Merry Christmas!

It is that time of year again - spending time with friends and family, standing in line, baking goodies, hiding the gifts, and putting up the decorations. Since I have not posted, I was given the "opportunity" to compose a message for Christmas. However, since I work in retail, I am not sure that I am the best choice for the job!

I have to say that people have less patience during the holidays and they do not realize that they should be thankful for all the blessings they do have - a warm house, clothing, and family. People should be more thankful during this time of recession and not worry about getting the latest toy. It has definitely been a crazy season this year!

I am thankful for being out of school for the last three weeks, even though it is driving me crazy! I am not sure what I should be doing with all this free time! I really enjoy school and working hard towards earning my degree in secondary history, even though it is going to take me longer than four years to accomplish the goal. I am glad to have some relaxing time before the next quarter starts to recoup from the shoppers and the work load at college.

The rest of the family is also taking time to relax from school and enjoy the season. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

~Megan

Happy Birthday, Jordann!

Wow! You are 14, Jordann! That is really hard to believe because I have always lumped you and Whitney into "the two little ones." You are growing up so fast!

Here are fourteen things I love about you this year:

1. You immerse yourself in literature like a sponge in water!

2. You are enjoying learning how to be a writer and it is something you excel at!

3. You are a bright student that loves to learn new things!

4. You are amazingly indulgent to your cat. I hope you take care of me like that when I am old!

5. You love to giggle and have a good time!

6. You are passionate about your music.

7. You can be very helpful when Mom is busy meeting deadlines for school!

8. You always look out for your little sister and make sure she is safe!

9. You often enjoy being a carefree kid! You should enjoy life when you are young and I love to see you do this!

10. You never complain that you are bored!

11. You drive Shelby crazy which is very fun to watch!

12. You love to be my relaxed kid! Have you ever really been angry about anything?

13. You love all animals!

14. You are beautiful - inside and out!

An Interesting Self-Portrait

Whitney was supposed to be working on a self-portrait for art this week. She decided that she had already completed enough self-portraits of herself, so she sat her kitty down on the paper and helped him draw his own portrait!

Born to Run

We have been filling our days with many long walks....maybe even a little forced running with our Siberian Husky puppy. I think the above image is pretty accurate! We have been walking about ten miles a week which makes me wonder if we are training for a marathon....

Back On the Scene!

I feel like I have been totally out of the blogging loop for several weeks now and when I actually sit down to write something, I cannot get my mind to stop spinning and actually post anything that makes sense! Life is crazy with all of the coursework that is happening at our house right now. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving week when we can all take some time to just be together without worrying about endless deadlines.

I thought I’d post about what is going on right this minute….

Listening...

...to the sound of the air bubbles in the saltwater tank.

...Demon howling (AGAIN!). That dog really needs someone to talk to.

...Bach because I am forcing myself to relax!

Watching...

...text messages appear on my phone.

…the clownfish searching for food in Megan’s tank. I wonder if she has fed him lately?

…Demon licking the dirt off the glass door (gross!).

...all my e-mail downloading for the day.

Thinking...

...we are going to be so busy this next month as we all finish semester projects for school. Christmas break will not be here soon enough!

...we need to find a hobby for the dog, other than escaping the back yard. Waking up at 3am to deal with his naughtiness makes for a VERY long day!

Surviving Week One of the 2009-2010 School Year

We have managed to conquer our first week of school for three of the girls this week. I would say we have definitely accomplished a lot! This is a condensed list of all the learning that has taken place in our home this week:

• 25 math lessons: place value to billions, inequalities
• 17 literature lessons: “Chanticleer and the Fox”, “It Could Always Be Worse,” “Chura and Marwe”, “The Tiger’s Whisker”, “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”, “The Story of Scarface”; “Beowulf”
• 15 language arts lessons: vocabulary, spelling, parts of speech, kinds of sentences, conjunctions and interjections, prepositions
• 13 social studies lessons: Geography, American History after 1865, American Government
• 10 science lessons: ecosystems, producers, consumers, decomposers, physical systems, measurement and the international system
• 10 Spanish lessons: greetings, Spanish alphabet, Spanish comparisons
• 4 art lessons: kinds of art, an artist’s role

That’s an amazing 94 lessons in just one week! We even survived it all with no tears or temper tantrums. I was very impressed with how cooperative and excited Jordann and Whitney were to begin their school year. I am hoping that it will still be smooth sailing as I begin my semester on Monday.

A New School Year Begins

It's hard to believe that summer is coming to a close and that we have just begun a new year of school for the girls. We are continuing our journey with home education and will be maneuvering through 4th grade, 8th grade and 12th grade. Let the fun begin!

I had to take some photos of the girls on their first day of school. I was even able to capture a few without them rolling their eyes!

I will be returning to school next week and forging ahead in my quest to finish my teaching certification, while Megan will begin her second year at college late in September, pursuing a secondary teaching certification in History.

We are all looking forward to learning new concepts and ideas, as well as getting back to a more structured schedule for the fall. I hope we all still feel that way after the first day of school is completed!

A Solemn Summer

Our family has spent the summer coping with the declining health of my father and his diagnosis of end stage renal failure. There have been many peaks and valleys over the last couple of months, but his condition seems to be stabilizing. We are reflecting about the impact he has had on all of our lives and cherishing the time we have left with him.

We are striving to return to as much normalcy as possible for the remainder of the summer and make educational plans for myself and the girls.

Automobile Lapbook

This week I've been working on the automobile lapbook.

I have learned about the transmission, the clutch, the engine, the crankshaft, and the first car made.

Carl Benz was the first person to invent a car. It wasn't safe and it could sometimes knock an arm off the driver when the driver was trying to start it.

Henry Ford later invented a much safer car - The Model T Ford. This car was also affordable, but other cars that were invented were mostly for wealthier people.

After learning about old automobiles and the inventors, the older automobiles are really cool. It's really neat to learn about how the cars changed throughout the years.

I look forward to learning more about cars. Although, I don't have to do a lapbook to learn about cars, all I have to do is listen to Dad!

This is the fourth lapbook I have finished. I am currently working on the Renaissance lapbook and it is really exciting!

Middle Ages Lapbook

This week I worked on a lapbook for summer. It was supposed to keep me busy for a couple of weeks, but it ended up taking two days. This is my third lapbook I have completed.

Out of my astronomy, heart, and this one, this one is my favorite one. 

I learned about the medicine they used, which is basically none. If you got sick then it was because you were very sinful. It was God's punishment. 

Hats of the middle ages were very interesting. Some were not even hats, they were just cloth that covered your head. 

When boys became knights, it started at the age of seven and goes throughout their childhood. Through the whole thing they are training knights. They go to a knight's house and do things for him so they can learn what it is like to be a knight. 

I got to learn more about Leif the Lucky and Eric the Red. I forgot that Leif the Lucky was Eric's son. When I read that it reminded me of reading a book about Leif. 

For my next lapbook, I'd like to learn more about the history of different wars the United States was involved in.

Pizza Science

Whitney is just learning to be creative in the kitchen.  She always wants to cook with Mom, but never with the help of her sisters.  (I think there might be just a bit of sibling rivalry going on there!)  She decided that she wanted to help make pizza dough even after I explained how messy it can get.  She cannot stand to have any glue on her fingers when we do paper projects, so I wasn't sure how well she was going to handle the stickiness of pizza dough.  She started out very industrious.

Then she wanted to really know how the dough felt and what she could do with it.  She didn't really care that the purpose was to knead the dough rather than pull it all apart and dissect it.  She was quite fascinated with what happens to water and flour when you mix them together.

I finally persuaded her to add more flour so that we would actually have a finished product that we could eat!

And in the end, she was threatening everyone to stay out of "her" kitchen so that she could make it all by herself!  Surprisingly enough, it was pretty good.  

The Dog Days of Summer

Although the puppy looks cute, I think he really is a demon!  This is our second summer with a very active Siberian Husky.  This morning he demonstrated his ability to turn on the water (all by himself) in the back yard and dig a nice, muddy hole....all this occurred prior to breakfast!

So far this summer he has managed to dig multiple holes in the yard, lift off the irrigation covers and chew them, prune all the bushes to a 1" height, and chew through the wires for the air conditioning unit.  I can hardly wait to see what the rest of the summer brings!

Falcon Study

Over the last couple of weeks we have been watching various falcon cams and new babies hatching.  Jordann has been fascinated (not surprising since she is our animal lover) and will spend all day observing the falcons' behavior.

Here are some of the sites we have been looking at:

Santa Cruz Bird Research Falcon Cam

Netherland Falcon Cam

Boise Falcon Cam

Pennsylvania Falcon Cam

For more interesting facts about falcons, visit the San Jose Peregrines site.

Another Semester of School Finished!

Well, at least for Mom school is finished for the semester.  I always enjoy finishing spring semesters because that means I get to take a break for the summer.  I'm not sure the girls view it the same way, though!  The time is here to really focus on the girls' schooling for the summer and work on some of the skills they are struggling with.  

For Whitney that means getting her to write more than one paragraph, which is similar to pulling teeth!  She was really thrilled (well...maybe not!) when I told her that she would be writing and illustrating a book this summer.  We may need to find some duct tape to help her hold her pencil for more than two minutes at a stretch...

Jordann is doing really well in most of her studies, but I'll also be working with her on the organization of her writing.  She loves to journal and create stories, but needs a little help in producing a finished piece of work.  She has such a creative imagination that I would not be surprised to see her work published one day!  

I always enjoy spending more time engaged in direct instruction with them and figuring out what our plan will be for school in the fall.  I think this year we will be looking to make some changes for their education and stir things up a bit! 

Children's Book Recommendation

We discovered John, Paul, George & Ben this week while I was completing an assignment for my children's literature class.  The girls have had so much fun reading it over and over!  

The story begins when bold-schoolboy John (Hancock) writes his name so large on the blackboard that his exasperated teacher remarks, "We don't need to read it from space." Similarly, loudmouthed Paul (Revere) embarrasses a lady who comes into his shop to buy extra large underwear; honest George (Washington) admits to chopping down an entire orchard; clever Ben (Franklin) annoys the neighbors with his platitudes; and independent Tom (Jefferson) presents a list of grievances to his teacher.

This is a great book to introduce younger elementary students to our American founders and spark interest in the American Revolution.  

Illustrator Lane Smith is well known for his book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.  This book is a hilarious fracured fairy tale that children will also enjoy.

Spring Break - 2009

The girls and I spent spring break in the sunny southwest this year. Although the weather was beautiful, Megan and Whitney spent their vacation with fevers, chills, and sore throats. Dad was very happy not to have been in the car for hours with sickly children!

Jordann was sweet enough to wait until we were back home to get her dose of the flu. It's a good thing because I don't think her motion sickness and the flu would have been a good combination in grandma's new van.

Visiting with their new cousin was the highlight of their trip and they were sad to have to leave her and come home.


Thank you, sis, for letting us invade your house. I know it's always an adventure when we arrive with all these girls! Thanks also to grandma for spending hours in the car catering to their every whim! It's a trip we'll all remember for a very long time ....

Hockey for a Princess?

For Whitney's 9th birthday, we took her to another ice hockey game. We haven't quite figured out why she is so fascinated by this sport, but she absolutely loves it -- blood, fighting and everything else that goes along with ice hockey! Six months ago she was entranced with ballet. It's hard to believe she gave up ballet lessons for ice hockey...

Jordann's Music

Jordann playing "Undo" by Rush of Fools on her electric guitar.



Jordann composed an original piece of music she titled "Classical Jam."

Jordann's School Desk?

Jordann told me she was struggling with her math this week and needed some extra help. She has been working on computing interest, installment buying, planning a budget, and figuring electricity rates using kilowatts. She has been covering some pretty difficult concepts lately and I've been impressed at how well she has been navigating the lessons indpendently. We have been working on her ability to decipher story problems and draw a pictorial representation for the more challenging problems. I thought I'd spend some time this afternoon helping her, but apparently she found some furry friends to consult with. I think I'm beginning to understand where the confusion is!

Happy 9th Birthday, Whitney!

Whitney celebrated her 9th birthday on March 1st. It's hard to believe that she's growing up so fast!

Whitney's Nine Favorites:
Macaroni and Cheese
Hannah Montana
Robert Frost Poems
Helen Keller
Debates with Megan
Sleeping In
Sparkling Clothes
Her Kitties: Calvin & Hobbes
Swimming at the Y

DNA Model

This week I made a model of DNA with pipe cleaners and beads. The cats really enjoyed helping me with the pipe cleaners! It took awhile to get it to the exact shape it needed to be, but eventually I got it. I learned what DNA really is. It's nice to have a human translator and human dictionary - Mom! I found out that DNA is really strips of cells in your body, made up of guanine and cytosine. There are hundreds in your body. They must be really small strips if they're all over your body!

Hello, Cupcake!

Whitney has been obsessed with a recipe book she recently discovered called Hello, Cupcake! She has this fantasy that I'll be making her these cupcakes called "Rabbit Holes" for her birthday next month. I have to say that cake decorating is not my specialty. I think she'll have to visit her very talented, cake-decorating aunt to make these intricate delights!

University Classes – Spring 2009

I figured that I should probably post the classes I'm taking this spring before I get too busy and the semester is over. I have been in school for a month now and the work load is definitely starting to pile up. It's always more challenging when I have multiple papers to research and write. My favorite format of cramming before an exam seems to be over as I head into more education classes. I keep telling myself that I will lighten up, but it never seems to happen. Last semester was the 4^th time I've made the Dean's list in the last two years. My friends and family tell me I should stop being so competitive and I think I should start listening to them!

This semester I am taking my final core class - Western World Literature and three education classes – Children's Literature, Cultural Diversity and Teaching and Learning in Elementary School.

I have been learning so much in the children's literature class and I really wish I had taken this when my own children were younger. At least I'll be able to pass all this great information on to my newest niece – I can hardly wait to spoil her with all these good books!

My cultural diversity class comes with a required community service project and after much searching; I have decided to volunteer at a daycare center that hosts refugee children. I just recently discovered that our area is an International Refugee Center and I am interested to learn more about the refugees here in our area. I have learned that there are 96 different languages currently spoken in our community.

Teaching and Learning in Elementary School seems to be an introduction to lesson planning and familiarity with State content standards. Most of this material has been a review as we have been homeschooling now for about ten years. This class also requires a student teaching component in a local school. I have been placed in a 7^th grade Language Arts class in a middle school and it has been a wild experience. This experience reminds me of yet more reasons why our family chooses to homeschool. I think the most shocking thing I discovered was how little work actually gets accomplished in a class period. From what I have seen in this particular class, I would estimate we are able to cover about four times the amount of material in an hour at home as compared to a traditional classroom.

It's hard to believe that after returning to college two years ago, I still have about five semesters left. I might be paying back student loans until I am 99!

Lewis and Clark Adventure Game

The girls and I stumbled across a history board game for Lewis and Clark when we were at the university library this last week. We have been playing it over the weekend and Whitney says, "This is the best game I have ever played!" It always reminds me that we need to take a break from school-structured routine and have fun with our learning.

What's in My Kitchen?

I walked in my kitchen this morning and suddenly realized that we had multiple science experiments all over the counters. We have potatoes soaking in three different solutions, an egg in corn syrup, an egg in water, a glass jar with some funny blue solution, and a jar of dirt mixture.

We also have Whitney who is still obsessed with acorns. I opened my backpack at school this week and, while reaching for a pen, pulled out part of her acorn collection. That was certainly interesting! One of her new interests is dissecting beans every time we have a meal with them. I never have to worry about her curiosity for life.

I guess you can say that we've definitely covered several science concepts this week!

Never a Dull Moment

The new kitties crept into the bird cage this week and tried to have a little dove stew. One of the doves has a nice little wound on the side of her neck. I'll spare everyone and not post the photo. The girls are having a hard enough time looking at it without being queasy. We definitely need a volunteer to participate in the dove bathing.

Playing in the Mud

Jordann is learning about sedimentation and erosion in this week's science unit. She just completed an experiment with sedimentation which required her to collect dirt from the yard. She was really thrilled to be doing this particular lab in the middle of winter!


The actual experiment took all day because every time Whitney walked past the jar she couldn't resist shaking it all up again!

Fanciful Living

Jordann was busy this week creating her work of fiction. I think she's been listening to all the current events surrounding our world lately. I love the imagination and creativity!

Happy Birthday Shelby!

Today Shelby celebrates her 17th birthday! She is turning into a lovely young woman and we are so proud of all the accomplishments she has made! Best wishes from your family!