The Election

Tonight is the culmination of Carol's Election Lapbook. She is sitting up with her Dad watching the polls and keeping track of the Electoral College.

I read this from Homeschool Weekly E-Newsletter.

The Familyman
Todd Wilson, Familyman Ministries

Election time is where the homeschool rubber meets the road. Do we really believe God sets up kings and presidents and that "He's got the whole world in His hands". . .or do we show our children by our gloom and doom predictions that all we've taught them about God is a bunch of hooey (to use the Greek word)? To hear some Christians talk, you'd think that God steps down from His throne on November 4th.

We can teach them all we want about God through reading the Scriptures and memorizing Bible verses. . .BUT they LEARN the most from the way we live when "school" is not in session.

We don't watch TV, but on November 4th, we plan to plug in the TV and watch the presidential coverage. I'm sure we'll cheer on our favorite. . .but afterwards, no matter who walks away as winner, we will pray for our new president and thank God for setting him in place. Then no complaining.

Oh, here's one more thing to leave you with. . .the absolute truth is that what takes place in YOUR house is way more important than what happens in the White House.

Be Real. . .and trust God,

Todd

"Subsribe to the Homeschool Minute Weekly e-Newsletter"

Gooney Bird Greene

by Lois Lowry



Gooney Bird Greene is a fantastic book. Gooney Bird is a girl who tells only true stories to her classmates.



Chapter One: We learned about parts of a story and things not to stick up your nose. We also made a five-pointed star.

Chapter Two: We learned how Gooney Bird Greene got her name and what a Laysan Albatross (otherwise known as a Gooney Bird) was. Also, we learned a little about Rudyard Kipling.

Chapter Three: We learned all the different places called China and how many definitions there are for "consume".







Chapter Four: We found out who Napoleon Bonaparte was and where he lived. Also, we learned some about hypoallergenic dog breeds and homonyms.

Chapter Five: We learned about the symphony orchestra.

Chapter Six: We learned about different wildflowers.

American Girl Felicity Lapbook

Doing the Felicity lapbook, Curly and I found out a neat fact. Let's see if you know it.
Clue#1: Who is know as the Father of the American Revolution?
Go ahead, take a guess--I am not going to tell you yet.



Felicity's story takes place in 1774. During the books, the Boston Tea Party occurred. I found these stamps on the internet and thought it would be a nice addition to the front of the lapbook.



The inside of the book. Curly used colored pencils to add color to some of the pictures.
Do you need another clue? OK, here goes--he organized the Boston Tea Party.
Is your answer still the same? A little later you will get the final clue--hope you get it.



Some of the elements in the book.



We made a pocket with the recipe cards of the food Curly tried at an American Girl Book Club meeting. Some of her favorite foods are the Queen's Cakes and Apple Butter.



The underneath of the flap.

When you lift the flap, this is what you see. It is hard to see from the picture but Felicity's dress has metallic pink and green flowers on it.
Final Clue: His ran his family's brewery.

This is a picture of Mr. Merriman's shop.

It was quite interesting watching the girls play the Game of Graces. They are supposed to gracefully toss rings and catch them with sticks. They are not very graceful but boy did they have fun!



Do you know the answer? If you said "Samuel Adams" then you are correct!

I got the templates from HomeSchoolShare and the graphics from the American Girl Website (except for the Game of Graces graphics--don't remember where I got them)

Life and the Shed

Oh my. It has been almost a month since my last blog. We have been very busy. Between homeschooling and trying to get my garage ready to close in, I have not had anytime to blog. In the next few days, I will be trying to catch up.

I have pictures of the girls making bread and of them sewing their first quilt block. Hope to get them posted soon. Also a couple of lapbooks have been completed that I need to show you guys. And my little Donna has been taking swimming lessons. She is having so much fun.

As for the shed, I have been cleaning it and the garage. So far, we have had over 20 bags of garbage, one truckload of hazardous waste (paint cans, pool supplies, etc) and at least 10 bags of donate.

This past weekend, we resided the shed. I must remember, if you think it will take a day to complete--it will take three.

This is some of the wood that was on the shed. It has a lot of water damage from the wood touching the ground. To eliminate that problem, we put flashing at the bottom of the shed and then will caulk it on the inside to seal it.

Mom and I started working on the shed on Friday. We put the door up on Monday. I think Mom and I did a pretty good job on the door. It should look good, it took us around 6 hours to construct and hang.
THANK YOU MOM FOR ALL YOUR HELP!


THANK YOU SAM AND PEGGY!
I think Mom and I would still be working on the walls if it weren't for their help. I still have some of the little stuff to do--caulk, trim and attach a latch on the door. But that will be easy compared to what I have been doing.
Hope to have pictures of a finished garage soon!!

This is the shed without the doors.

Here is a view of the inside of the shed and the inside of the door. The great part is the cost. It just cost me 3 days of work (but I got to spend it working with my Mom--a plus!) and less that $375. Try to buy a 8x12 wooden shed for that price!!

Mr. Popper's Penguins Lapbook

We have finally finished our Mr. Popper's Penguins Lapbook. I got the penguins craft from a Sea World Teacher's Guide. Aren't they cute? I got most of the elements (except for compass rose and color wheel which I made myself) from Homeschool Share


We had so many elements that we had to connect three file folders together. The left side has information about penguins, the center has big sheets and "school" stuff, and the left side has information about seals.



Left side is about penguins.


Some of the penguins in the book were named after famous people. Some of the famous people are Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus and James Cook. They are represented by a picture of Victoria, and maps of the routes of Columbus and Cook.



The center of the lapbook has various "school" stuff. We learned about a compass rose and some basic map reading, complimentary colors, snow, writing a print ad, occupations, compound words and word problems.


We learned about the food chain and what happens if we change one "link" in the chain. We also learned a lot about seals. By the way, they are pinnipeds.

Busy-Busy!

We have been busy runnig around. I have many pictures to post. Hopefully I will have time next week. My daughters made their first loaf of bread and a their first quilt block this past week. We are still struggling to get through Mr. Popper's Penguins (the book is great, it is just finding time to read it and do the lapbook elements). The girls start swimming lessons in a couple of weeks. I am excited but that will be another chunk of our day lost for the next four weeks (twice a week). I know I need to RELAX!!! I am trying---really I am. I am trying not to think about all I want to accomplish tomorrow (or next week). Breathe. Relax. OK--Good night. I am going to bed now.

My 7 by 10 foot space

My 7 x 10 foot space. That is the extent of my "school room".

I have two 2ft x 4ft tables (one for each girl), my "homeschooling" computer (along with computer table) and a bookcase in that space.

(Curly's Desk)

(Angel's Desk)

(My Desk)

(Bookcase)

I don't have a dining room table and sometimes I want to scream "Where am I supposed to put MY stuff?" Then I turn around and see my two beautiful girls working on their lessons (or staring out the window) and I smile. Yes, I have a small space--but if I had a bigger space, I might not have been able to stay home and have the privilege to teach my kids.



I would not see my oldest turning into a sweet beautiful lady of the Lord right before my eyes. She is my serious one. She loves reading and learning new things and is ready to share with us at a moment's notice.



I probably would have spent a lot of time in teacher's conferences with my youngest. She is the type that will not let you know she knows something until she is good and ready. I am convinced she knew how to read months before she decided to share it with us. I have seen her mature and have seen the complete joy she has in learning something. She calls it getting "her smarts."

(I am in green with Angle beside me. Hubby in front with Curly beside him.)


Also, I have a terrible confession to make--are you ready??--I like my kids. I want to be with them. Even when they drive me crazy, I still want to be with them. I want to be the one who teaches them right from wrong (not situational ethics but right and wrong). I want to be the one to teach them the facts of life (not some kid down the street or some government program in the schools).

Am I overprotective? You bet I am. My kids are a gift from the Lord and I am responsible for them. I have had people say ,"When they get in the real world, they won't be able to handle it." My goodness, they are 5 and 8. Unfortunately, they get enough of the "real world" at church. If you think there is no peer pressure at church, you are sadly mistaken. We learn how to handle the "real world" with Biblical principles (how would that go over in public school--can we say "detention")

I want them to have a love of learning not just digesting and regurgitating (yes, I said regurgitating) facts. That is how I got through school and I can honestly say I have retained absolutely nothing.

So I thank God for my 7 by 10 foot space. Without it I would have missed this wonderful opportunity to homeschool my girls.