Updates and Wrap-Ups

I haven’t been around the blog as much lately. Quite frankly, I just needed a bit of a break, and my family needed more of me. 🙂 For the past couple of weeks, I have not done our weekly wrap-ups, so I just thought I would share a short post of some of our latest happenings.

On March 29th, my youngest son had his first major piano recital. He was very nervous before the event got started, but was quite composed once he began playing. He played 3 selections total, Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter, Georgiana from Pride and Prejudice, and a piece he composed himself called Battle of the Knights. (He didn’t even inform me he had written the piece until the night before the recital!) He did an outstanding job, and was complimented by other students and parents alike, which he accepted humbly. I couldn’t have been more proud.

We attended an event at our local library, titled Electrifying Encounters. The boys learn all about electricity, circuits, and even got to check out a Van de Graaff generator. As a result, the boys have a new found interest in circuitry, so I see many projects and activities involving electricity in our near future.

 

And finally, this past weekend, the men folk of the house dragged me along to the local Dragway for the 4-Wide Nationals. My husband’s company was actually incredibly generous in giving us the tickets, and none of us had ever been. (I later learned that this is the only 4-wide drag strip in the world, so extra cool bonus there!) And even though I was a bit reluctant at first, I must say that the races were actually pretty cool… and I’m sure my hearing will eventually return to normal. (Yes, I wore ear plugs, don’t worry.)

So, that about wraps up the last couple of weeks. I did enjoy the break and spending more time with the family. I am hoping to be better about keeping everything balanced, and my priorities better in place.

As for the remainder of this week, I hope you all will be following along, as we will be doing some very exciting reviews and giveaways in store!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Feb. 21

We have lost our focus. There, I said it. This week, as far as accomplishing all that we set out to do, and checking off all our to-do lists, it was an epic fail. And quite frankly, this whole year has seemed a little off. And perhaps it hasn’t been so much of a loss of focus, but a loss of purpose. I chose purpose as my word for the year over a month ago, thinking of how it was applying only to myself, when in actuality, I should have been thinking about our homeschool as well. I think we, as homeschoolers, are to many pitfalls.

Too many curriculum choices often cause us to second-guess ourselves about materials we have already decided on. So, we begin that long merry-go-round of trial and error with various curricula, and even try out different teaching methods in hopes of finding “something better” than what we started out with. And, you guessed it, the grass is rarely ever greener. Instead, we have overcomplicated our situation, creating confusion and frustration.

Striving for perfection is always a danger. Especially in the homeschool community, it is too easy to compare ourselves to other families and other moms who seem to have it all together, with children who are perfect little obedient geniuses. It’s very easy to see ourselves as failures when things don’t go right in our homeschools. Neither I nor my children are perfect. I don’t want to present that image here. We are imperfect beings, so I need to remember that this journey, this day, and heck, even this hour is not going to be perfect.

These are all symptoms of a much larger problem. I allowed myself to lose sight of our purpose. Our purpose is to glorify God in all we do. Our purpose is to allow the Holy Spirit to direct our paths. When I take things into my own hands, failure is assured. It’s just not about me. It’s all about him.

So, this week, we came to the realization that we were doing too much, trying too many things, and setting unrealistic expectations. So, we ditched it all. This week was almost entirely delight-directed learning. And the most amazing this is that this week, my kids learned SO much. We did experiments and activities, read together as a family more, had some major heart-to-heart talks, and best of all, we smiled and laughed and played together. So, cliche as it may sound, our plans fell apart, but our family sure came together.

Weekly Wrap-Up: Valentine’s Day

Well, there is honestly not much to report as far as homeschooling this week, because our week was cut considerably shorter by a snow storm. We’re in the south, so of course everything shuts down any time there is snow. This storm, dumping almost a foot of snow in some places, put the entire area in emergency state.

So, Big Daddy got to come home from work and had a couple days off, which means the kids were off school as well. Although we, as northerners, find the state of panic and emergency ridiculous for such a small bit of snow, we really did like having the time off. All three of my guys had a great time playing in the snow, having some pretty epic snowball fights, and building our snowman family. Too cute.

Winter is actually my favorite time of the year back home. I much prefer cold to the unbearable heat of summer. And I miss the snow. This storm was the first taste of real snow since leaving the north, and it definitely made me a little homesick.

One thing I love about snow is that it reminds me of the verse…

“though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…” –Isaiah 1:18

I am so thankful that, like the snow can blanket the earth, The blood of Jesus can cover our sins, and make them white as snow. No matter what is in us, the blood of Jesus can cover it all. And unlike the snow, I am thankful that His blood endures all, and never fades away. Thank you, Jesus.

So now today is Valentine’s Day, and although we are stuck home celebrating, I am definitely counting my blessings. I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. And, please don’t forget about our giveaway going on for the book The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted. This book would be a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for yourself and spouse. (And entries are low on this one, so you have an excellent chance at winning!)

Weekly Wrap-Up: Feb. 8

This week in our homeschool was pretty eventful. The fact that we are still continuing on in our homeschool with no changes in our core curriculum for a while is an notable event in itself! We are still using the Trisms curriculum as our spine, but continue to add to it as we need to, mainly by the use of notebooking pages. The boys have definitely enjoyed this method overall more than any other history curriculum.

We are continuing to work on our Mango Languages, which we will be reviewing soon for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. The boys are enjoying it so far. (And I better not say any more until review time!)

In addition to our regular studies, this week we had one of our homeschool pals over to do a small woodworking project. I have done woodworking as a hobby for years,  so I thought it was time I passed on some of my knowledge to the guys. Although my older son chose not to participate (pre-teens, ugh!) Little M and his buddy had a great time learning and crafting!

This week we also watched the creation debate as a family. I know I have already posted on this, so I will just keep it brief in saying that, for us, the program served a great purpose. Since then, our family has had many discussions about the evidence for creation, and how to deal with those wanting to impose evolutionary theory upon them. One thing I can say about my kids is that they definitely have conviction. This event, and their reactions to it, assured me of that.

Another family event this week was the addition of family game night. Now, we have done board games and such as a family countless times, but this is something new. We don’t have cable, but as we were browsing through Hulu one day, we came across the show Minute to Win It. Let’s just say my kids were inspired to try some of the challenges at home. So, they set up a couple of games and set the timer. Their favorite was bouncing a ping pong ball into a series of cups. Yes, the parents got creamed. Yes, the kids rubbed it in. And yes, I am a sore loser.

Their victory high-five, complete with shirt removal.

Despite parents losing by a long shot, we really did have a great time with game night and plan to make it a weekly event. The boys have a ton of games in mind, so we have something new to look forward to each week.

What weekly traditions do you all have as a family? I would love to hear about them! I hope you all had a blessed week.

Weekly Wrap-Up – Jan. 31

We are wrapping up our week, and the month as well. Wow, is time flying! This final week of January definitely proved to be an odd one. It snowed this week, which, in the south, means that entire cities shut down and everyone goes into a state of panic. Being northerners, we didn’t see the big deal. But, at least the boys got to play a bit in the snow before it melted the very next day. The biggest “happening” around here, though, wasn’t the snow. It was my oldest son’s 12th birthday. I don’t know how exactly he managed to reach that age so quickly. Although I want to keep him a boy forever, I am one proud mama of the man he is becoming. 🙂

In Our Homeschool

While school was cancelled for public school children, we still managed to get some schoolwork done, other than the one day off for Big G’s birthday. This week we finished up our study of Ancient Greece. We are continuing to use the Trisms curriculum, and supplement with various documentaries, notebooking pages, and some excellent resources found on Pinterest. I have created a Pinterest board for Ancient Greece, which you can find HERE. Inspired by one documentary that we watched on Greek architecture, the boys made a Lego Parthenon (how cute is that?).

Next week, as we move on to studying Rome, the boys are already making plans for using Minecraft to construct the colosseum. I can’t wait to see their creations.

Coming Up On the Blog

Monday I will be posting my review for the book, Six Days, by Ken Ham. I have been SO blessed by this book, as I hope some of you will be. This review also comes as a perfect time, since the debate between Ken Ham and Bill Nye (the science guy) will be happening on Tuesday. For those interested, and I hope you are, please go to debatelive.org to listen in on this debate.

The next review product to watch for is perfect for Valentine’s Day. It is a book called The Marriage You Always Wanted, by Dr. Gary Chapman. This review will also include a giveaway for a copy of the book, so don’t miss your chance to enter that!

Also coming in the next few weeks, I will be posting reviews for some great curricula and resources, as part of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. Some of the companies whose items will be reviewing soon are Mango Languages, Motivated Moms, and scienceandmath.com, so if you’ve been looking into any of those companies, you won’t want to miss those reviews! I am so excited to share our experiences with all of you.

Weekly Wrap-Up – Jan. 17

We had a very good, though relatively uneventful week, which may be why I am finally able to do my wrap-up on time this week. 🙂

In Our Homeschool

We are on our second week of using TRISMS, which definitely changed our daily routine, but the boys have settled into it quite well. Next week, we will be back in full force on their other subjects, since the boys now know what is expected with TRISMS , and it won’t take as long to complete assignments. Our Apologia and Life of Fred Curricula have remained the same, so it’s just a matter of easing back in to the workload.

We are still working through the Mere Christianity Critical Analysis Journal as our Bible study. I really cannot say enough good things about this journal. The boys are really learning to examine and defend their own beliefs. The depth of their understanding and convictions is pretty amazing. This is the first thing we have used as any kind of Bible study of which they have consistently asked for more. I could not be happier.

Extracurriculars

Little M is preparing for his next piano recital, which is scheduled for the end of February. Having only taken lessons for a matter of months, he has chosen a rather difficult piece, but his teacher recognizes his gift and really pushes him to excel. I am so grateful that we have found such a wonderful teacher for him. (I would share the song he chose, but I am waiting til next week to upload a video instead!)

Big G is gearing up for football sign-ups, which are also next month. He is training very hard in order to improve his stamina and skills. The spring season will be his last of flag football, and then in the summer he will start training for fall tackle football. I honestly thought I would be more of a basket case about the tackle football, and I may still be so once I see some of the other (perhaps bigger) players. He isn’t nervous at all, though. He is ready to take on the world.

Coming Soon On the Blog

Tomorrow I will be posting a review for The New Answers Book 4 by Answers In Genesis. Next week I will be getting a new product for my next review for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew. It is for Mango Languages, an interactive foreign language program. My review for that should be going up at the end of February, but I will try to post snippets of our experience here and there. And lastly, next week on the blog I will be joining other members of The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew, as we share a week of our Homeschool Essentials. I hope you will stop by to read about the essentials in our homeschool, as well as those of my fellow crew mates.

I hope you all had a blessed week and have a great weekend!