Crazy Boys

It's been unseasonably warm the past week. Warm enough that after some time outdoors Elias and his friends wanted to go in the pool.  Who am I to dash a child's dream? (hahaha, let the cold water do that part!)

Brrrrrrrr

Well, Elias still had to try it!

Yeah, I'm guessing that cured them of it for awhile! Oh, maybe not, I forgot, they're kids!

Super Mom or Abiding Mom

The below is from a blog I frequent: Confessions of a Homeschooler

Are you like me? Constantly striving to be more Christlike? Here are some reminders.....great words.....

Super Mom	Abiding Mom
Does	Is (Psalm 46:10)
Tries to impress others	Pleases the Lord (Eph. 5:10, Proverbs 29:25)
Is controlled by an agenda (curriculum, schedule, etc)	Is controlled by the Holy Spirit: (Gal. 5:22-26) (Uses curriculum & schedules as tools for orderliness so she's more free to follow the spirit)
Her self worth is found in her accomplishments (clean house, perfect kids, the perfect bulletin boards, etc.)	Her self worth is found in an accurate view of who she is in Christ Jesus (Eph 2:10)
Her peace is found in the “perfect” environment	Her peace is found in Jesus in the midst of any storm (Is 26:3)
She is discouraged by failure	Failure reminds her that God's strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9-10)
She expects perfection from herself and others	She practices grace with herself and others (Eph 4:32)
She teaches her kids to be good	She teaches her kids to be Godly (Proverbs 22:6)
She is frustrated with her lack of spiritual fruit	She abides in Christ and bears much fruit (John 15:5)
She does things with her children	She builds a relationship with her children (Deut 6:6-7)
Her perspective is based on what is seen	Her perspective is based on what is unseen (Col 3:2)
She chooses quantity of activities	She chooses the most excellent Way (I Cor 13)

First Day of Mystery Of History Co-op

About a year ago my friend bought Mystery of History, told me about it, and then bought me a copy too! I fell in love with it!  I already owned Story of the World, and was pleased to find out people use the 2 together all the time!

Then I found out Mystery of History has a yahoogroup. And in that yahoogroup there are tons of files for you to use! Like, timeline pics, charts that show how to use MoH with Story of the World...and more. It was like a treasure trove. I happily got to printing!

In those files I saw pictures of various people's timelines, including some using a Sewing Board.  I had never heard of a sewing board, but looking at the pics, they looked cool. So, off I went to Joann's with my 40% off coupon.  I got a super sewing board. It was ~$17 without the coupon.

On one side of the sewing board are measurements and lines..for cutting patterns.  I covered that side up with white contact paper, and on the cardboard side, started laying my timeline strips, exactly as Linda walks you through it in the book!

We went from the bottom -up. Creation to Christ's birth.

See, it folds up accordian style onto itself, ends up being like 5 ft long by about 1 ft wide! Perfect for storing! or showing to others at parents meetings etc!

Here's the bottom rows of mine, after we finally got started. 

On our first gathering we met and went over the first few lessons.

I always try to incorporate fun, hands on things with each thing we study. This co-op was no different.

First, while talking about Creation, I gave them each a container of Play-dough and asked them each to make a person. (Suggestion from the book)  I let them happily mold whatever they wanted, and then dragged out the Gray's Anatomy. I asked the littler ones things like, how does your guy pee? How many hairs does your guy have on his head? How can your guy see what's in front of him? For the older kids I started flipping pages. I'd ask, where is your guys "adjsklajsda;lkjsadj".  They'd be all, "ummmmm".   I couldn't even pronounce half the things!

I read them the story of Noah and the flood. And played the song Noah Found Grace in The Eyes of the Lord It's kinda catchy!

Then I downloaded
Bill Cosby's standup comedy- 3 parts about Noah
Noah-Yeah Right! 
Noah and the neighbor
Noah Adding Animals to the Ark

Very funny!!!!!!!!!!

Then, while I was going over the Ice Age, I had them hold Ice Cubes and have a contest to see who could hold them the longest.

I love learning in a co-op setting  (or should I say teaching? I'm learning too as I'm leading the discussion!).

Valentine's Day party

We attended one of our local homeschool group's Valentine's Day Parties.  Lots of fun! Lots of Valentines!

Sebastian got into it this year!

New additions to the family

Itsy Bitsy and Teeny Weeny!  I'm being a foster mom until we open our Educational Facility. Aren't they cute?  They are red-eared sliders.

Here they are in their tank....the kids are loving them!

Science Party

ha, this one shows just how long ago it was! October. Darn, wish they didnt have the date on that thing LOL!

Anyway, this was a fun Science Day that one of my support groups put on. Various tables were around with different projects to do that related to science.

The highlight of the day was the catapult. Elias had to (try) to hammer in the nails. Then rubberbands were wound around them to create a place for the plastic spoon.

Then the spoon gets inserted, add a ball and FLING!  Repeat and repeat and repeat until you can't find the ball anymore!

Of course, if that wasn't enough fun, he also got to make a marshmallow bug and eat it too!

It was a fun afternoon!

Teen Service Project & Homemade Laundry Soap

I am one of the leaders for a local teen homeschool group. We often try to come up with service projects for them participate in. This time it was for a local homeless teen shelter Street Teens . 

We made "the Duggars" laundry soap, grating the Felz Naptha down and making a batch of laundry detergent that should last them a few months or so!

The teens also cleaned their closets and brought in all sorts of clothing that they then sorted and bagged for the same organization.

Of course, after all that hard work, we let them play!

Scout Vest

Here's Elias in his scout vest. I bought this one on Ebay. It's actually made out of red denim and cut to look just like the ones at the scout store. The price was comparable, or less, and it's not made of that cheesy felt that gets all nappy!

Christmas Tree & Memories

Only a month late! Not bad! Anyway, this year as I decorated (and un-decorated) the tree, I thought back over all the memories each decoration brings with it. Our tree isn't all beautiful and monochrome...it's full of treasures found and bought with love or crafts the kids have made through many many years. So, I am going to highlight them below, and maybe give you ideas along the way!

This one I found a few years ago in FL. It's a nail, all bent to make a heart.  And it has the story of Jesus' crucifixion and love for us.  Of course, now the decoration is put away, or I'd type the story in for you.

Statue of Liberty decorated for Christmas. Of course, we bought her on a trip to the Statue of Liberty, so it reminds me of taking my kids there.

One of my first Christmases living in Las Vegas, away from my family, a friend set up this whole big Christmas Craft day. This was one of those crafts. We painted the little flowerpot red and then sponged on Santa's hair and beard.  She also introduced me to Shotgun Santas. Really, I had never heard of such a thing! There is puff paint on this Santa face..it's really 3-D.  He's really a cute little guy! That year we also stenciled our own Christmas stockings and added fabric to the cuffs. We still use those stockings.  My friend has since moved away, but I will always be thankful to her for taking me under her wing and making that Christmas a happy one.

Seems to me Elias made this one. A quick, simple Christmas Fun Foam craft. But he was probably 6 or 7 when he did it.

Ahh, my Bri-bri made this one when he was younger. I think this was one of the craft days when he was a teenager and didn't really want to do crafts, but everyone else was.  Painted popsicle sticks with "gems" and glitter pipe cleaner glued on.

I think my neighbor made this for me. See what happens when it takes a month to post things? I forget!

This is our little nativity set that always accompanies our Christmas Tree. We have 2 different ones, and this one is less breakable. Sebastian got into it this year....see the yellow matchbox car in the back of it?! Wasn't that in the story, the cows were all lowing and the car engine was revving?

I think Brian's aunt got him this. Or maybe my mom. Anyway, it's going to end up going to Brian when he gets his first tree.

This was one of the first ornaments I've bought for my family. I HATE spending $13 on a decoration! But, this was my first baby's first christmas!

Brian made this in Cub Scouts one year. It's a piece of green construction paper with spray-painted jigsaw puzzle pieces glued on. Add a fancy bow and voila! Handmade Christmas Ornament!

My mommy knows I love handmade crafty things, so she gave this one to me. She made it at a local craft day her church had.

Another Brian-craft. For years we've had a Christmas Craft gathering, mostly the same people. This year we didn't as some of the other family's kids are getting too old.  Waaaahhh, mine aren't! Anyway, this is a beautiful dove that one of the mom's came up with, and Brian made.

Here's the ornament I bought for Elias' first Christmas.

Here's the ornament I bought for Sebastian's first Christmas.  I plan on giving all the boys their first ornaments, as their "first" ornaments when they move out and have their own "firsts".

Our neighborhood exchanges small gifts at Christmas time, and this was from one year. It's all personalized with our names!

So, there's the best of them! There are tons more to show,but these sum it up very well. Special times and crafts make our Christmas Tree a living memory-book