We went to Hurricane, Utah Friday night and stayed all day Saturday.
"Why?" you may ask.
Deer.
Yep, Rinar helped his brother Lyf process a deer all day. Lyf is the hunter-man and he got a big one this season. Then one of his friends gave him a deer he didn't want. There was a lot and it must have taken them 10 hours to do about 100 lbs. of meat. They made hamburger and bottled meat. It was quite an ordeal. They both worked really hard. While they worked, I went to the temple and helped out with the kids a bit. Our boys had a ball playing with his girls. They played outside all day. The highlights were bug-catching, seed-gathering and labeling, fire-building, and joy-riding in a Rhino.
And can you guess what we had for dinner tonight?
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A Day In the Life of Our Homeschool Family
I had a great day today.
(I am just going to forget all of the times I yelled at my kids today and move on to the good stuff, okay?)
We did a lot of school work today and it was very enjoyable. In the mornings we do a small devotional. We sang a Primary song, which today was "Children All Over the World". It is a wonderful little song that I have fond memories of when I was a kid. My mother taught me that song when she served in the Primary. I have always remembered it. My kids love it as well. After the song, we knelt and said a prayer and then stood to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Then we read one little section from "Preach My Gospel". Right now we are in the section on commandments. When I finish all of the lessons, I think we will start working on scripture mastery.
After our devotional, we did our poem memorization. They are currently working on "Godfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore" by William Brighty Rands. It is a funny poem and they love it. So I would guess that they will have it mastered in the next couple of lessons. They are learning them more rapidly with every attempt. It is great.
We practiced violin next. Zach is still working on Gavotte from Mignon and Raef is still plugging away at The Witches Dance. I am pleased with their progress. They enjoy the violin (Zach all of the time, and Raef almost-most of the time).
Then it was on to a few history library books. We are talking about ancient Africa. It won't take long to get through that, and then we will revisit Egypt and the Middle Kingdom. They love the stories of ancient Africa, especially "Too Much Talk". It is a cute story.
We zoomed off to Kristina's house to meet with our homeschool group for a Mad Science class. It was on chemistry. When they finished the lecture, they ate cheese pizza and played on her little playground in the backyard.
I was so diligent and therefore I am going to pat myself on the back. I actually came home and continued doing schoolwork with the kids. We had taken a little break and then continued where we left off. We did math and they are working in their Math-U-See book and subtraction, namely -2's. They were very relaxed sitting at our new table getting all the problems done.
We then moved on to grammar and we did a little review of nouns, verbs, pronouns and the months and days of the week. We made month cards yesterday and drew a picture for each month and I hung them up on the wall today. I did this because I realized that they both did not know what months went with what seasons. It is a nice little addition to our schoolroom. Plus, they have ownership in the display because they made it, so it means something to them.
**As a side note, I just have to share the stories they wrote as a grammar exercise on Monday.
**But I digress.
After grammar, we worked on history some more. I really want to move on to Egypt again and make some progress before the year ends. There was a map exercise in their curriculum so we labeled the map to kind of review where everything is. They seem to really know what we have learned. We also read some more books and reread some of their favorites from Africa. I also had them color some review cards so that we can keep reviewing the main ideas of the things we have already learned.
At 4pm we met the cub scouts at the church and took a few of them to some neighborhoods to pass out bags for the Scouting food drive. The kids had a ball. They ran a whole lot and didn't seem to get tired. Their favorite part was probably holding on to the outside of the car as I drove slowly down the street. They were my two little stunt men. They had a blast.
We headed to Wal-Mart afterwards because Zach was desperate to spend some of his allowance. He kept asking me what time it was while we were passing out bags because he was worried that the store would close. As we were walking up to the entrance, he verified that the store never closes. He was dazzled and exclaimed, "Wow Mom, this store is amazing!" Wal-mart may have a new tag line for their advertising. My kid has officially given it his "amazing" stamp of approval. Then he spent some of his money on a transformer and Good-n-Plenty for Raef...after some coaxing from me, because Raef did not bring any money and was not happy about it.
When Zach paid for his merchandise, he had a lot of one-dollar bills. It was fun to watch him pay. He handed the cashier one dollar at time. It was very cute.
It was a successful, educational day. Homeschooling is really a wonderful way of life. I highly recommend it.
(I am just going to forget all of the times I yelled at my kids today and move on to the good stuff, okay?)
We did a lot of school work today and it was very enjoyable. In the mornings we do a small devotional. We sang a Primary song, which today was "Children All Over the World". It is a wonderful little song that I have fond memories of when I was a kid. My mother taught me that song when she served in the Primary. I have always remembered it. My kids love it as well. After the song, we knelt and said a prayer and then stood to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Then we read one little section from "Preach My Gospel". Right now we are in the section on commandments. When I finish all of the lessons, I think we will start working on scripture mastery.
After our devotional, we did our poem memorization. They are currently working on "Godfrey Gordon Gustavus Gore" by William Brighty Rands. It is a funny poem and they love it. So I would guess that they will have it mastered in the next couple of lessons. They are learning them more rapidly with every attempt. It is great.
We practiced violin next. Zach is still working on Gavotte from Mignon and Raef is still plugging away at The Witches Dance. I am pleased with their progress. They enjoy the violin (Zach all of the time, and Raef almost-most of the time).
Then it was on to a few history library books. We are talking about ancient Africa. It won't take long to get through that, and then we will revisit Egypt and the Middle Kingdom. They love the stories of ancient Africa, especially "Too Much Talk". It is a cute story.
We zoomed off to Kristina's house to meet with our homeschool group for a Mad Science class. It was on chemistry. When they finished the lecture, they ate cheese pizza and played on her little playground in the backyard.
I was so diligent and therefore I am going to pat myself on the back. I actually came home and continued doing schoolwork with the kids. We had taken a little break and then continued where we left off. We did math and they are working in their Math-U-See book and subtraction, namely -2's. They were very relaxed sitting at our new table getting all the problems done.
We then moved on to grammar and we did a little review of nouns, verbs, pronouns and the months and days of the week. We made month cards yesterday and drew a picture for each month and I hung them up on the wall today. I did this because I realized that they both did not know what months went with what seasons. It is a nice little addition to our schoolroom. Plus, they have ownership in the display because they made it, so it means something to them.
**As a side note, I just have to share the stories they wrote as a grammar exercise on Monday.
I started the story and then they had to finish it...
Raef's story...
I was walking along the road-and I stepped in quicksand with
water. I kold Dad. He bot rope. I came owt. and Dad left . The End.
Zach's story...
One morning, I woke up and discovered I had turned into a raptor.
I would swing my tail and be so mean to everybody and go outside. and bite
everybody and eat grass and step on trucks and cars and bulldozers and dumpers
and scooters.
**But I digress.
After grammar, we worked on history some more. I really want to move on to Egypt again and make some progress before the year ends. There was a map exercise in their curriculum so we labeled the map to kind of review where everything is. They seem to really know what we have learned. We also read some more books and reread some of their favorites from Africa. I also had them color some review cards so that we can keep reviewing the main ideas of the things we have already learned.
At 4pm we met the cub scouts at the church and took a few of them to some neighborhoods to pass out bags for the Scouting food drive. The kids had a ball. They ran a whole lot and didn't seem to get tired. Their favorite part was probably holding on to the outside of the car as I drove slowly down the street. They were my two little stunt men. They had a blast.
We headed to Wal-Mart afterwards because Zach was desperate to spend some of his allowance. He kept asking me what time it was while we were passing out bags because he was worried that the store would close. As we were walking up to the entrance, he verified that the store never closes. He was dazzled and exclaimed, "Wow Mom, this store is amazing!" Wal-mart may have a new tag line for their advertising. My kid has officially given it his "amazing" stamp of approval. Then he spent some of his money on a transformer and Good-n-Plenty for Raef...after some coaxing from me, because Raef did not bring any money and was not happy about it.
When Zach paid for his merchandise, he had a lot of one-dollar bills. It was fun to watch him pay. He handed the cashier one dollar at time. It was very cute.
It was a successful, educational day. Homeschooling is really a wonderful way of life. I highly recommend it.
Monday, November 10, 2008
And Now He Claps
We went to a History Fair tonight for our homeschool group. It was a lot of fun. Eli thought it was a lot of fun too.
He decided to debut his clap.
Enjoy.
And in a parallel universe...watch Eli's friend Caleigh watching this video.
He decided to debut his clap.
Enjoy.
And in a parallel universe...watch Eli's friend Caleigh watching this video.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Family Update
They thought it was so funny to mix their pyjamas.
And this is what happens when you wiggle too much in Primary and hit your face on the chair in front of you. You lose a loose tooth.
So now he has a checkerboard smile and his first lost tooth on top.
And this is what happens when you wiggle too much in Primary and hit your face on the chair in front of you. You lose a loose tooth.
So now he has a checkerboard smile and his first lost tooth on top.
And he still likes cookies...
Eli also greeted me Friday morning by standing up in his crib. He was waiting for me by standing up and he did it all on his own. Now he crawls around and is able to pull up to a standing position when he can get a good grip on something. Walking may be just around the corner.
That is our family update for the week.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Mrs. Creakle Educates America's Children
Do you know who is educating your children?
It is frightening to think that this woman has these children for hours and hours every day, day after day, month after month, year after year.
Ignorance breeds ignorance. She does not even have a command of the English language. She is intimidating and I think she is a bully.
Did you see the look on that little girl's face? She looked scared to death.
This reminds me of David Copperfield. I think this woman's name must be Mrs. Creakle.
I have had so many mothers tell me that they could never homeschool their kids. It would just be too hard. My response is always the same...
"You will when you have to."
I rest my case.
It is frightening to think that this woman has these children for hours and hours every day, day after day, month after month, year after year.
Ignorance breeds ignorance. She does not even have a command of the English language. She is intimidating and I think she is a bully.
Did you see the look on that little girl's face? She looked scared to death.
This reminds me of David Copperfield. I think this woman's name must be Mrs. Creakle.
I have had so many mothers tell me that they could never homeschool their kids. It would just be too hard. My response is always the same...
"You will when you have to."
I rest my case.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Spanish Escapades
For so many weeks, I thought my kids were doing a great job working individually on the very expensive language program I purchased for them. I want them to learn Spanish, as it is a practical choice. So I got the Rosetta Stone. I have been pleased with the whole thing. Zach has been making a lot of progress. Of course, I do hear a lot of keyboard banging when he gets stuck and frustrated. He likes to get 100% on every section. But it is great, because he really learns it and uses it daily. And I don't spend anytime on it with them.
Raef's progress has been a little slower. That is okay because he just learns differently, or so I thought.
Yesterday he got busted.
It is very hard to learn Spanish when you are playing the pinball game or video game online.
Apparently, this has been going on for weeks. I was furious. Now he loses computer privileges for 2 weeks and does not get to pick out of Dad's treasure box at work.
Raef's progress has been a little slower. That is okay because he just learns differently, or so I thought.
Yesterday he got busted.
It is very hard to learn Spanish when you are playing the pinball game or video game online.
Apparently, this has been going on for weeks. I was furious. Now he loses computer privileges for 2 weeks and does not get to pick out of Dad's treasure box at work.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Why I Love Rush Limbaugh
I have always been an optimist. I plan for the worst, but I always hope for the best. This is why I love Rush Limbaugh. He is an inspiration to me...ever since I was a kid. Rush would call me a "Rush Baby". I was introduced to him when he had a television show. I was hooked ever since.
Consequently, I may have been the only 14 year old in America who cried when Bill Clinton was elected. I was really worried. But Rush Limbaugh never was discouraged, and many positive things resulted from it.
When I lived in Atlanta, I had the privilege of listening to Rush one day as he gave an inspirational monologue on dreams and goals. He was talking to some kid and he gave a little biography of his life. He first worked in radio and didn't make any money, but he loved it. Then, when he was a little older, he decided to do some kind of desk job for a paycheck. Rush did it for a few years and was absolutely miserable. So he returned to radio. He pursued his passion and the consequences of that love have been palpable. He is a huge success...because he is doing what he loves. It really meant a lot for me to hear that. I need to pursue my passions and let the consequences be what they may. (Hence, my passion has been educating my children and dedicating my life to church service.)
With all of the "noise" from different media outlets, Rush Limbaugh cuts through it all with a clarity that is unprecedented. He vocalizes the exact things that I am thinking. He has consistently been my proponent for years. He does it with a passionate intellect that is refreshing and soothing to my soul, without being insulting on any level. How grateful I truly am!
Since I know I can trust him completely, I don't have to waste thirty minutes on a weeknight watching an infomercial that I know will drive me absolutely bonkers and make my blood boil. I can wait for the trusted commentary the following day and get everything I need to know out of his expert analysis.
I also did not subject myself to countless debates. Why worry about sifting through all the nonsense? Rush does all the leg work for me.
I just love Rush Limbaugh.
And he does it all with this eternal optimism that gives me hope. I don't know why I should be hopeful, but I am. Why? Because there is somebody out there, besides me, that believes in people and believes in America. He hasn't fallen down the rabbit's hole. He keeps me sane.
So, on the eve of this historic election and as the dust settles, I know that at 9am Wednesday, I can turn on my radio and hear the dum-da-da-da-dum music and the clarion call of America's Truth-Detector and Doctor of Democracy. He will understand. He will talk me down off the ledge. He will be there for me.
I love Rush Limbaugh.
Consequently, I may have been the only 14 year old in America who cried when Bill Clinton was elected. I was really worried. But Rush Limbaugh never was discouraged, and many positive things resulted from it.
When I lived in Atlanta, I had the privilege of listening to Rush one day as he gave an inspirational monologue on dreams and goals. He was talking to some kid and he gave a little biography of his life. He first worked in radio and didn't make any money, but he loved it. Then, when he was a little older, he decided to do some kind of desk job for a paycheck. Rush did it for a few years and was absolutely miserable. So he returned to radio. He pursued his passion and the consequences of that love have been palpable. He is a huge success...because he is doing what he loves. It really meant a lot for me to hear that. I need to pursue my passions and let the consequences be what they may. (Hence, my passion has been educating my children and dedicating my life to church service.)
With all of the "noise" from different media outlets, Rush Limbaugh cuts through it all with a clarity that is unprecedented. He vocalizes the exact things that I am thinking. He has consistently been my proponent for years. He does it with a passionate intellect that is refreshing and soothing to my soul, without being insulting on any level. How grateful I truly am!
Since I know I can trust him completely, I don't have to waste thirty minutes on a weeknight watching an infomercial that I know will drive me absolutely bonkers and make my blood boil. I can wait for the trusted commentary the following day and get everything I need to know out of his expert analysis.
I also did not subject myself to countless debates. Why worry about sifting through all the nonsense? Rush does all the leg work for me.
I just love Rush Limbaugh.
And he does it all with this eternal optimism that gives me hope. I don't know why I should be hopeful, but I am. Why? Because there is somebody out there, besides me, that believes in people and believes in America. He hasn't fallen down the rabbit's hole. He keeps me sane.
So, on the eve of this historic election and as the dust settles, I know that at 9am Wednesday, I can turn on my radio and hear the dum-da-da-da-dum music and the clarion call of America's Truth-Detector and Doctor of Democracy. He will understand. He will talk me down off the ledge. He will be there for me.
I love Rush Limbaugh.
"Talent on loan from God!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
