Learning Numbers with Puzzles And Trash

This is not a "how to homeschool blog" (trust me when I say I am not the one to go to for that... ha!), but I thought I would share a little quick project I did this week to help my daughter learn her numbers.  

You see a lot of those little popsicle stick puzzles that you can make by laying a bunch of popsicle sticks (craft sticks) down side by side and gluing a picture down to the top.  After you dry you cut it apart and you number 1-10 along one end of the popsicles sticks.  When the child puts the numbers in order they will have the puzzle picture put together.  That one is great, but I wanted to do it slightly different and without the popsicle sticks even though I have those on hand.  

 

First, I dug around in my paper recycling trash can and found a couple of things that had large pictures that I liked.  I thought a little kid my like a sandwich picture and the picture from a Lucky Charms box.

When Sahara saw her completed puzzles she said, "A hambugger!"  And, of course, she liked the cereal one.  I gasp at the thought that my kids eat that toxic stuff, but my husband likes to buy them "fun" cereal.  We kind of meet in the middle on that little issue.  I don't buy it on a regular basis, but will buy it on sale or as a special treat.  I am totally not keeping the cabinets stocked with it.  But it makes a fun puzzle picture!

In the pic above you can see that I used a glue stick to glue the sandwich picture to a piece of cardstock paper and left a small edge along the bottom to write the numbers.  

 

For the Lucky Charms one it was already cardboard so I did not back it with anything.  I simply cut it in the size square that I wanted, added little stickers across the bottom, numbered those, and cut it in different patterns.  Look closely at the numbers 8 and 9 that I cut straight.  I actually recommend not doing that.  They could easily mix those two numbers up and the picture still looks mostly "right" to them.  So, zig zag them and do the curveys.

 

 For the sub sandwich one ... or "hambugger" as Sahara calls it... you will cut the picture down to the size you want, use a marker to write numbers along the bottom, and again cut in random patterns to make your puzzle pieces.  

The idea is to focus not on putting the picture together, but to focus on putting the numbers in order and then, seeing what the picture reveals.  Have fun turning a little trash into a little learning treasure.

Ch-ch-ch-changes: Running out of Room in the Van

Once again I find myself it a "season" of changes.  With another little addition on the way it is once again time to re-evaluate a few things in our home.  We even considered moving to a different house to simplify some things, but it looks like that will not be happening.  Time will tell that story.

Closets are another issue that will soon be on the list of things to address.  For now I shall procrastinate a bit longer on that one.  Really I just don't quite know what direction I want to got there.  I think there may be some people moving OUT of the family closet.  It is getting pretty cramped.  Alas, I will cross that bridge a little later I suppose.

One of the many things that has been apparent from the beginning is that once our new addition joins the family we will no longer fit in either of our current vehicles.  Cody has a Chevy Tahoe and it seats seven and I have a Toyota Sienna that also seats seven.  We will need eight seats if we are to go anywhere as a family.  This really is not a crucial issue, though.  We do have the shuttle bus that we use for vacations and in a crunch we could use it if we really needed to.  It is not ideal because it gets nine miles per gallon or LESS.  It would serve the purpose if necessary.

As this has been on my mind I decided to do a little searching to see if there was anything available in our local area at this time.  I came up with a couple of options.  One of the options was an older 2006 15 passenger van with 41,000 miles on it (Really low mileage for 7 years).  The other was a 2013 12 passenger van with 25,000 miles on it.  This really was a hard choice!  The first one was silver versus the second one being white... and I do not like white cars.  Such a frivolous portion of the consideration so I had to decide to overlook that detail.  The first was larger allowing more cargo space or more friends to tag along.  The second was smaller and easier to maneuver and still would give us four extra seats.  The first would have no warranty while the second still had a warranty.  The price difference in the two was only about $6,000.... still it made it hard to decide.  The first had some aging... the second looks brand spanking new.  The first would definitely get the job done and more... the second would be just the right fit and feel a little more "cool" (as much as passenger van can anyway).  The first had really bouncing back seats (the kids thought that was of major importance)... the second did not.  The first you were on your own totally backing up... the second has a built-in backup camera and noise sensors to alert you of danger of hitting anything when backing up.   Both drove great and were free of motor defects.  I was really surprised that these things drive so much like a mini-van!!!  The first had the basics being that it was made 7 years ago (one charger outlet, CD & radio, cup holders only up front)... the second had several charger outlets, CD & radio, Bluetooth phone capabilities, media port, cup holders up front and in other locations).  Honestly, the decision was one extreme to the other and both were good choices.  Again, it was hard to decide.  

The kids were really wanting the older one... because bouncy seats really are important to kids.  And some of them had visions of taking everyone we know along with us everywhere.  The seriously thought that it was important to choose a vehicle that another family of seven could go along with us in.  We had to clue them in that we needed to find a vehicle that meets OUR family needs first and foremost.  My five year wanted the newer sparkly shiny one... well, because she is a bit OCD and "clean" is very appealing to her (and I totally get that).  My husband simply liked newer and all the bells and whistles (not that passenger vans come with too many bells and whistles).  I weighed all the comparisons features because I am ultra practical... and cheap.

In the end we choose the second one.  And we are now the owners of a 2013 12 passenger van!!!  Who would have ever thought?!!!  But then, who would have ever thought I would ever have six children either?!!!  Ha!  This life just keeps getting crazier.  One thing I know for sure is that you have to be open to a few Ch-ch-ch-changes.  

{I was going to wait to post this WITH a picture, but I think I will go ahead and come back with a separate post with a little picture moment.  I am a little excited to tell that we have joined the ranks of passenger van owners and I officially feel like we are now a "large family".)

Emergency Skirt / Sahara / More Randomness

Sahara... that downward frown... that is on her face most of the time... she pouts to get her way and she thinks it works.... she would stay out of trouble a whole lot more if she would just stop it... but she really is the cutest thing which saves her a LOT.

She is bouncy and bubbling going a hundred miles an hour.  She wakes up on full speed and runs that way all day long.  Usually, she is cranky all day, too.... so, that makes for interesting days.  She is not a morning person and she happens to live in a home of all morning people.  When everyone else says something nice like, "Good morning!" or in an overly chipper voice, "It's morning time!!!" she grumbles and stomps around the house.  Or yells.  

She can be an eager helper and will get upset when she does not get to help on certain things.  We have learned recently that she can out clean all her siblings if you tell her to clean her room.  Why?  She is extreme OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) which explains all the fits, too.  Things NEED to go her way or her order is confused.  Things still can not go her way all the time which is why she ends up with more discipline unfortunately.  ;)  We love her in spite of her craZy little attitude and we take responsibility for a great deal of her issues.  This girl had a house full of people that never said no to her for about three years.... bad move on our part.  But she was so stinking cute and she is "our Goo-Goo".

She is "in love" with her brother and he is "in love" with her.  They think they are going to get married... and sometimes they play like they do.  Just a couple of days ago she walked in the room dressed to go somewhere and her hair in two braids and this was the conversation:

Caden:  She is beautiful!

Sahara:  What?!!

Caden:  She's not really... (trying to act like he was joking)

Caden (looking at me and talking low):  She really is beautiful.

Me:  You know can't marry your sister Caden?

Caden (looking aggravated):  What?!!!

Me:  That is so gross Caden.  You really can't.  

(Caden did not really like that answer.  They are going to be so embarassed by the these stories one day.)

  

She is cute!  Beyond cute, actually.  God blessed me with a lightweight petite little thing after that hunken large boy child of mine that almost broke my back to tote around.  I could toss this little featherweight on my hip and run with it.  At five years old I can still easily lift her. 

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So, how do you like this little skirt she is wearing?  This was an emergency outfit one day when we were on our way to our homeschool choir meeting.  We had a picnic at the park and played on the playground and someone had a potty accident... in her pants.  And with pants you are kind of stuck when that happens.  That was one of those moments when I wished I had dressed her in a skirt that day.  Fortunately, I found these two bandanas in my van and tied them together at the waist.  The edges overlapped nicely to cover the splits in the sides since she is so petite.  Everyone thought I had made her a cute little skirt.  I was just thankful that the shirt she was wearing was a decent match.  With a few simple stitches this really would make a cute little skirt.  It served our purposes well that day, but has since gone back to just being a couple of bandanas.  

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While I am talking about clothing I might as well talk a little about being frugal.  That little shirt in the picture was on clearance a couple of years back for something like $1 and being that it was good quality I bought three of them all in a size 7/8... just a like.  It is the kind of thing that I knew would eventually get used even if it was in storage a while.  Sure enough my now 9 year old wore one for a while when I first got them.  Sahara now fits in one and one day Sienna will have one of them still in new condition.  I don't usually do that, but in this case it has worked out.  

If you want to save money on clothes you want to shop clearance rakes and think ahead for the different seasons.  I can always use short sleeves.  We don't have harsh winters here in Texas, so I try not to buy a lot of long sleeves.  It is just easier to wear a light jacket.  Seasonal items are worth looking at.  I try to avoid things that say "Fourth of July" and such and buy things like this that have the color scheme, but can be worn anytime.  Always think in terms of whether you could use the item for pajamas, too.  Of course, then it really does not matter if it does say something about a holiday.  In fact, you can even get creative and add fabric or other embellishments over the parts you don't want to look at.  If you are paying a low price it really will pay off.

Random Talk / Sierra Pic / Hollister

Sierra.... Fall of 2013.... 9 years old

I love this girl's smile and her bubbly nature.  She is always skipping through the house and is what some refer to as a free spirit.  I would say she is "uninhibited".  She does not see limits usually.  She is confident.  She thinks she can do everything.  She has been telling me how to drive since she was able to utter her first words.  When my oldest was in public school and we would go to pick her up Sierra would sit behind me in her car seat and every time a car would move forward she would say, "Go!  You are going to miss your child!"  I would turn around and say, "I don't need a two year old to tell me how to drive."  It was really cute.  Not as cute the 1,000th time she would say it, though.  ;)  She is the kind of kid that can put together an outfit that you would think was hideous until you saw it on her.  She just has that flair... sort of a trendsetter type.  I never was a trendsetter, so I watch in amazement sometimes when she walks out in some unusual outfit that somehow works... on her.  She likes to be funny... and she likes to aggravate her siblings... only she does not always realize she is doing it.  She just has a knack for getting in other people's business and bossing them around and telling them how to do things.  She refers to herself as "the little momma" and she tries to do my job.  Caden is "her baby".  In fact, Sahara kind of was, too, but the little momma got tired of the "scream machine" (Sahara)... she still mothers her, though.  She just likes to claim the one that screams less.  She has confidence... and uninhibited confidence.  I wish I had a little bit of that... ummmm... wait... I do in some areas.  She has  a servants heart, but already she gets tired of people taking advantage of her because of it.  She is sneaky and likes to trick people for a good laugh.

That shirt she is wearing... I just want to say that we don't shop at Hollister.  In fact, we don't even walk in that store or Ambercrombie because of the inappropriate over-sexualization.  The reason she has that shirt is that my husband had his English students write letters to various businesses of their choice asking for free merchandise and Hollister sent a box of shirts for his students.  My kids have two of them.  For several years they wore them as nightgowns.  Now, they wear them as shirts.  We still won't shop there, though.  

So, I felt like sharing a picture and being rather random.  

Funny Things They Have Said Lately... About 2 Years Ago

I noticed I have about forty posts that I have started and never finished, so I decided to see what they were.  I must have been planning to add a few more cute things to this post.  This brings back some memories because this is over two years ago.  I wish I could write down every cute thing they say. 

Caden: Momma, can you get me something to drink?

Me: Do you want some lemonade?

Caden: Yeah! Lemon-lade is good!

Me: Caden, what are those things flying in the sky?

Caden: A-planes and Hopper-coppers.

On vacation this Summer everytime Cody would walk away Sahara would start calling after him.

Sahara (Goo-Goo): Daddy, I hudge you! (Daddy, I love you!)

Savannah: Meeting! Meeting! We're having a little kids meeting.

Dinner and Silly Kids and Tricky Parents

While we were outside yesterday I asked Caden what he wanted for dinner.  He said, "Cookies!"

Later when I was in the house, Caden came running in the kitchen and saw spaghetti pasta boiling in a pot and said, "Spaghetti!!! We're having spaghetti for dinner?!!  You're the best momma ever!!" 

That boy cracks me up!  And he is ALWAYS hungry... and my least picky child as long as you don't try to make him eat potatoes.  I can get him to eat mashed potatoes if I put food coloring in them.... and yeah, I'm tricky like that.  Ha!  Give a kid a toothpick to stir in some food coloring and you will be surprised what they will eat.  I have always been amazed that you can get them to eat by putting a few toothpicks on the edge of their plate and letting them eat dinner with toothpicks.  Weird... but it works.  And one evening my older ones were eating with chopsticks and Sahara noticed she had none.  I got her a set of "special little chopsticks"... TOOTHPICKS!!  Yes, it worked like magic.  She got busy right away eating with her "chopsticks" and it was one of those times when Cody and I looked at each other across the table in amazement that it actually worked.  Silly kids!!

This little thing saves a lot of crazy moments at dinner.

Tongue Twisted

Kids are so funny! Savannah can not say "M&M" to save her life! "Em-an-Mim"... 10 years old and it has her totally tongue-tied.  But we are having great fun with her!  Everytime she says it she says it a different way.

And why is it that some things are tongue twisters for certain people.  Yesterday I was looking for the "blue broom".  The first time you say it is no big deal, but by the time you have gone through the house asking everyone where the "blue broom" is you start to stammer.  Pretty soon you are saying things like "blue bloom".... especially, when no one is listening to you and you have to ask each person about ten times.  ;)  So, I said, "Try saying that ten times fast!"  Interestingly, people actually hear you when you say something irrelevant (and not about cleaning).  Of all the people here my husband is the one that could miraculously say it with getting tongue-tied!  This is the man that I proclaim all the time "can't walk and talk at the same time", but he can say "blue broom" ten times fast.

And you should hear Sierra say Ecclesiastes  !!  She calls it "Ecclesi-nasties".  I highly encourage you to teach your children the books of the Bible at an early age.  Other than the obvious fact that it is great to learn it is also highly entertaining to listen to. 

Embrace the tongue-tied moments.  Before you know it they will mostly be gone.  I have always loved the mispronunciations my children make.  I have had relatives fuss over it and worry that they won't be able to talk right.  Funny thing is that kids seem to learn in spite of a momma trying to keep her babies babies a little longer. 

What I Did This Morning!

I have been getting a lot done.  Most people would not want to post about the disaster around their house, but it is part of my "real" life.  Since we started our homeschooling journey a couple of years ago maintaining the clutter and cleaning has taken a backseat on the journey.  We still try not to be too terribly awful, but with six people in the house it does not take much for the disaster to take over.  And so it is a gradual process to find the house underneath it all.  ;) 

It is those little things... you know the mail is delivered and you stick it in a pile.  As the month goes you realize you have a three inch pile and at our house payday is once a month, so I handle that area of life only once a month.  That means that all the junk mail is there in that stack, if I have not removed it as the mail comes in.  Don't get me wrong... I skim through the mail to see if there is anything important in there that I need to see immediately and deal with.  If time permits I weed out the junk mail and trash it, but everything else stays in the pile.  And so it is with many things that come into the home.  There are the Sunday School papers and Wednesday church class papers.  Of course, the kids come home with many works of art and you just can't chunk them in the garbage as your child is handing them over to you.  You have to hang on to it awhile, then slip it into "file 13" (a.k.a. garbage can).  There are the special projects we start that simple take up room like the Pioneer wagon we are building.... verrryyyyy sloooooowwwlly.... over the course of the last three months.  There's the stack of coupons that get accumulated by the bread basket.  And some how there is all the stuff that ends up in the bread basket that is not in anyway related to bread.  Clutter!  It just accumulates.  Awww.... and I have to mention the refrigerator.  It is the place the kids want to display their artwork even though we have other designated places in the house.  And it is the place that a new snapshot of photo from a friend lands.  Every so often I ambush it and wipe it out and discover there is in fact a refrigerator underneath it all.  Today was that day.  Now I have to clean the outer surface because you really just do not realize how grimey it gets even under the pretty little photos. 

So, this is how our "relaxing" Spring Break has gone so far....

• Saturday I spent the day cleaning CONSTANTLY, but I will say this.  That is the only day I am going to spend like that.  It was ultraproductive; however, with less than two weeks until my due date I just think it is not the way I should spend my days.  It was an extreme day of THIRTEEN HOURS of straight cleaning.  I only stopped to eat meals and it is the first time in weeks that I have not gone outside to even check on the bunnies (the kids and hubby did, though).  And being that I have had some sinus issues you would think it would have been way too hard on me, but fortunately this pregnancy has been kind to my energy level.  Still I do not want to spend all my time cleaning and not enjoying.  Note:  This was our one hour focus day for the three bathrooms... we went over that time because let's just say an adult male member of the family is very slow at cleaning and became quite obsessive.
• Sunday... ahhhhh, a day of rest.  Not completely, but I did only do a small amount of projects and our one hour focus day room was the living room.  I purposely assigned this one to Sunday because we had little to do in there and I thought we could do it in half the time allotted.  But did I mention that adult member of the family that is very slow at cleaning?  Well, let's just say in my preggo state I can work circles around "someone" and I had most of it done in 30 minutes while he was dusting approximately eight shelves.... I think he finished in about an hour and a half.  And so, later that evening I decided to go ahead and do the dining room by myself even though it was the one hour focus room assigned for Monday.
• With Mondays focus room done that means that today I can busy myself with various little projects adn trust me there are plenty of those around here to keep a girl busy. 

But what I really want to tell that I did today was...... drumroll, please..... SLEEP !!!  I do not sleep well in all my roundness and this baby is all in my pelvis, so I have a lot of hip pain when I sleep.  About every hour I awake hurting on one side and roll very awkwardly to the other side heaving my body/belly with all my might.  ;)  And then there is my squished bladder.  It seems this little miss is only requiring it to fill to one ounce or so at a time, so that keeps me up even if the hip pain does not.  As of last Wednesday I had a sinus/head cold set in that makes it impossible to breath... as if my lungs were not already restricted.  :)  Truly I awaken about every hour, but generally I am fortunate that I fall back to sleep quickly.  So, I am missing out on sleep, but still getting enough overall.  This sinus thing had my throat sore last night, so around 3:AM I got up and had some hot chocolate and did some reading for about and hour.  I went back to bed and sleep until daylight o'clock (whatever time that was) and got up.  I went to lay on the couch and read another birth book ("Silent Knife").  After awhile everyone in the house was awake and migrated to that very room to watch some cartoons.  As I lay there I started to doze off, so I looked around and all were entertained and Daddy was there... soooooo... I WENT BACK TO BED !!!  I still awoke periodically and did my whole flipping thing, but would doze back off and I did this until..... drumroll, please..... about 10:AM !!!!  This is huge because I am one of those "get up with the sunshine" kind of people and our whole household is that way.  My husband was not, but he has had to adjust due to little faces coming in the room and putting their little faces in his and saying, "It's morning time Daddy!" or "Wake up Daddy!" (in ultra cheerful little morning people voices).  Sleep... it really is great! 

This Is What An Almost Seven Year Old Looks Like

Sierra

6 years, 10 months, 3 weeks, and 1 day old...

Soon to be 7.

Interestingly, all of my kids have looked like carbon copies of one another for the most part, but something about Sierra has always been a tiny bit different.  There is a uniqueness about her that is hard to explain.  She is the easiest of my kids in many ways, yet has a very complex emotional personality.  She is the most helpful, most thoughtful of my kids.  She obviously has the gift of service and is eager to help most of the time.  She is always making us stuff... usually out of paper... cards, crowns, paper toys that little hands destroy as soon as they touch them, etc..  She tries everything with gusto.  She outdoes her older sister on many things and with a 3 year and 3 month age difference it is hard to imagine it is possible.  Poor Savannah gets so frustrated about it.  Savannah learned to ride a bike and Sierra was doing it a few short months later.  Sierra can climb trees better.  Sierra can blow bubbles with her bubblegum.  She gets twice as much schoolwork done (not because she is smarter, but because she is a doer).  Sierra started out very reserved and afraid of many things, but one day she just changed.  She was a shy baby not wanting to be in the spotlight, but you would never know it now.  She wants to be a "rock star" (not really a "rock" star as she does not truly know what that means, but she loves to be the center of attention).  At church she is the one singing out uninhibited.  She is a leader.  She is usually trying to control us all and I tell everyone that she is going to be the President one day.  She is the little Momma around here... and quite often has to get disciplined for it herself.  ;)  She is the one that at the age of two was telling me how to drive the car.  No joke!  When Savannah was in public school we would have to go pick her up and Sierra would always tell me to go (in the stop and go traffic of the pick-up line).. she would say, "You are going to miss your kid!"  I would turn to her and say, "I think I know how to drive." and then, I would realize I was talking to a two year old.  Quite funny indeed.  She is controlling and highly irrational and emotional.  I don't claim to always understand this one, but I do love her.  I worry about her extreme emotions and guiding her on how to manage those emotions.  I think that is a hard area to understand with anyone, but when you are the Momma you feel like you are responsible for teaching them how to handle their emotions... even when you are not so good with yor own. ;)  At any rate we will make it through and I know that one day she is going to be one incredible little lady.  And I think she is so very beautiful. 

I just don't understand how six can look so much older.  I am not one to adorn my children with bows in their hair (a few times a year) or add to their appearance with other things like lipgloss, etc..  I don't fuss daily over vanity and the perfect outfit.  They can pick what thye wear unless we are going somewhere and even then I am not too picky as long as they look "cared for".  I don't even care if they match sometimes.  What I am saying is that I am not about vanity with my children, so it surprises me how they look so "big" and in the little everyday moments how beautiful they look. 

All I Want For Christmas Is....

Well, I don't actually have anything I want for Christmas, but I thought I would post my kid's requests just for fun.  BECAUSE they are so unique!  I love it.  We don't make a big thing about asking them what they want or what they want Santa to bring.  I can say that was really drilled in Savannah's head when she was really young by the relatives and it made for some greedy past Christmases.  But obviously that sort of thing can be turned around and there is hope that you can get the greedy out of them.  So, without further ado I will start with SAVANNAH'S requests.  She wants chickens!... and a male rat terrier (dog)!  Pretty odd requests I would say.  Over the past few months we have gotten three rabbits and she loves them and has always loved animals.  I guess she thinks chickens would just be fun to have and she talks about us having eggs that we would not have to buy (...I have made this poor child ultra frugal it seems...).  The male rat terrier is because she wants to have puppies by one of our other three female rat terriers.  She is a total animal lover.  She also wants to move to a farm.

Now the others are not nearly as interesting, but I am impressed.  Why?  Because they are so simple.  No big flashy, splashy, high dollar requests.  Just simple things.  And I might mention that we no longer have our Dish Network as of last June, so they are not getting commercials streaming toys at them all day long anymore.  It is quite refreshing!  SIERRA wants any kind of Barbie doll.... maybe two.  She has listed a couple of specific ones, but when asked which one she wanted most she easily narrowed it down to the Barbie Fashion Fairytale Barbie with the light-up wings.  An easy $20 gift and she will be pleased... not bad.

CADEN doesn't even realize he has options and will be happy with any boy thing like a helicopter ("hopper copper"), airplane ("a-plane"), tractor, etc..  Pretty easy.

SAHARA is also clueless that she has options and will be happy with any variety of baby doll.  In fact, I had a $10 doll picked out and she chose a $3 over that one.... and it is like one she already has.  Whatever she wants, I supposed. 

It is going to be easy to satisfy them all and that makes me one happy Momma!  Not because it is all cheap stuff, but because they are easily satisfied.  And, just in case you wonder, they are getting more than they requested and I have all the shopping done for them.  ;)

Funny Things They Have Said Lately.... Mostly Caden

Caden: Momma, can you get me something to drink?
Me: Do you want some lemonade?
Caden: Yeah! Lemon-lade is good!

Me: Caden, what are those things flying in the sky?
Caden: A-planes and Hopper-coppers.

On vacation this Summer everytime Cody would walk away Sahara would start calling after him.
Sahara (Goo-Goo): Daddy, I hudge you! (Daddy, I love you!)

Savannah: Meeting! Meeting! We're having a little kids meeting. Mariah and Anaiah are coming over. Daddy told me the secret!
Me: (from around the corner as I hear it all) Hmmm... Daddy told you the secret, huh?!!!
[Daddy has a worse time keeping secrets than the kids do at this house. ;) ]

Caden wanted to swing on the big kid swing rather than the toddler swing and asked me to help him on. Surprisingly, they grow so fast that he really is old enough for it much to his surprise. As he was swinging his feet were little dragging in the grass below and with a very surprised look on his face he said, "Wow! How did that happen?!"
I said, "You grew!"
Caden, "How did that happen?!"
Me, "You grew! I bet you can even get on it all by yourself, if you try."
Caden hopped off the swing and attempted to get back on unassisted. Success! His face was glowing with excitement and surprise as he said, "I did it!"
Me, "You are really a big boy now!"

Caden had been told to go upstairs to get something and he started up the stairs, but came running back saying, "I'm scared!"
Sierra said, "Don't be scared. God is with you and He created you. He is this great big Creator! I'll go with you."

MFW State Studies: How We Are Doing It

I love the principles that are taught in My Father's World Curriculum, but I want to stress that as with any curricula choice that you must find that way that it works for your family. We are doing that now and the last couple of months of homeschooling has been so different for us. We have found what works now and have begun the journey of homeschooling and actually enjoying it. This is a quick overview of our week 12 in Adventures. We are way "behind" because I put the curricula down for a while to really avoid catastophe. I spent some time listening to God and that has made all the difference. He message to me was something like this, "Stop trying to follow someone else's plan and follow Mine (God's). I want you to raise your kids to serve Me. The academics will happen, if you get the Biblical principles right. Teach them and love them. Stop panicking. Stop acting childish. Work on teaching yourself what you did not get taught, so you can be a better mother to guide your children. Follow the kids lead academically and they will enjoy it more and give less struggle. Look at the root of the problems and not the moment."... and the just compact about two months more into that and you get the picture. ;)

Without further ado here is a glimpse of our Week 12:
We started the state studies and bird studies finally! Momma did not want to do it.... but Momma has ended up liking it... Momma felt ill-prepared, but Momma gave up on the library and ordered two great books to use instead that save me time and money. The books are:

Smart About the Fifty States: A Class Report (1)which is written and illustrated by 5 students in "student style". It really shows a good overview for each state and highlights the things that interest the kids in a fun format that we are all enjoying on a two page spread. It is a great example of what a mid-elementary level child would be doing for State Studies.

Our Fifty States (National Geographic) (2) by Bockenhauer & Cunha is gives a more in depth look at the states. Each state gets four pages and has great pictures to look at with a good amount of detail that makes it so that we do not need books for every state. This one covers it all. It covers the history, industry, landmarks, agriculture, and other facts that are interesting to know. Each state has a small photo of the flag, bird, flower, state map, and location on the U. S. map. This book would be appropriate through all their school years.

And Friday my husband came in with a fabulous find! The Young People's Atlas of the United States (3)by Harrison & Van Zandt is an oversized book with a misleading title. When I saw it I thought, "We have several atlases." until I looked at this book and now I can not wait to start using it this week, also. This one is even better in some ways for the mid-elementary age. It has a two page spread for each state with less details, but more small pictures. Each state has a photo of flag, bird, flower, state map, and location on the U. S. map, as well as, the state tree.

Other things we will be using for our State Studies:

We will NOT be using the State coloring book that is recommended. It looked a bit "busy" to me when I looked online at it, so I chose not to order it. We will use the free pages at http://www.crayola.com/ as these are more kid friendly in my opinion. Right on the page they give details about the colors to use for the flag, bird, flower, etc.

We also used the INTERNET for a closer look at map pics, etc. I would find the picture, then hold down the "Ctrl" key while pressing the "+ =" key to zoom in on the pic. Afterwards you do the same to zoom out using the "_ -" key.

We will not be using the library because that is just exhausting to me. Iwill be returning the books we have checked out called Let's Discover the States. Although these books are good, I just do not want to deal with due dates, planning library trips, searching out books, and checking out the appropriate book in this series each week. I would like to say that if I had the series here at home I would use it.

I did order the state stickers, BUT I only ordered one package. Bad move because I need a set for each child. What I think I will do is make a small poster (arghhh.... don't like posters on the wall) and as we study each state we will add the state sticker to it. It just does not seem fair to let Savannah stick a sticker on her page when Sierra is working just as hard.

Day 1 = Delaware -- Right away I discovered that it would be best to start them coloring their coloring page and doing the details that were not color specific while I was reading to them or showing them the pictures in the book. I start with book #1, since it is so perfect for their level and read and show the pics, then I move on to the other books. Meanwhile, I pull up the internet pics or lay the book down for them to look at between them as they color. All the while we discuss the state information. For Delaware their was no activity listed other than the coloring page. I felt there should be some sort of "activity" for each state. By "activity" I would mean a special area of study, craft, food sampling, outdoor activity, etc.. I decided that the State Bird would be our "activity" focus. The Blue Hen Chicken is the state bird, so I just found that fascinating. We discussed why and the story that goes with it. In hindsight I would have had Savannah right a brief re-cap writing assignment about that and maybe have Sierra write some words like "blue hen chicken" and possily have them do some art in the form of "chicken scratch" on the writing page. LOL! Darn! I wish I had thought of that then. They would have loved that! Anyway, we just did some discussion and oral question and answer.

Interesting Note: The girls instantly said they want to go there. I think we are going to have to tour the fifty states now!!! And I must say that my kids have been to more states than most at their age and we are planning more soon! .... very soon!

Day 2 = Pennsylvania -- Each day we do the same series of things as listed above. For Delaware we did NOT make the craft suggested in the MFW teacher manual. Instead, I pre-cut some parts out of construction paper for them to assemble a Liberty Bell and had them write the verse from Leviticus on it. Isn't it amazing that our founding fathers put Bible verses on everything!! We also found had some great discussion about Hershey, Pennsylvania and the Crayola Factory in PA. I should have bought some Hershey bars in advance, BUT I have come to the realization that we can discuss it and do it later and that it OKAY!

Day 3 = New Jersey -- Each day we do the same series of things as listed above. For New Jersey there was no activity listed. I had the kids use a decorative paper and I found a couple of food items with Nabisco and Campbell's labels on them. We cut off part of the labels and they taped those to their page. Both of these are major companies in America and I felt it was something very relateable to kids... even if we do not have a great deal of these products in our home. Ritz crackers by Nabisco are a staple here and Campbell's Chicken Noodle or Chicken & Rice soups are, also. So, I had only two labels for each of the kids, but it worked.

Day 4 = Georgia -- Each day we do the same series of things as listed above. For Georgia the teacher's manual suggest making Peach Cobbler. Eeeeekkk! I personally like my fruit simple and my kids do too. And simple is what we need in our lives isn't it. We ate a real peach cut up and that was a much healthier alterantive anyway. The girls especially like the state butterfly on their coloring sheets and we pulled out a couple of books and pulled up a pic on the internet to get a closer look at the Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly.

We also just took a trip to our local State Park for the day and participate in a bird nest study for kids and then, went on a nature walk that all tied in perfectly with this study. The girls even made their own bird nests.

Interesting kid funny: Immediately, upon tasting the peach the girls called it a "nectarine" because they are used to their momma's preferred version of "non-fuzzy peaches" (nectarines). We eat peaches, too, but they are usually the canned ones. I choose nectarines over peaches in the produce section usually; however, we love both. We have a crew of kids with "food texture issues" and the got it from their momma. ;)

Of course, we did the Bible and bird portions in the study throughout the week... reading and discussion. And that is it! That is how we are making this curriculum work for us. We use it as a base, but we are changing what we want and adding or leaving out some things. And we are loving it that way. The very study I was avoiding has turned out to be the most enjoyable for us ALL. I just had to get my hands on some good books, stop all the library craziness, change up some things, and chill out about it all.

Thrift Store Homeschooling ;)

Let me just tell you, if you do not hang out at Garage Sales and Goodwill stores you are missing out!! Puzzles bigger than the kids... $1.99 ! Fun with puzzles... and gymnastics... PRICELESS!
I bought this puzzle a while back and had no idea how fabulous it was. I did not even realize it was five foot long. I just knew that it was a puzzle (check) and it was insects, which we would eventually study (check). It was a floor puzzle (check)... any kind of puzzle at our house is a winner. Seriously, my kids would work puzzles all day long, if I would let them. I try to incorporate all our puzzles in with the lessons we are working on. It is the one thing I do not have to beg them to do! LOL! When I am out and about and spot a puzzle bargain I snatch it up and stick it in our stash. I have gotten a lot of them for quarters even!

Look at all the detail in this puzzle. We all loved it! It was a fabulous find and a wonderful surprise when we took it out to study Insects. And for whatever reason it sparked a bit of gymnastics in Sierra. She even rolled head first down the length of the puzzle.

Look at the size of this thing....

And Savannah had to get in a pic, too. Savannah said her favorite thing about this puzzle was trying to match the mommas and the babies. So cool to hear what they are thinking.

What Would You Miss If It Was The End Of The World?

We were driving along in the car a couple of days ago and Cody said something about the year 2012 being the end of the Mayan calendar and discussing a recent DVD he watched called "The Star of Bethlehem". Way back in the back of the van Savannah (9) thought her daddy said that 2012 would be the end of the world. She blew us away with what she said! She started her sentence with, "That's not fair!! I haven't even gotten to...."



But first, what we thought she was about to say:

"...be a teenager, yet."

"...have a boyfriend."

"...have some new toy."



What she said was,"That's not fair!! I haven't even gotten to have babies, yet!"



I am sharing this for the comic value, but I have to say I am very proud to hear what she truly values!! It means that we have accomplished one of our goals and that our children will know what a blessing children are rather than what a burden the world sees them as.

Songwriting Nine Year Olds

We were adding the Tiny Tim the Turtle song to our Tt week in MFW Kindergarten yesterday and my oldest added her own extra verse. You know the song... :

I had a little turtle.

His name was Tiny Tim.

I put him in the bathtub

to see if he could swim.

He drank up all the water.

He ate up all the soap.

He tried to eat the bathtub,

but it wouldn't go down his throat.

(Savannah added this verse:)

So, I put him in his tank

and let him swim around.

He tried to eat a palm tree

and everything around!

Cute! How amazing it is that a year ago she was just starting to tell and actually get jokes and three months ago she could not add to a song or even comprehend why you would want to. She would look at my us kind of weird when we would make up some crazy song... now she is doing it. Keep in mind this is the child that did not even like music when we began homeschooling and now she is writing her own. Part of it can be attributed to homeschooling at her confidence in her own abilities and part of it is a coming of age thing. I have noticed that around eight it is like some kind of magical thing happens and they are suddenly aware of things they never were aware of before. It fascinates me! And now my little baby girl is NINE YEARS OLD! She just turned nine last week.... and there is a part of me that knows that that baby time is gone and there is just no going back there now... there are only the memories and the most profound realization that the future with her is something that I have to be very aware of how I am molding her for her life's journey.

Little Momma

Sierra has always been such a little Momma to Caden, but since Sahara has been born she has switched gears a bit. She has been more concerned with protecting Sahara from Caden and a little bit less of a little Momma to Caden. I guess that just kind of happens with us Momma's sometimes, doesn't it?! ;) Caden will be three on Wednesday and we have been talking about it for weeks now. While he was having his nap today we were looking at the calendar for the upcoming week and a half because it is going to be a bit hectic. I told them I HAD to talk with them about it all because I need full cooperation. Of course, Sierra can't read, so she saw that I had something written on the calendar of Wednesday and thought it was church. When Savannah and I told her it said, "Caden's b-day!" she burst into tears!!! We had no idea what was wrong with her. I asked her and in quite a bit of distress and tears she said, "Caden is going to be three!!" She was horrified. Savannah was trying to sound excited although she was confused, so she was saying, "Yay! Caden is going to be three!" Sierra said, "He's growing up!!"... and he's almost a MAN!!" Awwwww... my little Momma knows how I feel!! Actually, I thing she may be more distraught by it than ME!! :)

Another Rocking Update!!

And a little while later today.....
We were in our school area and Sierra was walking Sahara around the room. I turned my back to talk to Savannah about cursive writing and suddenly Sahara started screaming. I guess that rocker that Savannah drug in her yesterday looked inviting to Sierra and she was trying to rock her baby, too! They are a hoot!!!

And one more funny thing kids say...
Caden: trianga-dul (trinagle)

Hard Evidence

When I experienced my second pregnancy loss my faith was shaken for the first time. I caught myself thinking, "Why?". Many times in the past I had heard others asking, "Why?" when faced with a tragedy, but I simply thought we just can't ask that question. My thoughts were that you just have to accept it and know that God has a greater plan. I still think that... only now I have been to that dark place where I have asked, "Why?" and I have come through it. I have to admit though that sometimes I ponder (secretly, of course) if what I believe in is a fairy tale. Don't let me lose you here.... I know better! I KNOW better! And I certainly don't think it is a fairy tale. What I am going to share here may be too much for some of you. In response to my faith being shaken God has given me real life hard evidence that He is indeed real and certainly not a fairy tale. He gave me this evidence long before I reached that dark point in my life. I think that was intentional because I think he wanted me to reach back and search my heart and remember His evidence.

Let me shift gears for a moment. I believe that as parents it is important to recognize our children's spiritual gifts and as time goes by help them understand those gifts and embrace them. I am not certain what Sahara or Caden's gifts will be. I suspect one of Caden's will be musical. I don't presume to think that I will know all their spiritual gifts, either. I believe they may have a gift that I never know about, but I can already tell that Sierra has the gift of Service among other gifts. She just loves to do things to help. We call her our "go to girl" because she is the one you "go to" when you want to "get it done". She is so eager. Savannah has many gifts, but the ones I am going to talk about tonight or usually kind of kept "hush-hush". They're rare and "different" by the worlds standards. They are going to take some careful training, otherwise I think it will be possible for her to stifle them. I believe Savannah has the gift of prophecy and discernment. __gasp__ It's okay... I know it sounds strange. I don't mean prophecy like she is going to predict major events in the world, but this child has spoken some things that mindblowing for me. I'll go into that more in a bit. I have always seen in her that ability to discern good and evil. She has always been drawn to people that are good and never wanted to be around those that are not good. I think that it is remarkable for her to have that gift even as a toddler. She is the kid that got the Good Cititzenship Award all three years that she was in public school (Pre-K, K, 1st).

Anyway, back to the prophecy topic and how God has given me real life hard evidence to remind me that this is all not just some fairy tale. I think God gives Savannah knowledge of certain things. I don't think he gives her a knowledge of all things. I have a couple of relatives like this that know when someone is going to die; however, they do not know who.... only that is someone they are close to and usually happens a few days after they start to "feel it". They also "sense" pregnancies. Weird huh?! It's okay... I know this is too weird for some people, but that is the way the world has taught us to be... weirded out by it. It is in the Bible, though. If it is in there then I believe in it... all of it. Even the things I do not understand. Savannah's gift seems to be related to pregnancy, also. She has told me that I am pregant everytime I have been... BEFORE I EVEN KNEW! And she has told be both times that I have lost our other babies!! You think I am crazy? Maybe so, but as sure as I am sitting here she has. And the strange thing for me is that I am pretty sure that she does not even know she does it. She just makes a statement and then, it is as if she does not even realize she has said it sometimes. As if it is being spoken "through" her. With my second pregnancy loss we went on a family vacation. I fell on a large rock on my back and blacked out a few times. I never had bleeding or anything to indicate a problem and we were completely away from civilization, so we thought I was fine. That night in our tent we were preparing to go to sleep and as we were sitting there Savannah said, "Momma, the baby's not there anymore." She had a blank look on her face, but with a slight smile (a naive, innocent smile). I said, "What did you say?" She said, "The baby's not there anymore." I said, "Savannah, don't say that!" She suddenly looked me in the face and with the blank look gone said, "What? What did I say?" I said, "Oh nothing." I forgot about it really, although I thought it was strange. Later when I found out the baby had died I remembered. With my first pregnancy loss she simply look at me on day and said, "The baby in your belly is gone." All very odd, but I know that God gave these gifts to her! He would not want them to be stifled. He will want her to use them. It will be my job to help her understand how to use these gifts as she grows up. I can't be ashamed or let her be ashamed of of such a precious gift. We have to claim it as a gift from God and use it as such.

Uh-hem... she has also told me that others that she is close to are going to have another baby and guess what? Yep, they find out they are pregnant! She also seems to have a way of getting what she prays for regarding babies, too. She has prayed that I would get pregnant many times and well, let's just say five out of five ain't bad! 80) I did tell her to stop it when she was praying for twins immediately after Sahara's birth!! For me this is all hard evidence that God is definitely not a fairy tale!

First Words

Sahara speaks:

• Bye-Bye
• Da-da (Daddy)
• Pow-pow (gun sound)
• bud (bird)

"Momma" has not made the list! ;) YET !!!

Homeschool Pros by Savannah

Savannah: "You know what I like about homeschool?" She holds her foot up and says, "You get to match your shoes to your outfit!"