Back to school

Though we are crazy in love with homeschooling, it's not an option right now for us. So yesterday we spent the day getting ready for back to school. Clothes were tried on, purchased, washed, dried, hung up...New shoes were purchased the day before. School supplies have been sorted and placed in new backpacks.

And through it all, I find myself feeling sad, yet excited too. Sad that I can't homeschool the boys right now. But excited for them. Jerimiah starts band this year. Anthony's teacher seems really nice and her room is fun. Plus, they are both going to schools I attended. So there's that cool feeling of nostalgia. I'm blessed to be able to take the day off from work tomorrow, so we can at least start the day with a minimum of crazy. Just one morning. :)

We are reading "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief." The boys are really enjoying it. It's a big change from "Little House on the Prairie!" We also continue to cook new food. This summer the boys have made themselves breakfast almost every morning. They can cook eggs just about every way there is!

They are good little men, and we will continue to do school at home- and outside of the home!

The end of an era

We've been steadily working on reading The Little House series.

We just finished The First Four Years. I am glad we are moving on to the Percy Jackson series, but my heart is pretty sad.

We started The Little House books when we began homeschooling. And since we can't homeschool now, it was a way to keep a little piece of that going.

And now it's over.

Logically, I know we still do lots of homeschooling things. Our family is close, and we are investing in our futures. But it's not the same.

Tomorrow night starts a new chapter (a punny!) in our family education. But for tonight, I'm going to take the time to morn our loss.

Sunday School-homeschool style

We've not been able to get to church the last few weeks, and while we do Bible study each night, something was missing. The church we attend now has a lot of great features, but there is no Sunday School. So it's been months since the boys have been to Sunday School.

We needed to fix that.

Today we studied:

1 Samuel 2:2 NIV

“There is no one holy like the Lord ; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

 To really help bring the meaning of the Scripture home, we looked at the key words of the verse and gave definitions, synonyms, and words associated with the key word. 

Then we compared the columns and talked about how each of the words have something in common. Our conclusion was that God is our Rock, because He is our foundation. He is strong, powerful, holy, perfect, and heavenly. Both of the boys acknowledged that God is the Rock of their lives!

It's just not Sunday School without a craft. A few days ago, we had traveled to the creek near our home and found some really great rocks. The plan was to paint them and make rock critters for our garden. We didn't get that done because of one thing and another, so I thought we could do a Sunday School craft instead. 

Jesus is my Rock craft

Materials:

large, flat rocks

paint

paintbrushes

paper towels

water

Instructions:

After discussing why Jesus is our Rock, paint a reminder to keep at home or in the garden. (Note: if making these for outdoor use, make sure to spray with a sealant to protect the paint from the elements.)

My guys each made one rock bearing Jesus' or God's name, and a couple of rocks praising Him in some way.  

 Anthony declares God is his Rock!

 Jerimiah painted God's amazing Creation.

 Jerimiah's rock declares Jesus is his Rock! (It's a bit abstract.)

 The tall rock in the back is Jerimiah's depiction of the cross, with the words holy and love written on the sides. 

 I like to craft, too!

Been a long time

Hey there!

Maybe you were wondering what happened to us. Maybe not. Either way, here's what we've been up to.

We moved back to Indiana after unexpected financial disaster. We are blessed in that we had a place to go. My wonderful parents have taken us in while we get back on our feet.

We both have jobs, and the boys are back in public school. While it's not what we had wanted, it's what is necessary right now. We are scheduled to move into a new apartment June 1, and things are looking good. Ideally, we will be going back to homeschool in the fall. We will see what God has planned for us.

In the meantime, my guys are scooter-ing on their new scooters. (Thanks, Granny!) The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and He is risen!

Happy Easter!

Looking for something fun?

My wonderful parents recently gave the kids and I a TON of fun homeschool stuff. The kids have really enjoyed working their way through the Travel the States workbook and using the flash cards to practice the capitals. Their new workbooks look anything but new. The pipe cleaners are all bent, and the I now have about 20 potholders from the very cool weaving loom.

One of the very favorite things we received was the game Quiddler. This is serious fun, people. The game is similar to rummy, but with letters. It's also similar to Scrabble. Basically, if Rummy and Scrabble got together and had a baby, it would be Quiddler.



Each card has a letter, or a combination of letters like "in" or "er." They've even thoughtfully included "qu." The first round, each player receives three cards, the next round four, and so on until each player receives ten cards. The winner of the round is the player who can put all of his or her cards into a word, and have one card to discard.

My oldest has trouble with spelling, reading, and phonics. I am ecstatic to say that he whooped up on us, including me- the Scrabble queen.

I would whole-hardheartedly recommend this game. It would make a great family gift, and it's very reasonably priced. We will be playing this game for a long, long time.

Don't remind the kids they are learning.

Math Monday- Love the Freebies!

It's been a while since I've joined in on Math Monday. It feels like forever! Things got a little crazy here in my little household. Praise God, we've turned the corner. Things are looking way up!

Last week, we really enjoyed this money freebie that I found over at Classroom Freebies.

The purpose of the game is to place your markers on coin values and try to get exactly $1.00. The boys really enjoyed this one. They played for about 25 minutes, which is a good long time for a "simple" game. Dad played too!

Another great freebie I found from CF was this game. The purpose is to create a double digit subtraction problem with a solution of 20. The closer to 20, the better the score.We will be playing this game this week.

I love giving the guys a chance to practice skills they've mastered in a completely new way. The strategy involved in both of these games really makes them work at it!

Good News!

We have been blessed with great news! The husband got a job! Not only is it a job...but it's the job that answers our prayers. All of them.

Why is it that we doubt God can give us the answer to all of our prayers? This is the God that made the universe, yet we fear that He can't answer a prayer like a new job request. Is it the fear that we are not worthy of His care and concern? Are we afraid of disappointment? Does the enemy instill that fear and doubt? I don't know the answer, but I do know that God answers prayers.

Before my husband lost his job, he was looking for a new one. He was unhappy with business practices, and he was concerned that these practices were making the company unstable. But it took losing that job to have him consider really looking into another field. We've wanted him to get out of restaurant work for a long time. We've prayed for a job with normal, steady hours, a job that challenged him, and a job that meets our financial needs. We prayed he would find a job that allowed us to keep homeschooling, not have to move, and didn't require him to leave town over the holidays for training. Since we've joined our church, we've hoped to join a life group. We couldn't because of my husband's work schedule. We've dreamed of having a "normal" life, one that doesn't revolve around the capricious demands of the restaurant industry.

Guess what? God is big enough to handle ALL of those prayers, wishes, and dreams. The same God that devised a plan to save us from ourselves cares enough to answer our prayers. I am awed and humbled by that. He loves us that much.

Did He answer us right away? No, He followed His time. But I see clearly that His plans for us were to amaze, astound, delight, and provide for us. He gave abundantly. We would have been happy with just a few of those prayers granted. We would have settled, and been thankful and joyful. But God had bigger plans for us.

And I am so grateful.