Yes, we are still here...

I haven't blogged in forever. We are still homeschooling and its been going very well. I won't lie, there have been some really tough days, days when I thought I'd never get through...

But God has been gracious to me. I take it one day at a time.

"Just get through today."

So, here we are... Second semester and I am frantically trying to plan out the rest of our year. We have a new baby due to arrive in May, so I would like to have our weeks planned out.

Plus, I am thinking about next school year. I'll have a 4th grader, sort of 1st grader, and a Pk'er, and a baby... probably worn on my back!

So, here's to planning! I'm enjoying my iced latte, binder, planning worksheets, and calendar. Highlighters and freshly sharpened pencils are rolling about on the kitchen table, only to be stopped by curriculum catalogs and printouts!

Our Curriculum for 2011-2012, Part 1

Welcome to a new school year!  We are very excited here in our little Schoolhouse.  God has lead us to a wonderful selection of curriculum that I am sure will be wonderful for our children.  Half-Pint is now in 2nd grade, Farmer Boy is still in Pre-K, and Little Brown Braid continues to hang around and someone pick up a few things here and there.  


Here is what we are learning together as a family:


Bible:  
We never got around to using Vos' Child's Story Bible Vols 1-3 last year, so we are using that now.  We are just reading through it and HP is doing some copywork from each chapter and drawing in her notebook.  (We are using the edition published by Banner of Truth, here's what Vol. 2 looks like.)


The 2 older children will be starting AWANA next week.  That will be included in our curriculum.  HP will be in Sparks again this year while Farmer Boy is going to start his first year in  Cubbies.  Pa will be volunteering in Cubbies to help with Farmer Boy's new transition.


Character Building:


This year, we will be reading through a books, the main one being Everyday Graces.  This book is actually a collection of different stories, excerpts from books, and poems.  Each chapter good character traits in different aspects of life:  honoring Mom and Dad, loving siblings, even dealing with manners at weddings, funerals, etc.  It's a GREAT book, I definitely recommend it.  Biblically based.


We are also going to be reading thru Storytime with the Millers.  This book is pretty conservative (about Amish life), but still teaches good character and is Biblically based.


Literature:


We are reading thru some poetry and Shakespeare this year!  


When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
Poetry for Young People by Lewis Carroll


Tales from Shakespeare by Charles & Mary Lamb
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by E. Nesbit


Some other read alouds will include:


Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie


... and whatever else we check out from the library!




Okay.  That's it for now.  I'll post more about the rest of our curriculum another day this week.  I am recuperating from a long morning of speaking to some women about breakfast.  

First Day!

It was the first day of school today.  Sorry, I haven't blogged in forever.

It went well!  I may have to tweak a few things, but overall, I think it went well and the kids had fun.

Tomorrow, I'll post our curriculum for the school year.  :)

Real Food Nutrition & Health for Kids is OUT!

Check it out here!

I can't wait to order it.

Farmer Boy loves geography!

Farmer Boy loves our Melissa & Doug USA map puzzle. He will take a state piece, walk over to large map and match it up with corresponding state.

Our favorite state?

"Misses Sota"

(that's Minnesota, if you didn't figure it out)

Field Trip/Birthday Trip

Half Pint chose the zoo for her birthday trip.

The whole family really enjoyed themselves and it was such a beautiful day (which has been few & far between around here).

C'mon, you gotta love Kumon!

I *heart* Kumon workbooks. I bought them for Half Pint when she was a Pre-K'er. I bought a few for Farmer Boy and he really enjoys them. Right now, we're just playing around with pencil practice. There is something about those big fat pencils in this boy's hands that makes me want to giggle. He loves doing "school" like his big sister.

I do have to pace him, or else he'd finish a whole book in 38 minutes.