say, "Oh, Betty, how are you doing? What's it been, three years? What math are you using these days?"
- you take a bike ride with your children. At noon on Tuesday.
- you have friends over for dinner and have to move the globe, stapler, violin music, and markers out of the way first before you sit down.
- the kids' ask "is it time for Jeopardy yet?"
- your kids don't know who or what a Beyonce is? Or Britney?
- your kids call grandma all excited to say, "We are going to convention and get to hear Ken Ham!" Grandma says, "who?"
- you get excited when your order for owl pellets finally arrives.
- your friend asks to borrow your Yellow Pages and you accidentally hand her the Rainbow Resources catalog.
- you understand these acronyms: MUS, LLATL, IEW, SotW, BJU, etc.
- you take a kid to the grocery store and ask them to estimate the weight of the bag of peaches and then weigh it and calculate the price.
-your answering machine states "leave a message and we'll call you back after 3 PM."
- you say to your non-hs friends, "And Sally is going into 7th grade and ..." and your dd interrupts "No, she's going into 8th, right?" And you have to think about it.
- the kids sit down for dinner and start bickering over which child gets the president placemat, which one gets the types of rocks placemat, and which one gets the cursive letters one.
- you do math at the park. Or at home in your pajamas.
- someone asks your DS, "What grade are you in now?" and your DS replies, "For what subject?"
Tiany at Less of Me~More of Him is hosting a really great Homeschool Open House right now. You have until August 15th to get your entry written on your blog and linked to her site so that you can get in on the fun! You don't have to be a member of HSB either, you can have a website or blog anywhere to join in and I believe if you don't have a blog you can still email your entry to her too. I can't wait to read everyone's entries! Here's mine......
Our Family:
We've homeschooled for 11 adventurous years now! My husband and I have be married 26 years and are blessed with 4 wonderful children.
Blakie, our lovely 18 year old daughter graduated in May from our homeschool (You can read about her graduation party here ). She's off to college the end of this month.
Tucker, our 16 year old son who just returned from his 1st missions trip. (Here are some pictures of that awesome trip!)
Sami (...short for Samantha), our 14 year old daughter who is our "Craft Bug." I'll be posting pictures of some of her creations here soon, including the duck tape purses and clothing that she makes!
Kellen, our 14 year old son who loves the outdoors and any kind of adventure. (Look at this post for some adventure he encountered not too long ago!)
Our Curricula:
We are eclectic in our curricula choices, striving to facilitate the gifts and learning styles of each of our children. I just wrote about our choices for this coming year in this recent post.
Where we Learn:
Not too long ago, we enclosed our car/boat garage and created an additional room in our home. We call this room, "The Zone." It's there in the Zone that we have most of our school materials, a craft/study table, a pool table, a drum set, electric guitar, piano, other various musical instruments (maracas, tamporines, a xylophone, etc.), computer station, lots of books, a hamster, stacks of games and LOTS OF FUN! Of course...learning happens wherever we happen to be. We do a lot of reading outside and take lots of field trips too.
Our Day:
I learned a long time ago that we couldn't be slaves to the clock. What works best for us is to have our list of "To Do's" for the day and just cruise through it as the day progresses. We're all pretty much early risers, so we start with our list by 8 a.m. on most days. Even though the kids are all teens and doing high school work, we love to do several classes together. The discussions we have during Bible, logic, history and even science classes are so much a part of our schooling experience and I wouldn't give them up for anything. We really do have a lot of fun together each morning. Usually right before lunch or just afterwards, everyone begins to branch off for independent studies. Most days we're done by early afternoon with 'formal' schooling, leaving plenty of time in the day for their own projects and activities...which can become wild and fantastic in themselves!
I read a quote from a homeschool mom once that said,
"When we began homeschooling, it felt as if I had tucked a child under each arm and jumped off of a cliff. Imagine my astonishment when I realized we could fly!"
I couldn't have said it better. Our homeschool journey so far has been a wonderful change in our lifestyle, a miraculous blessing in keeping our family close - to each other and to the Lord, and a surprise in how much fun the adventure has been so far. I have more about our homeschool written in the category labeled "Lakeside Christian Academy" here on the blog. Please feel free to stay and read as much as you like. I really like comments too, so drop me a line!!
I can't wait to read all about other homeschools in this Homeschool Open House. Thanks for hosting it Tiany!
The summer is winding down. I know this because I've done the following...
- Prayed
- Attended the book fairs
- Prayed
- Studied my options
- Prayed
- Made choices
- Prayed
- Ferreted out the best buys on new and used curriculum
I've set my countdown clock ...see it there in the right-hand column? And now all that's left to do is .......well.....pray some more!
Anyway, for anyone interested... and just because I like blogging about it...here's what we have planned for this upcoming school year! Drum-roll please...
Bible / Philosophy:A Fire That Burns but Does Not Consume by James Stobaugh
English Literature: Progeny Press Study Guides - starting with Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher
Language Arts:Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization by Andrew Pudewa, AVKO Sequential Spelling, Words on the Vine by Claudia Vurnakes
Writing: Institute for Excellence in Writing, History Based Writing Lessons by Lori Verstegen
Foreign Language:Rosetta Stone - Spanish
Math: Math - u - See - Algebra I and Geometry
Science: Apologia Physical Science
History: Mystery of History Vol. II
Civics: God's World News
Art: Exploring Art Media by Barbara Shannon
Music: Mater Amabilis .org
Logic: The Thinking Toolbox by Nathan & Hans Bluedorn
We'll learn many lessons from these books, but truthfully, the best learning will take place during those days we are able to help Dad at work, take a meal to a friend or just take a long nature walk. For now, though....we'll put the books away and enjoy these lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer!
Well, the guys are back from their Miami Outreach Trip!
Over the course of 5 days, they planted a lot of seeds and also lead many people to the Lord.
They ministered by canvasing and setting up tent meetings in various areas in the city - South Beach, Liberty City, "Little Havana" and other places - and even had a rally on the courthouse steps downtown...
Thanks so much for your prayers while they were there this past week. Many are changed, all have grown...and the experience will never, ever be forgotten!
Welcome to my lazy little place on the web. A place to slow down and take an occasional break from the everyday routine.
About Us...
My sweet hubbie took the quirky little picture you see above. Contrary to what it may seem to indicate, the kids and I are not usually found sitting around together looking like sardines packed in mustard sauce. We were actually loaded up in our little space capsule at the St. Louis Arch - ready to ride to the top! Now THAT was a cool field trip!!
When we're not on field trips, you'll find us living our dream on a lovely little lake in the Lake Region of N. Central Florida - with lots of cows, horses, raccoons, opossums and gators for neighbors (...there are a few humans as neighbors too!). We're going into our 13th year of homeschooling, and even though all of our homeschooling children are now high schoolers, we still enjoy the eclectic, hands-on, literature based, Charlotte Mason method that we always have. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, and to Him, alone, we give all the praise and glory!
Soli Deo Gloria!!
Sunrise on Lake Winnott
Live...Love...Laf...
...my illustration blog
(click on little Laurie to visit)
My kitty, "Mac" (short for "McDermott")...go ahead and pet her!
Believe in God and you’ll believe in miracles; believe in His Son and you’ll experience one!
Logic ridicules love, and love smiles knowingly at the whole foolishness of logic.
Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~Scott Adams
We Miss You Nellie
Schaunell Camrin Bryant 1992-2007
Our niece, cousin and good friend.
Verse - A - Day
The Steps of a Righteous Man...
are ordered of the Lord.
Eddie, an awesome & blessed man.My hubbie of 27 years, and counting!
There are those who say it can't be done -
That your dreams are too big and your hopes too high.
They must not know the size of the God you serve.
Keep believing!
~ Nancy Parker Bummett
“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.”
We are...
...a Christian family desiring to raise our children with the primary focus on Training their Hearts!
III John 1:4
"I have no greater joy, than to hear my children walk in truth."
Proverbs 22:6
"Train up the child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it"
Deuteronomy 5:29
"Oh that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always,so that it might go well with them and theirchildren forever!"
Train up a child in the way he should go— but be sure you go that way yourself.
The character of our children tomorrow depends on what we put into their hearts today.
My sweet hubbie took the quirky little picture you see above. Contrary to what it may seem to indicate, the kids and I are not usually found sitting around together looking like sardines packed in mustard sauce. We were actually loaded up in our little space capsule at the St. Louis Arch - ready to ride to the top! Now THAT was a cool field trip!!
When we're not on field trips, you'll find us living our dream on a lovely little lake in the Lake Region of N. Central Florida - with lots of cows, horses, raccoons, opossums and gators for neighbors (...there are a few humans as neighbors too!). We're going into our 13th year of homeschooling, and even though all of our homeschooling children are now high schoolers, we still enjoy the eclectic, hands-on, literature based, Charlotte Mason method that we always have. The Lord has blessed us in so many ways, and to Him, alone, we give all the praise and glory!
Soli Deo Gloria!!
(click on little Laurie to visit)
Eddie, an awesome & blessed man.My hubbie of 27 years, and counting!
