Fun Lessons!

Another successful week of school has happened here.  And by successful I mean the kids are great, Young Man is learning lots of great stuff, and we had a great slow start to the mornings with lots of cuddling! 

So what better way to practice some spelling than while washing the stove top?  A little soap never hurt anybody, right?  Young Man loves to write in the soap so it's a great way to check and see if he's retaining all those spelling lessons.

And then the stove is clean, too!

Hope it was a good week for you and your littles!



Wonderful Science!

Hello Homeschool Friends!  Happy February to you!  Can you believe it's February already?   We are so close to spring now and that makes me start thinking of the homeschool conventions.  Since we live in Virginia we attend HEAV's Convention in Richmond and it is always so good.  We go as a family and there really is something for everyone.  I can't wait!  Better start saving some money for that!

 Anyway, I did mention to you earlier that we found a science program that we LOVE and I do want to share it with you.  We tend to follow A Well-Trained Mind, which is a classical approach.  For Logic Stage science that pretty much calls for using encyclopedias to read as the core and then doing experiments and writing assignments based on what you've read.  We did this for the first semester but I really, REALLY wanted more direction, more structure.  There are  so many other science programs available that look absolutely wonderful, but didn't concentrate enough on the subject that we needed for this year.  Then I found this:

Created by Paige Hudson, this is Biology for the Logic Stage.  It actually references A Well-Trained Mind and was written to meet the goals set forth there.  It uses encyclopedias for reading and writing assignments, but also includes vocabulary and sketch sheets, as well as discussion questions and experiements.  For me, this was just the structure I needed!  Science should be fun, but I found it very tedious to research and plan for experiments and try to come up with my own discussion questions.  That only took away from the fun my Young Man could have while doing science.  This way, I feel that he is able to learn so much more and have so much fun doing it. 

Their website is called Elemental Science and they do more that Logic Stage Biology.  They even have materials for pre-k!  So in an attempt to support your homeschool science endeavors, I highly recommend you check them out.  No I don't get paid, silly...  I'm just excited to have found something new that works for us!

Oh the joy of having them at home. 

What do you do for science?  Do you have some great ideas to share?  Let's hear it then!

Hope you're having fun learning with your littles!

Celebrating Friday!

It's been a really good week here school-wise.  Young Man has been on top of Everything!

So we felt the need to make a little something sweet which actually resulted in a very big sweet!

One Giant Cookie!

With chocolate chips, of course!

Our little people work very hard at learning, don't they?

So I believe they need a little recognition, a nice pat on the back.

And who doesn't love a little chocolate now and then?!

So how do you celebrate a good week?

Please drop us a line and let us know.  We'd love to hear your ideas!

One more little thing to show you before I go:

This is a grape, but it was so special we had to take a picture to remember it. 

Just for fun!

I hope it's been a good week for you Homeschool Mommas and for your little learners.

Oh, and we have a new science book I'm absolutely THRILLED with right now that I really want to share with you, so I'll be back soon!

Hoping you're loving learning this week!



Support! Encouragement! Venting!

Hi there...  Welcome to the new blog.  My hope  for this blog is purely to support one another and bring dedicated homeschooling people together so we can chat about what's on our minds, our hearts, and our floors!  I know that may sound incredibly weird at the moment, but let me explain. 

I do NOT have a floor fetish or anything, but as all of you already know, there are not enough hours in the day sometimes.  There are more demands on me than there is a 'me'  at times.  I truly, TRULY love what I do, spending my days with the most fascinating, beautiful, sweet, little people that I am blessed to call my children.  But it is very demanding in so many ways.  I don't just mean the children, but when you are home all day, every day don't you feel like you should have a neat, clean house, well planned meals, you should feel relaxed and just bursting at the seams with  J O Y !!!  ??

Well, yes, those joyous moments do occur, but they are interspersed with piles of laundry, (both dirty and the clean that's not yet put away), dirty diapers, rushing to get the trash can down to the road, emergency trips to the veterinarian, etc...  You get the point. 

So I have found these things to be true:

When time allows, I look for encouragement and support online, in HS magazines or maybe from fellow homeschoolers in our area.

I find that most of the encouragement I have found is Biblical based - which is a GOOD thing.  Most of what I read always encourages me to pray and stay in the Word.  I know I can't do anything without Him and that He is faithful and will provide all that we need today.

And...  I still find myself wishing I could find someone to have a dialog with about whatever is going on at the time.  Someone who gets it.  Someone who has been there and done that and can relate.  Someone who is not my hubby, (he is such a patient man!).  He's heard enough, really...

Whether I'm thinking of changing up how we are doing things, or if this week feels like it's 8 days long and it's only Tuesday, or how I haven't ironed for my hubby in (insert # of months here), I'm hoping to find a real person out there who can say, "I hear ya!"



So I wanted this to be a different kind of encouragement for myself and others.  A place we can meet and comment on what's on our hearts, what's troubling us, or what we are celebrating.  And we can be there to listen and encourage one another through the good, the bad and the ugly. 

I believe we all want the very best for our kids and families.  That's why we do what we do!  But  we need support and sometimes even an outlet to vent! 

 Ahhhh... then we feel better and we can focus on what's important.  

So I hope you will stop by now and then and let us know what's going right for you or even what's pushing you to your limit.  Hopefully we can find a way to encourage each other through our comments.  Then we can keep putting on that smiling face and doing happy-dances with the kids no matter what the house looks like.  Or if the ironing is done...  Or we're not sure what's for dinner...  Because we live in a real world where stuff happens and no matter how we plan, you never know how it's going to turn out.



And we realize that it's ok.  We are doing all that we can today.  We are doing our best and it is all worth it!

Keep on Keeping On!