Thursday, August 25, 2011

Happy Times as an Army Mom

My oldest is home on a short leave, so we're capturing all we can on film. It's so wonderful to have him home again-even for a short time.









Monday, August 22, 2011

Water Play


Baby Girl really loves her "water play" time, as you can see from this video and the pictures below. Next week I'm going to add some small items to the bucket of water and have her "fish" them out in order to work on fine motor skills. Can't wait for her to try it! Remember to scroll to the bottom of the blog and stop the playlist so you can hear the video.

Baby Girl has such a good time with water play. Look at that smile!

Baby Girl gets ready to play in the water

Time to practice pouring and get wet


Both hands in the water-FUN!


Face in the water. She loves it! :)



Muffin Tin Monday-Letter H

"H" is for hats!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Homeschooling: August 15-19, 2011

We had another great week. We added a new book to our Bible study: Starting Strong. For our read-aloud time, we finished reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond and started Johnny Tremain. For independent reading, Doodles finished The Matchlock Gun and Bug is reading My Father's Dragon: The Bestselling Children Story We continued our reading in all of the other previously mentioned Sonlight books. Doodles studied the excretory system in science, while Bug continued learning about plants. Baby Girl learned about the letter "G." She listened as I read some books, and she did several hands-on activities. We are all having a blast and learning so much!
Bug's bean has roots and shoots

Baby Girl's "G" is for Goat project


Bug's bean plant is sprouting


Baby Girl's letter G's and "original" artwork


Baby Girl's stamp work


Baby Girl makes her "goop" for Letter "G"


I get messy with the "goop."


Is the "goop" a solid or is it a .....


liquid?


Doodles' history project: a ship


Bug's history project: homemade refried beans-boiling the beans


Bug mashes the beans


Bug fries the beans


Refried beans are done!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Homeschooling: August 8-12, 2011

Baby Girl and I watch a video "Five Little Speckled Frogs" (Letter F Week)
Baby Girl's Lapbook Cover: Five Little Speckled Frogs (Letter F)

Inside of Baby Girl's lapbook


Baby Girl's letter F practice and "creative writing"


Snacks and Poetry


Fish activity sheet


Baby Girl writes on her board


Math time: shape sorting


Baby Girl and I fingerpaint

Baby Girl's "Fish in the Ocean" fingerpainting project


Bug's science activity for Sonlight Science K


Doodle chose to read to Bug...and Bug chose to listen-after school was done, merely for fun!
I credit Sonlight for this. We LOVE it! It is really turning my children into eager readers.





Thursday, August 11, 2011

Teaching Home Ec Creatively


Beach cake-made by Doodles
 Home Ec is probably one of my favorite subjects to teach...and my children don't even realize when I'm teaching it! Often they fix lunch on their own or help me cook supper. Of course they have chores, such as helping with yard work, folding laundry, unloading & loading the dishwasher, taking out the trash, and dusting. But, the most fun we have is playing "Chopped." If you're not familiar with this Food Network TV show, here's a link: Chopped. Playing this game helps my kiddos to get creative in the kitchen and learn to cook while having a blast!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Homeschooling: Week 4 with Sonlight

Doodles, Bug, and I have been steadily reading through several wonderful books. I don't always post about this part of our school, but I should. We are still reading The Witch of Blackbird Pond, which we all find interesting-as well as exciting- especially now that we just finished Chapter 17. Want to know why? Read the book. :)  We are also reading Story of the U.S.A.: Book 1 Student Explorers And Settlers, The Landmark History of the American People (Two Volume Set, Newly Revised and Updated), and The American Indian Prayer Guide. For poetry, we read The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems. We also have daily Bible reading as well as Scripture memorization. We learn patriotic songs using Wee Sing America. Currently Doodles is reading Pocahontas and the Strangers (Scholastic Biography) independently, while Bug just finished reading Five True Dog Stories and The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto (Step-Into-Reading) independently. On a side note, Bug enjoyed these "dog" books so much that he not only "read ahead," but asked for another "dog book." I ordered Lad, a Dog: The Bad Puppy (Hello Reader!, Level 4) for him. Doodles is studying Science 5 from Sonlight, and this week she is learning about the circulatory system and the immune and lymph system. Her current books are: Lyrical Life Science, Vol. 3: The Human Body - which is so much fun...there are songs for each system. Also, she is currently using:  The Young Scientist Book of the Human Body, Brown Paper School book: Blood and Guts, Human Body, Grades 5-8: 100+ Reproducible Activities, and of course Sonlight's fabulous Science 5 Instructor's Guide. Bug is studying Sonlight's Core K Science. His books are: Everyday Things (Finding Out about), Usborne Science Activities, Vol. 2, and The Usborne Complete First Book of Nature (Usborne First Nature). He also uses Sonlight's Science K Instructor Guide and their Inquisikids DVD. I can honestly say that everyone-my husband and I included-has already learned a lot using Sonlight. Want to know more? Just click on the Sonlight link on the right side of my blog!

Self-Care That's Not So Fun

As promised in my previous post, I am now going to talk about self-care that's not so much fun. This kind of self-care involves thin...